Wednesday, May 27, 2009

When is a Price Reduction Not a Price Reduction?


Address: 383 Obispo Ave #4, 90814
Asking Price: $1,195,000
Year Built: 1919
Size: ? beds, ? baths, 3,500 sq. ft.
$/Sq. Ft.: $341
MLS#: P663215
On Redfin: 205 days
Down Payment: $120,000
Monthly Payment: $3,200
Income Requirement: $171,000
Description: Just Reduced by $200,000 Seller wants it sold. Seller Willing to Carry up to 20%. Beautiful 4-Plex in the desirable Bluff Heights Historic District. There are three detached building on the property, a craftsman Bungalow, and two spanish style duplexes. All four units are great condition and are all leased a market rents. Major renvoations completed in 2007. Cooper plumbing, earthquake retrofits made to all foundations. There is a large two car garage and laundry room on site.

"Just Reduced by $200,000"

Mar 12, 2009 - $999,000
May 22, 2009 - Price Changed $1,195,000


Uh, no, dumbass, you just INCREASED the price by $200,000.

"Seller wants it sold."

Liar.

He most assuredly does not want it sold. Sellers who actually want to sell don't rot on the MLS for 205 days.

"renvoations"?

"Cooper" plumbing?

And why would you capitalize "Willing to Carry" but not "spanish?"

Come on, dude. You're demanding $1.2 million and that's the best listing description you could come up with? Show a little pride.

Again, when it comes to multi-unit properties, if this is such a cashflow positive golden-egg-layin'-goose, then why sell during the worst housing crash known to mankind?

Oh, and what's that in the window? Why, it's a For Rent sign, meaning this thing already has vacancies--the kryptonite of investors.

And peep the burglar bars on the rental units. Yep, real attractive.

I don't have my realtorese decoder ring handy, so I'm still unclear how many actual beds and baths are on this property.

The actual listing lists, well, nothing.

The listing description says there are three separate buildings on the property, and in the same breath says there are four units. So we'll have to assume one of duplexes is split into two units? But how many bedrooms are in the main bungalow in front?

HEY GENIUS, MAYBE THE REASON YOU HAVEN'T SOLD IN 200+ DAYS IS BECAUSE NOBODY CAN TELL WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PROPERTY YOU'RE TRYING TO SELL.

Frankly, I have no idea what the going price in LB is for multi-unit properties like this, but I don't need to in order to conclude this place is overpriced. The Days on Market say it all.

I just wanted to highlight this property because of the sheer balls on the guy for raising the price by $200,000 in the midst of this ever-worsening deflationary environment, and then claiming in the listing description that the price has actually been reduced by that amount.

Long Beach sellers, the other dumb meat.

11 comments:

  1. you know what the best selling point of this property is?



    Taqueria La Mexicana on the corner of 4th and Coronado. It is within WALKING DISTANCE. If I lived there, I would weigh close to 4 bills!!!!

    Yes, I know Hole Mole is on Obispo, but I prefer Taqueria.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Carl,

    Taqueria La Mexicana is the spot! Man, back in the day I lived on 4th and Ximeno and the ONLY reason I didn't weigh 4 bills was because I walked to and from the restaurant.

    Although, I ate at Taqueria not too long ago and it was not nearly as good as I remembered. Have they fallen off, or did I just go there on a bad night?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent article El Bee.

    You say what I think....


    And what I'll never get, is why these realtors can never take good photos?!?!

    I mean, if I stood to make 50 or 60 Gs of commission, I think I'd have at least 20 or 30 photos, which covered the entire place.

    I'm thinkin about sellin real estate on the side, because if this is the competition, then.....

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  4. el bee,

    Yes and Yes (if that makes sense?).

    They still have good nights, and when it is good it is the best around. I think some of it may be related to the fact that I don't see that guy who used take our order ALL the time around as much.

    I also blame the health dept. I remember when all of those "not as great" nights were close to the date of the last Health inspection.

    However, with all that, for $4.50 it is still the best burrito around. We pick it up 1 - 2x per month, and we live in Huntington.

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  5. You're right, Mike. I can't believe the crummy photos these people post. Some are so poorly taken you can't tell what they're trying to show. At one time I know there were photography services who'd go out with the realtor, take the pictures, crop them, and deliver them on a CD to the realtor so they could be posted on the MLS, but I guess the cost of doing this ate in to their profit too much. Yeah, right! Spending $100 or $200 to get good pics of a property cost too much from a $20k commission!

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  6. Same as throwing someone a few bucks to proof read a listing description is obviously too much to ask for. Either the agent is that greedy, or they think their description and photos are top notch and worthy of instant commission. Likely both.

    I think people should give spelling bees to realtors before employeeing their...um...services.
    "Please spell 'overpriced'"
    "Can I have it in a sentence?"
    "This shoebox is frickin' overpriced"
    B..u..y..n..o..w..o..r..b..e..p..r..i.."
    "Next!"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Property Information
    Assessor's ID No. 7257-012-018
    Site Address 383 OBISPO AVE
    LONG BEACH CA 90814
    Property Type Multi-Family Residential
    Region / Cluster 10 / 10464
    Tax Rate Area (TRA) 05500

    Recent Sale Information
    Latest Sale Date 06/07/2007
    Indicated Sale Price $950,009

    2008 Roll Values
    Recording Date 06/07/2007
    Land $612,000
    Improvements $357,000
    Personal Property $0
    Fixtures $0
    Homeowners' Exemption $0
    Real Estate Exemption $0
    Personal Property Exemption $0
    Fixture Exemption $0

    Improvement 1
    Square Footage 966
    Year Built / Effective Year Built 1919 / 1925
    Bedrooms / Bathrooms 2 / 2
    Units 1

    Improvement 2
    Square Footage 1,233
    Year Built / Effective Year Built 1929 / 1929
    Bedrooms / Bathrooms 3 / 2
    Units 2

    Improvement 3
    Square Footage 940
    Year Built / Effective Year Built 1918 / 1920
    Bedrooms / Bathrooms 2 / 1
    Units 1

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous,

    Thank you very much for digging up that information. And you're not even getting a commission to be so helpful! I wonder why the realtor doesn't just say:

    "Three detached buildings on the lot: 2/2 bungalow, 3/2 duplex (comprised of 2/1 and 1/1), and a 2/1 duplex."

    Oddly, the square footage still doesn't add up. According to those records, about 360 square feet is unaccounted for.

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  9. Don't no about sq ft anomoly. You can play with other property here. http://assessormap.co.la.ca.us/mapping/viewer.asp

    ReplyDelete
  10. Look who's back:
    http://www.redfin.com/CA/Long-Beach/1418-E-Florida-St-90802/home/17128465

    ReplyDelete