Welcome back to the “San Francisco Property Spotlight” brought to you by yours truly.
This week, I found a pretty cool condo in the Marquee Lofts. It’s 151 Alice B. Toklas Pl #708. Per the MLS “Want instant equity?Bay and Civic Plaza Views historic Marquee building, unfinished conversion Loft. This modern loft offers high ceilings, original and industrial size windows,1 car pkg, deeded storage.”
This place is listed by Joseph M. Bradley, a real estate brokerage office based in San Ramon and is listed at a surprising $620K.
Why surprising?
Other similar lofts in the building have sold somewhere between the high $700K’s to the mid $800K’s in the past year or so.
In fact, unit #708 (the unit in question) sold for $865K in October of 2006!!!
So what’s the catch?
Well – it’s a bank owned property. The previous owner didn’t pay up and so the property went into foreclosure. Now the bank owns it and it’s selling it for CHEAP!
Of course, someone (maybe the previous owner) has stripped the property of anything of value. From the photos it looks like it needs a new kitchen and bath at minimum. And if you’ve ever spent money on a remodel, you know that those two rooms can easily set you back $100K or more.
But, I think that for the right person that has a little vision, a little creativity, and a little extra cash in reserves to fix this place up, it could make an awesome home, and an awesome investment. And remember, it sold for $865K in 2006!
So instant equity??? I’m not so sure – but with some sweat equity, a solid investment in my opinion. And the opportunity to create your own vision there to boot.
On another note – I thought I’d give you an update on a condo I mentioned in a previous Property Spotlight - 57 Webster…
…47 days on the market so far and still listed at $1,025,000. No price reduction yet either. I guess it hasn’t magically appreciated $155K in just over a year! Bummer for the sellers – but these are the kinds of things that happen when seller expectations just aren’t realistic, or when agents promise more that the market can deliver just to get the listing. I don’t know what happened in this case, and I can’t even speculate – but the value of the property and the asking price just don’t seem to line up.
The market isn’t tanking – but hell, the days of properties appreciating almost 20% in just one year are indeed behind us.
As always, if you have questions about these, or any other properties on the market, or want a realistic evaluation of your own home, feel free to contact me. I’m always happy to help! 
Just to let you know the facts… The owner past away suddenly after putting $150k into the property. This is a probate sale not a flip.
John – I’m assuming you are talking about 57 Webster. It is very unfortunate that the owner passed away. What’s also unfortunate is that just because he spent $150K upgrading the property, that doesn’t mean he added $150K of value to the home. I’ve seen it happen many times – a person comes into a home and spends a ton of money remodeling it to their taste, but oftentimes, their remodel only add a fraction of the value which they’ve spent on it.
The National Association of Realtors even puts out a list every year that tells you how much of your investment you’ll get back (on average that is), and in most cases, it’s significantly less than 100% – and the higher end the remodel, the less of the value you get back in the short term. Sellers might spend an extra $25K to put in a Wolf stove and a Subzero fridge, but most buyers won’t pay $25K more for a house just because it has a Wold stove and a Subzero fridge.
Again, I apologize if my remarks sounded cold or calous, but I don’t recall calling the property a “flip” in anything I said.
And P.S. – I just noticed the price reduction to $998,500 that happened a few days ago. Looks like I was right about the price. BUT I was wrong about the lack of improvements. I am wondering where the entire $150K was spent in the remodel? (If you know, John – I’d love to hear about it.)