Carlos A. Fernandez

1. *Job Transfer

In many cases the main motivation behind a family packing up and moving is a more lucrative career move for either spouse, or forced to move because of the job itself is being relocated. Families fall in love with a home and neighborhood but the career trumps it all, it is the livelihood that makes owning a home even possible.

2. * Cash In on Equity

There is no greater feeling than being a homeowner, let me rephrase that. No greater feeling than being a homeowner with built up equity in that home, meaning they purchased it at a certain price and now it has increased in value(appreciation) and paying the loan increases the overall value of the home because you owe less and it is a huge motivating factor as to why homeowners make the decision to sale and take advantage of the equity ..maybe buy an investment property, payoff other bills, help pay for one of there childrens tuition.

3. *Upgrade to Bigger Home

When young families finally have the opportunity to make the jump to ownership as homeowners their means financially are stretched to the maximum, which in turn at times they settle for a smaller home for their first purchase. As the family grows and financial situations change and improve so will there buying power and desire to upgrade to a bigger home. Families tend to outgrow their homes by either another family member living with them or they decide to have more children in turn needing a much bigger home to suit there new additions to there already growing family.

4. *Neighborhood Evolution

Neighborhood changes can be a big factor in a homeowner deciding to move. For example if when they first moved into neighborhood it was a peaceful and tranquil area, but after many years there have been changes that just don't sit too well with the long time owners. Loud and unkind neighbors can be a problem, especially if it gets to the point of police officers being involved or just the crime rate has gone up in recent years and you just don't feel as safe anymore. Possibly a freeway overpass was built recently and the noise is unbearable and is the final breaking point to your decision to move on to greener pastures.

5. *Retirement

Living in a home for long periods of time, going to work every morning never really lets you fully appreciate the home you currently have. Once you retire you are home more often, you put more effort into making it your own, but with retirement usually comes with a slight decline in income. It can make it a little harder to afford to live in your current large 4 bedroom home and the utilities seem to increase now that your home more often. Retirement really puts things in perspective for your family, it brings out the desire to downgrade and maybe do things you never did while working, traveling with the family, seeing the world.

6. *Health Issues

Health is always a big decision maker in life, and plays a huge role in a decision whether to move or not. With age comes more frequent visits to the doctor and having to upkeep a big home makes it very difficult if you have a health ailment, you start to factor in "what if something happens to me, do I live to far away from a hospital". Medical bill accumulate making it harder to put money aside to fix and maintain your home. Is it time for me to move closer to town and find a home that requires less upkeep and closer to hospitals ...for example a nice condo or townhome in the nearby downtown area of the city you live and love!

7. *New or Changing Personal Relationships

Relationships in a persons life constantly change during our life span, relationships and home ownership tend to go hand in hand, cycles of life I call it. First you purchased home while single, then married, soon after follows the children and your personal relationships will continue to constantly evolve and change new friends, different interest hobbies. Unfortunately, also in some cases personal relationships can have an adverse affect on your decision to move, be sure to take some time and think it all the way through.

8. *The Children Leave the Nest

An empty home can at times be a peaceful and quaint home, especially when the children are all grown up and finally go off on their own, you have a sense of relief they can do it and happiness and sadness equally. It also can get lonely in such a big house and often times its just to much house for just good old mom and dad so they want to travel more ..spend less on mortgage see the world ...well they finally decide to move to a senior community of condos in florida ...once again a truly defining motivating moment that makes you make that tough decision to sell and move on to bigger and better things, but a smaller more cost efficient home.

9. *Lifestyle Change

Changes in ones lifestyle can also lead to making the decision to put your home up for sale. Say you suddenly decide you want to sail the seven seas buy a boat and a captain's hat, well no need for that home you have in San Francisco for the past 20 years, "I'm going to sale", and sail the world with my new girl friend, we met on facebook you know". The lottery in your state just called you and said you have just won 20 million dollars, suddenly the nice home in Bernal Heights doesn't seem so great anymore and you say to yourself, "I always wanted to live in Hillsborough in a small but lavish mansion, well I just won 20 million I can buy two next to each other, one for me, and one for the family ...Now thats a lifestyle change, common, well not so much, but it does happen!

10. *Too Long Repair List

In many neighborhoods such as San Francisco homes tend to have been around for close to a century and with time the homes age decay and rot. In return require homeowners that live in these historic homes spend their fare share of money on upkeep, maintaining, and fixing what is old and for some people the list of things to repair can be a rather daunting and expensive task. "This place is beautiful and all but it's just going to cost me to much to update, it was built in 1900, time for us to move on and buy a newer, more energy efficient and less expensive to maintain home!

*Final Thought!

Reasons and motivations that make us get up and move from our current familiar home vary but in the end boil down to a persons constantly changing financial and personal life. Average american moving from their home every 5-7 years, financial and personal situations are constantly changing and evolving for better or worse.
"A home doesn't make the person, the people who live there make it their home, make it their own, for how long? you will know when the time is right. Right?

Bernal Heights lies south of San Francisco's Mission District!

Bernal is a glorious neighborhood nestled on a rocky mountain hill with an origin that dates back to 1839.

It has been a part of daily life in my family since the late 1960's. The most recognizable feature it has is a microwave tower sitting on top of Bernal Heights Mountain Park. The best way to describe the way my neighborhood looks from a distance, say... Twin Peaks, is sort of a behive effect, little homes wrapping themselves around this huge rocky hill we all call Bernal, as if the homes are all hives that house the worker bee's, and they all surround the mother bee, to please her every desire or order. But up close you begin to realize what beauty and distinction each hive(home) has to offer in Bernal, with many tree lines streets some with such size and beauty that it completely covers some of the home as if they were wearing face masks at a black and white ball, you know what it looks like but do you really know?

Such beauty, such history from its classically restored and well kept by owners Edwardian and Victorian homes that prominently dominate the styles we see in this neighborhood tucked aways from all the constant craziness and comotion that often occurs during busy times in the nearby and always buzzin street of Mission. Bernal Heights also has Cesar Chavez street to the north and San Jose Ave.


At the time my family purchased a home in Bernal Heights, it was but a modest still unfinished and continuously growing and experiencing an influx on many young families , looking for a safe neighborhood with great homes and accessibility to shops and transportation. Still to this day those are some of the key elements that have stood the test of time and has continued to make Bernal a fun and highly desirable San Francisco Neighborhood.

During those times in the late 1960's the wages were modest in San Francisco for most families and home prices reflected those wages accordingly, but considering that in those times homes went for less than $30,000, turned out to be the best investment my family could have possibly made. Not knowing that how good of an investment it truly was, and how this growing neighborhood has played many roles on many levels of my memories and upbringing of having this neighborhood always being a constant partner in my evolutions as a young boy growing up part time in San Francisco.



The many memories of childhood, playing on the streets lined with beautiful ageless trees that constantly would leave there trails of leaves draped over sidewalks, streets, and cars alike, playing on the double slide in the Esmeralda St. stairway, with a cardboard as my engine to make me go faster and faster down the slide, cutting my leg open, from a broken bottle at the end of the slide, but mind you this was the early 80's when Bernal wasnt as clean as as well kept as it is today! It's many conveniences from walking through Holly park or shopping on the main commercial strip of Cortland Ave., and venturing into the Bernal Library for a good book.

Bernal Height's proximity to mission st. has also played a major role in conveniently being able to attain anything needed for the home, from food to clothes to, seafood, sweet bread, to even a great tasting taco, on 24th and mission. The most memorable times were always in the 80's when the San Francisco 49er's were one of the dominant teams in football, which allowed us all to celebrate and partake in the joyous moments when they won one of the many championships, with all the streets filled with fans from all over in one common theme of joy and celebration. Being able to go to a park at any given moment also is a big reason why I love this neighborhood, Holly park is a joy to walk around or play basketball, Precita Park is also a great park to meet friends or have a barbecue, or venture to Bernal Heights Park to walk the many dogs we owned and loved throughout the years.

Bernal Heights has so much to offer, with it's best and most intriguing feature of course is it's views from many many different positions on the hill are breathtaking and just a joy to enjoy in the day and especially at nite. I have lived a large percentage of my young life in Bernal Heights and would have it no other way it is truly one of the most intriguing and heart pumping (hills lots of hills) but fun and engaging neighborhoods, with a thriving community loving to experience a neighborhood with such a rich and historical past!



The median sales price for homes in Bernal Heights for Sep 10 to Nov 10 was $670,312. This represents a decline of 0.7%, or $4,688, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 6.9% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 16.2% over the last 5 years in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. The median sales price of $670,312 for Bernal Heights is 4.90% higher than the median sales price for San Francisco CA. Average listing price for homes in Bernal Heights was $730,279 for the week ending Dec 22, which represents an increase of 1.6%, or $11,202 compared to the prior week and an increase of 3.2%, or $22,783, compared to the week ending Dec 01.





Bernal Heights Recently Sold Homes

The Crocker Amazon neighborhood is a hidden gem of the City By the Bay, San Francisco, California.  Tucked away in the south of mission street and geneva avenue, which is considered one of the most highly trafficked intersections due to it's proximity to freeways, other districts in San Francisco and also extends towards suburban Daly City.  Crocker Amazon borders Excelsior district in San Francisco and also very close to Visitacion Valley. 

The Crocker Amazon neighborhood retains it's small district feel throughout, having a different vibe than most tourist attractions and well known San Francisco neighborhoods.  It's a racially diversified neighborhood, including a large filipino community, but it is like many San Francisco districts, the true definition of a "melting pot".

The majority of the neighborhood consists of single family homes.  Since many San Franciscans and tourists and families that relocate to San Francisco are unaware of its existence, home prices in Crocker Amazon tend to be more reasonable than in other, better known neighborhoods. 

At times I find myself walking through this small business sanctuary, I call it this for the simple reason it is where a large percentage of small business owners are able to realize there dreams of owning there very own business and the ability to pay lower lease rents compared to the more popular neighborhoods in San Francisco, but with the added bonus of high traffic volume just like some of the more well know areas throughout San Francisco. 

Merchants become an intricate part of this community, while providing there desirable goods and services, with no end in sight to the constant flow of customers looking for great products and services at reasonable prices. It truly does have an almost small town feel to it compared to the hustle and bustle of Inner San Francisco, but again the flow of traffic is consistent and steady.

The Crocker Amazon Neighborhood is well served by public transportation.  The muni bus lines 8x, 8bx, and 54 serve the Geneva Avenue, as well as Naples, Cordova, and Munich Streets.  Bart is also available about 5 min. driving distance takes you to the Balboa Park Bart Station.  The neighborhood is also conveniently located to nearby Interstate 280, and to the Alemany Boulevard thoroughfare.  These factors equal to one thing, lots of traffic either on foot, public transportation, and short driving distance.  Always a steady flow of possible clients looking to buy the wide variety of products and services offered in this area.


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I have short but fond memories of the Crocker Amazon District, for a short time period as a young lad I attended the nearby Longfellow Elementary School, playin in the nearby playgrounds, running to the stores and wasting my hard earned quarters and change on toys and candy with my older sister.  We always had to be quick about it , our grandfather would give us rides home, he was a mere two blocks away doing tax services for a nearby small business.  On a rainy day at our Longfellow Elementary, the schoolyard would be wet and weird thing that it made the worms come out.  This was my first hands on introduction into science as a kid, exhausting my curiousities into a simple worm. 

The neighborhood benefits form some of the most varied weather in the city, with a good balance of sun and fog.  The top of the neighborhood boasts outstanding views of downtown San Francisco, in the gap between Mclaren Park and Twin Peaks.  Parts of the neighborhood particularly heading toward Southern Hills, feature free standing single family homes with at least 10 feet on either side (in most neighborhoods, there is a gap of no more than a few inches between homes).

Geneva Avenue and Mission Street, which bound the Crocker Amazon Neighborhood, feature a wide array of commercial businesses.  The options ranges from two pharmacies, a hardware store, an assortment of vegetable/meat markets, glass shop, auto mechanic shop, tobacco shop, handful of pizzeria's to choose from.  Many different types of food sold in area from chinese, philipino, italian, and hispanic foods are offered in the Crocker Amazon neighborhood.  Are you looking for a nice neighborhood to invest in a business or commercial property, or interested in buying a home, look no further!  Crocker Amazon is a great hidden diamond in the rough, but as I write this it continues to change and thrive and it wont be a hidden secret for very much longer!