Reports
1797 WAGNER, Mountain View 94043 (Mountain View)
$599,000 Beds: 2 bed(s) Baths: 1 bath(s) MLS: 754695

Property Overview
1797 WAGNER
Mountain View (Mountain View) 94043
Detached Single Family (Class 1)
Bed/Bath: 2 / 1
SqFt: 842
Lot: 5,227 sq ft
Age: 57 years
List Price: $599,000
Assoc Fee:
Here is a rare opportunity for a contractor, investor, or handyman. Lowest price single family home in Mountain View! Choose to complete the remodeling or start new and build your own dream home. Wonderful family neighborhood with a fenced back yard.
Here is a rare opportunity for a contractor, investor, or handyman. Lowest price single family home in Mountain View! Choose to complete the remodeling or start new and build your own dream home. The lot is on a great neighborly street. The large fenced back yard. Look beyond the structure to the homes potential with Million dollar homes near-bye. Enjoy the central Mountain View (Rex Manor) location close to shopping, area parks, Castro Street downtown, and highway 101 & 85.

The other day Burbed Reader Tyrone pointed me to this house. Unfortunately, I was too slow. Mountain View is truly special, and this house is truly special, and now it’s pending.

That means only one thing: YOU MUST OUTBID THE CURRENT OFFER!

This is proof positive that Mountain View houses are selling like hotcakes – I mean, just look at the interior pics:

And yes, with all those pics this house is pending.

I’m telling ya – you better bid $1 mil and offer to feed the squirrels! Otherwise, say hello to being priced out forever!

The other day someone found this blog by searching for “how much home can i afford in bay area ca”

I hope they found the answer.

If not, the answer is “unlimited”.

Spend every dollar you make. Spend every dollar you plan on making.

It’s worth it. If it weren’t, why would it be so expensive here?

And besides, when you sell it, you’re guaranteed to make a profit. guaranteed!

Have you ever heard of anyone who knows what they’re doing losing money on real estate in the Bay Area? Exactly.

O’Quinn, of ‘Lost,’ Lists House in Oahu – WSJ.com
The Manhattan condo that Latin pop star Ricky Martin sold last year for $9.75 million is back on the market — at nearly twice the price.
The approximately 3,050-square-foot apartment, on the 65th floor of the Time Warner Center, is listed at $18.9 million. The triangular southeast-corner condo, in one of the twin glass high-rises overlooking Central Park, has seven rooms and river views as well, and includes a new automated lighting and window-treatment system.

It first traded hands in 2004, when Mr. Martin bought it from the developer at about $6.8 million. Brown Harris Stevens’s Elizabeth Lee Sample, one of the apartment’s listing agents, said the apartment’s current owner is an art collector, but wouldn’t elaborate. (Brown Harris’s Brenda Powers also has the listing.) Mr. Martin recently bought an apartment for $6.3 million in 40 Bond, a downtown-Manhattan project of hotelier Ian Schrager. In April, Mr. Martin paid $16.25 million for a home in Golden Beach, Fla., north of Miami Beach, records show.

Neighbors in the Time Warner towers include British investor David Martinez, who paid nearly $55 million for two full penthouse floors. Mr. Martinez is making parts of his apartment double-height, at an estimated cost of $15 million, a person familiar with the home says.

See? If that’s not proof that Bay Area real estate is about to zoom up I’m not sure what is.

Ricky Martin’s condo doubled in price from last year.

DOUBLED.

If it can happen in Manhattan, it can happen in Palo Alto – that’s what I always say.

Thank you for the hope, Ricky Martin’s Condo!

abc7news.com: Activists Storm Countywide Financial
Bay Area homeowners barely hanging on because of the mortgage crisis, turned-up on the doorstep of one of the country’s biggest lenders on Tuesday.

They claim that with interest rates soaring Countrywide Financial is doing very little to help them keep their homes.

The community activist group ACORN demonstrated outside Countrywide’s San Bruno office.

Countrywide responded by locking its doors. One of the protestors is Esthela Baldovinos who got her sub-prime loan through countrywide three years ago.

“Nice opportunity to get a loan with no down payment,” said Esthela Baldovinos.

She’s a single parent with nine children and she cleans homes for a living. Baldovinos bought her house with no money down and an adjustable rate loan starting at six and a half percent interest.

It’s now up to almost 12 percent, making the monthly payments impossible. She’s called Countrywide for a loan modification.

“They said I have no options. They want me to put the house for sale or short sell or just leave the house,” said Baldovinos.

Will you be helping her protest in front of Countrywide?

Will you be helping her lobby South San Francisco to implement a 3 month moratorium on foreclosures?

What will you do to help Esthela Baldovinos this weekend?

Update 1: Here’s a related story:

In 2004, South San Francisco resident Esthela Baldovinos paid just $2,300 a month for her house.
Today, the payments ballooned to $7,500 and will reach $8,200 in November. Baldovinos entered into an adjustable rate mortgage not realizing how high the costs could get. Now she and many like her are asking local entities to pass foreclosure moratoriums. The South San Francisco City Council is considering such a voluntary measure, but the resolution is non-binding.
“I am delinquent on my mortgage because I was given an adjustable rate mortgage. I started out paying 6.5 percent. Now my interest rate is over 12 percent and I can’t afford the payments,” Baldovinos said.
Combined Baldovinos and her husband bring in $6,500 monthly — $1,000 less than the current mortgage payment. The parents of nine children with seven still living at home means the mortgage isn’t the only bill stacking up. Power was turned off last week with more than $1,000 owed to Pacific Gas and Electric. On top of it all, Baldovinos’ husband left from the pressure.
She wants to repay the loan and keep her house but Baldovinos isn’t sure how much longer she can avoid foreclosure.
“I need time to work out a loan modification with my lender so that I can stay in my home. We want the South San Francisco City Council to do everything in their power to help people like me stay in our homes,” she said.

Los Angeles remains US homeless capital – Yahoo! News
Los Angeles remains the United States homeless capital with more than 40,000 people sleeping rough every night, official figures showed Thursday.

Figures released by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) showed that there were 40,144 people living on the streets of the city out of a population of around four million.

Across the entire region of Los Angeles county, which has a population of around 10 million, there were 73,000 homeless, the LAHSA study found.

I bet you thought it was San Francisco. Nope.

SouthSanJose.com: South San Jose, CA Real Estate Trends

Thanks to Burbed reader Ek for pointing this out. Sorry South San Jose – you’re no longer part of the Bay Area either.

You’re going to have to hang out with Gilroy and Morgan Hill from now on. Los Gatos, please turn your back to South San Jose. Thanks.

MLS-2.com: Property Details
1373 TORRANCE AV, SUNNYVALE,CA,94089 – $554,900

3 Beds 1000 Sq.Ft. Aprx. 1 Car Garage MLS#: 742683
2.0 Baths 5,227 Lot Size 51 Yrs Old Aprx. List Date: 2007-07-31

Description – 1373 TORRANCE AV, SUNNYVALE,CA,94089
BANK OWNED PROPERTY PRICED $40,000 BELOW MARKET VALUE. NEEDS SOME PAINT AND JUST A LITTLE TLC. MANY UPGRADES. PLEASE CONTACT AGENT FOR SELLER ADDENDUM PRIOR TO WRITING OFFER. ALLOW 2

Allow 2 what? Talk about a cliff hanger?

Anyway, I was looking forward to seeing some of those aforementioned many upgrades. Are there any in this picture?

Hm. New… uh… wood laminate countertop?

Oh! Remodeled bathroom! Well, ok. Let’s see what else… I think I found it!

Yes! That’s it! It’s the retro tile and patched wall upgrade! It’s all the rage in these types of homes. I love it! At $554,900 – this definitely won’t last long. I’d bid $800k just to be on the safe side!

MLS-2.com: Property Details
480 S CAPITOL AV, SAN JOSE,CA,95127 – $459,900

3 Beds 1056 Sq.Ft. Aprx. 2 Car Garage MLS#: 752325
1.0 Baths 5,227 Lot Size 56 Yrs Old Aprx. List Date: 2007-09-17

Property has been gutted. no kitchen or baths. bring contractor! previous owner was possibly making office. cubicles throughout inside. Bank owned property

You know what this house would be great for? Starting a mortgage brokerage or real estate agency! Look, it’s already got some cubes going:

Just throw in a few phone lines, and presto – you too can have your own boiler room home based business!

Thanks to Patrick of MLS2 for finding this one!

1950 McNair Street, Near Palo Alto
$750000 1950 McNair Street, Near Palo Alto
Reply to: see below
Date: 2007-09-21, 11:55AM PDT1950 McNair Street, Near Palo Alto, CA

Near Palo Alto? So is this in Atherton, Mountain View, Menlo Park? Cupertino even maybe?

Can you guess from this photo what city this is actually in?

Thanks to Burbed reader Glen for this find!

I’ve seen a lot of things, but this still took me by surprise:

San Jose Mercury News – Public-employee salary data keeps pouring in
The data received so far shows median public employee wages are fairly consistent, although they’re higher in Santa Clara County than in San Mateo County. Leading the pack of cities is Santa Clara, where 37 percent of workers earn more than $100,000 a year.

If think house prices are going to fall because salaries can’t support them, think again!