It doesn’t matter where I woke up this afternoon, I AM NOT GAY!

That is all.

Mitch

The nine LEED-certified condos known as Nove are taking shape at 1060 Guerrero and 145 Ames on the Noe Valley/Mission border. I toured the property yesterday (no photos allowed yet) and the luxury units are pretty impressive.

Designed by Handel Architects—the same group behind downtown’s Millennium—Nove is subdivided into three lots, with each lot running from Guerrero to Ames. There are three condos on each lot—two units in the front building, and one townhome-style in the rear. However, the units in each building are not detached from each other. (A couple different developers own the lots.) There will also be three separate homeowners associations.

There will be eight 3BR/2BA condos, and one 4BR/3BA unit, ranging from about 1291 square feet through about 1800 for the 4BR. Finishes are high end and designed by Studio Becker. The living areas are spacious, and the master suites typically feature nice front and rear balconies. The Guerrero units get great light and have a nice feel to them. The Ames properties have less appealing/private outlooks, as they face the Guerrero building and the homes on Ames. But the benefit is that you have no one above or below you. The two buildings are separated by a nicely landscaped area that also accommodates deeded patios.

Prices aren’t set yet, but will range from around $1.2M for the smallest 3BR to around $1.5M for the other 3BRs. The largest 4BR/3BR condo will likely be in the $1.7M range, and Nove is expected to be on the market in mid February. But contact me if you’d like a preview before everyone else gets in. My take on this project is that it’s beautifully designed and provides excellent space and finishes in a highly walkable location near public transportation, freeways and some of the best restaurants in town.

I spent most of today cruising around the city looking for a job. I got laid off a while back and damn is it hard to find something these days.

I spent most of the day in Noe Valley and the Castro stopping in a few bars for drinks and shooting the shit with the rest of the unemployed assholes around town.

Once it started to get close to 3pm I popped my mid afternoon boner and had to do something about it. I thought about going into a porno theatre but blowing a load in there is so played out. Sure, you have the glory holes in some of them and that can be fun but I really just needed to get a hand on things if you know what I mean.

I found myself at the ferry terminal and got on one of the Red & White fleet boats and made my way to the back. The weather kept most everyone inside so I had the rear deck to myself. I unzipped and did the old spit in the palm routine and got to work. By the time we got half way across the bay I was blowing my load into the bay like a pro. I managed to nut twice before making the return to the city, wiped my hand off on the rail and got off the boat. I walked up to North Beach and grabbed a plate of the cheapest gook food I could find.

I think it’s time to start going to SF Jacks again because although this solo thing is fun I really need a little more gayness when I jerk off.

Nikon D300s + Tokina 50-135mm f/2.8 at 50mm f/2.8 ISO250 1/60 second

I don’t do very much black and white, but a shot of a 1938 San Francisco light rail train is just begging to be converted to grayscale, suffer from some clipped blacks and highlights, and have some vignetting applied to it. I’m fascinated by these old trains, and hope I can find time to chase them around the city and photograph them one of these days.

We are done with 2009. What’s behind us? In the fourth quarter ‘09 the real estate market began to recover from the trauma of the financial market fallout that began in 2008. The quantity of homes and condos sold increased 5% over last year which ends a four year decline. Prices still were down however there are signs that there is competition in the marketplace again as properties sold closer to their asking price in Q4.  But talk to people that have been writing offers in 2009 and you will find many stories of buyers having to write *over* the list price to get the home.

I have detailed neighborhood reports for all districts in San Francisco. Shoot me an email and I will send it to you!

jdavis@mcguire.com

Jenn

The $1.5M price point is actually quite popular in San Francisco, so today we take a look at what you can get for your money: a view home in Noe Valley, former firehouse in Hayes Valley, and what appears to be a wannabe presidential residence on the West Portal/St. Francis Wood border.

Let’s start with 744 Duncan at Diamond, in Noe Valley:

Last sold in 2003 for $1,050,000, the sellers are now looking for $1,495,000 for their 2,000-square foot, 4BR/3BA home with a nice yard and views. There are three bedrooms on the top floor, and this master suite with killer bay and city views:

Next up is 229 Oak at Octavia:

This 2500-square foot home was built in 1913 and originally housed a commercial fire dispatch headquarters. It now has four bedrooms and three bathrooms on two levels, complete with a loft office space, garden and two-car parking. The property sits on the same lot as a newly constructed luxury home on Lily that just came on the market for $1.9M, and the lot will be officially split at close of escrow.

229 Oak was first listed last year at a whopping $1,760,000 and was relisted in December at its current price. The location on Oak between Octavia and Gough isn’t too bad; 101-bound, cross-city commuters will turn right on Octavia, so the 200 block isn’t as heavily trafficked. But it is fairly busy. The property is currently in contract, awaiting its buyers’ close of escrow on their own home. A great house for those who’d love a lower level workspace.

Finally, we have 1550 Portola at San Leandro. If Obama and his family are looking for a San Francisco place, this is probably a good White House substitute (at least, in theory):

The 5BR/4BA home was built in 1920 and boasts 5,000 square feet. There’s a lot of mahagony woodwork, period detail—and wallpaper. Lots of wallpaper.

I couldn’t leave out a photo of my favorite bathroom. Michelle Obama would have a field day redecorating:

The home was first listed in June 2009 for $1,595,000, and then reduced last September to its current price. Portola is another busy street, but for a buyer who doesn’t mind constant traffic outside the door and who’d appreciate the close proximity to the West Portal retail area, this home will do the trick.

I have not posted in over a month and a half. (BAD BLOGGER, BAD.) This is probably because I haven’t done anything too interesting besides move to San Francisco, California. oh…that is interesting? Okay.

After a very stressful departure from Pomfret, Connecticut I arrived at San Francisco International Airport at 9:35pm on the very last day of 2009. My friends, Charlie and Kjax picked me up at the airport and drove me to their new home in Mountain View, California.

The next day we hung out on Valencia Street in San Francisco and looked in a few shops, many of which were closed because of the holiday. This month, I am living in my friend’s apartment while he is away. It is on the Panhandle, and I have now walked to most of the neighborhoods in the center of the city. It is in a good location for roaming on foot. Yes, a motorcycle lives under my bedroom, (I am being reminded of that right now) but it is a great apartment.

Citrus grows here. I knew that, but it was still strange to see lemons and oranges at the farmers market. I’ve been to the farmers’ markets in Noe Valley, on Divisadero Street and outside of the Ferry Building. I will visit more in the future, no doubt. I bought mandarin oranges at both the farmers’ markets in Noe Valley and outside of the Ferry Building. Both of the batches were tasty and organic, but the ones from Noe Valley were quite a bit tastier (and worth the extra fifty cents a pound).

I am here for Bennington’s Field Work Term. It is my last Field Work Term ever. I am interning at a gallery and at a film production company. I’ve only gone to the gallery so far, and I liked being there. It is in a not-so-nice neighborhood, but it seems safe enough. I was given good projects to work on and my intern tasks don’t seem to be too different from the tasks of those who work in the gallery. (That is good!) The gallery represents artists whose work I truly enjoy looking at and thinking about.

I will be going to Oakland today. I just finished reading Farm City by Novella Carpenter, so in a way this is a pilgrimage. Farm City is about making use of the waste produced by cities and using it to feed neighbors food and make neighborhoods better places to live. The book is heavy on meat, but there is far too much information and good writing for a vegetarian to put it down. Currently, I am reading Timbuktu by Paul Auster, which I will now getbaktu.

This is our favorite place to take Suki: the recently renovated dog park on 30th street and Church street here in San Francisco. Look how big it is! This image doesn’t even include a long stretch of run behind me. Suki approves of this park too:

There’s plenty of area for her to run at full speed!

There are also lots of tennis balls for her to play with.

And lots of smells for her to sniff!

Of course, her favorite thing to do is meet new dogs, and there are plenty of very friendly dogs to meet at this dog park!

Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 22mm f/11 ISO200 1/200 Second

….Like this guy for instance. Look at that face! He’d drop this slobbery ball on the ground and then dash off to get ready for me to throw it before I even had a chance to pick the ball up. I had to kick the ball since I had my camera in hand.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 70mm f/4.5 ISO220 1/500 Second

But if you threw the ball, he’d catch it in mid-air! Wow! This guy could play outfield in the MLB.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 125mm f/8 ISO500 1/400 Second

See how happy Suki is when she’s at the park?

Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 17mm f/2.8 ISO1000 1/1250 Second

After releasing a bunch of energy at the park, Suki walks very obediently. We usually take a walk through the neighborhood and hit up a local cafe, where she’ll patiently wait for us as we socialize over coffee:

Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 18mm f/4 ISO200 1/250 Second

Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 31mm f/2.8 ISO200 1/125 Second

Nikon D300s + Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 VC at 38mm f/2.8 ISO200 1/200 Second

On a side note, I’ve noticed something sort of strange with how images are displayed on my blog posts here in WordPress. Each of the pictures in this post contains a link that takes you to the image source. The images on this post look like they were stripped of some color and contrast, but if I click on any of them, I see an image with more color and contrast, closer (but still not exact) to what I see in Lightroom 3 beta. Do you see this too? It’s driving me crazy!

My dear friends Callie, Justin and little Liam picked me up for our San Francisco rendezvous. visiting family and friends, this Baltimore couple were all game for meeting with our friends Kome and shooting their family session in the City.

We met Kome at the cement slides in the Seward mini-park in the Noe Valley area.  Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

We are all just kids at heart.

Justin is such a ham! If you have ever seen Man vs. Food, he reminds me so much of Adam with his personality! And we both LOVE that show!

Please enjoy the rest of our trip….

For the Conroy family session we headed to San Francisco to meet up with our dear friend Kome. I had seen a photo blog about the cement slides in San Francisco and wanted to see them for myself. We met Kom there. Shot a bit. And then went to look for lunch. We ended up at Toast. Awesome!

Here are some photos from our excursion… enjoy!

Greetings!

Are you eligible for the $8000 “first time homebuyers” or the $6500 “move up buyers” tax credit? Read on…you may qualify but the deadline to act is April 30, 2010. Buying a home in 2010 may just fit in to your New Year’s resolutions.

The “first time homebuyers” tax credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for single tax filers with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

“Move-up buyers” who buy a new home don’t have to purchase a more expensive home than their previous home to qualify for the $6500 tax credit, but they need to have lived in their previous home for at least five consecutive years of the eight years prior to the purchase of the new home.

For more detailed information on this program and how to qualify,  email me and click on this link for answers. http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/ I can supply you with a list of condos and homes that would be available to you under these guidelines.

Happy Holidays to you!

Jenn Davis

The sugar saturation began Saturday night at the Champagne and Chocolate party.

Picture this. I’ll have to draw you an imaginary picture because this silly girl forgot her camera (bad blogger!).

An eight foot round table covered in trays of chocolate.

A platter of chocolate covered raspberries and one of chocolate macadamia nuts.

Honey-comb covered chocolate. Chili-chocolate peanut bark.

The list goes on. And on. My all time fave was the dark chocolate truffle fudge. Oh my. *swoon*

I woke up a little fuzzy headed and I blame the chocolate. Not the glasses of champagne. But I could be wrong.

Sunday was my family Christmas get-together brunch. Loads of yummy food and I may have sampled the peanut brittle we gave Uncle Dan (thanks Dan!)

I’m going to fast this week. Honest. (well, maybe not but it sounds like a good idea)

I did do a little pro-active damage control and embarked an exploratory run through the city. I left the safety of my Noe Valley/Glenn Park loop and headed over to Bernal Heights. It was cold and windy and I was under-dressed so it maybe wasn’t quite as fun as it could have been.

On the horse front Now Voyager was doing so much better but he had new shoes put on and the process re-irritated something. Poor baby. I’m packing his hoof with Magic Comfort and may need to lock him up in the stall again. We’ll see how he’s going tomorrow. One day at a time.

Hope you all had a great weekend and thanks for all the house name suggestions!

Nikon D300s + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D at f/2.0 ISO200 1/500 Second

Suki is an extremely social and friendly dog, especially for a Shiba Inu. At the dog park, she has this tradition of being the first to personally greet every dog that enters the gate. Every time she sees someone new entering the outer gate, she runs over to the same exact spot and sits while the newcomer gets ready to come through the inner gate:

Nikon D300s + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D at f/1.8 ISO200 1/250 Second

This wasn’t always her custom. When she was younger she’d rush the new dog and start wrestling with him or her. Now she keeps sitting as the new dog moves toward her. As the newcomer comes closer, she assumes a more playful stance:

Nikon D300s + Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D at f/1.8 ISO200 1/250 Second

Once they meet, Suki determines how social/anti-social the other dog is, and they usually end up running together and wrestling for a bit, that is, until the next dog begins to enter and Suki runs back to her “greeting spot.”

In other news, my latest Flickr photo appeared on Flickr’s Explore front page. Pretty cool!

click above to go to the image on flickr

This shot of the Bay Bridge was taken a couple months ago, but I wasn’t satisfied with the final result. I spent some time the other night re-interpreting the RAW file and finally came up with something I was happy with. I guess my Flickr contacts approved of it as well!

I’m not sure how the above images appear to you unfortunately. They appear washed out and stripped of contrast in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. Sigh…

**update**

I finally figured out why these images were appearing different on my posts and am in the process of editing my affected blog posts one by one!

Today I held a Thank You Oscar Brunch for my friend Oscar and his friends because he let me stay at his house for such a long time.

thank you oscar scones made with love

This is me making scones (recipe).  They turned out to be super delicious, I was surprised because the recipe was easy and I didn’t even think about making them until maybe 30 min. before people arrived AND I have no measuring utensils in this house.  I made blackberry and blueberry scones.

the apron (Erick and I)

We had a full house pretty much all day, which is exciting considering I moved here like a month ago and really don’t yet have a huge social network.  And the best part was that everyone really got along and wanted to talk to each other.  It may have helped that half of our guests were gay, and that we were all drinking loads of champagne,  but whatever, still!  We even got into some socio-political talk.  Whew!

We had mimosas and many variations, like with pomegranate juice, ginger juice, tamarind, etc.  The perk of living with Erick is that whenever we are low on alcohol he can just run downstairs and get more from his shop, thus everyone was very happy all day.  I never knew I could sustain a brunch for as long as I did today.

the hangers

When the party got down to just the gay (and one straight?) men, I went downstairs and bugged my new friend Cary for a bit because, well, I wanted to let them get their talk on.  Cary’s store (Cary Lane) is moving, but really their new location is still up in the air and today was their last day in Noe Valley.  Needless to say, Cary was sad so I kept him company and occasionally played on one of his many drum sets in the store.  I am sad his store is leaving too, but I cannot wait to see his new store (once the location is found, it is all set up, etc., etc.).  Later him and John and I went to Pasta Pomodoro, ate yummy Italian food and tried not to cry.

Needless to say, a very successful brunch and fun day.

just sayin’

Once the site of the Palm Broker nursery, the new development called Nove is taking shape on the 1100 block of Guerrero on the Noe/Mission border are getting closer to coming on the market.

The development will encompass the three two-unit buildings above that front Guerrero, as well as three single-family homes on Ames, which is directly behind Guerrero. No word on unit configurations yet, but sources say pricing will clock in at around $850 per square foot.

This is an excellent location for buyers who want to walk to everything, including BART, Muni, Valencia corridor and the heart of Noe Valley on 24th Street. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade, and can attest to the convenience factor.

Someone with the energy to remodel 822 Alvarado purchased the single-family home right before Thanksgiving for $1,035,000—$160,000 less than its initial asking price.

The 3BR/2BA home on the desirable 800 block of Alvarado had a nice exterior, belying the somewhat odd floorplan within. The main level featured two bedrooms, a bathroom and the living/dining rooms, plus a woodsy, ’70s kitchen with shiny flooring reminiscent of a department store. A steep staircase led to two bedrooms upstairs (with no bathroom), and there was a bathroom and creepy room on the garage level.

The sellers brought the home on the market back in July for $1,195,000, which seemed like the price you’d pay if you had a nice kitchen and at least a bathroom on the upper level. A buyer was in contract over the summer, but the deal fell through and the property came back on $1,075,000. When I toured the home, my sense was that it was worth around $1M, with the idea that you’d do at least a couple hundred thousand dollars’ worth of work.

#1 The ceiling:

I guess I am into decay

#2 The view from above:

view from kitchen window (left)

view from Kitchen window (middle)

view from Kitchen window (right)

#3 Having my own room and a super great flatmate

230 Duncan between Dolores and Church wasn’t always the plastic bag disaster it is today. It was a 1,000-square foot single-family home from 1900-2007 that was used as a rental property in its later years.

The Planning Department granted a demolition permit back in 2006. John Pollard and his 5-12 Constr. Inc DBA SF Garage crew then obtained their permit in November 2007 to erect four stories and create two dwelling units for a recorded cost of $850,000.

Things didn’t go wildly smoothly after that. The next-door neighbors filed a complaint at the end of 2007 when the demolition damaged part of their building. And the 230 Duncan project has been at a standstill since its last story went up. Neighbors are disgusted, the site’s a blight, and the portatoilet at the curb stinks. I know, because I walk my dogs past the place every day. Even they avoid the outhouse.

No word on what the outcome will be. My guess is that a replacement developer may get a pretty good deal on an unfinished structure.

Kate Rosen is what you may call a kind of Noe Valley historian. Aside from being a resident of the neighborhood, 85 year old Rosen, gives bi-monthly walking tours on Sunday afternoons to share with tourists and residence alike, some of Noe Valley’s most important historical aspects.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 195mm f/5.6 ISO900 1/125 Second

Suki likes to walk, but there’s nothing she loves more than going to a dog park and running free, especially when she gets to socialize with other dogs (and people too!). It’s been a long time since I’ve used my Nikkor 70-300mm lens, so today I decided to bring it as my only lens for our little outing with Suki.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 270mm f/5.6 ISO1400 1/500 Second

This was also the first time I got a chance to test out the high frame rate and 51-point, 3D tracking auto-focus in my new D300s. I must say, the auto-focus in this camera is outstanding for moving targets (and Suki reeeally moves). The frames advance so rapidly that the camera sounds like a machine gun…very cool!

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 300mm f/8 ISO320 1/500 Second

Ok now for some random stuff. This little girl entered the park and kept her hands close to herself around all the dogs (I guess to avoid any contact). Not long after she got there with her family, she told her parents she wanted to go to the “people park”.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 195mm f/5.6 ISO360 1/30 Second

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 135mm f/5.6 ISO 560 1/60 Second

After Suki ran around for a while, we sat down at a cafe outside and enjoyed some afternoon coffee. I sat back and took a few snaps of things that surrounded me. The D300s puts out some amazing color.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 180mm f/5.6 ISO800 1/125 Second

Here’s Suki at the cafe. She doesn’t really like sitting still while we sit around doing nothing, especially if there’s a lot going on, but she tolerated it.

Nikon D300s + Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR at 200mm f/5.6 ISO900 1/60 Second

….and when we got home, I noticed these lovely flowers growing in our back yard. There wasn’t too much light left to work with, so I had to hand hold this shot to get it quick. Didn’t get the depth of field I wanted, and it’s a little on the saturated side, but hey, I like it!

With the exception of the first and sixth photos (from the top) on which I did some minor color correction, all the images from today’s post are straight out of the camera. Hey, sometimes it’s just easier that way!

I’ve been watching the 1381 Sanchez renovation in Noe Valley between 27th St. & Cesar Chavez along my dog-walking route since the house changed hands as a fixer back in May 2008 for $1,005,000.

The price paid back then seemed reasonable for a future owner occupier to pay for the location, architectural style, and lot size.

But all along, the intention was apparently to do a flip. The property has now been expanded to 2200 square feet. It’s been outfitted with two front bedrooms and great room that combines a “farmhouse-style” kitchen, dining/living area, and bathroom on the main level, and a master suite plus additional bedroom and bathroom on the garden level. The rear patio is largely concrete encircled with trees & plants that I saw being trucked in recently.

There’s also an offer date of November 18th, which means that someone is very confident that a buyer will pay at least the $1,795,000 list price in another week or so. And they could be right: Given that the average price paid this year for a three- to four-bedroom Noe home in the $1.5M+ price range has been $1,998,148, maybe they’re not far off base. There are a few examples of homes that sold for similar prices that also relied on garage-level master bedrooms (vs. being located on a more desirable third level upstairs).

But let’s not forget my favorite recent flip attempt at 141 27th Street. This is about three blocks away between Guerrero and Dolores. Those owners also paid around $1M and did a down-to-the-studs renovation. But its floor plan had a few issues that didn’t warrant the $1,595,000 price tag. And the location is clearly less desirable. (The home has since been pulled off the market and put on a long-term lease.)

I’ll be keeping my eye on 1381 Sanchez. In the meantime, here are a few more pics of the master bedroom, yard and exterior:

Shot and edited by David Pond.

I know, this place doesn’t exactly qualify as Cheap, but sometimes you gotta spend good money for TOP QUALITY. And these are definitely some of the finest fruits and veggies (as well as bread, meat, and prepared food items) available. CELEBRATE the fact that you live so close to so much great farming. This produce was harvested within 100 miles of here!

It wasn’t shipped via container, it was driven in somebody’s TRUCK! You gotta love it! You’re buying food from the people who GREW IT. In this day and age, that’s pretty amazing.

Big thanks to Devils Slide, the bluegrass band responsible for our impromptu soundtrack. Find their music at: www.myspace.com/devilsslidesf

WARNING: Drinking fresh juices can turn your hair purple!
(Click on image to view full Juicey Lucy Menu.)

Free Range Children also available. Come early for best selection!

Obligatory “Abundance of the Harvest!” shot.

World famous Honey Sticks! Kids love ‘em, parents convince themselves that they’re healthy. (Well, healthier than Pixie Sticks I suppose.)

For more information, visit
www.noevalleyfarmersmarket.com

The Farmers Market is located at
3861 24th St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
(415) 248-1332
Hours: 8am – 1pm SATURDAY