WIKI: A typical soft story building is a several-story apartment building located over a garage or series of retail businesses. Buildings are classified as having a "soft story" if that level is less than 70% as stiff as the floor immediately above it, or less than 80% as stiff as the average stiffness of the three floors above it.
The mayor is leaning towards mandating that all soft story structures be reinforced at the owners cost. This is HUGE - The study included nearly 60,000 residents and 7,000 employees but represent just a 10% of the total amount of buildings believed to be at risk. The Chronicle says The total cost to shore up the largest so-called soft-story buildings, which are believed to be the city's most vulnerable, would be about $260 million, but about $1.5 billion in possible damage could be prevented. For building owners, the cost could range from $9,000 to $28,000 per residential unit.
Ive seen quite a few retro fits and they can be much more than this. Here is the devil in the details: The report does not provide details about the specific codes that should guide the retrofit work or what materials would be used. Much of the work needed is on brick foundation and to really address the problem of earthquake safety will cost a lot more than $9-28,000 per building they are suggesting. Dont believe that for a minute! Im all for it.....but I wonder where the money will come from. Banks arent lending and thats a lot of cash. Im guessing many owners wont have it.
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Howard Bell
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
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From the HUD web site: Section 8 Rental Voucher Program increases affordable housing choices for very low-income households by allowing families to choose privately owned rental housing. The public housing authority (PHA) generally pays the landlord the difference between 30 percent of household income and the PHA-determined payment standard-about 80 to 100 percent of the fair market rent (FMR). The rent must be reasonable. The household may choose a unit with a higher rent than the FMR and pay the landlord the difference or choose a lower cost unit and keep the difference.
Landlords Can Find Suitable Tenants by Considering Section 8
The Section 8 Housing program is a rent subsidy program in which low-income tenants pay 30 percent of their income and the state or local housing agency pays the difference, based on the fair market rent as determined by HUD.
Free Listings: San Francisco Housing Authority has a section 8 free rental listings area to help you rent to section 8 tenants. You can now list, edit and delete your own property listings directly on the Housing Authority website. You can also fax your listing to 415-715-3287.
* There is a more indepth article on section 8 here...its a good read
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Howard Bell
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Snap News updates real estate markets and all things of interest to property owners and real estate professionals
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First Republic Bank produces the Prestige Home Index each quarter. They report California luxury home prices declined in the third quarter of 2008 from a year ago.
1. Los Angeles area values fell 1.9% from the second quarter of 2008 and 4.2% from the third quarter of 2007. The average luxury home in Los Angeles is now $2.33 million.
2. San Diego area values dropped 2.1% from the second quarter of 2008 and 7.5% from the third quarter of 2007. The average luxury home in San Diego is now $1.98 million.
3. San Francisco Bay Area values declined 0.7% from the second quarter of 2008 and 3.0% from the third quarter of 2007. The average luxury home in San Francisco is now $2.99 million.
It seems that the indexes all tell different stories, so its hard to come up with a definitive understanding of what is really going on. The Case-Schiller index, which is looking at homes sold in all price categories, show us that San Francisco homes have decline by 31% year over year.
If these idexes can be trusted, its clear that a high end home, by far, has been an outstanding investment, losing only 3% of its value in roughly the same time period. Clearly, people willing and able to buy a 3 million dollar home are not concerned about bank solvency or interest rates. Nice place to be....
Thanks for Reading
Howard Bell
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Snap News updates real estate markets and all things of interest to property owners and real estate professionals
Your Property Path Amazon Store
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Secty of the Treasury Paulson said then that Washington would buy up shares in the two companies and underwrite their ballooning debt ($800bln). The two companies have lent or underwritten about $5.3 trillion of the total $12tn of all outstanding mortgage debt. Something like 4 million homes or 9% of all existing mortgages were behind or in foreclosure
McCain gave it his immediate backing but Obama said he would reserve judgment. Obama said " We have to protect taxpayers and not bail out the shareholders and management". Obama focuses on a good point, its not just the real estate industry that tanks on this but all those 401K programs funded with Fannie and Freddie stock. Its just a shame.
Whats the Strategy
The move will also replace the chief executives of both Fannie and Freddie. The stocks were up modestly on the news, meaning that investors have voted up, but certainly are lacking enthusiasm. The Treasury will buy up to $100 billion in each company to ensure a cash infusion and maintain a positive net worth. It will also buy mortgage-backed securities from the firms in the open market. Hopefully that will put a floor under the shares....its not possible for them to go completely belly up or get de-listed.
One of the problems that led to the Govt taking it into conservatorship was an accounting trick that was unacceptable. Normally, assets of these two companies were marked to the market every 90 days. Meaning that the asset was given a fairly current and accurate value. Fannie and Freddie changed the rules and decided to mark to the market every two years trying to wait out the crises without having to admit they my be insolvent and further freaking us out. The bottom line is they didnt have the capital base they claimed they had and couldnt continue to buy loans to keep other lenders in the game.
When big banks make home loans, they sell them to Fannie and Freddie, who then package and resell them to investors, or hold them themselves. Now there will be tens of thousands more loans in question...even more defaults and foreclosures then we thought.
Global Problem Now
The rise of the securitization market means some of the most debt securities backed by riskier loans have made their way around the global banking system. That is why this is a global problem. The American financial system was once rock solid and we drew investors from around the globe. Now its different. For example, the Bank of China said in late August that it cut back its portfolio of the Fannie and Freddie's debt by about one quarter since the end of June. The US had little choice after discovering the accounting smoke screen. After all, this is the reputation of the US Govt and its solvency cannot be put in doubt.
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Howard Bell
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
http://yourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Trade talk for the San Francisco real estate industry.
Your source for property management tips, policies and market trends.
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Why plant a victory garden?
In 1943, Americans planted over 20 million Victory Gardens, and the harvest accounted for nearly a third of all the vegetables consumed in the country. Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy.
But more than just energy is at stake. The amount of water used and the amount of pollutants produced to manufacture the plastics and sealants and then fly or truck produce is unnecessary and expensive. Producing and buying locally, from sustainable sources saves money, energy and the planet at least some stress.
The Mayors office will install at least 15 pilot urban organic food gardens in San Francisco. Victory Garden staff will install, and support, each Victory Garden. Through public outreach and education programs, Victory Gardens 2008+ aims to create a community of urban food producers.
Just think about this... food for more animals, birds and butterfly's. Victory gardens grown in playgrounds or near public schools can augment fresh food for lunch programs. Teach children about the cycles of life and develop some respect for the beauty and fragility of our surroundings. Imagine micro sustainable food stands in each neighborhood, providing fresh food and small incomes for those who care to raise it. Great idea!
Thanks for Reading
Howard Bell
A web site of over 450 articles related to real estate focused primarily on property management.
http://wwwyourpropertypath.blogspot.com/
Snap News updates real estate markets and all things of interest to property owners and real estate professionals.
Your Property Path Amazon Store
http://astore.amazon.com/yourpropertypath20-20
Hand picked from amazons huge selection
Howard Bell PFP CCRM is the founder/editor of yourpropertypath.com 450 articles on property management Howard is a property manager in San Francisco and holds a certification in financial planning
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