THE DEER IN HEADLIGHT SYNDROME

You probably have had the experience driving through the woods in the dark when a deer was crossing the road.
Rather than getting the heck out of there, it freezes in the middle of the road and stares at the light. It is immobilized because of what it thinks might happen.
Luckily I have always been able to stop, turn off the light and let the deer slowly scamper off to the safety of the forest.
Something like it is happening in the real estate market.
Times are so unusual right now that many people are like the deer in the headlight, unsure of how to move forward.
But times like these provide the perfect opportunity to buy a nice home.
There is more housing inventory on the market. There are more houses to buy. Sellers are working with Buyers to create win-win purchasing situations. Interest rates are low. Inspectors have time. Realtors have patience.
It is ideal.
The market will pick up again. It always does and then people think:
I wish I had gone ahead when the market was slow.
We can’t call the top and the bottom of any market.
But every time the waters are swirling it is easier to catch the fish☺.
If you want to buy a home, now is a great time.

Zuckerberg impresses me

I love Facebook.
It has opened up the world to me. I have friends all over.
The people on Facebook provide news that the main stream media often does not report.
There are perspectives from all different kinds of people about interesting subjects and breakthroughs.
And it is hilarious to follow rants that people in real life would never say to each other.
Just to achieve this kind of communication between millions of people is impressive in itself.
Now Zuckerberg is part of a satellite launching so that unconnected residents of Africa can participate. That is cool.
He had a meeting with the pope discussing how to use communication technology to help alleviate poverty on the planet. Who knows. We might achieve a breakthrough around poverty in the world with communication.
And we have gotten lots of money for the San Francisco General Hospital. All good.
And he moved to my neighborhood.
I like Zuckerberg’s direction.

love our neighborhoods

I have been picking up a lot of garbage on our streets. Whole editions of Sunday papers are blowing down the street. Leaves are swirling on the sidewalks for weeks as if they were there to fertilize, except cement does not need fertilizing. Coffee cups are rolling down gutters. Food wrappers are discarded nilly willy. The neighbors around parks are watching the parks drown in garbage every weekend. Partiers are expecting their mommies come by to pick up after them. What is going on? Isn’t keeping our neighborhoods nice and picked up also part of the share economy? If something falls down it needs to get picked up. Our neighborhoods are our responsibility. No mommy is coming by and pick up after people. We are grown and have to take responsibility for our environment. If you love your neighborhood, help pick up the garbage.

Let’s Keep San Francisco Beautiful

We are riding the roller coaster again

Where is the real estate market going to go? Up, down, sideways?

Sideways it is for now.
But stand on my shoulders on this.

In my 28 years in the real estate business I have never seen anyone guessing the top and the bottom accurately.
I bought my home in 1994. Nobody knew it was the bottom. Times were tough with no end in sight.
I bought the property I could with the money and qualifications I had. 
22 years later I look like a genius.
But that’s not how it goes in real life.
The best way is to buy a home at the time you can afford it for the price you can 
afford and the money the bank will lend you.
Then live a life you love in the home where you can fulfill your dreams and where
 you can be as creative, loving and self-expressed as possible.
For me homeownership is freedom.
It is between you and the bank unless you are lucky enough to pay cash.
Pay your mortgage, your property taxes and your insurance and enjoy life the way you want without worrying about circumstances that might come up in a rental beyond your control.
It is fun to own your own place and it is empowering.

THE BEST SHOPPING STREETS IN SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco has great neighborhood shopping streets in addition to the malls and Union Square. There are shops for every taste and inclination.
Hayes Valley is thriving with lots of stylish little unique clothing and shoe boutiques, bustling restaurants and cafes and not to forget, Blue Bottle where you can enjoy your freshly brewed while hanging out with your friends. Hayes Valley is one of the more recent additions to our neighborhood social scenes. The Octavia Street corridor is always busy with people enjoying the outdoors.

Valencia Street is a favorite shopping street where goth is vying with cute hipster clothing, jewelry and trendy furniture, art galleries cafes, bookstores, bars and ethnic restaurants. The restaurant scene is slowly pushing its way to Mission Street where there are already wildly popular eateries and further down even a bowling alley and live music venues.

Upper Fillmore is an upscale shopping street where Liz Claiborne is a popular store next to Athleta and other brand-name clothing lines. There is Starbucks, Peets and several great restaurants as well as high-end consignment stores, a neighborhood movie theatre and a veterinary clinic.

Upper Haight Street has the hippie and hard rock clothing stores interspersed with a couple of chain stores, Goodwill and Whole Foods, music stores and other items not found anywhere else. There are casual restaurants with a café here and there.

Union Street, the high end Pacific Heights shopping street extends also along Fillmore Street down to Chestnut Street. There are popular restaurants at the high price point, a variety of different stores with work-out clothes, leather jackets, business and business casual outfits and bedding. There is a health food store, several hair salons and spas, Starbucks and a yogurt place.

24^th Street in Noe Valley has several children’s clothing/toy stores reflecting the many young couples with children who live in the neighborhood. There is a Whole Foods store, some restaurants, a bagel place and a few small eclectic storefronts. It is a neighborhood gathering place that even has a Farmer’s Market and a small 24 hour fitness club.

Castro and 18^th caters to a large gay men’s population. There are some fashionable men’s clothing stores, several banks and  busy bars and restaurants with a lively nightlife. Walgreens and a hardware store are anchor tenants and Mollie Stone feeds many. The restaurants, bars and cute stores also wind down Market Street with several fitness clubs and stores not to be found in other parts of town.

24^th Street in the Mission is in a transition where mom and pop bakeries, grocery stores and taco places still remind of the old Mission before it became trendy.

Cortland Avenue has a nice health food store, some restaurants and local bars and little stores as well as a couple of popular cafes. The library and a church as well as a neighborhood center are in the center of the street which like Bernal Heights has retained its close-knit neighborhood character.

8 ACTION STEPS FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS

1)   FIND A TRUSTED AND EXPERIENCED REALTOR WHO WILL ADVISE YOU ABOUT THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE POINTS OF EVERY HOME YOU ARE CONSIDERING

2)   GET PRE-APPROVED BY A LOCAL LENDER:
•  ASSEMBLE 2 YEAR TAX RETURNS
•  3 MONTHS BANK STATEMENTS
•  3 PAYSTUBS OR YEAR TO DATE P&L

3)   MAKE TIME TO GO ON HOME TOURS WITH YOUR REALTOR. YOUR SUNDAY AFTERNOONS MIGHT BE
BUSY FOR A WHILE

4)   YOUR REALTOR WILL SEND YOU NEW LISTINGS AS THEY COME ON THE MARKET. LOOK AT THEM. OVER TIME THEY WILL GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW

5)   BE READY TO MAKE AN OFFER ONCE
YOU FIND A HOME YOU LOVE

6)   LISTEN TO THE COACHING OF YOUR REALTOR ABOUT MAKING YOUR OFFER

7)   BE HAPPY WHEN YOU GET AN ACCEPTED OFFER.
THE JITTERS ARE PART OF THE PROCESS.

8)   LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE IN YOUR NEW HOME