Buy house with no garage in SF?

Very close! Sold for 2.6.

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Thanks everyone - I think this makes sense, we are increasingly leaning towards being ok with not buying now and waiting to see what happens in 1-2 years. Maybe prices will stabilize and/or our cash situation will be better. At the very least we won’t have to support two mortgages and manage renovations from across the country. With that said, I will still be keeping an eye out for things that are good deals or particularly suit our needs!!

but then again this is the type of stuff that makes me feel like buying now could still be a good idea… :sweat:

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I grew up on the Peninsula but never lived in the city proper. I have spent a lot of time in the city over the past decade for work and visiting friends though. Most of our friends in the city live and hang out in the mission, duboce, noe, russian hill, lower haight, etc. Some live in soma or south beach to be close to work, but don’t hang out there. In all these years we’ve never had any occasion to go to Glen Park or Bernal, which makes me wary of buying into these neighborhoods.

We really tried to like Bernal and saw a few homes there, but ultimately felt like it was too far from transit and too far of a walk from these other neighborhoods that we do spend a lot of time in. Same with Potrero.

@sfdragonboy We also checked out a few places in Diamond Heights, fiancee really liked the midcentury vibes of some of the homes and views. But the walk down to Noe was pretty challenging (very hilly trails) and the neighborhood itself is very foggy and not walker or transit friendly.

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Noe is priced so high right now and a little “uppity” in my opinion. Have you considered West Portal? I would consider there over Bernal, Glen Park, or Diamond Heights. The walkability is awesome and you still get a community vibe.

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Ok, damn it, I am going to the hidden ace in my sleeve: Telegraph Hill. Yes, not a lot of availability I imagine but great weather in that NE quadrant of the city and probably views to die for. Walkability to North Beach, Russian Hill, the water front, etc. Having grown up in the fringe of Chinatown and played basketball/tennis/softball at North Beach playground for many years I have always been fond of that area up in the hills. Houses are definitely not cookie cutter with modern ones sprinkled in with older homes. Yes, parking would be a batch for say guests but that is why Uber is in vogue.

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@sfdragonboy - You and I think alike! I like telegraph hill. I put an offer on a 2-unit condo building last fall on Telegraph Hill but didn’t win it — the ultimate price it went for was too high IMHO. That said, my only reticence with Telegraph hill is to watch out for the north slope or the east slope (landslides or liquefaction in an earthquake). The west and south slope should be ok.

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Telegraph Hill is the coolest spot in SF. Had two friends with houses on the Filbert steps. Like living in a vertical park. The wild parrots hang there. Feels like Hawaii only colder. Some of houses off the Filbert steps are gold rush vintage…BTW, there are 300 steps… about 200’ vertical. And there is a cross street in the middle which is just a wooden walk way. The coolest street in SF… Lombard pales in comparison.

How do those people do grocery? Do they even have cars?

I suppose you could walk to an Italian grocer or walk to Chinatown for inexpensive groceries ---- there is Trader Joes nearby though. That said I suppose that is way Good Eggs / Blue Apron / etc. is for.

FWIW the 2 unit building I put an offer for was on the base of the Filbert Steps. 2 units, 3 car TANDEM garage. OMG, what a pain in the butt to have 3 cars in tandem.

My best friend grew up on that block between Stockton and Grant. I told him to not let his Mom sell their 3 story building for about 1.5M some years ago. Yes, he was right, it was really old and needed a full remodel but you can’t buy stuff in that area anymore. They simply don’t come up much, and as you learned, people are willing to overbid to live there in North Beach.

You walk to the bottom and Uber to the top. Never have to walk uphill. There is an Art Deco condo building at the top. My one friend had a Unit there with garage parking. My other friend had a Gold Rush era house in the middle. He would park at the bottom. Not family friendly. But the coolest batchelor pad. Great for Halloween parties. One of my tenants up here told me his grand parents sold their 4 story house on Pacific in PAC Heights in the 60sfor $65k… probably worth $10m now. My 75 year old tenant now lives on SS in a 400sf one bedroom. He wishes they kept that Pacific house

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Agree, Telegraph Hill would be amazing. But how tough is the commute south on 280/101? Is it better value than Noe/Dolores Heights?

Good question, since I have not seen car traffic along the Embarcadero that leads to both 280 and 101 in a long time. I imagine earlier the better. Maybe someone here is doing the commute and can chime in…

I don’t doubt this is true in SF. But in densely populated east coast cities like NYC/Boston, as well as desirable international cities like London, HK, Paris, etc., it is highly unusual to have deeded parking in the city, even for $5M+ homes and condos. People just don’t expect it and manage. They use street parking or rent a garage space if they really need it. Granted the public transit and walkability in these cities is better than most parts of SF. But we would like to live in a similarly close to transit and walkable part of SF. And on much of the east coast shoveling out your car after a storm can be a real problem that doesn’t exist in SF.

It’s crazy to me that people in SF expect deeded parking as the norm - a real reflection of the NIMBY attitudes and why greater density, affordability and better transit initiatives in SF have not gained much traction.

Glen park has exploded in popularity in the last 5 years or so. It’s close to BART and even closer to freeways than Noe.

a) SF is not on the same level as HK, Paris, or London - esp for mass transit

b) If those ppl are not expecting parking, then it isn’t “high dollar”. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

c) digging one’s car outta the snow is for plebes.

I used to live in North Beach / commuted to East Bay but there was never any traffic getting to 80 in the mornings.

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Right and I could see that as you are essentially going against traffic (at least to the East Bay). I have a feeling that once you are on 280 South though after the Ball Park, you will eventually hit some traffic as you leave SF as folks have mentioned here on occasion. I did it one morning when I was taking my figure skating protege niece to her skating lesson (I wanted to meet her coach at the time, Rudy Gallindo). Traffic was pretty thick and consistent as I headed down towards RWC. I can imagine it being way worse further south…

yeah I just don’t think it would be too much worse coming from Mission/Noe