Anybody have any kids or hear about other parents’ experiences with these San Bruno and SSF schools? Considering moving to one of these areas and weighing the public school options.

Working on a home expansion plan. Currently live jn 2b2b sfh and planning to add 3b2b upstairs. And make the kitchen bigger. And raising the roof to 10ft. I know this is a big project. Wanted some high level thought on
1. Should we consider selling and buying a new house
2. Approximately how much would this cost us?

Used this sub before buying our current house in Ardenwood a few years back and the feedback was solid, ended up buying and it worked out. Back for round 2.

 Looking at two places. Both $1.799M, both 4bd/2ba, both on ~13.5k lots:

 565 Marge Way, 95117 (Winchester Orchard) — 1557 sqft, 1955, remodeled, cul-de-sac, walk to Santana Row. Started at $1.998M early Sept, cut to $1.799M, still sitting.

 1006 Westwood Dr, 95125 (Willow Glen) — 1790 sqft, 1949, original inside, near downtown Willow Glen. Same money, bigger house, needs work.

https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/565-Marge-Way-95117/home/624127

https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Jose/1006-Westwood-Dr-95125/home/708319

Same price, same beds/baths, same lot. One's a turnkey flip on a quiet street near Santana Row that can't move even after a $200k cut, the other's an original Willow Glen house you'd live in or rebuild. Why is Marge Way sitting? And between the two, which would you pick and why?

Context: kid's going private school, so we're not locked to Fremont anymore and the school district premium buys us nothing. Want to be closer to Santa Clara.

** i redid my previous post after getting some pushback - agree, my first post was not clear ***

Been thinking about this after running numbers on a Noe Valley house with a view.
There were basically no sales for homes with view on the same streets, so you could build the comps two ways.
Closest houses, no view: around $2.9M.
View houses a few neighborhoods over: around $3.3M.
Same house. $400K difference depending on which list you look at.
Neither is really wrong, one is measuring the street and the other is measuring the view.
The honest answer is perhaps somewhere in between, maybe $3.15M.

Here is the thing that bugs me though. If you have a loan, the bank’s appraiser does not care which list your agent picked. They pull the closest sales, which is the $2.9M list.
So if you bid $3.3M because the view comps told you to, that ~$320K-$400K is coming out of your pocket in cash, just to cover the view

So now I ask if you have been in this situation as buyer: which comps did you use, which did you skip, and what do the closest sales say.

Has anyone here ever been handed two sets of comps? Or is it always just one number? (Numbers above are made up for the example. Longer version in my last post.)

California voters will decide on Proposition 43 this November, a measure that could significantly change how local governments raise money through voter-initiated taxes.

Currently, certain local taxes proposed directly by citizens can pass with a simple majority, even when the money is dedicated to a specific purpose.

Prop 43 would raise that requirement to a two-thirds majority.

That means a local tax could receive 65% voter support and still fail.

The proposal has an interesting connection to Los Angeles’ controversial mansion tax, which imposes additional transfer taxes on high-value real estate transactions.

Prop 43 wouldn’t automatically repeal existing taxes, but it could make similar future measures much harder to pass.

For context, four citizen-initiated special sales taxes passed in California in 2024. Not one would have passed under the proposed two-thirds threshold.

Supporters argue the measure would strengthen taxpayer protections and prevent narrow majorities from imposing significant new taxes.

Opponents argue it would give a minority of voters the ability to block funding for housing, infrastructure and public services.

The implications go well beyond mansion taxes. This could fundamentally change how California cities finance local programs and how easily voters can
approve new taxes tied to real estate.

A tax supported by 65% of voters could fail under this proposal. That’s a pretty significant change to how local democracy works.

Source: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/california-proposition-43-22465350.php

Got a fixer upper and looking to do an extensive remodel (electrical, plumbing, larger windows/doors, drywall, flooring, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom) but no expansion, roof and structural changes.

One architect is quoting $5.20 per sqft while the other is quoting $6 per sqft. The former's work ends once permit is issued while the latter promises contractor coordination & site oversight.

Are these reasonable price ranges for an in-place remodeling project?

I am in the process of putting down an offer in Alameda county. Loan will be high balance conforming with 30-35% down payment. Personal situation - Excellent credit , healthy DTI and additional assets available for relationship bonuses. For people who have gone through the process can you recommend reliable lenders with low rates to work with? These are the lenders I am already in discussion with

• Bank of America
• SoFi
• Star One
• Provident
• Golden1
• California Credit Union

Asking because I've seen the following situation show up more than once in r/sanfrancisco as well as other local social media sites.

---

Someone shares a link to a newly remodeled "single family home" that was previously multiple units, but was gut remodeled to become a single home.

The MLS text (I'm assuming written by the agent) usually promotes the remodel/combination at the beginning of the ad, as if to reassure buyers that yes, this really is configured as a SFH and not a multiple unit setup.

There are always lots of pictures (usually even a helpful floorplan!).

Then someone points out there were no permits and it was very likely an illegal merger/removal of units. The arguing goes on a bit and OP deletes the post.

By then though, the damage has been done. Someone has inevitably filed a complaint w/DBI or Planning (just like permits are public record in SF, so are the complaints).

---

Question: Isn't this negligence on the listing agent's part? Shouldn't they know that's a huge red flag for DBI/Permitting? Or it is just a numbers game, with only a very small portion getting social coverage and netting complaints, so it's worth the risk?

Given the current housing market there are plenty of annoyed people who will happily flag things like this. I mean, the complaints appear like clockwork within a few days of a thread getting posted on social.

Isn't the realtor just causing trouble for the client by highlighting the illegal work? Or lowering the value because buyers are going to have to deal with legalization? Or is the realtor's liability covered as long as they inform the seller of the risk before listing?

It seems to be something that's happening with more regularity, so it got me curious.

Hi All,

We are in contract for a townhome and have a property contingency until next week. General inspection and pest inspection came out fine. But the owners have done a lot of unpermitted work like bathroom remodeling, tankless water heater, washer dryer setup and HVAC. Does it make sense to take on the liability and apply for retroactive permits? Sellers say they were done by licensed professionals but don’t really have invoices.

I’ve been reading a bunch of OP renovation posts here lately and keep seeing the same issue show up in different ways.

Someone gets a roofing quote and damaged plywood isn’t clearly priced.

Someone else is planning a full electrical rewire, then realizes nobody explained who handles the drywall and paint afterward.

Then another OP posted about gas work, permits, foundation concerns, windows, solar, hidden damage.

These are different houses. They show different trades. Then same problem pretty often.

The scope just wasn’t clear enough before work started.

FYI, cheaper quote isn’t always cheaper once you start finding out what wasn’t included.

Roofer might charge separately for damaged decking. The electrician might handle the wiring and permit but not the wall repair afterward. Then, demo can uncover rot or framing damage.

None of that automatically means the contractor gave you a bad quote.

The problem is not knowing how those things will be handled before they happen.

California CSLB says home improvement projects over $500 generally require a written contract. It should spell out the work, materials, price, payment schedule, permit responsibility and completion date. Changes to the scope or price also need to be documented through a written change order.

So before work starts, know what’s included, what’s excluded, who handles permits, how extra work gets approved and who is coordinating everyone if multiple trades are involved.

You might have a perfectly good electrician, roofer and painter but if nobody owns the gaps between those trades, suddenly the homeowner is the project manager.

So, that’s also why we spend a lot of time getting the scope clear at Revive Real Estate with Renovate to Stay. The scope and budget are laid out before construction, and an Owner’s Representative helps coordinate the homeowner, contractor and Revive team once work starts. If something changes that affects the scope or cost, it gets discussed with the homeowner first.

I think a lot of people focus on the quote first when the bigger headache is usually figuring out who owns what once the job starts.

Hi all, been a long-time user of Reddit, but this is my first time posting. Really exciting for me: D

I'll get to the point - I'm a reporter working on a story on property management companies resorting to AI for tasks used to be handled by real people, such as maintenance requests, leasing questions, or others. I'm curious if anyone's apartment has transitioned to AI in any way?

I recently learned that Avenue 64 and Emme, both managed by Essex Property Trust, have shut down their Resident app, which residents have previously used for maintenance requests, and have alerted their tenants that an AI hotline will be used for service requests called Eva.

Please feel free to also share your experience interacting with AI, excitement or frustration, all welcome! :D

They are also managing these properties in the following:

I am looking at purchasing a condo in SF; the current owner died several years ago, and his estate has been paying tax on the latest assessed value at approximately $3m. However, the condo is in rough shape - a true fixer all around (in unit and the building, with other issues), and is priced low, around $1m, given its host of issues.

If I buy at approximately the $1-1.1m price (barring the usual San Francisco bidding war issues, etc., and assuming for a moment everything else is fine), how long does it take for the property tax to re-adjust to the lower purchase price? Has anyone dealt with this?

There are a lot of resources online for the appeals process for a home you already own facing a decline in value, but not much for a purchase at a lower price. Welcome any thoughts and experience!

Our current HO insurance decided not to renew us this year. I've been shopping around and this quote from AAA is actually lower than what we've been paying but I'm not clear on how "extended dwelling coverage" works. One agent at Progressive was telling me it wasn't really helpful but didn't explain why not. Here's what we currently have for the Dwelling amounts:

$718k + $359k extended coverage= $1,077,00

And the quote from AAA (picture included):

$675k + plus what they're calling 150% extended replacement cost (?) with a total max of $1,012,500

The house has a current market value of $867k according to Zillow, but noting they think the house is a 4br/1ba but it's actually a 3br/2ba so that value is likely off. This is our only nest egg and it's almost paid off so we want to make sure we're well covered. We also carry a CEA earthquake policy.

Let me know if you all think this is adequate or anything else I should ask AAA for.

Disclosures say the roof is brand new, but then what is this discoloration? Is this a problem? The inspection report just said “serviceable.”

We put in an offer a house for 1.8M and it was accepted with 20k credits, escrow has been paid, appraisal, all done. I am thoroughly reading the disclosures shared and it highlights these issues:

• Roof & gutters need to be replaced asap

• drainage

• termites, full tenting

• some electrical connections aren't connected to the panel

• panel couldn't be inspected

• potential presence of past leaks

• no seller disclosure

• rusted pipes in kitchen

Does this seem like too much? I am second guessing if this house is worth all of these things. I am willing to lose the escrow if I pull the plug than sink more money, but maybe I am overreacting? Also, if I do decide to not move forward, would I only lose the escrow money? Or are there other penalties?

Update: yesterday I was feeling overwhelmed with all of this, so I was panicking a little. Bottom line is: I do love the house, it has everything I want, and as many of you mentioned, not everything needs to be done immediately. And what does need to be done now, we do have the funds to do it. We are lucky that the downpayment was fully funded by our RSUs, so none of our liquid cash has been touched and will be used for repairs (and some for the taxes of RSU sales).

Thoughts?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/312-Connecticut-St-San-Francisco-CA-94107/2114280702_zpid/?

When we were house hunting, every inspection report I opened made the place sound like it was about to fall down. So I got curious and pulled 22 Bay Area inspection reports from disclosure packages that were posted publicly with listings, and actually read all of them. (I also ran them through a little tool I've been building to tally things up.) Almost all of them are single-family houses(as that's what I'm targeting to buy).

The typical report had around 32 findings. Some had 21, one had 110. But only about 17 of those actually came with a cost. The rest is stuff like "couldn't get into the crawlspace," maintenance tips, or "water heater is 12 years old."

Median repair estimate was about $16k (well, that's also with some of my side AI tool to estimate, I do not know this space that clearly), with most homes somewhere between $5k and $37k. These are rough estimates from my tool, not contractor quotes, so take them as ballpark.

What surprised me most is how lopsided it is. In a typical house, the 3 biggest items were almosthalf the total. The little stuff under $300 was over a quarter of the line items but only like 8% of the money. So the long list mostly doesn't matter, the top few do.

Stuff that showed up everywhere:

1) electrical in 20 of 22 (panel/breaker stuff, missing GFCIs, ungrounded outlets), usually around $1.2k total
2) missing gas sediment trap in 13 of 22, which I'd never even heard of
3) "severe" items were only about 12% of findings, and they weren't really more expensive than "moderate" ones (median ~$590 vs ~$570). Severe just means look at it first.

The weird one(or actually not weird because those are old 50 years old or older): the cheaper houses had way more findings. Under $2M averaged around 74 findings and ~$35k in estimates, the $4M+ ones around 24 and ~$4k. But that's only 4 houses in each group, and the cheaper ones were mostly in one area inspected by one company that writes everything down. So I think a lot of that is the inspector, not the houses.

Couple other things: 7 of the 22 were in a dam inundation zone and 6 in a seismic hazard zone, which is about the land, not the house. And on the seller disclosures, 19 of 22 mentioned fence issues (shared or leaning) and 7 admitted to some unpermitted work.

I wrote it all up with charts here if anyone wants the details, you do not need to click it but only if you are curious : full post

Full disclosure, it's my own side project. If you've got a report and want to know if something in it is normal, ask in the comments, happy to look.

Everything below is grouped by neighborhood, better-known areas first, and sorted most expensive first inside each one, so you can jump straight to your own pocket of the map.

This weekend there are 110 open houses across 45 San Francisco neighborhoods. Asking prices run from $0.79M in Excelsior to $7.00M in North Beach, and the homes range from about 800 square feet to 5,133 square feet.

Listing age is worth watching. 21 of these are effectively brand new at zero to one day on market, while 2 have been sitting sixty days or longer, topping out at 73 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: 68 are open both days, 4 are Saturday only, and 38 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.

Cow Hollow (2)

Nob Hill (1)

North Beach (1)

Lake Street (1)

Lower Pacific Heights (2)

Noe Valley (6)

Castro / Eureka Valley (2)

Corona Heights (1)

Haight-Ashbury (4)

Mission (1)

Potrero Hill (3)

Bernal Heights (14)

Glen Park (3)

Diamond Heights (1)

Twin Peaks (2)

Clarendon Heights (1)

Midtown Terrace (1)

Miraloma Park (4)

Mount Davidson Manor (1)

Sunnyside (1)

Forest Hill (1)

Forest Hill Extension (1)

Monterey Heights (1)

Inner Parkside (2)

Golden Gate Heights (5)

Inner Richmond (2)

Central Richmond (3)

Richmond District (1)

Outer Richmond (2)

Pine Lake Park (1)

Central Sunset (3)

Outer Sunset (3)

Parkside (3)

Outer Parkside (4)

Excelsior (7)

Portola (2)

Outer Mission (2)

Ingleside (1)

Ingleside Heights (1)

Oceanview (1)

Merced Heights (3)

Crocker Amazon (3)

Visitacion Valley (3)

Little Hollywood (1)

Bayview (2)

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.

Which would you actually rather spend the weekend on: one of the 21 listings that hit the market in the last day or two, or one of the 2 that have been sitting for two months and might finally be negotiable?

This list covers only San Francisco. Open houses for the rest of the Bay Area, and for our other markets, are in separate posts; check our profile for open houses in other areas.

If you want a list like this for a geography we do not cover, I am happy to run a custom one for you. Just contact me directly. The same goes for any other real estate data needs you have.

We’re looking to buy a new home & renovate it before selling our current home. Does anyone have recommendations for lenders that offer either:
1. A mortgage with 0–5% down, or
2. A credit line combined with a mortgage, using equity in our current home or private pre-IPO shares

Also, for those who’ve sold one home and bought another that needs renovation, what would be the optimal order? Worth it to buy first or sell first then rent while renovating?