A Chinese-American couple has snatched up a whole street in San Francisco’s most exclusive neighborhood for a mere 90,000 US dollars in a city-run auction stemming from an unpaid tax bill.
Tina Lam and Michael Cheng came across the listing in April 2015, when the city’s tax office put up the street for sale in an online auction to recover 994 US dollars in unpaid back taxes defaulted by the homeowners’ association for the last 30 years. They eventually outbid several others with a 90,100-US-dollar offer.
Screenshot of Google Map
Presidio Terrace, the block-long, private oval street lined by 35 mega-mansions, is one of the richest communities in San Francisco that is home to senators, financiers, and the city’s late mayor.
While the couple admit that it was quite a stroke of luck, the well-off residents in the neighborhood are not that happy.
Photo from San Francisco Chronicle
Photo from South China Morning Post
In a letter to the city last month, the homeowners claimed that the annual tax bill was, without their knowing, mistakenly being sent to the address of an accountant who hadn’t worked for the Presidio Homeowners Association since the 1980s. They didn’t know the property has been sold until a title search company hired by Cheng and Lam reached out to ask if any residents had interests in buying back the property, the letter said.
A Chinese-American couple has snatched up a whole street in San Francisco’s most exclusive neighborhood for a mere 90,000 US dollars in a city-run auction stemming from an unpaid tax bill.
Tina Lam and Michael Cheng came across the listing in April 2015, when the city’s tax office put up the street for sale in an online auction to recover 994 US dollars in unpaid back taxes defaulted by the homeowners’ association for the last 30 years. They eventually outbid several others with a 90,100-US-dollar offer.
Screenshot of Google Map
Presidio Terrace, the block-long, private oval street lined by 35 mega-mansions, is one of the richest communities in San Francisco that is home to senators, financiers, and the city’s late mayor.
While the couple admit that it was quite a stroke of luck, the well-off residents in the neighborhood are not that happy.
Photo from San Francisco Chronicle
Photo from South China Morning Post
In a letter to the city last month, the homeowners claimed that the annual tax bill was, without their knowing, mistakenly being sent to the address of an accountant who hadn’t worked for the Presidio Homeowners Association since the 1980s. They didn’t know the property has been sold until a title search company hired by Cheng and Lam reached out to ask if any residents had interests in buying back the property, the letter said.
But a spokeswoman from the treasurer-tax collector's office responded that the residents should be held accountable for their bills.
Since the purchase, the couple has talked to a number of land-use attorneys to explore their options.
“We were looking to get title insurance so it could be marketable,” Cheng said.
Photo from San Francisco Chronicle
With the pavements, the street itself including 120 parking spaces, and other areas of “common ground,” the couple has plenty of financial opportunities to explore, not before they could set down a deal with the grumpy neighbors.
Photo from San Francisco Chronicle
Photo from South China Morning Post
Last month, the homeowners petitioned the Board of Supervisors for a hearing to rescind the tax sale. The board has scheduled a hearing for October. Although Amanda Fried, spokeswoman for the tax office said chances are slim that the homeowners could reclaim the street since it has been two years since the sale.
The Presidio Terrace Association has also filed a suit against the city and the couple, asking for the sale to be reversed and blocking Lam and Cheng from selling the street while the appeal is pending.
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