As real estate agents representing buyers of condos, stock cooperatives, tenancy-in-common shares, or similar properties, we have a duty to help our clients understand the obligations, assumptions, and health of the governing body, typically called the homeowner’s association (HOA). Reviewing the hundreds of pages of documents given to buyers during due diligence can be overwhelming and […]

Meet the Interior Bedroom It’s pretty well known that real estate professionals; developers, builders, and agents can be optimistic and exuberant when marketing their properties. A layout I’d never seen in two decades debuted around 2015 at The Rockwell, a condo building in Lower Pacific Heights. Residence 901 was the first two-bedroom layout I’d seen […]

… in this case, sometimes both things can be true! In the Bay Area, gates and barriers protecting the entrances to our homes and condominiums are necessary and sometimes frustrating parts of daily life. Keeping doorways and entrance areas safe for public egress, and making sure Amazon and other packages have a safe place to […]

Everyone has been asking me what’s up with the market, will SF and bay area housing prices drop? While I have no crystal ball, this is what I know: Real estate is exceptional (unlike other goods), and real estate stats eventually reduce to the three basics of  how many, how much, and how long: How […]

From venetians to victorians, terrazzo tile has been in and out of style more times than San Francisco has foggy days and bad press on Fox-aganda “news”. What is Terrazzo? Terrazzo tile is a low-maintenance material that is: A composite made from types of stone such as marble, granite, quartz, glass, and more… Held together […]

There are many factors to consider when you buy a house. Price…location…school district…type of loan…  One more issue you’ll want to understand before you buy in California: Mello Roos. Understanding Mello Roos is critical if you’re new to the area, and come from a part of the country that doesn’t have the same kinds of rules, […]

<This blog is another in our “How To Buy A Home” blog series.> An Escrow Is A Present Underneath the Christmas Tree Escrow is something given by one person and intended for another, set aside or held by a third party until certain conditions are satisfied. That’s like a Christmas gift underneath a tree that […]

Anywhere you can afford it. The end.  And we are not being facetious. The number one mistake first time home buyers tell me they have made is that instead of buying something they could afford, they held out for something they thought was financially out of reach and therefore never bought anything. They never realized […]

What Exactly Is a Condominium Anyway?  Strictly defined a condominium (condo) is a privately owned individual unit within a community of other units. In general, the owner usually owns the interior of their condo from the walls in. Owners also jointly own shared common areas within the community, such as pools, garages, elevators, and outside […]

The What Earthquakes!!! Earthquake insurance is available in California, and it is not required for any purchaser of a single family or residential home in San Francisco. The policies are often described as expensive (they are) and they are also generally written with a high deductible (20%-ish is common). Earthquakes are (for a human lifespan) […]

What is up with the San Francisco real estate market? It’s a question I get asked a lot. Now that in-person broker’s tour is back in San Francisco, it’s a great chance to keep up with inventory and chat with other agents. Real estate agents were the original social media network. But I digress. A […]

To get a glimpse into the challenges the issues of planning and development in San Francisco, and why there aren’t enough high-rises to accommodate our population, we need only turn the clock back to about 1960…