Transition

We're shaking it up at 2420 Geary.

In February of 2005, a couple bought the upstairs two-bedroom. I bought one of the downstairs one-bedrooms--the one facing Geary Boulevard. And another couple bought the other identical, but mirror image one-bedroom across from me. This couple would separate and divorce soon after. Still, the four of us (one couple and two single women) lived harmoniously for almost five years, watching each others' dogs, collecting mail, working together to remedy pipe leaks, drainage problems, and fixing an eyesore of a backyard.

I moved out and in with my fiance this past summer, rotating my condo with an MBA summer intern and a Stanford post-doc. In January, a couple of doctors will move in. The doctors had no use for the garage spot so I'm renting that out, too, to a neighbor across the street to house his weather-damaged BMW.

Newly-maried, my neighbor with the identical unit moved out a month ago. She initially paid $500K and sold for $525K which is a slight loss when you account for the broker fees. I paid $455K for mine which profits me $40K right now if I sold. All of this is public information. It's easy to determine whether or not your place is under water. I have no plans to sell. It's been surprisingly easy to find tenants to pay rent that covers my mortgage and HOAs.

The upstairs neighbors are now preparing to put their place on the market in 2010. When they leave, it'll be sad knowing I'm the only remaining original owner and I don't even live there anymore.