This is a pretty unique San Francisco real estate story!
I teamed up with fellow real estate agent Eric Castongia to help a multigenerational family find a very specific property. The parents and their adult daughter wanted to purchase a duplex so they could be under the same roof as each other while still having their own individual spaces.
As you might imagine, finding the right property wasn't going to be easy!
The Challenge: Finding the Right Homes
Our buyers of course had a list of wants and needs, but their options were limited. We couldn't realistically consider tenant-occupied properties because of San Francisco's renter protections. Plus, our clients didn't want to displace anyone from their home!
We looked at several vacant duplexes, but competition was tough. Our clients were outbid on a couple of properties, including one they really loved that eventually sold for about $700,000 more than they were willing to pay.
Then something pretty unusual happened.
Two Condos Hit the Market!
Within just a couple of days of each other, two condos in the same 2-unit building came on the market!
The building had already undergone a condo conversion, meaning each unit was legally separate, with its own ownership, taxes, and utilities.
And here's where things got complicated: The condos had different owners, different listing agents, and separate disclosure packages.
To make this work, our clients needed to purchase BOTH properties. We had to coordinate two offers on the same day, with each offer contingent on the other being accepted.
It wasn't exactly a traditional transaction!
How It All Came Together
Fortunately, a few things worked in our favor.
There were no competing offers on either condo. Several other properties had come on the market that week, and the news cycle worked in our favor. Plus, the condos weren't marketed as a duplex, so buyers specifically searching for duplexes could have easily missed them.
And incredibly, both offers were accepted!
Our buyers were able to purchase the two condos and therefore the entire building with separate financing, giving the parents and their daughter exactly the living arrangement they'd been searching for.
Sometimes You Have to Think Outside the Box
This transaction is a great reminder that just because something seems difficult doesn't mean it's impossible.
Our buyers had a very specific vision, and finding the right properties required patience, creativity, and some unusual coordination between two separate transactions.
I'm so happy that we could help this family make it happen!
I spent years as a top-producing agent in Seattle before relocating to San Francisco myself. Now I do both—helping buyers and sellers in San Francisco, and connecting relocating clients with the best agents across the country. If you're making a move, I'd love to be in your corner from day one. Get in touch!
