Sorry for the duplicate post, but our comments crashed on the first one…
Capitulation is a fancy word for giving up. The price declines at
the low end are leaving owners hopeless, so homedebtors and
specuvestors are simply giving up.
Today’s featured property was just profiled here on the IHB back in January. We are revisiting today because recent price reductions make it the largest percentage discount I have seen to date: 48.6%.
Asking Price: $199,900
Address: 2206 Apricot Dr #206, Irvine, CA 92618
{book3}
Little Things Give You Away — Linkin Park
And now there will be no mistaking
The levees are breaking
Hope decays
Generations disappear
Washed away
As a nation simply stares
It will be interesting to see what comes from our pop music during
the later stages of this recession/depression. Will we hear sounds of
despair? Will we fully retreat into mindlessly happy denial? Hardship
inspires great art. I hope we see some.
We talk about the pointlessness of following short sales, but there is
still much to learn from them. Why are we seeing price reductions? This
property may not have received bids at higher price points, so
the lender may have asked the owner to lower the price until offers
come in. Loss mitigation procedures at the lenders are in a state of
flux similar to market pricing. The lenders
are unpredictable. Perhaps they will start accepting short sales to
avoid the foreclosure process. Who knows?
This property is probably near rental parity, even with the $310 HOA
dues. Assuming someone wants to live in this place, it may be a good
deal. For an investor, it is still too high.
Maybe this price reduction means nothing. Maybe it is a sign that
banks are getting more serious about clearing out their REO inventory.
It is the little things that give them away.
{book5}
Asking Price: $199,900
Income Requirement: $49,975
Downpayment Needed: $39,980
Monthly Equity Burn: $1,666
Purchase Price: $389,000
Purchase Date: 6/21/2006
Address: 2206 Apricot Dr #206, Irvine, CA 92618
| Beds: | 2 |
| Baths: | 2 |
| Sq. Ft.: | 910 |
| $/Sq. Ft.: | $220 |
| Lot Size: | – |
| Property Type: | Condominium |
| Style: | Contemporary/Modern |
| Year Built: | 1979 |
| Stories: | 1 |
| Floor: | 1 |
| View: | Mountain, Pool |
| Area: | Orangetree |
| County: | Orange |
| MLS#: | S559747 |
| Source: | SoCalMLS |
| Status: | Active |
| On Redfin: | 61 days |
Bath condo with Patio/Balcony out Master and Dining Area. Open floor
plan. Fireplace in Living area. Close to shopping and Freeway. Secured
building. Elevator and intercom. Handicap access. HOA provides water,
gas, trash, maintenance, pool spa, lit tennis courts, basketball court
and tot lot.
This property was purchased at the peak on 6/21/2006. The owner used a $311,200 first mortgage, a $77,800 second
mortgage, and a $0 downpayment. If this property sells for its asking
price, the lender stands to lose $201,094 after a 6% commission.
We are on the cusp of seeing properties transact at 50% off peak pricing here in Irvine. Armageddon is upon us.
Here is a video for those who want to discuss decorating.
{book4}
Water grey
Through the windows, up the stairs
Chilling rain
Like an ocean everywhere
Don’t want to reach for me do you
I mean nothing to you
The little things give you away
And now there will be no mistaking
The levees are breaking
All you’ve ever wanted
Was someone to truly look up to you
And six feet under water
I
Do
Hope decays
Generations disappear
Washed away
As a nation simply stares
Little Things Give You Away — Linkin Park
We had a comment malfunction on the previous post. Rather than lose the post, we have duplicated it. I apologize to anyone who is upset for getting this duplicate in their RSS feed.
I am unclear on were to post. This is a reply to the following.
Astute Observation by Geotpf
2009-03-18 07:14 AM
Riverside laughs at your 48.6% price reduction and gives you a 82.5% price reduction:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Riverside/3680-Franklin-Ave-92507/home/4934263
I knew this was the Eastside even before I looked it up. There are 2 areas that I would consider dangerous: Eastside and Casa Blanca.
I wonder how many parents of UCR students know that the Eastside is their student’s playground. Years ago, they captured serial killer William Suff on University Ave. He was trying to pick up his next prostitute victim. More recently, during a period of prolonged violence, a man from Atlanta came to town to try to stop the shootings. He was shot and killed in broad daylight while travelling down University. Doesn’t pay to be black in the wrong neighborhood. The DA currently has an injunction against the predominate gang.
Casa Blanca sounds more like a family feud issue, but it has been quiet for a while. I hear they killed off a generation on each side so they are done for awhile.
Just a little local history. Buyer beware. There is a reason it is a “good deal”.
I am unclear on where to post too. For some reason the comments broke down in the prior thread. Unfortunately, it seems to have killed the conversation.
I wonder what everyone did with their day. They must have had a lot of free time with the site down.
I read comments earlier on my blackberry, but I can’t get the replies to work. Sometimes I will pop into one of the libraries or I will wait until I get home.
I guess I missed the party today.
I have been hanging around the Racquet Club lately. I have started to wonder how many 1971 original owners there are. It would be hard to give up low taxes in such a nice city. This would also apply to The Ranch and most of the tracts on Walnut. Like my mother, most of them would be in their 70s. There is a house on Williwaw Dr. for sale. The realtor said the owner went into a nursing home and the children are selling. Do you think there could be a trend that will create more must sell properties?
I absolutely agree-Eastside and Casa Blanca are easily the worst parts of Riverside. Think “ghetto” or “South Central LA” or “Compton”. There is no way in hell I would live in either area. Makes the fact that somebody paid $285k for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 876 sq. ft. shack in Eastside in 2005 all that more insane.
That being said, price reductions of two thirds from peak are not uncommon in other parts of the city. I’ve personally looked at many a house listed in the $100-125k range that sold for $350k+ at peak. There’s one currently listed at $110k that previously sold for $510k (it’s on a good street, over a half acre, has 20 offers, and will probably sell for $150-180k when all is said and done, though-the price was a lowball to start a bidding war).
As for UCR, it is (mostly) on the other side of the 60/215 freeway from Eastside, which serves as a natural barrier (and the portion that is on the Eastside side of the freeway is all on the other side of Iowa Avenue from the “heart” of Eastside). The areas north and east of UCR is actually a rather good part of town (labeled Belvedere Heights and Canyon Crest Heights on maps, although I’ve never heard anybody actually use either term-I always called it the “UCR area”). I actually grew up in that part of town-my dad is a UCR professor.
Good to know you know the area. I was concerned you were unfamiliar with Riverside’s neighborhoods and lured by the good prices. I have loved living here since 1985 with its low housing costs. There is so much history and I love the orange groves. I grew up in Irvine in the 1970s.
Happy house hunting.
The only use I could see with the particular property I highlighted would be to make it a rental. At fifty grand (or less-do you really think the bank would turn away an offer of forty grand cash?), you could rent it out for something like $500 a month and make a decent profit, if you were able and willing to handle a property in the hood and all that involves.
Looking at the price and square footage again, somebody paid $325 a square foot for this thing. That’s beyond insane.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Some one might have posted this before. How do I find out the public record of the owners of a given address? In OC and LA?
My son is looking to rent from an individual owner in Pasadena (LA County). The owner is asking lots of info from him. What does my son need to check and how to check about the owner?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance for the help.
What does he want to know?
As a tenant I’d be interested if the property is upside down, or if the mortage is behind, that could leave me homeless quickly if he’s going to lose the property and I would not be in the loop in that, which is going to be the case.
Other than that, he may have record of having complaints for not returning deposits on time, or geing sued for taking too much of deposits for repairs.
I think that anyone renting from a private owner of a home or duplex/triplex in california for the next few years would want to know a bit more about the owner’s situation with the property.
I would want to know if he is really the owner.
You have a few good questions. In addition, I think true ownership without any dispute.
I remember not long ago a group of crooks were running a fake landlord ring to steal money from the unsuspecting tenants for deposits and 1st month rents on many vacated foreclosed or foreclosing properties.
They basically got a list of foreclosure property and owner info. They then put them into the rental market and rented them out with fake ID etc. Some units even were rented to multiple parties.
anyone has any comments on the Fed’s move today? Are we going to see inflation of all sorts soon? Cramer is pumping housing now. I think he’s a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy but he’s pumping. Is another bubble coming?
What idiot would pay $1.4 million for this property when for just under $2 million you can now get 2.7 acres and 4,700 sq feet in Malibu with a view.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/printedition/la-hmw-hotpropking17-2009mar17,0,6167355.story