Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The little house that couldn't sell.

UPDATE: As far as I can tell, this house did not sell and was pulled from the market.

In the ongoing saga of the little home that
just won't sell, they have lowered the price once again. They are now down to 499K, which is 46K off the original 545K. I feel a bit sorry for these folks at this point, but frankly, I think the home was really overpriced when it listed. Stop by, take a look, and offer them 475K-485K -- I bet you can snag this place.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A pool and a pond. A pond would be good for you...

Dear Real Estate Agent,

Although I think this pond is somewhat attractive,
I am currently looking for home for my family, not for frogs or a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In light of this, you many consider changing your lead picture to the front of the home instead of the fountain/pond image that is currently being used. And while I am on the topic, of the 5 pictures shown, 2 are of the landscaping, 1 is a close-up of an outside gazebo, 1 is the front of the house and the final one is the dining/kitchen area. I plan on living IN the house, so I would really like to see several more images of the interior rooms and spaces. Your listing mentions a "large sunroom" and a "large master bedroom", which could have been great subjects for the aforementioned interior photographs.

Best regards,
John Q. Homebuyer

Friday, April 13, 2007

No You Didn't...Price Reduced by ONE DOLLAR.

I don't know why they did this, nor do I care, but it's the funniest thing I've seen all day (...possibly all week). I was recently contemplating blogging about people who reduce their homes by 1-10K and think it's going to make a difference in today's market. Show me a 30K reduction and then you'll get my attention, that is if the original price wasn't padded. This, on the other hand, defies ones ability to keep a straight face.

Attention!
If this is your home and your agent recommended that this would bring in the masses, you may want to shop for a new agent. In my opinion, I think the home should have been pulled from the MLS altogether, repriced (with more than a $1 difference) and then relisted in a week or two. The way it was done just makes the seller and/or agent look ridiculous...but it was good for a laugh. I guess that's worth a buck.

Note: Redfin is NOT the agent on this listing. I just got the info from their site.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

338 Bassett St, Petaluma - You're Kidding, Right?

520K for a 978 square foot home that is sitting on a foundation that needs work? That's $532 a sqaure foot for this teensy house and the listing suggests that you may want to move it to the back of the property and build a second home. Wait, I have an idea, bulldoze the whole ugly mess and start over, but is this lot worth 520K? It's pretty good size (7,187) and on the "desirable west side", but that still seems steep to me. It's about half a block away from the high school -- you'll have to decide if that's a good thing or not.

But wait! For this low-low price, you also get the "way-cool retro light fixtures" (yes, actual verbiage from the listing) and they are going to throw in the lovely oh-so-San-Francisco earthquake enhanced driveway at no extra charge!

520K...you're kidding, right? ...right?

Monday, April 9, 2007

4517 Earhart Ave, Santa Rosa - Update

I previously suggested making an offer on this home and now the sellers have lowered the price. It was originally listed at 480K, and now after over 180 days, they have lowered the price to 465K. There are three other homes with the same floorplan available as well. One is listed at 469K, one at 495K and another at 485K. This seems like a decent deal, but I think you could offer 445K-455K to this seller and walk away with the keys.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

2559 Edgewater Dr, Santa Rosa - Reduced

If you're not familiar with the Northpoint community in Southwest Santa Rosa, you should take some time to drive over and take a look. This is a newer development that was built by Pacific Mountain Partners which included single-family homes and townhomes. This particular home is the largest townhome floorplan which features 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. There are pluses and a few minuses here, but overall, it's a pretty good value and these homes were well built and included nice standard features.

One of the big upsides for the townhomes is the HUGE garages. This is a 3-story unit and the entire first floor is a garage. It's tandem, but widens out once you get past the door for a really nice area. This homeowner turned part of the garage into a bar/rec room. A small back yard is also part of the deal, but it is only accessible through the garage. This particular plan has all 3 bedrooms on the 3rd floor, which is nice if you have children and want everyone on the same floor together. Other features include a separate living room and family room, dining room and nice size kitchen with a substantial island.

This townhome was originally listed at 499K, but the price was recently reduced to 485K. If a single-family home is more your style, take a drive around the neighborhood as there are four or five of these for sale right now as well. For only 30K more than the townhome, 2743 Desert Rose Ln just came on the market for 515K.

Monday, April 2, 2007

910 Cedarwood Lane, Petaluma - Price Update

The subject of my first post was this little Petaluma house near Lakeville. I felt the home was overpriced and should be listed around 519K to be competitive. It looks like they just lowered the price to 513K, which is still $473 a square foot, but more realistic and reasonable. The home appears to be in good shape, so now might be the time to make an offer.