Time once again to visit one of our favorite places in the entire Real Bay Area!  And it’s been a while because the properties go pending faster than we can click through the listing photos.  We’ve been telling you that many RBA neighborhoods are hot, hot, HOT.  Now we’ve got even more proof that The Bubbly is Back.  Check out this Palo Alto palazzo from Burbed reader Michael Boltonestater!

411 PEPPER Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94306
$868,000

3 Beds 
1 Baths 
987 Sq. Ft.
$879 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1940 
Lot Size: 6,534 Sq. Ft. 
On Redfin: 5 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories:1
Community: Ventura
MLS#: 81300120
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
View: Neighborhood
County: Santa Clara

Walk to California Avenue and enjoy all it has to offer, from this charming 1940s cottage with endless potential. Light filled rooms, hardwood floors, remodeled bathroom. Expansive backyard. Quiet location. Outstanding Palo Alto Schools. No offers prior to 1/14/13.

Not just a house in Palo Alto with endless potential (after all, every house in Palo Alto has endless potential, just by being in Palo Alto!), this is a 1940s cottage with endless potential.  Just look at that kitchen!  They sure don’t build them like they used to.

But did you catch the last line in the listing?  “No offers prior to 1/14/13.”  If that isn’t proof that it’s 2006 again, we don’t know what will convince you.  Once again, the realtards are so convinced that their listed houses sell themselves, they get to decide what day they sell themselves.

Now here’s what Michael thinks about this Would Sell Way Over Asking Right Now If Only The Agent Hadn’t Made Everyone Wait a Week property:

Nice neighbors too, if you like junkyards.

These will be terrific neighbors… if you ever need to borrow a cup of brake fluid.

We’ve just been alerted that we’ve been neglecting Mountain View property, which we are contractually required to discuss every ten minutes.  And it’s been ten whole days! Fortunately, Burbed reader Michael Boltonestater sent us this beaut, which we promptly misplaced during the Black Friday Sales.  Consider this a “we found it in the back of the storeroom” slightly mussed listing. It’s both pending… and selling shortly!    

492 N WHISMAN Rd
Mountain View, CA 94043
$750,000

4 Beds 
2 Baths 
1,748 Sq. Ft.
$429 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1965 
Lot Size: 0.25 Acres 
On Redfin: 33 days
Status: Pending With Release
Stories: 1
Community: Whisman
MLS#: 81241148
View: Neighborhood
County: Santa Clara

Short Sale! Charming two unit property located in Whisman Area of Mountain View. Huff Elementary, Crittenden Middle and Mt View High. Live in one, rent the other or great investment opportunity! HUGE 10,890 sf corner Lot. R-2 zoning provides multiple use scenarios. Both units are 2 bed /1 bath w/ laundry, garage AND carport. Please DO NOT Disturb Occupants!

It’s a great investment opportunity!  That’s because the current owners are passing the savings along to you rather than the bank.  Yes, savings.  If you had bought this property in 2006, like these investors did, the RBA would have done its magic and increased it by more than half its value in just six years.  And if you were smart and leveraged yourself with a 20% down, 10% down, 5% down, or even ZERO DOWN, then your investment returns would be much, much higher! 

Let’s calculate them, shall we?

So a little over a million dollars, put down 20%, looks like that investment… is now going to be someone else’s instant equity. So, bets on the over/under compared to 2003′s sale price?  Now that provides multiple use scenarios.

So here’s the DEAL, the DEALS, yes we still have DEALS for you. Black Friday Deals are back!

We’re scouring the Bay Area for the cheapest houses out there! Today we’re taking a good look at Sonoma County, to find the absolutely, positively cheapest, least expensive, smallest asking price house for sale.

71 1st St
Camp Meeker, CA 95419
$100,000

2 Beds
2 Baths
1,040 Sq. Ft.
$96 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1920
Lot Size: 1,307 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 13 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Residential, Detached, Single Family
Community: Sebastopol
MLS#: 21226308
Stories: 1
County: Sonoma

2 bed 2 bath house

The good news: This house is barely sporting a six-digit pricetag!  Plus the agent took more than one photo!

The bad news: Is that moss growing on the roof?

The interior photography is intriguing.  It appears this agent is doing whatever is possible to not include a single square inch of the floor in any shot, which means most of them tend to show ceiling.

Lots and lots of ceiling.  This view of the kitchen only shows a little, but for this vintage stove, plus the solo wall-mount cabinet unit, along with the distressed treatment of the door, we could not resist.

And you could not resist this price. Sure, the house has a FAR of 0.796, but what do you want for just one homeowner spending unit?

Listings tend to fall into certain kinds of categories here at Burbed.  There’s your all around crapshack, usually sold for the land value and no pictures inside.  There’s your overbuilt flip that’s wrong for the neighborhood.  There’s your overbuilt “dream home” that’s wrong for any neighborhood, and its cousin, the nightmare home whose builder ran out of money. Burbed reader Tracy Tea House has found us something else entirely over in East San Jose: winner of the wtf tag.

1764 Mount Kenya Dr
San Jose, CA 95127
Not for Sale

Zestimate $434,672
Rent Zestimate $2,549/mo
Est. Mortgage $1,507/mo

Beds: 5
Baths: 2
Sqft: 1,884
Lot: 5,662 sq ft / 0.13 acres
Type: Single Family
Year built: 1961
Construction quality: 6.0
County: Santa Clara
Last remodel year: 1961
Legal description: TRACT 2450 MT PLEASANT BOOK 132 PAGE1 7 LOT 792
Lot depth: 105
Lot width: 54
Parcel #: 64724054
Per floor sqft: 1,884
Total rooms: 7
# Stories: 2.0
Structure type: Other
Unit cnt: 1
Zillow Home ID: 19786732

Split level home with so much potential. Three bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. Open floor plan with large living room. Inside laundry. Downstairs bedrooms may be locked but rest of the house is view-able. Large separate storage room outside, detached workshop. Some double-pane windows. Home needs front and back landscaping, has nice decorative stone wall. Good handyman special.

We’re not going to let a little thing like the house not being for sale stop us.  Besides, Movoto’s got it for $350,000.

Here’s what Tracy had to say when sending in this Alum Rock redoubt:

Do not drink before viewing these pictures!

Oh wow. Wrong in so many ways, but the picture of the kitchen is a first for me! This house just hit the market for 350K

What, you’ve never seen green cabinets before?  Oh, you mean this one.

We don’t think we’ve ever seen one of those in a kitchen before either.  Guess putting it outside isn’t that good an idea.

Bunus: Check out the (five years) old listing photos currently on Redfin.

Let’s finish up the week on the Peninsula.  Burbed reader Wendie has a very special find for us, a bodacious bunker in Burlingame!  Thanks Wendie!  Meanwhile, we’re going to continue linking to different sites and we’d love to know which ones you prefer, and why.  Wendie sent in a link to mlslistings.com and the home isn’t there anymore.  Fortunately, we found it on Movoto!

Please give Wendie a big, warm, RBA welcome as today’s Guest Blogger with this excellent guest post!

50 Howland Hill Ln
Burlingame, CA 94010
$3,200,000

Loan Payment:  $12,222/mo
Bedrooms:  6
Bathrooms:  5&1/2
Size:  6,461 sqft
$/Sqft:  $495/sqft
Type:  Single Family House
Year Built:  2001
Lot Size:  21,375
Days on Movoto:  63 days
MLS#:  81226232
Status:  Active
Open House:  Sun 01:00pm – 04:00pm

Quality, details, exquisite finishes make this 6BR., 5.5BA, 2FR, 3 car garage,custom built home by Edward Neale truly remarkable. 5611 sf of living space on floors 1 & 2 plus approx 1000 sf of living space on lower level with wine rm, entertainment area featuring a wet bar, separate dining rm,a theatre inspired lounge area plus patios & decks off public rooms. Private lane close to 280/101/SF.

Here’s why Wendie sent this in:

Something about this house seems to scream “Winchester’ to me! Maybe its the “boat” bed. Clearly, that is an adult version of….what? The toddler race car bed that every 3 year old boy in America has?  But clearly, this is not for a little boy. Who would even THINK to want to sleep in that weird bed?

And then the wine cellar…seems very unorganized..no rhyme or reason to it…..and why would the realtor take a photo of the front hall with THE FRONT DOOR OPEN?

Shut the damn door so we can see the entire room!!

Moving onto the kitchen…its huge with an equally large island in the middle…yet NO overhang of the granite so you can put some chairs there and eat at the island. Why not?

And last but not least, what’s up with the backyard? How many separate areas can there be?

Seems like the perfect house for 3 or 4 separate families who never want to bump into one another….

Thanks very much to Burbed reader Wendie for this palatial pad in Palo Alto!  And unlike almost every other property in Palo Alto, this one’s still for sale despite this my sitting on it since April.  Remember, there is nothing wrong with any house that price cannot fix.  And by those standards, this house is definitely a fixer.

1870 UNIVERSITY Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94301
$8,995,000

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 6
SQ. FT.: 9,319
$/SQ. FT.: $965
LOT SIZE: 1.97 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Spanish
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1929
COMMUNITY: Crescent Park
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81211470
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 55 days

One of PA’s largest lots! GardnerDailey’s classic Monterey Colonial style of architecture. The interior is classic and stylish featuring a lavish master suite w/ spa inspired bathroom, and 5 additional bedrooms, 3 with en suite baths. Additional 1 bedroom apartment above a 3 car detached garage completes the generous accommodations totaling over 9,300 sf. Park like 86k sf lot in Crescent Park.

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

What an awful kitchen! 

For a 9M dollar house, couldn’t they have AT LEAST upgraded the kitchen counter tops? Amazingly crappy kitchen for 9M!
No, no, no, Wendie, this is an amazing vintage kitchen for 9M!  After all, this is Palo Alto.  What would be a problem in any other listing just automagically converts that bug into a feature.  Weird countertops?  More awesomeness.

And talk about convenience!  Look where this house is located!

Right next to East Palo Alto!  This home is guaranteed to be the very first place those delightful scamps will visit for a few good-natured pranks when hijinks ensue!

Today’s fun find is a Cambrian cutie from Burbed reader yaknuts.  If you’ve been wanting something in the suburbs, but enjoy a sense of excitement and unpredictability, this may be the house for you!  Come and talk a walk on the wild side of the Cambrian!

3682 May Ln
San Jose, CA 95124
$439,900

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,234
$/SQ. FT.: $356
LOT SIZE: 7,519 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
YEAR BUILT: 1959
COMMUNITY: Cambrian
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81204098
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Pending Without Release
ON REDFIN: 25 days

This is a CASH AS-IS SALE ONLY. contractor exp investor Special. THERE IS NOT A KITCHEN SO FINANCING IS NOT POSSIBLE. Aproximatly 500 foot of unpermitted additional space. Garage has been converted to living space. The property is dangerous holes in floors debris all over, dog waste all over back yard. Old garage converted to living space. Cooking done in microwave and outdoor bbq grill.

Here’s why yaknuts thought this home was Burbed-worthy:

I have been a long time reader of your blog. I came across this listing the other day (already taken down from Redfin).

Check out all the junk in these pictures and the description: "the property [has] dangerous hols in floors," "dog waste all over back yard," or "cooking done in microwave and outdoor bbq grill." It went pending on 2/5/12 for $439K. I don’t have time to do a full write up at this time, but I had to bring this to your attention. I hope to see a feature on this property soon — you should have plenty of material in this listing. Cheers!

This is one of those features that just writes itself.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so we can save 7,000 of them.  Redfin could take these pictures down again any minute!

This must be one of those listings where the agent made a drunken bet with the broker.  In this case I’d venture they bet over whether incoherent photography sells houses faster.  That should explain why some of the rooms look almost staged, while others suggest they refused to spend 10 minutes picking up.

And since this poo palace went pending the very next day, congrats to the winner of that bet!  It clearly worked! 

Although we know who the real winner was when it came to this house: the geniuses who sold it in 2007 for $620K.

Today’s listing was sent in by Burbed reader Britt, who suspects that something is missing from this Mountain View house.  I don’t know why all the fuss, it’s in the same zip code as Google. That ought to be enough reason to make an offer and do a Search for whatever you can’t Find.

 

2419 TAMALPAIS St, Mountain View, CA 94043
$689,000

BEDS: 3
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,104
$/SQ. FT.: $624
LOT SIZE: 5,520 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1955
COMMUNITY: Thompson
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81138652
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 25 days

Just back on the market. Great value in Mountain View! 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in outstanding Monta Loma neighborhood. Huge windows give abundant natural light. Beautiful newly refinished hardwood floors plus new paint inside & out. Vaulted ceilings. Flexible floorplan with living/dining combo and country-style family room kitchen. Attached one car garage. Approx. 1,104 sq ft of living space.

Here’s what Britt has to say about this home:

Am I missing something?  The kitchen seems incomplete. Where’s the refrigerator? The stove? Maybe it’s a Manhattan-style kitchen and they’re hidden behind the cabinets so everything looks streamlined? In any event, I don’t get it.

Yes, they did an excellent job of hiding the appliances by taking 14 pictures of the living room and family room and just two of the kitchen.  But so what?

If you worked at Google they give you free food anyway.  It’s not like you would actually waste what little free time you’ll have COOKING when there’s good, hot, free food as long as you’re at work.

In fact, you should probably pay extra for that flexible floorplan.  No refrigerator or stove means more room for your monitors and game consoles.

875 San Ardo Way, Mountain View, CA 94043 North Shoreline MLS# 80848738 – Property Details
$675,000

* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 3
* Bathroom: 2
* Year Built: 1962
* Lot Size: 6144
* Square Footage: 1060
* List Date: 12/9/2008
* Garage Spaces: 2

What a great opportunity!! Turn this Mountain View home into your dream home. Bring your contractor, and your ideas to take this property to the next level. Original hardwood floors, room for your RV or Boat, open floor plan. NOT A SHORT SALE.. Just a home in need of some TLC.

Sheesh, at these prices, Burbed might not exist in the near future. $636 per square foot for what is NOT A SHORT SALE?  They’re practically giving this house away! It’s even got easy access to freeways – I don’t know why the Realtor forgot to mention this!

The best part?

I’m not sure what’s going on in that window (is it looking into another room), but I can tell you right now that funky stove is going to be an instant collector’s item that will only add to this house’s value.

301 Educational Park Dr, San Jose 95133
(Berryessa)

$628,000

* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 4
* Bathroom: 2&1/2
* Year Built: 1980
* Lot Size: 3480
* Square Footage: 1681
* List Date: 4/1/2008
* Garage Spaces: 2
* MLS#: 788811
Close to school,grocery,shopping ctr.and hospital.Public trans. EZ to access to 680/101. Crn lot.newly renovated kitchen area.updated floor tile. Addtnl dirty kitchen(not recrded),Motivated seller. Offer subj to lender approval.

Let’s look at the key selling points of this house:

1. Amazing security system. You will not feel safer in any house. With bars on the windows and doors, you can be sure that your family will be safe at night – unlike those losers in neighborhoods that don’t have bars. Remember, it’s like the Bear theory – you only need to outrun your friend, not the bear. This tactic is guaranteed to send the criminals to Los Altos instead.

2. Check out the green-ness of this house. That’s right – no yard means no grass means no evil pesticides, wasting water, etc. Think globally, act locally by buying this house.

3. Stop sign. Everyone is going to have to stop at your house and look. Look at your house. PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP BABY!

4. This house comes with an additional dirty kitchen that’s not recorded. Everyone knows that real chefs have real dirty kitchens. Finally, you can explore your culinary skills and produce authentic food.

And for just $628,000! What are you waiting for!