June 12, 2012 by 1 Comment

When is the best time to buy real estate if you’re a Queen?

When is the best time to buy real estate if you’re a Queen?

One of the classic real estate anecdotes is that the best time to buy real estate is always 5 years ago! In other words, real estate is a long-term investment so you want to jump in the game as soon as you can and then hang on for a long ride (dear life?). According to the Financial Times, if you were the Queen of England, you would have seen your real estate income property portfolio produce a 9,200% increase in rental income during your 60-year & countin' reign. Queen Elizabeth’s … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Investing Tagged With: , ,
November 2, 2009 by Leave a Comment

What’s the deal with San Francisco Rent Control? Or I’m thinking of buying an investment property or renting out my home. What should I know?

Recently, a client mentioned that they may relocate out of San Francisco and were considering keeping their home as rental property. She wanted to know, "What's the deal with San Francisco rent control and what kinds of things should I know before becoming a landlord in our great 'Republic of San Francisco'?" To summarize: San Francisco has one of the most draconian rent control rule books in the United States. If you know of a City with stricter rent and eviction control rules, please let me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Real Estate Investing Tagged With: , , ,
December 3, 2008 by

Want to know when a San Francisco building was Ellis Acted?

For a list of buildings that were subject to the Ellis Act between 2000 and April 2007, the SF Tenants Union has a helpful list. Ironically, their site is full of helpful information for would-be homeowners. Keep your friends close and your..... as they say! If you need more information about the Ellis Act, refer to the following sites and or contact a local San Francisco real estate attorney. SF Tenants Union SF Rent Board Andy Sirkin, Esq My Property Rights SF Small Property … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Buying, Hot Tips & Advice, Real Estate Investing Tagged With: , ,
October 6, 2008 by Leave a Comment

Q: What can you do to save the economy? A: Buy a home!

Haha, so I know you are thinking that this is the most self-serving real estate blog post that could come from a San Francisco Realtor but c'mon....hear me out! Rather, hear out my buddy (not that we've ever met) James B. Stewart, a columnist for SmartMoney Magazine and SmartMoney.com who wrote recently in the Wall St Journal about what we regular citizens...you know Joe and Jane Six-Pack or for us San Franciscans Joe and Jane Latte...can do to help the markets. "As president Franklin … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic News & Market Updates, Home Buying, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate Tagged With: ,
August 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

One more thing about Fractional Home Ownership: Calling Owners of Fabulous San Francisco Properties

If you have a really fabulous San Francisco property, like a luxury condo near the museums and restaurants or a perfect home in Russian Hill with views to die for, you might be able to turn your real estate into a fractional property. Fractional real estate sells for 1-2.5 times a regular sale and it gives you the option of keeping a part of your property. Say you are ready to retire to the Wine Country but want to have a place in San Francisco during Opera Season (or heck, Giants season for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Selling, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate Tagged With: ,
August 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

What is Fractional Real Estate Ownership?

Want to own a piece of San Francisco or Napa or Paris or Tuscany...but only just a piece? Then, fractional real estate ownership may be for you. There is a great real estate brokerage called Global Quarters based out of Sonoma County, California that caters exclusively to the exclusive community of fractional real estate ownership. According to the Broker/Owner Paula Gold-Nocella, the average owner of a second home uses their property approximately 17-21 days a year and with the cost of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate Tagged With:
August 8, 2008 by Leave a Comment

New to the Neighborhood – High Tech: SOMA, South Beach, Mission Bay and China Basin

            First American Title is helping us in defining each neighborhood in the city.  As a homebuyer where do you want to live?  Here is a brief overview into the “High Tech” areas in the city by the bay. SoMa (South of Market) was the hippest place to have an office, loft, bar or restaurant during the dot-com heyday.  When the bubble burst most of those “built to flip” companies and the restaurants that catered to them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate
May 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment

ABC News Team 7

  By David Louie SAN FRANCISCO, CA (KGO) -- San Francisco may be leading a turnaround in the real estate market. Available mortgages and lower prices are major factors, but there may be something else fueling city home sales. There's no doubt the latest numbers are an encouraging sign. Perhaps the real estate market is on the cusp of change and sellers seem to agree. "We kind of decided we'd test the waters and see what happens, and things happened a lot sooner than we thought," … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic News & Market Updates, Home Buying, Real Estate Financial Knowledge, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate
May 23, 2008 by Leave a Comment

San Francisco Home Sales are up: Are we in recovery?

As you know, I always say that by the time the media catches up with something, it has already happened! Thinking of buying but waiting for the bottom? Timing perfectly is quite the challenge, wouldn’t you say? I’d settle for pretty close… With this week’s Chronicle article and the info below, it looks like I was right! The bottom has already happened. I do love being right!   Of course, I’m sure you’ll be there to dispute me. How ‘bout we say, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic News & Market Updates, Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate
April 4, 2008 by Leave a Comment

The Ups and Downs of the San Francisco Real Estate Market

Words of wisdom from my real estate mentors…. Experience shows that buying a San Francisco home is investing in the long term. Listening to the news everyday and making your personal life decisions based on the headlines is a little bit like the following. Imagine a man walking up a big hill with a yo-yo in his hands. Instead of keeping his eyes on the hill, his eyes are fixed on the yo-yo. How quickly & safely will he make it up the hill, do you think? Let’s stay focused on where we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economic News & Market Updates, Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate Investing, San Francisco Real Estate
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