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1524 Bay St, Alameda, CA 94501


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2010 Aug 11, 8:09am   3,772 views  11 comments

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1   Patrick   2010 Aug 11, 9:24am  

I wish there were some way to get an honest appraisal of the condition of the property online. That makes all the difference here.

2   Patrick   2010 Aug 11, 10:17am  

Funny how the redfin ad shows the house in wonderful condition.

I copied that image to here because it falls within "fair use" to discuss business dealings:

The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment..."

From http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

3   toothfairy   2010 Aug 11, 11:27am  

looks like remodel. Google street view is out of date.

4   mersenne   2010 Aug 12, 2:58am  

Judging a house's quality from just pictures is painfully hard. Google streetview is even worse.

It's too easy for old paint to hide some quality bones, or a quality paint job to hide some crappy interior.

You can't tell layout, or proportions, or whether the outlets have two or three prongs, or whether the old bathroom is charming or just lousy. Pictures aren't good for much at all. They may be dated. They may have been taken in poor or good light. You just don't know.

5   SFace   2010 Aug 13, 8:22am  

Vain, here is my observation about your property. My only knowledge about Alameda is that Sushi place with the bayview and a friend who lives in a newer home on the other side of where your dad’s property is located.

Nice job with the remodel. Looks very cost efficient and adding value without spending big bucks.

The unit size is not balanced. You have one that is 2200 sq ft. and a 2/1 that is 450 and a 1/1 that is 600 sq ft. Obviously, your prospectively owner will look at the main one to live and the other two to rent. I think the two aggregates about 2,000 a month or so in rent.

The problem is I believe in herding, most people who lives in Alameda seeking 2,200 square feet will want the newer side instead. In your area, most homes are older and smaller, and less updated and probably sells for 400K-600K. I generally don’t like homes that is far above everyone else. People that can afford those kinds of house usually want to herd together with like minded people. From that perspective, even though the main unit is spectacular, it would be hard to get the premium. People earning 200K a year do not want to live with neighbors making signicantly less, that's just how it is.

From that perspective, your market will be the buyer who is looking for a 500K home in your area of Alameda. They’ll see the two rental units and try to make the financing work. A standalone 2000 sq ft. home in that area probably sells for around 550K They’ll see that the main unit is worth a premium (about 100K given it is newer and bigger) and they see that the cash flow from the rentals are worth a premium (about 250K). From that perspective, I think you can drum some interest around 900K.

Hope that helps, best of luck

6   rcarr6502   2010 Aug 23, 9:16am  

Hi Vain,

I viewed the property this weekend. It shows beautifully. I also viewed it around 2005 or 2006 as it was being sold, but before the fire. The inside has undergone an amazing transformation, especially on the inside. Obviously a lot of work has been put into it.

Who are the contractors who did all the work? The interior decorating? The kitchen remodel?

7   EBGuy   2010 Aug 23, 10:29am  

Vain,
Have them move out of CV and rent out that house. Then they can move into the cottage here and rent out the rest. You've got a (low) Prop 58 tax to to preserve!
All kidding aside, nice to see a contractor adding value (and not destroying the original architecture).

8   alpine   2010 Aug 24, 3:44am  

Vain says

We’ll probably be working a plan out with the RE agent to remove the listing for some time, and have it come out as a new listing with a $100k price reduction.

Off-topic, but I have to ask: what's the reasoning behind taking it off the market and relisting it, rather than just dropping the price?
I see this happen a lot. Always wonder if it's because they think buyers respond better to a new listing, or because they're taking the time to change how they present/sell the place, or if they got an offer but things fell through while trying to close.

9   Patrick   2010 Aug 24, 3:51am  

alpine says

what’s the reasoning behind taking it off the market and relisting it, rather than just dropping the price?

It's so that the realtor can honestly lie and say "Oh, look, this one just came on the market!"

Really, that's all there is to it. It's a very common deception and buyers fall for it. They don't bother to check that the house is an overpriced dog and has been sitting unsold for a year.

10   vain   2010 Aug 24, 4:13am  

Patrick nailed it :)

11   pkennedy   2010 Aug 24, 4:26am  

Really, there are dozens of little sales tricks. Go into any store to buy anything and you'll see some "trick" being played out. Every store will tell you something to make a sale happen, every one will do something.

This is just someone "reposting" their ad to get it at the top. They can tell you all about the great house when you see it, and you'll hear another dozen sales tactics, just like if you go into any store to buy anything!

We do research on everything we buy now a days, if we aren't doing it on the home we're buying, we're just deceiving ourselves.

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