One of the oldest houses on Russian Hill, and one of only two surviving homes in San Francisco with an octagonal floor plan, the landmark Feusier Octagon House at 1067 Green Street has popped up on Craigslist as a rental with an asking rent of $10,000 a month.
Built in the mid-1800s, possibly as early as 1852, and obviously “updated” a bit since, the Feusier House survived the Great Quake in 1906 and was saved from the fire when its outbuildings were dynamited to create a firebreak.
A fad in the mid-19th century when Orson Squire Fowler, a New York phrenologist, tied one’s well-being to the shape and construction of one’s home, the octagonal floor plan was “prescribed so that every room could receive sunlight at some time of the day.”
Purchased for $2.8 million in 1998, the Feusier House was on the market in 2012 listed for over $4 million but never sold.
Assume if they were guaranteed 10,000 a month for the next 5 years in rental income and that just about covered the buyers mortgage payments + property tax, would that make it a good investment for the 5 year period?
I guess the more general question is if the rental income from the tenants is equal to mortgage (principal + interest) +1.18% property tax+ hoa= would that be a good investment? I don’t understand the tax implications. Any experts care to comment?
that seems cheap to me
the octagonal floor plan was “prescribed so that every room could receive sunlight at some time of the day.”
It would be quite the trick to build a free-standing house with windows that didn’t receive sunlight in some room at any time during daylight hours.
My phrenologist beat up your feng shui master.
It’s not cheap considering it’s layout. While it’s a lovely house, the lay-out is very ‘unique.’ The dining room and master bedroom are on the first floor, while the kitchen is on the second floor. Makes for exciting trips up and down the stairs with hot plates and dirty dishes. The kitchen is also across from guest bedrooms, leaving no one with provacy. The top floor is essentially a ‘look-out nook’ which is super cute, but not a very functional space.
I love how quirky this place is. Finally something with character, in a town in love with blah modern remodels …
When my grandmother, a third generation Bay Area native, died this past spring at the age of 92 we found among her many belongings a bound hand written letter. This letter was from the original owner of the octagonal house. He spoke very highly of living in San Francisco and of gave some details of this octagonal house. I knew immediately which house the letter was referring to because – come on how many octagonal houses are in San Francisco. No one knows why she had the letter, and why it was bound. Strange indeed.
UPDATE: Priced at $8.6 million this past May, the list price for the landmark Feusier Octagon House has jut been dropped to $7.8 million.