The least expensive single family home in Mountain View
491 S RENGSTORFF Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040 | MLS# 80849265
491 S RENGSTORFF Ave Mountain View, CA 94040
Price: $599,900
Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,080
$/Sq. Ft.: $555
Lot Size: 8,700 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Contemporary
Year Built: 1958
Stories: 1
Neighborhood: San Antonio
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80849265
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 79 days
LEAST EXPENSIVE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN VIEW. THIS BANK-OWNED PROPERTY HAS A HUGE LOT. If you’re looking for a big lot in the middle of Mountain View, if you’re looking for great schools and if you’re looking for a great property with an awesome bargain then come & grab this thing. Zoned R3-1, you can build 2 houses or a duplex on this humongous 8600 sq. ft. lot. BRING OFFERS!
Here’s what Burbed reader J.M. had to say:
Hey, this lovely house is next door to my apartment complex, and, uh, $611/square foot? Accordingly to the listing, it’s the cheapest single family home in Mountain View. It’s also the only single family home for like a half mile in any direction. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing — after all *I* am one of their fantastic neighbors.
Indeed! The affordable housing crisis in Mountain View has been solved with this home. And look! It even features all the self-hype that the Bay Area is famous for! Great schools? Well… they’re ok schools. Humongous lot? Well… it’s a big lot. Revenue? Well… they’ve got eyeballs. Oh wait. It didn’t say that.
In any case, observe that this is next to a giant apartment complex. What does that mean? Yep! You too can become a landlord too!
But if you don’t choose to go that route, you can say hello to a huge heap of sweet instant equity as this house has a Zestimate of $785,000! Hellooooo free money!
March 20th, 2009 at 6:15 am
Shouldn’t basic photography be a prerequisite for becoming a realtor? I’m sure this has been said before, but it bares repeating. Close-ups of empty halls, room corners, and the bathroom sink? Plus the dark ominous living room. At least the realtor moved the garbage/recycle cans when the taking the front of the house.
Ohh, the asking price has been reduced! Only $524,900, this home must have had competition in MV from other SFHs and had to reduce the price to remain the “LEAST EXPENSIVE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN VIEW (in a booming voice)”!
March 20th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Not quite. Burbed featured the actual cheapest.
March 20th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Specifically: This one..
March 20th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Here’s a comp that is listed, but it has a smaller lot:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/875-San-Ardo-Way-Mountain-View-CA-94043/19513078_zpid/
March 20th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Love the pic of the mailbox. Kind of sad when that’s supposed to be a major selling feature.
March 20th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Huh. It killed my link. http://www.burbed.com/2008/10/17/homes-are-now-affordable-in-mountain-view-just-600000/
March 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am
It’s not the worst example of RE photography creativity. It does not beat attempts to photograph dumpsters or high voltage lines in sunset with a camera phone.
March 20th, 2009 at 9:41 am
This home is worthless. What homeowners fear most is living next to a bunch of renters.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:02 am
What homeowners fear most is living next to a bunch of renters
94301 demographic information from city data
% of renters in 94301: 49%
% of renters in the State: 43%
March 20th, 2009 at 10:07 am
steve – hence the emphasis on “fear”!
It must definitely be a major concern in his neighborhood.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am
And they’re not necessarily renters, a lot of those things on Rengstorff are condos or townhouses that are owner occupied..
March 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Steve says,
>>94301 demographic information from city data
% of renters in 94301: 49%
% of renters in the State: 43%
Useless aggregate data. In 94301 the renters are mostly in downtown apartments. They are pretty well segregated from single family residential neighborhoods.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Yes keep renters away from homeowners, especially angry renters….there’s no telling what they will do!
Only a minority of households actually own their home outright, all the others with a mortage are just renting from the banks. Try not paying your mortgage for several months and see who owns the home.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:08 am
gawd, you guys were starving for troll bait, eh?
March 20th, 2009 at 11:46 am
“Try not paying your mortgage for several months and see who owns the home.”
Following that logic, try not paying your property tax and see who owns the home.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
>> What homeowners fear most is living next to a bunch of renters
Renters living in SFHs are not “feared” at all, even if there are a bunch of them. But most homeowners fear the multi-housing structures. This could be because compressed housing is what might cause overcrowding on local roads as well as in schools.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
>>gawd, you guys were starving for troll bait, eh?
Not a troll bait at all. It’s basic real estate buying principle.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Renters living in SFHs are not “feared” at all, even if there are a bunch of them. But most homeowners fear the multi-housing structures. This could be because compressed housing is what might cause overcrowding on local roads as well as in schools.
And parking problems, and crime. Then again, the houses on Alida Way in South San Francisco are highly sought after, and that whole street is nothing but a string of apartments (not condos). The most expensive real estate in that whole town is on that street.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
If palo alto were actually nice, it would not have zones for
High density housing.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Joe says,
>>Only a minority of households actually own their home outright, all the others with a mortage are just renting from the banks.
If the bank owns my home, why don’t they mow my lawn and fix my toilet?
March 20th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
nom nom nom
-blech-
March 20th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
RE,
The bank doesn’t care about the amenities or landscaping of the property you’re paying off, they care about collecting mortgage payments.
If you choose to live with a broken toilet and overgrown lawn, that’s what you’re continuing to pay the bank for. Another good reason to rent and not pay for a bubble-priced home of the same thing, if the toilet breaks, the owner (I mean other renter) has to fix it.
March 20th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Did I read this well? saving on the cost of fixing a toilet is a good reason not to pay for a bubble-priced home?
It makes as much sense as buying a specific car because you can save $5 when you change that car’s oil versus another.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I’m amazed that no one jumped on the language the Realtard was using in today’s house:
Come and grab this thing?
Oh come on, Paul LeJoy of Pacific Realty Partners, you’re not even phoning that copy in! That is an amazingly unmotivated description of that thing you’re selling. That thing that you are asking someone to pay
$599,000$524,000 for when the lucky FB bought it for $660,000 in 2005 and managed to have it foreclosed on for $667,668 only three years later! Talk about neg-am!Well come and grab this thing and you can owe the bank more than it’s worth from the very beginning!
March 20th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
No – what he is saying is that the benefit is two-fold.
Not only do you not have to make mortgage payments on a bubble priced home, you do not have to deal with maintenance as you would if you were an owner.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Glad you interpreted that pseudo-English as “dual benefits”. I construed it as another rationale for not buying. Maybe I should attend ESL classes?
March 20th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
It was another rationale – the first was, don’t pay bubble prices, the second (icing on the cake
) was not having to do repairs.
March 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I feel like such a fool. We fixed both toilets. If only I had rented, I could have asked my landlord to fix the toilets, while watching the homeowner’s equity flying through plasma TVs. Or windows. Or something.
March 20th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
nomadic – thanks but #26 was mostly rhetorical. When I see a forlorn punching bag begging for attention, my heart melts – and I rush to help before anon storms in.
March 20th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
where’s the award ceremony for the Thread Killer grand prize?
March 20th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
>>where’s the award ceremony for the Thread Killer grand prize?
It starts when Pralay arrives.
March 20th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
If you had all the money in the world, where would you live?
Just ask Larry Page of Google.
March 20th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
why not ask Larry Ellison? he’s richer, after all. or how about Chuck Schwab? he’s had his money longer, so that makes him smarter. or, since you are so into sports stars, what about the Sey Hey Kid? stars don’t come any bigger than that. all three have the money for 94301 but picked a town a few miles away instead.
better still, next time you are stalking him in Old Palo Alto, ask Steve Jobs where he would really like to live. too bad that town won’t let him build. maybe they are upset about all the wild parties he threw the last time he was a resident.
finally, I’d note the irony in your link. Larry Page is bringing everything you claim to hate about Atherton right to his little stretch of Waverly — huge lot, bigger fence.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Page has been reportedly been buying up adjacent properties for the past few years, all under various limited-liability company names, according to Santa Clara County public records and neighbors.
That’s because he’s desperately afraid of a neighbor RENTING out their place. And he needs his own walls to keep out the undesirables who are barely a step above those dirty EPA folks who tear up the soccer fields.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
oh, and now we know that OFT (our favorite troll) doesn’t live in a trailer in Minnesota – he fits right in with his “megaaaaa-project:”
…modest homes are replaced with mega-houses…
March 20th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
finally, I’d note the irony in your link. Larry Page is bringing everything you claim to hate about Atherton right to his little stretch of Waverly — huge lot, bigger fence.
—–
You are dead right, Steve. RealEstater has used car salesman mentality – say anything to make a guy to buy a car. Contradiction with previous statements? Who cares?
March 21st, 2009 at 8:11 am
Steve,
Where did I say I hate Atherton? Do you usually make up stuff when you’re out of arguments?
Atherton is great. We go there for pool-side parties quite a bit, and the kids love it.
March 21st, 2009 at 8:54 am
“In 94301 the renters are mostly in downtown apartments. They are pretty well segregated from single family residential neighborhoods.”
I wish! Just this week I was strolling down the sidewalk in neighborhood 94301 and nearly got hit by one of those angry renters out practicing his golf swing with wiffle balls out in the front yard of his apartment. Outrageous! Something has to be done about these transients and vagabonds bringing down our property values.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:17 am
What do you think the investment potential to tear down the current house and replace with a duplex is on this lot?
March 21st, 2009 at 9:17 am
it is time to play another game of “who makes stuff up”
RE explaining why Palo Alto is better than Atherton and Woodside singles out large lots:
Everybody in Silicon Valley is super busy. Who needs an 1 acre lot to take care of. Besides, places like Woodside and Atherton don’t have the best schools.
Steve (33) on what RE doesn’t like about Atherton:
Larry Page is bringing everything you claim to hate about Atherton right to his little stretch of Waverly — huge lot, bigger fence.
RE (37) on Steve on what RE doesn’t like about Atherton:
Where did I say I hate Atherton? Do you usually make up stuff when you’re out of arguments?
I think the evidence is conclusive, but I’d also note that I never said you hated Atherton, making this another example of your lack of basic reading comprehension. Why would I? I’ve known all along that your are envious of Atherton, Woodside, Hillsborough, LAH and Portola Valley residents, which is why your are so defensive when these places are mentioned.
March 21st, 2009 at 9:44 am
> If you had all the money in the world, where would you live?
Portola Valley or maybe Los Altos Hills (if I were to stay in the Bay Area), where I would not have to buy neighboring properties to get privacy.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:15 am
I think the evidence is conclusive, but I’d also note that I never said you hated Atherton, making this another example of your lack of basic reading comprehension.
———–
Steve,
He does not hate Atherton, but he thinks that Atherton does not have “value” and “specialness”. Of course you got to be wondering why he thinks so. Because he does not have “that kind of money”.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:47 am
thanks, pralay. I forgot that atherton as like a cadillac in new jersey. I wonder if he’ll mention that at the next pool party.
March 21st, 2009 at 11:31 am
Ding ding and the winner of todays round of who makes shit up is steve. We all know re suffers from diarrhea of the mouth.
Excreter would you please give us some bullshit about your biased “on the ground” report today? I’m dying to eviscerate some stupid comments.
March 21st, 2009 at 1:16 pm
#40, 41, 42, 43: Well done, all of you. Nice job.
Atherton: A Cadillac in New Jersey. Next time I’m in Atherton for one of those lah-di-dah ladies’ teas, I’ll be sure and mention that. I’m sure Sloane and Muffy will be agog.
March 21st, 2009 at 1:47 pm
anon – wake up earlier next time. There’s lots of competition these days for evisceration. We might even be entering a bubble.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Real Estater,
Are you of Asian extraction?
March 21st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
#47,
No.