Seattle Bubble Forum Archive

I think it would be interesting to have a thread where we point out some of the most outrageous miscalculations by local flippers and builders. Properties where people either did a major remodel or ground-up construction on a massive scale, then either the finished product didn't come on the market until after the bubble popped or they came on the market way overpriced and have been slowly chasing the market down.

I'll get things started.




14 acres, 7,700 square feet. Empty land purchased in 2005 for $315,000, this beast was plopped on there in 2006. Cumulative days on market currently shows 708 days, with the most recent listing coming on at $2 million in November, dropping down to $1.5 million now.

Looks to have never been lived in. Seems like it's most likely a spec built home where the builder probably priced it too high in '06 or '07 when it first hit the market.

I like this one. It is a monument to failure. There is no listing to point to, but this was a run down old victorian that someone decided they were going to modernize (and probably flip) about 18 months ago. All construction has stopped, and it currently looks just like this - except there is a cyclone fence around it.



http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2008- ... 5595_zpid/

Edit: looks like it has new owner as of last month - Evergreen Bank for $700k - which is interesting because the property only sold for $650k back in 2007

http://www5.kingcounty.gov/kcgisreports ... 1338800240

How about snapping some photos of this one, Tim? It's in our neck of the woods, south of Wayne golf course.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/b ... ner09.html

for sheer over the top pomposity and general fugliness, I nominate this one:




5 Beds, 6.5 baths, and a dainty 7000 sqft footprint.

On the market 342 days and counting, with a listing history like this:
Jul 06, 2009 Price Changed $3,299,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Jun 10, 2009 Price Changed $3,795,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Feb 11, 2009 Price Changed $3,885,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Jan 12, 2009 Price Changed $3,987,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Dec 29, 2008 Price Changed $4,198,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Dec 03, 2008 Price Changed $4,350,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Aug 01, 2008 Listed $4,675,000 -- NWMLS #28133197
Sep 01, 2006 Sold $1,070,000 34.8%/yr Public Records

It looks like the picture is flipped (unlike the house). Actually, on closer inspection it doesn't look like the same place. Are there two of these monstrosities?

One house was the Chatham house built by parmenter in 2005, the other house was finished less than 6 month ago.

It's right on a main drag as well.

designed by renowned Architects Northwest,

Architects Northwest is a catalog supplier of blue prints. You can shop and buy whatever you want from the catalog and they will fit it to your parcel.