San Francisco's exclusive street sold at auction for tax evasion

Thanks to a little-known auction, a couple of South Bay became the proud owner of one of the most exclusive streets in San Francisco for only $ 90 100. All due to the fact that 30 homeowners have not paid an annual tax of $ 14 for years.

Tina Lam and Michael Cheng won in the auction Presidio terrace — a long private oval street, bidding $90 and beating out several other bidders.

Now they're deciding how to make money - perhaps by allowing residents of nearby luxury mansions to park on their street for a small fee.

These residents value their privacy and exclusivity. In the past, homeowners were Senator Dianne Feinstein and her financier-husband Richard Blum, leader of the House of Democrats Nancy Pelosi, and the late mayor Joseph Alioto.

Such a turnaround shocked homeowners, and they want the Board of Observers to stop selling this street, which they have been in charge of since 1905.

Buying a pair seems to be the culmination of a comedy with mistakes. As it turned out, a tax bill of $ 14 per year was not paid by the Household Owners Association for three decades.

Scott Embley, Attorney for the Homeowners Association Garrison, said the group was unable to pay, because its tax invoice was sent to the address of Kearney Street, which indicated an accountant who does not work with homeowners since 1980's.

Two years ago, the city tax inspectorate placed property - a frequent street Presidio terrace — for sale at an online auction, trying to recover $994 in unpaid taxes along with penalties and interest. Cheng and Lam responded to the offer and purchased the street for $90.

From the moment of purchase in April 2015, the couple quietly housed on the acquired land, talking with several land use attorneys to explore options.

Cheng and his wife see plenty of financial opportunity - especially based on the 120 on-street parking spaces they now manage.

“We could charge a reasonable rent,” Cheng said.

Not surprisingly, the residents were a bit upset when they were late in finding out what had happened.

They would never fully know that their street and troits were sold before the company contacted them to search for the name, which worked on behalf of Cheng and Lama.

Last month, homeowners petitioned the Board of Supervisors to cancel the sale. The Board scheduled a hearing for October.

In addition, the Homeowners Association sued the couple and the city, trying to discourage Cheng and Lama from selling the street to someone before the city’s appeal was pending.

Residents say the city has pledged to publish the notice in Presidio terrace, notifying neighbors about the upcoming auction in 2015 year.

Tax collector José Cisneros says that the city did everything legally and correctly.

“Ninety-nine percent of property owners in San Francisco know what they need to do, pay their taxes on time and keep their mailing address up to date,” said spokeswoman Amanda Fried.

As for the threat of charging a parking fee, residents suspect that this is part of a couple’s pressure campaign to force the Homeowners Association to pay a lot of money to buy the street.

The couple, however, says they are in no hurry to sell it.

“I'm a first-generation immigrant, and the first time I came to San Francisco, I fell in love with the city,” said Lam, a Silicon Valley engineer who was born in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. for college.

“I really just wanted to own something in San Francisco,” Lam said.

There is a bit of irony in buying a pair. Prior to the decision of the US Supreme Court in 1948, prohibiting the use of racial covenants, Presidio terrace you could only buy white.

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Handbook for those who pay taxes in the USA

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