2874 Bush
Listed as a short sale for $595,000, the Lower Pacific Heights single-family (but zoned RH2) home at 2874 Bush Street sold for $675,000 in June of 2003.
According to a plugged-in source a short sale has already been approved (although at exactly what price was unknown), and while most definitely a fixer (if not a gut and build), it could possibly be perfectly habitable with a bit of elbow grease.
Also noted, the walls seemed to be decorated with listings and other information about numerous other properties. And the grant deed from the buyer in 2003 to another party in September 2008 and then back to the 2003 buyer in January 2009 remains unexplained.
∙ Listing: 2874 Bush (2/1) – $595,000 [MLS]

15 thoughts on “The Beginning Or End Of This (Or The) San Francisco Short Sale Story?”
  1. wow. that’s the most encouraging thing i’ve seen on here in ages. a house in my neighborhood that i could conceivably afford (at some point in my life). just looked at this place last week (it’s been extensively renovated over the past year, and is finally done and in open house mode)… i don’t know if it’s fair to compare the two (other than location and age)… but this place is $2 million more, and two blocks away…
    http://www.trulia.com/property/photos/1091564522-1711-Broderick-St-San-Francisco-CA-94115

  2. Wow, so few comments on this one. I’m amazed. Did a drive by this weekend. It’s got potential, IMO. Downside is that Bush is like a mini-highway at this location: converging traffic all one-way coming down the hill. (Reminds me of the Clipper highway in Noe…) And this part of “pac heights” feels more like western addition. Bars securely mounted to windows on most of the neighbors’ homes.
    Loads of construction nearby–two properties across the street currently under major rehab. So, somebody believes in this block. For the price, I kinda like this one. Wonder if it goes for more though? Wonder if it’s inhabitable? I suspect it is because that SUV was there when I drove by…

  3. “And this part of “pac heights” feels more like western addition.”
    Well, technically it probably *is* Western Addition as we originally knew it — only realtors call it “Lower Pacific Heights” (even with the oddness of Lower and Heights). The bars on the windows might be because of the housing project 2-3 blocks away, which has some shady characters, but probably isn’t as bad as some of the others in town.
    I’m actually surprised this place is a short sale, given that it appears to be inhabitable. I would have thought lot value alone would be higher, but maybe the historic preservation NIMBYs make lot value this low.

  4. I’m gonna go look at it Tuesday and expect to see throngs doing the same. Westside Courts projects are a block away, diagonally southeast, Bush is a near freeway there, the property seems to stretch back sort of far on a 2495 foot lot, while its neighbor to the east probably has a 3000 foot lot, etc etc. Still tho. I agree. There might be something there.

  5. It’s definitely the Western Addition (or was). WA, traditionally was bounded by California. Presidio/Masonic, Van Ness, Market? That’s how I knew it. Now it’s shrunk to Geary, Divis, Fulton, Gough? (mostly everything that was knocked down and redeveloped (tragically).
    Those projects aren’t bad. Aside from looking grim, they’re probably the least scary projects in town. This place is a couple of blocks away, uphill. There used to be a dead zone around the projects (as well as the ones in Hayes Valley and Lower Haight), where the Victorians on the perimeter were basically left to decay, but that’s not the case anymore… The bars on windows are probably mostly left over from the 70s and 80s.
    Bush street is definitely loud! One advantage to a row house is that the plot is long and narrow… You almost need a buffer room for noise, but the back of the house is probably really nice. Yard and all.

  6. I’ve always thought these blocks had potential. Most of the historical properties are intact and there isn’t a lot of odd, 60s and 70s construction mucking it all up. However, there’s still a lot of blight and there aren’t a lot of street trees. The blocks south of California and north of Geary are a little hard to define. It’s not lower Pac Heights, and it’s not Western Addition. Maybe SoCa? Or NoGear? If the projects weren’t there it would probably be a great place to live.
    I’m interested to hear the reports on this place.

  7. We’ve already been through the property. It’s definitely inhabitable and current is, but as noted above a bit of elbow grease would be required by most before moving in (and a gut and rebuild is likely its best use).

  8. It seems like Hope SF is treading water on Westside Courts. They got a ~4M grant in September for “greening” or “rebuilding.” But the razing, rebuilding rumor that I think a lot of people in the area are hoping for, a la Valencia Gardens doesn’t seem to be anywhere. This guy: http://www.yelp.com/biz/westside-courts-san-francisco isn’t too happy about Westside Courts. Then again, people on Yelp aren’t generally all that happy on balance.

  9. That Amici’s map is so sad. I would to travel back to 1948 and show it to Justin Herman. Everything he touched turned to non-pizza-delivery-zone. He was so deserving of being immortalized by a fountain resembling a post-apocalyptic sewage treatment facility.
    The projects aren’t terrible, but they are projects. You definitely wouldn’t want to be directly adjacent, but Bush/Lyon is enough removed to have a negligible impact. Any kind of foot traffic to/from the projects is oriented toward Geary/Divis. The area really has been spared redevelopment. Most of the buildings date to the 1880s, with a few 20s-40s apartment buildings, and almost nothing circa 1960s… There are some beautifully preserved/restored places (especially along Lyon/Baker). Sorry for all the posts… I live in the area… and love it.

  10. It cracks me up listening to @sfrenegade speculating that this is Western Addition and @hugh stating with irrational confidence that “It’s definitely the Western Addition”
    You are both WRONG.
    Here is the official SFAR MLS Maps. Clearly that section of Bush Street falls under the “Lower Pacific Heights” District.

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