Newer Irvine listings with crazy WTF asking prices from equity sellers

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
Ok another update.  I just went on Redfin, set parameters to 550k - 1.75mil and built before 2014 then clicked on the download all button on the bottom right.  Out of 469 listings, 43 of them had the square footage ending in "00" as if they were rounded to the nearest hundred.

vF7uFZe.jpg
 
collected said:
I decided to check just how much possible sqft exaggeration is out there and the results are shocking.  The first two I checked had huge differences in sqft so I decided to check more.

Just a few examples:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/27-Sonrisa-92620/home/4785645  - listed at 3,500 Sq. Ft.
Redfin Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,963
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 3,241
http://www.trulia.com/property/3242333793-39-Bamboo-Irvine-CA-92620- listed at 2,500 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,416 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/1039975504-2-Brisa-Irvine-CA-92620- listed at 2,102 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 1,979 sqft
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/3-Revere-92620/home/4778410- listed at 2,951 sqft
Redfin Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,391 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,951 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3241177552-29-Cedarbrook-Irvine-CA-92620- listed at 3,000 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,643 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3054050405-3-Morro-Bay-Irvine-CA-92602- listed at 4,404 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 4,358 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3239631848-81-Legacy-Way-Irvine-CA-92602- listed at 3,700 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 3,748 sqft
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/83-Pinewood-92604/unit-42/home/5476188- listed at 2,016 sqft
Redfin Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 1,911 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3242547333-5-Lakefront-Irvine-CA-92604- listed at 1,923 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 1,986 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3242699395-16607-Mosscreek-St-Tustin-CA-92782- listed at 3,137 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 3,198 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/6008737-4551-Sandburg-Way-Irvine-CA-92612- listed at 3,200 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 2,682 sqft
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Santa-Ana/11601-Las-Luces-92705/home/4762534- listed at 4,700 sqft
Redfin Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 3,404 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 4,641 sqft
http://www.trulia.com/property/3155564021-151-Desert-Bloom-Irvine-CA-92618- listed at 1,900 sqft
Trulia Public Records Total Sq. Ft. - 1,900 sqfthttps://www.villagesofirvine.com/villages-neighborhoods/portola-springs/sage/residence-2/- Residence 2 1,878 Sq. Ft

About 40% of the listings didn't have the public records match listing records.  Of the ones that didn't match only 3 had public records sqft barely larger than listing while there were 9 with public records less than listing sometimes by more than 500 sqft.  The last one I knew had to be off since it seemed to rounded up to the nearest hundred.  22 square feet is a lot!  That's a walk-in pantry or a small mud room!
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I noticed a lot of these were off by a small margin which is not a huge issue.  No one is going to care so much that a house is 1878 rather than 1900. However when homes are off by hundreds of sq ft, then I would have to wonder whats going on.  If there is a question as to what the exact sq ft of a house is, then you should advertise on the conservative side in my opinion.  Otherwise its fraud. 

You guys remember the Maxda rx8?  Horse power was 5% less than what was advertised.  Mazda offered to buy back all the cars at sticker price along with any fees regardless of how much it was driven.  Listing a house at a higher sq ft than reality is really no different in my opinion.

One last thought.  Shouldnt there be a record of home sizes for each buy/sell transaction?  Therefore unless additions were made, all these homes that resell should be listed at the same sq footage. 

 
IrvineBS said:
Spring house plan 1 model
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/195-Compass-92618/home/51682739

$678/sq ft  :o
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was already pricey when it was the model. its one of the larger lots though. can convert that bocce court to a lap pool.

aquabliss said:
So you're trying to sell your ex-model home for $678 / sq ft, and you tell your realtor you'll just walk around and take some pictures with your iPhone and send 'em over. 
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seems more likely than not that it was posted by the realtor vs the seller, wouldn't it? I feel at that price point, realtors will pay for the marketing expense etc.

you are right though, at this price point im not sure what they were thinking. the $200-300 for a photographer is pennies compared to eventual sale - and crucial for the first few days online to keep engagement  (and thereby affect the algo where zillow/redfin etc. list these homes)
 
lnc said:
Bullsback said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
Bullsback said:
aquabliss said:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/73-Acorn-Gln-92620/home/106431549

Check out the beautiful back yard with brick floor that "costed" seller over $25k.

Oh ya, it's also "closing" to a community park.
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I can't believe some of the statements that got made. That yard couldn't have cost more than 10K (given it is just pavers).  Either way, what is interesting is the price per sq ft isn't horrifically off.  I certainly wouldn't pay anything close to that, but I think it will close within $75K of that price, probably a lot less.  Amazing how little you get for your money these days. 
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Might have a tougher time selling than other homes as it sides to Trabuco, but someone will buy it at a lower price.
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Didn't realized it backed a street, so yep, that will drop it down a bit already.  Still, I think it goes for at least 1.15M. 
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FYI, this is one of few Mulberry home with an actual front lawn. 
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Sold!  At $1.2M!
 
aquabliss said:
$561 sq/ft in PP and went pending in 10 days (though contingent):https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/102-Fieldwood-92618/home/51682529

Awesome back yard though, not easy to find a lot like this, and looks pretty good inside and out.
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They've been trying to sell that house since Oct 2015. It only took a close to 200K price drop from the real original asking price of 1.689M to 1.499M to get a buyer. I'm curious to see how much off 1.499M it finally closes for.

 
Land $565,088
Mineral Right $0
Improvements $551,779
Personal Property$0

Others $0
Total Values $1,116,867
(Less) Exemptions
HOMEOWNER ($7,000)
Total Net Taxable Value $1,109,867

Even with price reductions, they clearly pocket 100K + plus for the two years of ownership. Not bad. Tell me what you can do for tax free and get 100 K in two years?
 
Debbie downer checking in here.

A nice profit on a new home is always welcomed.  That's $100k more than what I made flipping houses in the last two years.

However....

Let's assume the $100k profit you have in mind is after purchase closing costs, post escrow upgrades (i.e. landscaping), 2 years of property tax, 2 years of HOAs, 2 years of insurance, 2 years of misc repairs & maintenance, no debt payments, rental income, and selling closing costs. 

Let's also assume the property was held for investment, not owner occupied.

Say it was a 1.1M total investment (even though that contradicts some items above)

100,000 / 1,100,000 / 2 = 4.5% simple annual return


The S&P 500 returned 6.4% annually over the last two years with dividends reinvested.

On an excitement scale of 1 to 10, I would give a 4.5% tax free return a "meh, sounds about right".

If you're saying it also afforded the investor a sweet place to live for 2 years and a 4.5% annual return after the holding costs, then I would say, "that sounds pretty nice".

That biggest bummer would be some of that 4.5% return would be eaten away by inflation.  And if the owner is planning to purchase another property in Irvine with the proceeds, he might find that his purchasing power is about the same as it was two years ago.  That puts me back to "meh".  Typical bummer point of view.

Hey happy Friday everyone!


 
You are assuming the seller paid cash for the house and never lived there.

The county lists that property as owner occupied and you gotta live somewhere.

Lets assume he didn't pay all cash but rather that he "only" put down 20%, paid for $200K upgrades in cash. He's out probably less than $450K with closing costs.

He could have lived in cheaper quarters but then he most likely is putting money out to live elsewhere while also carrying a mortgage for this place with no income while it's being upgraded. I'm assuming this to be more likely than starting out as a rental since most renters don't want to put up with the hassle of an owner upgrading the property while they live there and therefore I think it's more likely the county is correct that it at least started out as owner occupied.

Lets further assume he got some tax writeoff for his mortgage and property taxes while living in the property.

It's been over 2 years since he bought the place so any gain up to $250K for a single person is tax free as opposed to the SP scenario which would result in cap gains tax upon sale and unless I'm missing something, the SP scenario requires the investor to live somewhere besides his portfolio.

So if the seller is "only" out $450K plus his mortgage/insurance/HOA/taxes which are somewhat softened by tax benefits and he does make $100K that puts his gain closer to 20% tax free and I know the SP scenario can't come near that.

Now if he bought it as an investor, then most likely he has other properties he can go live in, so no need to buy something else.
 
Yes, you're right, he took the owner occupied exemption so he's clearly claiming that he lives there  My bad.

Maybe he borrowed at 3.5%? 3%? 4%?  Wrote off the mortgage interest and property taxes.  Lived there for 2 years.  Doesn't pay tax on the gain.  Yes, it's a positive scenario.

I mean, he could have moved many places in Irvine and seen his property appreciate the same amount, maybe more, maybe less. 

All I'm saying is the original prospect of making $100k profit on a $1.1M purchase over the last 2 years isn't a home run investment.  It's in line with the last 2 years of market returns.

It will be interesting to see what it finally sells for.  Unfortunately we'll never know his actual cost basis or carrying costs. 

But we can still disagree over imaginary facts in the meantime :)
 
Everything is a crap shoot.

No one knows when they buy an s/p fund if it will be higher in a year or two and no one knows if they buy any particular house if it will be higher/lower in a year or two.

Even if they do go up, they could come right back down and then some.

Googling a little, it looks like this owner is a realtor in the office of the listing agent, so maybe it was an investment, maybe owner occupied.

Why they are selling? Maybe they found something else, maybe they feel the market is toppy, maybe they need the money, maybe their kids are thru school, maybe they want a bigger/smaller place. Who knows? But if they get to sell for reduced commission and maybe have contacts who can upgrade their house for a better price than you and me, it's more likely they'll make a profit than either of us.

In any case, it looks like this particular buy was a pretty good one for the owner.

 
USCTrojanCPA said:
aquabliss said:
$561 sq/ft in PP and went pending in 10 days (though contingent):https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/102-Fieldwood-92618/home/51682529

Awesome back yard though, not easy to find a lot like this, and looks pretty good inside and out.
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Where are you getting $561/sf?  I'm seeing $440/sf.  Nice house though. 
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Oops my bad... I meant Osage:https://www.redfin.com/CA/Irvine/187-Osage-92618/home/51682798

I had Fieldwood open in another tab and pasted the wrong link.
 
Looks like 187 Osage was bought new for 1.446M.  Definitely spent a good deal on upgrades & landscaping and very tastefully done IMO.  That his & her home office... kitchen island counter top...  yard...  california room... bi-fold doors...  floors...  paint...  ceiling... finishing... master shower... *drool*

Absolutely beautiful home.  Well done, good for that person, congrats to the realtors and future owners.
 
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