Welcome back to the “San Francisco Property Spotlight” brought to you by yours truly.

Today, I’ve got a shameless plug for a great property, as well as some catching up.

Here we go…

My Shameless Plug…

282 St Charles Avenue - This is an ADORABLE single family home built in 1939.  It has one “real bedroom” and one “real bath” plus a bonus room and bath downstairs (think home office or guest room).  There’s a formal dining room and eat-in kitchen to boot.  This charming home has great character and wonderful details such as period molding, hardwood floors and built-in nooks and crannies. There’s a quaint garden perfect for morning coffee or a Sunday afternoon BBQ.  And commuters will think this place is a dream since it’s is just steps to BART and just a few blocks from 280 (yes doesn’t have freeway noise.)  And priced at just $499K it beats the competition hands down.  I can’t see this being on the market for long, so if this sounds like something you’re interested in - HUSTLE!

And a Little Catching Up…

151 Alice B. Toklas Place #708 - Holy Moly!  Someone got a DEAL!  This 1BR 1BA unit with 1229 sq ft was listed at $620,000 got it’s buyer after 30 days on the market. This place was a bank owned fixer without a kitchen and in need of some TLC. Final selling price?  $580K!  Congrats to the lucky buyer.  A similar unit with kitchen sold at $780K earlier this year.  

334 28th Street proved yet again, that at times, I’m just too conservative about price. This top floor 2BR 2BR 1150 sq ft condominium was listed at $1,145,000. At $995.65 a square foot, it seemed like it might have been priced a smidge on the high side, but that’s where it sold - at  $1,145,000.  And I can’t argue with the fact that I’m not the one that determines the price, the market does! 

And as usual, if you have questions about any of these properties, or about the real estate market in general, don’t hesitate to contact me. I love to talk real estate!

Tags: SF Real Estate Info for Buyers, SF Real Estate Info for Sellers, San Francisco Property Profile, Uncategorized by Luba
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It’s that time of year for me again.  It’s time for summer vacation.  And as I do most years, I am heading up to Lake County for some fishing, boating, kayaking and general relaxation. This year, I’ll add smoke inhalation to the list thanks to all the fires that are burning, but I digress.

I’ll be back in town on the 12th Of July, and will resume the usual blog posting schedule when I return, along with a hectic listing schedule (I’ll have a handful of new listings on the market when I come back - check back towards the middle of July to get the full scoop on them.)

If you really miss me,  you can follow me on Twitter where I might pop in occasionally to say “hi.” 

When I come back, I’ll be ready to jump back into the San Francisco real estate market, so if you need help buying or selling property in the new year, know that I’ll be relaxed, refreshed and ready to work my butt off!

Tags: Uncategorized by Luba
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Just a little blurb to let you know that I’ve just addes a new market report feature to the blog. 

If you just can’t get enough San Francsco real estate market updates between this blog and The City Update(TM), you now have one more option when it comes to getting the latest deets on what the market is doing. 

You can narrow down your reports by zip code or property type, and you can sign up for as few or as many zip codes as you like (you just have to reenter your info for each new zip code/property type). 

You can sign up in the sidebar on the right, or you can sign up right here.

Go ahead, get your SF real estate data fix on!

Oh - and as always, your info will not be sold, rented, shared, abused, danced on, or in any other way misused.  In fact, you’ll never hear from me unless you contact me directly.  Just thought you’d like to know.

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A hint… if you’ve seen 30 properties, and you can’t picture yourself living in any one of them, it’s not that there’s something wrong with all of the properties on the market, it’s that your search criteria is unrealistic.

If you get to this point, it’s time to reevaluate your search, and ask yourself “Do I really want to own a home?” Some people are commitment phobic, and aren’t really ready to commit to buying a home. There’s nothing wrong with that. Keep renting. Renting is OK. Owning a home is not for everyone.

But if you find that you do have the desire to own a home, but you’re just not finding the right home in your budget, you will be faced with two choices:

1. Reevaluate your standards - you may have champagne taste and a beer budget.
2. Keep renting temporarily, and SAVE until you CAN buy the home that’s right for you.

Your REALTOR® will be able to tell you from the beginning whether your goals match your budget. In fact, that’s one of the first things I do when I meet a buyer for the first time. 

I’ve had to be the ”bad guy” on many occasions and have told potential buyers that their goals are unrealistic, or at times, that their financial situation is too risky to stretch to buy as much as they’ve been approved for.

If I’m your REALTOR®, I want to help you buy a home that you like AND that you can afford. 

The reality is that in San Francisco the first home you own will never be as nice as your last rental. 

In SF, it’ll cost you less to rent a home than it will to pay the mortgage on the same home. 

That’s why many people rent and continue to do so - because they can’t afford to purchase.  (Of course, there are other reasons not to purchase a home, but that’s a different topic altogether.) 

If you have homeownership goals but don’t know if they are realistic, contact me.  I can let you know if you need to adjust your goals, your budget or both - and I can do this BEFORE you set out house hunting so that you don’t waste your time chasing a pipe dream. 

Tags: Uncategorized 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.

Tags: Uncategorized by Luba
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