theFrontSteps – San Francisco

Check out the top search terms for theFrontSteps since this second Berkeley quake hit about one hour ago. It appears there is a bit of concern out there given the recent one on top of the other quakes over there near Berkeley. I believe this is the post y’all are looking for: San Francisco Neighborhoods [...]

In a recent report sent to me via way of email I’ve learned that more than HALF of the Bay Area is living with improperly strapped/braced water heaters! A recent survey of water heater seismic bracing conducted by members of the Golden Gate Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors throughout the Bay Area [...]

  This blog is graciously donated by Missionite, long time reader of and writer for The Frontsteps, as well as writer of his own blog, Submedian. FINALLY GOT ONE Well we finally got one. We just got the keys and haven’t moved in yet. Despite the market conditions we didn’t get a steal, paid over [...]

The tip came in: I thought your readers might find it interesting that poor Stephen Fowler’s house (4218 25th Street) of “Wife Swap” infamy is now on the market. I thought it would only be a matter of time before they moved on to less scrutinized pastures, and now is that time. The home, situated [...]

Having just purchased our first bag of “Sweet Tooth Espresso” from Ritual Roasters after more than six years of dedicated grinding, tamping, and pouring exclusively of Blue Bottle Coffee, we’re a bit torn as to what to do. We’ve had Ritual on many different occasions, but allowing their beans to enter into the home, and [...]

From $138,900 to $49,900 (the magic number) 880 Ashwood Ave, Vallejo, CA was quite simply too good to pass up. View Larger Map We’re not sure if it was the price that was so eye-catching ($49,900..oh! Too late, it’s “pending”) or the property description: REO/bank-owned property. Property has mold. Mold inspection report indicates the need [...]

Man! The stories I have personally encountered within this last week are beyond imagination. Here’s just one thing that has happened to me this week. -2004 I sell condo in a 30+ unit building, shortly after I sell two more in the same building -2009 one of the neighbors calls my previous brokerage to ask [...]

How much is a parking spot worth in San Francisco? Let’s wait and see: 88 Townsend P138…just the parking spot, on the market, asking price…$65,000. Days On Market…30 and counting. That’s

I have to admit, watching the banks, AIG, the automakers, and finally, homeowners get a bail out, I did more than once cry out piteously: “But who the f— will bail out me?” Answer: Chris Daly. I didn’t really ask for this kind of bailout, but Daly’s constituents are largely renters; and hey, so is [...]

    The Where Blog, dedicated to intelligent discourse on urban life, recently posed the following question: How do people stay sane in crowded cities? Quoting E.M. Cioran, Whenever I happen to be in a city of any size, I marvel that riots do not break out every day: massacres, unspeakable carnage, a doomsday chaos. [...]