San Francisco, CA
$1.4 million San Francisco house snapped up for shockingly low price — but it comes with a huge headache
A classic Edwardian home in San Francisco‘s Russian Hill with timeless character has been snapped up for $488,000 by a savvy homebuyer.
The unusually low price is far less than half of the city’s $1.2 million median list price and an even smaller portion of the property’s estimated $1.4 million value.
Though the home might seem like a dream bargain at first glance, it comes with a rather astonishing catch: The new owner may not move into the property for the next 30 years.
According to the listing, the property is currently tenant-occupied under San Francisco’s tenant protection laws, and the current lucky occupant, who pays an incredibly low monthly rent of $417, signed a lease that locked in strict rent controls and grants occupancy rights extending until 2053.
These laws are designed to protect long-term renters, securing low costs over a years long period and enabling the current tenant to take full control over payments of all utilities, including water, garbage, and energy bills.
There’s no wiggle room either. The sale was strictly as is, according to the listing, which also noted that agents were unable to guarantee access to the property for an inspection or even a walk-through before purchase.
The seller also had the right to reject or counter any offers.
Perhaps understandably, given the legal complexities that come with the home, any potential buyers were urged to review the full disclosure package and consult with an attorney before committing to purchasing the house.
And that’s not the only “catch” to have come with the property.
Per the listing, the former male owner of the house died inside it. He was over the age of 100 and died of natural causes.
When the home was first listed, it sparked a frenzy of excitement and intrigue.
One neighbor at the time, Ilia Smith, told ABC News that there was a line of people wrapped around the block waiting for a chance to peek inside the unique home.
“My husband came in and said, ‘You’ve got to look out the window. There’s a line from the house all the way to the middle of the block,’” she said.
Ultimately, it was revealed that the home had been the subject of a bitter family feud, according to the San Francisco Standard, which reported that the home was listed by Todd Lee, who is the son of the current tenant, Sandra Lee.
According to the Standard, the property was purchased by Sandra’s parents, Florence and Kenneth Goo, in the 1970s. The Goos lived there for many years until they both died in the home, in 2006 and 2018, respectively.
Sandra, who has been living in the home since 2018, told the Standard that the property had been listed by her son without her permission. He was unaware of the iron-clad lease clauses that Kenneth had secretly written into her rental agreement before his death, she added.
“If it wasn’t for the lease that [my son] didn’t know about that was made in 2018, I don’t know where we’d be,” she told the publication. “It’s unfathomable, the deception, the betrayal—this is my son doing this to me.”
Property records indicate that the home was actually purchased by Sandra’s daughter, Cheryl Lee, suggesting that the family rift has since been put aside and that the new owner will not have to worry about dealing with the difficulties of having a stranger occupying their home for the next three decades.
At the time of the home’s original listing, experts at local company Kinoko Real Estate explained the complexities of buying this kind of property. There are a few upsides to purchasing a dwelling that already has a long-term tenant installed, they noted.
“Real estate investors might be intrigued by the long-term investment opportunity,” the company’s website said. “The guaranteed rental income for nearly three decades is attractive, especially considering San Francisco’s historically rising rents.”
However, according to Kinoko, the downsides are much more obvious.
“While the long-term rental income might be enticing, there are some significant drawbacks to consider,” the website goes on. “Firstly, the buyer has no control over the property for nearly three decades. Major repairs or renovations would be at the mercy of the tenant’s cooperation.
“Additionally, predicting the housing market in 2053 is a fool’s errand. There’s no guarantee the property will appreciate in value as much as hoped, especially considering the long wait time.”
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San Francisco, CA
Dozens of apparent shopping carts stuck in marsh along SF Bay: ‘How did they get there?!’
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KGO) — Dozens of apparent shopping carts are stuck in a marsh along the San Francisco Bay. And residents are puzzled as to how they got there.
“It’s crazy! Gross!” said Kim Avalos, who frequents the trail. “What is that?!”
The San Francisco Bay Trail in South San Francisco curves around the mouth of the Colma Creek marsh. It’s a popular walking and running trail, but local residents are starting to notice something in the water.
“Now that I’m looking at… wow…there’s actually so many shopping carts out here,” said Avalos. “There’s an extreme amount.”
Avalos works for a nearby garbage company. She says she walks the trail every day but has never seen anything like this.
“It’s actually kind of insane to think about how they even got there,” Avalos said.
It’s the same story for others who frequent the trail. At first glance, mistaking the debris for rocks until they actually stare at it.
“It kind of blends in,” said Hondres when we approached him on the trail. “I’ve never seen grocery carts out in the Bay like this… I don’t know, it’s kind of weird.”
“Have you noticed it before?” 7 On Your Side’s Stephanie Sierra asked another passer-by.
“Uh… no. This is kind of new,” he said. “Someone is being very stupid… I’ve seen them over the years. I don’t remember there being this many. There’s quite a few.”
Many people who frequent the trail said when it’s high tide it’s hard to notice anything.
“It does look like shopping carts, do you know if that’s what it is?”
It’s hard to say for sure. But at low tide, it certainly looks that way.
“It does look like shopping carts, amongst other things,” Save the Bay representative Josh Quigley said.
And there’s not just one or two, but there’s what appears to be dozens of them spanning the Colma Creek marsh adjacent to the bay.
“Have you ever seen this many shopping carts along the bay?” Stephanie Sierra asked.
“I have not, no,” Quigley said. “This is certainly the greater concentration that I’ve ever seen in one place.”
Quigley is the Senior Policy Manager for Save the Bay, an environmental nonprofit founded in 1961 to stop excessive filling of the San Francisco Bay.
“I think it’s really unfortunate… the bay is treated not as the jewel and resource that it should be, but as a dumping ground,” Quigley said.
So, where is it all coming from? That seems to be up for debate.
“It could be a big prank, if anything, but at this rate I have no idea,” said Alvin Lau, who visits the trail regularly.
“There’s often homeless people in the mobile RV vehicles,” said another. “There’s always a lot of trash here, not going to lie.”
“I don’t know, maybe Costco. They are our neighbors,” Kim Avalos said. “Could be because they do look bigger.”
A Costco Business Center is about a mile from Colma Marsh. 7 On Your Side reached out to Costco’s corporate office, and the South San Francisco Costco General Manager said: “We walk and clean the trail multiple times a week, in addition to checking for any carts that might end up in the bay.”
The goal now is to clean it out — and ensure it stays that way.
“Stop being dumb. There’s only one planet we got, so take care of it,” said Lau.
“It hurts me as an animal lover to see all these shopping carts in their place of habitat,” Avalos said.
“Save the Bay” says overall pollution is decreasing across the bay shoreline, but there are instances–like this one–where smaller pockets need to be addressed.
Locally, there are regulations in place to prevent this type of pollution.
7 On Your Side contacted the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to further investigate and clean up the area.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
7OYS’s consumer hotline is a free consumer mediation service for those in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assist individuals with consumer-related issues; we cannot assist on cases between businesses, or cases involving family law, criminal matters, landlord/tenant disputes, labor issues, or medical issues. Please review our FAQ here. As a part of our process in assisting you, it is necessary that we contact the company / agency you are writing about. If you do not wish us to contact them, please let us know right away, as it will affect our ability to work on your case. If we are able to assist you, we will reach back out.
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SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco will celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary this July 4 with a rare fireworks show on the Golden Gate Bridge, the mayor’s office announced Monday. It will be the first time in 14 years, and the third time ever, that a fireworks display will be held on the iconic span.
“The Golden Gate Bridge is as iconic as any landmark in the United States, so it’s an ideal place to launch fireworks for our country’s 250th anniversary,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a news release announcing the event.
With the change of venue for the city’s annual July 4 fireworks show, the mayor’s office is providing guidance on where to watch, and where not to watch, this year’s Golden Gate Bridge display, set to begin at 9:30 p.m.
Recommended viewing locations:
- Crissy Field
- Marina Green
- Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39
The mayor’s office noted that “because this year’s fireworks will launch from the east side of the Golden Gate Bridge between its two towers, the best viewing areas are those with a clear northwest sightline toward the bridge.”
Locations that are not recommended for viewing the fireworks show due to obstructed views include Ocean Beach, the Ferry Building and the Embarcadero waterfront.
The Golden Gate Bridge will be completely shut down to vehicle and pedestrian traffic during the Independence Day show. Vehicles will be blocked from the bridge beginning around 8:30 p.m. until “shortly after the conclusion of the fireworks display,” officials said. The east and west sidewalks will be closed from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The two previous fireworks displays were in 1987 and 2012, when the Golden Gate Bridge’s 50th and 75th anniversaries were celebrated.
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