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what ever happened to that coke dealer chic place in bernal?

There is some guy with a really fancy car living there now.

Let me say this again: those who buy at today's price levels would look very smart in 5 years.

Look at the latest Case-shiller index that came out today.

It is BEARS' time to say that SF is unique, that the whole country has hit bottom, but SF has not

Ahhh, pure ester comedy gold.

I wouldn't exactly call this North Slope Bernal Heights. 3261 Harrison is pretty much in the flat and the area is a dump (close to Chesar Chavez and 101 on ramp).

@ester - are you buying at today's prices? Were you able to convince Wells Fargo to write 5th, 6th, etc, mortgages for more of your investment properties? What area(s) are you interested in? Thanks!

My hunch is that ester is selling, not buying. When she's unloaded her properties then the cheer-leading will stop.

Yeah, I would do the same, I guess. Renting out at the current purchase prices doesn't make sense except if you account for potential appreciation. If that's removed from the equation, better unload and stop subsidizing tenants.

Here's a scenario under which you, too, can be cashflow positive from Day 1:

$1.2M house rents for ~$2800/mo (Tiburon, for example).

Buy, put $1.2M in cash as a downpayment, and presto! You are cashflow positive, getting a spectacular 1.7% rate of return (net of taxes) and you will be able to enjoy years of risk-free appreciation in the underlying asset.

That sounds pretty smart, doesn't it?

Your all cash financing option doesn't necessarily fly, Jimmy,

If your property is a total fixer, you'll have to throw 10s of Ks into a redo and it will take you years to recoup that. Even an averagely-maintained property might cost you as much as your property taxes in maintenance. Add insurance and stuff and you're break-even short-term, in the red longer-term (roof, plumbing, paint, etc...)

In most cases, that 1.2M house that rents for 2800 should actually be bought for less than 400K if you want to get a decent rental income comparable to safe investments. The 10K/Y saved in property taxes will bring you into the black.

SanFronzi -- it still flies. Your rate of return is just less. I was mostly poking fun at ester's approach of putting down huge downpayments and then claiming to be cashflow positive as a result.

wow, that seems like a healthy price for such a small, shack-like building. But it's on a cute, quiet street on the good side of Precita Park.

Ester is by far the funniest person on this site. a chartist she is not

Jimmy, I guess it does if you are careful. I did follow the ester reference.

I know where ester is coming from. In my early days of RE investing I was all giddy and the typical "what could possibly go wrong" kind of guy. I had a few small setbacks that looked bigger than they were in retrospects and put me back in my place but it all came out great in the end after I sold. Of course when you sell in 2006, numbers look much better than when you buy in 2006!

Here's 2 Bernal Heights apples to illustrate what ester is talking about. Read and weep all you perma bears :)

76 Montcalm:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/76-Montcalm-St-94110/home/966115

37 Aztec:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/37-Aztec-St-94110/home/755965