Now that is too funny!
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Tina Lam and Michael Cheng snatched up Presidio Terrace — the block-long, private oval street lined by 35 megamillion-dollar mansions — for $90,000 and change in a city-run auction stemming from an unpaid tax bill. They outlasted several other bidders.
Now they’re looking to cash in — maybe by charging the residents of those mansions to park on their own private street.
The couple’s purchase appears to be the culmination of a comedy of errors involving a $14-a-year property tax bill that the homeowners association failed to pay for three decades.
Past homeowners have included Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her financier husband, Richard Blum; House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi; and the late Mayor Joseph Alioto. A guard is stationed round the clock at the stone-gate entrance to the street to keep the curious away.
The $14 per year tax for a “block-long, private oval street lined by 35 megamillion-dollar mansions” itself shows something totally out of whack with the state’s property tax system. San Francisco appears to have an average property tax rate of about 1.2%, indicating a value of about $1,170. With the 90k present sale valuation, the tax should go to about $1,080 per year. But the reality it is clearly worth far more, as the 35 owners are figuring out. It’s only fair to see them buy the land back for the HOA with the tax appropriately increased at least 1000 times. Would be a minor payment for those on this street.
As a former HOA president in Ohio, property taxes were a very clear obligation and line item on our budget. While I was involved, we changed from a self managed HOA to hiring a professional management company. One of the issues I saw going in was a similar failure of prior management (trustees and a part time administrator) to meet legal obligations because mail was sent to a former agent/attorney that retired without redirecting his business.
Likely there was a company managing this HOA and it will be interesting as the finger pointing begins for who dropped the ball decades ago, and who failed to follow up and correct an issue so basic to managing the assets of an HOA.
I would have installed parking meters last night and booted every car on the block this morning.