Living not quite so large in Los Gatos
Let’s have another look at Los Gatos, as it’s one of those Real Bay Area cities. You can tell it is when you see a property listed for twice as much as it sold for in the bubblicious days of 2005. Thanks very much to Burbed reader nomadic for this peerless property.
138 SMITH RANCH Ct
Los Gatos, CA 95032
$888,000
BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2.5
SQ. FT.: 1,582
$/SQ. FT.: $561
HOA DUES: $85/month
LOT SIZE: 3,484 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 2
YEAR BUILT: 2005
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81211027
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 31 daysBeautiful 7 yr new home walking distance to Courtside, Netflix, LG trails, restaurants and shopping within Los Gatos school district. Regular sale, shows like a model, with high ceilings, recessed lights, granite kitchen & stainless appliances, hardwood floors in the family room/kitchen areas. Large, bright master with over sized tub and walk in closet. Private back yard and large 2 car garage.
Note the HOA fees prominently listed next to key features such as size of the house, size of the lot, and how many beds and baths. When did Redfin start doing that?
Now here’s what nomadic had to say about the house.
Purchased two weeks ago at foreclosure (auction?) for $730k and now listed for a lucky $888k to cash in on $158k of instant 
equity! It’s on a postage stamp lot that backs up to the 85 off ramp at Winchester. The most recent sales on the street were in June 2010 for $460/sf, but those were about 1/3 larger – maybe the price isn’t as ridiculous as it seems…
Let’s see if Zillow agrees with “ridiculous.”
Um…whoa. Those ZEstimates are all OVER the place. And the “bunus” is the railroad tracks (shown as the dashed line) that run behind the homes across the street, the cherry on top of the awesome sauce that is Winchester plus the freeway ramp.
What do you think this home should sell for? What do you think this home should sell now that you know it has “corporate ownership” plus “agent has financial interest”? Usually corporate ownership means you’re looking at an REO, but in this case the place is owned by “Petwun LLC,” and the agent is the “manager” of said entity.
April 25th, 2012 at 8:27 am
Why stop at 3 8s? $888,888.88 would be 8 8s, and likely 888% luckier than $888,000.
April 25th, 2012 at 9:05 am
This thing is worth 888,000 loads of horse manure.
April 25th, 2012 at 10:43 am
The overhead view of that development is fascinating, how the units are shaped so they come right up to the edges of their little postage stamp lots and *almost* touch but just miss interlocking completely. It’s like a giant totally faceplanted while playing a round of some incredibly sadistic life-size game of “Tetris”.
(A version in which sub-pixel positional errors could keep a falling “T” block from nesting into the “S” you just failed to stack on the “L” which you messed up fitting over the last “T”…)
April 25th, 2012 at 11:19 am
#2 you are incorrect, horse manure actually has a value.
As for the HOA thing, I’d consider that extortion, Mafia payoff sort of thing, and find that padawan or whatever it’s called and shoot it, bury it out back.
April 25th, 2012 at 12:57 pm
In writing today’s article, I took a look at the disclosures, available to anyone who cares to look at them.
This was a Classics community, if anyone cares to follow builders. The house and its photos seem just fine. It’s the location, location, location that made this home Burbed-worthy. Well, that and the surprisingly high asking price given the original sale at $418.500 in 2005.
Note that the foreclosure two years later at $730K was well above the original sale price (never mind what the loan was for). Looks like a case of OC-style MEW abuse.
April 25th, 2012 at 2:32 pm
Those railroad tracks haven’t been used in years. They used to run a concrete train once a month, then once every six, and now… I don’t think anything has been down them in nearly a decade. They still maintain them, tho.
If we ever get rail service to Foothill or Santa Cruz again, this is the path it’ll take.
April 25th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Just think, the buyer of this place could walk to work at Netflix! Think they’ll be hiring? (snicker)
April 26th, 2012 at 11:23 am
“To put Netflix’s woes another way, in August 2011 “a share of Netflix costs $60 less than a share of Apple,” says Nicholas Thompson at The New Yorker. “Now it costs $460 less.” Can Netflix recover from its missteps?”
April 26th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
After firing all the Quikster staff in the fourth quarter, they’re now rehiring, in the second quarter. At half the pay.
April 26th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Have we reached bottom yet? Should I worry about being priced out again?
#4, I’m not sure exactly what 888,000 loads of horse manure would be worth.
April 27th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Those sellers are waiting at the wrong stop for the short bus.