So I recently purchased my first home in Noe Valley. It struck some of my friends as odd that in this market I would be looking for a home, but combined with available capital (not in the stock market, thank goodness) and a fairly stable RE market in SF, I went for it. After 4 months of looking I now call 4035 24th St mi casa! Not to make my new home jealous, but before there was 4035 24th St., there was 79 Beaver St. So as the story goes, after viewing coutless homes as a first time home buyer and trying the paticience of my agent Mark Peschel, I saw 79 Beaver St. and knew that it was time to make my first offer. View of the city, back yard, quiet street, I couldn't believe I was signing the papers for my first home. And for $775K, I was bidding $75K over asking, for sure I was going to get this place! But no way jose, low and behold there were 16 offers for the place!

As you can see in the sold information, the final selling price was $850K, $150K above asking. Is this 2008 where home sales are down 14.7% from a year ago and foreclosures are at all time highs? No one told 79 Beaver St.

Anyways, from my experience the saying of getting over that first offer hump definitely has support. After making the offer, I visited a number of homes, but I seemed to have a new found power. I could tell immediately upon walking into each home after 1 min whether I would make an offer or not. How does this happen? After making one, I not only had full confidence in my abilities to discern value but also my own assesment of future living contentedness.

I don't know whether this is typical of buyers or not, but despite my immediate 5th sense for "make an offer or not" I still lacked all capability to decided where in San Francisco I wanted to live. I told Mark I wanted to live no where but Mission Dolores or Potrero Hill. I made my frist offer in Duboce Triangle. After the offer I exanded my mind and added a few more territories, Noe Valley didn't even cross my mind. Who wants to live in strollerville and who can even afford it! Average price per square foot $929??? Please.

However, with a few trusty Trulia property alerts and an intuitive agent, I walked up the stairs of 4035 24th street and knew within 1 min I would make an offer. Learning from my experience with Beaver, I knew it might be smart to act fast. I bid $6K over asking after 2 days from seeing the place for the first time and put all sort of contingencies in. I beat everyone else before the second showing and after a 1 month escrow I now own a 1,300 sq ft., 2 bedroom, 1 bath, no parking, falt screen tv containing, condo in Noe Valley!

Below are some old pics taken and posted by the previous owners. I'll write another post once the place has been redone...