According to the Hudson and Marshall website, the last highbid is only $167,500, and this is the description:

 

512 Stanford Avenue
Redwood City, CA 94063

Bed:	3	Only 8 Days Left to Bid Now
Bath:	1	Bid Now!
Sq. Ft.:	820

Comments:

Last High Bid $167,500

Agent disclosure requiring buyer signature regarding homicides at property

Buyers who are interested in purchasing this property prior to the auction must be pre-qualified for financing through Wells Fargo or Wachovia. (This is only a requirement to be pre-qualified; the final loan may be obtained through any financial institution)

Please call 1-877-937-9357 during the following times:

Monday – Friday, 7:00 am – 11:00 pm Central Time

Saturday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm Central Time

Or online at: Wells Fargo Pre-Qualification Form

Would you buy this for $168k?

1023 HELM Ln Foster City, CA 94404

Price: $715,000

Last sale:

Loss if sold for asking: $34,000

This one’s financing history is pretty interesting.  It was purchased in 2005 with a $509k ARM from Wells Fargo and a $60k fixed loan from Genentech.  I had no idea that Genentech gave out home loans.  It may be an employee benefit or something?  Anyway, this couple is probably just being realistic about the sale price because they first listed this more than 7 months ago.  This is  a water front home, but the water in question is a man made lake kind of thing.  Anyway, there are showings for this home on  2/1 from 1pm to 4pm.

61 CHESTER St #00001 Daly City, CA 94014

Price: $124,500

Last sale: Feb 28, 2006 Sold $360,000
Loss if sold for asking: $235500 or 65.4%

After six months on the market, there is finally a fresh price cut on this property.  It is still a short sale, though, so it might be very very hard to close.  This could be good for a single person since it could work out to be cheaper than renting.

N BAYSHORE Blvd #121 San Mateo, CA 94401

Price: $289,900

I’ve visited this condo complex before when my husband and I were looking for a place to rent. It is located right next to the 101, but if you are in a rear unit it’s not very noisy. The rooms have good sizes, but it’s a bit old. There also isn’t that much amenities in the complex. The asking rent was $1600 a month, and we thought it was decent, but we didn’t choose it because of the location. Anyway, at this price, if you put 20% down and qualify for the best 30 year fixed loan right now with a 5.25% interest rate, you could possibly be paying less than rent if you itemize your taxes. Here are the calculations:

Loan: 231920 30 year fixed at 5.25%

Monthly mortgage payment: 1280.67

Monthly association fee: 340 includes landscaping and common area insurance

Taxes: Currently $482 a month according to county records, but it’s possible to get it reduced after you purchase it for the new price.

Additional insurance: 50 a month

Total: $2152.67

If you itemize your taxes and deduct mortgage interest and tax then you could get a few hundred dollars back a month in taxes depending on your tax bracket and around $270 a month is equity in the first year. If you negotiate the price down another $30k or so you’d be definitely paying less than rent. This is a bank owned property that has been on the market for a very long time so it is possible you can get a bigger discount. Even though this isn’t really the most desirable part of San Mateo, it’s nice to see that buy and rent is almost in sync.

1835 Bahia St, San Mateo, 94403 - I first listed this home in June, since then it has been cut $90k and is now $599,000.

4226 GEORGE Ave #4 San Mateo, CA 94403 – This one is only reduced around $12000, but it is $97k below its last sale price.

3629 PACIFIC Blvd San Mateo, CA 94403 – This home seller in trouble has cut the price another $30k today.  Now it is $146k below its last sale price.

621 HELLER St Redwood City, CA 94063 – This home just cut its price $79k and is now down $230k from its last sale price.

271 B St Redwood City, CA 94063 -After 23 days on the market this home has been reduced $50k today. It is now $54k below its last price.

These are only a few of the homes that were reduced today.  There has been reductions everyday so keep an eye out!

200 BONITA Ave Pacifica, CA 94044

Price: $799,999

Last sale: Mar 16, 2007 $1,050,000

Loss if sold for asking: $250,001 or  23.8%

This one looks like it’s in a nice area, and supposedly has an art studio with it?

63 MENLO Ave Daly City, CA 94015

Price: $425,000

Last sale: Sep 08, 2006 $709,000

Loss if sold for asking: $284,000 or  40.1%

Brand new listing.  This is about the size of the house I want, but I think 420k is still a bit too much right now.  Also, Daly City is too far from work.

1923 MIDDLEFIELD Rd Redwood City, CA 94063

Price: $305,900

Sales history:

Loss if sold for asking:  $177623 or 36.7%

This is a bank owned property on the very busy corner of Woodside and Middlefield. Seriously I didn’t know they had residential properties there.  I’m not sure what this section of the description means: “GREAT VISIBILITY FOR LAW FIRM? ENGINEER? CPA?”  I’m not sure what it’s asking.

817 COVINGTON Rd Belmont, CA 94002

Price: $589,900

Last sales: Jul 14, 2005 $750,000 & Feb 01, 2008 $704,591

Loss if sold for asking: $114691 or 16.3%

This fairly new listing is a fixer upper and looks like it’s bank owned since that last sale price is really recent and is an odd number.  It’s located in a decent enough section of Belmont and has potential.

1284 Mission Rd South San Francisco, CA 94080

Price: $499,900

Last sale: Nov 02, 2006 $700,000

Loss if sold for asking: $200,100 or  28.6%

This lovely little bank owned property is directly across the street from the BART station!  Talk about convenient, and loud.