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One of SF's rare floating homes hits the market for $1.7M · Best of: Features

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  One of SF's rare floating home hits the market for one point
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  seven million dollars. Written by Tessa McLean. This article is
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  being read by an automated voice, generated by Everlet. Tyson Graham still
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  thinks of himself as the new guy in San Francisco's Mission Creek
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  floating home community. He bought his house twenty five years ago, hardly
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  recent by most standards, but just three of these homes have ever
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  come up for sale on the open market, and most instead passed
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  down from generation to generation. When Graham bought three hundred Channel Street
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  No. Fourteen for two hundred twenty five thousand dollars in two thousand
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  two, it was a handshake deal with the previous owner. A stroke
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  of luck of being in the right place at the right time,
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  he said. Now, he's put the property up for sale for one
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  point seven million dollars, betting that there's no better time to sell
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  such a treasured piece of SF real estate. A historic community. Only
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  twenty houseboats sit along a lengthy dock on Mission Creek, a storied
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  waterway that extends in from McCovey Cove, before ending abruptly underneath Highway
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  two hundred eighty. It once ran from Mission Dolores out to the
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  bay, before development swiftly buried anything in its way as San Francisco
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  grew amid the gold rush boom. The remaining creek was used as
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  a shipping channel and occasional during ground for decades before a houseboat
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  community was relocated in nineteen fifty nine from Islay Creek. Early residents
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  were creatives and blue collar workers, artists and tradespeople, and fishing boat
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  owners, a varied group that could withstand the stench of the often
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  heavily polluted channel. For years industrial waste and home sewage pipelines drained
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  directly into the creek, earning it the unfortunate nickname S T Creek
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  by some. Even today the channel can experience sewer overflows during strong
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  storms and swimming in the water isn't recommended. The community also has
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  a somewhat uncertain future, though residents have fought for its survival through
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  the years. The property is owned by the Port of San Francisco,
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  and its most recent lease extends through twenty fifty five. Meanwhile, the
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  area surrounding the floating home community has completely transformed in the past
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  twenty five years, with modern high rises, sprawling healthcare facilities, and new
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  sports stadiums crafting Mission Bay into a premier neighborhood destination. What once
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  felt like a far flung corner of the city now has lush
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  parks, tech offices, and popular restaurants at its doorstep. But stroll along
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  the dock and it's still unlike any other SF City street. On
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  a recent visit a bat ray glided underneath the docks, and a
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  tall heron stretched its body along the water as it flew low
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  searching for its next meal. A hulking chocolate lab jumped off the
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  dock to take a swim and cool off during an unseasonably hot
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  day. Interstate two hundred and eighty hummed in The background, but at
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  a less intrusive volume than you'd expect. Sea lions were once frequent
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  visitors, but Graham said he doesn't see them much any more. He
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  said the number of resident birds has also diminished, lamenting that much
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  of the animal life fled during years of high construction in the
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  surrounding area and haven't returned. Luxury living on the water. Standing in
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  the primary bedroom of Graham's floating home, the boat lists side to
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  side, a gentle rocking reminding you that you're on just that, a
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  boat. The entire community of homes rises up and down with then.
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  Tides, climbing as much as might feet throughout the day. The three
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  bedroom, three bathroom home, feels nothing like what most people probably imagine
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  when they think about houseboats. While built for efficiency, the one hundred
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  and eighty square foot interior feels spacious, and has all the amenities
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  of a typical modern house, like full sized appliances and a generous
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  kitchen and dining area. Graham built the boat himself in two thousand
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  three. He said most people construct their own boat and it was
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  A rite of passage historically, and says he's renovated almost every part
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  of it since the The upkeep on a houseboat isn't as much
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  as people might think, Graham said. It's not less than your average
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  home, but it's also not more, especially if you stay on top
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  of maintenance. But there are monthly fees, much like being in a
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  condo association. Extra costs for living in the channel total about one
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  thousand one hundred eighty three dollars per month, including birthing costs, a
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  capital assessment, and Internet. The homeowner also has to pay for water
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  and electricity. The sale comes with two parking spots, and the additional
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  adjacent forty foot pleasure boat berth is optional. A neglected Mission Creek
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  Park borders the area, but construction is set to begin his year
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  by the Recreation and Park Department to renovate the site, including a
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  new storage facility for Creek residents. It may be a good time
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  to sell. The San Francisco market is white hot, but this is
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  far from a conventional sale. The purchase will likely need to be
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  all or mostly cash, as it's difficult to get mortgages for unconventional
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  properties like a houseboat. Graham is considering offering seller financing, though he's
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  guessing he won't need to do so. These properties are coveted. Only
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  three have ever sold on the open market, according to official records.
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  Graham has lived in San Francisco on and off since the nineteen
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  nineties, but he's been spending more and more time at his ranch
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  up in s in Sonoma County after retiring two years ago. And
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  even though he has a deep love for the home he built
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  from scratch and the community he spent years a part of, he
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  knows it's time to move on. Graham hopes the buyer understands how
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  important it is to know what you're buying into. It's a close
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  knit community where everyone helps out their neighbors and participates in twice
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  yearly volunteer work days. There are strict rules against absentee owners, so
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  the buyer won't be able to use the houseboat as a second
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  home or rent it out as a vacation rental. This whole place
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  is about the community, he said. This is something to be preserved.