hope is not a reserve fund

As if buying a condo wasn't already complicated enough, your HOA just got invited to the underwriting party. Which is about as fun as it sounds. And since August 3rd, lenders have gotten MUCH nosier.

Lenders used to have something called a "limited review," which was basically the underwriting equivalent of saying, "eh, it's probably fine." Now they need to know everything about your HOA. They’re digging through budgets, reserve funds, insurance policies, and maintenance records looking for signs that the building hasn’t been living paycheck to paycheck. Your finances still matter, and now so do your neighbors'.

It’s not all bad news though. Smaller boutique buildings (up to ten units) just got easier to finance, and communities with more renters might finally catch a break. But for everyone else, lenders want proof your HOA has been acting like a responsible adult. Have they been setting money aside for future repairs, or just secretly hoping the roof respects the power of positive thinking?

With soaring insurance costs and aging condo buildings, lenders have gotten a lot less comfy taking an HOA's word for it. They want receipts! If an HOA hasn't been saving enough, someone eventually has to make up the difference. And that usually shows up in the form of higher dues or a special assessment.

Buying a condo used to be mostly about whether the buyer qualified for the loan. Now your building has to qualify too. So if you're buying or selling a condo, expect more paperwork, more scrutiny, and more hoops to jump through along the way.

Coincidentally, I have four condos getting ready to hit the market in the next month. Because apparently I have impeccable timing and have learned nothing.

rise and dine

Oakland was named the “best food city in America” in 2024, which unfortunately did not come with immunity from the very difficult business of running a restaurant.

Over the last two years, some pretty beloved spots have disappeared: Pomella, Shakewell, Horn Barbecue, Clove & Hoof, The Kon-Tiki, the list unfortunately goes on. Between high operating costs, post-pandemic struggles and the impossible math of trying to sell someone a $19 sandwich while also paying Bay Area rent, it’s been rough.

But! A few are actually coming back from the dead.

Reem’s California returned to Oakland after leaving for San Francisco in 2021, opening a new 3000-square-foot flagship in Jack London Square. Millennium announced it was closing in May, only to reverse course a few weeks later after an outpouring of support. Oakland Athletic Club was revived by a group of former regulars and local business owners. And Luka’s (the site of many blurry happy hours) closed after losing its Uptown lease in 2022, but has since been reincarnated as Bar Skula in Grand Lake.

As someone who has been known to mourn restaurant closures as if they were actual deaths, I fully endorse this resurrection trend. Now if Wood Tavern could just announce they were totally kidding too... Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

the nuclear family just went nuclear

There was a time when the expected life plan came with suspiciously little room for customization: meet someone, fall in love, get married, buy a house, have 2.5 kids. Preferably in that order. But now? People are starting to separate the whole partner thing from the whole parent thing.

Take platonic co-parenting: having and raising a kid with someone you're not romantically involved with. Sometimes it's your bestie. Sometimes it's a stranger you swiped right on because you both simply want to be parents (yes, there are apps for this!). Or maybe it’s a “mommune" of single moms splitting the bills, school pickups, and the daily battle of feeding a picky eater. It truly takes a village, and someone finally asked: ok but what if the village shared a mortgage? And what if we just found someone responsible enough to raise a tiny, irrational roommate with for the next two decades, without all the pressure of being in love or whatever?

At the risk of alarming my husband, I FREAKING LOVE THIS. People are marrying later, staying single longer, and building the family they want around the life they want. Sometimes there's a romantic partner involved. Sometimes there isn't.

When our idea of family changes, what we need from our homes changes with it. More ADUs, flexible spaces, maybe neighborhoods where the “village” isn’t just something we complain about not having. People change first, real estate usually catches up later.