Listed for $699,000 in September 2005, the remodeled 848 Potrero (a “single-family” home with unwarranted one-bedroom below) sold for $849,000 that November. Back on the market just over two years later asking $859,000, the property closed escrow with a reported contract price of $920,000 in April 2008.
Recently painted, 848 Potrero is back on the market and listed for $799,000 this September. And while the rent roll doesn’t appear to be listed, in 2005 the one-bedroom below was rented for $1,300 per month.
∙ Listings: 848 Potrero Avenue (2/2) 1,490 sqft – $799,000 [MLS]
not my favorite part of town, but this is a really cute place.
What’s the rule about real estate?? something about the three L’s?
Who’s M and J?
Should be interesting to see how far up into the $800K’s this house settles for. While I wouldn’t want to live right on potrero ave, the 20th street corridor has really been showing signs of change over the last few years. In fact, those more residential (as opposed to loft/warehouse) parts of the inner mission are all excellent places to buy into now — the area probably has the highest velocity of change in the city at the moment. (change in terms of wealthy residents moving into the area, new business, shops, etc setting up, etc.)
Also — something worth noting about the area is the shocking number of young street trees that have been planted in the last few years — as sign of new owners who care and if you have the eye to see it a future in 5-10 years of beautiful mature trees lining the streets.
Sub-par areas like this part of Potrero have gone down a lot since the bubble top.
I think 800s is overly optimistic. Bubbletoppers used to gloss over pesky little details like a downstairs tenant and the day-to-day issue related to this:
– Rent is way under market? At first this is OK, but when bills flow their way to you without any recourse with the renter the sense of being made accrues little by little.
– Renter complains about something in the unit he underpays? If the repair costs a bit, you’ve got yourself the initial wedge that could turn the situation sour (and tenants are often in the position of power in SF).
– Are you sharing a garden? Hawkward. You have to agree on “visiting rights” just like divorced couples do.
– A TANDEM parking? Even more hawkward. Who’s front and who’s back? Will the tenant allow you to have his keys and move his car? Will the tenant have YOUR keys?
No doubt 2 renters can agree on these things. 2 owners too. 1 owner and one (underpaying?) renter? There are too many ways to have this go sour.
Agreed lol.. And it gets tricky if the tenant has been allowed use of the garage, or the garden, or anything. Once they get it, you can’t take it away. Even if it’s not in the lease.
Is $1300/mo for an unwarranted 1BR basement apartment beneath the owner (I’d certainly discount for that) really “under market” for this location? I don’t think so.
No realtor would market it as “basement” apartment. More like “garden unit”. Plus garden access and a parking space have a great value in SF. 1600 to 1700 in this location, imho.
But neither the current rent nor the tenant access rights are publicized in the MLS post. We’re just “assuming” the lower unit pays ~1300 and has garage and garden privilege.
Wife pointed this out to me and said “didn’t we think this was overpriced when we looked at it back in 2008?”. Interestingly enough, it certainly seems to have been.
Are people glossing over the fact that this is a very small 1/1 for $799K with an illegal 1/1 unit below? Did anyone forget what year this is?
Just check out the house down the street that sold in May — 762 Potrero, a 3/1.25 for $779K:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/762-Potrero-Ave-94110/home/1157804
I’m not clear why 848 Poterero should sell in the 800s, per Big V. Either you want to use it as a 2/2 without interior stairs and have all this wasted space because of a second kitchen, or you want to subsidize a tenant. Neither situation seems better than 762 Potrero, which has its problems but is far better than this place.
The photos look nicer than I would have expected for a place on Potrero Ave. I’m surprised that it’s listed for so much; I’d not suspected that anyone would live on Potrero Ave. by choice.
I lived on Potrero Ave. for three years and loved it. I feel safer on a main street than the narrower blocks east of Potrero ave, there are less car break-ins on Potrero ave. compare to its neighboring streets, and it’s only busy on morning and evening rush hour. This location is so convenient, you’re right in the middle of everything. I used to walk to Trader Joes, Safeway, Whole Food, the gym, and all the fine restaurants and it’s only five minutes from my work. Plus, this area has gone thru a lot of changes. My friend moved to the Union on Bryant st and said he has doctors and lawyers as his neighbors.
Personally, I’d rather own a house than a condo; so considering a 2/2 1,000 sf condo on Bryant st was going for around $725k, I think this place is worth at least the same. I’m assuming the 1/1 owner unit is about the same size as the 2/2 1,000 sf condo; thus if for the same price you get a yard, no HOA, updated home, and more parking space vs a condo, I’d buy the home instead. Not to mention a little rental income to supplement the mortgage. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but that’s how I’d rationalize it.
“The photos look nicer than I would have expected for a place on Potrero Ave.”
Very true. It does look well done and it could work for a single person or couple without kids. The big risk is inheriting a tenant you know nothing about. I’d put a contingency that the whole building be delivered empty upon sale. You can then bring in your own tenant or reclaim the space for yourself. (I don’t think that’s going to be easy however.)
I know that area of town has gentrified significantly over the past 5 years but Potrero Ave is overall pretty unattractive. That said, the Mission has shown suprising resiliency so I would not be surprised if it sells around asking or just under.
I’ve seen this house over the years as I knew the folks who did the renovation. I can attest that the remodel is very well done. The unit downstairs is gorgeous, and the back porch is great too. If I remember correctly, the garage is only a facade – they used the garage space to make the bedroom down – but I may not be remembering correctly. This stretch of Potrero is surprisingly quiet and peaceful at night – this is a good block if you’re going to live on Potrero.
The garage is a very small one-car garage. The unit down is super cute, the upper unit is smallish, but pretty and has a great eastern view. I passed on making an offer on it in 08 because it was just a tad too small and I was apprehensive about the noise from Potrero.
Had it been off Potrero by one block it would have been a great buy.
tenant is a musician.
It’s impossible to judge how nice the place is or if there are noise issues from Potrero Avenue until you have walked through it. I’ve been in the market for awhile now and seen a couple of other places on Potrero. One was a dump with no backyard directly across from an intersection and the other one was a charming place that needed too much work. This house looks fixed up, set back from the street in the front, but still with a big backyard. I’m definitely going to go check it out. My agent told me she was told that the tenant has no rights to the garage or driveway.
“20th Street Corridor”? Street tries as a sign of an up and coming community that a savvy investor’s eyes might spot?
A RE sales person pointing someone toward a 1/1 for $800 K and telling the buyer to be what the tenant does and does not have rights to?
What year is this?
This place has “financial death star” written all over it. Read, repeat: Tenant is a musician.
A musician is not a protected tenant, unless the musician is over 65 and lived there for ten years. As a single family home, there are ways to get the unprotected tenant out; it’s messy but not impossible like with a multi-unit building. Like I said, an updated 2/2 1,400+ sf SFH for mid-$700k is not bad considering 2/2 1,000 sf condos nearby sold for around $725k.
I don’t think the “musician” comment had to do with any protected status, but with the peculiarities associated with renting out to someone with a less “boilerplate” lifestyle than your usual boring office drone, like music sounds + irregular income.
Not that you should discriminate against this type of tenant, on the contrary. Most of the tenants I have met in a non-standard category were very much thankful to their landlords and acting accordingly. Not like your Ivy League overachiever who’s going to complain because the place is not 110% per-fect.
Or lawyers. Don’t get me started with lawyers…
The list price for 848 Potrero has just been reduced to $749,000. Once again, purchased for $920,000 in April 2008 having sold for $849,000 in November 2005.
This is ridonculous! This is a nice house in a nice location. I lived on Potrero Ave for years, the traffic is nowhere near as bad as some of you are making it out to be. There is some morning and after work traffic but that’s it. The problem is the price and the home configuration, not so so much the location; $799k was simply too high, now that it has been lowered to $749k, I think this will move. All along I predicted this place will go somewhere around $725k, we shall see. Another issue is that a 1/1 house is always going to be a challenge to sell. 1/1 should be a condo, not a house. Forget moving the house one block, if this had been a 2/2 SFH (no inlaw) with all 1,400 sq ft on one level then I think this would have been sold already.
UPDATE: One Less Listing (But Without A Reported Sale).
Sale just closed for $750K.