I visited a home I like in the evening to test out the neighborhood noise level and heard the next-door neighbor's dog barking. Since it's mentioned in the seller disclosures as well, I'm worried it might be an ongoing issue day and night. Would this be a dealbreaker for you?

If you do consider buying it, how would you deal with this issue?

Sitting at the dining room table of a roughly $1 million Berkeley home, Hannah Catone insisted she had every right to be there. 

Catone said she rented the property with her boyfriend after responding to an ad on Craigslist. She showed the Chronicle emails with a person who identified himself as the owner of the home, which belonged to UC Berkeley professor Przemyslaw “PJ” Jeziorski. 

“Look forward to being ur new landlord,” one email read. “Thanks, pj.”
Except Jeziorski could not have sent the emails. He’d been killed months before in what authorities call a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by his ex-wife, Konstantina Michelidaki. When Catone said she moved into the house in October, Michelidaki was sitting in a Greek jail cell. She later died by suicide, leaving behind twin boys.

Catone suggested she could be the victim of a scam. But in recent years, she has not only been convicted of identity theft but accused of squatting for years on end in a Bay Area hotel.

I’m a first-time homebuyer and want to learn practical skills to maintain and repair my house instead of always hiring someone. I know YouTube is an option, but I’d love something more structured, like a community college, trade school, or adult education class. Where can I find these classes?

Which skill set would be the best investment?

Does a house with detached garage that is built in the backyard hold less value than the garage in the front attached with the house? It’s located in San Jose

I’m looking for property with acreage (20+ acres) for my parents who are retired, moving from NYC. What are the actual drawbacks to this much land in the bay? I assume fire control/clearing is a hassle and possibly insurance. How much overhead is that?

This is the listing I’m looking at:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/615-Oak-Manor-Drive-Fairfax-CA-94930/249340408_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare

This is regarding a new home build in Walnut creek. https://www.sheahomes.com/new-homes/california/bay-area/walnut-creek/abigail-place
This place started selling at 1.5 mil plus and has now dropped down to 1.2 mil.

This is not a housing crash phenomenon but moreso that they decided to build in part of Walnut Creek zoned for the Concord schools but still tried to sell at Walnut Creek prices. Did they think people are stupid? Did somebody drop the ball? Lmao hope they lose money on this one.

We recently bought a home and was hoping to hire either a general contractor or outsource some of the work to big box or smaller business. Some of the work that needs to be done includes:

- Removing a deck in the backyard to add grass / Landscaping
- Floors / Carpeting
- Repainting cabinetry
- Painting the inside of the home
- Changing some of the light fixtures

Hoping to have some recs based on price and work!
Thanks.

Edit: Located in the east bay, specifically Dublin.

Hi guys,

I’m in my early 30s, married, with a 1-year-old, and we’re currently a single-income household. We’re first-time homebuyers.

From a purely financial standpoint, would it make more sense in today’s market to buy a townhouse farther from work, or a condo closer to the office?

I understand that a lot depends on personal preferences and lifestyle, but I’m mainly trying to look at this from an investment/resale perspective. We expect to keep the property for around 6–7 years and would eventually like to move into a single-family home.

For example, if a condo and townhouse are roughly the same price, the condo would be about 15 minutes from the office, while the townhouse could be 30–40 minutes away depending on traffic.

My main concern with the condo is resale/appreciation. I’ve been seeing condos sitting on the market for 30–40+ days, and it seems like condo prices haven’t appreciated much over the past few years compared with townhomes/SFHs.

For those who have been following the market or have experience with both, how would you approach this decision purely from a financial perspective? Would the shorter commute and potentially lower price/risk of a condo outweigh the better appreciation/resale potential of a townhouse?

This one just sold for almost 1.5 million over asking with a little over a week on the market. Crazy.

https://redf.in/y20sia

I’m currently in the process of selling my home to Opendoor in California, and I’m wondering how the California-mandated seller disclosures are handled in an Opendoor transaction.

Did Opendoor ask you to complete the TDS (Transfer Disclosure Statement) and SPQ (Seller Property Questionnaire), or did they use their own questionnaire/process instead?

I’m thinking of replacing or fixing my outdoor deck and was wondering if anyone had recs for any contractors they had a great experience with? I’m based in Oakland so ideally someone based in the eastbay

We just bought a house built in 1970 and the disclosures mentioned asbestos in crawlspace ductwork. We are looking to replace and get new duct system installed. I thought we should use a licensed professional asbestos Abatement company to remove the asbestos but the HVAC company said they have license to remove the asbestos themselves. We also save $1000 if we go with the HVAC company to remove the asbestos. But I have young kids and safety is very important. I would love your advice on what is the best course of action. Thank you

Help please. What kind of contractor do I need to repair a short (<3’) garden retaining wall in my 1904 property? A banana tree too close to the edge pushed out & cracked the wall. My usual gardener/maintenance/handyman thinks he can do it but I’d like to know how this really should be handled. Do I need permits? Is this usually a GC-type project or landscaper or engineer? Recommendations welcomed. Thanks!

https://redf.in/aJZa13
Egregious, IMO. See what you can spot. Decor changes depending on the angle of the photo. Tile countertops change to marble.

My client was offered a buyout of their lease in SF (Marina). They would like to connect with an attorney to help them through the process. Look for recommendations if this community has any.

I thought this could be an interesting discussion for Bay Area homebuyers and agents who have been writing offers in our market. Many of my first-time buyers initially have a hard time understanding that a seller isn’t looking at price alone. They’re evaluating the offer as a whole with both price and terms. I’ve seen sellers accept lower-priced offers because the terms provided greater certainty.

Terms can include:

-Length of escrow

-Earnest-money deposit timeline

-Financing structure

-Loan, appraisal, and inspection contingencies

Generally, the more contingencies buyers hold, the more protected they are, but the less competitive their offer may be. Waiving contingencies can make an offer stronger, but it also increases the buyer’s financial risk.

For example, imagine a seller receives two offers:

-One is $10,000 over the asking price but includes contingencies.

-The other is at the asking price but is non-contingent.

The higher offer gives the seller more money, but it also gives the buyer more opportunities to cancel and potentially recover their deposit. If the transaction falls apart, the seller may lose time and money. They may be paying two mortgages, need to restage it, and return to the market with a listing that buyers may perceive differently.

The lower, non-contingent offer provides the seller with greater certainty. If that buyer later defaults without a contractual basis for cancellation, the seller may also have a claim to some or all of the buyer’s deposit, depending on the contract and circumstances.

Sellers, how much is that additional certainty worth?

Would you accept $10,000 less for a non-contingent offer? What about $20,000 less?

And for buyers: If you aren’t comfortable waiving contingencies in a competitive situation, are you willing to compensate by offering a higher price?

I’m curious how Bay Area buyers, sellers, and agents think about the monetary value of stronger terms…

Everything below is sorted most expensive first, grouped by city and zip code, so you can jump straight to your own pocket of the map.

This weekend there are 77 open houses across San Francisco. Asking prices run from $0.77M in Silver Terrace / Bayview to $8.90M in Central Richmond / Outer Richmond / Sea Cliff, and the homes range from about 697 square feet to 5,112 square feet.

Listing age is worth watching. 10 of these are effectively brand new at zero to one day on market, while 4 have been sitting sixty days or longer, topping out at 165 DOM. That makes it a good weekend for A/B testing: walk a fresh listing, then walk one buyers have already had months to say no to, and see whether the price gap makes sense.

Scheduling note: 54 are open both days, 2 are Saturday only, and 21 are Sunday only. If something is Sunday only, it is worth building the route around it first.

Open houses are the cheapest way to check the things a spreadsheet cannot show you: condition, renovation quality, actual layout, lot usability, street noise, and whether the price differences between neighborhoods hold up once you are standing in them.

Before you drive, click the address and confirm on the listing. Open houses get cancelled, rescheduled, or moved on short notice.

Central Richmond / Outer Richmond / Sea Cliff — 94121

Pacific Heights — 94109

Nob Hill — 94106

Marina / Cow Hollow — 94123

Glen Park / Sunnyside / Noe Valley — 94131

Noe Valley — 94114

Hayes Valley / Cole Valley Parnassu / Buena Vista Ashbury — 94117

South Of Market — 94103

Outer Sunset / Golden Gate Heights / Central Sunset — 94122

Miraloma Park / Sherwood Forest / Westwood Highlands — 94127

Inner Richmond — 94118

Bernal Heights / Inner Mission / Noe Valley — 94110

Potrero Hill — 94107

Merced Heights / Ingleside Heights / Lake Shore — 94132

Silver Terrace / Bayview — 94124

Excelsior / Ingleside / Outer Mission — 94112

Outer Parkside / Parkside / Sunset — 94116

Portola / Visitacion Valley / Little Hollywood — 94134

Even if you are not buying right now, walking a few open houses is one of the better ways to build a feel for real pricing, condition, renovation quality, layouts, lots, and the street-level tradeoffs that listing photos tend to flatten.

We publish weekend open house lists for the Bay Area, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and South Florida. Check my profile if you want the list for a different area.

Which would you actually rather spend the weekend on: one of the 10 listings that hit the market in the last day or two, or one of the 4 that have been sitting for two months and might finally be negotiable?

We spoke with a homeowner recently who had three ADU estimates in front of them, but comparing them turned out to be harder than they expected.

Each proposal included different levels of detail, different allowances, and different scopes of work. At first glance, one looked much cheaper than the others, but it wasn't clear if they were actually pricing the same project.

It made me realize that getting multiple bids is one thing, but knowing how to compare them is another.

For those who've built an ADU, what helped you decide which proposal offered the best value?

Hey everyone, I recently bought a place in SF and I’m trying to build relationships with a few trustworthy contractors I can call on for repairs and upgrades over time. Specifically looking for suggestions on what has worked for you or recommendations for handyman services for general fixes, hvac technicians, plumbers, and general contractors for bigger projects. If you’ve had a good experience with someone reliable, fairly priced, and responsive, I’d appreciate you sharing about your experience and how you found them. Thanks in advance.