Have you ever wanted to live right on the water, like some homes we’ve featured in Alameda, but thought to yourself, “Dang it, I don’t want a killer commute like that! I have to live near major employers and be able to hang out with my friends in downtown Palo Alto if we ever get any time away from work! Oh yeah, and I don’t want to pay a million dollars for the location! Plus I want a property listing that acknowledges how creative I am.” Now you can have it all!

1548 Maple Street #82
Redwood City, CA 94063
$265,000

2 Beds
2 Baths
890 Sq. Ft.
$298 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1996
Lot Size: —
On Redfin: 31 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Other (See Remarks)
County: San Mateo
Community: Lenolt
MLS#: 81336823

This charming 2BR 2BA floating home features unobstructed Redwood City water views. The two level home is an entertainer dream home with open flr plan, modern Kitchen, expansive decks, and a two person hot tub. Bonus work room/ workshop makes this home a dream come true to every person who enjoys the outdoors, entertainment and being creative.

Yup, nothing screams “I am being creative” more than a houseboat in Redwood City, unless it’s a schoolbus in the Santa Cruz Mountains. And the houseboat not only has an open flr plan, it’s much closer to Facebook.

Bunus: Absolutely NO public info on this place except the fact it’s a mobile home. A floating mobile home. Speaking of sunk costs…

There are houses that wow buyers.  This is a house that will make the real estate professionals thrilled.  Why?  Take a look and find out!  Thanks loads to Burbed reader waiting_for_the_fall for this San Bruno spectacular!

359 WALNUT St
San Bruno, CA 94066
$439,000

3 Beds
2 Baths
920 Sq. Ft.
$477 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1948
Lot Size: 2,500 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 80 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
County: San Mateo
Style: Ranch
Community: Belle Air
MLS#: 81329313

Gorgeous and Affordable Single Family Home! 3 bedrooms, 2 bath with 1 master suite. Featuring a Delightfully Upgraded Granite Countertops, Stainless Steel Appliances, Hardwood floor Double Pane Windows, and Crown molding. Laundry Inside. Close to transportation, Tanforan Mall, SFO Airport and freeways. Street Parking. Good Size Backyard. Great for investment!

So, why is this a Realtard’s dream?

It’s not just the trifecta of stainless, granite and hardwood, or the “affordable” price of not much less than not a lot of money.  It’s not even the HDR photography that lovingly picks up every bit of the shredded plastic in the back yard.

Let’s hear the answer from wftf:

I have a perfect representation of the last 2 or 3 housing bubbles, all in one house!

Maybe people didn’t realize planes would be rumbling by overhead and couldn’t take it anymore after a year. This might explain the rapid turnover/flipping activity, but not all of it.

Selling 8 times in 25 years and going for number 9?  That’s got to be some kind of record.

Maybe the agent just has their card laminated onto the room divider when the residents give up.

That’s also a record for the fewest steps from the front door to the kitchen we’ve ever seen.  But check this out, the agent wasn’t kidding about close to transportation. And yes, that’s the airport off the right margin of US 101.

Ha! Fooled you! Bet your thought we weren’t going to post until the Weekend Open Thread again. Nope, we have a winner of a house today from Burbed reader Lefty Lucy.  And you know by “winner” we mean it in the Charlie Sheen sense.

12968 HIGHWAY 9
San Lorenzo Valley, CA 95006
$349,000

2 Beds
1 Baths
936 Sq. Ft.
$373 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1921
Lot Size: 7,492 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 18 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
Community: Boulder Creek
MLS#: 81336122
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
View: Neighborhood
County: Santa Cruz

Older private cottage tucked away at end of shared driveway. Large front yard-plenty of parking. Some updated plumbing and electrical. 2bdrm/1ba plus bonus room. Updated det studio/living unit in rear with separate patio/yard w outdoor fireplace. Combined w adj 13068 sf parcel #081-174-09-flat, sunny, fenced w separate access. C-2 zoning -check w county re options. Open Oct 3 9-12 & Oct 6 1-4

Upcoming Open Houses

Sunday, Oct 20: Open House – 1:00-4:00 pm

Let’s check in with LL on why this house got sent in:

The front of this house is sorta cute, and then this winner gets better with each picture.

yeah, I’m reduced to shopping in Boulder Creek, so what?!

There’s the W word again. Let’s see what Lefty Lucy meant about “gets better.” Maybe that’s in the Charlie Sheen sense as well.

And we’re only up to picture #9!  It gets even better.

Here’s a house for the budget-conscious. You may not get much when you look for “affordable housing” in the Bay Area, but at least there won’t be huge swathes of ugly.  Just small ones.

7324 WELD St
Oakland, CA 94621
$115,000

4 Beds
1.5 Baths
780 Sq. Ft.
$147 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1912
Lot Size: 3,500 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 2 days
Status: New
Type: Detached
Stories: 2
Community: East Oakland
MLS#: 40634301
Style: Bungalow
View: Other
County: Alameda

Fixer upper house this property needs a lot of work, two story building with a large back yard.

If a 3500 square foot lot leads to “a large back yard,” just imagine how much “a lot of work” adds up to. Our money is on that streetname illustrating just one of the many kinds of fixes in store.

Bunus: Dudette Hanging Out in the Streetview shot.

Tired of seeing three million dollars for a cracker box in Palo Alto?  Us, too.  Here’s how far you can S-T-R-E-T-C-H your dollar if you’re willing to look in San Jose. Well, the Special parts, anyway.

602 DRAKE St
San Jose, CA 95125
$319,000

2 Beds
1 Baths
966 Sq. Ft.
$330 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1948
Lot Size: 4,840 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 8 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Community: Willow Glen
MLS#: 81333635
Stories: 1
County: Santa Clara

Diamond in the rough, Corner lot with potential, with some imagination and love you can turn it into your dream home. Large backyard with room for RV or boat parking. Detached garage, perfect for an at home workshop. ALL CASH ONLY. Property condition restricts financing options.

Didn’t we already have a diamond in the rough this week? This one appears to be a little rougher. At least it won’t set you back too much scratch. And here’s why.

Not only do you get these lovely pavers, the shadowing on the house makes it look jauntily nautical. Um, that is if “tugboat” can go in that nautical category.

And don’t worry about the low price meaning you’ll do without amenities! As you can clearly observe, the house does have rooms in it!

There’s more! Looks like we found another R.O.U.S, stronghold as well!  That’s two this week!

And here’s really why this place is such a bargain: Location, location, location! Although this location sure ain’t Willow Glen.

Bunus: Dorky datestamps on photos are from July!

Here’s a little bit in the boonies for you to brew in. Or simmer, because it has plenty of SUN. Thanks very much to Burbed reader Tom Paine for today’s capacious cabin in the wilds of Sonoma County.

Undisclosed Address
Camp Meeker, CA 95465
$117,000

1 Beds
1 Baths
648 Sq. Ft.
$181 / Sq. Ft.
Built: —
Lot Size: 7,600 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 8 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Residential, Detached, Single Family
Stories: 1
County: Sonoma
Style: Cottage
Community: Sebastopol
MLS#: 21320135

vintage home in camp meeker off street parking, and, SUN. Bring hammers and contractors and septic pro’s, cause it needs some (a lot) of work. great potential. .did i say off street parking and SUN. .. .. .. .. note lot size. .all sq. ft. via auto fill. . easy to work under house plenty of head space.

Vintage home? How would the agent know? There’s no year given for the structure, although public records say 1938. Which means this house is, um, carry the 3 and… wow, 75 years. Which is five years too young to earn the Burbed “old house” tag!

Fortunately we’ve been provided with an inside look that shows the place is so old, the walls aren’t plumb anymore.

In fact we’re wondering if the interior pictures got mixed up with one of those schoolbus conversions.

Bunus: Undisclosed address? Ha! Burbed loves disclosing them.  It’s 42 Mission Street.  That link goes to Homesnap, which includes a really helpful Google Street View shot.

Bring septic pro’s.  At least it’s easy to work under house.

It’s time to visit Palo Alto again, and see just how much house you can get there for your dollar, or in this case, your million and a half dollars.  Today’s find is courtesy of Burbed reader Wendie, thanks a ton! Or a million and a half tons.  And that’s before the overbidding!

3475 MIDDLEFIELD Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94306
$1,495,000

1 Beds
1 Baths
607 Sq. Ft.
$2,463 / Sq. Ft.
Built: —
Lot Size: 0.32 Acres
On Redfin: 12 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
Community: South Palo Alto
MLS#: 81332199
Style: Traditional
View: Neighborhood
County: Santa Clara

Small cottage on extra large lot in the heart of Palo Alto. Wonderful and rare opportunity to build your dream! Additional opportunities include incorporating this beautiful lot into the adjoining property to create a unique family compound. Neighboring property consists of 19,768 ft. ² lot with 3,44 ft. ², 10 year new home (see MLS 81332198).

Steve Jobs bought the house next door to his, knocked it down and turned the property into an orchard. Larry Page thought buying up as many properties on his block was an even better idea. Do you see where we’re going with this?  This property, along with the house for sale next door, will allow you to be a high-profile land baron in Palo Alto.

Okay, South Palo Alto.  And both places list, collectively, for $4.5 million, which is an absolute bargain.

After all, if you’re going to build your dream, it’s going to cost you. And as Wendie notes, you’re paying $1.5 million for the servants’ quarters.

Today’s beautiful home is brought to you by Burbed reader Petsmart Groomer. Thanks very much!  And if you see a house for sale and think it ought to be on this front page, please send it to one of the addresses in the upper right corner. We’ll ignore it for weeks until it goes Pending and then frantically look for it in web caching somewhere.  Be sure to include what name you want to be called so we can “accidentally” use your real one instead.

1321 JUNIPERO Ave
Redwood City, CA 94061
$649,000

2 Beds
1 Baths
710 Sq. Ft.
$914 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1954
Lot Size: 2,625 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 21 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
View: Neighborhood
County: San Mateo
Stories: 1
Community: Central Park
MLS#: 81330820

Beautiful Turn-key home with everything remodeled. Brand new kitchen with stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, crown moulding, new interior doors and garage door. Nicely landscaped yard. A must see!!

Looks like the only missing cliché is the granite. But from the picture above, “turkey” isn’t the right barnyard metaphor for this property.  Take a look. This is a classic single-nostril Snout House.  The insanely small lot size is just a “bunus.”

And speaking of bunuses, check out how they solved this common architectural challenge of too few square feet for mandatory residential fixtures.

Now, are you ready for your closeup, 1321 Junipero Ave? Well, you already got one, above. We’d like to highlight how well you play with others, as you  can see in Google streetview.

A must see!!

Our site founder has this thing for pink houses, so we’re really delighted to find this gem.  There’s so much to love about it, we’d consider this house for the front page even without the awesome paint job.  Best of all, you could buy this one for cash.  In fact, you may well have to.

2841 DEVONSHIRE Ave
Redwood City, CA 94063
$275,000

2 Beds
1 Baths
900 Sq. Ft.
$306 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1948
Lot Size: 3,990 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 57 days
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
County: San Mateo
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
Community: Dumbarton
MLS#: 81324754

Fixer upper. Buyer to varify with Redwood City Planning dept. due to lot size. No contingency. 10% cashier check payable to ‘San Mateo County Public Guardian’. The condition of this property may require an all cash buyer or a rehab loan, ask your lender. Court confirmation on 9/10/2013 at 9 AM at Dept. 28, 400 County Center, RWC CA 94063.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this house is a New Yorker essay.  Ask your lender.

Yesterday’s house didn’t seem to do it for our readers, or at least the readers who enjoy commenting about properties featured on our site. So today we’re going back to a tried but true perennial: the Palo Alto crapbox, with bunus WTF pricing.  And no, we don’t mean that the way you think we do.

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Michael Boltonestater for sending in today’s house. Oh yeah, one more thing.  PENDING!

1347 Alma St
Palo Alto, CA 94301
$625,000

Loan Payment: $2,423/mo
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 1
Size: 848 sqft
$/sqft: $737/sqft
Type: Single Family House
Year Built: 1925
Lot Size: 1,100
Days on Movoto: 8 days
Neighborhood: Old Palo Alto
MLS#: 81329852
Status: Pending – Do Not Show

Diamond in the rough! Contractor special for a property that needs cosmetic and some possible structural intervention. Price reflects condition. Many possibilities! Don’t miss this great opportunity!

Did you say possible structural intervention? Say no more! Nothing like a real challenge to whet the appetite on a Tuesday morning, because the usual shortcomings of a busy street and Elon Musk’s Hyperloop right across from it aren’t sufficient. And if you think that would scare anyone away, think again! How many other properties on 1100 square foot lots went pending in 8 days?

We were sure than lot size was a typo until we took a look at the aerial view.

This is a one-story house, 848 square feet. Looks like a similarly-sized house shares the lot. 1100 could well be correct. But, seriously, is any price too high for your own quarter of a tenth of an acre in Palo Alto?