Welcome back to Photo Friday - my little way of taking a break from San Francisco Real Estate and instead blogging about our great City’s past instead. All photos are published with permission from the San Francisco History Center and San Francisco Public Library.

So this last week, Curbed SF, WHAT IM SEEING dot com and SFist all mentioned MUNI’s latest Green/Wi-Fi concoction.

I still haven’t really figured out the benefit of wi-fi on a (usually crowded bus) but maybe I’m just not as technologically advanced as MUNI’s new target audience. (I just hopethat the MUNI drivers don’t get too distracted by the new wi-fi and start mowing down even MORE innocent pedestrians.)

Regardless, this isn’t MUNI’s first “New” bus.

Back in 1947, MUNI introduced its first trackless electric bus.

The newscopy on February 1947 read:

“THE NEW–This new trackless trolley, first of 16 such to be ordered for the E Line, will go into service to replace the old ‘enter at center’ streetcars now on the line.”

According to the SFMTA site, June 8, 1947 was the “last day of streetcar service on Muni’s E streetcar line, with trolley buses and motor buses taking over service the next day and full trolley bus operation shortly thereafter. This was the first post-war conversion of a streetcar line to trolley bus service - the E-line conversion had been planned several years before, but had been delayed by the war effort. (The E and R trolley bus lines were combined, and the new service was called the E Union-Howard. The E line was re-designated the 41 line in February 1949, a time when much of the Muni-Market Street Railway consolidated service was renamed.)”

The original E Line was The E Union - a streetcar route that ran from the Ferry Building to the Presidio via The Embarcadero, Washington/Jackson, Columbus, Union, Larkin, Vallejo, Franklin, Union, Baker and Greenwich into the Presidio. [Wikepedia]

As always, I hope you enjoyed this week’s Photo Friday and the random bit of San Francisco history it provided you with. Hope you have a great weekend!

Tags: Misc Musings from Your San Francisco Realtor, SF Historical Photos, San Francisco History, San Francisco Local Resources, San Francisco Neighborhoods, San Francisco News and Events by Luba
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Here’s another shameless plug from me… (and I’m ok with admitting I may not be your favorite San Francisco Real Estate Blogger, but just let me pretend, OK?)

Every San Francisco Realtor has to have a website and I’m no different.

My SF real estate blog is more of a hobby, and less of a “real” Realtor website. I mean, yes, it’s a presence on the web and all, but it lets me post info I think people will find interesting as well as random information that I find interesting. Some of it is related to San Francisco real estate, and some of it isn’t.

Sometimes I write posts in the middle of the night that sound brilliant when I’m writing them, and are much less so the next day when I’m reading them. And sometimes I write posts that seem boring to me, but later I find that people find them extremely interesting and useful (I swear, I’m not making that up - though the person who said that might have been blowing smoke up my butt).

I let a little more of my personality peek through in these pages. I try to let readers get to know me, who I am as a San Francisco real estate agent, and who I am as a person.

But in addition to these pages, I also have a website, www.LubaSF.com. That’s my “official” San Francisco Realtor website, as opposed to this, unofficial, sometimes filled with very random things, website.

And because I thought my old site was frankly dark and dreary, I decided to give it a facelift. So, today, without too much ado, I’ve decided to let you folks know that my new site is up and running and with most of the kinks finally worked out.

If you liked my old site, the same info is still there, and should still be just as accessible - but this one just is just sort of an “Extreme Makeover” version - it still is the same resource on the inside, but just looks shiny and has been nipped and tucked in (hopefully) the right places.

Anyhow, I hope you stop by and take a look, browse some properities, find out about buying or selling a home, sign up for Zephyr MLS Direct, Sign up for “sfnewsletter“, or just drop me a note to say “hi” and let me know what you think of the new site.

And I hope you find the revamped site useful. It’s not just an advertising tool, but a resource I hope you’ll come back to time and again for your SF real estate needs.

Tags: Misc Musings from Your San Francisco Realtor, SF Real Estate Info for Buyers, SF Real Estate Info for Sellers by Luba
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Here’s the latest Fast Facts update from the SFAR. Updates are provided almost weekly and each week is a different sector of the market (ie. Condos, Single Family Homes, 2-4 unit dwellings, etc.).

Check back next week for more statistics..

Fast Facts

back to top

Tags: SF Real Estate Fast Facts, SF Real Estate Market Conditions by Luba
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So I was at this open house today. I was holding a listing open for a fellow Zephyr agent.

While I was at the open house, I found myself talking to a gentlemen there that looked remarkably familiar. I came to find out that I had actually gone to camp with him at the YMCA here in the City. I guess when you’ve grown up in the City, you’re bound to run into people you’ve met while growing up.

Anyhow - I am digressing from the point of my story - back to the point. This guy from camp (who is now grown and ready to buy some SF real estate) has been poking around at open houses for almost a year now looking to buy a place. The thing is, he’s out there on his own trying to navigate the San Francisco real estate jungle all alone. He has no one to guide him, no one to negotiate for him, no one to fight for him, no one to give him a heads up on a pocket listing that’s only available to other agents, no one to analyze his needs and help him to find the right place that he can call “home.”

So, I did what any good agent would do - I spent 20 minutes trying to convince him to get out there and get himself an agent.

I mean, he seemed like a nice enough person - I’d love to work with him - but not every agent is for every person, so my goal wasn’t to have him work with ME, my goal was to convince him to find SOMEONE that would help him.

He even mentioned a really nice agent from Cashin that he had met the week prior - but hadn’t thought to give him a call. If you’re reading this (and you know who you are) - call the Cashin guy! Call me! Call anyone! But don’t go at it on your own!!!

And I wasn’t planning on turning my little chance encounter with someone I remember as a kid I went to camp with into a blog post, but when I got home, I ran across this article in today’s Chronicle - Looking for a House? Find a Buyer’s Agent First. It reiterated every single point that I harped on for the 20 minute conversation with him - and then some.

Buying a home is a daunting task, and if you don’t have the advantage of working with a buyer’s agent, it’s like floating in the ocean without a life raft. Sure - you might be able to swim, but for how long before you just get swallowed up by the waves!

If you’re reading this now and you or someone you know is thinking about buying a place without an agent- STOP!

Get your own damn agent! He or she will help you to nagivate the ins and outs of the San Francisco real estate market, and get get you into the best home you at the best price for you.

And if you need help finding an agent, check out this blog post I did a while ago on How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent.

Of course, you can always call me, and if we all feel that we’ll work well together, then I’ll be happy to help you find a place in the City to call “home”. You know where to find me.

Tags: Misc Musings from Your San Francisco Realtor, SF Real Estate Info for Buyers by Luba
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Someone asked me about these today - so I thought I’d throw a few maps up here for readers that are curious about the location of natural hazards in San Francisco. Click on the map for a bigger view, and to be taken to the source of the map.

San Francisco Liquefaction Map

San Francisco Natural Hazards Map

My personal favorite, which is sort of a hazard because building a house on water is never a good idea, is a map of all of the creeks, marshes and landfill throughout historical San Francisco. This map is from the 1890’s. As with the others, click to see the map full size, and to see the source.

San Francisco Historical Creek Map

And finally - if you’re curious about the last little rumble you felt - check out this map which will show you the size and magnitude of the most recent earthquake.

San Francisco Recent Earthquakes

Tags: SF Historical Photos, SF Real Estate Info for Buyers, SF Real Estate Info for Sellers, San Francisco History, San Francisco Local Resources by Luba
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