Choate Knife-Catcher ** Update #1 **
Huge price reduction from $935,000 to $799,950! Short sale? Bank repo? Who cares? That is a huge price drop. At the current price, the house is selling for $254.77 per square foot. That is a new low in Irvine as far as I know.
Old Asking Price: $935,000
New Asking Price: $799,950
Purchase Price: $925,000
Purchase Date: 11/03/2006
Address: 32 Choate, Irvine, CA 92620
Beds: 5
Baths: 3
Sq. Ft.: 3,140
Lot Sq. Ft.: 5,188
Year Built: 1978
Stories: 2
Type: Single Family Residence
County: Orange
Neighborhood: Northwood
$/Sq. Ft.: $298
MLS#: F1710198
Status: Active on market
On Redfin: 27 days
Sale Price $925,000
1st Loan $740,000
2nd Mtg. $185,000
100% Financing
Lender Fremont Invs / Ln
From Redfin, "5+3+ Bonus Room, Master w/ retreat; fireplace; walk-in closet; huge bath Tiled roof Fireplace in family room Wood flooring in family room Tile floor in living room, formal dining & kitchen Landscaped backyard w/ jacuzzi."
.
.
This must have seemed like a no-brainer: A Northwood house for less than $300/SF. As a flipper, how could you go wrong?
First, you could do nothing to improve the property and rely on your low purchase price to make your money. Second, you could take the marketing pictures with your cell phone camera so your property can look like as undesirable as possible. And third, you could completely ignore the market collapsing around you, drink some kool-aid, and believe the next selling season will bring you riches.
But why not? It is 100% financing, and you can always make the bank eat your losses, right?
GOSH ! I hope those Asian “all cash buyers” don’t read that.
Hey… guess what…
I’ve decided that 120 bucks in about right in Manhattan too… I better go tell them to lower their prices so that we can exercise our God Given right to buy a 3000 sq foot, 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom penthouse on the Upper West Side.
Come on, get serious. Although $1mil for a home in Northwood seems crazy, 175 bucks per square foot for a home in Irvine is dreaming. You might find someone in a couple of years that is so desperate that they rip out everything, including the toilets, and sell it “as is”.... but really… who cares what “you have decided”.
That’s about as useful as a screen door in a submarine.
Thanks!
Out of a desire to compare apples with apples, is garaging under the main roof line (as in this listing
) included in the advertised square footage?
Asian view of the mortgage mess
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/IG14Dj01.html
What does your name mean?
Great post! I am gonna share it with my own blog readers at jason.landbrokr.com ! Thanks.
I have said this before in the earlier comments, but prices will make some sense when they fall into the 175- 200 per sf range, I give it another year maybe. things are definitely changing fast.
thanks for the update IR.
What happened with those photos? Are they on the MLS like that? Witness Protection pixilated?
While Yen carry trade (YCT) does have an influence, the state regulated banks still have the ability to qualify people on the large loan amounts based on initial monthyly payments. The Fed has done a sufficient job in closing this loophole, but the states have not.
100% financing is not the end of the world. If you’ve just left your residency and are now making 125K-250K as a doctor or other such professional, then you may want 100% financing. I agree that having “nothing to lose” results in apathy and that the number of people that fit into the above category is probably pretty small.
When the Japanese central bank raises interest rates.
Sorry for the double post - the original wasn’t showing up.
When is the 100% financing nonsense going to stop?
I agree with the comment above (Keith) - it is only the beginning. The housing market is way over priced. We will be seeing drops like this where it will become the norm vs a “shocker”.
Rex
Its only the beginning.
It will be very interesting to see where this new low takes us. I did a quick search on ZipRealty for houses within a half mile of the property you profiled, and at quick glance it looked like all of the other nearby properties for sale were asking mid $300s per sq ft.
And how do you think these sellers over at 17 Choate feel? They’re asking about $27k more than 32 Choate, but for one less bedroom and 666 less sq ft (is that 666 an omen?) Also, no photos of 17 Choate are showing up in Redfin, but they are there in ZipRealty in case you want to see.
Great work as always!
Jason
http://caliguy2699.blogspot.com
Thank you sir for your prompt response.
None of my sources has the size or number of bedrooms. The last sale was for $225,000 in late 1999.
Irvine Renter,
68 Ardmore, Irvine, CA 92602 sold for $510k. I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me the sq feet on this property and what was the drop from the last sale.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Purple Haze
Not all homes are the same. value patio should be based on the quality, curb appeal, upgrades and lot size. It is a shame to base comp merely on the size of a home. This house is a big box with zero curb appeal. The 3 car garage dominates the entire front and barely have enough room to squeeze the front door to the right. This house is over 3,000 sf ! Even an IAC apartment has a better gracious entry than this.
The 3 car wide oil stained concrete driveway is exactly what I dreamed of having for my castle.
Most cars have 4 wheels, 4 seats and a steering wheel. May be I can sell my Dodge McVANsion from the 1970’s more than the brand new BMW 7 series. My Dodge has way more cubic feet of living space than any luxury car.
totally agree, about a couple of years ago, I decided 175-200 sq/ft sounds about right for the OC including Irvine.
I think late 07, alot of older places are low as 250 sq/ft. how one year makes a difference from 450ish to 250ish.
TIMBER
That one was last Tuesday:
http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/2007/05/15/priced-in-on-sheridan/
You’re right, that is one desperate seller
Interesting property. They were a cash buyer.
Hi, Irvinerenter,
This flipper is even more desperate.
18 SHERIDAN Irvine, 92620
2005 sold price: 940K
Now asking 899K
Wow. That’s a number in todays OC Register story.
“The volume of U.S. home loans is expected to drop to $2.5 trillion in 2007, down from $4 trillion, Cutts said.“
Mortgage fraud complexity “extraordinary’
http://blogs.ocregister.com/lansner/archives/2007/05/mortgage_fraud_co.html
I get mine here:
https://fwprodweb1.firstam.com/fastweb/home.asp
I have free access (as a perk, so I don’t abuse it), so I don’t know how much it costs the general public.
How much to pay to get the access?
I have access to a title company database. It is public record, but it is not widely available.
1st Loan $740,000
2nd Mtg. $185,000
100% Financing
Lender Fremont Invs / Ln
Sorry, my comment got truncated for some reason.
I was wondering how one goes about finding this lending/loan information on a property. Is it publicly available?
It would be very useful information to know in making an offer for a short sale, for example.
>>>1st Loan $740,000
2nd Mtg. $185,000
100% Financing
Lender Fremont Invs / Ln
IR….great catch. Where do you see the price / sqft settling out before the day is over.
Need to get all such flippers burned and out of market soon. These are the vultures who have impacted the pricing in OC. They better pay from their butt now. I have no mercy for these folks and all who are crying wolf over subprime and mortgage company traps etc.
Like the pictures of this flippers home, his dreams of making have faded away. $298/SF is still too expensive given the fact that the party has just begun. It would go all the way down to $200 or even lower.
IR, You have uncovered yet another gem! So with prices testing the $300/sq ft. mark in some older parts of Irvine, when do estimate those comps will start affecting the other (newer) areas?
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