2581 ANNAPOLIS St East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Last sale: Jun 16, 2009 Sold $573,732 (This is a bank take back)
Last REAL sale: Nov 10, 1999 Sold $270,000

I found the mortgage history of this home on PropertyShark, and it is quite interesting.  First the homedebtor bought the house in 1999 with two loans from Bank of America:

Notice that the two loans add up to the purchase price. So great, this guy is buying the home for 0 down, but at least it is a fixed loan. Now he lived in it for  a bit over 3 years before doing another refi.  This time it is a cash out refinance because the amount borrowed is $300k.  This time it is from Indymac:

Notice that now it is an adjustable loan. A year and a half later there was another cash out  refi in June 2004:

So basically he took another $30k out, but wait, it’s not over! Another 16 months later, he did another HUGE cash out refinance:

Yup, in this final refinance he took out another $242k.  Then finally the home was foreclosed this year.  So at least he enjoyed the house atm for almost 10 years and took out over $300k.  Here is the funny part, all the banks he dealt with are dead except for Bank of America.  I guess  it sort of makes sense, too.  I don’t think this guy lost much since the money he took out was tax free and he didn’t really have any equity in the house anyway.  The last bank definitely lost the most on this series of refinances, but I guess they have ” imploded”.

2330 University Ave #110 East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Last sale: Feb 22, 2006 Sold $445,000
Loss if sold for asking: $246,000 or 55%

I don’t know about you but these listing photos just make me somewhat dizzy.  You can sort of make out some chairs in the first one, but the second one seems like the realtor took it while he/she was drunk and fumbled around. Anyway, I suspect the cut down price is to elicit more bids, or the realtor was really drunk?

412 ATHENIAN Way Pacifica, CA 94044

Price: $915,750

Last sale: Jun 12, 2007 Sold $1,700,000
Loss if sold for asking:$784250 or 46%

Equity lost per month:  $32677

This is listed as a bank owned home. I’m not quite sure who owns it now because the Tax records show that it is owner of record is not a bank, but some person in Pacifica. It also shows that it is a tax defaulted property there is about 30k worth of back taxes that needs to be paid to redeem the home. Perhaps the bank is just not taking responsibility because they don’t want to shell out the money for the taxes now. What is most fishy about this property is that the last sale price was $1.7 million. I don’t think Pacifica was ever that expensive and it seems that the taxes were unpaid starting from 2007. So perhaps the intention was to default?   Whoever buys this should definitely make sure that the taxes are cleared up, and the tax assessment should get down to reality.

1825 MIDDLEFIELD Rd Redwood City, CA 94063

Price: $259,900

Last sale:
Sep 11, 2006 $630,000
4/18/2000 $297,500

Yup, this little rancher has rolled back to below its 2000 sale price. What a difference 9 years make. This is currently owned by U.S. Bank and it is definitely the cheapest single family home in Redwood City now based on price per square foot. It looks like it needs some fixing, and it is not in the best neighborhood, but at least it is priced to be affordable to median income families now.

205 Peoria St Daly City, CA 94014

Price: $280,000

Last sales:
Nov 18, 2008 Sold $410,000 -12.4%/yr Public Records
Oct 27, 2005 Sold $615,000 33.4%/yr Public Records
Jul 30, 2004 Sold $430,000 16.1%/yr Public Records
Dec 03, 2001 Sold $289,000 6.5%/yr Public Records

Here is another home that’s cheaper than 2001 and more than 50% off its peak.   It looks like quite a fixer, and it is still priced above the median price per square foot of Daly City.  This is probably not a surprise but it was also financed 100% by loans  in 2005.

1 APPIAN Way Unit 714-5 South San Francisco, CA 94080

Price: $140,000

This is another troubled property in the ill fated Colina Condominiums.  I’m wondering if the major structural damages have been repaired or not, but undoubtedly the hefty assessment fees they wanted pushed quite a few people into foreclosure.  The lesson here is to stay away from these condos if you want to live.

Price: $494,700

Last sales: Jan 30, 2009 Sold $572,000 ( Foreclosure)
May 22, 2007 Sold $890,000

Loss if sold for asking:  $77300 from foreclosure price, nearly $400k from last sale price.

This home is in a decent neighborhood of San Mateo, but it is fairly nondescript and now has the “appliance-ripped-out” look of foreclosures.  It is currently owned by Aurora Lending Services LLC in Colorado.   It is down $400,000 from its 2007 sale price, but it is doubtful if it’s worth even $494k now.

313 MAGELLAN Dr Pacifica, CA 94044

Price: $530,000

Last sale:

Loss if sold for asking: $295,000 or 40.7%

It seems that this was originally bought with 2 fixed loans that totaled 100% of $725k, and then the owners refinanced in 2006 into two variable loans totaling $774k.  This means there might have been some cash out.   This is a short sale, and I guess the sellers won’t really lose much since they don’t have to pay back the money they cashed out.   There is an open house from 2 to 4pm on the 28th.

4 PENHURST Ave Daly City, CA 94015

Price: $549,000

Last sale:

Loss if sold for asking: $446k or 44.8%

This is one of the cheapest homes in Daly City in terms of price per square foot.  It is now down to 2002 prices.  It is a short sale so it may take a while for the deal to close.  It is a large home in a very convenient neighborhood.

911 9TH Ave San Mateo, CA 94402

Price: $575,000

Last sale: 1/5/2006 for $999k

Loss if sold for asking: $424k or 42.4%

I first mentioned this home in the post about multifamily properties. Now it is down another $300k. This is another short sale. It is in a decent neighborhood near Central Park and you could rent out half of it so it might almost be worth it if you can secure financing.

Here is the math.  Suppose you put 20% down and finance 460k, which is still a conforming loan in San Mateo, then at 5% the mortgage is $2469 a month.  Then you need to add around $600 a month in property tax and another $70 to $100 in insurance.  If you have a tenant on one half of the property then you could collect rent of $1500.  Add in some tax deductions and this place is almost cheaper than renting.  Of course, there are utilities and maintenance costs, too.