$1.8 Million San Francisco Home Just Sold for $488K — Thanks to a Healthy Dose of Family Drama

A San Francisco home that went on the market for a surprise $488,000 in June has sold for the asking price — but it appears intense drama unfolded behind the scenes.

“This thing is a family mess,” seller Todd Lee told The New York Times. San Francisco Chronicle.

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According to the Chronicle, Todd accepted an offer from his sister, Sheryl Lee, 66. Rent originally Home with their mother, Sandra Lee, 83.

The property was actually valued at $1.8 million, but the low price came with a major stipulation: The current tenants apparently have occupancy rights for about 30 years.

Allegations of “deception” and “treason”

Redfinshowing that the property was sold on July 16.

The listing clearly stated that the house was Already occupied by tenants whose lease appears to give them “potential occupancy rights through 2053” and “strong restrictions on long-term lease amounts.” Tenants pay $416.67 per month in rent plus utilities.

Sandra’s parents originally purchased the property in the 1970s for $52,000 and lived there until their deaths. Previous interview With the San Francisco Standard, Sandra alleged that Todd and her brother, Cedric Joe, took advantage of her and her daughter and listed the home against her will.

Sandra also claimed that her stepfather (the original owner of the house), Kenneth Joe, secretly wrote her a lease before his death, giving her restrictions on the long-term rental rate until 2053.

“If it wasn’t for the rent that [my son] “I didn’t know this was happening in 2018, and I don’t know where we would be,” she said. “It’s unfathomable, the deception and betrayal — this is my son doing this to me.”

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financial failure

Todd denied his mother’s allegations and said he agreed to the sale to avoid litigation despite receiving higher offers from other buyers, the Chronicle reported.

“I wanted to keep it private,” he said. “When my mother spoke out, it got significantly worse.”

Todd says Kenneth appointed him as his guardian. Family trustwhich includes the house, and the beneficiaries are Cheryl, Sandra, and Cedric. While Sandra and Cedric are each entitled to 37.5%, Cheryl gets the remaining 25%.

According to the Chronicle, Kenneth first signed a lease for the property in 2019 that ran through March 31, 2049, requiring the tenant to pay property taxes and insurance as rent for the duration of the lease, allowing the tenant’s “immediate and extended family” to use the building.

Robert Roddick, the family trust’s attorney, says he helped write the first lease and the named tenant is Cheryl.

Two years later, Kenneth modified the lease, reducing the annual property tax and tenant insurance payment to just $5,000 a year — or $416.67 a month — and extending it through December 31, 2018.

Kenneth’s death in 2022 led to a revaluation of the home the following year. The value rose from $143,152 to $1,428,000, with property taxes on the home rising from $1,717 to $16,928 a year, the Chronicle reported, citing government records. Todd noted that Cheryl paid the most recent property taxes.

Roddick says a broker valued the house at $1.8 million without tenants, but claims the tenants “won’t cooperate and move.” [out] To get the maximum price for the house.”

He says that if the property sells for $1.8 million, Sandra and Cheryl would be entitled to about $1.1 million for their combined shares, while Cedric would get about $700,000 (excluding any expenses and debts that may be owed to the family trust).

However, if Sandra and Cheryl buy the house for $500,000, Sandra and Cheryl’s total equity from the sale would be about $300,000, while Cedric’s equity would be $200,000. However, this means that mother and daughter would own a house worth $1.8 million.