Insanity

Let me say this: I love Pasadena. I love the old trees, the streets you can walk, the stores, the restaurants, the monthly flea market at the Pasadena City College, the houses with all the character. Not that I think I'll be able to buy there, but I keep checking the listings. Today this one caught my eye:

246 E Mountain St Pasadena, CA 91104 (MLS#: F1785347)

Price: $520,000
Beds: 2
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 1,053
$/Sq. Ft.: $494
Lot Size: 5,160 Sq. Ft.

Almost 500 $/Sq. Ft. for a small cottage on a modest piece of land? The average price of recently sold porperties is $346/Sq. Ft. , and none of them reached even 400. Then I looked at the price history:

Date Price
Dec 01, 1972 $17,500
Mar 09, 2006 $275,000

I was wondering why somebody in this market trying to sell a house for almost double they paid for it only two years ago. Propertyshark gave me the answer: they took out a morgtage for $352,500 at 2/2/2007 from First Street Financial Inc. What kind of financial moron gives a loan for a bigger amount than the house was purchased for less then a year earlier?!!! No wonder we are in this mess now. I'm also curious what the owner of a 1,053 sq. ft. house spent$352,500 on.