16 Responses to “Those are some mighty expensive sprinklers in San Jose!”

1. ex-sunnyvale-renter Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 8:15 am

   That’s kind of a streak across the lawn, isn’t it?

   As usual, the decimal point in the price needs to be moved one space to the left.

2. rick Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 9:13 am

   My neighbor has been remodeling, you would love the chainshaw musical I tell ya.

3. Robert Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 10:14 am

   “In Willow Glen, all our sprinklers are above average!”

   As frightening as it might be for us south-of-the-real-Willow-Glen-but-think-we’re-in-the-real-Willow-Glen residents, there have actually been several houses at similar prices in the area. They’re usually on the corner or right off a major street (Hillsdale at Jarvis or Hillsdale at Cherry), or on a major street (Meridian.) Usually, it’s gotten to the point where the owner puts up a hand-written sign with the price listed. They’re also a good $100K less or more than houses in better locations.

   The other low-priced houses have usually been the 1950’s ranches. This one, I think, is part of a tract of early 1970’s houses. I personally find them ugly with few windows and odd rooflines, but that’s more a problem for the neighbor across the street who has to look at them every day. Punching out a few more windows might make them less sucky.

   I find the picture showing the for-sale sign interesting. A few years ago, you’d only see houses sold by the big chains — Alain Pinel, Century 21, etc. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot more houses sold by off-brand realtors. I don’t know if this means more people are using discount brokers to cut the agent’s cut, or if it’s a sign that the property was a foreclosure, and the listing agent is a foreclosure specialist giving the bank a volume discount. The fact that the lawn’s mowed and sprinklers are running probably means it’s not a foreclosure… unlike a couple houses on Foxworthy a couple miles west of here.

4. Pralay Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 11:59 am

   A few years ago, you’d only see houses sold by the big chains — Alain Pinel, Century 21, etc. Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot more houses sold by off-brand realtors.
   ————-

   In addition, signs for For-Sale-By-Owner.

   And “We buy homes” signs.

5. Pralay Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 3:07 pm

   amazing sprinklers on the outside. Really, you can’t get sprinklers better than this!
   ———–

   Considering the fact that those flower plants are planted just days before putting the home in market, they needs “amazing sprinklers” to grow fast. I am sure those sprinklers water has growth hormone punched in it.

6. Mark Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 4:28 pm

   That brown patch of lawn is where the fault line runs. Seriously, all of Willow Glen is built on expansive soil and if you’re lucky, you’ll have a foundation that lasts 20 years.

7. RealEstater Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 4:38 pm

   Pralay,

   You should buy that property and water the lawn!

8. Robert Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 5:01 pm

   > That brown patch of lawn is where the fault line runs. Seriously, all of
   > Willow Glen is built on expansive soil and if you’re lucky, you’ll have
   > a foundation that lasts 20 years.

   Who cares if the foundation might only last twenty years? The important thing is how long the swimming pool lasts. And the granite countertops, of course.

   – Robert, who’s seen the cracks in his slab.

9. San Mateo Home Sellers in Trouble Says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 5:44 pm

   That’s not so bad. You should check out this monstrosity in Colma:

   http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1417727

10. Crossroads Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 6:18 pm

    What’s expansive soil?

11. Mark Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 10:15 pm

    Expansive soil is found in many parts of the BA near water sources such as rivers. Basically, the soil expands and contracts according to the water content. So if your house is build on post and piers like mine in Willow Glen, your floor tends to rise during the winter months and settle during the summer months. Crazy stuff.

12. Mark Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 10:18 pm

    That’s not so bad. You should check out this monstrosity in Colma:
    http://www.redfin.com/stingray/do/printable-listing?listing-id=1417727
    ———————————————–

    Can you say Superfund Site?

13. Crossroads Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 10:21 pm

    Is that why houses here have crawlspaces unlike houses in the east?

14. Tom Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 10:42 pm

    @Crossroads
    Homes in the east tend to have basements instead of crawl spaces. This is due to the need to lay the foundation below the frostline. Since you have to dig down several feet, you might as well dig down a few more to give a livable space.

    Pier and post and concrete slab homes are cheaper and faster to build since there’s little to no excavation necessary. I would avoid slab homes if you can. It’s way easier to fix a foundation problem in a pier and post home – plus the crawl space makes servicing utilities (pipes, cable tv, phone wires, etc) much easier.

15. Crossroads Says:
    April 21st, 2008 at 11:05 pm

    Got it. So crawlspaces are good.

16. madhaus Says:
    April 22nd, 2008 at 2:44 pm

    So, burbed, what’s with the new spam protection? It doesn’t work. 1 and 0 is 10, so I just typed 2 ‘cuz I didn’t think you were a binary guy.

    I think this place is in Willow Glen like that Santa Clara school district section is in South Sunnyvale.

    The brown streak on the lawn? I think it’s a broken sanitary sewer pipe.

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