Redwood City Gets in on the TIC Action!
Our intrepid San Francisco maven, Anna Hibble, has done extensive writing on the Tenants-in-Common (TIC) issue in the past. Read the two more comprehensive posts here and here to familiarize yourself with this type of ownership, which seems to be creeping out of the urban San Francisco, down the Peninsula to Redwood City. In a nutshell, “TIC owners own percentages in an undivided property rather than particular units or apartments, and their deeds show only their ownership percentages. The right of a particular TIC owner to use a particular dwelling comes from a written contract signed by all co-owners (often called a “Tenancy In Common Agreement”), not from a deed, map or other document recorded in county records.” So basically what we are talking about here is a type of co-op. One building with multiple units or multiple buildings on one property, each individual unit owned by one person. It is a way of land-sharing, and in this area with a scarcity of land and the climate of exorbitant land prices, this can be a good thing. And Redwood City is jumping in with a few properties that fit this bill.
First is a property that went on the market on June 25th at 603 Poplar Avenue. This is a corner property which features two cottages. Cottage #1 is a three bedroom, two bath home and Cottage #2 is a two bedroom, one bath home with a loft. Technically, this is not a TIC, but could be purchased as such. Listing price is $970,000. (I did a driveby on this one and it is basically two small ranch style homes jammed together on one property. The term “cottage” should really not have been used by the listing agent, in my opinion.)
The second property is not even on the market/MLSL yet. Located at 1654 Union Avenue, you can get in on the ground floor by putting in your reservation for a one- or two-bedroom home. All units are remodeled, with new appliances, paint, and updated bathrooms. Units start at $245,000 for a one bedroom and $349,000 for a two bedroom. If you want to take a sneak peek, there is a model unit available for you to walk through.
While the Redwood City TIC units are not cute little Edwardians or Victorians, or even good mid-century modern architecture, the prices are low and could provide an opportunity to a home buyer that would not traditionally be available in this area.
