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Denial still in my neck of the woods. But the realtwhore advice column in the real estate section of the paper is all about advising people how to buy when they think they have no money.

the number one option is to ask if the seller (who is a long time owner with plenty of equity) is willing to give owner financing… and then of course there is advice to the long time owners with massive amounts of equity encouraging them to consider financing the buyers.

Also, there is advice to sell boats, extra cars etc. to try to come up with the money to buy.

There is also advice to borrow from parents… maybe parents have equity in their house they can HELOC and you can borrow from them.

Also, there is the sales pitch towards all those financing options that will allow you to buy property without putting any of your own skin in the game, and of course what would a sales pitch be without reminding wannabe FBs about the availability of piggy back mortgages to avoid having to come up with down payments.

I take this whole article as nothing more than an effort to beat the bushes for the last remaining hold outs who are under the impression that they can’t afford to buy because the median house price in Sonoma has risen to above ridiculous.

oh how could I forget my favorite part of the advice page… co-signers…ask your relatives to co-sign for you. Right… rope in your relatives into becoming one big FB family!

I can’t believe they didn’t suggest “selling your organs” as well. After all, what’s 1 kidney for a condo in California. Get in before it is too late!

It’s friday! Time for a silly joke:

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 618199
3926 PARK BL
Palo Alto, CA 94306

$749,000
LOWEST PRICED 3 BEDROOM, 1 BATH HOME IN PALO ALTO!
Come see! Lowest priced 3 bedroom, 1 bath home in Palo Alto. It has new interior and exterior paint, a newly remodeled bathroom, new carpets, new kitchen and bathroom floors, new light fixtures, a Section 1 Pest Control clearance & a 1-year home warranty. Relax in the park-like rear yard with its many flowers and fruit trees. It is located in a very desirable area close to schools, shopping, freeways and public transportation. This one won’t last long!

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 618199 Approx Age: 55 Years Approx Sq Ft: 975
Detached Single Family 1 Story Ranch

Hey, they said it! Not me! This house won’t last long.

BTW, why does a house in Palo Alto need a fence for the front yard?

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 617741
10620 MORENGO DR
Cupertino, CA 95014

$698,888

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 617741 Approx Age: 53 Years Approx Sq Ft: 814
Detached Single Family 1 Story Ranch
2 Bedrooms Ground Floor Bedroom 1 Bathroom

There are two things that bug me about this advertisement:

1) It’s blatant attempt to attract Chinese people. Just ask anyone Chinese about the 888 at the end of the price. Sheesh. Perhaps they should add .42 to attract the nerds
2) The other pictures in this ad has this:

Isn’t that the same as saying: REMINDER: The house you are about to buy will look like ASS compared to the houses across the street. Thank you, -Seller

At least this person could have been decent enough to offer a free tear down.

Americans commute longer, farther than ever – Yahoo! News
Dave Givens drives 370 miles to work and back every day and considers his seven-hour commute the best answer to balancing his work with his personal life.
The winner of a nationwide contest to find the commuter with the longest trek, Givens is one of millions of people who are commuting longer and farther than ever before.

Studies show Americans spend more time than ever commuting and for a growing number, getting to work takes more than an hour. In the most recent
Census Bureau study, 2.8 million people have so-called extreme commutes, topping 90 minutes.

Givens, a 46-year-old electrical engineer, has an extreme commute between home in Mariposa, California, and his job in San Jose. He leaves home before dawn and returns after dark.

The bold-ing is mine. Only in Silicon Valley would a 7 hour commute be considered balacing your work and personal life.

I wonder how much Dave spends on gas a week – and how much oil he plans on leaving our future generation.

On the other hand, he probably doesn’t live in a 800 sqft house for $800,000… that’s the Bay Area for ya.

Home sales, published April 15

• 1435 Oak Rim Drive $2,000,000, 3,080 SF, 4 BR, Berry Trust to M. Tsang; 1971:$85,000
• 1456 Montego Drive $1,200,000, 2,849 SF, 6 BR, Paiga Trust to K. & M. Morrison; 1977:$123,500
• 5125 Devon Park Court $870,000, 2,533 SF, 5 BR, Bulder Trust to J. Adame; 1973:$43,000
• 4880 Rue Calais $660,000, 1,446 SF, 4 BR, Pham Trust to B. Hernandez; 1979:$71,900
• 3989 Twilight Drive $1,100,000, 2,561 SF, 5 BR, Barker Trust to J. & C. Weisenfeld; 1977:$105,800
• 250 Abbot Ave. $740,000, 1,290 SF, 3 BR, J. Tong to J. Tong; 1979:$76,000
• 3353 San Onofre Court $655,000, 1,500 SF, 3 BR, Gonzales Trust to E. Ayala; 1976:$31,900
• 2509 Bluestone Court $662,000, 1,189 SF, 3 BR, C. & L. Bernardo to J. Vera; 1977:$50,800
• 1061 Pizarro Lane $1,195,000, 2,360 SF, 4 BR, Vickers Trust to M. Boschetti; 1976:$88,600
• 250 Sandpiper Court $890,000, 1,640 SF, 3 BR, Hughes Trust to A. Bharwani; 1975:$59,000
• 35466 Eden Court $714,000, 1,669 SF, 2 BR, R. & B. Nichols to M. & A. Campos; 1978:$79,500
• 25960 Vinedo Lane $2,225,000, 2,175 SF, 3 BR, Barbara Trust to Vinedo Lane Property; 1972:$68,500
• 308 Bean Ave. $891,000, 1,160 SF, 2 BR, O. Kennedy to C. Lauren; 1978:$101,000
• 1010 Almanor Ave. $995,000, 1,620 SF, 3 BR, Livermore Trust to L. Joyce; 1978:$86,500
• 2188 Petersburg Drive $738,000, 1,796 SF, 4 BR, J. Lavigne to F. Mendez; 1972:$33,000
• 1112 Glacier Ave. $740,000, 1,240 SF, 3 BR, V. & M. Kangas to T. & K. Amborski; 1974:$44,000
• 410 Redwood Ave. $842,500, 2,060 SF, 4 BR, H. & T. Wilson to M. Galea; 1977:$70,000
• 690 Port Drive $1,020,000, 1,800 SF, 3 BR, J. & J. Freeman to R. Ives; 1976:$81,000
• 3238 Agate Drive $600,000, 1,040 SF, 3 BR, E. Loy to P. Gamino; 1971:$24,000
• 3344 Princeton Way $742,000, 1,442 SF, 3 BR, Carpenter Trust to P. Rayala; 1976:$66,500
• 12622 Kane Drive $1,420,000, 2,329 SF, 4 BR, Carlson Trust to S. & T. Fong; 1977:$123,000
• 509 Diamond Ave. $780,000, 1,140 SF, 3 BR, M. Beller to J. Kwan; 1977:$66,000
• 3641 Sawtooth Court $490,000, 1,461 SF, 4 BR, J. Reyes to J. Yost; 1979:$179,700
• 787 North Fairoaks Ave. #2 $409,000, 926 SF, 2 BR, Bickelman Trust to A. Tejeda-Ortiz; 1979:$69,000
• 619 North Henry Ave. $786,000, 1,431 SF, 3 BR, Leverett Trust to R. & E. Wright; 1974:$46,500
• 1549 Dry Creek Road $1,085,000, 2,333 SF, 4 BR, Murphy Trust to R. Sanchez; 1972:$60,000
• 1445 Minnesota Ave. $1,128,000, 2,245 SF, 3 BR, M. & L. Miller to U. & M. Guzman; 1976:$60,000

Ah… to have bought a place in California before 1980. Better than working.

Nothing like the ol’ generational transfer of income. Massive mortgages, peak oil, falling incomes, implosion of social security – interesting times ahead!

No, not financially (though if you do want to give me a house to flip, feel free to email me!)
Submit your favorite “OH MY GAWD I CAN’T BELIEVE IT IS THAT MUCH” find today!

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 617695
410 OAK RIDGE DR
Redwood City, CA 94062

$729,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 617695 Approx Age: 58 Years Approx Sq Ft: 830
Detached Single Family 1 Story Ranch
2 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 1 Stall Shower

Alright… obviously the house is bigger. But the person who took this photo should be fired. As if it weren’t bad enough that the house is only 830 square feet for $729,000!

It’s Number Crunching Monday. Let’s do some math behind the house 21568 Rosario Ave in Cupertino. Why this house? Because I saw this ad on craigslist:

quiet neighborhood house, walking distance to Kennedy ,Monta Vista
$2595 /3BR, 2BA Cuperino House walking distance to Kennedy and Monta Vista High
Wonderful 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, 1750 sq. ft. Newly installed windows.
OUTSTANDING TOP-RANK SCHOOLS (Rank 10 = Highest):
• Monta Vista High (Academic Performance Index=924,’04/’05 State-wide Rank 10/10)
• Kennedy Middle (API=948,’04/’05 State-wide Rank 10/10)
- Walking distance to all schools.

Fireplace, Large swimming pool, Beautiful yard and Quiet neighborhood.
2 car garage, gardener and pool service included.
NO PETS.
Rent: $2595 per month deposit
21568 Rosario Ave. (cross road: Bubb Rd.)

Well – $2595 a month to rent. That seems ok for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom… except that my real estate agent friends constantly tell me that rent is throw away money. Which is true too. After all, you’re not getting any equity right?

Now, according to zillow…

Zillow.com – 21568 Rosario Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014

$945,668 (What’s this?)

Value Range: $832,188 – $1,002,408

Now, Zillow isn’t always right. Some people say that it underestimates, some people say that it overestimates. But even then, the deltas aren’t usually that enormous. So let’s say for a moment that this really is $945,668.

Ok great – so let’s feed that amount through some mortgage calculators. But first, let’s assume that we put a 10% downpayment (which is a lot these days) – so the mortage amount is actually: $851,101.

So what do we have?

Wait a minute, if I rent this for 5 years, the rent would be $155,700. That’s about 25% less than an interest only loan payment. Of course rent does go up and with a loan, the interest is tax deductible – but then again, the interest only loan payment doesn’t include insurance, maintenance, or property tax.
Also, with an interest only loan, which is over 50% of the loans in Silicon Valley, you would have to hope that your property appreciates so that you can somehow cover the balloon at the end of 5 years. (I’m a little fuzzy on this part.) It looks to me like the property would need to appreciate at least $213,000 to break even – and that doesn’t even include the 4-6% agent fee for doing nothing.

Of course, $213k is just 22% of the house’s price value today. It could go up that much by end of next year. Otherwise that’s just 4.5ish% a year for the next 5 years.

Wow, this was a lot of math. What’s your analysis?

Wow, some first person reporting! A first for burbed!

I noticed that at 17 Mile Drive, there were a huge number of For Sale signs.

What’s going on there? Are the rich people bailing out because they know of some perfect storm coming?

Any 17 Mile Drive residents reading this blog? What’s the scoop?

TY: $500k for a mobile home in Silicon Valley
$499,000

Holy cow.

Cool! A link from TomorrowYesterday.