1501 20th Street

Here is an interesting Potrero TIC. First, kudos to the marketeers at Zephyr for the gorgeous photography. The artful, light-filled compositions make me imagine a leisurely life of late morning awakenings and sun-filled afternoons spent surveying the rooftops that stretch down to the Bay. And the adjectives - rare, handsome, incredible, vibrant - are most imaginative.

I am curious about why there are "three garages, one vacant." Does that mean two of the garages are rented (or owned) by individuals who are not new buyers of this TIC? Also, the ad seems to suggest the "one vacant garage" will sell only with the cottage. (Ah, the word cottage summons endearing images of charming gardens cultivated by either eccentric but friendly pensioneers or a young, fantastically good-looking young person recovering from a recent heartbreak...) But back to the subject at hand, reading between the lines, I am presuming my top floor view unit "available for $650,000" requires street parking.

Back down to the ground, is that a restaurant of some sort on the bottom floor? How might one feel about living in a sizable, comparatively well-priced unit, above a restaurant? (Assuming, of course, that the tenants scheduled to depart on October 31 do indeed vacate the place.) In this case the words "ventilation unit" and "exterminator" spring suddenly into my thoughts... not to mention "owner move-in eviction."

And then I take a look at Mapquest. Why is it in San Francisco wherever you see the label "Recreation Center" the word "projects" almost certainly closely follows in one's thoughts? Still the rec center down the street from this property gets (mostly) favorable reviews on Yelp.com. Says one reviewer - "the center and the grounds are there to serve the housing projects to the south and east, with plenty of afternoon and evening sports programs, whilst from the north and west, the gentrified world of audi, bmw and jetta owners populate the park for the chance to exercise their prized, well-fed and groomed dogs..."

Oh, I guess that adds a well-brushed fido to my 1501 20th Street fantasy. And a bit of brave-hearted, gentrifying T-line pioneer spirit. Why do I suddenly think of the phrase "hard bargain?"