The Skinny

Perhaps because I am feeling anything but, skinny seems to be my word of the day.

C A Home and Design

Though I am indoors eating still more treats and hiding from the wet windy weather, I will spare you more weather and extreme weather references. Since everyone else in the whole world has discussed Solstice from every possible perspective, I'll also spare you more of that. Today I am randomly loving this collection of skinny buildings in San Francisco, and this more international collection, and the news that skinny storefronts enhance walkability. Plus they are just fun. Oooh, here's some more.

Cocomale

Happy Holidays Everyone! 

Why Winter is a Great Time To Be Looking at Property

Though it may not be a convenient time to buy a home, there are some really good reasons why winter is an excellent time to look at property.  This article lists several advantages from a real estate perspective. As your microclimate obsessed Realtor, I must point out that this close to Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year here, the truth of how much light and warmth is available in a given location is easy to see.

All too many home owners have bought homes in late spring, when the home is bathed in light, only to discover that by September, the home is in the cold shadows by 2 in the afternoon. While you can make educated guesses, based on slope and aspect of a home site, at this time of year no guessing or visualizing is necessary, just cruise the neighborhoods you favor in the morning and evening and you'll see where the shadows are. 

Here we see holiday elves standing on the North facing South side of the street at around 2:00 in the afternoon. Dark and cool, even on a bright sunny day. I'm guessing the folks across the street have smaller heating bills. In a free standing single family home the same will hold true, south and west light will bath a home all day, unless it is blocked by a hill, or other buildings.

Then there is the moisture/flooding factor...  I've been hearing stories of several homes in escrow that leaked during the last big storm- it was a doozy and if leaks were ever going to happen they happened then. So much better to learn about potential flooding or water intrusion issues before you buy a home. Winter buyers are less likely to be surprised than summer buyers. Just sayin...

San Anselmo Fairfax Patch

Maps Are Your Friends

Fern Hill Walking Tours

Curbed SF's  post today about locations of former cemeteries, and other cool posts tagged Cool Map Thing, highlight the usefulness and beauty of maps. When you are searching for your next home, maps can really be your friend, especially historical and topographical maps, which can give you a sense of the environmental and human history of a home site. We often think of the environment as somewhere out there in a national park, but every home site is located within topography and history, space and time. Some history is fun to learn about, some not so much, but better to learn before closing escrow.

Kroll Antique Maps

If you are the curious sort, who likes to muck about with research, and you are in the early stages of your home search, here are some tips from the environmental research field. Libraries in Marin and San Francisco have wonderful collections of old maps, photo's and other archives. The San Francisco Planning Department also has a terrific collection of maps of all sorts, and a quick google image search will pull you down endless fascinating rabbit holes.

Marin Library

If you are busier, farther along and/or not a researching type, fear not, because sellers/listing agents pay a service to prepare a  "real estate natural hazard disclosure" which is included in the disclosure (or buyers) package. JCP and Disclosure Source are commonly used in San Francisco and Marin. These services comb the various maps available, such as the liquefaction hazard map, the FEMA flood map etc, and compile the data specific to the property into the report. Do take the time to read these reports, better to understand the location you are committing to sooner then later.