After decades in Arizona, a couple relocated to the San Francisco Peninsula, where they hoped to find a single-level home with no stairs and plenty of room to host family.
Jim Wilson/The New York TimesAfter spending most of their adult lives in Arizona, Dennis and Sherry Weiss talked about a permanent relocation to the San Francisco Bay Area. It wasn’t the first time they’d had the conversation.
The couple — who had been together more than 30 years, and married for eight — had been circling the topic for a decade, since the first of Ms. Weiss’s three grandchildren was born in San Francisco. (She has two adult daughters from a previous marriage living in the Bay Area; Dr. Weiss has two adult sons in Ohio.)
“We went back and forth on it,” said Dr. Weiss, 70, a semi-retired psychiatrist. “‘No one retires to California.’ We heard that a lot.”
But family considerations won out, and their plans accelerated thanks to unforeseen circumstances. In January, just before the couple were to fly in for a visit, Ms. Weiss received a call from one of her daughters.
“Carly says, ‘Mom, I have Covid,’” said Ms. Weiss, 69, a retired public-school teacher. “So we stayed at the hotel in Palo Alto and waited for her to test negative. It was like, ‘Well, we have days to kill. Let’s drive around and look at houses.’”
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The couple, who had casually scouted East Bay locations in the past, concentrated on a strip of 20 miles or so along the San Francisco Peninsula, from San Mateo south to Sunnyvale. One afternoon, while looking at listings they had seen on Zillow, they found themselves struggling through a pounding rainstorm. They ducked into a Berkshire Hathaway office in Redwood City, told the receptionist they wanted to buy a home, and asked if a broker was available.
“I can count on three fingers the number of times something like that has happened in my career,” said Michael Smith, the agent who was in the office that day. Mr. Smith, a fourth-generation San Franciscan, quickly pulled together listings, and the hunt began in earnest.
The sale of the Phoenix home and small office bungalow that belonged to Dr. Weiss, along with huge run-ups in long-held shares of Apple stock — “I never sold, and it sort of sneaked up on us,” he said — put the couple in the unexpected position of being able to work from a $2 million price point with flexibility.
They wanted a single-level place with plenty of room to host the grandchildren, as well as a glimpse of San Francisco Bay, if possible. Proximity to Ms. Weiss’s daughters — one in San Francisco, the other in East Palo Alto — was a priority.
Two Suites in San Mateo
This four-bedroom, four-bathroom 1949 house was about 2,470 square feet, with two primary bedroom suites. All four bathrooms had been remodeled, the updated kitchen had high-end appliances and quartz countertops, and the front yard was nicely landscaped. But there wasn’t much room in the backyard, and the house was on a busy thoroughfare near a shopping center and a high school. It was listed for $2.49 million, with annual taxes of about $31,000.
No. 2
Pool on a Hill in Redwood City
This three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom 1973 home was in a walkable area of Redwood City, with views of San Francisco Bay. There was an open kitchen and a family room well suited to family visits. The in-ground pool would be great for the grandchildren, and the gazebo rounded out the backyard nicely. But the 2,070 square-foot house sat on the lower end of an inclined block, and the only access to the front door was by a rather steep stairway. The house was listed for $2.35 million, with annual taxes of about $28,500.
No. 3
Beach Vibe in San Mateo
At 1,664 square feet, this three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in San Mateo was a smaller option, but bright skylights made the place feel bigger. There was a formal dining room, a primary suite with new windows and a renovated bathroom, as well as a wraparound yard with fruit trees and a low-maintenance lawn. The house was on a fairly busy street near San Francisco Bay, which gave it a beach vibe that Dr. Weiss didn’t love. But the $1.68 million price tag, with annual taxes of about $21,000, allowed for alterations, if desired.
