In August of 1997 it sold for $449,000. In April of 2000 for $728,000. In July of 2003 for $779,000. And in May of 2007 it sold for $950,000.
Yes, up, up, up despite the series of short term holds.
Unsuccessfully listed and relisted six times since, penthouse number five atop 900 Bush Street has returned to the market as a short sale listed for “$700,000” with floor to ceiling living room windows, big views, and 1,077 square feet according to an old listing or two.
∙ Listing: 900 Bush Street PH5 (2/2) 1,077 sqft – “$700,000” (short sale) [MLS]
Just one photo of the actual unit and no square footage reported? Hmmm….
Yes, seems a bit sketchy. Not sure that it surprises me too much about the price though.
If I were an exhibitionist…
I love the windows in the picture above… wish that they had pics on the listing though…
who on earth would bother going to look at this when you can’t even see a picture of the actual unit?
why not just put a listing in the Classifieds like this:
“Gr8 2/2 PH on Bush”.
it’s about as helpful as that MLS listing.
I know it’s a short sale, but it’s still a SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR short sale. Surely, the agent could spare 1 minute to snap a few pics with their iPhone?
“Surely, the agent could spare 1 minute to snap a few pics with their iPhone?”
The lack of photos is probably intentional. The LR/DR photo has the “wow” factor and photos of the other spaces would just dull that impression.
$700k + $744 monthly HOAs for no in-unit, common area coin-operated laundry?
Seriously?
Huge HOA!
Price sounds good.
And this is really unprofessionally to not show the unit on the pictures.
I am assuming the funiture is all white to keep it from going up in flames on sunny days?
The space is beautiful, most greenhouses are, but it better have some serious AC to keep it cool and you better love light colored furniture (or make sure there is some serious UV protection built in) because anything else is going to fade very fast.
I will disagree that the HOA dues are huge
The place has a swimming pool, plus thelisting says HOA fees include:
Water, Garbage, Cable TV, Ext Bldg Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance, Security Service, Homeowners Insurance
I would say you get quite a lot for your money.
$744 HOA can hardly be classified as “huge”.
Note the blinds covering the wall of windows that look onto another building. and if there were other photos it would show a very dated place with very low ceilings in all other rooms.
this building feels older and older by the day, and unlike victorians and fine wine which grow in character as they age, this old 1980’s built place feels like dorm room living – a healthy step below hotel living.
and don’t think of it as a penthouse. it is on the top floor yes, but has nothing in common with a real penthouse. that said, $700k may do the trick. $650k on the low end.
“$744 HOA can hardly be classified as “huge”.”
On a $700K place that’s under 1100 sqft in a building with 187 units? That’s almost $9K/year. lol, saying that maintenance is included is nonsensical — of course it is. Other listings I’ve seen mentioned heat being included, but not water, garbage, and cable. On a $560K loan at 4.5%, that’s like having an extra $147K in principal, or more than 25%. Ouch.
Some units have it worse, of course. #321 sold for $436K but has a higher HOA of $808:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/900-Bush-St-94109/unit-321/home/554228
yes, but you get a parking, a pool, security, cable. Cable alone would be $50-100. Have you ever paid a homeowner’s insurance? It’s a couple of hundreds a month depending on how much you value rebuilding in case of fire or other. A parking rents for $200/month+ almost anywhere in the city. Plus you have security, meaning paychecks. People’s paychecks divided by 187 still means a few bucks except if you get people to work for free.
Also elevator maintenance has to be considered.
An HOA without the additions I quoted would be a minimum of $200. Add all the items and you go way north of 500. I manage my building’s HOA. I see the bills.
“Water, Garbage, Cable TV, Ext Bldg Maintenance, Grounds Maintenance, Security Service, Homeowners Insurance”
That’s what it says on the listing. No mention of parking. If it includes parking, the argument likely disappears.
Also is that really homeowner’s insurance, or is it insurance for the building itself? The latter is expected.
I got so caught up in the HOA thing people mentioned that I forgot to comment that this place is listed for less than the 2000 price.
if you owned a home you would have at least $200 in monthly bills. a 2-unit building where the owners pay as they go pay roughly $200 per month. so lol is right that’s the basics…. like water, garbage, and hazard insurance for any home ownership.
fyi, the insurance is NOT walls in – that’s a separate insurance you can choose or not on your own – very similar to renters insurance.
after your $200 in basics, you have outside property management, the doorman, common area maintance……. and then the big one when a building is trying to take care of itself…. padding the Reserves. So maybe this building is spending $500 per month per unit and the rest is going to Reserves so that when the roof caves in the owners don’t have to come out of pocket.
buyers always fall in love with low HOA dues…. and then get his with a $10k or $15k assessment for something that never occurred to them.
as for #321’s dues, there was a point where this building temporarily raised dues during a fight about a special assessment. i’m pretty sure #321 would not have lower dues.
if you owned a home you would have at least $200 in monthly bills. a 2-unit building where the owners pay as they go pay roughly $200 per month. so lol is right that’s the basics…. like water, garbage, and hazard insurance for any home ownership.
fyi, the insurance is NOT walls in – that’s a separate insurance you can choose or not on your own – very similar to renters insurance.
after your $200 in basics, you have outside property management, the doorman, common area maintance……. and then the big one when a building is trying to take care of itself…. padding the Reserves. So maybe this building is spending $500 per month per unit and the rest is going to Reserves so that when the roof caves in the owners don’t have to come out of pocket.
buyers always fall in love with low HOA dues…. and then get his with a $10k or $15k assessment for something that never occurred to them.
as for #321’s dues, there was a point where this building temporarily raised dues during a fight about a special assessment. i’m pretty sure #321 would now have lower dues.
sfrenegade,
The MLS has a one car parking listed. Non leased.
is SS giving anyone else problems lately – crashes my browser, seems like it doesn’t post so I try again and it shows up twice, and other posts not showing up at all. just wondering if i’m having software problems that aren’t evident elsewhere?
“sfrenegade,
The MLS has a one car parking listed. Non leased.”
Does that mean deeded?
Also, homeowner’s insurance covers building damage. For instance a 1M coverage would cost you 3 to 4K a year more or less. For a 1000sf place and a very theoretical rebuilding cost of 500K this would be in the range of $150.
Reserves, like hangemhi said, are another issue. My HOA built it when it was created and we’re not touching it with special assessments, nor feeding it. It’s emergencies only. The provision for insurance provides some cushion though.
The listing at McGuire has the parking listed:
http://www.mcguire.com/listings/394208-900-Bush-Street-PH-5-San-Francisco-California-94109-Condo-Co-op-Financial-District-Barbary-Coast-382063
“One car parking (assigned)”