Recently, I was thinking about how to get clients into the places they want which are often over their price range. For most people, not having parking is a deal breaker. But, for those who don’t have oodles of money and want that perfect place, they may take advantage of the opportunity that listings which advertise “no parking” can provide. Typically, these properties are less expensive than those with parking and stay on the market longer which improves the ability to negotiate price.
My husband and I have lived in SF for almost 30 years and have never had a garage to park our cars or motorcycle (in our earlier days). The condo we bought in Noe Valley and the two unit building we bought in Presidio Heights did not have parking. If they had had parking, we would not have been able to afford either property. We fell in love with each of these properties. Although we would have preferred to have parking, in the end, we got what we wanted in terms of style, amenities and location at what we could afford.
Not having parking means parking on the street with an annual residential parking sticker which costs $127 for a car and $95 for a motorcycle, not bad for entitling one to park year round. Some neighborhoods are better than others for parking on the street. Honestly, I would not want to live in some places in Russian Hill or Nob Hill without parking. That being said, there are buying opportunities out there if you keep your eyes open and can be flexible about parking.
