I’ve noticed a recent trend with parents purchasing two-unit buildings as eventual homes for their children. I have had several parents contact me recently with the intention of doing just this. In a city like San Francisco where prices are out of reach for many first time buyers, parents realize that their children may not be able to return to San Francisco and buy their first home. In an effort to make it possible for their children to live back …
Carol Solfanelli | Compass | DRE License # 01347033 |
415-297-7031 | carol.solfanelli@compass.com
2022 Real Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professional
Top 1.5% of 1.6 Million Agents Nationwide
2022 Real Trends America’s Best Real Estate Professional
Top 1.5% of 1.6 Million Agents Nationwide
Blog Posts
Pacific Heights is the first neighborhood I lived in when I moved to San Francisco in 1987. As you can imagine, SF was very different then; it had more of a small town feel. My husband, who is from New York, used to sarcastically call it a “cow town.” I guess compared to Manhattan, it was back then, before it became the sophisticated city it is today. We felt lucky to snag an apartment in Pacific Heights with its proximity …
It’s no secret that inventory is low in San Francisco right now. One reason is that people who would like to downsize (and sell that mansion) after their children go off to school are hesitant to do so. I summarize an article here (cited below) to make people aware of a once in a lifetime tax benefit that could help them downsize. In California, Proposition 13 limited their annual property taxes to 1% of the sales price of their property, …
I live in San Francisco which was scheduled to have an eclipse on August 21st with about 76% coverage of the sun. But on the actual day, it was too foggy to see anything, at least where I live. It never occurred to my husband or me to drive or fly anywhere to see the total eclipse. However, after talking to four people I know who did just that, I may be following their lead the next time it comes …
Great customer service is something I am passionate about! I love taking someone through the process of listing their home or helping them find a property to buy in the city. And if a former client calls me up and needs anything at all, I am happy to help that client in any way I can. Not everyone is so customer service-oriented. More than a week ago, I called someone at a roofing company so I could make an appointment …
I recently represented a couple who bought a two bedroom condo in the newly built 1450 Franklin. They had been looking for quite a long time, not happy with the options that had come on the market. In fact, they were so frustrated that they stopped looking for a year and then earlier this year started looking again. What they saw in the Franklin Street building was an opportunity to have their daughter live in a brand new condo with …
St. Francis Wood is a neighborhood with a formal upscale feel to it, with larger than average sized tree-strewn lots and spacious traditional homes to go with them. It is in the eastern part of San Francisco, bordered by West Portal to the north and west, Balboa Terrace to the south, and the neighborhoods of Sherwood Forest and Monterey Heights to the east. This neighborhood is one of the country’s most successful examples of a City Beautiful “garden suburb.” For …
I saw this sign – “No Peddlers or Agents Allowed” – on the gate of a home in Presidio Heights recently. Are you talking to me? Is this how far down we agents have gone in the esteem of our fellow citizens? Personally, I have never had a real estate agent come to my door and though I realize some agents “door knock,” it is an infinitesimal amount since most agents just don’t want to. And I wonder: when the …
In March of this year, I listed a tenant-occupied property at 898 Carolina Street for $1,595,000. It closed recently. It was a Victorian two-unit property with downtown and Twin Peaks views at the top of the hill at Carolina Street in Potrero Hill. It had great development potential and an upside in rents but needed some work. The lucky buyer who prevailed beat out 6 other offers in a multiple offer situation. It sold for more than $400,000 over the …
This week on Broker’s Tour, I toured Mission Terrace, a neighborhood I wrote a post about back in 2013. At the time, it seemed like one of the few neighborhoods that young couples could buy a move-in ready home for under $800,000. When I walked into a home there this week which was listed for $799,000, it was far from “move-in” ready. It was more of a “fixer.” In the earlier 2013 post, I had discussed the fact that clients …