usctrojanman29 - 22 April 2009 09:37 PM

morekaos - 22 April 2009 08:40 PM

usctrojanman29 - 04 June 2008 04:58 AM

If the prices drop into the low $400k range, I may pull the trigger…I guess I’ll keep my fingers crossed till then…

Here ya go SC. Low 300’s now. Is your finger still on the trigger?

Not, my reserve price has been lowered to $150k now.

Man, think about that. In June of 2008 $400m looked mildly interesting but still only a hope. Now $320 is an insult. What an unmitigated disaster these towers are.

morekaos - 23 April 2009 02:21 PM

usctrojanman29 - 22 April 2009 09:37 PM

morekaos - 22 April 2009 08:40 PM

usctrojanman29 - 04 June 2008 04:58 AM

If the prices drop into the low $400k range, I may pull the trigger…I guess I’ll keep my fingers crossed till then…

Here ya go SC. Low 300’s now. Is your finger still on the trigger?

Not, my reserve price has been lowered to $150k now.

Man, think about that. In June of 2008 $400m looked mildly interesting but still only a hope. Now $320 is an insult. What an unmitigated disaster these towers are.

A true disaster in the making…I wonder how the Plaza Towers off Campus/Jamboree are doing?  haha The insulting part isn’t the $320k…it’s the $1,200 HOA fee.  I bet that people are having problems getting financing due to the high REO level.

Even though I was standing there in 2007 with a box of matches just waiting to watch these towers burn, I never, ever thought that 2/3 of the units for sale would be short sales. That just astounds me. I wish I could have shorted this project. Have to talk to the MERQ about that.

This is from a Sept 2005 Article in the OC Metro.

Like many buyers at Park Place, it was love at first sight for Tom Testa. He was one of the first buyers back in 2003 when the units went on the market. Testa, a mortgage banker and CEO of Alliance Portfolio, says it took him about “five seconds” to buy his two-story, 1,520-square-foot corner unit in the East Tower. His unit has a panoramic view of the wetlands and faces the sunrise. The purchase price was $900,000, but he believes the value of the unit is more than $1.5 million today

If he was to sell now and could get $ 400/SqFt. Thats now $ 600K in todays market.
Then throw that HOA and Taxes in. OUCH.  Thats almost a Million Bucks Off his peak.

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Just for old times sake (and to kill time while this paint dries), I’ve been re-reading some of the long running threads.  While this thead is particularly interesting to read just to see the change in attitudes, I found this classic hit courtesy of Zovall from 2006:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/marquee-park-place-high-rise-hell/

Six months ago, some users were claiming the place would never get to $400. $100K looks possible for these overpriced IAC apartments if you expect somebody to continue to pay the mello roos and HOA and interest rates creep up.

no_vaseline - 24 April 2009 06:43 AM

Just for old times sake (and to kill time while this paint dries), I’ve been re-reading some of the long running threads.  While this thead is particularly interesting to read just to see the change in attitudes, I found this classic hit courtesy of Zovall from 2006:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/marquee-park-place-high-rise-hell/

Six months ago, some users were claiming the place would never get to $400. $100K looks possible for these overpriced IAC apartments if you expect somebody to continue to pay the mello roos and HOA and interest rates creep up.

Hah hah! Thanks for posting the thread because I for one had not read that one.  Check out this classic IrvineRenter line:

He has a suite on the Titanic, and I am on the dock wishing him bon voyage.

He wrote that on December 29th, 2006. 

Wow, the posts that followed were classic as well.  “Lots of great things happening in here with CEOs, Doctors, Lawyers, parties, etc. We don’t need to tell you about it. Keep it on the down-low. “

Wow.  Remind me to NEVER write any of my financial prognostications in this blog.  I might look more foolish than I could even imagine!!!!

morekaos - 01 April 2009 04:37 AM

morekaos - 03 March 2009 08:26 PM

Decided to check in with my favorite funeral pire.  Which one of these bottom feeders do you think will violate the $300.00 per square foot price first? I think they are all short sales or REO’s. Go figure.

3131 Michelson Dr #604

3131 MICHELSON #1302

3141 MICHELSON Dr #404

3141 Michelson #804

I’m rooting for horse #804. Let’s race.

...And from the back of the pack charges #307, a long shot out of Pimlico, at $270 a square foot.

#307

Great post by IR on the Towers or Terror but I think this one got neglected. It is actually the lowest priced 2:2 at $254 a square foot and a back breaking $328,000.00…OUCH!!!!!!!!!
By the way it is right next door to his featured property so I don’t see why someone (Idiot) would pay 399 on the same floor

Is this the inevitable end to our Towers of Terror?

south-florida-s-housing-crisis-leaves-behind-ghost-towers

Drive down Federal Highway or Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale or Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach and the “For Sale” signs seem inescapable. Every lonely strip-mall storefront and empty condominium complex pleads to become someone else’s problem.

Consider them the artifacts of a gilded age. During the past decade, South Florida’s landscape was transformed by a real estate frenzy, part of the biggest home-price boom in American history. The only thing more stunning than the housing market’s steep climb was its precipitous fall. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, median home sale prices in the Fort Lauderdale metro area rose by 85 percent between January 2003 and January 2006, when they hit a high of $370,500. By April of this year, that price had been cut nearly in half. Meanwhile, Palm Beach County is now facing its biggest plunge in taxable property values since the Great Depression.

morekaos - 24 June 2009 04:55 AM

Is this the inevitable end to our Towers of Terror?

south-florida-s-housing-crisis-leaves-behind-ghost-towers

Drive down Federal Highway or Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale or Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach and the “For Sale” signs seem inescapable. Every lonely strip-mall storefront and empty condominium complex pleads to become someone else’s problem.

Consider them the artifacts of a gilded age. During the past decade, South Florida’s landscape was transformed by a real estate frenzy, part of the biggest home-price boom in American history. The only thing more stunning than the housing market’s steep climb was its precipitous fall. According to the Florida Association of Realtors, median home sale prices in the Fort Lauderdale metro area rose by 85 percent between January 2003 and January 2006, when they hit a high of $370,500. By April of this year, that price had been cut nearly in half. Meanwhile, Palm Beach County is now facing its biggest plunge in taxable property values since the Great Depression.

But we already have that….they are called the Skyline Towers over in Santa Ana.

usctrojanman29 - 24 June 2009 02:47 PM

But we already have that….they are called the Skyline Towers over in Santa Ana.

I had to go to Costa Mesa yesterday and chase parts.  On the way back I never fail to be amazed at the site of the Skyline Towers - glistening in thier emptyness.

“I’m melting!!! melting!!! melting!!.......aaagggggghhhhh….

#502

Jun 29, 2009 Listed $399,000 —SoCalMLS #S579815
Mar 02, 2006 Sold $829,000 —Public Records

That is about equivalent to a five story fall to your death.

no_vaseline - 24 June 2009 02:54 PM

I had to go to Costa Mesa yesterday and chase parts

I like those Skyline Towers.  How high is the HOA; what is rental parity per SF ?

Do you think every sale in the last year was a bank taking it back? It sorta looks that way.

unit 1002
unit 1301
unit 309
unit 807
unit 905
unit 1503
unit 1305
unit 1303

That’s it!!! Eight units in the last year have “sold” or been taken back. “Disaster movie” doesn’t seem to describe it well enough anymore.

xoneinax - 04 August 2009 05:08 PM

no_vaseline - 24 June 2009 02:54 PM

I had to go to Costa Mesa yesterday and chase parts

I like those Skyline Towers.  How high is the HOA; what is rental parity per SF ?

I think you should read this:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/3227/

morekaos - 11 August 2009 08:45 PM

Do you think every sale in the last year was a bank taking it back? It sorta looks that way.

unit 1002
unit 1301
unit 309
unit 807
unit 905
unit 1503
unit 1305
unit 1303

That’s it!!! Eight units in the last year have “sold” or been taken back. “Disaster movie” doesn’t seem to describe it well enough anymore.

Add unit 608 to that list. It was taken back by the bank for $442k for a 56% discount from the $1mil purchase in 2006. Gotta love 100% financing!

What is the “bottom” for the N. Korean towers? How about 55% off for unit# 1702 in the 3141 building? Because an investor bid it up from $607k to $694k today, and that is 55% off the $1.545M purchase price in 2006. What amazes me is there were multiple bidders on this unit.

graphrix - 18 August 2009 05:01 AM

What is the “bottom” for the N. Korean towers? How about 55% off for unit# 1702 in the 3141 building? Because an investor bid it up from $607k to $694k today, and that is 55% off the $1.545M purchase price in 2006. What amazes me is there were multiple bidders on this unit.

Maybe those investors are getting bored and/or impatient because 95% of those auctions get postponed or canceled.  haha I seriously can’t believe that any cash investor would be willing to pay even $400k for the unit.  I guess not all of those investors are all that savy.

usctrojanman29 - 18 August 2009 05:19 AM

graphrix - 18 August 2009 05:01 AM

What is the “bottom” for the N. Korean towers? How about 55% off for unit# 1702 in the 3141 building? Because an investor bid it up from $607k to $694k today, and that is 55% off the $1.545M purchase price in 2006. What amazes me is there were multiple bidders on this unit.

Maybe those investors are getting bored and/or impatient because 95% of those auctions get postponed or canceled.  haha I seriously can’t believe that any cash investor would be willing to pay even $400k for the unit.  I guess not all of those investors are all that savy.

I’d be willing to bet you a beer… that after they settle with the HOA for $15k, pay $5k to clean the place up, pay a 5% RE commission, and pay the $55k in back taxes… that this upper level penthouse sells for no less than $899k, making a 17% net profit of $130k. This will be the first sale of an upper level penthouse under $1M. And, I bet you that if it sells for over $948k you owe me another beer, and if it sells for over $998k you owe me another beer… and if it sells for over $1M then you just hand me your AMEX as I go on a shopping spree at Hi-Times.

If it sells for less than $899k, then I will wash your car every other week for two months.

What say ye… t-man?

graphrix - 18 August 2009 10:04 AM

usctrojanman29 - 18 August 2009 05:19 AM

graphrix - 18 August 2009 05:01 AM

What is the “bottom” for the N. Korean towers? How about 55% off for unit# 1702 in the 3141 building? Because an investor bid it up from $607k to $694k today, and that is 55% off the $1.545M purchase price in 2006. What amazes me is there were multiple bidders on this unit.

Maybe those investors are getting bored and/or impatient because 95% of those auctions get postponed or canceled.  haha I seriously can’t believe that any cash investor would be willing to pay even $400k for the unit.  I guess not all of those investors are all that savy.

I’d be willing to bet you a beer… that after they settle with the HOA for $15k, pay $5k to clean the place up, pay a 5% RE commission, and pay the $55k in back taxes… that this upper level penthouse sells for no less than $899k, making a 17% net profit of $130k. This will be the first sale of an upper level penthouse under $1M. And, I bet you that if it sells for over $948k you owe me another beer, and if it sells for over $998k you owe me another beer… and if it sells for over $1M then you just hand me your AMEX as I go on a shopping spree at Hi-Times.

If it sells for less than $899k, then I will wash your car every other week for two months.

What say ye… t-man?

I’m not sure how many sf the unit is so I’m going a little blind into this bet…but you are on (I don’t have an AMEX so if it sells for more than $998k I owe you a 12-pack).  For those investors’ sake, I hope they aren’t greedy and list the end for less than $1m.  I personally think they are playing with fire buying into the Korean Towers.

usctrojanman29 - 18 August 2009 02:17 PM

I personally think they are playing with fire buying into the Korean Towers

They have wandered over the border and may never escape

3141 Michelson #1804 in 2006 $1.675M, in 2009 not a single bid at the auction for $810k. Half off… nope still not enough of a discount.

.

MojoJD - 24 November 2009 02:12 AM

grapHrix - 23 November 2009 11:34 PM

3141 Michelson #1804 in 2006 $1.675M, in 2009 not a single bid at the auction for $810k. Half off… nope still not enough of a discount.

Do you have a copy of the floorplan, or at least the Sq footage?  Seems steep even at 8.

attached is a floorplan for your use.  its a 2088sf penthouse unit on the top with an awesome balcony that wraps around a good portion of it.  2 beds + den and a nice floorplan for that.  perfect as a bachelor pad or a young couple with no more than 1 young child.  i won’t be shocked if it sells for close to 800 after the bank puts it up as a reo that someone can finance with a loan and reasonable down payment.  has anyone heard anything about the hoa dues coming down?

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