We were invited after the daily festivities at Inman Real Estate Connect to hop on the "Trulia Trolley" and party at the House of Trulia. The food was great.  The music rocked.  We all hooted and cheered at the Wii Contest. The drinks and conversations flowed.   Hugs, kisses, and fist bumps. I was able to talk to some wonderful Trulia employees, including one of the founders! Hey, I even bumped into Jonathan Miller! While we were all having a great time we also learned what a great company Trulia is, and the truly (is it a pun?) forward thinking thought process they have. (just wait till you see the iPhone Application they have!) Everyone had a really great time.  Thank you Rudy, and thank you Trulia!      Follow me on Twitter 07/27/2008

A Summary of Rent Board Regs for Sublets and Roommates The regulations the rent board imposes on owners and managers of property in San Francisco are confusing and can lead to costly mistakes. The rent board has a series of small articles that make quick summary of complex situations. You should always consult an attorney before taking actions, to be sure the law has not changed and to be sure that your action is not putting you in the way of a legal action. Sublets: If the lease is silent of the issue, then it is generally allowed. Many leases or rental agreements contain a "consent clause," which requires that the landlord approve a new roommate or subtenant. Get an Application: Generally, you should take an application on each new roommate and run a credit report. If they have been e... 07/26/2008

The area in front of San Francisco's city hall doesn't exactly represent lush farmland but that doesn't prevent it from being a viable SF food source. For the first time since 1943, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Slow Food Nation founder Alice Waters and more than 100 volunteers planted the first edible garden in the City's Civic Center. This victory garden, which takes its name from from 20th Century wartime efforts, helps to address food shortages by encouraging citizens to plant gardens on public and private land. Victory gardens continue to spring up in and around the City as food prices continue to rise and food sustainability becomes more of an issue. This Civic Center venture found its funding through various organizations including Slow Food Nation, CMG Landscape Architecture... 07/25/2008

We lived in San Francisco until 1994, with my three children all graduating from high school there. Two attended Urban School and the youngest graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral. The City was truly our home. I'm back in the City, now, to attend part of the Real Estate Connect conference, arriving too late for most of the Rebar Camp (those attending Rebar are fortunate, though, since I know so little about what they're talking about).  I decided to take a walk down Market Street and back from, roughly Powell. It's amazing how the City has changed, yet in some ways, it hasn't. It seemed to me that there are fewer really poor street people than before, but those who are there are more desparate-looking than ever.  Also, I don't recall so many attempts at street scams, but then, maye I l... 07/22/2008

You might notice something a little different this week. I'll be in San Francisco interviewing some of the biggest icons in real estate. Not just in the Bay Area, not just in California, or even the United States. Real Estate Connect (Inman Connect) attracts attendees worldwide! Tuesday I'll be interviewing attendees at RE Barcamp Wednesday I'll focus on those at Blogger Connect. Thursday and Friday, it'll be the main conference rooms and the exhibitors! If you are going and you see me - Don't forget to stop and say HI. Labels: Real Estate Connect posted by Mike   Get a    or Follow me on Twitter Check out "The Foreclosure Report" (It's help for homeowners in trouble!) 07/21/2008

 There is no such thing as a “nonrefundable” security deposits or key deposit, cleaning fee or closing cost, all money paid in addition to your first month’s rent is refundable. The total amount the landlord can charge for all the deposits including last month’s rent 1. Twice the amount of one month’s rent for an unfurnished place 2. Three times one month’s rent for a furnished place. The purpose of the security deposit is to protect owners from damage done by tenants, above and beyond normal wear and tear. In the state of California all owners and managers of real property have 21 days to return security deposits to tenants after they have vacated their apartment. Owners are allowed to deduct for necessary repairs that are not considered normal wear and tear. However, the law requires ... 07/20/2008

Summer 2008Real Estate ReportNews and Updates for Homeowners  In This IssueSummer Market UpdateGive Your Rooftop Some Solar FlairWays and Means Approves Homebuyer Tax CreditKeeping Your Companion Comfortably KenneledChatty Drivers, Beware!Shorter Drives Equal Higher Home PricesAlejandro Quentawww.alejandrosf.com 415-424-9455alejandro@zephyrsf.comSummer Market UpdateThere are some great opportunities for buyers, with fewer bidding wars than we've seen in the past; but still, the average Days on Market has risen to just 39 in San Francisco.Here's to the news that doesn't make local headlines! San Francisco continues to buck the trends that fill doomsday media reports. It may not be booming, but the City's market is exceptionally strong. Between January 1 and April 30, 50% of single-family... 07/11/2008

Let's get right into it. As we walked into the immense PCBC exhibit halls last week both GE and Whirlpool proudly exhibited some of their Green appliances. Granted Whirlpool displayed what we would consider a green kitchen but Whirlpool only offers about 30 percent of Energy Star and other Green appliances. The percentage for GE remains even lower. We won't even discuss GE's overall environmental philosophy. Being in the major appliance state of mind, we strolled over to Liebherr, makers of refrigerators and the first appliance company to remove CFC's completely from the production process back in 1993. It's no surprise to us that ALL of their models meet the Energy Star qualification, and their BioFresh compartments certainly add green value by preserving fruits and veggies (and the nu... 07/11/2008

At our weekly Wednesday office meeting, there were a total of 19 properties that closed escrow over the last 2 weeks (meeting skipped last week due to the 4th holiday).  13 of these properties ranged from approximately $9.2M (undisclosed sales price for Russian Hill SFR) down to $1M (South Beach condo).  The remaining 6 closed under $1M, with the lowest priced property being in the Bayview District.  Many of these properties sold at or over the listing price.  A smaller percentage sold below the listing price. 07/09/2008

Ask Curbed SF: What's With the Burning [Redacted]? July 9th, 2008 Ask Curbed SF: You ask. We post. Others tell. To the Curbed Inbox! While we're in the nabe, a characteristically outraged Missionite sent in the following tirade. Caution: implied profanity ahead- we decided to beat the moralists to the comment box and do a little preemptive redacting. We're looking out for you, San Francisco. Dear Curbed SF: Can someone *please* tell me why *someone* keeps burning [redacted] down in the Mission? Like this newspaper box, for instance. I just don't understand! Who the [redacted] sets fire to plastic boxes for fun? And who fails to call the cops when the entire [redacted] block smells like burning rubber? Hell, I guess we're simply immune to it given that the whole neighborhood smells like ... 07/09/2008

07/08/2008 05:11 PM Tuesday PM Linkage ["Noe Valley Ladies" image courtesy Curbed SF Flickr pool member bats1234] · NorCal mansions: see how the other ... 07/08/2008 05:07 PM Billions in Ripped Taxes Sought by SF Firm: The state of California is overcharging... The state of California is overcharging homeowners by levying taxes without taking into account the adjustment in property values that occurs when oh, say, a major mortgage crisis causes home values to tank for months on end. What to do? A San Francisco law firm has filed a claim for $2.6 billion in tax readjustments based on an aggregate ... 07/08/2008 04:54 PM IMversation: Solar Powered Bargain in the Outer Sunset   http://www.gregorygarver.com   07/09/2008

I have realized it is the middle of summer vacation and I promised Rhiannon and her BFF Amelia we'd do some little day trips.  So far, we haven't.  I also noticed I've had a total of 3 days off since March.  I have a lot of work to do, StagersLIST.com is taking up a lot of time, and so are my other clients.  So I made a bit of a compromise for this Friday.  My daughter is in a summer program that gets out at noon.  I'm going to take Amelia with me to pick her up, then we'll head over to San Francisco.  First stop... Well, an appointment with one of my clients... BUT that won't take long AND there is an Italian restaurant a few doors down (the kids love spaghetti), so we can start with lunch after my appointment!  Also, my client, Mark Peterson-Estrada does Reiki treatments and has offer... 07/08/2008

Our weekly installment, Seductively Sold, will be available for your viewing pleasure each Monday. This little gem will bring you all of the Single Family Home sales in San Francisco from the previous week. If you would like the sales information for Condos/Lofts/TIC’s or multi-unit buildings, just ask… Address District Asking $ Selling $ D.O.M. 286 Thrift St Oceanview $489,000 $439,000 264 1459 Rhode Island St Potrero Hill $615,000 $550,000 94 43 Cordova St Crocker Amazon $509,900 $550,000 11 218 Rolph St Crocker Amazon $499,000 $599,000 13 648 Felton St Portola $569,000 $600,000 32 323 Ralston St Merced Heights $575,000 $630,000 15 1455 46th Ave Outer Sunset $565,000 $651,000 30 3232 Noriega St Outer Sunset $675,000 $655,000 53 666 29th Ave Central Richmond $589,000 $666,800 83 159 M... 07/07/2008

By Coach A: Tuesday’s offer Realtors an action packed day. Nearly all the active listings in the city are open for Tuesday Broker’s Tour. The Tour starts in District 8 at 9:00am and runs through District 10 ending at 4pm. It’s not uncommon to preview 20+ houses on any given Tuesday. In my new weekly installment, Schtuff I Saw On Tuesday, I’m going to share with you the best, worst and oddest of each Tuesday. Tuesday July 1st Typically you don’t get much new inventory on the market prior to a holiday weekend and this Tuesday was no great exception. Given that, my trusty business partner and I decided to venture out to find the best food availabe on Broker’s Tour. Some agents choose to cater their 90 minute open house to entice agents to pop in — it works! With that in mind - the best Sch... 07/07/2008

Our weekly installment, Reduction Roundup, will be available for your viewing pleasure each Wednesday. This little gem will bring you some of our favorite price reductions of the week. If you have questions, know of a good reduction that should be featured or want to know about a specific property, just ask… Reduction 6: Address: 149 Topaz Way Why: Has sweeping views, been reduced by $393K, can put in sweat equity and it’s been sitting for 80 days Original Price: $1,688,888 Current Price: $1,295,000   Reduction 7: Address: 2255 North Point Street Why: Because you can have 12 units instead of one. Original Price: $6,699,000 Current Price: $5,998,000 Reduction Roundup [SF Schtuff] make a comment 07/07/2008

 http://nreionline.com/property/multifamily/san_francisco_apartment_market_0116/   Marcus and Millichap, large investment property specialists, tell us that the rental market will only get better for owners and conversely more expensive for renters.  Thanks to a healthy economy and population growth driven by burgeoning professional and business services. Some stats via the National real estate Investor: The market added just 750 multifamily units in 2007 and only 800 additional units expected to deliver in 2008. San Francisco has seen large new condo projects and TIC development, but not much in the way of larger rental units. The rental unit market did not participate in the heady building boom and therefore hasn’t experienced the bust that we see in the home and condo markets. Supply... 07/06/2008

As we walked into the mammoth PCBC (Pacific Coast Builder Conference) at the Moscone Center we couldn't help but notice the hanging banners with the words - Power. Forward. Sustain. Of course we could see Power and Forward, as we wouldn't expect Weakness and Backward but then - Sustain. That omnipresent word like Green that has seeped into the mindset of builders and developers. Or has it? Is it part of the green spin or are things starting to move forward in a powerfully sustainable direction? We decided that "both" loomed as the right answer. For this installment, we decided to cover some of the unexpected and the questionable lower profile "green" products. Sorry about the " " around the green but you'll see where we go with this idea. We totally got buzzed about something so innocuo... 07/04/2008

The media continues to sensationalize and send "doom and gloom" messages about the market.  The fact is, in many areas across the country this is true.  However, San Francisco is a micro-climate of markets.  Some neighborhoods are still experiencing modest and increasing appreciation, while others are not.  The City's "blue chip" neighborhoods are holding values well, especially in the high end arenas.  The price point up to $1M seems to have some sensitivity, perhaps due to more stringent lending practices.  Location is absolutely key now, and respective neighborhoods are performing differently. 07/02/2008

If there is one segment of the San Francisco housing market that has changed or softened in the ‘08, its gotta be the loft market. In years past, developers couldn’t build them fast enough and edgy buyers were pit against each other as they tried to snatch up the hippest, coolest, biggest box they could find and they were willing to pay top dollar for them. Things have changed as lofts sit on the market for longer periods of time (average days on market is 58 so far this year) and there have been fewer transactions (compared to this time last year). There are always exceptions to the rules and 75 Lansing #3 is a perfect example. Personally, one of my favorite lofts in the city, this unit was purchased in April 2006 for $2.8mm. I’m not aware of any major upgrades since the last sale, but... 06/30/2008

Our weekly installment, Seductively Sold, will be available for your viewing pleasure each Monday. This little gem will bring you all of the Condo/Loft sales in San Francisco from the previous week. If you would like the sales information for Single Family Homes or multi-unit buildings, just ask… Address District Asking $ Selling $ D.O.M. 2225 23rd St #403 Potrero Hill $348,000 $340,000 91 172 Jerrold Ave Hunters Point $389,000 $399,000 23 1805 Pine St #25 Lower Pacific Heights $429,000 $439,000 26 1730 Broderick St #12 Lower Pacific Heights $469,000 $459,000 80 88 Townsend St #307 South of Market $498,000 $498,000 110 50 Lansing St #209 South Beach $599,000 $599,000 16 360 Guerrero St #213 Mission Dolores $617,000 $626,000 75 1097 Howard St #302 South of Market $679,000 $628,000 82 22... 06/30/2008