Foreclosures in San Francisco Paint a Harsh Picture of the Recession

May 12th, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure

The foreclosures for sale in San Francisco are painting a harsh picture of the recession. It comes alive from what one does not see rather than what does see. For instance there are fewer spaces for parking after dark because more people are staying at home. There is sharp contrast. Foreclosure notices are not jostling with sale signs. Some houses are empty flaunting to-let signs. The eateries are not crowded but neither are they empty. A lady managing the bookshop down the corner is wondering what she will do when the shop shuts down. The coffee shop beside it continues to make a din.

The streets are full of potholes making one compare San Francisco to Tijuana in Mexico. There are no funds and hence no repairs. The city park has become wild in its pristine beauty as the wild grass having grown to its full height is now wilting. Cars are being regularly burgled. Women whisper and confide to each other about loss of savings. Some essential repair work in the kitchen of a house goes on.

In the Lower Pacific Heights the number of apartments outflanks the number of houses with there being more condos in comparison to rentals. The young make their presence felt in this area. The pastor of St. Dominic’s Church said on Palm Sunday that the weekly subscriptions have gone down by $8,000 while requests for immediate assistance (rent, edibles, baby requirements, and clothes for kids) have sharply increased – quadrupled.

Life never stops – it flows on either meandering or gushing. A meeting was held in a homeless shelter in Tenderloin regarding a charity event. One fellow offered to supply the participants with free cups of coffee. The fellow did not have a job. He had many interviews listed in his itinerary.

Somewhere nearby is the home of Oracle. Intel lives in the opposite side. When the bubble of dot com went burst in 2000 the locals gossiped about the residence on Pierce Street that had been built after thousands of dollars toiled through two years. Without having had the good luck of spending a single night in the house, the owner had to sell the unit just as the last batch of workers moved away having completed the assignment. It did not take long for the dream to be bought by others. A man, his wife and dog moved in and started on another development.