Modest 1/2 acre golf course house. Nice if dated. Purchased 05/08/2008: $855,000. Across the street from a recent comp 10% less. So, what do you do when you overpay? Go pergraniteel wild of course.
Here's a before shot:
And after:
Can you say over-improved? The first flip strategy was to "rent." For some reason there was a dearth of applications at $4500/month. Oh well, those months empty only served to add to the appreciation of the investment. Right?
Thus the new wishing price: $1,899,000
Yup, tack a 1 to the front and let's go fishing. I mean if you don't want to rent for $4500 then you can buy for only $400,000 down and $8,000 per month instead.
19 comments:
First you leave us with nothing for more than a week. Then you come back with two posts in two days and think we're going to take you back like nothing happenned? Who do you think you are? Casey Serin?
Rob - You mean it's not a good idea to dump money into a declining asset? Oh... I'd better rethink my strategy.
These guys are the living embodyment of my handle.
I didn't have anything unique or important to say. sorry,
I have a few things now. In addition to these party like it's 2005 posts we have the CalPERS implosion, CA deficit, follow up to the Wrightwood fire, utility rate scams especially water, urban planning outrages, and a transit fare increase usage decrease overview. Sometimes a little break serves to refocus priorities.
I don't think anybody wants me to "mail it in" and this bunch is sharp enough to see through that anyway.
Does one good post a day sound about right?
Alas, it is I who must say sorry to you. I didn't think you'd take me seriously. I was just trying to think of a sentence that starts with first, and I had to take the first candidate for fear of competition.
Mr. O,
No harm, no foul. Plus points for the effective Casey snark.
That '1' that the flipper tacked on the front of the price tells me that he doesn't want to sell it. So why did he bother to list it? Something smells wrong here. Is there some new scam to collect tax losses or something?
I'm not sure. The buy and rehab were clearly professional. They permitted the additions and pool. They did it all by the numbers right down to bringing in sod and 24' box landscaping. I think they just came up with that price for two reasons. First I think they spent $300k on top of their $855k. That plus imputed carrying costs for 20 months $160k gets you to $1.3m. If they think they deserve $200k for their services then asking $1.9m and then "price reduced" to $1.7m gets them offers of that $1.5m At least that's what they are possibly thinking.
Sure, there may be some funny business going on but I don't rule out stupidity. Of course if we were to assume evil then I'd say the wishing price and perhaps some faked up interest at this price could be laying the groundwork for a re-fi equity extraction before walking.
Just surfin' Yahoo today ...
41 people in 4 states charged in mortgage fraud
NEW YORK – A mortgage fraud crackdown announced Thursday resulted in the arrests of dozens of people, including six lawyers, seven loan officers and three mortgage brokers in four states.
Thirty-one people were arrested in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. They were among 41 people charged with engaging in mortgage fraud scams that defrauded lenders out of more than $64 million in home mortgage loans.
Of the 10 other defendants, one was expected to surrender later Thursday, four were previously charged and five remained at large.
Authorities gathering for an afternoon news conference in Manhattan said the crackdown, dubbed "Operation Bad Deeds," was aimed at the failure of gatekeepers in the mortgage industry to act responsibly and legally.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mortgage_fraud
Unrelated ...
Santa Monica to experiment with parking psychology
Embracing a bold experiment to alter human behavior, Santa Monica is poised to raise parking rates on the city's most coveted downtown spots to discourage some motorists from using them.
The idea is to get people out of their cars and end what city leaders deem an ill-advised subsidy for public parking.
By boosting rates, officials intend to make the parking closest to the congested Third Street Promenade expensive enough that some visitors will instead walk, take the bus or park in more-distant garages. If it works, the city would benefit from smoother traffic flow, reduced pollution as fewer people cruise for spaces and a better return on land developed for public parking.
"What we're saying is: 'Parking's not free in Santa Monica anymore,' " said Councilman Bobby Shriver, who advocates changing the parking rules.
But critics contend the proposed changes might chase customers away, a risky prospect in a city that depends heavily on sales tax dollars.
(L.A. Times)
Third Street Promenade:
No one goes there any more, it's too popular...
Seriously, I stopped shopping there because it got too crowded and they started nicking me for parking fees if I exited after 6PM. There are plenty of of less crowded places to shop, with free parking and much less traffic congestion. Even Westside Pavilion is better.
The reason for the traffic problems is the bus lanes and "traffic calming" BS. Oh, and the city took at least a hundred parking spaces off-line and repurposed them for city use only. There wasn't a real problem until the city planning idiots started messing things up.
I think what's going on is that no one (other than the bums and school kids) is using the buses, so they are trying to force people to use the buses in an attempt to save face.
What a bunch of wankers.
You guys do all my blog work for me. Thanks. I am waiting on the SM parking fiasco until I hear what the new rates will be.
The channel 7 story last night even had people specifically say they'd go to the Westside Pavillion.
Aren't you glad they never pushed through that mega development for the mall property?
The mega-development would have at least included additional parking. But I'm sure that they would have found some way to mess things up and make it unusable.
They still haven't figured out why Westwood Village is a basket case - inadequate parking.
They keep trying force Californians into a New York mold. I'm expecting garbage strikes next.
Does CA have bollards? You're not cool unless you have bollards. NYC has lots n lots of bollards.
More from the same story ...
Once Santa Monica city staff recommend a plan, perhaps by late this year, the City Council is expected to raise daily and nighttime rates and monthly parking fees and charge a dollar for the second hour of parking in garages. A full day of parking would rise from $7 to $9 and on-street parking meters from $1 to $1.50 per hour. Meters might be converted to accept credit cards.
Parking rates in downtown Los Angeles are generally higher. Meters in the most congested areas run $4 an hour, comparable to off-street parking; some other meters near the central districts cost $2 an hour. Most meters, however, are $1 an hour. Municipal lots vary, from a $4 flat rate to $6 per hour.
Ventura, which does not charge for street parking, plans to install meters in January, three years after it first committed to market-based pricing. "You have to break the initial barrier of charging for parking," Cole said of the delay.
He speaks from experience. As mayor of Pasadena in the early 1990s, he helped broker a deal with Old Pasadena retailers that paved the way for paid parking. All the meter revenue went into area amenities, which strengthened demand, turning Old Pasadena into a municipal cash cow.
Turoff, the consultant who managed the Santa Monica project, said it comes down to simple tradeoffs: "Do you want a free space, or do you want to be able to find a space? Are you going to substitute desirable destinations for car storage? You'd lose the attraction, but everybody could park there."
http://tinyurl.com/yls994w
Rob Dawg has a very important birthday coming up.
I didn't have anything unique or important to say.
If anyone buys that, I've got a bridge they might be interested in. ;-)
That house better have Trump-style gold plating everywhere inside.
Oh, and that SM parking fee increase sounds suspiciously like the ill-fated proposal to sell special licenses to speed and/or use the diamond lane. Everyone shot that down saying it would favor the wealthy, so I'm surprised that this would fly in the RoSM.
License to speed? I want that.
Seriously though, Ventura is gonna put in meters? I may never go back. What do they have? A few old bars, a couple of okay restaurants, a few stores selling musty books, and some thift stores. Don't they see that real commercial endeavors like the Pacific View Mall or Poinsettia Plaza don't charge for parking?
My name is Cleveland Brown
And I am proud to be
Right back in my hometown
With my new family
There's old friends and new friends
And even a bear
Through good times and bad times
It's true love we share
And so I found a place
Where everyone will know
My happy black guy face
This is the Cleveland Show!!
Both those places will be lookin' cheap to foreign investors when the dollar hits parity with the yen.
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