Underwater is the new black--310 Lina Ave, Alameda, CA

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Sometimes I wonder if the Treasury is printing money to make up for the massive wealth destruction occurring all over the country as the excesses of the housing bubble are being wrung out of the system. Of course, none of the money being lost was ever real money, and it's painfully clear nobody likes what the Treasury is doing. Today's McMansion in the West end is a subprime example of foresight and excellent money management:

4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2,925 sqft, 3,760-sqft lot, MLS(r) #80914276, $690,000 $790,000
Award winning design [...] shows like model. Over $15,000 in kitchen upgrades and $22,000 in countertop and flooring upgrade. Beautiful Bamboo flooring, [...] Stainless Steel appliances, Thermador built-in refrigerator, double oven, caesar stone counters [...] Won't last long!

310-lina-street-view.jpgThey're so sure it "[w]on't last long" they raised the price by $100,000 the day it was listed. Or maybe the initial list price was a Freudian typo.

Property History for 310 LINA Ave

Date Event Price Source
Mar 20, 2009 Price Changed $790,000 MLSListings #80914276
Mar 20, 2009 Listed $690,000 MLSListings #80914276
Nov 28, 2006 Sold $1,088,500 Public Records
My favorite part, though, is the lovely bath the owners are taking on this property: $298,500 (27%) in 30 months or so--that's about $10,000 per month going "poof" since they purchased the property. Assuming they've been making regular payments since they moved in, this is roughly the same as paying $15,000-$18,000 a month in rent, with the added bonus of a couple of blown FICO scores and (most likely) a stress-related illness or two. But we know full well homeownership is the best way to build wealth.

At $270 / sqft, it's still too much, of course, especially considering how small the lot is. And $790,000 is a lot of money, regardless of how big the house might be. Now that lending has returned to reasonable standards, anyone buying this property would have to have between $80,000 and $160,000 in cash and $200,000 or more stable yearly income. Considering how well the economy is doing in California, I'm sure the sellers will find dozens of qualified buyers in no time flat.

To all the Alameda real estate agents who say things like...

the prices in Alameda have always held their values for the most part! We are again seeing some multiple offers on properties!
maybe it's time you stopped lying through your teeth making provably false statements being ignorant idiots working.

(Thanks to Sam Bezi for this post's title) 
 
Update 4/10/09: Also known in the local MLS(r) as #40404344.

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by L. Opine published on March 21, 2009 10:19 PM.

When it sells, nobody knows--601 Fortress Isle, Alameda, CA was the previous entry in this blog.

No garage--1009 Central Ave, Alameda, CA is the next entry in this blog.

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