In Pacific Union Realtor Susan Ring’s way of thinking, there’s no reason why 1207 Guerrero St. in Noe Valley can’t be a condo for the right, motivated owner.
It’s one unit in a two-unit building, in part because a previous owner detached two more units to create two legally advantageous two-unit structures. How is it advantageous? By The City’s laws, owner-occupied two-unit tenancies-in-common don’t even have to go into the lottery system to convert to condominiums, which are far more valuable.
Upshot: The right buyer could add a lot of value to his or her investment — but only if they’re ready to take on the paperwork, Ring said.
"You have to apply to The City and it’s very expensive, and it’s also a part-time job. It does add … 10 to 20 percent increased value," she said. "Once you start conversion, it takes at least two years to get it converted, if they’re lucky."
It’s a big enough task that the original two families haven’t gotten around to it, she added, and now the lower-unit owners want to move. But she also wonders if there’s something deeper going on in some of these eligible TICs that don’t convert.
A younger agent shared a theory with her recently, which posits that young cash-rich but community-hungry tech-worker buyers are finding at least temporary satisfaction being hitched to common property.
"It’s a way of having a community that I don’t think they have because they’re too isolated in their work," she said.
The available unit of the 1907
Victorian has three bedrooms, two on the main floor and one on a more recently added lower-floor suite, which opens to the rear courtyard with gardens and a fountain. The main floor also has a living room with bay windows and an eat-in kitchen.
The house also has storage space and a two-car side-by-side garage. It is located close to 24th Street, giving it proximity to BART and the J Church Muni line.
Where: San Francisco
Asking price: $796,000
Property tax: $10,348*
What: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
Amenities: Shared patio, hardwood floors, crown molding, two-car garage, master suite, high ceilings, crown moldings.
Agent: Susan Ring,
Pacific Union, (415) 345-2625; open house from 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. Saturday and from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
*Estimate based on 1.3% of asking price.
kwilliamson@examiner.com