Archive for the ‘Normal Heights’ Category

VIDEO: 3549 Madison Normal Heights, 92116

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Yeah, I know this is all about 2-4 units. But this house is pretty rad, and even works as a straight investment. For a price of $254,900 and four bedrooms, it’s hard NOT to make it work. I shot some video for a client of mine that has an offer in, but couldn’t see the place asap.


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Pretty Quick Little Drive to Adams Ave:

What’s In It This For You!?

Sometimes, just sometimes, a house can make a good investment.

Bam! You just increased your investment opportunity pool and am now in a position to make more money faster.

House and yard walkthrough:

Well if you’re into this kind of stuff, you probably already know that a 2-4 unit beats out houses almost every time. More bedrooms for the same price = more rent. The only time a house can match the deal is like this one when the price is so freaking low. And even then it has to have three-four bedrooms as in the example.

One caveat: a multi unit property you can live in one and rent out the other units, thus getting the best out of the investment and residential ownership worlds, but a house you either all in, or all out (unless you rent out rooms, but that’s another story).

Here’s some numbers for you.

They don’t include a 7% management fee, so may want to knock that off the gross rents if you’re going that route. As always, this is just an estimate, you need to consult a qualified professional. Or at least dust off that calculator.

I called this one to sell around $270,000, 20% down, 6% interest rate just like the one above. Your monthly payment with tax is $1,520. So if you live in the house, this is what you’re looking at every month. Now it is your OWN place, not sharing the lot with your tenants, so that privacy is supposed to be what you’re paying for there. I estimate this one could rent out for $2,200. Your cashflow is +$680 per month. Pretty sweet! Also has a large lot with big new shed for all your stuff.

Latest Update On Collier…

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Just got off the phone with the broker on this one, and as of 12:13 pm today, there are five total offers with highest coming in at $505,000. Only two out of the five are being considered, the one with the highest price and one lower than that one with 30% down.

Pretty standard ratio of offers considered vs. thrown away…likely the other ones had contingencies, tricky financing, etc.

Including the current and conservative projected rents, $505,000 still yields a cap rate of 8%, really good for the area, considering that there’s a little bit of a premium for “North of Adams properties…

If you’re interested, the time to move is NOW. Offers are being submitted to the bank tomorrow.

Ted Lucier, REALTOR
Lic# 01317331

Prudential California Realty,
La Jolla
1299 Prospect St
La Jolla Ca,
92037

Direct: 858.412.7484
Fax: 858.764.2854

VIDEO: 3534 Collier Normal Heights, Ca 92116. Triplex

Monday, June 29th, 2009

This is a pretty sweet little property, short sale, inability to see the inside, or total lack of information on the mls (no picture, no comments) notwithstanding.

The location is prime “north of Adams territory”, great neighborhood. Check it out:


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It’s a triplex, with a three bedroom, one bedroom, and studio. I couldn’t get into the units as they were tenant occupied, showing instructions were “with accepted offer only”. The studio is advertised at $850 rent, the one bedroom at $1,325 (which seems real high for the area) and the three bedroom does not list any rents. May be owner-occupied, I’m calling the broker shortly to get the scoop. If it’s the three bedroom house in front, I’d ballpark the rents at $2,000-$2,250 if you included the garage. With the three bedroom at $2,000, you’re grossing $4,175 per month or $50,100 per year. Pretty dang good for a list price of $417,000!. Per unit price of $139,000, great number.

Two car garage PLUS two spaces, hard to find this kind of parking in Normal Heights. The three units are divided between two buildings.

More in-depth financial analysis to follow, I just wanted to get this one up here as it just hit the market.

Video of the street:

Video of front house:


Video of back unit:

VIDEO: The Worst Foreclosure Property in San Diego?! Watch & You Decide! 4386 Mansfield St Normal Heights, 92116

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Wow. I mean, just wow. This one is on par with the worst I’ve seen, and I’ve seen wiring ripped out all over the place, holes where toilets used to be, and vomit on walls (for real). I’m pretty sure the ancient house in front was held together with popsicle sticks and scotch tape. The debris was amazing, the most cluttered I’ve ever seen. Junk everywhere.
Pros:

Price is $250,000
Back unit was built in 1988
Four car garage
Great north of Adams Ave location

Cons:

Front house is likely a tear down
Have to pay cash
Have to pay cash and close by July 7th as per lender

Bottom line, demo the front house, probably around $10,000, permits needed, clean up all the trash. Back unit needs $10,000 in remodeling. So you’re in for $270,000 for essentially a house with a large lot that you could possibly develop.

Offer $200,000, cash, close quickly by the 7th of July. If they take it, great, if not, move on.

Google maps:

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Video of front unit and backyard, brace yourself:

Video of back unit:

Rents: if you clean up the back unit, yard, etc, you’re looking at $1,400 for the unit and $400 for the garage. About $1,800 gross on a $200,000-$250,000 investment.

Better have the stomach for this though!

4505-4509 Illinois St Normal Heights 92116

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

Here’s the triplex we were involved with some months ago, it finally sold. It is three attached units of two bedrooms and one bath each, with two large garage spaces and plenty of outdoor parking. The list price was $494,900 and the final sales price was $481,000.

The condition was terrible: holes in the floor where the toilets were ripped out, ancient cabinets, wiring ripped out of the walls, extensive mold damage in one of the units, etc. Every unit needed basically a “studs out remodel” and new kitchens, baths, etc.

Traffic noise wasn’t too bad, but it was there. Final sales price per unit was $160,000-right in that “sweet spot” where these things seem to sell. If these were rehabbed, I think they’re right around the $700 per room mark, making for gross rents of about $4,200, the same as A St.


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illinois-side-pic

5020 34th St Normal Heights Ca, 92116

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

This is a great house that has been totally remodeled. It looks like the bank did this one, I never see bank-owned property in this condition where the owner did a previous remodel. The location is excellent, in the north part of Normal Heights-this neighborhood looks a lot more residential other streets in the area. The price at $399,800 is a touch high, as two on ones are selling for many thousands less than that in Normal Heights.

Still, if you’re looking for a house, it’s hard to beat this one. It costs the same as a lot of condos. For the investor, the returns won’t be as good as on a 2-4 unit at the same price, but this is totally turnkey-you could lease it up in a week, no work needed.

As an owner occupant, you could just move in, no remodeling needed. With four bedrooms, it would be pretty easy to have an office or den. There is plenty of parking, even though one of the rooms looks like a garage conversion. One thing that’s a bummer is that there is no backyard. Just a narrow walkway.

Nice.


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34th st view down st towards north

34th st view down st towards north


parking

parking


34th st
34th st
back walkway

back walkway


new windows-save you $6,000 in remodel costs right there

new windows-save you $6,000 in remodel costs right there


34th st
house, front

house, front

First Time Owner-Occupant Buyer Advice. What Areas To Consider When Value Is Paramount?

Monday, March 16th, 2009

This is culled from an email response to one of my clients this morning, where he was looking to expand his search out of PB and into other areas. It’s “quick and dirty”, but gets the point across:

“Basically, OB has much less available than PB, Point Loma is bigger and has more inventory, but you could end up in a pretty dated building and run-down area at these prices. I can set you up for both of them, but I highly recommend checking out at a minimum Normal Heights and University Heights. There’s a ton a foreclosures there, the neighborhoods are walkable with their own little downtowns, and you can find houses and 2-4 units with a lot of character and potential.

You’re young, so if you buy a house in the low $300,000’s or $200,000’s or a 2-4 unit in the mid $300,000’s or $400,000’s and have someone live in another unit paying a big chunk of your mortgage for you, it’s tough to go wrong.

Especially when you’re buying a property at 50%-70% off what it sold for at the peak. Live in it for a few years, and when you’re ready to move on, either sell at a nice profit or even better, hang onto it for passive income and go to your next one.

These areas have very strong rental markets, so will have the option to rent them quickly and or rent out a unit and use that market as a hedge. It’s pretty cool.”

Ted

Mansfield Update

Saturday, March 7th, 2009

We had a foundation inspection the other day from the best company in San Diego, actually right in Normal Heights.

The front house appears to have been built in the 1920’s. The rear of this house is a new addition built sometime in the last 3-5 years, including a new foundation. Front of front house foundation is original and deteriorating, but not too bad.

Rear studio may have been a garage in the past, it’s on a slab foundation. There is a bulge in the floor that appears to have been tiled over in it’s existing state. Larry Teves from Craftsman Foundation Repair http://www.craftsmanfoundation.com/ , who did the inspection, explained how, if there are leak or drainage problems, the expansive clay soils of the Normal Heights area will expand and cause cracks, etc.

So it’s pretty important to verify if there are active leak or drainage issues under the slab. Again, as per Larry, it looks like the tile was laid down over the sloping area, so it’s hard to tell.

Checklist for this property:

-Check foundation repair estimate + home inspection results and get credit request into lender/ owner
-Verify permitting. There is zero landscaping on property (great for maintenance, but code compliant?)
-Verify zoning, etc.

A few pictures from the other morning:

cracked tile in back house floor

cracked tile in back house floor


front house 3rd bedroom with the most slope. I see this all the time

front house 3rd bedroom with the most slope. I see this all the time


Larry Teves at work, client checking things out

Larry Teves at work, client checking things out


front yard, parking

front yard, parking


south side yard portion

south side yard portion


front part of north side yard

front part of north side yard

4424-26 33rd St Normal Heights CA, 92116

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

 

Front House View From The Street

Front House View From The Street

 

view through back house window

view through back house window

 

view at front door of back house

view at front door of back house

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This house is in pretty rough shape from the looks of it. It’s a short sale with a tenant in the front house, and the back house has a combo lockbox with no code on the mls and no one to answer the phone when I called for it. Confidential remarks on the mls state that there is a cracked slab.

List price is $350,000. One house is a 2/1 and the other is a 3/0, whatever that means. Actual rents are listed on the mls as $950 for the two bedroom and $1,400 for the three.

The location is a little close to El Cajon Blvd, not to my liking:
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Overall, considering this is a shortsale with a cracked slab (as per the mls), pretty rough condition, and not the greatest location or price, I think we’ll see this one pop up as a reo soon enough. This would be best in the high $200’s or low, low $300’s for a contractor type buyer.

4745-4747 Mansfield Normal Heights, CA 92116

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

A great property. Looks like the previous owner did almost a total remodel except for the foundation. There is no landscaping to take care of plenty of parking. Two houses on one lot, very close to Adams Ave, extremely walkable. This could be leased up in as little as a week or two.

The first house is a three bedroom, all with good closet space. The master bedroom is surprisingly huge. Looks the former owner took out several walls, as this house was originally built in the 1920’s.

The back unit is a giant studio with a bathroom strangely done in marble and granite. All tile floor as opposed to the wood and carpet in the front house.

Estimated rents at between $2,000-$2,200 for the front house and $900-$950 or so for the back one.

Property currently has several offers on it; price has been negotiated to $350,000 with a preliminary acceptance. Unknown how it’s going to shake out at this time. The seller/ bank wants all contingencies removed at acceptance. So if you inspect the place and find that it needs a total foundation replacement for $75,000 you’re screwed for your deposit. Or, you spend $450-$500 bucks prior to acceptance for an inspection and someone else buys the property out from underneath you.

Excellent location:


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front of first house.

front of first house.


living room front house

living room front house

kitchen front house

kitchen front house


master bedroom

master bedroom


studio living area back house. bathroom is right, kitchen left

studio living area back house. bathroom is right, kitchen left


kitchen for back house

kitchen for back house