...all make offers to buy a unit in your building. Which one do you choose?

All of the above.

Ok, ok, he's just one guy. But he is a lawyer and a member of a local comedy troupe. He's not really a male model, but since he came directly to our initial meeting from trying a case in court, he was dressed to the nines and quickly gave credit to some sales guy at Nieman Marcus who has taken him under his fashion tutelage and thereby changed his look and his life. Closest thing to a male model I'll come to in this lifetime, haha.

The lawyer part came in handy when he wanted to move his stuff in early and my realtor advised me not to let him because I would be liable if anything happened to it since he didn't own the unit yet. He promptly wrote up a waiver for me. Although I was a little disappointed not to be referred to as the party of the second part, it sounded legal enough to me, so he moved his stuff in over the weekend. Maybe it's not so savvy to enter into a legal agreement wherein the party of the first part wrote it. But considering after next week we'll have irrevocably entwined our finances, seems only fair to advance him a little credit in the trust department. Even if he is a perfect stranger.

I would tell you about the improv bits he and his twin brother (also in the comedy troupe) pulled on me while moving his stuff in, but you really had to be there. Just what I need, a financial partner who can whip out a legal document as quickly as he can improv about not being able to make the down-payment after all since his grandmother miraculously recovered on her deathbed. ;-)

So, I got seven offers on my middle unit yesterday. First off, I should clarify something. This [inlink]twisted,39347[/inlink] isn't my renovated unit. (I still owe you pictures of that as soon as all the heavy equipment is out of there.) It's my same-old current unit dressed up for resale.

I know you've seen it a million times, but here it is again, only with fresh flowers from Trader Joe's and the farmer's market. (e:Paul) told me he learned from a TV show that people are more likely to buy a house with fresh flowers. Who am I to turn down advice like that? But if I hadn't gotten seven offers, HGTV would owe me $28, haha. Doesn't it just make you want to whip out your checkbook and make me an offer?





The old pics just had flowering plants from the wholesale flower mart, since I'm usually too cheap to buy cut flowers. I'd rather get them from my own renewable resource -- but my garden isn't quite mature enough for that yet. So on (e:Paul)'s advice, I shelled out $28 for somebody else's flowers. They really looked good, and lasted almost two weeks! Might not be as much of an unsustainable deal as I originally thought. I'm still committed to growing my own, though.

So tonight I meet my intended buyer in person. This is like a craigslist date x 10,000...

WARNING! The following post contains pictures of rugs that are known to be harmful to certain peeps in the state of California.


(p.s. -- notice what's on the Mac screen? Nice color coordination!)







Own your own little piece of San Francisco!

Brush your teeth & shower @ the same time!



If you can't tell from the cell phone pic - that's a sink conveniently installed inside the shower stall. It's a miracle of modern plumbing!

Oh - you've got to pee? Just a short flight of stairs up to your left. I am not kidding.

One more thing - the shower/sink combo? It's right inside the bedroom.

Welcome to San Francisco!

p.s. - Here's the MLS description:

A very Cool & Unique 'Artist's Retreat' on an Amazing Block! A bit of Europe greets you as you enter this 4 room apartment at the rear of a beautiful 3-unit Edwardian. Overlooking the garden, which is Exclusive Use for this unit, there is a private walk-out deck. Dining room & living room open to each other & have oversized windows. There is truly a 'one-of-a-kind' bath in the bedroom! Very Adventursome! And there is an additional & Separate room, now used as an office!

Hi Denise. I don't know how quickly the word is getting around, but the
property at 23rd Street received a whopping 41 offers, with the winning
bid in the $1.8M range. So if Steve and I each shacked up with a partner
and ransomed our firstborns do you think we can swing it? (Just kidding!)

$1.8M. Yeah right! That's roughly twice the asking price. Even I'm not that delusional!

Back to the real estate listings.

p.s. - Did I mention that the latest strategy had been for me & Steve to move into the top floor flat together and find another partner to buy the middle flat (thereby dividing the cost by 3) while we collected $2000/mo rent from the bottom flat to go toward our share? I thought that was a brilliant plan, if I do say so myself. Not quite enough in the end, though.

Please pass the wine.

(I thought that might get your attention.)

So, I put my house up for sale last week after I found a gorgeous 3-unit Victorian in a great neighborhood in SF. The catch is, the 3-unit building is so "reasonably" priced it's sure to get multiple bids way over the asking price. In other words, their ploy worked. Once you're hooked, the next thing you know you're making rationalizations like "this is like buying three houses in one, each with 3 bedrooms, double parlour, 2 fireplaces, rounded bays, ornate trim..."

Come on (e:peeps)! Doesn't anybody want to go in on this one with me?

So, why not just buy a single family home, you ask? Same reason you can't buy one in Manhattan. Here the footprint where everybody wants to live is bounded by the Ocean and the Bay. Thankfully in San Francisco that just means most buildings are 2-4 unit Victorians, not the more modern skyscrapers common in Manhattan. Sure, there's the occasional multi-million dollar mansion. But that is sadly out of my price range.

The other alternative, condos, are expensive for a variety of complicated reasons. So the best value (just trust me on this) is to buy a building either alone, or with partners for each unit, and go through the lengthy condo conversion process yourself.

Since I can't wait around for a few dozen more of you (e:peeps) to move out here to start an (e:commune), I turned to the usual resource for any deficiency in the Bay area: craigslist.

Oh crap. Somebody's coming to see my house now and I still have to make guacamole for the monthly pot-luck BBQ this afternoon. Much as I would like to skip this party, I've got a lot of explaining to do to all my friends who are royally p!ssed that I'm making life decisions without consulting them first. At least I'll get plenty of chances to fine-tune my story before my weekly phone call with Dad tomorrow. Oh boy.

To be continued...

Wow. That went amazingly well. I didn't get to explain all the details, but most everybody is onboard with the gist of my plan. It's just weird that the more I convince everybody else the less convinced I become myself. I hope I haven't outsmarted myself this time.

p.s. - the first reaction across the board has been to fix me up with the guy I'm partnering with. I just met the guy on Thursday! I'm not that crazy!