Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Motivatedly Overpriced

70 W Mendocino St Altadena, CA 91001 (MLS#: 22120915)

Price: $435,000
Beds: 2
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 858
$/Sq. Ft.: $507
Lot Size: 5,361 Sq. Ft.

"Outstanding FIXER/short sale/ foreclosure opportunity to upgrade to this Altadena neighborhood. Nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains this gracious 2 bedroom, 1 bath home comes with Spectacular mountain views. Surrounded by an opportunity yard. Hardwood floors, cozy patio just outside a grand living room. Open layout to dining room, bathroom has been completely updated backyard features rear paved patio area (great for BBQ) gardening shed, and very large detached storage room. Close to mtn trail heads. 1 hour to Pacific Ocean beaches, and mtn ski resorts. The owner is VERY MOTIVATED as this property NEEDS TO BE IMMEDIATELY SOLD. CONTINGENT ON BANK APPROVAL - ALL offers will be entertained as this property is being sold as-is! Bring ANY and all offers."

Now there is a listing that suffers from multiple personality disorder. I don't know where to start, there is so much wrong here.

"Gracious"?! Ok, it has fancy windows. It's not like it was a craftsman.

"Opportunity yard" translation: the yard is a mess, expect to spend a bundle on it. Backyard is mostly covered in concrete.

Checking on Google maps, it doesn't seem to have a mountain view - it's blocked by the houses across the street that are upslope from it. I guess you could always climb up on the roof for a view.

The location is ok, not great, south of Alta Dena Drive.

But what bugs me most: If the owner was VERY MOTIVATED he wouldn't list it at $507/sqft - about $200 too high, especially since it is also listed as a FIXER, being sold as-is!

Seeing that the last sale price in 2001 was $166,00, you'd think he could afford to list it a reasonable price. Not so. It so happens that he refinance it in 2006 at the tune of $365,000.

I expect this house to sit on the market unsold for several month, be taken off, reappear months later as a foreclosure, priced around $260,000.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think your right. This is an interesting blog Vanda. I'm going to start looking out for you. My adjacent has some interesting cubby holes

Vanda said...

Send them my way! Pasadena is nice, but some of those houses would have to be made of diamonds and veal to be worth the prices the sellers are asking for.

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