OK... so maybe it isn't an invasion, maybe they were invited. And maybe they're not all over San Francisco, but confined to a hillside that's part of the Laguna Honda Hospital Campus in San Francisco's Forest Hill neighborhood. But when I drove down Laguna Honda Boulevard today, I nearly broke my neck when I caught a glimpse of the goats grazing on the hillside! The goats didn't run away from home to party in the City, but were brought in from Sycamore Farms of Monterey County to gobble up some the hazardous grass on the hillside that might, under the right circumstances, end up as fire hazard. Apparently, this is the third year in row that the goats have visited Laguna Honda, but just the first year that I wasn't too oblivious to notice that they were there. They'll be staying through ... 09/22/2007

  It's not like Organic Architect Eric Corey Freed needs more publicity but we feel obligated to dole out some props. As one of the West Coast Green noted speakers his "An extremely unusual look at Green building" certainly caused a stir during day one. We knew that we were in for a Freed special when he started his talk with his recent quote, "Guilt is no way to sell environmentalism." We agree. As he says it's time to do something, and that doesn't mean buying carbon credits. His speech, divided into convenient bite sized pieces, brought up unusual and startling images of how we waste materials and what we can do to improve things. He pulled up facts like Americans spill about 17,000 million gallons of gasoline while filing those nasty lawnmowers which cause five percent of CO2 emissi... 09/21/2007

To us or anyone living in San Francisco it almost seemed like a miracle. There it was: a one bedroom, new construction home with a great location right across from city hall with a $249,000 price tag. Did we mention that it's Green? Michelle Kaufman's fab Green pre-fab with a name that sounds like a cool car (MKLotus) had many people Green with envy wishing that they could live there.Alas, the house will only be there to kick off and exist at that spot during West Coast Green so no need to rile up your real estate agent. However, we can dream about having the place to ourselves with the living roof, the high tech interactive utility and indoor atmosphere control system, as well as the snazzy double pane, low-E, folding glass door walls by Nanawall even though we, at first, had a little ... 09/20/2007

The Inman Conference- Conquering the Social Media Universe August 3, 2007With a fantastic venue in the palatial halls of the Palace Hotel, over a thousand real estate and technology entrepeneurs and seasoned agents colluded in this 3 day event, each conspiring to conquer this new universe of social media soon-to-be-giants. As a mignon in this world of collosal idea makers, I scan the registration hall and pick out whom I think might be some of the industry’s founders, CEO’s and heads of these newly emerging technologies, one even going by “Virtual Earth Technical Evangelist”. Of Microsoft, no doubt. I meet two guys who have flown from Australia for the conference, excited to be in San Francisco, if not somewhat jetlagged. Blogging has become a new media outlet that real estate professio... 09/19/2007

Here's the situation. Your done with work on a hot afternoon  and  want to stop some place before you go home to the condo I helped you own.You want to be around people and also want to support a local company. Solution 21st Amendment 563 2nd streetHere's the Beer list  http://www.21st-amendment.com/beerlist/Look for: Watermelon Wheat, an IPA and a huge chalk board with what's in and what's sold out with the alcohol/volume % by every local brew. This is not a secret location and is often packed pre & post Giants game. There's a large enough restaurant area with a small bar/drinking area in the front of the restaurant. You can expect a typical south beach crowd ordering apps and brews all happy hour.Gourmet meal? No. Good Micro brew with enough people to make it fun. Yes. The sunny weath... 09/19/2007

I missed the Mayor, but I had a great time anyway! As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to go to the Dwell on Design conference and exhibition today. I hear that our green Mayor Newsom swung by today... but even though I didn't get a chance to meet Gavin and see his perfect hair in person, I still had a great time at the exhibition and couldn't believe how much fun stuff I saw (not to mention the cool environmentally friendly bag I got that I'll be using to carry my groceries in until it falls to pieces). Here's a partial list of stuff that caught my attention and got my design juices flowing: EcoSmart Inc - The EcoSmart™ Fire is an Australian innovation - an environmentally friendly open fireplace. The EcoSmart™ Fire is flue less and does not require any installation o... 09/17/2007

It's been a hectic Monday. Trying to function in the real estate world without email is like trying to catch a criminal without the ability to process fingerprints. It's possible, but it sure is hard work. Our IT department is still trying to rebuild our email database, so that still means, no email for Luba. The first phase was denial, then it was anger, then it was acceptance.... now it's just patient waiting. In the meantime, my "Official" The San Francisco Real Estate Report was just released so I thought I'd give you access to it. This is more thorough than the feature I recently started in September that I plan on publishing on the 1st of every month. Those numbers are rough, while the numbers in The San Francisco Real Estate Report are complete, and have pretty charts and graphs ... 09/17/2007

What's better than free events? Free events with a message, food and entertainment.  The San Francisco Women's building in the mission had a rocking local event with international flare.  Women from South Korea (my mom's homeland), the Philippines, Guam, Okinawa, Japan, Hawaii and the US co-operated to produce a 4 hour event of art & Expression with a message.    High Energy women doing traditional dance from their countries - with an emphasis on their intent to change their world.     Local Artists who shared from the heart with original music, poems and dance.    An Anti Militarism Fashion Show - which was fun, sexy and on point. Events like this rock! They are filled with energy and fun people. It's good for the soul to see active people working for a larger cause. What resonated wit... 09/17/2007

SFGate.com ran an article back in July that talked about a concept that we're seeing again called equity sharing. I had a few clients ask me about it, so I approached Monica Di Perna to get some more information on the topic. Here's what she had to say: Equity shariing was very popular when I first started in the business 12 years ago. In 1994, when I was going to business school during the evening, my old boss, Rob McNab taught me how to underwrite, process, and originate loan files. He was a REALTOR®, Asset Manager, CFP/Financial Planner and Tax Preparer. He had about 500 clients that he serviced all their financial needs. He was the one that taught me about the concept of Trust Deeds. Basically, when he had a client that wanted to buy a house but didn't have the down payment, he woul... 09/16/2007

As a REALTOR®, my email is my life line. On an average day, I get anywhere from 40 emails and on a busy day, 100 (or many more) emails are not uncommon. I'm connected to my email just about everywhere I go. My Palm Treo gives me access to my email on the go. I opted for the Windows based model when I bought my smart phone because it works better with my email, even though sometimes it's worse as a phone (imagine having to reboot your cell phone a few times a day.) Even with all of my phone's quirks, I am assured that every 10 minutes, almost without fail, I have access to my emails. I prioritize when I answer them... my phone's keyboard is quite small, and frankly, my typing thumbs cramp up rather quickly, so some emails must wait to be answered when I get to my computer, but others th... 09/15/2007

Yours truly scored a handful of free passes to the West Coast Green Conference! (I had mentioned the conference in a recent post.) Most days of the conference are open to the trade only, but Saturday, September 22nd is Homeowner's Day. You can get FREE passes while they last by emailing me with your request. Only requests made by San Francisco residents that do not work in the trade will be honored. < br> 09/14/2007

News & Politics: The Snitch - Putts From the Past For all of you miniature golf fans... especially FREE miniature golf fans, swing by the vacant lot at Hayes & Octavia this Saturday. (Don't wait till Sunday, it will be too late). Each hole represents a different era of the Hayes Valley neighborhood. Even cooler... there may be plans for another mini-golf course in the near future that will depict ALL of San Francisco history, and not just Hayes Valley. If you can make it, have fun put-putting out there! 09/14/2007

Not all mortgage news is bad news this week. Interest rates for conforming loans (those $417,000 and under) are dropping... and this is great news for homeowners whose ARM's (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) were just about to reset. This means that they have a damn good chance of not facing the "F" word (foreclosure). While San Francisco homeowners seem to be better off than most, even here, some people got into some hot water. Even better news... the Fed looks like it will cut mortgage rates even further at their meeting next week. For more details, check out these two great articles: Fed rate cut likely next week Mortgage rates drop swiftly this week 09/14/2007

(originally posted to my blog San Francisco Real Estate) McGuire Real Estate agents received an impressive sneak peak of the Esprit Park project and considerable details on design & finishes, building amenities, completion/occupancy dates and more.  Overall, the project rivals most of the newer condominium projects in SoMa/Mission Bay, and has a much sweeter price per square foot.Located in the up and coming Dogpatch neighborhood, Esprit Park will consist of 142 units in 25 different floor plans, including 14 2-level penthouse townhouses with rooftop terraces.  Almost 85% of the units will have some outdoor space in the form of a balcony, terrace or roof deck.  The completed units will have any one of three pre-chosen design palettes, all of which are modern, sophisticated and calming. ... 09/14/2007

One of the many reasons that I love real estate so much is the amazing variety of architecture we have in the City. September in San Francisco is an entire month dedicated to the City's architecture and design. You'll find films, home tours, studio tours and much more. I know where almost half-way through the month, but I swear, there is still plenty left to enjoy! Celebrating San Francisco's unique built environment and design community, Architecture and the City is the first series of its kind in the Bay Area to feature architectural tours, film screenings, exhibitions, design lectures and more. Now in its fourth year, the month-long celebration engages members of the public, design enthusiasts and architects and designers with a deeper appreciation for San Francisco 's rich architec... 09/12/2007

It could be considered the country’s (or at least San Francisco’s) first Green mini mall or mini Green department store. Over on Polk Street, near a lot of mass transit and foot traffic, the recently opened Green Home Center had eco-sexuals checking out not only the shops but the interior as well. Talk about making use of density, the small retail space combines several sustainably minded companies in one space. The Green concept shops offer Green minded consumers kitchen and bath cabinets with low or no formadlyldle and FSC wood (Brand Kitchens & Designs), Green bedding and furniture (Eco-terric), reclaimed wood doors (Liberty Valley Doors) and as they say much, much more. As much as we support these companies, we also give a big Roger Ebert type thumbs up to the interior. It’s not onl... 09/12/2007

There's worse things that can happen to a real estate agent than a little mortgage upheaval. You might not think of it, but as a REALTOR®, I put myself at risk quite often. We are often put into contact with strangers, and most of us work alone. Recently, I have been reading about all kinds of scary things that happen to us, REALTORS®. A short while ago in Alameda County, an agent was raped while showing a home. Over the years, I have heard of several horror stories. In fact, between 1982 and 2000, more than 200 U.S. real estate agents were killed on the job. Untold other agents were raped or mugged. I'm not the kind of person that sits around waiting to be a victim, but it's not like I can legally exactly carry a concealed weapon with me when I show properties in case bad guys show up.... 09/10/2007

For everybody that has been sitting the sidelines over the last several weeks, waiting for more housing choices, it seems as though that's exactly what you'll get this weekend while looking at open houses. I'd anticipate this trend will continue for the weeks to come.Inventory Rises [gtwice.blogspot.com] 09/07/2007

On Wednesday night, Mayor Gavin Newsom carved some time out of his busy schedule to speak with the residents of Bernal Heights. Mayor Newsom spoke in a town hall-like setting in the local laundromat, Bernal Bubbles. Due to the small size of the venue, Home San Francisco (Bernal Bubble's building mate) set up a theater like setting, projected the conversation on the wall and invited everybody in to relax on our couches and chairs to listen to the Mayor answer the questions posed by the local residents. The Mayor spoke about street cleaning in Bernal Heights, pot-holes, home ownership, TIC's and tenants, affordable housing, public housing, city services and green business initiatives among other things. The discussion was part of the Soap Box Lecture Series which featured the porn star an... 09/07/2007

According to the California Association of Realtors, www.car.org, the association is pushing the Senate to pass California HR 1427, which will allow conforming loan limits to go from $417,000 to $625,000.  It passed in through the House of Representatives in May, but is currently stalled in the Senate. It just makes absolutely no sense at all that the conforming loan limits be $417,000.  Being a Realtor in San Francisco, I can tell you firsthand that 700,000 will get you into an entry level home, maybe.....No wonder 24% of Californians are able to purhase a home.  Sure, there are other factors involved.  However, with the issues going on in the loan industry, rates are going up on jumbo loans.  It is also becoming harder to get a jumbo loan because there are less available.  Conforming ... 09/06/2007