In the middle of this crazy SF market, over the last six months I worked with a nice couple and their two children who were looking for their dream home – a 4-bedroom home on the west side of the city, mostly in the Sunset and the Parkside. But as they looked, even with a healthy budget of $2M, they thought that this was not likely to happen so they started to focus on 3-bedroom homes.
However, even then many of the homes they saw that called themselves 3-bedroom had unpermitted third bedrooms, essentially making them 2 bedrooms with what is called a bonus room. What that means is that the room may not meet important legal requirements of a bedroom such as minimum size, or having a window to the outside or a door to a hallway. What that also means is that they cannot legally advertise it as a 3-bedroom, though obviously some do. As an attorney who is always looking out for my clients, that kind of thing really irks me.
Still, they made offers on two different 3-bedroom homes which they didn’t get; both received multiple offers. One went $550,000 over the list price and the other went $700,000 over the list price and understandably, my clients began to get discouraged. I really feel for my buyer clients in this difficult market!
However eventually 2063 20th Avenue came up in their search and they went to see it, a 4-bedroom home which has been renovated throughout with tasteful finishes, and everything done with permits. This was very different from the two homes they had made offers on. Both of those needed extensive work and didn’t have the fourth bedroom they craved for family guests. By this time, they were ready to give it their best shot so they wrote a competitive non-contingent offer and prevailed (see my earlier post that discusses non-contingent offers). I am so happy for them!
I’ve always told my clients that the home they get in the end is usually the best one and is worth the wait. They certainly agree about this one!
