Great Burlingame house with lots of opportunities
Beds: 2 Baths: 1 Sq. Ft.: 900 $/Sq. Ft.: $688 Lot Size: 3,924 Sq. Ft. Property Type: Detached Single Family Style: Cottage/ Bungalow Stories: 1 View: Neighborhood Year Built: 1920 Community: Burlingame Gardens County: San Mateo MLS#: 80949763 Source: MLSListings Status: Active On Redfin: 147 days HUGE PRICE REDUCTION-Cute craftsman style home with non-conforming detached in-law unit on R2 lot. Shows as 3 bed/1 full bath/2 half bath front unit; and 2 bed/1 bath rear unit-each with their own kitchen/laundry facilities. Desirable Burlingame school district, close walking distance to transportation/downtown. Live in one/rent the other, or use for family or business. Ample off street parking.
Is there anyone who doesn’t like options? This is America! Options, choice, opportunities, freedom, liberty, apple pie, neg am 60 year mortgages. You either love’em, you love terrorists.
In this case, you have plenty of options as this house both comes on a R2 lot, and has a detached unit with separate kitchen and laundry! Wowsers!
What will you do with this house? Will you tear it down and build 2 houses? Will you rent out both houses! So many decisions! So many possible ways to profit!
Any one want to do an NPV on this house? Before you do that, you might want to factor in some expenses…
Hm… I think that might require some work…
March 26th, 2010 at 8:06 am
I have no idea what an R2 lot is, but I do know what NPV is. If anyone did any NPV on this POS, the result would be too negative.
How noisy is the train crossing?
March 26th, 2010 at 8:42 am
R2 means it’s zoned for a duplex, so the in-law unit is probably – gasp! – legal.
The train crossing is noisy, the road is busy, and with those old windows, it probably sounds like a war zone.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:35 am
If a second unit on the property is legal, then I wonder what makes it non-conforming? Setbacks? No permits when it was built?
March 26th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
an exciting upside of the economic downturn is that people like me who live in cheap crappy condos can now hire highly skilled guys to to handywork.
we just had a bunch of things done (screen door put in; towel rack put up; light fixtures put in, and on, and on) by someone who in boom times was building houses *well*. and who owns loads of rentals, and is trying to unload a couple of places.
I feel bad that his earnings are way down since he’s a nice guy and I adore his dog, but it’s thrilling to have things fixed by someone who is licensed, bonded and insured.
March 26th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
These are good times, Tuno. Good times indeed.
March 26th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
yep – wooohoooo – a towel rack!!!!!!
people may be squatting in foreclosed houses and dining via food stamps, but I’ve finally got myself a towel rack!!!!!!! And a FUNCTIONING SCREEN DOOR!!!!!!!!!
I think I’ll go admire the towel rack.
March 26th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
dude, you have to get some tools for yourself. Even a girl can put up a towel rack!
🙂
March 26th, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Yes but is the girl licensed and bonded? Installing a towel rack it not a job to take lightly.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
Was that towel rack work properly permitted?
lol
March 27th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
I *am* a girl (well, adult female). and I *do* some home repair things (painting, tiling). and my dad has sent me loads of tools, incl. a drill with a million bits. but sorry, I’m too much of an estrogen case to use power tools. I’ve tried and they always seem to heavy and badly designed and dangerous. which, in fact, they are.
actually I told my dad that I thought that power tools were not designed for women, and he replied that they are not designed for humans. and he did construction work during grad school to feed us.
I’d made several attempts at the towel rack. it requires anchors, and every time I’ve spackled (caulked?) anchors in, they’ve fallen out.
it is a MYTH that home repairs are simple. they are a great way to make a wreck and injure yourself. there is a huge difference between someone who knows how to do this stuff, and an amateur. an amateur put up our last screen door; it took him three hours (he was a contractor from Home Depot, and he did a good job, but the door was crap). this guy did it perfectly in 20 minutes.
but I love my pressure cooker.
Tuno (safe for dolphins *and* tuna)
March 27th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Did someone say amateur? Real estater! Your input is requested!
March 27th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
LOL, Tuno! My apologies for casting aspersions on your home improvement skills. I’m sure your handyman appreciated having something useful to do as well.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
Tuno, was your handyman a perfect specimen of North Indian manhood?
March 27th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
#13 – haha not precisely, but that’s just as well, since after paying for the repairs I didn’t feel like sticking a bunch of 20s into his tool belt.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Oh come on, Tuno, you didn’t tell us what he was sporting on that belt. If I had a licensed and bonded repairman do my screen door in 20 minutes, I’d find a few interesting places to tuck some 20s. Why, I’d bet for enough of them that perfect specimen might even (dare I say it) improve my spice rack or stop the filtered water tap from spraying all over the place.
Actually I’m chuckling about your power tool story, since, when we got married, my husband thought he got the better end of the deal since my drill was much higher quality than his. Plus I also had a sledge hammer AND a rivet tool in my trousseau.
Makita rules, Sears drools!
March 28th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Madhaus – I revere and envy your home repair prowess. I bow down, and do obeisance.
I too admire well-made tools (um, the handy-guy was my dad’s age, and has enjoyed many a high-caloric meal in his time, so his tools were not of interest).
and for a long time I have tried to fix things, and tried to convince myself that with enough perseverance I could fix things. but part of growing up is learning one’s LIMITS, and until I develop x-ray vision so that I can see gas lines and pipes and wires that carry electricity, I am not drilling holes into walls.
I watched the guy carefully, and I could see in each project exactly where I would have been stymied. he drilled a hole to put up a coat rack (in a place where there should have been a stud), and hit something that seemed harder than a stud. then we saw that the gas outlet was nearby; not that all *that* nearby so it’s not like there was any reason to think it was a pipe, but *maybe* he’d hit a gas pipe?? at that point I would have freaked out and stopped, relieved that I had not exploded myself, my dog, my husband and my neighbors, and donated my drill to the next charity rummage sale.
however, he then determined that it was a stud in a funny place, and that it was safe to proceed.
re the light fixtures – even apart from the electricity aspect, when he put them up he determined that the place where a drill hole would naturally go, was blocked by some metal box inside the ceiling. so he used a specially shaped bracket he had out in his truck.
I’ve seen crappy handyguys just barrel ahead and do things as dismally as I would end up doing them if I had no money and simply had to do them myself. yeah, that’s an option if you have no other. it makes for hilarious human interest stories in local papers.
so remember, Madhaus, if you must dig, call first:)
Tuno – safe for Dolphins AND Tuna
p.s. my spice rack is unimprovable