1896 San Francisco Firehouse For Sale!!! (And a Tour Business and Memorabilia to Boot!)

**UPDATE** 

We’ve determined pricing for the Firehouse and the Tour Business!!!! 

The Firehouse is $975,000

The Tour Business is $249,000

And if you are interested in grabbing the torch and taking over the complete lifestyle, then make a reasonable offer for both!!!  For once, the sellers are not JUST interested in the price (though money DOES talk), but more than anything, they would really love to see someone carry on the legacy they created.  And frankly, I’d like to see the dream kept alive as well! 

(And ideally, I’d like to reserve the right to slide down the firepole from time to time, but that’s not a deal breaker. )

I’m giving you a fair warning – this video is addictive, amazing and has a jingle you may not be able to get out of your head for days!!!  It is NOT your typical property listing video.  TRUST me. 

And thanks to the video, I’ve been singing the “The Big Shiny Mack Truck Fire Engine!” for DAYS now!  I haven’t had anyone complain yet, and may have been the cause of people all over San Francisco singing that jingle now too!

But the video and the song are just bonuses…. along with the song, you get over 4000 square feet where you can whirl around the firehouse which, to my knowledge, is one of the last San Francisco firehouses (if not THE last one) that has still maintained it’s historical integrity. 

The couple that owned it lovingly restored it (a before & after pic are below), and fell so much in love with the place and the lifestyle that they added a “Big Shiny Mack Truck Fire Engine” to their collection and used it to create a profitable tour business that had made kids (of all ages) from ALL over the world smile!!! 

But as many stories go, it’s time for the current owners to move on.  Which means you can pick up this HOT (badumpum) piece of real estate for yourself.    As a fellow colleague joked, it would make an especially “HOT” Valentine’s present. LOL!

Though the price is still not yet determined, numbers are being crunched and the list price will be announced in the next few weeks.  The building, business and historic collection will all be for sale – together, or separately. 

In the meantime, email me at luba@zephyrsf.com or call me at 415-307-1392 for more information. 

San Francisco Real Estate Fast Facts – October 2008 vs. October 2009

For those of you that like your SF real estate market data without commentary, here ya go. Take a look, check it out, come to your own conclusions.

(Editor’s Note: Set forth below are Unit Sales/DOM/Monthly Supply charts for the month of October for single-family homes, condominiums and 2-4 units, as well as Supply/Demand, Sales Rate and Median Price charts for the same month.)

Single-Family Homes

Condos

2-4 Units

NUMBER OF UNITS is the equivalent of number of sales/transactions. For condominiums, each unit is treated as a sale. For 2- to 4-unit buildings, the “building” is treated as a sale.

NUMBER SOLD is the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month.

NUMBER FOR SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month.

MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving.

If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment.

AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as: The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer.

MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTH’S SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as: The number of active properties on the market for one day or more during the month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract during the month.

* * * * *

Data provided by Terradatum.

San Francsico DPW Map from 1997

SF Department of Public Works Map from 1997

I was digging through emails that I meant to get to “one day” on my quest to someday address all the things on my “to do” list when I stumbled upon an awesome map that Mark Pfeiffer, reader of The City Update(TM) – San Francisco’s Friendliest Real Estate Newsletter, sent to me MONTHS ago!!!  Geez – I knew I was behind, but not THAT behind!!!!

Mark wrote:

Hi Luba,

I like your newsletter.  I thought you might be interested in the attached map of San Francisco Neighborhoods that was put out by the Department of Public Works in 1997.  My wife has worked for “the city” for 35 years, in DPW and now PUC, and she gave me a copy of  this map when it first came out.  I’ve searched the DPW web site and have been unable to locate it, so I scanned it.  I’m sorry about the cropping, but my copy is in 8^1/4”x17” format.

v/r Mark

Thanks, Mark!!!  The map is AWESOME!  And I haven’t had time yet, but I’d like to see how it lines up with the SFAR map.

San Francisco Association of Realtors Map

I’d also LOVE to know if anyone has a more current map???  Anyone in DPW now???  Email me if you do!

And for that matter, email me if you come across ANYTHING cool and San Francisco related! Readers don’t just want to read about San Francisco Real Estate, they want to read about San Francisco!  Right?

San Francisco Photo Collection – Buy Your Own Glimpse of History

If you’re like me, you LOVE San Francisco history.  Photos tend to make me especially nostalgic. 

So I’ve always enjoyed the San Francisco Images Web Gallery.  And that means that I was extra excited to tell you about San Francisco Images.

They’ve been around for a little while, but recently redesigned their web galleries.  San Francisco Images features an expanding range of photographic images from San Francisco, the Bay Area, California and around the world. Their historical images are exceptional, San Francisco especially, and include a unique hand-tinted collection.  The new interface makes it easy to select and design a custom frame on-line and (who doesn’t love to hear this part), everything is value priced for 2009!  Orders are shipped from out-of state so they are also tax free.  Or, if you prefer to work with a local vendor and help California earn a little extra cash with your sales tax dollars, they will also custom frame the work locally at their San Francisco shop, Eco-framing, www.eco-framing.com

A little note from Bennett Hall, one of the companies owners:

All images are scanned at high resolution and digitally refined to museum standards suitable for large reproductions for your home or office.

We also design and produce custom projects for your business – if you would like to explore this, let me know you ideas.  We offer on-site consultations, scanning, images restoration, hand-tinting, graphic design, exhibit production, and publishing services.

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

How to Recycle Your Old Toilet, originally uploaded on by LubaSF

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

I’ve got another work weekend ahead of me, selling consulations, showing buyers properties and generally catching up from this past week’s worth of work.  But since I love what I do for a living, it’s a little easier to swallow.

This week’s photo was shot by yours truly – and it’s the best use I’ve seen for an old toilet yet!  Love the ingenuity of SF residents!

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

Wet Dogs, originally uploaded on by LubaSF  

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

The week has been crazy because it seems that the San Francisco real estate market is picking up steam!  But somewhere between writing offers and preparing listings for the market, I managed to stop by the beach and catch a glimpse of the Doggie Diner heads.  Unfortunately, they were there as part of the memorial service for the artist Tom Kennedy that recently drowned at Ocean Beach.  He was extremely talented and I know he’ll be missed. 

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

originally uploaded on by Leiflet  

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

I’m not sure which pier this is, but I’m guessing Pier 7?  It’s just another of those random little glimpses of the City that make me fall in love with it over and over again.  Whether I’m seeing the City through my eyes, or through someone elses, I know I’ll never love another City more than I love San Francisco.   

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

Carriage Entrance of the Palace Hotel, originally uploaded on by Bennet Hall

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

This photo is sort of a early-days shot of valet service.  According to SF Images “the Carriage Entrance of the Palace Hotel was used for grand entrances upon its opening in 1876. The area was renovated to become a restaurant due to guests’ complaints over the smell of manure.”

I’ve had bad valet service before, but never did the valets smell like manure.

This week’s photo was brought to you by Bennet Hall but if you love the image, or a variety of other historical SF Images, you can get them yourself, in a variety of sizes, to hang on your very own wall.   

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

Space Invaders, originally uploaded on by LubaSF 

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

I spent two weeks on a pseudo-vacation in Lake County, CA.  The photo above, though, has nothing to do it – it just makes me smile.    (Check out www.sfcameraphone.com to see a few of the silly photos I shot with my cameraphone while I WAS on vacation.)  I say “pseudo-vacation” because I still worked just about every day, including driving back to the City for a day to take care of a client in the midst of a real estate transaction.  It was inspection day, and I HATE to miss inspection day!  Yes, I am that dedicated. 

This weekend, I’ll be being just as dedicated.  As usual, I’ll be working.  Though, there’s a good chance I’ll be spending a night out on the town with some girldfriends on Saturday night.  If you happen to see us out and about in the City, don’t be afraid to say “hi.”  

Don’t forget to check back next week for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!

SF Snapshots: San Francisco Living

San Francisco, CA, originally uploaded on by heprice  

It’s Photo Friday again here on Luba’s San Francisco Real Estate Blog! 

Last week, I put you all up to a challenge, and I haven’t gotten a correct response yet!  Common folks!  Put on your thinking caps!  Remember the first right answer get tix for 4 to the San Francisco Zoo!!!

In the meantime, thought I’d pick back up on my San Francisco photos.  I love the angle of the shot above…. reminds me of the way I first see a house as I’m fumbling with the keys to open up the gate show it to a client. 

This weekend, it’ll be more of the same – looking at houses with clients, two property inspections and maybe, just maybe, after all of my hard work this weekend, there may be a little getaway planned.  In fact, I am taking a little unofficial time off, so expect postings to be light the next two weeks.  

But I won’t forget you next week so don’t forget to check back for another glimpse of San Francisco as seen through the eyes of Flickr’s photogs.

And if you’d like to throw your photos into the pool of candidates for my SF Photo Friday collection, tag your SF Photos from Flickr with LubaSF.

Happy Friday!