If you own a home in San Francisco, or one day would like to try, you soon might have more to worry about than skyrocketing housing prices. The Board of Supervisors will likely vote Tuesday on whether to approve a policy enabling it to seize mortgages through eminent domain. The resolution would allow The City to explore partnering with Richmond to seize mortgages at less than market cost through eminent domain and rewrite them at lower value.
At first glance, this would seem to create instant equity for underwater homeowners. But with a closer look, it’s clear that the policy will make it significantly more expensive to buy, sell or refinance a home in San Francisco — already one of the nation’s most difficult housing markets.