Reports
849 2ND AV
SAN BRUNO (San Bruno) 94066
Detached Single Family (Class 1)
Bed/Bath: Studio / 1
SqFt: 400
Lot: 1 to 4,500 SqFt
Age: 99 years
List Price: $470,000

Remarks
Excellent opportunity to extend or rebuild. Convenient location to all Amenities of Downtown. R3 Zoning.

Now, granted this is R3 zoned, the lot is at most $4,500 sqft! So what exactly are you paying for at this $1000+ per sqft house?

Easy: Convenient access to SFO. Basically this house is going to be swept up by a rich foreigner (have you see the US Dollar lately?) to be owned for transit reasons. Let’s say you need to connect through SFO to go somewhere – well, you could drop by your little house to take a shower. It sure beats a Japanese capsule hotel!

I bet you can buy it now, and flip it to someone who doesn’t get paid in US Dollars in a heart beat. Trust me on this!

Burbed reader Riti asked this question:

Hi Burbed,

I enjoy your blog. Am currently in LA but husband seriously wants to move back to the Bay Area, where he grew up. The family has been pushing the idea of moving to Fremont on us constantly. Allegedly some of the very best schools in the Bay and relatively affordable. Just thought it may be interesting to write more on Fremont — is it too good to be true?

Alas, this writer hasn’t really spent enough time in Fremont to answer those questions. That said, whenever I think of Fremont, I think of this classic post by Ernie: “an open letter to the city of fremont, ca“. But then again, Ernie is a gay man. You seem to have a different situation.

It appears the high school is ranked #148 in the nation. I guess that’s not too bad.

Riti, you might like this starter home I found for you in Fremont at 37521 Church – it’s the same price as a 1br in Sunnyvale:

Just think about how much money you’ll save by doing your laundry outdoors! And based on the sales history, I think there’s a lot of potential for you to get some instant equity!

Sale History
06/04/2007: $398,226
04/01/2005: $450,000

What do readers think about moving to Fremont? Is it too good to be true?

Please help Riti!

Reports
Property Overview
563 HEMLOCK AV
Millbrae (Millbrae) 94030
Detached Single Family (Class 1)
Bed/Bath: 2 / 1
SqFt: 1,120
Lot: 5,232 sq ft
Age: –
List Price: $695,000
Assoc Fee:
Remarks
PERFECTLY LOCATED ON A DEAD END STREET-INTERIOR FRESHLY PAINTED BEAUTIFULY HARDWOOD FLOORS-NEW LINO IN KITCHEN FORMAL DINING ROOM WITH SLIDER TO PRIVATE BKYD WITH BUILT-IN BRICK BAR-B-QUE & COVERED PATIO

Oh come on, those don’t look like kitchen doors at a restaurant? Or a old school elevator door? Maybe that’s what it is! You can stack your cars in the elevator/garage.

BTW, this house linoleum. And it’s new. If that’s not HAWT, I don’t know what is. A steal for just a mere $695,000!

A Bay Area couple with two kids can’t make it on $50,000 a year
The hard truth is that $53,000 a year doesn’t cut it anymore in the Bay Area. Tens of thousands of working families in the region, even those with what many would consider decent-paying jobs, find a modestly comfortable standard of living is out of their reach.

A family of four in the Bay Area with two working adults must earn $77,069, equaling an hourly wage of $18.53, just to pay for basic necessities, a study released today calculates. If only one adult works, that figure falls to $53,075, largely because the family doesn’t have to pay for child care, according to the report by the California Budget Project, a liberal Sacramento research group. But that one wage-earner must make $25.52 an hour.

And a single parent with two children needs to take in $65,864 annually, at an hourly wage of $31.67, to cover expenses, the Budget Project figures.

Statewide, the two-working-parent family needs an annual income of $72,343 to cover necessities; the family with one working adult must earn $50,383.

Blah blah blah.

Frankly, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a household income of at least $100k and doesn’t work at a tech company.

SF Gate, as part of its usual Main Street Media (MSM) spiel blah blah blah’s about how truck drivers with families can barely afford to live in SF.

Let’s talk about the real story here: there are truck drivers with families that can barely afford to live in SF.

The fact is, things like that really hurt the Bay Area’s image. If we are to be The Most Special Place on Earth, The Most Desirable Place on Earth, then we must make it a goal that truck drivers with families cannot possibly afford to live here.

We’ve already made some great progress in making the middle class leave, now we just need to take the next step and make everyone leave.

(Or repeal child labor laws so that the driver’s children can work. Or both!)

So while some may think it’s too unaffordable here, Burbed’s position is that it is too affordable.

<sigh> I can only dream of the day when the median condo is $1 million. Some day that will come. Some day.

REALTOR.com: Find a Home – Listing Detail
$749,900
6 Bed, 1.5 Bath
3,578 Sq. Ft.
0.12 Acres
Cambridge, MA 02138

Single Family Property, Approximately 0.12 acre(s), Lot is 5400 sq. ft., Year Built: 1870, Parking space(s): 1, Basement, Fireplace(s), Dining room

Of course! It’s in Cambridge, MA.

Sure you could buy a giant house there for the price of one that’s about to collapse in Mountain View – but let’s face it: do they have good schools in Cambridge? HINT: Where is Stanford?

Also, the weather there is terrible. Did you know that you’d have a 98% change of dying in the winter from being cold? How will you wear your Birks there? And don’t get me started on the food there – all they have are beans and tea. Don’t ask.

Oh, and haven’t you heard: it’s called Taxachussets over there – because they have HIGH TAXES. You don’t see them calling us Taxifornia!

I posted this as a reminder: don’t leave the Bay Area – there’s nothing out there. Nothing at all.

I had no idea that last year Metroactive had cited this site as the Best Cupertino Blog. Go figure!

News & Culture in San Jose, CA | Best of Silicon Valley 2006 | Cupertino
Best Cupertino Blog
www.burbed.com/category/cupertino/. Let’s face it, Cupertino is not a hotbed of crime, corruption or cutting-edge culture. What is interesting in Cupertino is the constant staggering value of this area in real-estate wealth. Burbed.com keeps track of how today’s little old crap-box bungalow is the footprint for tomorrow’s goliath-size minimansion, fit for 80-hour-a-week Apple execs and their striving homework-whipped kids. The blog follows the course of a now nationally famous, 60-year-old 827-square-foot house on Lomita Avenue that is now appraised for more than a million bucks, or around $1,225 per square foot; and as the blog demonstrates, this itty-bitty house now has plenty of company in its price range. Remember when the Internet was just used to search out pictures of people’s genitals? A far more innocent era.

Reports
407 5TH, Redwood City 94063 (Redwood City)
$599,000 Beds: 2 bed(s) Baths: 1 bath(s) MLS: 753282Property Overview
407 5TH
Redwood City (Redwood City) 94063
Detached Single Family (Class 1)
Bed/Bath: 2 / 1
SqFt: 1,164
Lot: 5,635 sq ft
Age: 57 years
List Price: $599,000
Assoc Fee:
Remarks
Own the American Dream! Your new home has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a bonus room that could act as a 3rd bedroom. The fenced back yard is great for corralling small children or pets. Additioinally, there’s a seperate small cottage that’s leased at $800.00 per month; that’s $9,600.00 per year!

Ah – the American Dream. Nothing is American Dream like having to rent out a small college on your property – nope nothing like that at all. And, of course, that $9,600 is tax free – wink wink – that’s American too!

But the fact of the matter is that many Americans have always dreamed about being cowboys – a distinctly American profession. Well, if you own this house, you can practice corralling small children or pets! Maybe you could have a rodeo and lasso your cat! Try riding your dog! Or other American Dream fun fill activities.

Your dream fulfilled – in Redwood City.

When shopping for a house, you want to make sure you move into a neighborhood with strong community values – a place where you know you can count on your neighbors to unite and help each other out in times of needs.

Today, Burbed is highlighting the Lyons Drive neighborhood in San Jose:

San Jose Mercury News – Person who shoots into occupied house in East San Jose is stabbed by residents
Person who shoots into occupied house in East San Jose is stabbed by residents
By Mark Gomez
Mercury News
Article Launched: 10/15/2007 08:05:42 AM PDT

A man who opened fire into an East San Jose neighborhood home was chased down by the occupants and stabbed, according to police spokesman Officer Enrique Garcia.

Around 10:15 p.m., officers responded to the 2100 block of Lyons Drive, near Story Road and Capitol Expressway, and found a man who had been stabbed, Garcia said.

Garcia said two men approached the home and opened fire. People then came out of the house, chased down the gunmen, caught one and stabbed him. The stabbing victim is in critical condition, but his injuries are not life threatening, Garcia said.

Two people were arrested, according to Garcia. One juvenile was arrested for shooting into an inhabited dwelling, and another person was arrested for the stabbing.

Congratulations on your united community!

And remember, home prices rise faster in places with strong communities:

MLS-2.com: Property Details
1149 AUDREY, CAMPBELL,CA,95008 – $1,250,000

4 Beds 1221 Sq.Ft. Aprx. 2 Car Garage MLS#: 753932
3.0 Baths 10,890 Lot Size 59 Yrs Old Aprx. List Date: 2007-09-25

What’s new on MLS-2: Search by % Price Drop // Search by “MOTIVATED SELLERS”

Description – 1149 AUDREY, CAMPBELL,CA,95008
Fixer upper! Large lot over 10,000 sq ft, huge backyard,opportunity to build custom home or remodel. Located on quiet street, excellent Campbell location

Did you guess a house in Campbell?

No? Oh.

Uh.

Well, yeah it’s a house in Campbell. And it’s a fixer upper! So it’s win win!

Just think: Buy it for $1.25 mil, then spend another $300k to build a new house. Presto – you’ve suddenly got a $1.55 million dollar house in the Bay Area. Now that’s something you can write home about!

And with a lot that big, you can easily rent out campgrounds for people to set up tents. Can you say CA$HFLOW?

You can thanks to Burbed Reader Sandi for this find. That is, if Sandi hasn’t bought it already!

Reports
431 DOUGLAS AV, Redwood City 94063 (Redwood City)
$433,000 Beds: 2 bed(s) Baths: 1 bath(s) MLS: 750765Property Overview
431 DOUGLAS AV
Redwood City (Redwood City) 94063
Detached Single Family (Class 1)
Bed/Bath: 2 / 1
SqFt: 730
Lot: 2,483 sq ft
Age: –
List Price: $433,000
Assoc Fee:
Lowest Priced Home In Redwood City. Don’t Miss Out!!!
Cozy 2 bedroom one bath home perfect for first time buyers or a small family Fruit tress, newer double pane windows,newer driveway and tiles on front porch Garage has been converted to 3rd bedroom w/out the benifit of permits, storage
Property Features

I think it’s kind of interesting that the garage sort of blends into the house – kinda like a zebra in a pack of zebras. I also like the door that’s about 3 feet off the ground – that really ups the ante for your cat/dog.

Oh wait, it says that it’s a 3rd bedroom – of course! That’s a window. Duh!

If only this had the benifits of permits and storage – then this would easily clear for $550k! Sounds like a handyman’s special to me! Instant equity!