Update on San Francisco New Developments

One of the apparently stalled development projects at a former gas station in the Castro at Market and Sanchez streets has been used to sell Christmas trees during the holidays.

The economic mess that has crippled the nation’s banking institutions is claiming another victim: residential development projects near San Francisco’s gay Castro District.

Up to a dozen parcels along upper Market Street are slated for new housing construction in the city’s LGBT neighborhood. The mixture of market-rate condos, rental units, and affordable housing is desperately needed by residents currently priced out of the area and business owners anxious to see an influx of shoppers to help offset a drop-off in sales. (to read more about this article eBar.com)

For more informaion on new developments in San Francisco contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

 

Update on the Transbay District and Terminal

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Transbay district evolving

The calm isn’t the result of economic ills, say the bureaucrats and architects focused on an area that 20 years ago was defined mainly by freeway ramps. There’s ample work going on – but it’s the sort that takes place in offices and hearing rooms, involving computers rather than cranes.

“Everyone wants to make this happen,” said John Rahaim, the city’s planning director. “We’re full speed ahead.”

The low-profile planning is a contrast to the sporadic drama of the past two years. (read more on SFGate.com)

If you needed more information on this article contact James Aduna or jaduna@ubayp.com

 

The Downturn of San Francisco Real Estate

San Francisco’s real estate industry might be happier to bid farewell to this year if next year offered the hope of anything better. It doesn’t.

Instead, executives at the helms of the city’s biggest brokerages say they’re preparing for an unpleasant and unprofitable 2009, although it may turn out to be the best year that buyers have seen in more than a decade.

“When we get to the end of 2009, I’ll have a smile on my face,” said Bill Drypolcher, owner and founder of San Francisco’s Zephyr Real Estate. “I don’t know if I’ll have any money in my pocket, but I’ll have a smile on my face.” (read the entire arcitle at SfGate.com)

For more inforation on this artilce or the San Francisco market contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

 

Finsished Basement or Not??

Finished Basements: Letting Someone Else Do All the Work

Having a basement is almost always a customary amenity in most of the country. Even where it is not the standard, such as in Texas, you will occasionally find a home with a basement. Most newly built construction comes with the basement unfinished, and in some instances it stays that way for the life of the home. If you have an unfinished area downstairs, you might be considering whether to finish it. After all, it adds a lot of useful space. On the other hand, if you are buying a home, you might be tempted to think you can save yourself expense by buying unfinished and doing the work yourself. We’ll take a critical look at that scenario.

One consideration is that the job of finishing a basement can turn out to be surprisingly expensive. You are not very likely to recoup the money you spent when you sell the real estate. In fact, the money spent on finishing a basement (national average figures) will only get you about 75% return on the dollar on resale. In other words, you’ll probably lose money by buying a house with an unfinished basement and finishing it later.

The way it turns out, then, is that it’s good to look for a home that already has the finishing work all done. It’s the opposite side of the proposition that says it doesn’t pay for the seller to spend that money on the job. When you have the advantage of being the buyer, you are the one getting the bargain.

In addition to the likelihood of saving yourself time and expense, which are pretty strong considerations in and of themselves, there are other reasons for choosing a home with a finished basement. Basements that are not in use tend to get damp and moldy. They can turn into very unpleasant places. Putting the space into regular use, which involves making sure the environmental and drainage systems are up to par, tends to mitigate that problem. Another factor in favor of using the space is that basements below ground level are usually naturally temperature controlled. They tend to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, which means that you’ll spend less on heating and air conditioning if you spend time downstairs.

A finished basement provides more living space to the home. Gone are the days when basements were only places for storage of unused items. A nicely finished basement can provide space for more bedrooms, a rec room, a hobby room, a large living room, or just about anything. Another potential advantage of having a usable basement is that, if need be, it can be used as an apartment or suite for an older family member or for an adult child who has returned home.

So when you buy your next piece of real estate, do yourself a favor and look for a home with a finished basement. Let someone else do all the work and you will come out ahead on the situation.

For more information on this article or San Francisco Real Estate contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

Article provided courtesy of Automated Homefinder, the Longmont real estate specialists of Colorado.

 

Modify your mortgage and what is the federal government doing about it?!

The Mortgage Crisis:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Bush administration on Tuesday unveiled a new program to modify mortgages and stabilize the battered real estate market, but the plan stops short of providing direct government financial help to at-risk homeowners.

The plan centers on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which between them own or back about 31 million mortgages worth a combined $5 trillion. The federal government took over the firms in September due to mounting losses on their portfolios of mortgages. (click this link for the complete story at CNNMoney.com)

For more information on this article or San Francisco real estate contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

 

How to paint your home to help sell your property…

Old Paint and Buying or Selling Property

Even though lead-based paint no longer in use, it remains a very real issue for both homeowners and real estate agents. In the early 1990s, a law referred to as the Housing and Community Development Act made it so that the seller had to disclose existing lead-based paint hazards to the purchaser of a home at the time of sale. Lead was used as a paint additive for over 120 years before it was linked to health problems in approximately 1978. That year, the decision was made that lead would not be allowed to be put in paint as an additive any longer. It took until 1992 before the law caught up and did anything about the problem of paint that had already been applied in homes built before 1978; even then, it was only to require a disclosure that lead paint may have been used.

How Can Lead Paint Be Harmful?
The specific hazard is lead poisoning. Young children, especially those under six, are at the highest risk of developing lead poisoning from lead paint because growing bodies absorb whatever mineral substances they touch, taste or eat, whether it is much needed calcium or toxic lead. High levels of lead can cause brain damage, behavioral problems, hearing difficulties, and can seriously damage the nervous system. These problems can occur in both adults and children, but as an added factor in children, it can cause impairment of growth.

Any home built before 1978 that has cracked, peeling, or chipped paint should be considered to be a potential hazard. It should be removed or painted over with a modern paint as a high priority. If lead paint was used around window or door frames, the process of opening and closing these things may be generating a surprisingly large amount of dust containing lead. Lead dust is potentially toxic and can be difficult to get rid of. Vacuuming and sweeping can cause it to reenter the air and it will be stirred up whenever you take a step within the home.

Does Your Home Have a Lead Paint Problem?

In order to determine whether or not your home has a lead paint problem, if your home was built prior to the 1978 ban of lead paint, the best course of action is to get a paint inspection conducted by a trained professional. That will let the homeowner know the lead content of every painted surface and will reveal any areas of exposure.

Even though there are test kits available commercially that allow homeowners to run the testing themselves, the EPA recommends a professional inspection to discover problems that may be missed by an untrained person. In some states there are rigorous rules and regulations about ameliorating of a lead paint problem, and professional inspectors will be able to advise the homeowner what is needed and let them know what to do about the process of removing lead paint .

For more information on this article or San Francisco housing market contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

This information was provided by your Colorado homespecialists at Automated Homefinder.

 

Home Improvment Dollars. Where should it go?

Be Careful With That Home Improvement Dollar

Are you a homeowner? If you are, and you have been for long enough to be settled in, you are probably thinking of remodeling. If you are planning to sell, it could very well be the right time to do some remodeling, to increase the appeal of the home. Of course, homeowners will try to get the most attractive changes done at the lowest possible outlay. Saving money is an important consideration for most homeowners, but that does not mean you want a cheap looking result.

Owning a home is a business with high stakes, and if you don’t do things right, you could over-invest. A remodeling project could be for one room, the outside, or the whole house. Finding a legitimate professional is necessary to get a quality job accomplished at the right price. The importance of choosing the right service firm deserves your attention.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that homeowners should be aware of the scams of so-called contractors, architects, and designers. The FTC lists these signals that your hired help may be dishonest:

* Has to get you to obtain the building permits yourself
* Pushes for an immediate decision
* Has extra materials left from another job
* Wants all the money up front
* Will accept only cash payments
* Offers a discounted price for referring customers

Those are signs that you should walk away and find a legitimate contractor. Sometimes a bad contractor will try to get you to borrow from a lender that they recommend. At the extreme end of the possible ways things could turn bad, a home improvement loan scam could literally leave you out in the cold.

Protective Steps to Take
Here are several things you should do to avoid being taken advantage of. Interview potential contractors rigorously. Ask about the length of time they have been doing business, license details, and insurance. Check with the city permit office to find out about pertinent permit laws. Ask around. These things are just like the normal things you have to do for any big purchase.

Another very important suggestion is to ask for references. You should not only get a list, but you should call and follow up on them. Ask them about the quality of the job. This is your best chance to get the real story.

Terms and conditions of payment must be clear before they start. Some local laws set limits on how much higher the actual cost can be in relation to the estimated total. Check into the laws in your area.

For more information on improving your home and contractor referrals contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

Article presented by Automated Homefinder, the Colorado Denver real estate professionals.

 

Home Warranties

Home Warranties: What Are They and How Can They Help You Sell Your Home?

Many homeowners seem to think that having a home warranty is a good idea but most do without it. When it comes time to sell, however, the situation changes and having such a policy may have added advantages. In this article we cover some of the reasons for this being the case.

OK, So What Is a Home Warranty?
A home warranty is a policy that provides coverage for all the repairs or replacements of any appliances or major systems in the home, such as cooktop, ducts, oven, dishwasher, and related items. Coverage may also include items such as the central air conditioning and washer and dryer if they are specifically listed. This is similar to the homeowner insurance but while homeowner policies give coverage against risk of damage to the building and the property contained within that are caused by factors, or events such as theft, the home warranty covers failure of systems and appliances installed in the house.

Homeowners who have a home warranty are protected from having to pay the cost of repairs if any of the systems or appliances in the house fail. There will be only a small service fee involved when the repair person makes a call. These payments, which are set forth in the contract, are negligible when you compare them with the costs one would face if the system or appliance would have to be replaced.

One good thing about getting a home warranty is that it is fairly easy to get. In some cases, a home inspection might even be waived as not needed prior to coverage, though normally this is the practice. The contract would state which items are included in the coverage and which are not.

You will need to decide on a length of coverage you are willing to sign up. There are policies that last a year and there are longer period home warranty policies up to lifetime. In general, as is often the case, having a longer period will give a lower annual fee.

How Can a Home Warranty Be a Benefit When You Sell Your Home?
Buyers feel reassured when they find the seller has provided a home warranty because their property would be protected. This would sweeten the deal.

The home warranty comes with various features and you will find a range of quotes from different providers. In order to get the best deal, you really should investigate several sources.

In summary, having a home warranty is an attractive advantage for a buyer. If you are the seller, providing a home warranty gives that advantage to you, for a win-win situation.

For more information on how Home Warranties can help you sell your home contact James Aduna 415.901.2797 or jaduna@ubayp.com

Article made available by Automated Homefinder, Colorado’s Denver home professionals.

 

Sharp drop on the 30 year mortgage…

Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply last week, falling to the lowest level in five weeks.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.04 percent last week, down from 6.46 percent the previous week. The sharp decline pushed 30-year rates down to the lowest level since they stood at 5.78 percent the week of Sept. 18.

Analysts attributed the decrease to an easing of inflation concerns that now have been replaced with rising worries that the country could be headed for a prolonged recession. Interest rates generally fall in periods of economic weakness.

Rates on 30-year mortgages hit a high for the year of 6.63 percent in late July and then dropped to a seven-month low of 5.78 percent the week of Sept. 18.

According to the Freddie Mac survey, rates on other types of mortgages were mixed last week.

Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 5.72 percent from 6.14 percent while rates on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 6.06 percent from 6.14 percent. But rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 5.23 percent from 5.16 percent.

The mortgage rates do not include points. The nationwide fee for 30-year, 15-year and five-year mortgages averaged 0.6 of a point. One-year mortgages averaged 0.5 of a point.

A year ago, the nationwide average rate on 30-year mortgages stood at 6.33 percent, 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.99 percent, five-year adjustable-rate mortgages were at 6.03 percent and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages stood at 5.66 percent.

 

This article appeared on page K – 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle

For more information on today’s real estate market contact James Aduna or jaduna@ubayp.com

 

Mission Bay…a place to live, play and work!

Sometimes it’s hard to separate the identity of a San Francisco neighborhood from its park. After all, what would the Mission District be without Dolores Park, or North Beach without Washington Square?

As San Francisco’s newest neighborhood, Mission Bay, continues to grow, it is also beginning to find its unique personality. Neighbors say an intricate part of that process has been the opening of new parks in the area – additions that come even as the city faces increasingly difficult financial times.

These new, impeccably maintained parks are there because of a unique funding mechanism that allows the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency to tie the construction of new open spaces to anticipated development, and to pay for those new parks by borrowing against future property taxes. Also, the agency created the plan for these parks – including picking their locations and mandating how many total acres should be dedicated to open space – as part of the original planning process, instead of as an afterthought.

The development comes as the city’s Recreation and Park Department, and other park agencies across the nation, struggle to maintain sites that already exist, said Isabel Wade, director of the Neighborhood Parks Council, an advocacy group. (read the complete article SFGate.com)

For more information about living in Mission Bay contactJames Aduna or jaduna@ubayp.com