Over my dead body--1526 Pacific Avenue, Alameda, CA
This home on Pacific came on the market over 2 months ago and doesn't seem to have seen much activity (MLS #40322951). It stands on a huge, almost quarter-acre lot and appears to be a duplex with two 3-bedroom units built on top of a garage:
No sale history is available on Zillow or Trulia, and the only specs I was able to find describe the house as a 1,218-sqft home, so my guess is the 2nd unit was built out so long ago permits didn't matter back then (or without permits, who knows). Either that or we have ourselves two 614-sqft 3-bedroom apartments, but that'd be a bit cramped, unless you're a Playmobil character.
The "independent [probate] administrator" started the listing
ambitiously, and has since dropped the price gingerly, but s/he doesn't seem to
realize $749,000 is still too much for a cookie-cutter Craftsman with
old, low-budget rental-grade furnishings inside (see photos on MLS
sites) on a not-too-bad but none-too-great street. A decent-looking, 2,454-sqft, historically significant Marcuse and Remmel Victorian, complete with old anaglypta and built-ins and all sorts of cute old moldings just two blocks away at 1311 Pacific took about 160 days to sell for $655,000, $114,000 off the original asking price (I noted at the time that the house's 100th day on the market would come just before new year's, and it closed on 2/29/08, having started at $769,000.)
I just don't see this plain house fetching $94,000 more than that Vic, even if it does have 2 separate units. Using very optimistic assumptions of 20% down (that's $150K, and I don't know a lot of folks who have that kind of cash to part with) and a 6% interest rate on the balance, the mortgage sans taxes comes out to about $3,600 a month; add $600 a month for property tax and you need $4,200. I'd be very surprised if either unit could be rented for $2,100, given the rental market around here and the fact they only have one bathroom each. Add to that the opportunity cost of dumping $150K of your cash into a depreciating asset instead of sticking it into a basic, low-interest CD and earning $6,000 a year doing nothing, there's no way in hell this house is a sound investment no matter how you slice it.
I predict the ZipRealty price track is going to have a few more rows soon. It already has two ($824,500 to $774,000 in February, and $774,000 to $749,000 in March).
Update 8/4/08: Back on the market with a new MLS #40360819 and a new price ($650,000). The owner is dead already so waiting isn't much of an issue.
Update 10/29/08: Back on the market again, as MLS(r) #40378467, priced at $650,000. At this rate, the probate administrator might need their own probate administrator. It's only 4 months away from becoming a "lifer" on this blog, which would be a singular accomplishment.
Update 2/8/09: Still on the market as MLS(r) #40378467 and MLS(r) #40360819. Still a stupid price ($650,000). Welcome to the Lifers category (oh, the irony).
Huge lot! Pest report available, $10k section 1. 2, 3 bedroom 1 bath units. Lower unit, fresh carpet and paint, and new tenant with 1 year lease. Attached garage. Probate with independent administrator. Great location in alameda!
No sale history is available on Zillow or Trulia, and the only specs I was able to find describe the house as a 1,218-sqft home, so my guess is the 2nd unit was built out so long ago permits didn't matter back then (or without permits, who knows). Either that or we have ourselves two 614-sqft 3-bedroom apartments, but that'd be a bit cramped, unless you're a Playmobil character.
The "independent [probate] administrator" started the listing
ambitiously, and has since dropped the price gingerly, but s/he doesn't seem to
realize $749,000 is still too much for a cookie-cutter Craftsman with
old, low-budget rental-grade furnishings inside (see photos on MLS
sites) on a not-too-bad but none-too-great street. A decent-looking, 2,454-sqft, historically significant Marcuse and Remmel Victorian, complete with old anaglypta and built-ins and all sorts of cute old moldings just two blocks away at 1311 Pacific took about 160 days to sell for $655,000, $114,000 off the original asking price (I noted at the time that the house's 100th day on the market would come just before new year's, and it closed on 2/29/08, having started at $769,000.) I just don't see this plain house fetching $94,000 more than that Vic, even if it does have 2 separate units. Using very optimistic assumptions of 20% down (that's $150K, and I don't know a lot of folks who have that kind of cash to part with) and a 6% interest rate on the balance, the mortgage sans taxes comes out to about $3,600 a month; add $600 a month for property tax and you need $4,200. I'd be very surprised if either unit could be rented for $2,100, given the rental market around here and the fact they only have one bathroom each. Add to that the opportunity cost of dumping $150K of your cash into a depreciating asset instead of sticking it into a basic, low-interest CD and earning $6,000 a year doing nothing, there's no way in hell this house is a sound investment no matter how you slice it.
I predict the ZipRealty price track is going to have a few more rows soon. It already has two ($824,500 to $774,000 in February, and $774,000 to $749,000 in March).
Update 8/4/08: Back on the market with a new MLS #40360819 and a new price ($650,000). The owner is dead already so waiting isn't much of an issue.
Update 10/29/08: Back on the market again, as MLS(r) #40378467, priced at $650,000. At this rate, the probate administrator might need their own probate administrator. It's only 4 months away from becoming a "lifer" on this blog, which would be a singular accomplishment.
Probate w/Adm. Hugh lot. Diamond in the rough. Good location....Bring us an offer.Since when do sellers order buyers around? Someone will bring you an offer when you show some evidence of brain activity and drop your list price to a level that doesn't scare sensible people away from even negotiating. Not a moment sooner.
Update 2/8/09: Still on the market as MLS(r) #40378467 and MLS(r) #40360819. Still a stupid price ($650,000). Welcome to the Lifers category (oh, the irony).
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