the other day Mark Cooper was contacted by his former real estate office assistant, Avery Bean. Avery is going to school for business at Loyola Marymount University in Southern California. Her teacher had his students ask real estate agents some insightful questions... here they are:   1.     Could you please tell me about your educational background and what made you pursue a career in real estate? How long have you held your current position? Mark Cooper: bfa in photography from artcenter college of design, third generation landlord, property manager for 18 years, real estate investor. 2.     How did you find yourself in the real estate industry?  Why did you choose the line of real estate you are in (commercial vs. residential)? Mark Cooper: I like the numbers and income, so I focus ... 04/05/2009

today Mark Cooper got a call from an agent wanting to join kw commercial in San Francisco, he wanted an interview right away and was asking about joining our team. Mark asked him about his background, and how he found out about the commercial team, it turns out he called the SF market center, then got mark. he seemed to know his stuff so we scheduled an interview for next week, finally after a few more questions, the guy said he saw our ad on craigslist, funny thing, we had not posted an ad on craigslist..... so we searched sf/craigslist on 4/2/09 and this is what was found: ----------------------------------------------------------------- KW Commercial is the new, separately branded commercial real estate arm of Keller Williams...the third largest residential brokerage company in the U... 04/02/2009

As much as I HATE short sales (I'll rant another time about my "run-in" with Chase yesterday), they are here to stay in many neighborhoods in San Francisco.   These are statistics from March of this year. The first two columns are single-family homes and the last one is condos. What is interesting is that whereas the percentage is about the same from early- to late-March, the total number is increasing. In fact, the number of SFR short sales has increased 14% in the past 3-4 months (since early December) and has been as high as 18% of total inventory recently.   Let me know if you have any comments or questions.   ~Rebecca White       MAR. 7           MAR. 24             2009           2009             SFR'S       SFR'S       CONDOS       SHORT TOTAL # PER CENT   SHORT TOTAL # PER CENT ... 04/02/2009

Still another great article in the December 1, 2008 issue of Multifamily Executive Magazine, this one written by Jennifer Popovec. Multi-family developers and owners are now looking to laminate, vinyl tiles and vinyl plank flooring for a more contemporary and practical installation. Hardwood, the traditional flooring for single-family dwellings, while not practical for most multi-family properties, is also expensive. Faux wood flooring provides cost-savings and convenience. Not only do they make a beautiful statement in apartment and condominium interiors, they also are appropriate for clubhouse and other common areas in multi-family communities. "We're seeing less carpet and more hard surfaces for multifamily properties," says Adrienne Faulkner, president of Faulkner Design Group, a Da... 03/24/2009

A few years ago, right after takeoff from San Francisco, I looked out the cockpit window and saw this pretty sight of the fog rolling in over San Fran.  This was probably taken from an altitue of just three or four thousand feet as we were climbing out on the departure. It reminds me of that quote:  "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."  (Supposedly said by Mark Twain, but I've heard there is some dispute about this.)  I know that I have certainly spent a few chilly days in July, there.  :-) 03/16/2009

Chuck is cutting back its space usage here in San Francisco. Apparently with all of the economic woes they are trying to tighten their belts. They will still have more than 600,000 sf in the Financial District after they sublease all of their 375,000 sf at One Montgomery. The commercial office market is being flooded by sublease space every day, which is driving down rental rates. This is yet another sign that this is the golden moment for tenants. Don't miss out! 03/09/2009

The Tenderloin 94102 Known to early San Franciscans as St. Ann’s Valley, this once-placid piece of real estate provides us with a fascinating microcosm of urban history as we follow its turbulent passage from quiet respectability to entertainment center to vice-ridden streets,to its present partial reinvention as “Little Saigon”. Source: The Uptown Tenderloin Historic District Organization Three blocks of Taylor Street will become an arts district. Taylor, at Ellis, Eddy and Turk will be developed into a community of live- work artists and community gallery in an area that has seen tough times. In New York, SOHO, Tribeca and the lower east side have been rehabbed and new vital neighborhoods were created by a vanguard of city and private agencies with a vision. Here's Whats Happening in ... 03/08/2009

The little Island City...the City that could!  Wilton Manors is located just north of downtown Fort Lauderdale, FL and is only about two square miles in size.  It's a great location--minutes from Las Olas Boulevard--and minutes to the beach...It is the place to be and is becoming very trendy.  The City Commission is comprised of a Mayor (Mayor Gary Resnick) and four Commissioners.  It is a very diverse little Island City and full of great shops (check out "TO THE MOON" on the drive) and great restaurants (check out "GALANGA" and "ROSIES")...Wilton Manors celebrates its population of slightly over 12,000...There are many plans for Wilton Manors and I suspect when we look back at the city's activities in the next five years, we'll be suprised.  It's also a great time to buy real estate in... 03/04/2009

Pow Wow Networking   I’m jazzed to be sitting on a panel tonight in San Francisco and would love to see you there! You can go to their site at http://powwownetwork.org/ or to their EventBrite page: http://powwow030309.eventbrite.com/ Either way - be there! Using Social Media for Business March 03 2009 Date: Tuesday, March 3rd Time: 6:30-8:30 Location: Hands On Gourmet 2325 Third Street #330, at 20th, MAP Tickets: Free for Leader members with RSVP $10 for Network members & $20 for guests Do you Twitter? Have fans of your business on Facebook? Regularly update your LinkedIn profile? Is your blog more popular than your website? Hear from business owners on how they are using, and benefiting from, social media for business development. We’ll discuss the value of social outlets, which ones ... 03/03/2009

 According to the research firm Reis. 58 of the 79 markets they track are showing negative rent growth led by declines in New York at 1.9%; Miami with a decline of 1.8%; and San Bernardino, Calif., down 1.4%. Based on market conditions, even strong markets like San Francisco can expect continued softness in rent rates and increasing vacancy rates. Rent rates are important. You can call them cash flow, cap rates or GRM, but they are the best most sensible way to price an income property. Showing a consistently low vacancy rate at is the very definition of less risk. How to Rent Your Property Faster Determining the Right Rent A rental price that is below market may rent very quickly and now you are receiving less income for the length of the leases. In a rent control environment you may s... 03/01/2009

 San Francisco May Legalize Pot We Need the Money Tom Ammiano, supported by Sherrif Hennessey and Betty Yee who is chair of the State Board of Equalization all think that pot is a money maker. The idea would be to regulate it, just like other alcohol and cigarettes. According to the Chronicle, an analysis done by the State Board of Equalization concluded that the state could collect an cool 1.3 bilion in new tax revenue. They envision a $50 per ounce tax on retail sales of pot. This same analysis also concludes that the price would drop by half and consumption would increase by as much as 40%. Would we be able to smoke pot in bars.....can you imagine the conversations....all the while, munching feverishly on gold fish and salt pretzels. Maybe this one is best left alone. Thanks for Read... 02/25/2009

Welcome back to the "Over, Under, At" weekly feature. It's a simple breakdown taken from MLS data that shows the number of closed sales that sold Over Asking Price, Under Asking Price or At Asking Price.  *Just a reminder that new construction sales are rarely included in this list since they don't get posted on the MLS. Happy Monday folks. I can report a little sign of what might potentially be good news (yes, I'm a little wary of jumping for joy just yet.)  Sales SEEM to be crawling upwards.  (OK, buyers, this may not be good news for YOU, but I think you still have plenty of time to take advantage of the good values out there.)  And the Over/Under/At numbers are showing that not every property is selling for under the asking price.    In fact, last week, we had JUST TWO properties th... 02/23/2009

Frequently I get "buyer/investor" leads who want a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in a nice north end neighborhood such as Nob Hill (where I live), Russian Hill (a few blocks away) or Pacific Heights (close to my office) for some ridiculous price of $300,000 or $400,000 or maybe even $600,000. It is all I can do to not be rude and query if they forgot a ZERO??   I politely say that nothing meets their criteria, what the least expensive property that does is priced at and suggest other neighborhoods where they may get what they want in their price range.   Yes, our median price fell 20% last year but not in all neighborhoods. Some statistics that I received for November showed a median price of $765,000. I just checked for January of this year. There were 82 sales of single-family residences and... 02/21/2009

There is a lot of effect that food has over the life that you have, just stop for a while and think about the context in which I am saying this. You eat good food, you feel happy, you go to a party, a wedding or even a funeral, what do all of these things have in common? Yes, food. Food is important in our lives and has a tremendous effect on our lifestyle; so that is why if we really want our lifestyle to change, it is the food that we are having, which needs to get changed first. If we are overweight, it has a lot to do with the way and the type of the food that we are eating, so here I'll tell you a bit about how easy weight loss program can change your life.Experts say that we have still not been able to fully grasp the significance of food in our life because there is a lot of info... 02/20/2009

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 p... 02/14/2009

What do get when you mix four of the Bay Area’s top green stars, a LEED certified location, lunch and corporate sponsor wanting to spread its green wings? The spirited Sustainable Symposium sponsored by Ace here in glorious San Francisco. The symposium, in short, brought some energetic and often useful ideas from the knowledgeable and spry panel (not to mention moderator and Chicago Ace Hardware store owner Lou Manfredini) and created solid dialogue in what could have been one of another “How to green this and that discussion.” Held at the LEED certified Bentley Reserve (always a good start) the panel consisted of organic architect, writer, teacher, and the always amusing Eric Corey Freed, stylishly ecofab Zem Joaquin, the reserved but passionate Matt Golden and writer Sophie Uliano. Th... 02/13/2009

Monday afternoon, February 9, I went to an auction being held in the Sunset District of San Francisco.  The home was a typical 2BR/1BA single level over a full garage, with a pretty, landscaped little garden in the back.  The home was on a short lot, being near a corner.  Debt owed was said to be $705K.  Over 100 bidders showed up, with their family and RE agent.  Asking was $349K, and it was apparent that the house would go for more than asking.  There was the listing agent, several other people who checked that every bidder issued a bidding number  had a letter of loan approval and a blank purchase contract, and another person who helped to spot the people committing to the dollar amount at each level, and was filming the crowd.  It took me a few minutes to realize that this last pers... 02/11/2009

Mayor Newsome announced a stimulus plan for San Francisco in order to jumpstart the local stagnant economy. This comes on the heals of the Federal bailout plan that Obama, the Senate and the House are finalizing details on. The local plan will focus on items such as eliminating payroll tax for companies looking to hire as an incentive to businesses to expand. This will help address the unemployment rate that has shot up from 4.4 percent a year ago to approximately 6.6 percent (as of December). For more about Newsome's plan, please click here. 02/11/2009

Just look at that view! I would love to introduce you to our new dream.  This is the view from the living room and master bedroom of the condo that my husband and I are buying in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco.  This view alone had us hooked and we just fell in love--looking down on Fort Mason, across the bay to Angel Island, Tiburon, Sausalito--what could be better?  Check out the VIDEO I took of the interior. We'll be finding a tenant for it soon, and looking forward to the future when we can enjoy it ourselves. Stay tuned for updates! 02/09/2009

Bill Bartmann shares how his early experiences led him to discover a billion dollar tip for entrepreneurs   Bill Bartmann has been nicknamed, the billionaire nobody knows.  His story began when he left home at the age of 14 and joined a street gang.  Being the smallest member, weighing 98 pounds did not stop him from picking fights with the big guys.  Bill Bartmann still possesses great strength and determination today; a trait that has stuck with him throughout his many business ventures.   Bill Bartmann has agreed to a series of interviews where he will share his own experiences with success and failure.  Bill Bartmann said, "Failure is an opportunity to learn and to bounce back."  Throughout his business career, Bill Bartmann has become a billionaire, twice.  He has also experienced ... 02/08/2009