Where did you spend the eve of the Millennium? I proposed to my wife on December 31, 1999, in today’s featured property.
Asking Price: $815,000
Address: 6 Rocky Knoll St #3, Irvine, CA 92612
{book6}
Millennium — Robbie Williams
Live a life of solitude
till we find ourselves a partner someone to relate to
Then we slow down,
I moved to California in 2001. But prior to that I was invited to come to California by the owner of today’s featured property to visit for a week, and I could bring a friend if I wanted. He had just purchased this place in 11/1/1999, and he got it remodelled in time for the Millenium. We enjoyed our time spent in Irvine, and on the eve of the Millennium I proposed to the woman who became my wife. It really was a special day. This is the only property in Irvine other than the places I have lived that I have any real connection to.
Of course, we had no idea we would end up in Irvine when we came to visit. I lived in Florida at the time, and I had no thoughts of moving. We always remembered the great time we had here and what a wonderful place to raise a family Irvine is. As life worked out, we decided to move to California, and we finally ended up here.
Now before you flood the comments with questions, this is not listing I am associated with in any way, I am not doing this owner a favor (we are no longer close), and I do not think anyone should go out and buy this property.
This owner works in an industry related to mine, so I know times are not particularly good. He was not very responsible with his mortgage, but this is not a short sale either. My guess is that he will do what he needs to do to sell the property. This one will not sit on the market for months with a WTF asking price. The property is priced in the large spread between current asking prices and recent transactions. This is the least expensive property in the area, and it is also priced over recent comps. It is a crazy market.
Asking Price: $815,000
Income Requirement: $203,750
Downpayment Needed: $163,000
Monthly Equity Burn: $6,791
Purchase Price: $415,000
Purchase Date: 11/1/1999
Address: 6 Rocky Knoll St #3, Irvine, CA 92612
| Beds: | 4 |
| Baths: | 3 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 2,855 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $285 |
| Lot Size: | – |
| Property Type: | Condominium |
| Style: | Mediterranean |
| Year Built: | 1979 |
| Stories: | 3+ |
| Floor: | 1 |
| View: | City Lights, Greenbelt |
| Area: | Turtle Rock |
| County: | Orange |
| MLS#: | S569602 |
| Source: | SoCalMLS |
| Status: | Active |
| On Redfin: | 7 days |
or bank owned!Fabulouse entertainment home. 2 fireplaces – large
dining,living,family and kitchen. Thousands of dollars spent on
lighting thru out home. Dramatic designer paint colors thru out.
Beautiful wood paneling in dining, living and entrance. 2 large decks
with city light view. Travetine and wood floors in main floor. The
grassy knoll is behind home. The TR Vista has more greenbelts than any
other association in Irvine.Walking distance to Turtle Rock Grammar,
University High School and UCI.
Fabulouse?
thru out? Has that error become so common that it becomes correct through usage?
Did you notice that a house that is neither REO or a short sale is a selling point? That says much about the market, doesn’t it?
The pictures on the MLS are crap.
Since I do know this owner, I am not going to give the details on this property; it would make it too personal. Suffice to say, he did what everyone else was doing, and now he has to sell his house. If he can manage to get his selling price, he will escape with a few dollars to start over. Somebody will catch this falling knife and help him out.
Live for liposuction
Detax for your rents
Overdose for christmas and give it up for lent
My friends are all so cynical refuse to keep the faith
We all enjoy the madness cause we know were gonna fade away.
So where were you on the eve of the Millennium? and what were you doing?
I hope you have recovered from this stressful week at the Irvine Housing Blog. Come back next week as we
continue chronicling ‘the seventh circle of real estate hell.’ Have a great weekend.
🙂
{book7}
Weve got stars directing our fate
And were praying its not too late
Millennium
Some say that we are players
Some say that we are pawns
But weve been making money since the day that we were born
Got to slow down,
Cause well low down.
Round and round in circles
Live a life of solitude
till we find ourselves a partner someone to relate to
Then we slow down,
Before we fall down.
Weve got stars directing our fate
And were praying its not too late
cause we know were falling from grace
Millennium
Live for liposuction
Detax for your rents
Overdose for christmas and give it up for lent
My friends are all so cynical refuse to keep the faith
We all enjoy the madness cause we know were gonna fade away.
Millennium — Robbie William
Where did we spend the millennium? Given the tin foil hat-isness of some of the posters here, I bet you a sizeable minority spent it in a well stocked basement waiting out the Y2K fiasco!
It’s funny you say that. My cousin called me in the summer of 1999, begging me to join his parade of doomism regarding the y2k crap. I basically told him he had too much time on his hands, and I didn’t because I was running a growing business.
Now regarding this comment right here:
“Given the tin foil hat-isness of some of the posters here”
I don’t like that comment! It seems to me that you’re trying to equate housing bears to y2k nuts. LoL It leads me to ask you this question. So, if the bears are right, and the ostrich dunkers are wrong, who’s really wearing the “tin hat”? Perhaps you? I mean after all, you’re trying to diminish the people that are right.
There’s an old saying … if you’re at a poker table, and you don’t know who the sucker is … it’s YOU.
y2k = hyped, rabid, doom saying fools
Housing Bubble = 100% RIGHT
Funny, I was hoping to buy back-up generators real cheap after Y2K but they held their overinflated Y2K dooms day prices.
1960 solution for cold war gave debt/inflation
Late 1970/early 1980 solutions for stagflation gave raise to using pension raiding to fund LBO. Now pensions are close to insolvent.
Solution was forcing employee into 401k plans.
Middle 1990 solution to recession gave raise to cooked books for internet stocks and forcing workers into 401k. Then the bubble burst.
Bubble bursted on Mexican Hedge funds in mid 1990’s and Fed (taxpayer) bailouting hedge funds. Again privatization of gains, socializing loss for political/weath elites.
Housing bubble, bank and credit bubbles accelerated to deal with the internet bubble collapse. Private banks sold off to pension and 401k at near high. All 3 collapses while in public hands. Fed market control for privatizing gains and socializing loss.
Govt to nationalize banks (transfer debt to taxpayers) and resell them to private investor, i.e., original banking families who sold them in prior step.
I see lots of anger for bailout of US auto industry but very little for banking industry. Also the amount of money for the auto is much less than for AIG alone.
Will we have reinflating the housing bubble?
I don’t know who you’re talking to, but the rage at the financial and housing bailouts- all of the interventions over the past two years- is so overwhelming in its size, scope, depth, and injustice, that there’s no way anyone can BEGIN to articulate their anger.
I’m angry at the auto bailout, but I can at least stay level-headed when I talk about it.
But I have no words left in me that can begin to convey my rage and dismay at the $7.6 Trillion (and still counting) tossed at the housing and bank “rescues” and bailouts. I ran about 7 posts on my own blog.
Now, I’m in a state of utter exhaustion from it all. I’m so overwhelmed with rage and disgust that there’s no way I can discuss it anymore without risk to my health. It elevates my blood pressure just to think about it.
And that’s how everyone else feels, and we all also feel a sense of overwhelming futility and hopelessness. We WILL have hyperinflation. We WILL have a “lost decade” like Japan, thanks to the efforts of Paulson, Geithner, Bernanke, Pelose, et al. We MIGHT become another Weimer Germany.
And there isn’t a damn thing we can do about it. There were not enough pols on either side of the aisle who could take a principled stand against the destruction of our treasury and our currency, and raping of the taxpayers.
The auto bailout, on the other hand, was small enough that we might be able to actually DO something to prevent it.
People naturally tend to duck problems that are too big to solve, and focus on little stuff they can at least understand. That is why our city councils piddle away their time passing laws against smoking on the beach, or some such nonsense, while ignoring the collapsing sewers and bankrupt schools.
We were in Sydney Harbour, watching the amazing fireworks. It was a hell of a party – every Australian band you’ve ever heard of were performing free, alongside heaps more you haven’t heard of. Kids and families were out until all hours, the trains were on late, and it was just fantastic.
Of course, the property market in Sydney is even worse than in LA.
I proposed on 12/31/99 too, on the shore of Lake Michigan, after sneaking an engagement ring into a bag of Cracker Jacks. It wasn’t the “real” ring, but she still got a little chuckle out of it.
Oh, and she did say yes.
Heh.
Funny IrvineRenter should ask. I spent it in the emergency room at Western Medical Center after getting a little careless with my new year’s celebrations.
When I got there just after midnight my friends and I were the only people in the ER. Within an hour the place was full. As I lay on a gurney getting my head sewn up two officers of the Santa Ana PD were taking a statement from a gunshot victim next to me. What a crazy night.
I agree! Worrying accomplishes nothing!
A pedant would of course point out that the eve of the Gregorian 2nd millenium was 31 December 2000.
Regardless, on 31 December 1999 I was vacationing in Kona, Hawaii. Nothing of lasting significance happened to me. Congratulations, IR!
And predictably, I screwed up the quibble I was deniably mentioning! It was NOT the “eve of the second millenium”. I should have written “the end of the second millenium” or “the eve of the third millenium”.
I like seeing “not a short sale” in the description. These days, if it’s owner occupied (that is, if the pictures show cars in the driveway and furniture and personal items in the house), I just assume it’s a short sale, even if it’s not marked as such. Some real estate agencies seem to have a policy of hiding the fact that a listing is a short sale-here in Riverside, the local Prudential office does this. Their listings keep popping up in my Redfin searches, even though I have filtered out short sales.
Note to self: do not bring in guest bloggers to spout realtorspeak.
Westminster home draws multiple offers in 1 week
Look at what is going on over there. Realtors have been given control of the OC Register Blog for “reporting” that is poorly disguised market cheerleading.
That type of thing is happening more and more often as newspapers cut staff.
They should have more guest unbiased bloggers.
OMG! Check out this steaming pile of manure:
California housing market seen near bottom
“Q. Foreclosures?
A. In remission. A good sign for the housing market. We expect them to continue
to abate and this will provide stability for prices.”
See truth in Mr. Mortgage article linked below.
It’s seriously killing me over there.
I have a couple friends/coworkers now who are “back on the fence” to buy property in the short term. Summer and Fall had convinced them to wait this all out, but with the media generally picking up this Spring Bounce, they’re suddenly fearful of “missing out” again. Argh.
Here’s a recent sold comp that sold for more than the listing on this one:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/4-Longbourn-Aisle-92603/home/5711425
300 sq foot less, one less bedroom, one more bath. .81 miles away, sold Feb 19th for $850k. Doesn’t look like a foreclosure sale; looks like a real sale, although that’s hard to tell from the Redfin page alone.
comes complete with your own ”grassy knoll” as a conspiracy theory conversation starter.
Not living nor buying in Irvine, I rarely have an opportunity to constructively chime in but here goes:
On the night people celebrated the Millennium, I was in the French Quarter of New Orleans with two of my brothers and one of my best friends. It wasn’t a significant life moment by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a good time nonetheless.
I miss living there, but can’t complain too much about where I am now.
Mr. Mortgage has been sighted:
4-7 — CA Foreclosures About to Soar
“Are you ready to see the future? Ten’s of thousands of foreclosures are only 1-5 months away from hitting that will take total foreclosure counts back to all-time highs. This will flood an already beaten-bloody real estate market with even more supply just in time for the Spring/Summer home selling season – great timing!”
Irvine Renter:
I saw Mr. Mortgage’s article yesterday. A lot of charts and apparent facts intermixed with opinion I had a hard time deciphering. What is your take on the it, especially the predictive portion? Thanks.
When these foreclosure moratoriums were announced, I wrote a piece called Moritorium on Defaults Announced. I tried to use satire to get across the stupidity of what the government was doing. Foreclosures are a result they are not a cause. By treating the symptom, the disease spreads unchecked. All a moratorium does is delay the inevitable. What Mr. Mortgage is saying, and I totally agree, is that the inevitable is about to occur. He is closer to this than anyone; he has superior data on loans and loan performance. So far, I have not seen him be wrong.
Looks like another of Meredith Whitney’s predictions might come to pass: housing prices nationwide destined for another 30% decline (tv interview this week). If so, I suspect coastal so cal is due for a larger shock since the inclines/declines are usually exaggerated here.
Are they even considering the baby boomers retiring? the housing is going to tank more due to the fact over whelm of supplies
Looks like a bachelor pad…I’ll take the pool table though!
This property is in a good location of that development, with closer walking distance to the local schools. I would think that would make this property a little more valuable than some of those further in, given the lack of sidewalks leading from the residences to the greenbelts.
We were asleep at midnight on the eve of the millennium. Living on the edge, eh?
Anyways, Wow! Turtle Rock is expensive. $815,000 for a condo? I guess the buyer will be paying $415,000 for the condo, and $400,000 for the opportunity to have his kids attend Uni.
I spent 1999 New Year’s Eve with friends in my brand new Irvine home that we had just closed escrow on 1 month prior.
It was a new 4/3 detached for $320k that I thought was very expensive at the time.
10 years later… I doubt we will ever see prices that low again… or will we?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123931996530606873.html#mod=testMod
Interesting story on the roll-out of the new Obama refinancing option for mortgage backed by a GSE. Interesting that those with PMI are not able to avail of this. Doubt many in the newer areas of Irvine qualify either.
I spent Dec 31, 1999 at a small party, stone sober hoping that my beeper (remember those?) wouldn’t go off and order me into the office. Let’s face it, we really weren’t sure what was going to happen to the mainframes.
For Y2K computers, we just forward the date/time to test them. Some of our computers were set to Dec. 31, 1999 and run for a few days. Nothing. So didn’t worry about the other computers at work.
I think Business Week (April 6?) reported some banks rolling out loan modification of principal reduction. What’s to stop borrower returning for additional modifications? With the modification, does the loan become a recourse loan?
It’s looks like history repeating itself. Just reinflate the bubble and have the economy blow up on someone else’s watch. Or the same theme but better, stick it to the next generation.
“Where did you spend the eve of the Millennium?”
I like this question, because it reminds me of a bygone time of innocence where we were all asking another question:
Will this be the end of the world?
And in a funny way it was the beginning of the end. I was in a largely empty airport (possibly Chicago), pondering that very question, the Christmas lights still strung up amidst the high arching glass and metal ceilings. I walked alone through an empty security line, the bored guard grumbling as I checked my watch for the time.
What would happen? Would my plane fall out of the sky?
I would have never have believed it would take 9 years for the world I’d know to end. Soon there will be riots and civil war as the world economy implodes, the bankers who started this will be stoned to death in the streets.
The real end is nigh.
At home being awaken by the kids for new years.
The location is great for those with kids, but WTF pricing. IMHO, construction quality is ~$80-90 per sq ft. High monthly HMO. Let’s get real. However, recents sales were slightly less. They should make a huge profit from the purchase price in 1999.
I heard of some recent 40% cash down buying knife catchers buy SF bay area condo/duplex property for “investments.” To bad the bounce is Fed and US Treasury manipulation.
The Grassy Knoll looks pretty from a distance but is a minefield of dog S%*t from the many inconsiderate people who walk their dogs there.
You know how WFC Wells Fargo said they made a huge profit and all the banks cheered yesterday?
How much of that was due to the change in Mark to Market accounting? I heard the government is now letting banks say their assets do not need to be priced at todays prices anymore. They can price them back to what was paid for them.
In anycase, I missed the boat on that. I really was hoping for nationalization. Still it may happen. This recession is not over.
“Of course, we had no idea we would end up in Irvine when we came to visit. I lived in Florida at the time, and I had no thoughts of moving. We always remembered the great time we had here and what a wonderful place to raise a family Irvine is. As life worked out, we decided to move to California, and we finally ended up here”.
What market impact does this general consensus/feeling have on the SoCal Real Estate supply and demand (and pricing) in relation to “fundamentals” of pricing and affordability? When many people want to live in this part of the country…? Does this buck the fundamental trend of thought?
Ultimately, everyone may want to live here, but without a job, they can’t. Jobs drive the real estate market. If there is job growth, people have money to pay rent or make payments on a house. This is the only fundamental that matters. Remember Desire is not Demand.
Even with the current economic troubles, the job to house ratio in Irvine is very high. Why do you think people live in places like Corona and Riverside to commute there?
The job to house ratio in Corona and Riverside (and beyond) is low. A lot of people who own out here commute to Orange and LA counties, because they (were) priced out of the market near where they work.
So, if home prices go down, it’s quite possible that some people might sell their Corona house and buy an Irvine one. And then people might sell their Riverside house and buy a Corona one. And then people might sell their Moreno Valley house and buy a Riverside one-if they can, since we are now out in the desert and running out of people farther out to buy the homes they are selling.
The net result of this is price drops across the board, but the most dramatic ones are ones farthest away from most of the jobs. Distant suburbs will take more of the hit, as they have so far.
I am a frequenct reader (almost daily). I have always enjoyed reading a very objective analysis on the housing market. Lately, things have seemed to get more personal (particularly in the comments).
Today, you post a profile of a house who belonged to an old friend. On top of that, you reveal personal details (irresponsible with the mortgage, motivated seller, etc).
Please bring back the impersonal blog!!!
We made a ton of money back then providing Y2K compliance verification. Kind of like doing Loan Mods these days. Big Business. We went to a huge party in CM. Fireworks were legal there. Great time. Kid was only about 13 then.
$ 815,000 for a 30 year old Condo ??? Never gonna happen.
What does age have to do with what a property will get, assuming the place is in good repair and doesn’t look dated? This seems to be a reasonable, even below average, price for the area. The two most recent comps are for $770k on March 5th and $850k on Feb 19th. Both are smaller in terms of square footage. The $770k condo was built in 1978; the $850k condo was built in 1990. So, a condo a year older sold for 5% less a month ago and one 11 years newer sold for 5% more two months ago. He’ll get at least the $770k the one sold at.
A condo’s age is everything. Save up for those “special assessments” as it starts falling apart after 2 decades. Especially pools, and especially in or on top of the building. 🙂
The end of the last millennium was on December 31, 2000 not December 31, 1999. This is because there is no 0 AD.
Comments like this make me want to shoot myself in the head.
This is a must-read from a local (new jersey) paper
“I’ve read about continuing price reductions in our area. Is buying a home still a good investment” Im thinking about making a move this spring.
Answer: Real estate continues to be a viable and reliable investment. Our market is undergoing a recalibration after an unprecedented run up in prices during the 2000-2005 period. That recalibration is opening the door to the American Dream of home ownership for many who were previously unable to buy. The market is also creating opportunities for most sellers, who even after adjusting asking prices, are able to realize a profit on their invetment. Today many buyers and trade up sellers are finding that they are able to get more house for the money than in the past. It is important to remember that a home is more than an investment or a price it provides shelter, a place where memories are made and to raise a family. Plus, homeownership provides significant tax benefits and with interest rates at 50 year lows its a good time to buy in New Jersey.
I love this stuff, I think even if you tried to parody this you couldn’t write it this well.
Yes, but unfortunatlety in SoCal, everyone wants to time the market and try to make a buck or two (many of the reads of this blog are evindence), when this is compounded by large polulation in SoCAl it creates the fear of being priced out of the market (especially since not many new homes are not being built), this all creates the bubble mentality we witnessed as IR mentions. I don’t think peopel will learn from the past which will keep prices relatively stable for OC.
I used to live in Turtle Rock, sold in 2006 (lucky dog, I know). I loved it there. I lived in the Broadmoor and would go on the loveliest walks with my wife and dogs. I miss it.
That said, the condo section on Turtle Rock feels a bit on the run-down side. Certainly not worth over 800k. I sold my 4 bedroom SFR in Turtle Rock for about 900k.
Carl