Howard Sobel's (howardsf) Blog

 With option pays, borrowers have four separate payment choices every single month. Yes one month you can choose to pay interest and principle and another month partial interest, in case you wanted to live above your means. hmmm...how many did that do you think The option arm mortgage adjusts fre...

 What do you do with older historic buildings...Well the Ritz Carleton has built eight floors of luxury apartments onto a building that was once the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi. 690 Market A new approach to real estate that has been unfolding at 690 and also at Ghiradelli Square ha...

  Inflation Concerns Ease and Rates Drop 30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 6.52 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending July 31, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 6.63 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.68 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgag...

  30-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 6.63 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending July 24, 2008, up from last week when it averaged 6.26 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.69 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgage: Averaged 6.18 percent with an average 0.6 ...

A Summary of Rent Board Regs for Sublets and Roommates The regulations the rent board imposes on owners and managers of property in San Francisco are confusing and can lead to costly mistakes. The rent board has a series of small articles that make quick summary of complex situations. You should ...

 There is no such thing as a “nonrefundable” security deposits or key deposit, cleaning fee or closing cost, all money paid in addition to your first month’s rent is refundable. The total amount the landlord can charge for all the deposits including last month’s rent 1. Twice the amount of one mo...

Market. Started by Quakers and farmers in the 1980s to serve low-income families, this farmers market is a community hub and one of the few places near the Tenderloin to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. It's run on a shoestring by a nonprofit whose board members are elected by the farmers who sel...

The Internet Drives the City Thanks to the internet and the technology industry continuing to be the infinite work space, thousands of new technology jobs drove the city's population to a new high of more than 824,000. Yahoo and Google have opened offices in the city and continue to provide shutt...

  TIC's: San Francisco's attempt to work around the condo lottery which is designed to keep rental housing on the market and available for renters. The condo lottery limits the amount of conversions allowed in any given year.  The TIC concept provides wanna be owners with another vehicle that is ...

Owners Want to Add 5700 Units to Park Merced.The Pro's1. Over a 20 year period, new development would take the 115-acre property off the grid using efficient appliances, wind turbines and co-generation techniques to capture heat loss to reduce energy consumption by 60%2. Slash water consumption ...