Usually Burbed doesn’t visit the same city two days in a row, but today’s a holiday, and we need to celebrate!  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Overheard in San Carlos for passing along this celebration.

248 CHESHAM Ave
San Carlos, CA 94070
$1,650,000

BEDS:  4
BATHS:  2
SQ. FT.:  2,420
$/SQ. FT.:  $682
LOT SIZE:  10,760 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT:  2009
COMMUNITY:  Beverly Terrace
COUNTY:  San Mateo
MLS#:  81224328
SOURCE:  MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN:  5 days

Stunning masterpiece. 4 bedrooms plus additional Zen space. Kitchen is a chefs dream. G. E. profile double oven with warming drawer, two dishwashers, Thermador side by side Refrigerator/freezer, Viking 5 burner cooktop. Property has Home Works lighting system. Custom sound system with source and volume control. Radiant Heat system with 7 thermostatically controlled zones. True Gem.

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

HDR on LSD.

Where was I that day when the sky turned this color?   The sky was so intense that it literally ate the roof off of this house.

Fortunately if you go inside things won’t get any less exciting, although we can’t promise anywhere as much Cherenkov radiation.  How about… More cowbell!

Happy July 4^th  everyone.  Enjoy another round of the colorful bursts from this fine listing as you enjoy your the day off.  Don’t worry, the work will be waiting for you tomorrow.  And so will we.

What’s on the agenda for you today?  Parade, picnic, fireworks?  Yawwwwwwn.

How does any of that celebrate Independence Day?  What you want is Independence… from your landlord!  Buy a house today, or be priced out forever!  Then paint your house any color you want!  How about red, white and blue?

This is an Open Thread.  Tell us what house you bought, or the Open House you managed to find despite it being a holiday and all.

Or just tell us about the parade and picnic and fireworks.  I suppose you’ll have some silly excuse like you couldn’t buy a house today because your bank was taken over by regulators.

It’s July 4th!

The day where we celebrate Independence. And nothing means independence more than having a mortgage for your house.

Enjoy watering your lawn!

(Speaking of Independence Day, I’ve heard rumors that in the UK, realtors only charge 1%. Can someone confirm or deny that, and explain why it is so much cheaper to sell a house in a place where a breakfast costs $30USD)?

This July 4th, please don’t use fireworks. They can be dangerous.

But if you do insist on using fireworks, please be careful. I’m not sure what the story behind this house is, and I certainly hope everyone is ok, but it’s pretty haunting…

395 LINKHORNE CT, San Jose 95133 (San Jose)
$249,900 Beds: 3 bed(s) Baths: 2 bath(s) MLS: 80810500

Bed/Bath: 3 / 2
SqFt: 1,101
Lot: 3,484 sq ft
Yr Built / Age: 1979 / 29 years
List Price: $249,900
Assoc Fee:

Remarks
REO property – NOT a short Sale. Fire damaged property. No interior access. Make offer subject to inspection. The fire damage inside this property extends to almost every room. Fire report available upon request. PLEASE DO NOT GO INSIDE !!IT IS NOT HEALTHY!

I doubt this was due to fireworks, but still remember that fire can be very dangerous:

The only thing I wanted to add was that this looks nothing like wreckage from movies/TV. In some ways, it’s more haunting because things are only partially destroyed.

Please be safe this July 4th.

It’s July 4th! And to celebrate our independence, I’m going to simply repost the Memorial Day post!

As you may recall, last Thanksgiving I found that the exact same groceries at Safeway in the Bay Area were more than the exact same groceries at Safeway in Redmond, WA.

The point of this comparison was to see how Apple/Sony would compete against Nintendo/Microsoft. In that study, I found that on average, groceries cost 20% more here than there.

Which makes sense – have you seen Apple’s stock price? Have you seen our great weather? Of course grey poupon should be 30% more expensive here than there. Grey poupon is simply better here!

Well, Memorial Day is coming up, so I thought it would be fun to come up with a comparison for a BBQ. But to add a twist, I decided to compare groceries in the Cupertino, to groceries in Redmond, Washington – as well as Washington DC!

Yep, that’s right! There are Safeways there – and they sell the same Safeway Select stuff there.

Let’s take a look:

Woot! We win again! Groceries here are 11% more expensive than Washington DC, and 17% more expensive than Redmond, Washington.

Woot! We’re #1! We’re #1! Hurray! Huzzah!

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “WTF? Houses are 2x more expensive than renting, and now groceries are more expensive than in Washington DC, and Washington state – where they don’t even have an income tax? WTH am I doing here???”

Before you consider leaving the Bay Area, just remember that they don’t have any Chinese restaurants, Korean restaurants, Japanese restaurants, Thai restaurants, Vietnamese restaurants, gay-friendly, smart people, diversity, tech companies, snow sports, hiking, mountains, universities, In-n-outs, or 9 months of sun. And let’s not forget our cheap housing, amazing public schools, great roads, low taxes, lack of traffic, and our Governator.

I hope your BBQ turns out well!