Audacious Flips and Renovations
Share the houses you run across where your jaw just drops, and you think "They are asking that for THAT?", and his audacity generates such ill-will at the flipper, that it almost involuntarily wells up in you and you hope he takes a bath.
I'll start:
This one has been mentioned before, but I thought I'd repost, because he just dropped his price, albeit not nearly enough for my satisfaction.
Price history:
It was purchased in December for $625K
Went on the market again in January for $840K
Price Dropped on March 2nd to $795.
I wish we still had access to the Deeds so that we could get a handle on his carrying costs. I don't like to feel that way, but I hope he takes a bath. I'd love to live on that lot, but not in that house and certainly not at that price.
Share your anger!
I'll start:
This one has been mentioned before, but I thought I'd repost, because he just dropped his price, albeit not nearly enough for my satisfaction.
Price history:
It was purchased in December for $625K
Went on the market again in January for $840K
Price Dropped on March 2nd to $795.
I wish we still had access to the Deeds so that we could get a handle on his carrying costs. I don't like to feel that way, but I hope he takes a bath. I'd love to live on that lot, but not in that house and certainly not at that price.
Share your anger!
Comments
But anyhow...nice choice Biliruben.
If you want to see what I consider...in my opinion...to be the nuttiest thing on the market today...just look up this one...
2508 S King St A
Seattle 98144
Active
MLS# 27036614
Here is the assessor records.
Owned by Sterling commons. How can they not know about the other unit? Bizarro...
...ah. It was foreclosed upon this summer, and went up for auction this summer.
I don't know if the bank is still trying to sell it or not.
Looks like the assessor was pretty generous on that one with the fair to average ratings.
If this thing ever goes STI I may have to fly up to Seattle just so I can go by the property and see what kind of person actually falls for a "deal" like this.
Here's my favorite renovation. I call it the The Renovation of the Self-Righteous!
Purchased in 2004 for $549K
A litany of renovations, which this dude refers to as "re-constructions" were done.
It was put on the market again almost a year ago (or longer, given the MLS shenanigans) for $1,595,000. Jeezus. This isn't even in-city. It isn't even waterfront. In fact is dangerously close to Bothell Way. It has a bit of a view and "50 ft. water feature", whatever that is. It does seem to have a tremendous amount of the owner's ego invested in it, however. He hasn't budged on price.
He updated Zillow with the litany of updates he's made, along with the cost of each one, then simply tacked it onto the price of the zestimate. He assumes his choice of updates improve the value of the house at 100% of his cost. He doesn't realize that updates in any rational market often just maintain the value.
Major Kitchen Remodel (Upscale) + $ 135,030
Bathroom Remodel (Upscale) + $ 11,820
Bathroom Remodel (Upscale) + $ 13,356
Basement Remodel + $ 129,515
Family Room Addition + $ 69,947
Family Room Addition + $ 139,895
Deck Addition + $ 41,790
Roofing Replacement (Upscale) + $ 59,372
Siding Replacement (Upscale) + $ 37,648
Window Replacement (Upscale) + $ 12,064
My guess is that he doesn't really want to sell, but his wife is nagging him.
I tried to look it up on a realtors site but couldn't find it...regardless...someone seems to be in over their head. I sure hope they have goooood incomes.
he'd be lucky to get the Zestimate price.
"Over 2000 sq ft of eloquently mastered updating. Includes,Stunning new kitchen,w/granite, stainless steel appliances, custom crafted maple cabinets, brushed nickel hardware, cherry/mahogany hardwds, designer carpet & tile.Well designed bathrms w/mohogany cabinets, lovely designer sinks, & granite counters."
That and they somehow tacked on an extra 40 square feet (It was under 2000 sqft in Dec).
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...with a likely commute over over an hour each way ISN'T worth a cool half mil? Hater.
My favorite (well maybe the panoramic of the shelving's my favorite) is the view shots taken from the peak of the roof. Now that's an honest representation. I spend most of my time on the peak of the roof. That's where my PBnJ and Quick tastes the best!
not where I come from.
It looks as if the view is legit when you see the reflection off the windows in the patio shot. Still...as much as I would like to credit that remodel as making a silk purse out of a sows ear...I think I would be more inclined to say that it is good money thrown after bad.
FYI...It was originally purchased in 98 for 118k.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/rfs/287886055.html
This Ballard "beauty" is about $150k too expensive...and plus, you have the bonus of Meshugy a block away!
Try about $300K too expensive.
Eleua is calling for an 80% hit across the board, so 65% is rather generous. Plus, if they drop down to $150K, that would be around 1996 pricing, and an overcorrection is very likely during the collapse.
Renting might be another story. I think the through-the-window heckling about housing prices might get old.
a) jazz music
b) a crying baby
c) a nagging wife "why didn't you sell????"
Nice day in Ballard...took the kids for a walk to the Ballard Farmers market. Got some awesome bread from the Tall Grass bakery. Those guys can bake!
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if the goal of this forum is to help educate people about the bubble so they won't make a horrible financial decision and possibly lead a better, more secure life, then you are helping to forward the opposite ideal.
The idea that KC property only will ever go up in value and people need to hurry up and buy or be priced out forever.
So what's worse? A little picking on a troll or a troll possibly pushing someone into financial ruin?
If I'm a future FB and I'm just itching for a reason to pull the trigger on that home purchase, I'll look for any reason possible to help justify that position.
The future of the market is a matter of opinion. I think the market will continue to appreciate at a slower rate from now on. If renting is a good solution for you then that's what you should do. Buying a house is by no means a horrible financial decision. If you personally feel that the market may be headed for trouble the that's fine. But it's by no means a fact, as anything can happen. And current market conditions show that a crash isn't likely anytime soon. So there's no way you can prove that buying is a horrible decision. But if that's your personal opinion, that's fine by me.
However, for those who wanted to buy over the last few years the advice of this blog has done them a great disservice. Sine this blog started (Aug 05), SFH hosues in King County have appreciated about $50K. In the more desirable areas of Seattle is has been about three times that. You can say what you like about the future, but the truth is that over the past year and half, waiting to buy was a very bad decision. Sometimes waiting is the right thing to do...but in this case it simply wasn't.
So far I have not received any evidence from Meshugy that convinces me that prices are going to keep going up. Evidence of a trend during the past five years are not convincing. Using short term trends to predict future results is an example of availability bias error.
Had someone explained to me five years ago that deregulation of the banking industry would lead to increased demand in real estate due to the larger number of people able to qualify for loans then I might have believed that housing prices would rise a lot. (Actually I have owned during the last five years but the 2-3% property taxes in Texas keep speculators out and prevented me from seeing large gains -- at least that is my theory -- also I was not in a prime location in the city).
What evidence would support for me the idea that there is not a bubble in Seattle?
- Wealth histogram for the population (minus housing equity) that shows how the ownership rate in the Puget Sound is supported.
- Owner-occupied rates compared to other locations (like say San Diego) that would tell me there are not as many investors here as there were in places where prices dropped.
- Something other economic feature that I have not considered.
In poker we call that results oriented thinking.
If you have a gutshot draw -- like 5689 where a 7 gives you a straight -- you have about 10:1 odds to catch that straight. However in truth the deck is sitting on the table and that next card is either a 7 with 100% chance or not a 7 with 100% chance. A perfect oracle might say that the correct decision is to call a bet when that card is a 7 and fold when it is not a 7. Sadly, there are no perfect oracles in the world.
The correct decision is often not confirmed by what actually happens.
I moved here about 8 months ago. I find your bragging of how much you have made on your house to be very tacky. Congratuations. You were lucky enough to live in the area while housing was still marginally affordable. I cannot imagine anyone here rubbing it in to owners if the market loses 80% of its value. Personally, I will be very quiet at that time and I suspect this blog will die.
Had I moved here three years ago with the income I have I probably would have purchased. I think the market is only about 30% overvalued right now based on 10-15 year trends (although that is still too short term for real estate). But this sub-prime implosion could cause homes to become severly undervalued (with respect to my value estimates).
It's not bragging...people constantly ask for fact and statistics. I post many types of stats...one barometer is the value of my own house.
Ha ha...you don't know these guys very well!
How much appreciation do you expect to see from today to three years from now when you sell your house?
Based on that appreciation, how much is that $800k house you want to buy selling for today?
How much will you need to save to make up the difference between buying the $800k house today at a lower price with your current equity and three years from now at a higher price with your future equity?
I've thought about this and cannot make the numbers work out in possible hypothetical situations for me. I'm curious what your plans are.
If you sold your current house right now and moved into your $700k dream home then you would only have to borrow another $170k. That would add about $1500 to your PITI.
If you want $100k at the end of three years, you will have to save $2400/month and earn 10% on those savings. You can have the same house now for only $1500/month extra.
I'm going to pretend that you financed your entire $430k purchase at 6% for 30-years. Your PITI is around $3200/month. Your home is around 1400 square feet. My observations put rent at about $1/sqft. You
could rent a comparable place for $1400/month.
What if you sold today? You would have $100k in appreciation to invest. You could invest the difference between rent and PITI -- $1800/month. You could also invest the $2400/month you are saving to $100k. At the end of three years earning 10% on your investment you would have $300k cash. Compare this to the $270k equity you will have with your current plan (given my assumptions -- which are certainly not accurate).
Oh, and since you are saving $2400/month and paying $2400/month on your mortgage it sounds like you are living well within your means. I applaud you for making such responsible decisions (and it sounds like purchasing the $700k house might be within your means too). Unfortunately (for me) I am not in a financial position to follow in your footsteps.
* I gathered the personal data from Zillow using the address you provided. I do not care who you are and I do not want to know any more personal information about you.)