81 RIDGE VIEW Dr Atherton, CA 94027

Price: $3,495,000

Last sale: Jun 17, 2008 Sold $4,100,000
Loss if sold for asking:$605,000 or 14.8%

It’s been a while since I featured a multimillion dollar home here.  This one is a pretty normal property in Atherton.  It seems that it’s been sold from one trust to another in the past couple decades so I’m sure the sellers aren’t really in trouble, but it seems that they want to get rid of the home in  a hurry because they already cut the price twice.  Lately there has been more and more listings in Atherton and most of these multimillion sales take a pretty long time.   I suspect the inventory will build up further.

1940 STAFFORD St Redwood City, CA 94063

Price: $407,900

Last sale:

This bank owned property was first purchased in 2002 for $490k with two loans of $392k and $98k.  That’s right, that’s equivalent to  a 0% down loan.  And then in 2004 it was refinanced again with an adjustable loan of $520k and it seems like there was a transfer between family members.  And then in 2006 it was refinanced again with two loans of $612,000 and $76,500 for a total of $688,500.  So basically this family took out around $200k from this little house during the boom, and finally it went into foreclosure so the last lender is looking around a loss of $280k.  It seems like it was a good deal for this particular family because they practically got to live in this house for more than 4 years for free.

1341 BEACON Ave San Mateo, CA 94401

Price: $549,900

Last sale:
Jul 07, 2008 Sold $767,748 -9.9%/yr Public Records
Dec 29, 2006 Sold $900,000 17.4%/yr Public Records
Loss if sold for asking: $217848 or 28.4%

I absolutely love the realtor’s description of this listing: “Ideal for trades person or contractor. .. try the fha rehab loan to make this a true castle that will fit the entire kingdom! Large lot has room for a boat or RV also!” I’m not sure what kind of kingdom that would be, but I guess everyone needs a dream.
It is currently owned by Greenpoint Mtg Funding Inc and there will be an open house this Saturday 1/24 from 1pm to 4pm!

2268 ADDISON Ave East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Price: $183,750

Last sales:
Sep 19, 2008 Sold $579,457 -5.0%/yr Public Records
Oct 12, 2006 Sold $640,000 16.4%/yr Public Records

Loss if sold for asking: $395707 or 68.3%
This bank owned property is probably one of the cheapest single family homes on the Peninsula and it looks like it still has some appliances left. It’s about $460k off its peak price, and that’s pretty sad.

1044 SUZANNE Ct Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

Price: $299,900

Last sale:

Loss if sold for asking: $136,398 or 31.3%

This is a bank owned property on the coast.  It seems like a decent townhome and it is listed for less than its 2003 price.

270 VERA Ave Redwood City, CA 94061

Price: $499,900

Last sale:

This house is currently owned by Countrywide/Bank of America and the last sale was a foreclosure auction.  It is in a good area and the size is decent, but the house is pretty old and it has the old style electric heaters.  It’s interesting to see that some of the past owners of this home had 100% financing as early as 2002 when the home sold for $530,000.  Now I guess they realized that all that money didn’t really exist to begin with.    The price has been dropped about $50k since its listing in the end of October.

2222 FRANCISCO Blvd Pacifica, CA 94044

Price: $239,875

Last sale: May 21, 2008 Sold $256,737

This is just truly frightening.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

I think the following is a baby’s room:

I think this is an oven??

Bed & Bath:

There are some more pics on the listing, and I’m glad the realtor is really honest about this POS, but I can’t believe they’re still charging nearly $240k for this? And at first they actually wanted $300k for it.  Just incredible.

Oh come on.. you left out the best parts of this little dandy.

1) How about the food left in the back room- is it still decaying on the dresser?

2) Has anyone ever flushed the toilet, or is hte floater still around?

3) How about all the fun you can have rolling down your own private hill- a.k.a, the second level living room floor;

4) The bulging outdoor walls where you can estimate for yourself how much longer before the house gives way.

5) Ever take a peak inside the ‘attics’ of the little rentals? Please do- then you’ll know where all those used oil containers go.

6) It wasn’t a woman who owned the house- it was a man. You can see all of his bank and tax records in the bedroom where he died.

7. The woman, I believe, was his sister- she was collecting the rents and putting them in her pocket. This lasted until the bank protested and kicked everyone out. I could go on and on, but I think you get the gist why this home is still on the market.

Thank you KT for these insights.  I also heard that there was an official looking notice taped to the door that said all the structures are worth less than $100.  Is that still there?  Keep the tips coming because they’re pretty entertaining.

243 HAZEL Ave REDWOOD CITY, CA 94061

Price: $232,900

Last sale:

Loss: $300k to $400k
This bank owned property had a peak sale price of $690,000 in 2006, and  now it is being listed for  less than $233k.  It is being sold by Countrywide/Bank of America.   This is a pretty amazing  price considering that the zipcode 94061 still has a median  price per square foot of over $500.  It could be because this home is right on Woodside Ave. and sits right across from a cemetary.   Anyway, the pictures look like  the real estate agent was running with the camera.  San Mateo County also gives this property an assessed value of $717k so the tax bill is pretty high even if you buy it for $233k.  

 127 N Fremont St, San Mateo, 94401 – $11,000 below last sale price

356 Ramona Ave, San Mateo, 94401 – $201k below last sale price 

150 N. Ellsworth, San Mateo, 94401 – $20k below last sale price

911 9th Ave, San Mateo,  94402 – $120k below last sale price

341 N Claremont, San Mateo, 94401 – $99k below last sale price - been on the market for over a year.

217 Vera Ave, Redwood City, 94061 – $209k below last price 

These aren’t exactly very good investments at the current price points.  Each has a capitalization rate of -2 to 4 percent since property tax is pretty high on some of them.  I think it will take a couple more years for investment properties to get attractive again on the peninsula.