Sometimes we’ll run a few ginormous homes with even more WTF price tags, but here at Burbed we never forget our roots.  This blog was founded on small homes at big prices in poor condition, and Burbed reader sonarrat certainly has found two out of three.

978 DELMAS Ave
San Jose, CA 95125
$344,900

BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 778
$/SQ. FT.: $443
LOT SIZE: 5,480 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1925
COMMUNITY: Willow Glen
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81202775
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending Without Release
ON REDFIN: 26 days

Quaint 2 bedroom, 1 bath Willow Glen charmer on a fabulous lot! Bits of character that needs your touch.

Here’s why sonarrat sent in this charmer!

this is stick built? Really?

I think you must have misheard the agent.  This house is sick-built.  Although I like the “bunus” in the bathroom where the realtard couldn’t be bothered to move the trash can out of the photo.

And of course it’s an REO!  If you wanted to buy it from the previous owners, you could have done so last year for just $299,000.  But we can all enjoy these pictures instead of the boring ones the bank put up.  (Thanks so much to Movoto, for not updating the listing despite it being canceled a year ago!)

Here’s the listing copy that went with the house when this was a regular sale:

Great starter home in Willow Glen neighborhood. Walk to Lincoln Avenue restaurants and shops. Manicured backyard with giant avacado tree! Spa in backyard too! Can’t beat the price! Move-in ready. Priced to sell FAST!

I really like that the exact same shot of the bathroom yields no trash can, but the toilet seat is up.

Today we have a Guest Post from Burbed reader bmwman91.  There’s some new construction in Willow Glen (okay, within 2 miles of it), and we’re going to get a detailed look.  Very detailed.  I’m just disappointed that all the listings changed from the bogus claim that these places were in a “better” zip than it was built in.

Please give bmwman91 a big, warm, Real Bay Area welcome as today’s Guest Blogger.

Prelude, August 2011

There is (was) a huge lot at 1345 Foxworthy Avenue. It was purchased in 2008 and construction started on five McMansions early this year. There does not seem to be much information about what they will be listing these for (yet), but my parents live in that area and heard that the smallest house (2500SF) will be listed at $899k. I believe that all lots are 5000SF.

The funny part is that, in order to extort more money from buyers (idiots), they are building a new 100 foot long "road" off of Foxworthy so that these can bask in the prestige of 95125, rather than be subjected to 95118 with all the other uncultured peasants of Robertsville.

Robertsville…dear god, who would ever raise a child in a place with such an inorganic name. It sounds like some sort of brand you would find at Safeway. Willow Glen…now there’s something worthy of the shelves at Whole Foods! Think about the children!

I plan to keep tabs on these monstrosities when I visit my folks in San Jose (since I am being a rentard in more RBA-esque Mountain View). All I can really do is sit & wait, hoping to see the absurd initial listing prices go untaken & these houses sit empty for a long time until [whoever] built them loses their ass and has to accept reality. It won’t happen because Willow Glen High is still a magnet for people that must have suffered brain damage when they became parents and they will gladly mortgage their lives for "the children." Surely it is worth it. Lincoln Avenue is so quaint and European (until you wander too far and cross the train tracks).

Anyway, I will try to snap a few photos of these abortions-in-progress next time I am in that area. Hopefully this will provide some delightful entertainment for Burbed readers!

Keep reading to find out what happened when a couple of these new homes were put up for sale!  –Ed.

(more…)

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Tracy for today’s featured listing, which should be twice as much fun as the usual property of the day.

2342 RICHLAND Ave, San Jose, CA 95125
$850,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 3.5
SQ. FT.: 2,175
$/SQ. FT.: $391
LOT SIZE: 10,500 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Cottage/Bungalow
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1940
COMMUNITY: Willow Glen
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81126291
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 16 days

The most unique property in Willow Glen. Perfect for the extended family. This home is capability of being either large single family home or two completely separate units (duplex) with all the privacy of two homes. There are two of everything. Kitchens, Living rooms, Laundry rooms, fireplaces, dishwashers, furnances, water heaters, entrances and much more. All on one of the best streets in Willow Glen.

At least it isn’t “very unique,” merely “the most unique.”  There are two of everything, even two furnances, but only on one of the best streets.  I would have paid $850K if it were on two of the best streets.

Look, there’s even two pieces of old, crappy furniture in the back yard!  I bet there’s even more most unique antiques on the other side of that fence.

But riddle me this: if there’s two of everything, then how come there are three bedrooms?

That means one part of the house gets an extra bedroom and (gasp) one does not.  Same deal with the bathrooms: 3.5 baths means one of them doesn’t have a bath or shower.

And this agent is having some more fun with us.  Did you catch the same picture in there twice (see red outline)?  And two cars in that doubled picture.

For extra fun, find the second bike and the second ladder and Waldo.

You know what else I’m wondering?  Does this place have two mortgages too?

A little while ago we had this century-old listing in Willow Glen, where someone had bought the property and subdivided the lot, then built three houses all in a row behind the original one.  Thanks to Burbed reader nomadic, who found this listing in comments, we bring you one of those “newer” homes.

906 WILLOWSHIRE Way, San Jose, CA 95125
$749,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2.5
SQ. FT.: 1,994
$/SQ. FT.: $376
LOT SIZE: 2,613 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Traditional
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 2008
COMMUNITY: Willow Glen
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81119719
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending With Release
ON REDFIN: 35 days

THREE YEARS OLD AND NEVER BEEN LIVED IN!PHENOMENAL HOME. JUST MOMENTS TO THE FINE AMENITIES OF DOWNTOWN LINCOLN AVE!CHIC DESIGNER STYLE THRUOUT. HIGH END FINISHES. STAINLESS APPLIANCES. GORGEOUS HARDWOOD FLOORS. TO DIE FOR MASTER SUITE W/ FIREPLACE. MASTER BATH W/ JETTED TUB. HIS AND HERS CLOSETS. CLOSE TO PARKS, SCHOOLS, NEW LIBRARY, & FRESH & EASY GROCERY STORE.

Yes, this is the same Realtard as the old house, and she’s SHOUTING AT YOU just as LOUDLY.  Hmmm.  At first I wondered if she was behind the development in the first place, but the 2008 attempts at sale, as well as the April sales used a different broker.  The limited liability corporation behind this development was called Willowshire LLC, with a mailing address in Saratoga. The contractor was Vern Easthouse, of Los Gatos, and the construction was approved by the San Jose Planning Department back in 2005.  The three new houses were begun in May 2007 and finished in August, 2008.

Meanwhile, soon after they were finished, the ownership was transferred from Willowshire to United Security Bank of Fresno, by way of some capital service, not the one which held the construction loan.  Whoops!  I found a Notice of Default dated June, 2008, so the financial problems hit before the homes were finished.  There were a couple of mechanic’s liens filed against them too.

Meanwhile, there’s another long list of asking prices being changed, delistings, relistings, etc. etc.  Here’s what Zillow had on this place:

There’s similar roller-coaster action with the original old house as well.

A Cisco manager married to a financial consultant bought one of the three new houses in 2009.  A Yahoo executive married to an Internet startup CEO bought another one of the new houses in 2010 and recently signed a consent decree for this property, which suggests he had some kind of lawsuit going against the development.  The original house in front and the remaining new one was bought from United Security Bank by a Palo Alto developer this April for $570K… but it had been sitting empty for 3 years.  New light bulbs and Drano now installed, it’s your turn to move in!

Best of all, when you want to do that Pride of Ownership/Water Your Own Lawn thing… it won’t take a lot of your time.  Check out that lot: 2613 square feet.  Your gardener will charge you more to drive to your house than to rake the leaves!

$659,000

1163 CURTISS Ave San Jose, CA 95125

Beds:	3
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	1,449
$/Sq. Ft.:	$455
Lot Size:	3,920 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Style:	Craftsman
Stories:	2
View:	Neighborhood
Year Built:	1910
Community:	Willow Glen
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	81119629
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active
On Redfin:	15 days

TIMELESS STUNNING RESTORATION OF OLD WORLD CRAFTSMAN. CLASSIC DESIGN, MODERN CONVENIENCES. ORIGINAL REDWOOD PANELING, HDWD FLOORS, GOURMET KITCHEN W/ GRANITE & STAINLESS APPLIANCES. FRESH DESIGNER CUSTOM CRAFTSMAN COLORS. FILLED WITH CHARACTER. YOU DO NOT FIND THEM LIKE THIS. COMPLEX MOULDINGS AND ORIGINAL BUILT-INS. WALK TO LINCOLN AVE. FABULOUS DOWNTOWN AREA. NEW LIBRARY. DANCIN ON ‘THE AVE’

Thanks to Burbed reader BCD for this find!

Here’s what BCD had to say:

Looks like this modest and nice-looking home from 1910 was once on a larger lot … then someone got greedy and built three new houses nearly touching each other immediately behind it.
The new three houses sold, but nobody has wanted this 1910 house for quite awhile.  Maybe it’s the hobbit-sized "third" bedroom, maybe it’s the five-foot-wide strip of a "backyard" that faces a prison-like blank wall, but the property has been listed more than 10 times between the summer of 2007 and now.
Sniff.

If you go to Redfin and sign in, your browser will explode with history. Seriously.

Wow… this definitely is… uh… dense:

But hey… you’ll love your neighbors! Or not! Maybe you can put up a toll and charge the other 3 houses an entry fee. Oh how sweet that would be!

Thanks very much to Burbed reader nomadic for finding this fascinating property that is today’s featured house. 

956 TERRA BELLA Ave, San Jose, CA 95125
$2,475,000

BEDS: 5
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 5,000
$/SQ. FT.: $495
LOT SIZE: 0.36 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Tudor
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 2001
COMMUNITY: Willow Glen
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81103858
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 59 days

Custom Tudor estate close to downtown Willow Glen restaurants and shops! Formal entry has 28’ceilings, red oak hardwood floors, dramatic chandelier, formal spiral staircase. Formal dining/living rooms with wet bar over sized fireplace. Epicurean granite kitchen has top quality appliances. Expansive 2,000sf game room and 7 tandem car garage. Backyard with granite outdoor kitchen! And SO much more!

Here’s what nomadic had to say about this house:

I was checking out the most expensive houses in Willow Glen, wondering "who in their right mind would spend $2.5M to live there?"  Then I found this house.  This house has a seven car tandem garage.  It is two cars wide.  Check out the satellite view.  A house perfect for the car collector who doesn’t like to enjoy their cars and just keeps them in the garage all of the time.

Okay, check out the satellite view we shall!

Looks like the garage is the same size as the entire house.  Somebody had their priorities straight.  And I must say, a seven car tandem garage is pretty amusing, especially because the agent called it a “7 tandem car garage.”  Plus it’s got granite, both inside and outside, so you can have that bubbly mid-oughties feel.  But there’s a bonus in today’s feature, one I am very excited about.  I am so delighted because I get to break out the red arrows again!

Look, everyone, it’s the return of the MAWBUL KAWLUM.  Even in this master bedroom picture, there are all kinds of KAWLUM-like objects.

And the rooms that spared themselves KAWLUMnosity are almost as silly.  Like the dining room where the swag matches the built-in cabinets and the picture frame.

Or the wine cellar.  Nothing says grapes aged to perfection like halogen track lighting and both walls and ceiling painted to match Campbell’s Cream of Tomato Soup.

And what is that in the backyard at the right rear?  Looks like the covered wagon was left in place, to remind them of their pioneer roots. And they value their history so deeply they’d leave that hayseed dispenser on the grounds despite destroying the entire house and erecting this neo-Tudor with a bunch of fourdoors in the tandem garage.  There’s just the littlest hint of that 7 car garage in the upper left, showing how far they’ve come from horse-drawn farm vehicles.

Update: nomadic found the link to the virtual tour, so enjoy the 7 tandem car garage!

And a “bunus” picture FTW:

1517 HICKS Ave San Jose, CA 95125

Listed at: $650,000

Beds:	2
Baths:	1
Sq. Ft.:	734
$/Sq. Ft.:	$886
Lot Size:	10,143 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Style:	Victorian
Stories:	1
Year Built:	1929
Community:	Willow Glen
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	81012515
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Pending Without Release This listing is in escrow, past inspections and waiting for loan funding. “Without Release” indicates that the current buyer doesn’t need to sell a home to buy the new home.
On Redfin:	46 days

Check out this wonderful lot. Dimensions are appx. 69 x 147sf or 1/4 acrew. Existing houseon lot is older and has not inherent value. Build your dream home as the market for custom homes is great. Builders can alos see the upside down. Please be careful if you want to go into the house. Take your time and walk the lot.

Thanks to Burbed reader Madhaus for this find and guest post! Here it goes:

This property has a number of things going for it.  First of all, this older home has “not inherent  value,” which is better than having no inherent value.  Second, it claims to be in Willow Glen, which, like the RBA, can expand to fill the entire 95125 zip code, or contract to the corner of Willow and Lincoln.  The northwest corner.  And third, it’s being shown by the prestigious Realtards at Alain Pinel, so you know somebody is paying top dollar to move this pile of wood. But best of all, despite the snooty pretensions of the agency, here’s an ad for an older home (if eighty years is older, I’d hate to see what they call “decrepit”) with so many typos, were this a ninth grade essay I’d be giving it a D and I’ve only read the first paragraph.  Shall we have a little fun?  We shall.

Check out this wonderful lot. Dimensions are appx. 69 x 147sf or 1/4 acrew.  Oh dear, somebody misspelled
‘screw.’ Existing houseon lot is older and has not inherent value.  houseon lot?  Don’t they mean housing lot?
Build your dream home as the market for custom homes is great.  Especially during an economic downturn
like nothing since 1933. Builders can alos see the upside down.  Whoops, misspelled ‘alas.’  As in, ‘Alas, I
can see the upside down.’ Please be careful if you want to go into the house.  since you may never be seen
again due to the sinkholes, especially the sinkhole your equity is headed for. Take your time and walk the lot.
Yes, indeed, take lots of time.  Maybe wait about six years until you make an offer on this place.

Somebody didn’t take their time.  It’s pending.  I hope they were careful when they went in the house.

UPDATE: Fixed an editing error.

1310 TENAYA Dr, San Jose, CA 95125 | MLS# 80943802
1310 TENAYA Dr San Jose, CA 95125
Price: $739,000

Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 2,050
$/Sq. Ft.: $360
Lot Size: 6,930 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Ranch
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1956
Community: Willow Glen
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80943802
Source: MLSListings
Status: Pending Without Release
On Redfin: 53 days
Excellent value on one of the greatest streets surrounding Schallenberger Elementary. .Open floor plan with living room and dining room combo. .. seperate family room. .hardwood floors and new carpet. .new roof. .dual pane windows and interior painting complete. .great yard. .walk to local shops and restaurants. .change of seasons with a change of address. .

Thanks to Burbed reader tridba for this find.

Actually this was sent in back in September, but I just found it while cleaning out my junk mail folder.

That’s unfortunate because this house is now pending without release.

I’m sure you could probably swoop in and try to place an offer that’s 2x above listing price to try and score, but it’s probably too late.

After all, this is the greatest street surrounding Schallenberger Elementary – not just a good street, the greatest. History books have been written about this street and how it conquered would be contenders. Those weakling lanes, avenues, courts, and drives were no match for this street.

Tenaya. It’s the street of champions. Without this street, your children are at risk.

So please, think of the children. Start camping out on Tenaya now so that you can get a house on the great street of what must be the greatest elementary school in the history of mankind.

911 Curtner Avenue, San Jose CA 95125 – Trulia

911 Curtner Avenue, San Jose CA 95125

$349,000

1 br 1 ba 860 sqft Single-Family Home
Description provided by Trulia.
Description provided by Realty Trac.
Contractor special! ! Diamond in the Rough – Great location, deep lot. Home needs TLC. Quieter part of Curtner. Lowest price home around. Motivated Sellers! Potential seller financing.

Now come on… would you really need owner financing for this. I mean, most Bay Area folks can pay this on their credit cards.

That said, I do like the tarp roof thing going on. It’s protecting the brand new roof so that when you move in, it will be all nice, new and shiny. Right?

And the garage door… don’t worry… it’s part of the disguise to ensure no one will break in to steal your car. And check out how long that drive way is! Can you say “Runway”?

At .13 acres, this is an exceptional deal in Willow Glen.

Thanks again to sonarrat for today’s find!

America’s Most Overpriced ZIP Codes – Forbes.com
America’s Most Overpriced ZIP Codes
Matt Woolsey, 07.29.08, 4:00 PM ET

In San Jose, Calif., home to Silicon Valley and some of the highest home values in the country, a bumper sticker reads, “Dear God, one more bubble before I die.”

Chances are the car’s driver lives in Willow Glen, a neighborhood with a small-town feel, Spanish-style single family homes and a main street with sidewalk cafes and locally owned shops. To live there, residents are paying the city’s highest prices relative to what they could pay to rent similar properties in the same area. When you compare mortgage payments to the value of a similar home on the rental market, the price to buy is 26.1 times higher, one of the biggest differences in the country.

Willow Glen is one example of a neighborhood where homeowners are still taking chances on future appreciation–and paying a premium above and beyond their neighbors for that confidence.

[snip]

But expensive does not mean always mean overpriced.

Limestone townhouses on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, for example, are listed for ever-dizzying prices. Financier J. Christopher Flowers bought a $53 million townhouse on East 75th Street in 2006, and sold a smaller East 73rd Street townhouse undergoing renovation for $23 million in 2007. Expensive? Yes. Overpriced? Not so much. Consider that a five-bedroom mansion on East 74th Street that once belonged to Eleanor Roosevelt is currently listed for $60,000 a month. Prices may be tops in the city, but prime rental prices are peerless as well.

Instead, the country’s most overpriced areas are ZIP codes like San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighborhood, 94122, which, given its location near the Pacific Ocean and on the south side of Golden Gate Park, was during the most recent boom widely thought to be up-and-coming. Median prices surged from $560,000 in June of 2003 to a peak of $771,000 in March of 2008, based on Trulia.com price data drawn from California’s multiple-listing service.

Still, it’s not as overpriced as New York’s TriBeCa (10013) or Boston’s Chinatown (02111), where demand for high-end condos, new development and proximity to downtowns have pumped up prices.

Goddamnit. New York beats us again. Heck even Boston’s 1 block of Chinatown beats us. Why can’t we ever win? Why can’t we have the most overpriced Zip Codes?

What can we do as community to win? Let’s think out of the box people!

Thanks to Burbed reader Michelle, Mia, and many more for this find.