The cost of financing a home in some of the more expensive areas of the country (California), just got more expensive. According to CNNMoney.com "Wells Fargo, one of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders, raised the interest rates on its 30-year, fixed-rate, non-conforming (AKA jumbo) loan to 8 percent last week, up from 6.875 percent. Other lenders followed suit and more are likely to join them." To put that into perspective, the monthly bill for a $600,000 mortgage would hit $4,403, compared to $3,942 before the rate hike, which is an increase of $461.Noteworthy facts:Borrowers obtaining Interest Only payments must qualify at the fully amortized rate.Stated income loans are requiring at least 10% down payment.No documentation or limited documentation loans are not being offered by man... 08/07/2007

It's funny how great mind thinks alike and I just found out there are 2 great home tours (one is the Eichler post that I wrote earlier today) on the same weekend! This is another great one. I am going to try to do a joint-event out of this where we will carpool from Marin to SF and maybe a cute cafe on the way for lunch so we can do 2 home tour in 1 day. Let me know if you are interested in joining us! hello@staged4more.com Or we can do an event each day. I think both of these house tours are going to be amazing to do and it's quite a toss up between the 2. I left both messages at the vendors to see if we can get a group rate. Dwell also recommended us to do a bike tour to get to homes in between. But sadly I don't know how to ride one! (Okay I am from Taiwan where we had bus stops ever... 08/06/2007

We took some average prices of goods and homes and we used the first six months of 1997 and the first six months of 2007 to compare. Hopefully these numbers won't hurt your head:The average cost of a cup of Joe:1997: $1.002007: $1.70The average cost of a single family home in GLEN PARK1997: $334,0002007: $1,096,000The Average cost of a gallon of gas:1997: $1.332007: $3.29The average cost of a single family home in POTRERO HILL1997: $301,0002007: $1,126,000 The Average cost of a gallon of milk:1997: $2.492007: $3.58   Then Vs. Now [greg and garrett's real estate blog]  08/06/2007

 In 2003, real estate developers Jeremiah Cullinane, Denis Cullinane, and Eileen Long purchased 3953 24th Street for $700,000 with the intention of building 6 market rate condo's, 2 commercial spaces and a 4-car underground parking garage on the lot that contained a modest single family home just over 1,000 square feet. The approval process for this project was a long and arduous one which led to passionate arguments and creative concessions. The project that was finally approved by local residents and the building department included 6 residential units available to people 62 years or older that did not own a car, 2 commercial spaces and no parking. This plan seemed to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood as many residents were concerned about extra vehicular traffic and the poss... 08/06/2007

(The following post is the first installment of Gossip 101 for Kevin ... Ya just gotta make your gossip juicier, Kevin, dahling ;-))The Palomar Hotel in San Francisco's posh BloggerConnect District was the scene of a Top Secret Strategy Session among Project Blogger contestants Mary Pope-Handy (left, standing) and Tisza Major-Posner (seated), and Super Coach Joeann Fossland and an unidentified non-hyphenated Boomer Blog Coach (behind the lens). Rumor has it that the Blogger Babes had Kevin Tomlinson in their crosshairs as BoyToy favorite. What happened next is anyone's guess! 08/05/2007

Ouch, so this the second time I am writing this.  I should have saved it as a draft.  Argh! Anyhow, I really don't mind writing it again, I find it fun.  A little change from the ordinary for me. This is a perfect example of Reciprocity, highlighted so well by TLW in her post Have You Considered Reciprocating Your Comments? Hmmm? ROAR! .  I was MEME'd by simply going to Ginger Wilcox's blog on AR and also outside AR, and gave her some comments.  Reciprocity at it's finest.  Thanks again Ginger for the MEME, it is an honor! Here you go.  I hope you learn something about me, and if nothing else, hope you had fun reading it. 1.  I am an avid golfer.  It is my passion, though I don't get to play nearly enough.  3 times a year is not sufficient, but with my schedule, I am happy to enjoy that... 08/05/2007

It won’t solve the housing problem here in the City but when West Coast Green occurs next month attendees will get a chance to tour a “zero energy” Green home right smack in the Civic Center across from City Hall. Yes, it’s a prefabricated house but not that nasty “Prefab” often associated with temporary replacement for housing during and after WWII. The mkLotus (even the name sounds sleek) designed by Michelle Kaufmann and built by XtremeHomes will include Green features like a living roof, an integrated solar array, rain and ground water catchment systems for outdoor irrigation, an interior gray water system, and will be constructed using sustainable materials. We can almost smell the 100 percent sustainable garden, designed by Nicholas Thayer of Late Afternoon Garden Design, which wi... 08/03/2007

Can you share a price, address and picture of the most expensive luxury condos in your area?  I would like to create a list of 10 the most expensive condos in the US.  Can you help?  Thank you! And it should be fun for everyone to see it. Here is a current listing in San Francisco: http://tinyurl.com/2e6sc8 - 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bath, 2573 sq.f., listed for $4,495,000.  Can you beat it? 08/01/2007

Even we Green Real Estate blogers get giddy when we discuss the blogesphere with blog luminaries such as Lockhart Steele (from Curbed.com) or Matt Dunlap (from Realivent.com). It feels like an A-list Hollywood party except the location being the Real Estate Connect 2007 conference in San Francisco. The blogers represent many of the true stars here with notables from Zillow, Active Rain, and Craigslist. So what if we’re not making any hot tub deals or sitting on anyone’s casting couch. We did get some shwag which one of blogers photographed during one of the panel discussions. Hopefully we’ll have some Greenerati shwag soon. 08/01/2007

A 1031 Exchange (which is also known as Like Kind Exchange) allows a property owner of his or her investment property to exchange property, and defer paying federal and state capital gains taxes if he or she purchases another like kind property following the rules and regulations of the IRC (Internal Revenue Code). If the transaction is done property, the seller’s profits (or gain) can be deferred to a future date when he or she can pay the taxes from that. *NOTE, this is intended for general information only, and not intended as tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax or legal advisor for any specific tax or legal matters. 08/01/2007

With news about the market slumping and rates moving upwards, hearing that home builders in San Francisco and in the Peninsula have recently requested for permits to build new homes in these areas is a positive sign. A total of 260 permits have been sought for new units during June 2007, that’s 34 percent more than what was asked for a year ago this time from the California Buildings Industry Association. In the state of California, 9,536 permits have been asked in June 2007. 08/01/2007

No homeowner enjoys hearing the word ‘foreclosure.’ It sends chills up his or her spine, but lately, lenders have been sending enormous amount of mortgage default notices to California residents and Bay Area homeowners are no exception. Record highs in foreclosures came in most of the Central Valley counties, Contra Costa, Riverside, and Sacramento areas. Fortunately, for Bay Area homeowners, the fewest defaults were in Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties. 08/01/2007

Questions being asked by both buyers and sellers in today’s market (though isn’t that what they’re always asking?) As the Bay Area continue to be one of the exceptions along with cities like New York and Manhattan, it’s not a surprise that the overall housing market in the country is continuing to be in a slump – you’ve probably have read it in multiple websites, newspapers, or have heard it on the television as most reporters keep saying that this may be the “worst housing market since the great depression.” Hearing things like that will worry anyone with interest in purchasing or selling a home. Just a few days ago, Countrywide Mortgages (the nation’s number one underwriter for mortgages) said that the housing market is falling faster than any time in the recent past as new homes pric... 08/01/2007

Everyone across the country knows that the real estate market is still moving slowly, and the even though the Bay Area is one of the exceptions, it doesn’t mean that it’s moving quickly. Research from real estate market research company, DataQuick, has shown both declines and increases in neighborhoods in certain areas of the Bay Area.   It seems that DataQuick’s analysis of the current marketplace that sellers would rather withdraw their properties from the marketplace than lower there asking price.   The declines came in the counties of Napa, Solano, and Sonoma, which happens to be the three most affordable areas in the Bay Area. Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties on the other hand continue to increase in sales, and they also happen to be the three most expensive areas.   I... 08/01/2007

CitiApartments was one of the largest real estate companies in San Francisco, but with the recent purchases in the Mission, Noe Valley, Sunset, Pacific Heights, and Western Addition (April and May 2007), they’re now the largest single residential landlord entity; managing more than 200 buildings directly and through affiliates. 08/01/2007

With the San Francisco housing market still high and long-time residents of the city finding it more difficult to find affordable housing, the recent news of Skyline Realty and CitiAprtments' owners, Frank and Walter Lembi’s purchase of 27 multi-family buildings during the month of April and May for an excess of about $200 million won’t sit too well for the residents of those building that the Lembi’s purchased. The fact that their recent purchases of properties in five districts (Mission, Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, Sunset, and Western Addition) in San Francisco makes them the largest private landlord in the city. What’s worse is that I also read a report from J.K. Dineen in the SF Business Times that Dennis Herrera, the San Francisco City Attorney has sued the Lembi’s and their busin... 08/01/2007

What do you get when you combine an Organic Architect and an old brewery? It’s sounds tasty to me but in reality San Francisco gets one of its newest Green buildings. The new Sports Basement recently opened over on Bryant and 15th Street without much Green fanfare but I'm here to dole out some props. With Green building it’s sometimes not what you use but what you don’t use or in this case what you re-use. Here they managed 85% construction demolition salvage. In their quest for LEED Gold status (or at least LEED Silver) they reused a ton of materials including many fixtures and the wood stairs. I didn’t smell any nasty VOCs here with zero-VOC paints, sealers, and adhesives. They use Soy Guard on the intentionally rough looking floors but it’s too bad they didn’t use FSC Certified wood ... 07/28/2007

We'll be having our next mixer on thursday,  I'm including some information about this event but feel free to call me or e-mail me if you have any questions about this event.  I'm looking forward to meet some activerain members and network. Host: NAHREP of San FranciscoLocation:  Kelly's Mission Rock817 Terry Francois Street, San Francisco, CA 94107 USView Map  |  Find a Hotel When: Thursday, July 26, 5:30PMPhone: 415.626.5355   Please Join us for Drinks, Music & great People!Connecting professionals to promote home ownership in the Latino Community is just one benefit of membership.Memebrs $15 - Non Members $25Ample Free ParkingSIGN UP YOUR GUEST AS A MEMBER AND ENTER FREERsvp to Mariola at 415.648.8100 ext 24 or mariolabak@goldkeysf.com or you can just call me at: 650.219.1775LET'S TH... 07/24/2007

If you live in the Bay Area you no doubt see the ubiquitous “Let’s Green This City” billboards and we hear the City Hall announcements about Green initiatives, fast track Green building permits, as well as talk about alternative energy for the city.So why did the San Francisco recently shut down the San Francisco Biofuels Cooperative? “Permit” problems forced the fueling cancellation. Apparently someone issued a complaint about traffic in the alleyway to and from the co-op station. Isn't it it ironic that the City shut down the biofuels co-op because of too much traffic. Think people are into this crazy biofuels stuff? Don’t worry all you Mercedes drivers and biofuels converts, I've heard about the co-op relocating, and forming a service station together with some other biofuelers at a ... 07/21/2007

I was approached by a Realtor I work with, whose name I won't say, but we will call him Bobby, who was buying a property in Oakland, California.  I have strictly worked with Bobby's clients, never actually helped him personally.  He was working with his regular personal lender (in the business for a long time), who was having trouble with the property, not with Bobby's qualifications, but the property's.  The appraisal he ordered was coming back as "mixed use", because of the layout and one of the rooms that had been converted from it's original structure.  Another issue was that the area is not a conventional residential area.  It is about 1 mile from where the Oakland A's play baseball and Oakland Raiders play football, and Golden State Warriors play basketball, and is truly a mixed a... 07/20/2007