Remember the above and remember it well if you are trying to buy or sell a house.  Here’s an example from Los Gatos from Burbed reader nomadic!  Thanks very much.

Remember, if you have a listing that you think belongs on the front page, please send it in to one of our emails on the right hand column.  “Bunus” points if you let us know why you’re sharing it.

104 HARWOOD Ct
Los Gatos, CA 95032
$2,099,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 4,146
$/SQ. FT.: $506
HOA DUES: $23/month
LOT SIZE: 1.01 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Tudor
STORIES: 2
VIEW: City Lights
YEAR BUILT: 1981
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81146396
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending Without Release
ON REDFIN: 177 days

JUST REDUCED PRICE by $400k!Enjoy striking 180 degree views from this hilltop Tudor mansion. Formal dining room has sculptured ceilings, soffet, hrdwd floors. Kitchen open & bright w/ walnut plank wood floors. Freshly painted interior. Approx. 350sft studio (could be additional 2 car garage)Backyard has wrap around deck, built in spa, garden, landscaped w/ many fruit trees. Top Union Schl

Here’s what nomadic had to say when sending in this 834-square-feet-too-small-to-merit-the-ginormous-tag tumor.

Check out the last 3 pictures in this listing (#23-25).

“Agent related to Seller” – $400k price reduction, kitchen and baths need to be gutted, and HDR at its worst.  Nice combo. 

I was actually looking at this house because I thought it was a REO, but I guess it isn’t.  And this definitely isn’t the RBA!  Twenty years later they’re trying to eke out a price double.  You won’t have to worry about this house going pending before you feature it.

Au contraire mon frère! It indeed went pending before we featured it! The market is hot, I tell you, hot, hot, hot!

But OMG look at that HDR.

In case you don’t know what HDR is, have a look at this recent article where we covered the joy of High Dynamic Range as used in real estate photography.    And it’s no coincidence whatsoever that that example of what not to do with HDR is also in Los Gatos.

In particular, look for the odd glow whenever sky meets, well, anything else.  See how the tree on the left is emitting some serious Cherenkov radiation?  Maybe those Los Gatos Mountains have an actinium mine below.  Or maybe whoever bought this house, before moving in, needs to do a radon test.

At right is another egregious example of bad HDR in the listing photos.  Look at the windows.  Notice the dark ovals in the middle?  That’s what’s actually outside.  The HDR process created the lighter artifacts around the inside of the window frames.

Holy crap, when was that kitchen last done?  It’s got tiled countertops.  Better get some glittery hair gel to go with.

Now check out the bathroom.

Does something here look kind of familiar?

Can’t quite put a finger on it, but this bathroom photo is producing some serious déjà vu.  Or maybe in this case, déjà vomutu.

Bunus: HOA fees!

What do you predict this house finally sold for after half a year?  And how much overbidding was involved after all the price reductions finally fixed this house?

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 days

Beautiful 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.

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Kir for passing along this nugget from her blog Inside Los Gatos.  While this is a commercial property, there’s no reason why it couldn’t be returned to its original purpose as an ostentatious trophy home.

Pride of Ownership Retail Investment | Los Gatos

115 N. Santa Cruz Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030
$4,900,000

Building Size: 7,300 SF
Price/SF: $671.23
Property Type: Retail
Property Sub-type: Free Standing Bldg
Property Use Type: Net Lease Investment with 10+ years left on lease
Cap Rate: 5.14%
Occupancy: 100%
Tenancy: Single
Lot Size: 17,987 SF

Highlights

• Iconic Historic Building – One of Los Gatos’ Most Well Known Landmarks
• Irreplaceable Downtown Los Gatos Location
• 100% Leased to Experienced Restaurant Operators
• New 10 year Lease w/Scheduled Increases
• Minimal Landlord Obligations
• Recent Extensive Renovations

Here’s what Kir had to say about this place over on Inside LG:

Coggeshall Mansion is For Sale

One of our readers sent me a real estate flyer about the Coggeshall Mansion. I was going to post it in my "Where to Build a School" column, but decided it would be just too ridiculous of an idea; however, I want to share the fact that you can own a piece of historic downtown Los Gatos.

The history of the Coggeshall Mansion is interesting, to say the least. The house was originally built for Mary G. Coggeshall, a wealthy widow with two children. According to Alastair Dallas, "Once a grand home, one of many along N. Santa Cruz Ave., the Coggeshall Mansion was built in 1891 and converted into the Place Mortuary in 1917. When it re-opened as the Chart House restaurant in 1976, the bar in the back was called the Embalming Room. After the Chart House closed, the restaurant was known as Trevese from March 2007 to Fall 2009…" Now, Palacio inhabits the mansion.

Hooked on Los Gatos has a 1949 flyer depicting the Place Funeral Home. You can check it out HERE. In fact, many of the locals swear the mansion is haunted.

So not only is the former home being sold at a premium as commercial in-town property, it comes with “bunus” ghosts.  Here’s some more on the hauntings mentioned above.

Unfortunately the link above is to yet another Google product called “knol” that’s being abandoned for insufficient awesomeness. That means the link above may not work after May 1st.  Sorry about that. 

Here are the links given in that article about the ghosts, like the one who runs up huge bar tabs or the little girl who turns wine bottles hiding the label, or the little boy running outside the building.

This house/restaurant/funeral parlor is definitely for someone who had a huge pile of stock option cash dumped in their lap who wants to one-up all those Facebook poseurs househunting in Palo Alto and Hillsborough.

Thanks very much to Kir for allowing us to reprint articles that mention real estate.

Thanks very much to Burbed reader nomadic for finding this luscious living situation in Los Gatos, one of Silicon Valley’s few celebrity domiciles!

300 SANTA ROSA Dr
Los Gatos, CA 95032
$5,000,000

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 6.5
SQ. FT.: 7,500
$/SQ. FT.: $667
LOT SIZE: 1.19 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Modern/High Tech, Contemporary
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Canyon, Valley
YEAR BUILT: 1986
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81207180
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 38 days

This exquisite 7500 sq/ft, 6 bedroom, 6.5 bath home on 1.19 acres nestled in the Los Gatos Mountains, combines post-modern style with majestic natural views. It is a natural abode for light and warmth. Recently re-designed and renovated, this home was originally built by Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc. and retains several of his most unique design elements.

Here’s why nomadic sent us this natural abode for light and warmth:

The former Wozniak house.  Featured on burbed many moons ago, and now listed for $5M.  Look at its history.

We don’t have anywhere as many celebrities in Silicon Valley, but Woz is one of the few that we ought to look into a house he had built.  So let’s have a look at how this house was marketed back in the early end of the bubble days of 2008, right after the break!

(more…)

One of the things that keep readers engaged with this site are the atrocious listing photos that are supposed to engage potential buyers.  Now, there are a number of ways a photo can fail to attract the people who might otherwise wish to buy a home.  Some are because the agent didn’t bother cleaning up the house, or didn’t notice something in the picture that really shouldn’t have been included, or because there really is nothing attractive about the house no matter what angle you shoot from.

But there can also be photography problems on the higher end of home sales.  High Dynamic Range photography allows more differences in light and dark areas of a photo, to make a picture appear more vivid.  HDR is usually done by taking photos of the same scene at different exposures and having the images rendered together.  If you’d like to learn more about HDR, there’s a nice overview on the subject on Wikipedia, and they’ve included this image of what HDR can achieve.  Then again, the overly saturated colors and the bizarre color shifts between each palm tree make this photo a candidate for I Hate Your HDR.

The problem is when HDR isn’t done with restraint and balance, and that brings us to today’s featured home.  Many thanks to Burbed reader Tracy Tea House for this hella high definition domicile!

16020 CAMINO DEL CERRO
Los Gatos, CA 95032
$3,999,900

BEDS: 5
BATHS: 4.5
SQ. FT.: 4,869
$/SQ. FT.: $822
LOT SIZE: 0.88 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: French
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Valley, City Lights
YEAR BUILT: 2000
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81203958
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 52 days

Classic French Estate. Outstanding views across Silicon Valley. Extensive landscaping with patios, walkways, custom iron work, & fountains. Fabulous interior custom faux finish with gold leaf. Huge formal living room w/ floor to ceiling windows. Family room kitchen w/ cherry cabinets, slab granite, & stainless appliances. Master w/ fireplace & 2 walk-in closets. 1 bed/bath downstairs. 4 car garage.

Here’s what Tracy had to say about today’s property:

We did not buy this one, because it did not have a pool.

This is a Classic French Estate.  A pool is so Hollywood.  Then again, a structure built in 2000 that’s just 131 square feet too small to qualify for the “ginormous” tag isn’t a Classic French Estate.  If it were, the city it’s in would have a name more like Les Chats.

If you’re into megahomes pretending to be Classic French Estates, this isn’t the worst example of the genre.  I mean, heck, it even has MAWBUL KAWLUMS, but not an excessive number of them.  That means break out the Official Burbed Red Arrow Kit, but it would have been more instructive to use them on the crappy HDR job.  First take a look at the photo atop this article, and pay careful attention to the way the sky color gently transitions from a darker to lighter tone (at least as long as there aren’t any palm trees interfering).

Contrast (ha ha) the Wikipedia shot with some from today’s house.  The one immediately above with the porch rail suggest these trees are radioactive. And this one at left not only has plants full of radium, someone set us up the bomb inside the house as well.  The fountain looks like it’s in danger of a core meltdown.  You can see the same effect in the sky above the Kawlums.

If you’re having trouble seeing that HDR luminescent glow, don’t worry.  This interior picture at right really punches it up to 11, because the sky is only sky-colored where it doesn’t actually touch a window frame.  Thus you get blue-grey blobs of color surrounded by white when you look out the window.  That is, if you can tear your eyes away from the living room furniture in HDRVision.

Remember, HDR is supposed to be used to heighten shadows and highlights, not to blow out our eyeballs.  Besides, the kind of buyers this photo would attract will be so disappointed by how colorless and flat the actual house is.

We recently received this email (without the pictures; I selected them especially for the excess smug):

Open House 23+ Acres $1,288,000 in Los Gatos Sunday 01-29-2012 OPEN 1-5pm

Take in the spectacular views!
OPENHOUSESunday 1PM-5PM!

21631 HICKS Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
MLS# 81200553
23 beautiful acres with SFR
Priced to sell @ $1,288,000

Spectacular views of city lights, Lexington Reservoir, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Valley.
Build your dream estate on this 23 acre property with over 3 buildable pads.

A secluded and private retreat close to town!
Possibilities are endless, vineyards, horses, lush gardens, orchard, solar, Helipad.
Only 5 minutes to Los Gatos.

Valuable property that is priced to sell now.
Thanks,
agent name and phone

p.s. Email me if you would like to see photos of the property.

Hicks Road?  Why did that seem familiar?  Ah, yes!

We don’t know why this agent’s email got caught in a time warp where it didn’t show up until yesterday, but we can only assume it was sent to Burbed because they want the property featured again.  The least we could do is oblige them.  Quickly.  Click on through to see how the place is being marketed now.

(more…)

Today’s find is a high-end listing, courtesy of Burbed reader Overheard in San Carlos.  Now, if you read yesterday’s feature based on price tiers in the SF Case-Shiller Index, you might be thinking that means a property that costs more than $579,803.  This property indeed qualifies as costing more than not a lot of money.

16100 GREENRIDGE Ter,
Los Gatos, CA 95030
$2,900,000

BEDS: –
BATHS: –
SQ. FT.: –
LOT SIZE: 36 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Residential Land (Single Family)
VIEW: Bay, Green Belt, Mountains, Canyon, Neighborhood, Valley, City Lights
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80930783
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 934 days

The finest estate land left in Los Gatos with unparalleled privacy, views and proximity to Town amenities. 36 pristine acres just minutes from downtown. Potential for subdivision with multiple view lot possibilities. Adjacent to the desirable Highlands of Los Gatos subdivision. Fresh air, wildlife, beautiful oaks, privacy with views of the valley, city lights, and views all the way to the Bay.

Here’s what OSC had to say about this property flyer.

Wow.. having to reduce a property’s price by over 50% to get it sold is NOT something to brag about…

Price slashed 50%, after two and a half years on the market. If you’ve been waiting for a big open space to hide lots of bodies, this could be what you’re looking for!

DEALS, DEALS, DEALS, we never stop looking for the best values throughout the Real Bay Area!  Today, Los Gatos!  Let’s see what kind of Cat House we can dig up for less than Not A Lot of Money.

14331 BROWNS Ln, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$299,900

BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 816
$/SQ. FT.: $368
LOT SIZE: 9,583 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1948
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81126353
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending With Release
ON REDFIN: 187 days

Charming home located on a large lot with easy access to downtown Los Gatos and Freeways.

Really easy access.

Here’s another bubblicious find from Burbed reader nomadic!  This is a delightful Los Gatos home, so well-situated that hundreds of people will drive by every hour to admire it!

 

14540 BLOSSOM HILL Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$948,000

BEDS:4
BATHS: 2.5
SQ. FT.: 2,193
$/SQ. FT.: $432
LOT SIZE: 0.29 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1967
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81142627
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 26 days

Wonderful home in Los Gatos on xx-lg-lot presents everything a buyer is looking for. Remodeled home with granite kitchen, wood floors, open living areas, architectural details of scalloped arched ways, crown molding, inset lighting and lots of natural light, dual-paned windows, large 2.5 baths with double sinks, large master with 2 closets, bonus vanity. Easy commute access. Move in with confidence!

Here’s what nomadic had to say about this house

Failed flip, foreclosed, for sale.  A realtard bought this place in ’06 and did all of the renovation work.  The bank ate the loss in ’08.

These people have done nothing to the house since buying it 4/09.  It’s on a busy street with a freakin’ traffic signal in the front yard.  But they figure it has appreciated 30% in 2-1/2 years.  I expect this to linger on the market for many months to come unless they get real about the price.  They would be phenomenally lucky to get $800k; more realistically, $750k-ish.  Look at the awesome street view.  Just to the right is an assisted-living facility; at least the neighbors will be quiet.

That is one amazing default Streetview shot.  I’m wondering about just how wide-angle a lens they must have used to take that picture above from the sidewalk.

And you just can’t beat the feng shui of a T-intersection with another arterial.  That means all that commerce and prosperity is going to flow right into your house.  Or is it out of your house? And speaking of out, here’s the assisted living facility next door.

If you have allergies, this is a great neighbor to have: 80% of the front lawn is paved.  But back to the feng shui, if these residents need assistance to live, does their health flow into your house or the other way ‘round?  This is like Cations and Anions, I can never remember which is which.  But as long as both are flowing in or out, you’ll either get commerce or health!  Make an offer with lots of 8s in the price and move in with confidence!

Thanks very much to Burbed reader nomadic for this rather intriguing high-price, low-photo listing in Los Gatos!

 

14880 LAS FLORES Ln, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$2,200,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 4,428
$/SQ. FT.: $497
LOT SIZE: 1 Acre
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Mediterranean
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Mountains, Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 2003
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81141712
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending With Release
ON REDFIN: 4 days

country location four bedrooms and four baths three car garage huge yard great for family and kids

Here’s why nomadic thought you’d like to see this house:

• Weird history
• $3.4M in loans
• Short sale listed at $2.2M
• Last “sold” in 2010 for $600k

Let’s have a look at that history.

What? No previous foreclosures?  No “not an arms-length transaction”? The seller isn’t a licensed real estate agent?  It wasn’t sold in 2006 for twice the asking price?  The Zillow history makes the above look a little stranger.  Note the July, 2010 sale.

And $3.4 million in loans on the house sounds like something straight from Irvine Housing Blog.  But here’s something you won’t see on IHB:

Yes, that’s this house in Google Streetview plus Burbed KawlumVision.  No wonder the place went pending in only 4 days.  I’m sure the bank will rush that offer right on through.