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Emeryville

By CL   Follow   Wed, 9 May 2012, 3:04pm   2,827 views   20 comments
In Emeryville CA 94608   Watch (1)   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike  

What are your thoughts about living, renting or owning in Emeryville? I just moved there and it seems great! Neat and clean, and I assume they have a nice tax base from the companies that have set up camp there...Pixar, Chiron/Novartis, Ikea, Bay Street Mall, Target, etc.

I see that some of the units, conversion lofts, and houses have been through foreclosure and sell at a fraction of their bubble prices. Would it be a good place to invest in real estate?

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1. bmwman91 Follow Befriend (7) 37 threads 1,541 comments Mountain View, CA bmwman91's website Premium

   1   3:21pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Protected   When you say "invest" do you mean a personal investment, or buying lots of houses and renting them or waiting for price increases?

2. EBGuy Follow Befriend 4 threads 2,099 comments

   2   3:38pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   You're right on in your analysis -- Emeryville is all about tax base, tax base ...and tax base. A couple of twenty somethings in our office rent there, so it does have an appeal. Occassionally I'll ride my bike into Emeryville via the Bay Trail with kids in tow for a stop at Ikea ($1 yogurt cone!) Love the Doyle Street greenway... Hmmm... you've got me thinkin'... time to bring up Redfin. CL, I see that the Man finally caught up with you. Hope the transition wasn't too painful. Looks like slightly less than a year from NOD to foreclosure.

3. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

   3   3:42pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   bmwman91 says When you say "invest" do you mean a personal investment, or buying lots of houses and renting them or waiting for price increases? Really anything. There are lofts nearby that I think could sell for 200-300K, and seem to be commanding a decent rent. Seems like it could be a city on the move. (Not sure what you mean by "personal". ) I'm half-tempted to buy one and rent it out, and if we have hit the bottom I'll light my stogies with my hundos. :)

4. EBGuy Follow Befriend 4 threads 2,099 comments

   4   4:04pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   There are lofts nearby... I'm having a hard time figuring out where you're talking about. I remember visiting lofts just north of 40th over a decade ago... before Ikea was built.

5. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

   5   4:14pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   There are a lot of lofts near Pixar and environs. Some are conversion lofts and some are soft lofts. Check out the Warehouse Loft on Park, for example. Redfin showed a couple, I think on 40th, that were around 100-200K even. They were small but looked pretty nice.

6. dublin hillz Follow Befriend 12 threads 783 comments Dublin, CA

   6   4:18pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I don't like it all that much, but that's my personal taste. It seems a little too urban and not that clean. A few areas seems like danger is right around the corner. But at the same time, some of my friends like it, but they are more into the urban like environments, so to each their own so to speak.

7. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

   7   5:50pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   dublin hillz says It seems a little too urban and not that clean. It seems very clean to me. And the powerlines are underground in many places, with new sidewalks, paved roads, powerwashed buildings, manicured landscaping, etc, etc. Seems very nice!

8. BayArea Follow Befriend (3) 50 threads 368 comments Oakland, CA

   8   10:57pm Wed 9 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Emery is a tough one... All the new infrastructure corresponds to condos and lofts with relatively high HOAs. And the single family homes are much older and typically in questionable neighborhoods. Crime is also relatively high for this East Bay city due to the West Oakland spill-over. The city has really tried to turn things around with the Bay Street Mall / IKEA, but I would probably look elsewhere in the East Bay myself.

9. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

   9   11:09am Thu 10 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   BayArea says Crime is also relatively high for this East Bay city due to the West Oakland spill-over. I've been looking for a good comparison for E-ville v. other towns, like say, weighed for per capita, etc. Where did you see the crime was high?

10. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

    10   12:02pm Thu 10 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   EBGuy says CL, I see that the Man finally caught up with you. Hope the transition wasn't too painful. Looks like slightly less than a year from NOD to foreclosure. Thanks for that! I think total time was 14-15 months from the beginning until the end. I forget the NOD date, but for what's it's worth I did nothing to try to keep it, filled out no forms, and kept my head. (I sent you a friend request. Do you not take them?)

11. Jemaho Follow Befriend 7 comments

    11   6:47am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I'd suggest you look into earthquake safety. Seems like the ground would be a little sandy (similar to Marina District).

12. Landru3000 Follow Befriend (2) 10 threads 84 comments Oakland, CA

    12   9:25am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   I live on the Oakland/Emeryville border. Emeryville has realy, really good police and fire, but historically terrible/bad schools (with tons of corruption). I looked for a house there, but there are few single family houses. The sewage treatment plant is right at the southern end and I assume that when the wind blows wrong...

13. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

    13   9:36am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Good an interesting points, all. I could see how both schools and seismic concerns could impact resale values. That's my impression as well. Lots of cops and firefighters, likely due to the excess cash from the businesses, and the idea that they don't want the hipsters to get scared off. Speaking of hipsters... In a town of 1.2 sq. miles, and a built-in hipster crowd, clean and modern, convenient to shopping and SF, won't there be enough demand regardless of schools and sfh to offset that? I'm wondering if it's on the move maybe?

14. postindustrial Follow Befriend 1 comments

    14   10:35am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Most of the condos were constructed during the boom so it may very well be a place to look for bargins. I lived in Emeryville from 1999 to 2010 and was generally happy to be there although I know many people who have lost their shirt purchasing condos and townhouses 2004 -2008. My understanding was that the schools have been turned around and while not great, are generally better than nearby schools in Oakland. Keep in mind, however, that the town you see today was made possible by Redevelopment. It will be interesting to see how they move forward now that the tax increment cash cow has been taken away.

15. 1appraiser Follow Befriend 1 comments

    15   10:53am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Air Pollution + Indian Burial Grounds = Dont Buy There

16. kandothat Follow Befriend 11 comments

    16   11:38am Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   foggy

17. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

    17   12:21pm Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   1appraiser says Air Pollution + Indian Burial Grounds = Dont Buy There

18. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

    18   12:27pm Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   Can't upload my image joke for some reason!

19. EBGuy Follow Befriend 4 threads 2,099 comments

    19   12:36pm Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   (I sent you a friend request. Do you not take them?) The email I originally registered with Pat.net was repoed so I don't respond to the friend requests. Everything I see on Redfin looks pretty expensive. The best I can come up with is some sub 700sq.ft. 1/1 condos for around $130k. The Express had an informative story on the benefits of cleaning up toxic industial sites that featured Emeryville: These environmental cleanups also produced huge economic dividends as developers flocked to Emeryville to build on its former brownfields. According to statistics gathered by the DTSC, between 1991 and 2010, Emeryville's property values increased 371 percent, from $870 million to about $4 billion today. New retail stores, hotels, and restaurants effectively doubled sales tax revenues for the city over the same period.

20. CL Follow Befriend (12) 140 threads 1,355 comments Emeryville, CA

    20   2:24pm Fri 11 May 2012   Share   Quote   Permalink   Like   Dislike   EBGuy says so I don't respond to the friend requests. That's cool. Just checking. I was going to respond with some details on the foreclosure front. Maybe I read it wrong, or they've sold. I've seen the 130k ones you're talking about too. (Which seem nice, if small, at least by photos). The E-ville ones here seem nice, but don't look to have any on market right now. http://www.caldecott.com/?page=building_directory