Home » Financing

Underwater without a Drop to Drink

Over the past few months, talk of the US debt crisis has got me thinking: how does all this effect me? As it turns out, more than you might think. Here’s how my little brain traveled from the hell-in-a-handbasket news from the US government to me trying my hand at refinancing my condo: Clearly, US (more&hellip)

A TIC Joins My Real Estate Microcosm

My little rundown block in San Francisco is becoming quite the real estate market microcosm. So a new unit just came onto the market. That’s it to the right there–the lower left window in the blue building beside the rather putrid green apartment complex that I will neither confirm nor deny is the site of (more&hellip)

Renting to Own Happiness and Avoid Clutter

I realize it’s ironic for a blog about real estate to advocate renting. The thing is, for many people, renting makes a lot of sense. The American Dream tradition of everyone owning a home served our country well…until it didn’t. And now, people are increasingly questioning the value of home ownership. Some say it stifles (more&hellip)

Creative Real Estate: Tenancy in Common (TIC) Agreements

In many parts of the US and the world, real estate and zoning restrictions force people to devise creative ways of owning and transferring real estate titles. One such market work-around I’ve encountered lately is the tenancy in common, or TIC. TICs are common in San Francisco, and to a lesser degree in New York (more&hellip)

Open House Report: A Crooked Street and a Library Make Me Swoon

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. As I mentioned on Friday, I decided to spend my sunny Sunday afternoon touring open homes in my San Francisco neighborhood. Turns out it’s way more fun to look at the big, pretty homes, rather than just the ones in my price range. And, what do you know, I (more&hellip)

Financing My Condo, Grandma Style (part 2 of 2)

This is last of a two-part miniseries about my adventures in condo financing. If you haven’t read it yet, check out Part 1. When we left off, I’d just left the mortgage broker’s office in San Francisco, flying high with aspirations of wheeling and dealing in real estate. There was just one fly in the (more&hellip)

Financing My Condo, Grandma Style (part 1 of 2)

I nearly have a panic attack every time I think about the process I underwent to finance my condo. I very nearly got myself into the situation in which many Americans are finding themselves–in an oversized adjustable rate mortgage with no equity in their properties. After I found my dream condo by accident, I took (more&hellip)