theFrontSteps – San Francisco

Prop 8 is not one that encourages sedate emotion. People are either vehemently for it, or they are just as vehemently against it. The debate between the two camps, heated as it is, often erupts into full out fighting, which we all know from our rhetoric classes is actually the opposite effect civilized, fair debate [...]

Hello out there, theFrontStep Readers! You may (or just as likely, may not) know my name from my blogs for Redfin. I’ve kindly been invited to write also for theFrontSteps, so here I am, on the steps, with my first blog. So here’s the setting: last night, 2:00am, sultry night, people walking up from the [...]

BUSH ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES “HOPE FOR HOMEOWNERS” PROGRAM TO HELP MORE STRUGGLING FAMILIES KEEP THEIR HOMES Detailed Program Eligibility Requirements Announced WASHINGTON – The Bush Administration today (10/1) unveiled additional mortgage assistance for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. The HOPE for Homeowners program will refinance mortgages for borrowers who are having difficulty making their payments, but [...]

If you’ve been wondering what all of this Government takeover of Fannie and Freddie means, you’re hardly alone, so we just went ahead and copied what we just read to give you some different perspectives of what is being said in the real estate world. We take zero credit for this, it all came from [...]

So are we, but we found some answers: H.R. 3221, the “Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008,” passed the House on July 23, 2008, by a vote of 272-152. On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 72-13. The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008. The [...]

We recently caught wind (through Realtor Advantage Online) that As reported almost two years ago, San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission is planning to propose an ordinance that would mandate the installation of ultra low-flow toilets in residential properties at point of sale (i.e., before properties are sold). [A] former aide to soon-to-be Senator Leno, is [...]

If you haven’t noticed we’re just spitting out the SFAR Advantage online as it keeps getting better the further towards the bottom we read. Just when you think it is over, Daly strikes again. Daly Introduces Ordinance Placing Two-Unit Buildings in Condominium Conversion Lottery Supervisor Chris Daly introduced a proposed ordinance that would place two-unit [...]

This also from the SFAR Advantage Online e-newsletter: Daly Introduces Two Ordinances Aimed at Rental Property Owners Supervisor Chris Daly has introduced two proposed ordinances that, if passed, will affect rental property owners. One would prohibit owner move in evictions for households with children under the age of 18 and amend the definition of disability [...]

…by none other than McGoldrick and Peskin (surprised Daly isn’t in on this one). From the SFAR Advantage Online e-newsletter we Realtors receive, and of course we’re sharing with you: Increases in Rate of Real Property Transfer Tax Rate Proposed Two Supervisors, Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick, have proposed increases in the rate of the [...]

We were just informed that it is apparently legal to have a Chicken (less than four) as a “pet” in your home in San Francisco. Hmmm…any restaurant food jokes come to mind? We couldn’t help but to cut and paste (below the break) the entire Section 37: Keeping and Feeding of Small Animals, Poultry, and [...]