Speaking of before pics, here is a question I have had. Here we ostensibly see $270K worth of work being done to a house over the course of five months. (Let us assume for the sake of argument that the January sale price and today's asking price are both roughly fair.) Is it possible to do $270K worth of good -- i.e., high quality, will last -- work to your average Seattle house in that amount of time, labor + materials + compensation for the property owner's risk-taking? Because, Markor, when I first saw the house and price I thought what you did: Yeah, that would sell in a flash on the East Side. Then I scrolled down and saw the last and very recent sale price. At work I get involved sometimes with capital projects, I see contractor invoices, and $270K feels like a stretch here. Would love for some of you handymen and handyladies to weigh in.
There's another possibility, which is that the house was in such sad appearance before that it sold for a deep discount. I think it is possible to do $270K worth of high-quality work in five months with a good team. But the actual cost of the work could have been far less, if the flipper bought a great deal.
As a buyer, I'd completely ignore the profit a flipper makes and just focus on the value of the house. If the house is a great deal, then so be it if the flipper makes a tidy profit. The only thing I have against flippers is that they usually choose boring materials or make other design missteps, for my tastes.
Another thing this house has going for it is its age: built in 1925. Probably has good bones then.
No, that is not 270,000 dollars of updating and remodeling. And what a strange looking house. Built in 1925. I'm sure they spent a lot of money ripping out the soul of a nice old house. It's a big house in a nice neighborhood, it'll sell. Not for the asking price, and maybe not right away, but I'm guessing for somewhere between 560-600. I love that neighborhood but boy howdy that house is ugly.
I don't like the porch, but other than that I like it better than the looks of most 1925-era houses. (Of course you can tell only so much from pix.) I'm curious how a 1925 house could even end up looking like that. Did they add an extra story or something?
Not sure if this qualifies as a flip, but can anyone tell me why this home is worth $2 million? The only real "special" thing I can see about it is a nice view, the house itself is not particularly big, nor very new (or high end on the finish). The lot is also not all that big.
Not sure if this qualifies as a flip, but can anyone tell me why this home is worth $2 million? The only real "special" thing I can see about it is a nice view, the house itself is not particularly big, nor very new (or high end on the finish). The lot is also not all that big.
Well, it certainly would be nice for the owners if they could realize their wished-for profit of 55% in about five months. The interiors and especially the kitchen look less crappy and cookie cutter than one has grown accustomed to seeing, but still. Also, an unfortunate lack of street appeal going on here.
Got another one for this thread: 145 NW 76th St, 98117
Last sale: Aug 01, 2005 - $315,000
Asking: $800,000
Another $20k off as of today, down to $769,000.
Looks like maybe SR should read Greg Perry's post on their blog yesterday about chasing the market down.
I'm going to guess that the price at which this will actually find a buyer will be somewhere between $650k and $700k, and my gut says that's being generous.
On the market for $825,000, or $412/square foot, which is off the chart for Ballard homes. It will be interesting to see what happens with this one.
...
56 days in and price now at $785,000. I'm guessing it's got another $135,000 at least to fall.
...
105 days in and down another 50 grand to $735,000. I still predict no sale till it's in the mid 6's, or a bit lower if it takes too long to get there. Carrying cost on this can't be too fun.
...
New listing, new price, finally through the $700K barrier (by $50). I make it about 164 days since first going on the market.
Update on this hit my inbox this morning. Listing shows just 45 days on market, but it's really approaching 9 months. The price is now down to $615K, which puts it in my original sales guess range, but I think he may have been too slow (actually at this rate he may never catch up to the market). Anyone want to call the final sales price?
After sitting all spring and summer, the obvious thing for the mother of all audacious flippers to do was to raise the price to 898K! Zillow, after bouncing this one just below a million, is down to a still-too-high-but-almost-reasonable 772K.
As an addendum, I wanted to let those breathlessly concerned about my "Flipper Next Door", he sold it for 300K, which means he broke even if you don't include his 1000 hours of labor. Probably a loss if he tossed in any closing costs.
Purchased 12/2006 for $1.5mm
Listed ~16 months later for $3.7mm
On the market 85 days
Listing Price History
May 28, 2008 $3,695,000
Jun 30, 2008 $3,445,000
Jul 31, 2008 $3,045,000
Double your money, not! Open house on Sunday if anyone wants to visit! Who has open houses for $3mm listings? Can you say desperate?
Positioned at the elbow of the Harvard~Belmont Landmark District. .. taking full advantage of the extraordinary scapes. Retaining its demure exterior. .. opening to the neonic power of Lake Union, city spires, Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound. Impeccably bred with a nod to the stature of the surrounding manses. Flawless cut crystal rainbow window, alabaster drop, cherished hearth: circa 1901; shadow reveals; understated elegance. Deliberately monochromatic; all about the views and living with art.
. Impeccably bred with a nod to the stature of the surrounding manses. Flawless cut crystal rainbow window, alabaster drop, cherished hearth: circa 1901; shadow reveals; understated elegance.
Did they mention how f-ing understated the whole thing is?
Still, nice house. The other was $3MM and the kitchen wasn't big enough to pour your wheaties.
. Impeccably bred with a nod to the stature of the surrounding manses. Flawless cut crystal rainbow window, alabaster drop, cherished hearth: circa 1901; shadow reveals; understated elegance.
Did they mention how f-ing understated the whole thing is?
Still, nice house. The other was $3MM and the kitchen wasn't big enough to pour your wheaties.
LOL I saw that one this morning too. Makes me feel like I need hugh hefner's bath robe.
Got another one for this thread: 145 NW 76th St, 98117
Last sale: Aug 01, 2005 - $315,000
Asking: $800,000
Another $20k off as of today, down to $769,000.
Looks like maybe SR should read Greg Perry's post on their blog yesterday about chasing the market down.
I'm going to guess that the price at which this will actually find a buyer will be somewhere between $650k and $700k, and my gut says that's being generous.
Positioned at the elbow of the Harvard~Belmont Landmark District. .. taking full advantage of the extraordinary scapes. Retaining its demure exterior. .. opening to the neonic power of Lake Union, city spires, Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound. Impeccably bred with a nod to the stature of the surrounding manses. Flawless cut crystal rainbow window, alabaster drop, cherished hearth: circa 1901; shadow reveals; understated elegance. Deliberately monochromatic; all about the views and living with art.
WTF? I feel dirty.
A sure sign that things are slow: the RE agent spent at least an hour with a thesaurus to write that pile of stinking feces.
Looks like maybe SR should read Greg Perry's post on their blog yesterday about chasing the market down.
I'm going to guess that the price at which this will actually find a buyer will be somewhere between $650k and $700k, and my gut says that's being generous.
Chased it all the way down to 33% a year appreciation, I bet they are happy they don't read blogs
Looks like my old boss' boss still hasn't sold his house, first put on the market back in September. It's still on the market (though with a new MLS#), and they haven't even dropped the price at all.
Triple the price in 9 years? That's an average of 13% per year, every year. Even for Microsoft-land, that seems pretty outrageous to me.
Btw, this is my boss' boss, and they've already put an offer on another house. Good luck with that.
Well my old boss' boss' house has been back on the market this summer, sporting a new "low" price of "just" $598,700. Still no bites since it was relisted in May. Hmm.
This is the same guy who back in January 2008 said: "If we all don't participate in the recession, and we tell all our neighbors not to participate, maybe there won't be a recession."
As it turns out, he appears to be practicing what he preaches. A friend who lives in the area reported that the house also sports a "for rent" sign out front. Turns out the family bought a new place last July. 4,300 square feet in rural east Redmond for just under a cool million bucks.
Of course, it's a little easier to "not participate in the recession" when (despite multiple rounds of layoffs and pay cuts) you get promoted a couple times and end up as basically the top manager over all the company's engineers.
Purchased 12/2006 for $1.5mm
Listed ~16 months later for $3.7mm
On the market 85 days
Listing Price History
May 28, 2008 $3,695,000
Jun 30, 2008 $3,445,000
Jul 31, 2008 $3,045,000
Double your money, not! Open house on Sunday if anyone wants to visit! Who has open houses for $3mm listings? Can you say desperate?
Now priced at $1,878,000
for those of you doing the math, that is 49% off of their original asking price...
Purchased 12/2006 for $1.5mm
Listed ~16 months later for $3.7mm
On the market 85 days
Listing Price History
May 28, 2008 $3,695,000
Jun 30, 2008 $3,445,000
Jul 31, 2008 $3,045,000
Double your money, not! Open house on Sunday if anyone wants to visit! Who has open houses for $3mm listings? Can you say desperate?
Now priced at $1,878,000
for those of you doing the math, that is 49% off of their original asking price...
Now "completely Remodeled" and back on the market at the bargain price of just $264k!
I won't defend the asking price or horribly tacky landscaping, but the remodel was pretty thorough (note the half height windows replaced with full windows in the middle of the house). New siding, windows, flooring, roof, appliances, furnace, etc. Took out the fireplace (or at least redid the flue and chimney). At $215-225k this is probably a good buy.
Granted, as we've been watching them fix it up over the last nine months, we've been surprised at how nice the finishes are and how thorough of a job they've been doing, even to the point of wondering if it was actually someone fixing it up to live in themselves. And they didn't just strip it to the bones inside, they did some major remodeling on the exterior, as well.
But still... the most any home has ever sold for in the neighborhood bounded by 41st, Pacific, Broadway, and Colby is $355,000 (which was of course at the height of the bubble).
The seller is dreaming. But it will be fun to watch.
We walked though this house before it sold in March. It was ugly (i.e. bad 80's remodel), but structurally seemed fine. I think this is just a paint / modling / flooring replacement.
The biggest thing I can see is that they replaced the scary spiral staircase to the basement with a real set of stairs.
Comments
As a buyer, I'd completely ignore the profit a flipper makes and just focus on the value of the house. If the house is a great deal, then so be it if the flipper makes a tidy profit. The only thing I have against flippers is that they usually choose boring materials or make other design missteps, for my tastes.
Another thing this house has going for it is its age: built in 1925. Probably has good bones then.
Ah, and that would be an Ikea kitchen. Probably cheaper to put in than most "cookie cutter" cabinets you see, but has more pizazz.
Good call on that one. they spent more on the tilework than on the cabinets
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1611-E ... ome/150811
John
You might not have noticed, but every room was a different color. That can easily add another $1.3M to an otherwise slightly above average house.
I'm pretty sure that was a tear down, or nearly a tear down.
Looks like maybe SR should read Greg Perry's post on their blog yesterday about chasing the market down.
I'm going to guess that the price at which this will actually find a buyer will be somewhere between $650k and $700k, and my gut says that's being generous.
612 NW 58th St Seattle, WA 98107
Update on this hit my inbox this morning. Listing shows just 45 days on market, but it's really approaching 9 months. The price is now down to $615K, which puts it in my original sales guess range, but I think he may have been too slow (actually at this rate he may never catch up to the market). Anyone want to call the final sales price?
After sitting all spring and summer, the obvious thing for the mother of all audacious flippers to do was to raise the price to 898K! Zillow, after bouncing this one just below a million, is down to a still-too-high-but-almost-reasonable 772K.
As an addendum, I wanted to let those breathlessly concerned about my "Flipper Next Door", he sold it for 300K, which means he broke even if you don't include his 1000 hours of labor. Probably a loss if he tossed in any closing costs.
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/938-21 ... ome/135927
Purchased 12/2006 for $1.5mm
Listed ~16 months later for $3.7mm
On the market 85 days
Listing Price History
May 28, 2008 $3,695,000
Jun 30, 2008 $3,445,000
Jul 31, 2008 $3,045,000
Double your money, not! Open house on Sunday if anyone wants to visit! Who has open houses for $3mm listings? Can you say desperate?
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1201-Harvard-Ave-E-98102/home/17178307
WTF? I feel dirty.
Did they mention how f-ing understated the whole thing is?
Still, nice house. The other was $3MM and the kitchen wasn't big enough to pour your wheaties.
LOL I saw that one this morning too. Makes me feel like I need hugh hefner's bath robe.
Looks like it's worth $3 mil to me. You did say the location was Valhalla, right? Wait, Seattle? Ew!
Looks like it sold for $750k
A sure sign that things are slow: the RE agent spent at least an hour with a thesaurus to write that pile of stinking feces.
I still can't quite figure out what shadow reveals are.
Chased it all the way down to 33% a year appreciation, I bet they are happy they don't read blogs
This is the same guy who back in January 2008 said: "If we all don't participate in the recession, and we tell all our neighbors not to participate, maybe there won't be a recession."
As it turns out, he appears to be practicing what he preaches. A friend who lives in the area reported that the house also sports a "for rent" sign out front. Turns out the family bought a new place last July. 4,300 square feet in rural east Redmond for just under a cool million bucks.
Of course, it's a little easier to "not participate in the recession" when (despite multiple rounds of layoffs and pay cuts) you get promoted a couple times and end up as basically the top manager over all the company's engineers.
Now priced at $1,878,000
for those of you doing the math, that is 49% off of their original asking price...
Aug 04, 2008 Price Changed $359,900
Jun 30, 2007 Listed $355,000
Sep 05, 2006 Sold $100,000
The 'ol wait a year, raise the price trick works every time.
Now "completely Remodeled" and back on the market at the bargain price of just $264k!
$1,650,000
$150k profit!
I won't defend the asking price or horribly tacky landscaping, but the remodel was pretty thorough (note the half height windows replaced with full windows in the middle of the house). New siding, windows, flooring, roof, appliances, furnace, etc. Took out the fireplace (or at least redid the flue and chimney). At $215-225k this is probably a good buy.
Just up the street from me. This home was foreclosed in February 2012, sold in June 2012 for $107,000, and is now back on the market for...
...drumroll...
$419,800!
Before:
After:
Granted, as we've been watching them fix it up over the last nine months, we've been surprised at how nice the finishes are and how thorough of a job they've been doing, even to the point of wondering if it was actually someone fixing it up to live in themselves. And they didn't just strip it to the bones inside, they did some major remodeling on the exterior, as well.
But still... the most any home has ever sold for in the neighborhood bounded by 41st, Pacific, Broadway, and Colby is $355,000 (which was of course at the height of the bubble).
The seller is dreaming. But it will be fun to watch.
http://www.redfin.com/WA/Everett/1327-H ... me/2687586
Bought March 2013 - $315K
Cosmetic Flip, back on the market at $569K.
We walked though this house before it sold in March. It was ugly (i.e. bad 80's remodel), but structurally seemed fine. I think this is just a paint / modling / flooring replacement.
The biggest thing I can see is that they replaced the scary spiral staircase to the basement with a real set of stairs.