A longtime reader recommends taking a look, and we have to agree. If not for the Bertazzoni (in the kitchen), custom sound dampening (it is the lower unit), and lighting/green technology (“…the owner is an energy conservation and lighting expert, the remodel has been designed with Green technologies and renewables”), then simply to check out the great use of a blog to cleanly present the property and its details. Now if only there were floor plans…
∙ Listing: 119 Hancock Street (2/2) – $899,000 (TIC) [blogspot] [McGuire]
Beautiful place, but advertising Cat-5 wiring, as if everyone hasn’t already switched to wireless, and track lighting, made the Realtor’s description, to me, seem like it was dated, and maybe too impressed with a feature that was real popular when they installed it in the 90s. Almost like, “cold AND hot running water!” Um, great.
And geez, the description of the Bertazzoni, “precision-engineered in Northern Italy’s Emilia-Romagna, a region world-famous for its food” (as opposed to maybe being engineered in a region or even a company known to produce great ovens and stoves? or maybe USED by cooks in a region known for its food?) seemed lame.
The place is beautiful and interesting. But wow, I’m unimpressed by the marketing.
Bertazzoni does make some beautiful stoves and is known for both performance and engineering. Love the woodwork but not sold on the built-in table.
I still prefer a wired LAN – so CAT 5 wiring is a plus (but how about CAT 6 or CAT 7?).
overall, the marketing is great for this price point(professional site, staging, photography etc). sure, it’s a bit overworked/cheesy in a few places, but the attention to detail and green references are nice.
more importantly, what’s up with the mirror backsplash behind the stove?
CAT5 is way better than wireless. It is secure, faster, and less configuration to run. If it is 5E, you probably can get close to 500mbps. So, yes, I would absolutely value a house with CAT5(E) more than one without.
The debate here regarding hardwired LAN systems really points out the short life span of any technology these days. I confess I have no idea what I would put in if I was building from scratch – except for a way oversized empty conduit perhaps. Starting today, by the time you got your permit in San Francisco what would it be, CAT69 or so?
No, wired Ethernet technology hasn’t changed that much. It is the same wire (although the quality of the wire has changed a lot), pin layout and connector, and it is both forward compatible and backward compatible.
And you only need to worry about Gbit. It won’t change much for decades because it is way faster than any hard driver you can get, even RAID, and it is way faster than any kind of video streaming you may need.
Wireless, on the other hand, has changed a lot. But even the best and newest wireless right now cannot match the reliability of wired 100 Base-T (100mbps) which is decade old technology. So, getting CAT5E (good enough for 500mbps in most cases) is enough for the next 20 to 30 years. If you are not sure, get CAT6 (good for 1gbps).
John at June 6,
I have printed out your response and filed it away and I will look at it again on June 6, 2017. But I suspect it will seem then like someone talking about tube radios on December 6, 1941.
redseca2, if you installed 10BASE-T in 1987 (the state of art then), it would be quite usable in 97, and it is still usable today for most people. It is faster than Wifi .b (which a lot of people still use) and only .G and .N can really outperform it.
So, you can read it in 2027 or 2037, and I will still say if you have 5E today, you will be fine then.
To tipster, on their marketing: I like they used plain old blog format to market the property (from a free blogging service no less). It’s a lot cleaner and more-intuitive than the monstrous websites deployed by properties offered at five times as much. I haven’t seen that before, but perhaps others have?
As for the blustery “blog posts”, I might agree, but it’s a blog after all 🙂
Also agree that Cat* wiring is a plus, tho a minor one (we hired an electrician to run it in our house for under 1000). Now if there’s a server cage, maybe that’s something 🙂
To dub, did you add the wiring during a remodel? I assume the dry wall has to be off to have it installed?
@John — nope. Guy crawled under the foundation/into the attic, cut holes in the drywall in a few places (almost every room, except the bathrooms) and it was done in an afternoon. Simple time+materials.
I’d suggest buying the line yourself to save even more money, something I should have thought of myself 🙂
dub,
good to know. I would want to install CAT5E some day in all of my rooms, but I am not that great cutting the wires. The ethernet cables I bought pre-made are way more reliable than the ones I made, and I blame it on the cheap cutter I use.
And I imagine it would need a different kind of cutter tool for the wall plate end of the wires.
BTW, Did you get a Gbit switch/router for it?
Yeah, Cat5 wiring is pretty easy to install unless you have a big, crazy house. A friend just did it himself in his 2BR flat in a weekend. For sellers, this is a pretty cheap “lipstick on a pig” thing to add to up the (perceived) value of your place.
$899k for that? Help me out here, but isn’t it underpriced significantly? I understand trying to start a bidding war, but a 2/2 flat,redone quite nicely on Hancock, a charming street in the Castro between the village and Dolores Park. Am I missing something? I’d think that’d be worth over a million. No?
I think it should go for over 1M, but it is a TIC, however my TIC Partner sold his lower unit in the panhandle for 1M, and i think I’d chose the hancock unit over the one downstairs from me.
Hancock is a pretty nice street, although walking up that hill each night isn’t optimal.
It looks dark, built into the side of the hill. Some of the rooms almost look like they are in a basement, with the windows high up. The marble is super cheesy. A million for this?? I doubt it.
I lived in the flat upstairs from this way back in the day, and even the upstairs was a little dark. And even 30 years ago, parking was a joke. Sure hope all your friends live within walking distance.