Please help... frustrated finding an area to live in SFC (San Francisco: sales, real estate market)

[Siulonbow]

I am quite interested in purchasing a home in SFC. After researching around the city, I have been very frustrated in finding an area to search for an apartment or condo to purchase. My budget is about 800k and prefer a 2 bedroom. I have been looking at houses around Russian Hill, Pacific Heights, Nob hill, Soma, mission bay, south beach. Personally, I am interested in places within walking distance to Bart station and financial industry because of the public transportation to Oakland or south SF. My criteria for my purchase is as follow:

1) good return as an investment and easy to rent out to cover the mortgage (about $4000)
2) Prefer lower HOA fee because HOA are non-tax deductible
3) Garage space for at least 1 to 2 cars
4) Close to public transportation (my wife might travel to Oakland or south SF for work, I think it's nice that she can take bart and Muni)
5) 2 bedrooms, preferably single family house, but if my budget is limited, apartment is fine.
6) Historical data. Since i am still new to the area, I would want to have a strong support by looking at the historical pricing data of the area. for instance, Area A is 1000 sq/ft 5 years ago, and they are now 1100-1200 sq/ft, compare to area B which is new and charge 1000 sq/ft now without any price per sq. ft history. I might want to purchase Area A because they have a history. This criteria might not apply to the newly developed city.
7) prefer sunny weather most of the time, and possibly have some kind of ocean view or ocean breeze.

Can any please let me know what does Tenant in common (TIC) mean? When I do a search around the northern part of market, most of the property within my price range are TIC. Is it more trouble to deal with TIC property because it has multiple tenant? Is the harder to get a loan?

Is it a good investment to purchase a property south of market (Soma, south beach, mission bay) because a lot of high rise building are taking a great price cut to sell the property? Is it possible that the earning is greater than the HOA fee that I paid out after 7 years of ownership? I am not too familiar with the SFC real estate, but have always hear that the land is expensive; hence, it should be a good investment when the econ become better. Please let me know what you think. Thanks

[clongirl]

If you are not familiar with the City, then you should not be trying to purchase here..especially for "investment" purposes. Many of San Francisco's housing problems started when people like yourself started paying ridiculous amounts of money for little condos.. ultimately driving out the locals and families. Paying 800k for a condo only keeps our prices overly inflated.

[bayarea-girl]

What is the rush? If you wait a bit you might get a better deal.

[tstieber]

As far as getting maximum rents, I notice the highest rents being near the financial district because of proximity to financial jobs; however, those will be mostly newer-construction condos, which often do have higher HOA dues. You won't get $4000 a month in rent for a 2 BR condo in most neighborhoods except maybe Pac Heights or Cow Hollow, but even then you won't get positive cash flow on an $800K home unless you put down about 35% I'd say. So it's a bit tricky as far as getting the rent you want in an area with low HOA dues. SoMa has condos and lofts with lower HOA dues, but the area is not as upscale as, say, South Beach. South Beach might be a good bet location wise, and with the condo market slow, you could possibly snatch up a good bargain -- but again, HOA dues are somewhat high. You may want to try to negotiate HOA dues being paid for a couple of years by either a private seller or a developer.

I own a condo across the bay in Emeryville, which has more variable property values and has lost more value at the moment than SF, but I am getting very strong positive cash flow by renting for 3 to 6 months at a time to corporate renters needing a furnished condo. For about a $6000 investment in furnishings, linens, glasses, plates, towels, etc., I'm getting about $1000 more per month in rent. However, I have to market the property more actively and frequently to find corporate renters.

If you need a broker, please let me know, and I can either help you directly or put you in touch with a sales agent.

All in all, you're on the right track to think that SF generally retains property values better than surrounding areas, because it has international appeal and uniqueness that other cities don't have.

[sonarrat]

I would say property in the downtown financial district is always going to be valuable and scarce, but the new Transbay Terminal is going to bring a ton of new housing to the area at a time when the real estate market is already weak. I can't see investing in San Francisco right now.

[Siulonbow]

I think you are right with the analysis, I have thought about several building in Soma and south beach area. I wondered what do you think of the Blu at Soma, and Infinity and Millenium at South Beach. I am not too familiar with the price range at Millenium since the price is not disclose at their website. However, are there any other building I should look at for investment purpose and is 'best bang for buck' in term of price per sq/ft?

I would like to know about Mission bay because schools and bio-tech company are going to develop in that area, is it going to be as good of an investment as South beach area? I am looking at the Radiance apartment and kind of interested in that complex as well.

[ricnwolf]

YOu had mentioned an ocean view/ breeze yet a sunny environment. Selecting San Francisco as a location - or most northern california coast cities - these parameters are mutually exclusive. SF values are stabilizing, but condos are never a true investment. Look to the East Bay for reasonable housing cost, BART access, and you could get both sunny and bay views - at 800K, housing is plentiful. I'd suggest Piedmont and Montclaire areas of Oakland (though BART is not too close), also Castro Valley

[bellalunatic]

Sounds like you should rent in SF and learn more for yourself before just throwing your money at property here, unless of course you have so much extra $$$ that throwing it out there would be easy for you, then of course, I would then suggest that you throw your $$$ at ME!