What: Zephyr Public Seminar: Real Estate Legal Issues Where: Contract Design Center, 600 Townsend Street When: Saturday, October 20th 10am - noon RSVP: Danielle Lazier, 415.695.0552, danielle@zephyrsf.com Elizabeth Erhardt, a litigation attorney and partner of Sideman & Bancroft LLP, will be the featured speaker. Liz concentrates her practice on resolving real estate disputes, including landlord-tenant matters, co-owner disputes, purchase and sales agreements, … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Beat the Stress of San Francisco Home Buying Part 2: Be Flexible and Realistic
Be Flexible and Realistic. Use conservative monetary calculations. Make sure you have a little extra money to work with, just in case. In the San Francisco home buying market, anything can happen between contract acceptance and closing. It could be the inspections reveal areas of concern that the seller in unwilling to fix (and that you are okay taking on) or repair costs are higher than the amount negotiated in the contract. OR, the interest rate changes before you have locked in your rate, … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Financial Knowledge, San Francisco Real Estate
How Foreclosure Can Happen in San Francisco
Want to hear a NIGHTMARE from the field? Here’s an example of what can happen to you without the right representation… Joe* was renting a fancy South of Market Loft back in 2004. One day, he came home to find a letter from his landlord saying that he was going to sell the loft and Joe had to move. Since most lofts are not under San Francisco rent control, it was true that he would have to move. Joe not only lived in his loft but also conducted his business out of it. The … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Beat the Stress of San Francisco Home Buying Part 1: Begin with the End in Mind
Begin with the end in mind. Have an Ultimate Scenario of where you are headed. What will life be like when you get there? How will it be better than where you are now? What is your ideal new living situation? What do you really, really, truly want? Focus on that picture and write it out, filling at least a page about how it feels to be living in your home. This is imperative. Having your goal in front of you at all times energizes you to achieve it, in spite of setbacks and frustrations. … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, San Francisco Real Estate
6 Ways to Beat the Stress of San Francisco Home Buying: An Introduction
We want to work as a team to achieve the most successful results AND provide the most rewarding experience for you. Two very different types of needs arise when people are moving. First, there are the transactional needs, like finding the home that is just right, finding a seller who is realistic, being able to negotiate the lowest price, filling out all of the paperwork, handling the escrow, and arranging for the move. The second set of needs are the emotional ones. Often, these emotional … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, San Francisco Real Estate
5 Powerful Homebuying Strategies for San Francisco Homes, Lofts, Condos, & TICs: Part 5
Find a Real Estate Consultant (a.k.a. Realtor) It is most essential for your safety and success to hire your own Realtor representation. Whether you are interested in my services or not, I encourage you to interview and choose a consultant you feel comfortable with and enlist that agent as your “Buyer’s Agent”. When you work exclusively with a Buyer’s Agent, you become a client with all of the rights, benefits, and privileges created by this agency relationship. … [Read more...]
5 Powerful Homebuying Strategies for San Francisco Homes, Lofts, Condos, & TICs: Part 4
Don’t Be Pushed Into Just Any House… Your agent should show or highlight every property available that meets your requirements. Don’t make a decision on a house until you feel that you have seen enough to pick the best one. For some people, this means seeing 5 properties while for others, it means 20. Just be aware that San Francisco is a competitive and active market. If you wait too long or are too picky, you may very well lose the right home for you. Often, it takes more … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Financial Knowledge
5 Powerful Homebuying Strategies for San Francisco Homes, Lofts, Condos, & TICs: Part 3
Play the Game of Nines! Before house hunting, make a list of 9 things you want in your new home and 9 things you do not want. I call this “Nine of This and None of That.” You can use this list as a scorecard to rate each property you tour. The house, loft, condo or TIC with the most things you want, wins! Why bother making this list? Having a concrete list you can refer back to helps avoid confusion and keeps things in perspective as you compare homes. You may see … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, San Francisco Real Estate
August 9, 2007 by the collective
Mortgage Crunch & What it Means for San Francisco Buyers
Right now, there are a lot of headlines a lot regarding the mortgage meltdown. What’s hype, what’s not? In general, I stick to my usual soap box of don’t believe everything you read and proceed with rational observance b/c “If it bleeds, it leads.” (In case you are wondering, I welcome you taking my opinions with a grain of salt too! I am educated, aware, and in the trenches though I certainly don’t know it all and am only one person with an opinion.) What’s happened? In … [Read more...]
So you wanna own a rental property in San Francisco?
Generally speaking, it is wise to begin with owning your own home. So, if you are set on acquiring your real estate empire, start at home…literally. However, after that, it is wise to consider diversifying your portfolio. Smart rental homes are a great investment for the long-term. Right now, it is a great time to get into the rental market here in San Francisco. Certain areas are booming like the good, ole days with crazy over bids and multiple, non-contingent offers. Yet, other areas … [Read more...]
Filed Under: Home Buying, Real Estate Financial Knowledge, Real Estate Investing
