San Francisco street sells for $90K. Neighbors aren't happy

[Armonica_Templar]

San Francisco street sells for $90K. Neighbors aren't happy

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- These days, the price of a San Francisco home can easily top a million dollars. But one savvy investor has bought up a whole street in the city's most exclusive neighborhood for a mere $90,000.


Trouble is, some of the extremely wealthy residents of Presidio Terrace were not aware their street was up for sale and are not pleased it has been sold.

Presidio Terrace is an oval shaped street sealed off by a gate from the tony Presidio Heights neighborhood. Lined with towering palm trees and multimillion dollar mansions, the street has been home, over the years, to famous residents including Sen. Dianne Feinstein and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.

Thanks to a city auction stemming from an unpaid tax bill, Bay Area real estate investor Michael Cheng, and his wife Tina Lam, bought the street and now own the sidewalks, the street itself and other areas of "common ground" in the private development that, the San Francisco Chronicle report ed, has been managed by the homeowners association since at least 1905.

Cheng says reaction to the sale has been less than neighborly.

"I thought they would reach out to us and invite us in as new neighbors," Cheng told The Associated Press. "This has certainly blown up a lot more than we expected."

It turns out the homeowners association for Presidio Terrace failed to pay a $14-a-year property tax, something that owners of all 181 private streets in San Francisco must do, the Chronicle reported.

So the city's tax office put the property up for sale at the cost of $994 in an online auction to regain unpaid back taxes, penalties and interest. The couple eventually won the street with a $90,100 bid in an April 2015 auction.

Scott Emblidge, the attorney for the Presidio Homeowners Association, said in a letter to the city that the owners failed to pay because the tax bill was mistakenly being sent to the address of an accountant who hadn't worked for the homeowners association since the 1980s, the Chronicle reported.

Emblidge said the residents didn't know their street was put on the auction block, let alone sold, until May when a title search company hired by Cheng and Lam reached out to ask if any residents had interest in buying back the property.

That was one of several options Cheng and Lam have considered for making the investment pay off.

Another option is to charge residents to park on their street — and rent out the 120 parking spaces that line the grand circular road.

"As legal owners of this property, we have a lot of options," Cheng said, adding that nothing has been decided.

The matter could be headed for court.

Last month, the homeowners petitioned the Board of Supervisors for a hearing to rescind the tax sale. The board has scheduled a hearing for October. The homeowners association has also sued the couple and the city, seeking to block Cheng and Lam from selling the street to anyone while the city appeal is pending.

hang on




What is funnier as others have pointed out.. Certain leaders in government against building a wall lived in a gated community..




An unpaid tax bill.. The property is theres.. Hope the couple rip them new ones

[guohua]

I read about that, I Really, Really do Hope they charge those people parking space rent in front of their homes.

[Mystic Wanderer]

The more I learn about CA, the more I learn it's just a really, really strange place.
They do things out there that blow my mind!  

[Armonica_Templar]

@"guohua" 

looks like his plan

It is from huff with race baiting title

Asian Couple Buys Affluent San Francisco Street Once Restricted To Whites Only

Home in super-exclusive, gated Presidio Terrace asks $16.9 million. https://t.co/OSpvy3qGZC?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313pic.twitter.com/OzsIDUVnso
— Curbed SF (@CurbedSF) May 25, 2016

When Lam and Cheng, who are married, purchased the private circular street, they also took ownership of the sidewalks fronting the mansions and the “common ground” within the gated community, according to the Chronicle. 

Presidio Terrace’s private street is “the most unique property I’ve come across, by far,” Cheng told the San Jose Mercury News. “I’m talking to my other investors and they’ve never seen anything like this ― and they own some weird stuff.”

Cheng told the Chronicle that he and Lam have been working with land-use attorneys and looking into getting title insurance to make their purchased property “more marketable.” They are even considering renting out the private community’s 120 parking spaces.  
“We could charge a reasonable rent on it,” Cheng told the Chronicle.

Reasonable... lol

Pay out the A$$ sucka's

lol

[guohua]

@"guohua" 

looks like his plan

It is from huff with race baiting title

Asian Couple Buys Affluent San Francisco Street Once Restricted To Whites Only

Home in super-exclusive, gated Presidio Terrace asks $16.9 million. https://t.co/OSpvy3qGZC?ncid=edlinkushpmg00000313pic.twitter.com/OzsIDUVnso
— Curbed SF (@CurbedSF) May 25, 2016

When Lam and Cheng, who are married, purchased the private circular street, they also took ownership of the sidewalks fronting the mansions and the “common ground” within the gated community, according to the Chronicle. 

Presidio Terrace’s private street is “the most unique property I’ve come across, by far,” Cheng told the San Jose Mercury News. “I’m talking to my other investors and they’ve never seen anything like this ― and they own some weird stuff.”

Cheng told the Chronicle that he and Lam have been working with land-use attorneys and looking into getting title insurance to make their purchased property “more marketable.” They are even considering renting out the private community’s 120 parking spaces.  
“We could charge a reasonable rent on it,” Cheng told the Chronicle.

Reasonable... lol

Pay out the A$$ sucka's

lol

I agree, they waited two years,,, On Purpose,,,, their H O A Management and Accountant are at Fault.
H O A's are like Unions, they sit on their asses and collect Dues that they raise every two years.

I'd charge them to park and sit their trash can out in the common area for pick up.
Screw Those Elite Ass Wipes!

[Spirit Scribe]

Can you imagine what a beautiful building (dedicated to diversity, of course) they could put in the center of the circular drive with all those golden bricks lying around after this was announced?

[Armonica_Templar]

yahoo article with video

What is bad.. They took property twice..



I agree with several comments.. It sounds like bribes passed hands

[guohua]

@"Armonica_Templar" 
I agree with you.

Big Bribes were paid.