Thursday, November 15, 2012

A Tale of Two Investments

First up a little cabin in the woods:


1512 Laura Street, Wrightwood CA 92397



Bedrooms:2
Bathrooms:1
Property type:Single-Family Home
Size:816 sqft
Lot:5000 sf
Price/sqft:$104/sqft
Year built:1968


Second, a sweet deal about 15 miles away that should be a slam dunk in comparison:


16604 Desert Star Street, Victorville CA 92394



Bedrooms:4
 Bathrooms:2 full, 1 partial
Property type:Single-Family Home
Size:2,020 sqft
Lot:Ask agent
Price/sqft:$42/sqft
Year built:2006
MLS/ID:P841032






Both $85,000.  Should be a no-brainer.  What's the catch?  Several.  First the Victorville house is in a sea of supply:
Area Map Resale

The truly curious can look at foreclosures and preforeclosures and run the number well over 500.

Second, taxes.  The cabin runs $80/mo.  The same priced house down the hill, $150/mo.  I didn't check but I'd bet there's an HOA as well.  Thirdly, pricing authority.  You can probably get the same rent ($650-750) for each but you can choose your tenant for the cabin, you'll have to fight for who you get in Victorville and trust me, they are not the same clientele.

11 comments:

Cinco-X said...

Google say an hour and 32 minutes to Anaheim, but I'll bet it takes a lot longer at rush hour...Is this in the fabled "Inland Empire"?

Rob Dawg said...

Above San Bernardino there is a pass that runs left to Wrightwood and right to Big Bear and north to the Antelope Valley. I have a San Bernardino post in the hopper.

92 minutes is not unreasonable some times of the day. During normal commutes add 20 minutes at minimum.

You correctly devine the issue. Where are the good jobs?

Cobradriver said...

I had guys driving from Palmdale into LAX on a daily basis.

The few guys carpooled to cut costs but still...

The only reason they bought that far out was they were due to retire in just a few years. I'm pretty sure they all made it out the door before TWA folded.

Chris

Rob Dawg said...

interesting. If you look at the Area Map Resale above and zoom out twice you will see the Southern California Logistics Airport. Nothing like a government driven commercial enterprise to screw up a local economy.

Cinco-X said...

http://www.businessinsider.com/engineering-challenges-face-california-train-2012-11

Nice topic for discussion...gotta run now...

TJandTheBear said...

"Handyman's delight", no interior photos... and still $104psf?

Rob Dawg said...

Yeah, it is an interesting price point as a 5000 sf lot that close to downtown with an existing building permit and water meter is worth $65,000.

Rob Dawg said...

Cinco,
Yes but my plate is too full. The CA-HSR is a major clusterfuck but there are several impending issues I am awaiting before a post. Trust me, big news coming.

TJandTheBear said...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/university-of-california-interest-rate-swap_n_2139858.html

Unknown said...

Nice to see some of the saner CR crowd here.

Rob Dawg said...

"Saner.". Nice choice of words Tom. :)

In the hopper is a post about 93010 real estate that you will find interesting. No $85k cash flow deals here.

Speaking of HCN, outsider stopped by and had kind words. Maybe somebody should also tell skk about this tiny quiet corner of the apocalypse.