Blog Master G

I enjoy watching the real estate market of my old city, San Francisco. I last wrote about how you pretty much need a million dollars to buy a house in San Francisco. Today the Chronicle has a story on an unfinished mansion in Gold Coast (near the beautiful Presidio, which overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, […]

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The ever-poignant and hilarious Mark Morford has a column today that really hits home for this San Francisco ex-pat. Morford writes about the common plight of pretty much everyone who loves and lives in San Francisco: The inability to buy one’s own real estate. This was one of the many reasons that prompted our move […]

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Last week we had our 80-year-old hardwood floors (red birch and douglas fir) refinished to their original glory. The three layers of polyurethane have lightened the wood and it is pristine. We mopped the entire floor twice before moving in to help seal the protective coat. It’s like a work of art. So, of course, […]

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I’m sitting in my office in my new house — my house. It’s strange and wonderful. It’s all so new and so overwhelming. But it feels really good. It feels like home. Knowing it’s our very own place is surreal. Still tons to do. Got all moved in today. Everything is still in boxes, of […]

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The following guest post comes from Jonty: Homes enjoy a unique role in our everyday lives. On the one hand, they are inanimate objects (usage: house), and on the other, they are also a very singular abstract location (usage: home). The process by which a house becomes a home is embodied a very intimate and […]

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Having not yet moved into the new place, it’s a bit odd to own an empty house. So we’ve been going there each evening to bond with our new abode. The dogs saw it for the first time yesterday and immediately fell in love with the yard (they christened it promptly). I think it will […]

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It’s official: Jen and I are now homeowners. It’s surreal. The closing was this afternoon. Aside from a bank teller who handed me a Treasurer’s check for the amount of our down payment without asking to see ID, everything went just fine. (I reported the lack of ID checking to bank VP. Good thing I […]

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Since beginning the process of buying my first home, I’ve had at least a few friends ask me for input on how the process works — where to begin, what to look for, etc. As a first-time buyer myself, I’m the first to admit that it’s an overwhelming process. But I love this stuff. I’ve […]

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I just wrote my last rent check (hopefully) ever. What a liberating feeling. No more giving away money to someone else without any benefit besides immediate shelter (OK, I guess that is one of the basic human needs). But anyway, so we enter our final month as renters… Still lots to do/plan/coordinate with the closing/move/travel […]

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Business > Your Money > Market Week: As Mortgage Rates Rise, Dreams Are Downsized” href=”http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/16/business/yourmoney/16mark.html?ex=1085284800&en=c79f86468efe4193&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE”>The New York Times > Business > Your Money > Market Week: As Mortgage Rates Rise, Dreams Are Downsized: “HOME shoppers have been losing purchasing power week by week because of the surge in mortgage interest rates. Eventually, that should take […]

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