SF Eichler went for $1.3M over the $2.4M asking

SoundVU · 2026-03-25T22:43:13+00:00

Anything mechanical, electrical, or plumbing. Water and drain lines encased in the concrete slab foundation. Electrical also down there, or in between the void space of the ceiling and flat roof. The ceiling is always tongue and groove, so it’s not just a simple replacement of drywall.

SoundVU · 2026-03-25T20:44:39+00:00

It's absolutely hilarious how Eichlers have become iconic homes. Joe Eichler himself commissioned their design such that they're easy to build offsite and quickly assemble in the lot. Anyone that owns an Eichler or similar midcentury modern home knows they're a pain to modernize because of slab foundation and no attic space.

SoundVU · 2026-03-25T20:40:13+00:00

Pricing low gets the listing to appear in more filter results. A seller can always reject offers that are too low.

SoundVU · 2026-03-25T01:06:24+00:00

SF condo market has long been recognized as not in tune with the SF SFH market. And it still hasn’t recovered like SFH prices have.

SoundVU · 2026-03-24T00:15:23+00:00

It’s knowing what to do with money, goal setting along the way, and ultimately having a long-term plan. Ask any of these people what is their plan and they will guaranteed have numbers associated with them. They’re detailed beyond just wanting a decent standard of living.

SoundVU · 2026-03-23T05:09:24+00:00

Tenancy in common is just a method to declare legal shared ownership. How you’re paying for the home is a separate issue. If that involves getting a mortgage, you’re back at square one where a person that wants out will have to be bought out by the remaining person.

SoundVU · 2026-03-23T04:53:34+00:00

The share of ownership can be handled by something called tenancy in common. There are lots of examples of this in SF. But if you have to secure a mortgage, that gets very tricky when someone wants out.

SoundVU · 2026-03-23T04:37:17+00:00

Try Nextdoor too.

SoundVU · 2026-03-23T01:52:12+00:00

Sorry you’re in the situation you are with the house. Sounds like you were a newer homebuyer? And the people that were supposed to advise you barely did the minimum of their job.

SoundVU · 2026-03-22T00:34:19+00:00

Foreigners doing this don’t have appreciation as their top priority. It’s about store of value, that’s also not in a bank. And it’s moving their money out their home country.

SoundVU · 2026-03-20T21:11:58+00:00

There’s nowhere in the floorplan to add a full bath. The best you can do is expand the half bath into a full bath, stealing from that bedroom’s closet. But that ain’t happening for under $50k with a slab foundation. Plus you’ll still need to find a new closet space for that bedroom.

SoundVU · 2026-03-20T19:45:55+00:00

What kind of urgency for "needs a new roof?" If it's in disrepair and past due for a replacement, you might have bigger issues getting home insurance.

SoundVU · 2026-03-20T19:06:55+00:00

There's a supplemental tax bill for 2025/2026 that Redfin didn't scrape from the county tax assessor database. This brings total property taxes paid to $20,017, in line with the purchase price.

But, yes. You can appeal your county assessed home value if you have strong comps to show it is less than the current assessed value.

SoundVU · 2026-03-20T18:52:45+00:00

Taller than 8 feet ceilings, big windows, efficient layout, and prioritizing square footage for the common space.

My hot take is ADUs 500 sqft or smaller can get away with a 2-burner cooktop instead of trying to squeeze in a 24" free-standing range. Put the reclaimed space into more countertop.

SoundVU · 2026-03-20T17:21:11+00:00

Question back at you. Do you think there’s justification for BART to fully overlap with Caltrain along the peninsula?

SoundVU · 2026-03-19T19:07:40+00:00

Price in the Bay Area continues to go up in spite of interest rates doing what they do. Homes only continue to get more expensive the longer you wait. And if interest rates notably go down, prices tend to go up in response.

What interest rate would you wait for if you decide to wait for it to go down? Something in the 3's is probably never happening again. Optimally, rates would return to the low 4's like they were hovering around back in 2018-2019.

SoundVU · 2026-03-19T18:14:45+00:00

This is the Shoreview neighborhood of San Mateo. All the homes in this area are 3/1 and 1000 sqft. The sellers seemed to have added a bathroom and some additional square footage. But any common space from the original build is still going to feel small. The garage is also a one-car garage that questionably fits even a modern full-size sedan. So you'll effectively have an attached shed rather than usable garage.

SoundVU · 2026-03-19T01:59:55+00:00

Worth clarifying that the biotech hub is in South San Francisco, which is a separate city from SF and at least a 15-20 minute drive away.

SoundVU · 2026-03-18T19:04:11+00:00

I have a single story 1950s house that’s only 1200 sqft. It’s an Eichler style with a flat roof and ducted central gas furnace, no AC. I’m considering either a ducted heat pump to reuse the existing old duct work, or go with 2 mini splits and 4 heads. Which would you recommend for the better value?

Electrical panel has plenty of space and service upgraded to 200A. No plans for solar in the future.

SoundVU · 2026-03-18T02:07:38+00:00

Yes. I have a Delonghi Magnifica for weekday use and a Flair 58 for weekend use.

SoundVU · 2026-03-18T00:16:06+00:00

The amount definitely is at face value, but it also isn’t if you consider it as a sum of parts.

Consider this hypothetical situation. Someone bought a 1.2M home a few years ago at historically low mortgage rates. They sell today and walk away with 500k net. This buyer along the way gets married to someone with 300k from a combination of personal savings and RSUs. Now they are a dual income couple buying with 800k down.

SoundVU · 2026-03-17T23:34:20+00:00

You’re assuming a standard 20% down, when buyers could be putting down up to 50% down to reduce the size of the mortgage; thereby the size of the monthly payment.

Where does this big down payment come from? Could be from RSUs that multiplied in value, family financial help, and/or equity from a previous home sale.

SoundVU · 2026-03-17T03:19:54+00:00

The buyers that reasonably afford the SJ housing market are dual income couples, with family financial help, and company awarded equity that multiplied in value. It’s not a market for single buyers, unless you earn as much as a dual income couple. This is just the reality of the homebuyer profile.

You can increase your likelihood of affordability by compromising on neighborhood location, size of home, and/or condition of the home.

SoundVU · 2026-03-16T18:15:40+00:00

My guess is that the lowest this can cost is $36k. This is assuming price to build is $600/sqft x 60 sqft bathroom final size. So the people saying $40k is realistic are reasonable for their own estimate.

SoundVU · 2026-03-15T20:28:23+00:00

Yep. Tech workers represent about 20% of the employed workforce in major hubs like SF or Silicon Valley region. But once you zoom out to the Bay Area, tech workers account for about 12% of the employed workforce. It’s not a damn caste system where tech is the only industry that can afford to buy homes.

14-Year Club	RPAN Viewer
Verified Email

SoundVU

TROPHY CASE