Happy New Year, everyone.  One of our New Year’s Resolutions is to keep bringing you plenty of excellent real estate finds, like today’s winner from Burbed reader Tracy.  Thanks very much.

Remember, Burbed is more than just crapboxes.  It’s community.  It’s community of crapboxes!  Without you wonderful readers sending in finds like this one, Burbed would be nothing but… uh…. interesting real estate photos.  Like these!

 

22750 STEVENS CREEK Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
$950,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,258
$/SQ. FT.: $755
LOT SIZE: 0.25 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1952
COMMUNITY: Cupertino
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81146749
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 61 days

LARGE LOT LOVERS, GREAT OPPORTUNITY 110.96 x 100 = 11,096FT. FACING STEVENS CREEK BLVD, PERFECT FOR ENTERTAINING, MONTA VISTA SCHOOL, FIX IT NOW AND BUILT NEW HOME LATER. BRING IN ALL OFFERS, PROPERTY IS BEING OFFERED "AS IS ".

Here’s why Tracy was kind enough to share this listing with us:

Get my award for scariest pictures . How about the price 999,988. Too bad I didn’t see this before Halloween

Well if Tracy liked it at $999,988, then how do you like it at $950K?  Other than taking out those lucky eights, this is a great find, especially if you always wanted to live near a world famous newsmaking site.  And while the news is over, there will be plenty of reminders, like the ten kajillion cement trucks that will drive past your house all day, every day.

Plus check out what the GoogleCam has for this home.

Now THAT is a million dollar look in Cupertino at only 95% the price!  HURRY, Spring Bounce is just around the corner, and so is access to this house!

Here’s a great find from Burbed reader and occasional Guest Editor sonarrat!  Many thanks for this listing in Google’s backyard!

 

1988 PLYMOUTH St, Mountain View, CA 94043
$935,000

BEDS: 2
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 640
$/SQ. FT.: $1,461
LOT SIZE: 0.4 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1935
COMMUNITY: Rengstorff
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81127711
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 98 days

Great opportunity in Mountain View. Blocks from Google and in the path of progress. This is an older two bed one bath home on a huge lot, perfect for a family who wants property or for a developer. New construction coming two parcels away.

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

We have a new Burbed classic in the making. This one’s in the path of progress! Why, you ask? They’re building a stairway to Google!

That’s even better than an overplayed Led Zeppelin hit, because it won’t hurt your ears and it costs nothing to look.

In the path of progress, indeed! But doesn’t that mean it’s going to be condemned under eminent domain?

At least it has electricity!

Now, check out the neighborhood.  I’m not sure which parcel has the new construction coming, but there sure seems to be a number of multifamily units quite nearby. You’ll have so many more neighbors to socialize with, or at least so many more cars blocking your driveway.

Actually I think I might have found it, at least I found a bulldozer.

It sure would be a shame to lose that terrific vehicle collection.  Maybe they could put them in that nice parking lot next door.

But this house has something even better going for it than the bridge they’re building to Google.  Look what you have in easy walking distance.

Yes, if you ever get tired of this house, just remember, you could be living here!

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!

corntrolio over at patrick.net (who has also been an occasional Burbed reader) found this house and complained about it.  We did a smash and grab so you could point and gasp.  At the house, I mean.  Thanks for the great observations, corntrolio!  Note that they were made back when the house still listed for $1.095M.

Are there any Real Estate forums you regularly check for great discussion on local properties?  Let us know so we can steal share them with you.

610 WOODSIDE Way, Woodside, CA 94062
$999,000

BEDS: 1
BATHS: 1
SQ. FT.: 1,670
$/SQ. FT.: $656
LOT SIZE: 7,440 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Traditional
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Mountains, Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 2004
COMMUNITY: Emerald Hills Area
COUNTY: San Mateo
MLS#: 81126046
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 75 days

Open flr plan, Massive loft w/ vaulted ceiling. (multitple uses) gourmet kitchen. Bath/2 sinks, vanity area, tub with jets & separate toilet area. 800 sq ft slate deck becomes extension of the home. Crowned molding, recessed lighting, old world plastered walls, french drain, new septic/leach fields, storage throughout. Flat grassy yard/garden w/ fountain. Woodside Schools. OH 10/02.(SUN)1:30-4:30

The ridiculous place I saw recently was this one.

This is a 1BR house with a loft built 2000-2004. You may ask yourself, why would someone do that in this day and age? The reason is because this property is on a septic system, and a restrictive covenant placed on the house in 2001 does not permit more than 1BR.

I also didn’t believe it was 1600+ sqft. I’ve lived in 1200-1300 sqft houses with 3BR that felt bigger. It’s also not really in Woodside proper, but rather Emerald Hills which has the Woodside zipcode/post office and not necessarily Woodside schools. Because this place is north of Jefferson, it may have Woodside schools. Nonetheless, this place is considered part of the Town of Woodside and is subject to its code and planning.

It has a bizarre history too — foreclosed in 2005 at $865,209, and then purchased for $925K in 2006. The current owners tried to add a second bathroom in the loft space but got smacked down by the Town of Woodside for doing so illegally without a permit and against the covenant which requires only 1 BR. The prior owner tried hard to build that second bathroom in the loft space, but got smacked down numerous times by the town (including after demolishing the prior 1BR house and applying for a "remodel").

All this for a mere $1.095M.

And in reply to another comment:

corntrollio, i don’t get it, foreclosed in 2005?? Didn’t he got it for like 355k in 2000?

They tore it down completely (without getting a demo permit) and then rebuilt it. There may have been a big construction loan that was converted to a mortgage, or something else that resulted in the foreclosure (e.g. building the new house then cash-out). These guys tried for several years to back-door a 2nd bedroom into this house, and then the subsequent owner did too. We’re 10 years down the line now.

Today’s listing is from frequent Guest Blogger and occasional Guest Editor sfbubblebuyer!  Thanks very much for this awesome property in, where else, Redwood City! 

The agent isn’t sure if it’s in “Emerald Hills” or Cordilleras Heights, but it’s that specialized knowledge, such as what neighborhood a given house is in, that explains why these professionals split a $60,000 fee to help buy or sell a million dollar piece of property.

For the first time ever, we have truth in advertising. At least truth in advertising on a street name. I present 503 Edgecliff Way.

 

503 EDGECLIFF Way, Redwood City, CA 94062
$995,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2.5
SQ. FT.: 3,100
$/SQ. FT.: $321
LOT SIZE: 7,744 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Bay
YEAR BUILT: 1989
COMMUNITY: Cordilleras Heights
COUNTY: San Mateo
MLS#: 81126139
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 85 days

Contemporary style modern home in Emerald Hills with highly desirable upgrades. Cherry & granite kitchen, contemporary lighting, large walk-in master closet w/ built-ins, double decks & patio, large back yard w/ beautiful landscaping, 2 car garage with built in storage, extra storage below house, extra room below house to build an in-law. Plus, a majestic view of the bay!

You know you’re buying quality when you can bungee jump from your own driveway! They even conveniently sloped the driveway towards the house so that you will be alerted to heavy rainstorms by water flowing across your garage floor.

Or perhaps, if you’re more theatrically inclined, you could stage a neighborhood play of Romeo And Juliet since your front door is on it’s own balcony! How romantic! And you want character? Well, this fake-Spanish house comes with it’s very own OCTAGONAL WINDOW! Whoa! Don’t put a ball through that, you don’t want to know what it’ll cost to replace!

Enough of the outside! Inside we’ve got our standard granite, but blinged up a bit with Cherry! It comes with a wine fridge located right next to the oven, because cooling and heating devices next to each other screams "I have so much money I don’t care about thermodynamics!"

And what is this? A bathroom with all black fixtures? If you plan on using it for the help, don’t worry, they won’t be offended. The sink has built in cawluhms to class up the joint!

Here’s a great find in a decent part of Sunnyvale, which is like the quality line of Velveeta products, or the Premium label at JC Penney.  You know it’s not that terrific, but it’s better than what the typical shopper buying that brand is going to get.

 

1090 BUTTE Ct, Sunnyvale, CA 94087
$903,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,380
$/SQ. FT.: $654
LOT SIZE: 7,752 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1957
COMMUNITY: Sunnyvale
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81134393
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 23 days

Staged for sale. Court location, just off of 85 freeway. Fresh interior paint. New flooring and crown molding accent. Great year around patio room, makes for great office. Garage converted into a large well finished multi-purpose room and separate laundry. Updated kitchen. Detached workshop taken as is. Large landscaped yard.

Maybe this listing needs to be translated from Realtardese back to English.

Staged for sale – As opposed to staged for impressing the neighbors

Court location – See you in bankruptcy court

just off of 85 freeway – This is completely 100% true!  If the house were any closer you could use that solar-powered call box!

Fresh interior paint – To cover up all the blood, phlegm and tobacco stains on the walls

New flooring – Above dripped onto the old flooring

and crown molding accent – Owners need dental work AND elocution lessons

Great year around patio room – 1957 was the bee’s knees!

makes for great office – Since every year after then was a pretty ordinary one

Garage converted into a large well – It was pretty easy, we didn’t repair the roof and let the water collect

finished multi-purpose room – You can eat AND watch TV!

and separate laundry – Get to work! Darks here, lights here, bright colors in this basket.  Don’t put your clothes drying rack in the garage, we converted it into a well.

Updated kitchen – Premium Formica with Naugahyde stools in harvest gold and avocado green!

Detached workshop taken as is – Leaving you with none of it

Large – compared to lots in South Palo Alto

landscaped yard – We didn’t rip the lawn out yet.

Oh, oh.  You know what they didn’t say?  There’s no mention of those amazing CUPERTINO SCHOOLS.  Gasp!  Is this seller not aware that this house has CUPERTINO SCHOOLS?  And the Realtard didn’t mention it either?  Maybe none of them know!  Hurry!  Buy this house before they figure it out and mark the price up to $1,088,888!

Today’s featured house was toured, selected, and written up by Burbed reader Divasm.  Thanks very much for serving as Guest Blogger on Burbed!  Remember, if you have a great listing (and you know by “great” I actually mean “atrocious”), great photos, or a great price history, you can write it up and have fame and fortune by appearing on the front page!  Or you can send it the listing and have us muck it up for you!

Please give Divasm a big, warm Real Bay Area welcome.

Now that this house has sold I have an amusing story about our tour of it that I thought Burbed readers might enjoy.

 

926 STONY HILL Rd, Redwood City, CA 94061
Listed for $928,888, Sold for $847,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2.5
SQ. FT.: 2,130
$/SQ. FT.: $398
LOT SIZE: 7,840 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: Bi/Split Level
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1956
COMMUNITY: Farm Hills Estates
COUNTY: San Mateo
MLS#: 81111598
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Sold

Charming 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home in Farm Hill Estates. Wonderful floor plan w/ large family room downstairs. Also includes master suite, eat-in kitchen, fireplaces in living room & family room and 2 car garage. Patio deck leads down to large back yard with beautiful park like setting. Within walking distance of award winning Roy Cloud School ((K-8th). Fresh paint.

My husband and I had an appointment with our Redfin agent to visit this house at 9am on a Sunday. It’s pretty apparent from the listing photos that this place is unoccupied, right? Well, sort of. We started our tour in the living room, and when we moved into the kitchen I noticed a pair of flipflops on the floor under the table. As we continue down the hallway, the first door is closed. I open it a crack and see somebody on the floor on a sleeping bag with a blanket pulled over their head!

We quickly decide to head outside and look at the backyard, giving the person time to perhaps wake up and regroup before we come back inside. As we are outside we notice a big crack in the foundation, which takes this “needs updates” house in a nice neighborhood past the realm of fixer upper (we looked under the house and could see signs of major shifting as well), especially at the listing price of $928K.

We go in and head downstairs, where we find a couple mattresses with sleeping bags, empty pizza boxes and some barely concealed bags containing Pabst Blue Ribbon cans (sorry, no photos of the contraband to show, we were too busy laughing). Aha! It all becomes clear! The girl who once occupied that darling playhouse in the backyard has apparently grown up enough to throw a party in her childhood home, and forgot about the fact that her parents are actively trying to SELL the house.

We go back upstairs and my husband knocks on the closed door, pokes his head in and says that we’re going to look around upstairs and then leave. I hear several teenage girl giggles as he closes the door. He said he saw at least 3-4 girls in their PJs in the room, and a couple who wouldn’t take blankets off their heads…we finally deduce those must have been the BOYS.

Despite the shaky foundation and best efforts of teenage partiers, the house went pending a week later and sold very quickly after that – I’m assuming to an investor – and some private school teens were left without their PBR party hotspot. Awww.

Here’s a one-of-a-kind listing from Burbed reader Petsmart Groomer, who must fondly remember the days when the Real Bay Area could run as far north as Seattle, or at least San Anselmo.

40 Wolfback Ridge Rd, Sausalito, CA  94965
$995,000

BEDS: –
BATHS: –
SQ. FT.: –
LOT SIZE: 0.66 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Lots & Land, Single Family
VIEW: Bay, Bridges, City, Forest/Woods, Ocean, Panoramic, Park, Valley, Water
COMMUNITY: Sausalito
COUNTY: Marin
MLS#: 21107250
SOURCE: BAREIS
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 149 days

This top of the world location sits at nearly 960 feet elevation w/ absolutely incredible views of San Francisco, the mouth of the SF bay & west to the Pacific Ocean, Farallon Islands & sunsets. The lot is a natural penthouse on a private road behind two gates in an exclusive community. It is a very RARE buildable view lot minutes from San Francisco. Don’t be confused-this opp. is better than it looks.

Here’s what PG had to say about this top of the world location:

The world has never been so low.

I think you meant the price of this OPPORTUNITY has never been so low!  Don’t be confused-this opp. is better than it looks.

See?  It even has this free bridge thrown in!  That must be worth a couple thousand for the scrap metal alone!

It’s a natural penthouse on a private road behind two gates in an exclusive community!  What more could you want?

Other than really, really hope the agents with this listing would deign to take your phone calls, assuming you could ever find their unlisted number?

This new listing appears courtesy of happy-piggy over on Redfin’s Bay Area forums.  It’s definitely a flip, because the house changed ownership all of five weeks ago (as I write this).  Your challenge, dear Burbed readers, is to find as many reasons not to line this flipper’s pockets as possible.

Yes, we’re going to play What’s Wrong With This House.  See how many problems you can find!

178 LAS ASTAS Dr, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$949,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,354
$/SQ. FT.: $701
LOT SIZE: 7,208 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1958
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81133706
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 1 day
NEW LISTING (24 HOURS)

GORGEOUS REMODEL * MAPLE CABINETS * CHERRY FINISH * SLAB GRANITE * S/S APPLIANCES * WOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT * CUSTOM TILED BATHS WITH GLASS ACCENTS * SEAMLESS GLASS DOOR * HIGH END CARPET * NEW INTERIOR DOORS * HARDWARE * MOLDING * SEP LIVING WITH MARBLE FACED WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE * * SEP FAMILY ROOM * RECESSED LIGHTING * HUGE LOT * CENTRAL HEATING & A/C * NEW LANDSCAPING * DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS & SLIDERS * LOS GATOS SCHOOLS *

So, what is that in the first picture?  Looks like the agent made a real point of minimizing something.  See what I mean?

Harder to see in the second picture (#18 on the Redfin page), but there I see something strung up there, more than enough to equip a sitar.  Let’s go to our eye in the sky to check this out.

No, I wasn’t seeing things.

YOWZA.  And here’s what happens if you look at the house on Streetview and then look straight up:

I’ll leave the rest of the hunting to you guys, but be sure to check the neighborhood out to make sure there aren’t any other issues lurking nearby.  Have fun!

Please welcome Burbed reader Divasm to the front page, with a lovely listing in San Carlos to share with you! Please give Divasm a warm, RBA welcome for the very first time as today’s Guest Blogger!

Wow, I got two days off in a row, I am LOVING this!  I don’t really need to say anything more, I’m just trying to get that horizontal line under the Guest Blogger photo at right.

There, that did it.  And keep those listings and guest posts coming in!

116 CLUB Dr, San Carlos, CA 94070
$950,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 3
SQ. FT.: 1,960
$/SQ. FT.: $510
LOT SIZE: 6,900 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: Bi/Split Level
VIEW: Valley
YEAR BUILT: 1947
COMMUNITY: Beverly Terrace
COUNTY: San Mateo
MLS#: 81129013
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 30 days

Beautiful home nestled in the “San Carlos Hills” fabulous Canyon views bright & Open floor plan. Large updated kitchen with granite counter tops. Refinished hardwood floors through the kitchen , living and dining areas. Private back yard with outside deck for entertaining. A must see !

My husband and I saw this home in San Carlos before it was listed by the bank (we were searching REOs) and were intrigued – nice neighborhood, big backyard, and it failed to sell at auction for $889K, so we figured the bank sit on it for a while and list it lower, as it’s obvious nobody thinks it’s worth that much.

WRONG! They didn’t even slap fresh paint on it (as is evidenced by the half-painted kitchen where appliances are missing), just turned around and listed it for….$1 Mil update: reduced to $950K! Why, you ask, would this home that Zillow lists at $926K, be worth that much? Could it be the several exits available out to the deck (I believe it was at least 5 doors, one of which is in the master bathroom, for those quick exits during police raids apparently)? Could it be the fact that you get a one-car garage with a nice front garage door but no side wall to enclose it (In case you get claustrophobic while getting into your car, perhaps)?

Or maybe it’s the bidet! The rather small-ish master bedroom features an even smaller-ish bathroom that you can barely turn around in yet features the normal toilet, sink and shower – and again the door to the deck in case you need to bolt after flushing something – and… A bidet!! That obviously makes this a place that fancy-types live, and thus justifies the 7-figure price! Keep your eye on this one folks, it might be going fast…er, by that I mean sometime in the next 6 months I guess since it’s been on the market for a month already.

I’ve attached a photo of the backdoor next to the toilet, you can see the rim of the bidet across from the door. I’ve also attached our photo of the front of the garage door, and the side with no wall. Sorry we didn’t get a better photo of the bidet…I think we were just trying not to drop the camera in shock.