163 WILLOW Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025 | MLS# 80850784
163 WILLOW Rd Menlo Park, CA 94025
Price: $1,695,000

Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: -
Lot Size: 0.46 Acres
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Traditional
Year Built: 1951
Stories: 2
View: Neighborhood
Neighborhood: Menlo Oaks Area
County: San Mateo
Dont miss this opportunity for multiple uses. Two charming homes on large lot. Almost 20,000 sq. ft. Perfect for two families, Live in one and rent the other, Rent out both homes for investment or build your dream home. Possible lot split. Contact city to verify. Close to Sunset Magazine, Downtown Palo Alto, and Stanford University. Excellent Menlo Park Schools,

Burbed reader Steve sent this in and thanks to his sharp eye, it turns out that this was previously seen on Burbed. Let’s take a look:

September 1, 2008

Labor Day Sales in Menlo Park – buy a house, get one free!

Ouchers! A 23% price cut! Still, it’s in the million+ range. Phew. That was a close call. Menlo Park, you’re still in the Real Bay Area, but please be more careful in the future.

That said, this is still an enormous lot and a great opportunity for potential landlords. Cha ching!

We haven’t looked at condos for a while. Let’s see what’s on the market:

165 E Okeefe St ##3, Menlo Park, CA 94303 MLS# 40385413 – Property Details
$399,000

* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 2
* Bathroom: 1&1/2
* Year Built: 1983
* Lot Size: N/A
* Square Footage: 1182
* List Date: 12/12/2008
* Garage Spaces: 1

*PRICE REDUCED!*Townhouse ft.2BR/1.5BATH, SPACIOUS, easy flowing layout frm kitchen to LR. Great Deck area for entertainment and gorgeous fireplace – also ft LOTS of CLOSET SPACES, Kitchen fit for a natural cook, plantation shutters and EASY access to FREEWAYS and CLOSE to DTN Menlo Park & Shopping!

Phew. Sunnyvale and Mountain View had me all worried. Fortunately Menlo Park steps up to shore up the market for condos. Sure this is slightly bigger than the other ones, but at $399k this is a clear $100k more than the others. And that’s a good thing.

I think the best part about this condo, besides the price, is the fact that it has a kitchen that is fit for a natural cook. Natural cooking is all the rage these days, so let’s see how this kitchen promotes that:

You see, that giant tube coming down is actually a solar tube. So basically, you’ll be cooking your food with direct sunlight. And rain water. You can’t get more natural than that!

272 HEDGE Rd Menlo Park, CA 94025
Price: $995,000

Beds:     3
Baths:     2
Sq. Ft.:     1,720
$/Sq. Ft.:     $578
Lot Size:     6,350 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:    Attached Single Family
Style:    Ranch
Year Built:    1947
Stories:    1
Neighborhood:    Flood Park Area
County:     San Mateo
MLS#:     80844573
Source:     MLSListings
Status:     Active
On Redfin:     2 days
Located in a very private road in Suburban Park. The most sought after neighborhood in Menlo Park. Great for families with young children.

Well, nothing unusual here just your regular huge honkin’ 1700 sqft million dollar house. If anything, the house is a little cheap at just $578 per square foot. If it’s not $600+, it can be suspicious. And, it has great elementary schools. Heck, the current owner has a SMART car, so you know that this is a smart place to be.

Hey wait a sec… what’s going on in those picture? Let’s take a closer look:

Uh. Um.

I’m at a loss for words. Is this an example of having product placement in ads? Now that would be revolutionary!

Thanks to Burbed reader sw for this find.

Remember this house?

“Original owner of this home has watched all of the trees in this neighborhood grow tall” [Burbed.com]
335 HEDGE RD
Menlo Park, CA, 94025 offered at $749,000

Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Full
Apprx. Sq. Feet: 1020 Year Built: 1950

Original owner of this home has watched all of the trees in this neighborhood grow tall!! Very special home with separate dining room, beautiful hardwood floors, new paint inside & out. Formal entry. Woodburning fireplace in living room with looks out toward lovely backyard with prolific lemon tree. Two car attached garage. Excellent neighborhood with a great sense of community. Superb Menlo Park Schools and very convenient location.

Well, here’s an update from Burbed reader Mia:

Burbed,
remember this house I told you about last month?  (see below).
Well, I just got a neighborhood “let me brag to you about how quickly I sold this house!” letter in the mail from the realtor.  It stated that the house was listed for $749,000, received 5 offers, and closed for $826,000.

I guess multiple offers are alive and well in the RBA, even in this down economy.

10% over asking. BOOYAH baby!

Phew. After all those “the bottom has been reached posts”, I’m glad to see this. Thank goodness that the Real Bay Area is still going strong and that those excellent Menlo Park Schools are just totally rocking!

Signs are looking good for the Real Bay Area!

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage presents
335 HEDGE RD
Menlo Park, CA, 94025 offered at $749,000

Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Full
Apprx. Sq. Feet: 1020 Year Built: 1950

Original owner of this home has watched all of the trees in this neighborhood grow tall!! Very special home with separate dining room, beautiful hardwood floors, new paint inside & out. Formal entry. Woodburning fireplace in living room with looks out toward lovely backyard with prolific lemon tree. Two car attached garage. Excellent neighborhood with a great sense of community. Superb Menlo Park Schools and very convenient location.

Thanks to Burbed reader Mia for this find. Here’s what Mia had to say:

I had to LOL at the first line: “Original owner of this home watched all of the trees in this neighborhood grow tall!!”  Yeah, well the backstory to this is that the original owner — probably there over 50 years — passed away in her home a couple of months ago.  So yes, it is true: she DID watch all the trees grow tall…until she died.

How touching!

This backstory instantly adds another $250,000 to the price of this house! My heart! It just says “open wallet. get super jumbo. spend spend spend.”

163 Willow Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Menlo Oaks Area MLS# 80824474 – Property Details
Willow Rd, Menlo Park, CA
94025

$2,200,000

* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 4
* Bathroom: 3
* Year Built: 1951
* Lot Size: 19900
* Square Footage: N/A
* List Date: 7/28/2008
* Garage Spaces: 2
* MLS#: 80824474

Great opportunity! Two homes on one lot, 161 and 163 Willow Road: 3 bed, 2 bath and 2 bed, 1 bath. Larger home currently rented for $2,500 per month on month to month basis. 19,900 square foot lot. Please check with City of Menlo Park for lot split possibility. Wonderful Menlo Park Schools.

Menlo Park is famous for its Venture Capitalist community. And personally, I don’t think I’ve see a better profit opportunity in a while. All you need are some angel investors!

First, buy $2.2 million house.

Second: Rent the larger home for $2500 a month, and the smaller one for $2000 a month. That’s $4500 a month. Find some other way to pay the remaining $6129 a month for the mortgage.

Third: PROFIT!!!

Sure you might have negative cash flow at the beginning, but does every start up? After a few years, you’ll be up and to the right – hockey stick style. Then boom! You’ll be super glad you bought these two houses at this Labor Day buy one get one free house sale.

Anyone want to work up a term sheet? Come on you entrepreneurs! Make it happen!

923 Marsh Rd, Menlo Park, CA 94025 MLS# 768984 – Property Details – Movoto
$599,000

* Status: Pending Release
* Bedroom: 3
* Bathroom: 1
* Year Built: 1950
* Lot Size: 5000
* Square Footage: 1070
* List Date: 12/21/2007
* Garage Spaces: 1
* MLS#: 768984

$100,000 PRICE REDUCTION! VERY CUTE! BEST VLAUE FOR THREE BEDROOM HOME WITH MENLO ATHERTON HIGH SCHOOL!Adorable home with lots of charm and light. Very sunny, private backyard, nice sized bedrooms, hardwood floors, fireplace, newer applicances, nice bathroom. very good quiet. Menlo Atherton High School. Go Direct or call Listing Agent. Back on the market, loan fell through, no fault of the home.

I love decorations in this home – very timely.

Wait a minute… why does this seem so familiar?

Free child included with Menlo Park home? [Burbed.com]

Oh right. This was featured in February. Doh!

Well, the deal fell through and it was no fault of the home. So that makes this an incredible steal. The photos seem to indicate that the child still comes with the house, so that could be some additional income too.

This house is going to be scooped up in just a few days… you just watch!

MLS-2.com: Property Details
1154 CARLTON AV, Menlo Park,CA,94025 – $387,500

3 Beds 890 Sq.Ft. Aprx. 1 Car Garage MLS#: 760479
1.0 Baths 6,000 Lot Size 52 Yrs Old Aprx. List Date: 2007-10-31

What’s new on MLS-2: Search by % Price Drop // Search by “MOTIVATED SELLERS”

Description – 1154 CARLTON AV, Menlo Park,CA,94025
HUGE POTENTIAL IN THIS RANCH HOME LOCATED ON A TREE LINED STREET. PERFECT HOME FOR A CONTRACTOR/INVESTOR. HOME FEATURES A COVERED PATIO, LARGE FENCED FRONT YARD, EXTRA STORAGE, SPACIOUS REAR YARD AND TILE FLOORS IN THE KITCHEN.

Just like February 29ths don’t happen all that often, neither are homes in Menlo Park under $400k!

WOW. WOW. WOW. Let’s see another picture:

Wow! It even has an outdoor… uh… yeah. Well, um… yeah.

I’m speechless. What caption would you give this picture?

In any case, this is the deal of the century. If you’re not putting in your bid right now, I don’t know what you’re doing. Add in a little sweat equity (you picked up skills from volunteering at Habitat for Humanity right?) and boom! Instant Prime Menlo Park $900k home.

Go for it today!

MLS-2.com: Property Details
923 MARSH RD, Menlo Park,CA,94025 – $699,0003 Beds 1070 Sq.Ft. Aprx. 1 Car Garage MLS#: 768984
1.0 Baths 5,000 Lot Size 57 Yrs Old Aprx. List Date: 2007-12-21What’s new on MLS-2: Search by % Price Drop // Search by “MOTIVATED SELLERS”Description – 923 MARSH RD, Menlo Park,CA,94025
Adorable home with lots of charm and light. Very sunny, private backyard, nice sized bedrooms, hardwood floors, fireplace, newer applicances, nice bathroom. very good condition, great value. cozy home for the Holidays!Please be courteous and call first.

So far so good… after all, it’s just a $6xx per square foot house on a major road, and near a rail road tracks that may be one day be reactivated.

But wait, Burbeed reader Jeff had this to say:

Great blog. I came across this Menlo Park listing (below $700k and on the “good” side of 101, almost reasonable) Check out the 5th picture when you click view all photos, do you think the child is included? It always makes me wonder what the agent was thinking when they took the photo…

Pst Jeff, while this is on the “good” side of 101, it’s on the “bad” side of El Camino. That aside, let’s take a look at the included photos:

Indeed! What exactly is the Realtor trying to sell here? Hmmmmmmm…..

It’s SuperBowl Sunday! That means that the Spring Bounce will start tomorrow, and housing prices will begin to soar once again!

If I were you, I’d skip the game and start studying the MLS and going to open houses. At the end of last year, “Real Estater” posted a handy guide to Menlo Park that may be of use to you if you’re going in that direction:

“Property seems to have no structural problems” [Burbed.com]

RealEstater:

To those who are not familiar, there are 3 distict “Menlo Park” neighborhoods by the same name:

1. The “real” Menlo Park – Multi-million dollar homes.
2. “East” Menlo Park – Ghetto area; same as East Palo Alto.
3. “Unincorporated” Menlo Park – Kids aren’t entitled to go to Menlo Park schools; get bus’ed to ghetto area of Redwood City for school.

Be very careful when shopping for real estate there. Don’t work with an idiot real estate agent who can’t tell the difference between 1, 2 and 3. #2 is fairly obvious, but #3 is not as widely known. If you see a new-ish looking big house priced at under $2 mil, then it might be in area #3. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true…

Thanks for sharing!

Get ready for the bounce! Don’t be priced out forever!