Homeowners age 55 and over have a lot more options when it comes to transferring the tax base of their principal residence to a new home.
Prop 19 prevailed in our recent election, and will let these homeowners move anywhere within California and still retain their original tax base. This benefit was previously limited to a few California “reciprocal” counties, as well as the county in which you were selling. Continue Reading
In a city as dense as San Francisco, it’s important for buyers and sellers to consider the “neighbor factor.”
My clients visited an open house recently that I recommended they see, with a heads up that the property next door was a bit of an issue. The single-family home they saw was well appointed, renovated, and on a lovely block. They loved the floor plan and overall space. The garden was cute and private. They basically liked everything about it—except for the hoarder house next door whose yard looked like the dump. They decided to pass. Continue Reading
If you’re about to list your San Francisco home, you should know that there are pretty much two ways the offer situation will go. If one or more buyers are going to write offers for more than asking, those offers will transpire within the first week. After that, it’s likely buyers will write for at or below asking. Continue Reading
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s legislation to extend the deadline for Tier IV buildings to September 15, 2021, as reported by The San Francisco Chronicle.
The city enacted its soft-story retrofit program back in 2013, which required that buildings with five or more units over a garage or commercial space retrofit their structures. Flash forward seven years and most of the 115,000 affected building owners have completed the work. The Tier IV group is the last one that remains—425 buildings which have ground floor commercial space. Of those, 41% still need to complete the work.
Good news for Tier IV building owners, as corona has particularly challenged retail and commercial space. Giving these building owners an extra year to sort things out was the right thing to do.
There’s one way to increase your chances of maxing out the sale price of your home: Look as good as your comps.
The San Francisco market—particularly for single-family homes—has held up during corona. Many home sellers have walked away with solid net proceeds, often amidst multiple offers.
But that doesn’t just automatically happen. The tricky part is that buyers have one eye on their dream home, and the other on the economy. So sellers have to do their part by making their home as appealing as possible. Continue Reading
We live with the threat of “the big one” on the horizon, so it’s always a good time to revisit how prepared you are for an earthquake. Though a huge shaker will cause inevitable damage, there are a few fundamental things—some more expensive than others—you can do as a homeowner to minimize damage that can happen in a large earthquake. Continue Reading
Everyone’s making big decisions these days when it comes to their lifestyles and where they want to live. If you’re a San Francisco homeowner who’s considering selling, you first need to strategize about where you’re going—and how you’ll make that happen.
Major transitions like moves need a plan. So here are my tips that will help you get your plan in order:
1. Decide where you’ll be going. The most common motivations for moving out of the city are connected to jobs, relationships, kids’ schools, family proximity, or lifestyle improvements (finances and/or surroundings). Whatever your reason, you need to be solid on where you want to go, which means doing your research if you aren’t familiar with certain locations you’re considering. This involves visiting potential areas (via Google Maps/Earth if you don’t want to fly around right now), and checking out home prices and the local market. Get a sense for values and how long it will take to purchase your next home. Continue Reading
Up for a vote this November 3rd: Prop 19, which includes proposed changes to the property tax base transfer rules.
This ballot measure would let homeowners who are 55 or older transfer their property tax base to anywhere in California, for a more expensive home if need be. Eligible homeowners would also be able to make this transfer up to three times. Continue Reading
We seem to be in another corona surge period, with San Francisco treading water when it comes to hospitalizations and rising infection rates. That’s why it’s extremely important for agents and clients to continue following correct property showing protocols when it comes to real estate business.
Listing agents, please make sure you have hand sanitizer and shoe covers in the property if you are allowing showings. It is not particularly encouraging when I bring clients to a property via lockbox, and find a sign requesting that we take our shoes off when there are no shoe covers in sight. And no hand sanitizer. Sticking a lockbox on the house and assuring me that I am scheduled for the showing isn’t convincing me that you’re handling things the proper way. Yes, I bring hand sanitizer with me, but please do your part to assure everyone’s safety.
And please resist the urge to put an A frame outside the property during an appointment timeframe. My clients and I arrive at a home and the anxiety level goes up if we think there’s a possibility random people off the street may be inside. If you have to market yourself, the house sign will be sufficient. Continue Reading
You’ve been sheltering in place in San Francisco since mid March, and realizing that there are random things you really should address before they all add up and totally disgust you. There are a handful of things you can do to better clean and maintain your house, and that will make you happier at a time when we can all use a dose of positivity.
I was inspired to write this post while I washed my bedroom windows last week. The rooms were brighter afterward, and my reaction was similar to those of the homeowners for whom I’ve managed pre-sale prep work. (“We should have done this ourselves a long time ago! It looks so much better in here!”)
Here are my household tips for cleaning and maintenance. Doing any one of these things will make you feel more productive and satisfied living in your home:
Clean
1. Wash the windows. This includes interior and exterior panes, removing and wiping down screens, and washing the frame and sill around the windows. If you’re in a position to do this yourself, you can find a window cleaning kit at Lowe’s. Or you can contact my favorite cleaning company, Xavier, and schedule a time for Jezer to stop by to provide an estimate. And if you really want to go the extra mile, have those torn screen replaced within their frames at your local hardware store (or patch them yourself.) Continue Reading
Virtual staging grew in popularity after the San Francisco shelter in place (SIP) began in mid March. Buyers couldn’t physically get into properties for about two or three weeks, and listing agents had to quickly adapt to include virtual marketing pieces like 3D tours and photo galleries showing furniture in rooms that were technically empty. Stagers weren’t able to do their jobs, so staging wasn’t an option.
But now that we can physically show property and stagers are working again, it’s become obvious to me that virtual staging can only take sellers’ marketing so far. Sure, virtual staging is a lot less expensive for sellers than the real thing. Agents generally pay for the virtual staging on a per photo basis, so sellers avoid paying thousands of dollars for actual staging. Continue Reading
It’s been almost a month since The Bay Area shelter in place (SIP) went into effect. The good news is that our collective efforts appear to be bending the curve in California, according to Governor Newsom’s address yesterday. And talk in San Francisco Realtor circles is turning to how we should initially begin reopening real estate after the government lifts the SIP. Continue Reading
I attended my first virtual open house this past weekend, and decided that it was an excellent addition to the marketing mix when it comes to “viewing” a home during the shelter in place (SIP). We’re very limited these days when it comes to physical property showings, so it’s key for listing agents to think outside the box.
My Corcoran Global Living colleagues, Amy Clemens and Alec Mironov, pulled together a helpful virtual open house this weekend. They launched their Glen Park single-family home listing last week at 31 Fairmount, and sent out an e-flyer promoting the listing and their Saturday virtual open from 10:00-12:00. I clicked on the scheduling link, requested my 20-minute time slot and received a Google Hangouts invitation. Continue Reading
It’s not a great time to put a listing on the market, but some homeowners may need to do just that. Unexpected life or financial changes sometimes propel a home sale. If you’re about to take the plunge during the shelter in place (SIP), it’s important that you understand the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) options so you can decide the best way to market your home or handle any complications that may arise during what are very uncertain times.
Here’s a breakdown of the different types of MLS listings so you can figure out what strategy will be best for your property:
Active: When an agent inputs a property in the MLS, it typically becomes an “active” listing and is also published to syndicated sites such as Redfin, Zillow, Realtor.com and others. However, this may not be the best route to go during the SIP. An active listing immediately starts the clock ticking on an important metric—“days on market” (DOM). Agents and buyers consider the DOM when they’re discussing how much to offer. A home with a long DOM indicates a lack of interest, and discourages buyers from offering more over asking (or even list price). Of course, DOM during a SIP has more to do with the interruption in the normal course of business than a lack of interest. But be aware that there are currently more than 400 active residential listings in the MLS, and many of them are gathering dust. Continue Reading
We’re all easing into the new normal—limiting trips outdoors to essential activities like gathering groceries and exercising, videoconferencing with family, friends and co-workers, and catching up on sub-par Netflix shows.
Guidelines for citizen conduct haven’t changed since the our shelter in place (SIP) began one week ago on March 16th, nor have the recommendations for real estate agents set forth by our local San Francisco Realtor Association. I’ve spoken with a number of my colleagues, and we are all heading into Week Two wondering if there is anything we can do with respect to helping our clients and generally doing business.
Here’s an overview of market conditions, and what you can do as a buyer and seller in Week 2: Continue Reading
415.823.4656
eileen@insidesfre.comDRE# 01352627
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