Real Homes of Genius – The mini face of foreclosure. Artesia lime green foreclosure selling for $119,000 but listed at 396 square feet. 600 square foot foreclosures in Compton and Stanton.
Today I wanted to go back to the roots of the Real Homes of Genius. The over priced homes in lower income neighborhoods that were selling for $500,000 and higher but were of questionable quality. People want to believe that since the bubble burst in these markets, that somehow the recovery has already taken hold. But these are the areas where home prices have absolutely collapsed. The Case-Shiller data was recently released and shows a resumption of lower home prices nationwide. Of course this is the case because employment is still weak and wages are nowhere close to those during the bubble peak. A report was talking about the better than expected jobs release. Jobs are being added in the “alt fuels†arena. A commentator was asked how much these jobs pay and they stated that they range from $12 to $15 an hour. Is that enough to support California home prices? No way. The good news is that it may be helpful in states with lower priced housing but definitely not here in California even with currently inflated prices. You need to recall all the 6-figure mortgage brokers and agents that are no longer here that were buying up these homes. Let us examine some Real Homes of Genius in Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
Stanton Miniature Foreclosure
12671 BRIARGLEN LOOP C, Stanton, CA 90680
Beds:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Baths:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Square feet:Â Â Â Â Â Â 673
This is a condo in a lower priced city in Orange. The thing about condos especially in Orange is that they usually carry a hefty HOA monthly bill. For this place, it looks like the HOA is $201 a month. This is nearly on par with the monthly property tax amount. Let us take a look inside:
“Yup, looks like 673 square feet to me.â€
Let us look at some listing history here:
The last sale occurred in 2001 for $112,000. So you might be asking, how can this be a foreclosure if the current listing price is $163,900? This was a 643 square foot home equity machine. The story is familiar yet who in the world would make home equity loans on a 643 square foot condo in Stanton? Any takers at $163,900?
With 10 percent down the monthly payment would be:
PITI + HOAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â = Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â $1,219Â ($16,390 down payment)
Is this a good deal? Well a bigger rental can be had for $990:
Either way, prices might start to make more sense in these markets if you are really set to own a place and stay put for a very long time. But you better be ready to stay in suspended animation in these markets because if interest rates rise, you won’t have such a large pool of potential buyers in the future (and is there a large pool for this home even today?).
Compton
2008 E ORIS ST, Compton, CA 90222
Beds:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2
Baths:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Square feet:Â Â Â Â Â Â 634
The above home is even smaller than the Stanton home but is selling for half the price. I love how the ad tells us this is a “spacious†two bedroom home. Keep in mind these are active listings. I think many of you are getting flashbacks of 2006 but the prices are more reflective of the value of these homes. This home was an early riser to the housing bubble:
This home sold over and over (5 times in the last 15 years). Whoever bought in 1995 for $20,000 and sold for $105,000 in 1998 was the big winner. The home is now back below the 1998 level. What do you think this home is worth? Let us take a look inside:
“Remember, someone paid $120,000 for this home.â€
The current listing price is $72,500. Is this a good deal? Do you want to be an aspiring landlord and purchase this as an investment property? Good luck to you since this needs thousands of dollars of rehab work. All of sudden those buy and flip HGTV shows don’t seem so plentiful on the media.
Artesia Mini Home
11925 169TH ST, Artesia, CA 90701
Beds:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Baths:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Square feet:Â Â Â Â Â Â 396
I had to save the best foreclosure for last. This lime green home of your dreams is the smallest of the three homes I’m featuring today. This home is a mega-mansion at 396 square feet! Some of you may have closets bigger than that but I doubt they have this kind of awesome coloring. Of course, whoever took the above picture had to leave the blue trash bin in site; and as you can see from the photo above, it is virtually half the size of the house. The good news is you can jump on the trash bin and hop on the roof to clean off the two leaves you’ll find there.
Let us look at the listing description in all its full cap glory:
“COZY 1 BEDROOM 1 BATH HOME THAT IS WAITING FOR YOU. THIS PROPERTY IS IDEAL FOR SOMEONE WHO IS JUST GETTING THEIR FOOT OUT THE DOOR AND STARTING THEIR LIFE! FEATURES 1 LARGE BEDROOM BATHROOM, GREAT OPEN KITCHEN WITH STOVE. FENCE AROUND PERMITIER OF PROPERTY FOR THAT EXTRA SECURITY EVERYONE WANTSâ€
I think the only thing you will get in is your foot. Let us take a look inside:
“Not for Barbie usage.â€
This home is currently listed for sale at $119,900. People forget that these are homes that are selling right now. Full on active listings here in SoCal. Think this will help comps in these areas? If they aren’t selling at these price levels you will see prices go down. And frankly, for the two 600 square foot homes and definitely the 300 square foot home these are incredibly overpriced. But maybe I’m showing my bias against lime green homes and boarded up windows.
Today we salute you Stanton, Compton, and Artesia with our Real Homes of Genius Award.
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25 Responses to “Real Homes of Genius – The mini face of foreclosure. Artesia lime green foreclosure selling for $119,000 but listed at 396 square feet. 600 square foot foreclosures in Compton and Stanton.”
They are predominantly in disadvantaged areas which are like Detroit. Yes they are overpriced.
Detroit? We didn’t see our industrial base disappear the way Detroit has.
These houses just need to drop to where they’re comparable with rentals.
I never in my wildest dreams (nightmares, actually) imagined myself saying this, but if it was a choice of the three, I’d actually choose the Compton shitbox! I still can’t believe it, LOL.
Of course, you’d have to pay me (and pay me VERY well) to live in it, but yeah…I think I would have to pick the Compton mini-crack house out of the three. Is this like some sick twisted version of the Dating Game? Pick the least shitty dump?
Nearly $400/sf for the Dwarf Lime place?! If that’s your START in life, what do you aspire to later? $400/sf for 600 sf? ($240,000) 1,000 sf for $400K? A luxury condo at $800/sf, 150 sf?
Just what is the future supposed to look like for the person who shackles themselves to this financial cannonball?
Re: the Fantabulous Emerging Green Economy. A job that pays $12-15 an hour, full time (ha!) comes out to $24-30K a year, or $2,000-2,500 gross/month.
On that $119,000 place, 10% down, fixed 30 at 4.8% APR, monthly mortgage nut alone = $574. Never mind taxes, insurance, upkeep, HOA, closing costs (which most people finance).
The real killer? By the time DHB’s example imaginary “alt fuels jobs” borrower hits monthly break-even on principal and interest (year 16), they will have paid $68,000–two to nearly three years’ income–IN INTEREST.
And they’ll still owe $70,000 in principal.
This assumes their job didn’t go away or their salaries or hours aren’t cut. A big assumption over 16 years in an economy rooted in the race to the bottom among an effectively migrant workforce. It rules out that in that time they might like to find a partner, have or adopt a kid, share digs with a parakeet, or take up needlepoint to relax (where the hell would they put a hank of yarn and a needle?).
Of course according to the NAR, that’s where you “trade up”…….and reset that interest clock at zero. Wham. Assuming you can sell this East Berlin-sized hive cell without being taken to the cleaners. And then where are you supposed to get the down payment for the better place?
THIS is why jobs are everything. This is why the ONLY issue is working–not speculative–incomes. The banks and top 5% want to preserve a system of pricing where everyone is THEIR serfs. Where THEIR profits are protected. If they can’t get it in interest serfdom from wage earners, they’ll take it in interest serfdom from debt serfs. If they can’t squeeze the debt serfs anymore, they’ll take it in tax-based bailouts, thank you very much.
Note to self: A house is a liability, not an asset.
This is not a house, it is a garage disguised as a house!!!
My thoughts exactly. A very nice garage. Any car or even an SUV would be happy to be in this place, but not a human.
Yeah, seriously Dr. H B. Looking at that “house” in Arleta, my first thought was, “no, that’s just the garage conversion in the back of the ACTUAL house/lot”.
The funniest part for me of the whole all caps description is “FENCE AROUND PERMITIER OF PROPERTY FOR THAT EXTRA SECURITY EVERYONE WANTSâ€
Yeah, a two and a half foot high fence, that’s great if a pack of rabid midgets is attempting a home invasion on you, which wouldn’t be too surprising for this shoebox considering nothing but a family of midgets could fit in it. And “permitier”…LOL!
Yeah, that EXTRA SECURITY THAT EVERYONE WANTS, all in a 368 sq ft half-a-shoebox in Arleta! WOOOO!
I’d love to take a bulldozer and run right over both these pices of crap! GARBAGE! RUBBISH! Neither of them is worth $10,000.
These pictures make me sad.
Two Words about the lime green house. RIP OFF. California is in for major changes next year and the years to come with unbalanced budgets coming out of Sacramento. Not to mention businesses leaving for other states taking good jobs with them which means state and local tax revenues will be down. HP in Silicon Valley is leaving for new plant in Oregon taking all the jobs with HP up North. Add into the mix an illegal alien problem that the State leaders ignore. So realtors and mortgage brokers, try to get all you can now because even your professions are going to be hitting on very lean times real fast, like next year.
“A report was talking about the better than expected jobs release. Jobs are being added in the “alt fuels†arena. A commentator was asked how much these jobs pay and they stated that they range from $12 to $15 an hour.”
If you ask me, this would be a great time to be young, and super-dumb and really big and strong. Working in security, to protect the rich will be a growing trend. Big dumb cops and security guards are needed to throw out the homeless and impound the vehicles of those who now live in their RVs in Venice, as they are doing right now. Sure, we peons will eventually revolt at some point, and then the big, dumb, young and strong “Security” will be called in to quell the situation. Security Guards, that is the job of the future, and the rich will keep them employed to keep themselves separated and safe from all the underprivilaged riff-raff of this nation.
That last one would make a great crack house.
Are we talking about a dog house here!
These places aren’t even good enough for Spot, or Ruffy.
HA! Disadvantaged areas, that’s a good one. They are in CRAPPY areas. Compton, Artesia and Stanton. Those are entire TOWNS that should be bulldozed!
No don’t bulldoze those towns, ditchdiggers need a place to live too!!
Wow that last house must be real tiny. I can’t believe the difference between the garbage bin and the “house”. I wonder how will someone who is 6’2″ live in the house? probably permanently stooped over and Lord forbid they have a ceiling fan !!!
To think they are asking 100k for this and the economy and even salaries are now way worse than in the 90s.
The ceiling fan shouldn’t be a problem since these owners already took a shaving buying the home.
Welcome to Munchkinville!
In my nightmares I find myself living in places like these.
You gotta figure the natual resouces with this property, just look at all the oil coming up thru the driveway.
Everyone not living in LA will now realize what the avg price of a home in the mid-west buys you in Los Angeles. JUNK.
And Los Angeles is full of these awful homes that sell. But think about what this does to the AVERAGE price of a home in LA. It brings down the “average.” That is why it is going to take 500K-1MM to buy a decent home in Los Angeles. If you want an average priced home you are looking at it! Enjoy!
So everyone waiting for the current homes that cost 500K to drop to an affordable price for someone middle income. It’s not happening. This is the home you can really afford. Don’t like it? Me either.
What do you believe will happen to home prices when mortgage rates return to their normal levels of 8% to 9%?
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