Today is the 43rd Earth Day, so thank you Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI)!  How should Burbed celebrate Earth Day?  Let’s talk green houses. 

Hold your stones, I don’t mean glass houses.  I mean green, as in sustainable.  Green as in energy efficiency.  Green as in non-polluting, or at least less polluting.  And green as in whatever you left in the fridge is no longer before its time.

Berkeley architect attains enegy [sic] self-sufficiency in 1,800-square-foot home

Michael Freeze, BlockShopper.com, on SFGate.com
Sunday, April 15, 2012

When Chris Parlette, an architect by trade, went green with his Berkeley home, holding back wasn’t an option.

Parlette took his 800-square-foot home, built in 1920, and turned it into a solar-powered building that spanned more than 1,800 square feet. He described his idea of green residential living as a way of pushing the envelope to energy efficiency.

"Being an architect, I spent of lot time thinking of what I wanted to do with other clients’ houses," Parlette said of his home, located at 1147 Camelia St. "Gelling these architectural ideals I had, I wanted to put it into practice with this home with mainly solar and green ideas."

A 3.2-kilowatt photovoltaic solar electric system in the form of panels brings power to the home, and it actually provides more electricity than Parlette needs. Aside from the abundance of power, the home, he rightfully noted, also is aesthetically pleasing.

There’s glass aplenty in this Berkeley home, and you’ll definitely hit the solar panels if you toss rocks at the roof.

You can see more about the home over on the agent’s website, and there are even more pictures if you head over to Redfin and admire the listing.  But rather than splat out the nitty gritty details ($799K), let’s just use this house to start a discussion on how energy efficient your own home is, or is not.

Newer homes are not necessarily greener, either.  Not only is a lot of new construction done with shoddy materials and plenty of corner-cutting, but isn’t it greener to move into an existing home rather than have a new one built for you?  There are over 1.1 million empty dwelling units in California per the 2010 Census.  That’s 8.1 percent of all California homes.

Are you considering any energy improvements such as better insulation or putting in solar panels?  Is your house a lean, clean, green machine or is it a giant carbon sink?

Discuss your home, or particularly good or bad examples of sustainable energy in homes, or how you’re celebrating Earth Day, or anything else you’d like in this Open Thread.

This site does not get out to the East Bay enough.  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Jeremy from Hayward for doing the legwork for us, with this vintage villa in Castro Valley.  Remember, if you want us to cover more hella-fine houses from your hometown, be sure to send some in!

Today’s house is one you may be able to pick up with your income tax refund.  Now who says there isn’t affordable housing in the Bay Area?

5939 E Castro Valley Blvd
Castro Valley, CA 94552
$199,900

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 1,390
$/SQ. FT.: $144
LOT SIZE: 1.74 Acres
TYPE: Detached
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 2
YEAR BUILT: 1900
COMMUNITY: Castro Valley
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40567572
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 16 days

Bank Owned !!! CONTRACTOR Special !!! Home needs Extensive repairs or may need to be torn down. LOT’s of POTENTIAL for this 1.75 acre lot.

Here’s why Jeremy sent us this classic structure:

All I can say is Best. Addition. Ever!!!

No Kitchen? Need extra space? No problem! In the East Bay we just knock out a wall and drive our RV up next to the house, some duct tape, and viola! Mama’s new kitchen!

Oi….at least it’s not $1million!

This has got to be a whole new level of WTFness, even if it didn’t have that lovely support post right next to the RV entrance.

Here’s another view of the RV.

Hoe.  Leigh.  Crap.

Jeremy followed up with:

Do you get a break on a combined auto/home policy for this?

Do you pay property tax or car registration?

It is pretty spectacular. Loving the retro dwell-ready colors on the RV as well….

Be sure to head over to the listing, because there are plenty more photos, although most are of the house without an RV parked in the middle of it.

Lot’s of POTENTIAL, indeed.  Too bad the listing doesn’t specify if the RV stays.

Bunus: Location, location, location!

If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, you may remember that burbed (our founder and long-time content creator) had this thing for pink houses.  So the site occasionally would dig up a pink house for Valentines Day.  This year, we found an even better listing for celebrating a day for lovers.  It’s all set up for a Special date you won’t forget!  Many thanks to Burbed reader The Maggadads for this fantastic find from Fremont!

2116 JACKSON St
Fremont, CA 94539
$894,950

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 3.5
SQ. FT.: 1,824
$/SQ. FT.: $491
LOT SIZE: 0.28 Acres
TYPE: Detached
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Hills, Mountains
YEAR BUILT: 1963
COMMUNITY: Mission San Jose
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40538102
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 186 days

Mission schools! 12,110 sq. ft. lot, 1-story. $50k spent on 2011 remodeling kitchen, baths, carpet, tile, french doors & lighting, dual pane, AC & backyard. Built-in 50′s Diner theme- pool cabana/antique western town, 6-car garage w/ 1/2 bath, pool w/ water fall, new lawn & sprinklers. Not a REO/SS!

Here’s what The Maggadads thought of this place with $50K spent on 2011 remodeling:

I just started reading your blog. Although I take a minor offense to the jabs you poke at Fremont, I couldn’t help but send you this listing.

I’m not sure which is cooler…the 50s themed diner or the western-themed fence. At least it has a 6-car garage!

Wait, let me check, is this a house for sale, or a commercial property?  Because while it’s always good to have a space for entertaining a crowd, a 50s themed diner wasn’t exactly at the top of my list in must-haves for an 1,800 square foot house.

But a 50s themed diner AND a western themed fence, both!  I can die now.  What a Valentines Day you’ll have!  And if your date isn’t successful, one of you can retire to the six-car garage.

Well, this is one of those good news/better news situations.  The good news is yes indeed, this house is in a 100% residential district and there is no danger that one of your neighbors will be opening up a 40s themed diner to compete with yours (and incidentally use up all the street parking).  The better news is, well, location, location, location!

Nothing is better than this street number for your next residence!  Thanks very much to Burbed reader sonarrat for this find in beautiful Hayward.

0 Chronicle
Hayward, CA 94542
$80,000

BEDS: –
BATHS: –
SQ. FT.: –
LOT SIZE: 5,800 Sq. Ft.
TYPE: Lots & Land
COMMUNITY: Hayward Hills
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40534298
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 204 days

Located high in the Hayward Hills. Non Tract area to build your home. Need more land? Home next door which is part of the Trust may be purchased for addtional money to live in while you build your home.

No photo, no map, no bedrooms, no bathrooms, not even a house number.  Sheesh.  For some reason ZipRealty was able to locate the street when Redfin failed.

Here’s where this mysterious Chronicle is, right around the corner from Tribune and Call! 

What’s the name of this Non Tract area, Dead Tree Terrace? Fishwrap Farms? 20th Century Media Meadows?  And where’s the “addtional money to live in”?

Here’s another vaguely castle-like home from Burbed reader Tracy.  See how many castle-ish amenities you can identify.

5345 WILLOW GLEN Pl
Castro Valley, CA 94546
$790,000

BEDS:5
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 5,180
$/SQ. FT.: $153
LOT SIZE: 0.5 Acres
TYPE: Detached
STYLE: Custom
STORIES: 2
YEAR BUILT: 1992
COMMUNITY: Castro Valley
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40555097
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Pending
ON REDFIN: 45 days

Custom home located in a nice quiet Castro Vally neighborhood. Has possible in-law or 6th bedroom. 6th bedroom. Great amenities throughout the home. Must see to appreciate!

I’ll spot you one: It used to be worth a lot more money.  Or at least not a lot more money.  It sold in 2004 for $1,375,000.  Then again, the overbidding could have taken this baby right back to where it should be.  If you’re not sure where it should be, check out the similarly sized castle across the street.

We’ve had many discussions on what makes a place Real Bay Area (RBA) and more importantly, what makes a place Not.  Good schools, professionals for neighbors, and no uncorrectable deficits such as freeways, airports, and toxic waste dumps is a start.  But what’s a real tip-off that a place is in the RBA?

Not only is it way too expensive for what you’re buying, but the asking price has been increased.  Many thanks to Burbed reader Praveen for today’s featured listing.

 

42261 CAMINO SANTA BARBARA
Fremont, CA 94539
$10,998,000

 

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,931
$/SQ. FT.: $5,695
LOT SIZE: 7,910 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1964
COMMUNITY: Alameda County
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 81200779
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 1 day NEW LISTING (24 HOURS)

Very exclusive Mission Highlands East section of Chadbourne. One level four bedroom with huge remodeled kitchen and family room. Large master bedroom newly remodeled master bath. Large yard. Wonderful layout. Easy wlk to Mission High, Chadbourne elementary.

This not particularly large home on a not particularly large lot was listed for $1,099,000 on EBRD, the East Bay multiple listing service, last Friday.  But when it appeared on MLS (used by the West Counties) the following Monday, the price had gone up tenfold.  What happened?

Simple. Houses marketed to East Bay buyers aren’t as Special as houses for Peninsula and South Bay buyers.  That’s why there’s one price for the East Bay and a higher, better, more exclusive, lots more Real Price for Silicon Valley lucky duckies.

And boy, some Silicon Valley home-owner-to-be is going to want this place!  Doesn’t that location, location, location suggest rural isolation and quiet evenings at home?

Absolutely!

Get your overbids ready, because photography like you see for this listing doesn’t come cheap!

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS, we’re going to travel all around the Bay Area to bring them to you!  Here’s something close to a major center of higher learning!  No, not Stanford, that would be the cheapest house in Palo Alto.  This is the cheapest house near Cal!

And since Cal’s a public school, you can pay a public house price!

1509 ASHBY Ave, Berkeley, CA 94703
$170,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 754
$/SQ. FT.: $225
LOT SIZE: 2,516 Sq. Ft.
TYPE: Detached
STYLE: Bungalow
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1922
COMMUNITY: Berkeley
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40498800
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 384 days

Nice home but does need work. Public record shows 754 sq feet, and 1 bedroom but it has 3 bedrooms, so sq foot is larger.

“It has 3 bedrooms, so sq foot is larger.”

You know, maybe someone subdivided that one bedroom into three and turned this into a super-cheap student rental.  Maybe the sq foot is not larger after all.  Maybe it is.  Maybe it’s a tesseract and the house is actually 25,000 sq foot.  Maybe it’s in some kind of non-Euclidian geometry zone where a sq foot is 25,000 sq inch.  (That may be the best explanation, as Euclid is on the northeast side of town.)

There’s no inside photos, so the only way you’re ever going to find out if sq foot is larger is to BUY THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW.  Think of it as a lucky raffle ticket, only instead of possibly winning a new car, you could win a larger sq foot.

Burbed doesn’t spend enough time in the East Bay, and when we do, we’re accused of being mean to them.  So let’s show them our Real Bay Area love, especially because there isn’t a lot of Real Bay Area to go around out there.

Today we’re going to find the cheapest house in the City of Diversity!

27878 MELBOURNE Ave, Hayward, CA 94545
$38,500

BEDS: 0
BATHS: –
SQ. FT.: 1,000
$/SQ. FT.: $38
LOT SIZE: 5,100 Sq. Ft.
TYPE: Detached
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1955
COMMUNITY: Palma Ceia
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40553774
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Pending
ON REDFIN: 8 days

WOW!!! . .. .. .. FINALLY ON THE MARKET. .. .. .. .. . AND NO ZEROS MISSING FROM THE PRICE, THAT’S JUST $38,500. TOTAL AND YES IT’S IN CALIFORNIA. BUT YOU WILL NEED TO BRING YOUR CONTRACTOR AS THIS ONE IS A POSSIBLE SCRAPER.

Possible scraper.  No bedrooms, no baths, and it’s a possible scraper.  If you want to leave one of these walls standing you could call it a remodel instead.  But for this price, you ought to get the pleasure of renting a bulldozer and destroying this place all by yourself.

You couldn’t do worse than these guys did. (Thanks to Burbed reader Michael Boltonestater for sending in that link.)

Fremont doesn’t get anywhere near enough attention from Burbed, but today we take a step toward correcting that oversight.  This is a DEAL, DEAL, DEAL that should make anyone happy. 

Fremont: Close enough to Silicon Valley that commuting is in the realm of possibility, yet with all the quality features we’ve come to expect from close-in areas such as Redwood City, East Palo Alto, or Alum Rock!

57 Sycamore St, Fremont, CA 94536
$147,250

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 845
$/SQ. FT.: $174
LOT SIZE: 4,237 Sq. Ft.
TYPE: Detached
STYLE: Fixer/Handyman Special
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1905
COMMUNITY: Fremont
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40551215
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Pending
ON REDFIN: 27 days

View of Creek Hills, Trees, View of Niles River directly behind property, Very Scenic Location. Dual Pane Windows, Walk to Park. Sold in AS-IS condition.

Walk to Park.  Well, I’m sold!  Although I would love to see the inside.  How did they fit 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in 845 square feet?  Did they leave out the living room and the kitchen?

The house has plenty of history, too.  Plenty of listing history.  BUY NOW!!!!!!

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS continue all this week!  This is the time to find the lowest-prices throughout the Bay Area!  Plus we’ll continue to bring you all the regular Burbed features you expect.

Today, the cheapest house in all of Alameda County!  Woot!  And when we run out of Bay Area Counties, don’t worry, there are plenty of Special Cities to find more DEALS for you.  Feel free to place your requests!

So, Alameda County, where would your absolute rock-bottom cheapest house for sale be?  You have so many excellent contenders for the role, it’s hard to pick just one city!  When I searched for properties under $100K countywide, I got more than 200 results.  Heck, even under $50K I still have to sort ten different houses!  How low can we go?  $40,000?  $30,000?

6024 FORTUNE Way, Oakland, CA 94605
$14,000

BEDS: 1
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 700
$/SQ. FT.: $20
LOT SIZE: 1,800 Sq. Ft.
TYPE: Detached
STORIES: Other
YEAR BUILT: 1923
COMMUNITY: Oakland
COUNTY: Alameda
MLS#: 40549840
SOURCE: EBRD
STATUS: Pending
ON REDFIN: 25 days

Partially burned property. PRICED TO SELL! Great investment opportunity. Make your offer today!

Yes, this one is pending, but the state of this house combined with the street name make it a winner.  And remember, if it’s partially burned, that means it’s partially burn-free!

Great news: the fireplace looks like it’s still standing.