Chez Neumansky 2.0 is in Contract!!!

subtitled, ' Disclosures Smosures'

According to the Redfin Page the house was listed for sale on Nov 7th and went pending on Nov 24th!!! For the asking price of $725k!!! Wow, only on the market for 17 days!

I have to say that we were totally shocked that the place was listed for that much...then imagine our shock when it went pending for asking so fast...

We are viewing this as a vindication of our initial take on the house. When it was a rat infested, practically falling down mess and everybody thought we were nuts...this finished product was what we saw. A nice Victorian with a 3 color paint job all fixed up inside and out and pretty. Truthfully, we still wish that we could of been the ones to do it but we've moved on to bigger and better things.

Back when we were trying to decide if we should pull it off the market and do a 203k refi, get it fixed up quickly-cheaply and then put it back on the market, we never, ever projected seriously a selling price of $725k.

I'm looking at the super detailed spreadsheet now and if we had done it and put it back on the market for same amount we would of netted over $60k.....hurray....

I'm sure the current owners stand to net much, much more than that as I bet they have extremely low overhead with the 'contractors' they used.

Disclosures
If you haven't already, take a look at the Redfin page linked above...notice anything strange?
I noticed two things that I don't think I've ever seen on a Redfin page before.

In the spot where there would usually be a Zestimate it says this.

 

Home Value Estimates for 1310 PACIFIC Ave

The seller of this home has requested that home value estimates not be shown. Per MLS rules, Redfin and other public MLS-powered sites may not display any automated valuation for this home.

 

Hmmm....what's the good reason to do this? If you go to the Zillow page it still has the Zestimate..which shockingly is $721k!?!?!?! Almost the exact asking price???

 

Then there is this,

 

Sites Linking to 1310 PACIFIC Ave

The seller has requested that all public comments be removed from this listing. Per MLS rules, we are not allowed to link to blog posts about this home.

 

Hmmmmm.....could the seller possibly be trying to hide the existence of this blog? Hmmm...what's the non-shady reason for this? I can't think of one can you?

 

If you type in the address into google this blog show's up as the #3 result usually....so, its not like it can be hidden...

 

But, I don't know...is it possible that in this day and age people who are going to spend $725k on a house won't do at least a Google search?

 

In an earlier blog post I invite any possible new owners to contact me with any questions that they might have.

 

Yet, no one has? Seriously, how could you not take advantage of a resource like that? I'm not tooting my own horn here but, c'mon.

 

Our old neighbors say that the person in contract is a nephew of another one of our old neighbors who we would see everyday and say hello to....it's not like were complete strangers...

 

I do wish the new, new owners of Chez 2.0 luck.

 

After the close of escrow my consulting fee for helping you figure things out is going to be $100/hr, 3hr min.... Ha, I wish...

 

But Seriously

I think that according to Real Estate disclosure laws not disclosing this blog to potential buyers might be illegal...

 

Couldn't this blog be viewed as one big loooong in depth inspection report? I know you can't hide the existence of an inspection report, especially if its negative.

 

Actually, I think a case can be made that any of my KnifeCatching reviews  constitute a property report and should be included in the disclosure packet. Especially where I note possible serious issues like crumbling brick foundations or leaky roofs or illegal work.

 

 

 

KnifeCatching 1310 Pacific Ave

Read This:The following review is just my opinion and only my opinion I am not a professional house appraiser or inspector and I am not a structural engineer. The opinions expressed in this review are based on my own inspection of the property, the publicly available facts from aggregator sites such as Redfin and Zillow and the online permit database for the city of Alameda. I am not responsible for incorrect or missing data that appears in these sources. In fact, its probably best that you just ignore everything you read here as the lunatic ravings of an unbalanced mind.

KnifeCatching* 1310 Pacific Ave Alameda CA
Up for review today is 1310 Pacific Ave which has the official specs of being a legal triplex with - - amount of bedrooms and baths and a ---- amount of square feet (but the for sale literature calls it a 4-3 of 2858 sq ft) on a 3500 sq ft lot built in 1897 on sale for $485,000

The house is an interesting Marcuse and Remmel. I just love the swoops and flares of the roofline.
I can see here that the foundation has already been redone!!! Hurray for home owners who have the sense to do the foundation first and I just love the antique brick driveway and walkway. I was completely fooled by the garage doors! They look like original antique swing out carriage doors but it is actually a modern roll up garage door. How Clever!!!

Walk up the stairs and come in the front door which appears original with original glass and the original working stained glass transom window and you have this entryway.
I applaud the home owners sense of style. Just look at this shabby chic entry way! I can only imagine what it must of cost to have artisans 'antique' the house. Oh, I hope the entire house is done in this shabby chic style. I hear it is quite the rage in NYC. With some multi-million dollar penthouse apartments done up to look like this.

Turn left from the entry and you have what was originally the formal parlour.
What an amazing room!!! From the in stock home depot carpets to the multiple outlets on the wall...how much do you want to bet that the home owners attention to detail means that only half of the outlets are working!

And look, the abandoned fish tank motif. I heard that Madonna paid big bucks to have a room done up in just this style. The home owners truly are amazing visionaries.

Next to the formal parlour is this room that would of been the formal dinning room. The contrasting fabric on the walls, the mantle set just so...even the blown light on the ceiling fan...wow, I think that this is the absolute best example of avant garde shabby chic I've seen anywhere.

Just look at this runner! Right off the rack at Home Depot!!! Look closer and see that its actually screwed down!!!

Seriously, how avant garde!!!

Here's the 'kitchen' from the doorway. Wow, if this is not the epitome of farm house shabby chic what is!

There is a good sized bedroom off the kitchen. Again, more fantastic shabby chic.

I feel compelled to stop right now and tell you something truly amazing about the house. When I was there viewing it the owners where there!!! They actually encouraged me taking pictures! They freely offered to answer any questions that I had about the house. I had a ton of questions and they appeared quite knowledgeable about the house and quite honest. WOW, what a refreshing change from the angry, duplicitous attitude I usually get from home owners and their Realtors... They even said, 'When selling a house you should be completely open and honest and forthright with all the details of the house.' How refreshing.

One more thing that really struck me about the owners....damn are they good looking...The husband with his long flowing hair, I bet he was a surfer...the wife with her pale skin and black hair, she is truly stunning...and the baby!! She redefines cute!!

Ascend the wonderfully period correct stairs to the top level of this manse and you are greeted by this amazing sight. The exposed wood work, the home depot carpet, the clawfoot tub just waiting to be filled with water. The owners have really captured the South of Market Artist Loft aesthetic here. I hear Justin Beiber has a room just like this!!!!

Continuing on to the other side of the top floor you have yet more South Of Market Hipness...Look at the single lonely ceiling light hanging by its wires. Tres Chic.

Can't you imagine sitting up here and banging out the next great American novel on your manual royal typewriter??

Exit the amazing main house and through a separate entrance we have this amazing space. Imagine yourself in your own art studio, with warm heated floors, creating your next masterpiece.

The brawny exposed woodwork subconsciously pushing your work in a more marketable masculine direction.

Did I mention just how amazingly attractive the owners are??? It's obviously still on my mind as I'm writing this.

Through this hallway, done up in some new post modern spare aesthetic is the rest of the bottom unit. Through the doorway on the left is,

A generously proportioned bedroom. I didn't have a tape measure on me but I estimate this room to be at least 2000sq ft.

Don't you just love how the bright blue of the empty electrical boxes plays of the brown of the exposed exterior sheathing? Visionary!

On the other side of the hallway is this masterpiece in the making, a bathroom. I simply adore the 'everything is still in boxes waiting to be installed' aesthetic. I hear Bill Gates has several rooms in his mansion done up like this!

Stepping through the doorway at the end of the hallway you'll feel like you've just stepped out into a Wonderland. A wonderland of stamped concrete and imposing metal sculptures. I've recently learned that along with being so darned pretty the owners are also famous artists.

Their pieces typically sell for many hundreds of thousands of dollars but they told me they might include some of the minor pieces with the house, for the right offer. They feel that the neighbors would miss the 30' fire balls...

Conclusion:
This house is an amazing find!!! New foundation, slab, amazing radiant heat, 200amp electrical service with subpanels on each floor, shockingly good looking current owners (I heard they were both models), the amazing, breath taking avant garde shabby chic atmosphere. So what if it still needs a little work!!! With a 203k loan the new owners can put their personal stamp on the property and have a personalized, customized home. All for less than it will be worth!!

Out of all the houses that I have reviewed, this house, I can say without a doubt, is in the best condition for the money and is by far and away the best deal on the market right now!!!

*Obviously this is a joke review if you can't see that take a deeeeep breath and stop taking yourself so seriously.

We Might Be Selling The Chez.....

It is with a heavy heart and mixed emotions that I bring you, dear readers this news...There is a very slim chance that we'll be selling the Chez..... We sorta put an offer on a house and we're waiting for the sellers to come to their senses and agree to it.....

In the meantime, we gotta figure out how in the heck you sell a house that's mid project....we were totally down in the dumps about the prospects of selling such a 'unique' property. We figured that real estate investors with their all cash offers would be our only option until we learned about this newish HUD loan called a 203k.

The 203K Loan
I just learned about it but it seems to be just the ticket for our situation.
Its a government backed loan where you get to roll the cost of the house, the cost to fix up the house AND the first six months of the mortgage payments into the loan and being an FHA loan they only require a 3.5% down payment.

Here's a good article from sfgate that explains it better than I can.
Here's a link to the HUD website that also explains the 203k program.
Here's a link to the HUD website where you can search for a local lender experienced with the 203k loan process.

The 203k is an FHA loan so there is some additional hoops the buyer has to jump through of course.

I spoke to several different local 203k loan experts and I got the best vibe from this guy.

Luis C. Munoz
Renovation Loan Specialist
Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corp
6472 Moraga Ave
Oakland, CA 94611
1 510 825-0300 Cell
1 866 958-1869 E-Fax
www.luiscmunoz.com

This is not an endorsement exactly, but Luis offered to make a house call to help me figure out how to best sell this place through the 203k program and I thought that was going above and beyond. If after reading the info above you are seriously interested in the 203k program I suggest you call Luis as he's local, knows the market, and seemed very knowledgeable on the subject. Tell Luis, Chez Neumansky sent you.

Why the 203k Program Seems So Great
Its a program for moderate income folks, to give them a chance to move to a house/neighborhood that they couldn't afford otherwise.
With this loan, you only have to come up with the 3.5% down payment and then when the first mortgage payment is due after the first six months, you rent out the bottom 1000sq ft apartment. That's gotta take a decent bite outta the mortgage no?
You get a 2000sq ft 3bed 2 bath house to live in and a 1000sq ft apartment to help pay your expenses.

Why You Should Want the Chez!

Its a super-cool interesting looking house.
Its in a good neighborhood 4 houses down from Little John park.
It's in the Franklin school district.
Its a legal 3000sq ft triplex. You can keep it as a triplex, or, do what we were going to do and turn the top 2 floors into a single family home and rent out the bottom floor apartment, or, turn the entire place into a giant 3000sq ft single family residence.
The foundation-slab-earthquake retro-fitting are already done!
Electrical service upgrade to 200amps with 100amp sub-panels on each floor.
Upgraded the gas service also and re-piped the gas lines.
And on, and on, and on, really, just be prepared to kill several hours and read this blog.

Its got a super fab radiant heating system installed on the bottom two floors.

The coolest outdoor entertaining area with built in fire pit!

Readers
If you know of anyone who wants to do the 'move to Alameda and restore an old Victorian and raise their kids in a safe environment with good schools' thing, please, please forward this post to them. They have to qualify for the FHA loan remember.

Realtors
I know a bunch of Alameda based Realtors read this blog.
C'mon, I bet you have a couple of clients who might be interested in the Chez. Forward em this post. Its a win-win, we get to sell the house AND if we buy a new place I don't have any need to keep doing my real estate reviews that you love so much, I'm talking about you Alain Pinel Realty.

What's it Going to Cost?
That's the question on every bodies minds isn't it.....
Short answer...we don't have any idea yet....
We do know it will be priced lower than what we paid for it in March '07 AND it will be literally several hundred thousand dollars less than we have into the place....HURRAY!!!

If you are interested in knowing more.
Please email the Madscientist at the link provided on the blog.

Remember the house is not for sale at this time!
We are just trying to gauge interest with this posting.

Thanks,
D&I