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By Ryan Rockwood

Yet another spooky P.O.S. foreclosure in Rancho Palos Verdes went on the chopping block today. 26715 Menomine, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA didn’t have any takers though so it’s now the fabulous new property of SunTrust Mortgage!

RPV foreclosure does have nice view

A Troubled Property

Don’t believe me? Well then move your family right on into 26715 Menomine. I predict your life heads straight down the toilet.

I don’t consider myself superstitious. But I do believe in bad houses. And this is one of them.Watch for these characteristics:

1. Several 1/2 finished and ill conceived remodeling projects.
2. Long narrow crummy driveway.
3. House orientation rotated 90-degrees off everything else on the block.
4. An over-the-garage addition.
5. Lousy everything else.
6. A clearly unsanitary ’swimming pool’

But none of these get at the heart of the matter which is the generally creepy ax-murder style vibe of some homes. Also, creepy owners/residents don’t hurt.

Last week I was at this house in my never-ending quest to bring foreclosure solutions (and joy and hope) to distressed Palos Verdes homeowners.

The door is open so I knock.

“Hello,” I announce myself.

“Come in,” says a friendly voice who follows that with “…I think.”

But by then I was already well inside the vestibule. Next, a pretty good size guy (250 lbs) rushes out and blocks me. He comes at me WAY too fast and he comes WAY to close. I need my personal space, you know? This guy obviously does not want me to see what he is doing in the other room. Creepy, right? Anyway, he makes a halfhearted attempt to pretend he is shaking my hand as he throws me out the front door.

Outside I brush myself off and question my career choice. Whatever, like I care whose body he’s busy dismembering.

Anyhoo, back to the Real Estate part of the story. I think it’s safe to assume the tax records are wrong in this case. Nobody would have lent $2.4 million on this property. So let us assume it’s $1-million off. What’s $1-million among friends anyway, right? $1.4 seems reasonable to me, at one time. Now everything is gone but the 1st lien which is around $1-million bucks. At the auction they were ready to let it go for $920k and change. But it is going to take more than that these days.

Look for this home soon as an REO. I call it a good buy for $750,000. Bring your tools and your fav exorcist.

Help fund the continued creation of fine literature on this blog by Buying / Selling a house with me. Seriously, call me at 310-809-0203. And for goodness sake, subscribe to this blog already!

We have all seen first-hand the positive impact the first-time homebuyer tax credit is having on the real estate market recovery. As the expiration date for this successful program looms, we ALL need to make sure that Congress hears from us about the positive impact this program has had and ask them to extend it, and expand it, so that we can continue to see our markets fully recover.

Please watch this video of REALTORS and NAR President Charles McMillan explaining how the credit is helping and urging both you and Congress to take action NOW.

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Congressperson
Your Senators

Below is the sample letter:

 
Subject: Homebuyer Tax Credit: Extend and Expand

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a constituent, I can assure you that the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit has definitely been a success.  Homebuyer interest and housing sales increased almost as soon as the ink was dry on the tax credit legislation.  Today’s lower prices and interest rates appeal to consumers, but it’s been the tax credit that has attracted people to open houses and to homeownership.  

That progress could grind to a halt sooner than you think.  Congress must act NOW to extend the credit through 2010.  Otherwise, uncertainty will return and the market might again be frozen — possibly as soon as October.

A homebuyer is eligible for the tax credit only if the home is “purchased” before December 1, 2009.  That means that buyers have to find a house, complete a contract, satisfy any contingencies, secure financing and go to closing by November 30.  Accomplishing those tasks by November 30 will become more difficult with every passing day.  In today’s market, it generally takes between 45 and 60 days to go from contract to closing.

The market has improved, but it has not yet fully corrected itself.  The credit needs to be extended for an additional period of time and expanded in order to build upon the progress that’s been made. Uncertainty about the future of the credit will dampen consumer demand.  The best way to assure continued housing activity is to extend and expand the credit and to do that NOW.   

We can’t wait until late in the year to see what happens.  Consumers will drop out soon if they can’t predict what’s in their future.  Please act NOW to extend and expand the credit through 2010.

Sincerely,

Ryan Rockwood

“Honey, I think we are going to be short on our mortgage payment by $165,858.”

– Imagined dinner conversation of Bob Lowe, chairman and chief executive of Lowe Enterprises, The Terrenea Resort’s principal owner.

Oh snap!

Terranea fixtures for sale?

Gosh, maybe they’ll let it slide? …Turns out they just might! As always, it’s great to be rich. And it’s even greater to be uber rich. Check out this quote from the L.A. Times:

“Lenders are loath to take these properties back, especially something as management-intensive as hotels,” Reay said. “Foreclosure is the last resort on a resort hotel.”

So I guess the lesson here is…

…. wait there is no lesson here. It’s just lame. And so is the Terranea resort, in this writer’s ever so humble opinion. Every time I drive by I wonder, ‘Who the heck would come here?’ Also, how are they going to get here, the 110 South to Gaffey and through San Pedro? Wow, that route is going to make folks feel special – that is if they are into driving through poverty and gangland to arrive at Disneyland-style largess in the middle of nowhere. To me, it’s about as attractive as a long weekend in Haiti. Just stay inside the compound and you’ll have a lovely time.

Anyhoo, time for some fun math!

The Terranea Resort was built for a jaw-dropping $480-million. (Brief pause here so you, dear reader, may swallow the little bit of vomit that just bubbled up your throat).  So since everything else around is here down by 20-33 %, where does that put the value of Terranea? Well, take the land value and add the replacement construction cost and factor in the 50% drop in tourism of late and factor in the pledged millions of tax dollars…now calculate that and arrive at: $%@!!!^@!!

Terranea to Trump: Save me!

In layman’s terms, that basically equals whatever the heck Donald Trump is willing to pay for it.

Why that’s ridiculous, we are just snazzy!

Again, from the LA Times article:

The hotel is 100% booked for Saturday night, and as many as 200 rooms have been rented on weekdays, Lowe said. Three weddings will be celebrated at Terranea this weekend.

My bad. Silly me. Here I was thinking all these negative thoughts without noting the resort was full on Saturday. I guess having 100% occupancy on the busiest hotel night of the week must be the yardstick for success in that industry. Don’t get me wrong, 3 weddings is great. But unless they can charge $60K a piece it’s still going to be tough to make those monthlies. (Actually, they probably CAN charge that much)!

My hidden agenda:  The Terranea Website autoplays annoying music.

Recently my wife and I celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary. (See adorable photos posted on this very Website). She was gunning for a couple nights at Terranea and I was modestly interested in making her dream a reality. So we get online and do the usually clicking around, and so on.

The cheapest ocean view room is $360/night. That means, of course, a 2 night stay is going to set you back a cool grand – and that’s assuming you don’t pickup the phone or even look at the minibar.

So I’m soon contemplating that expense as a percentage of my yearly income. And suddenly this ‘little local getaway weekend’ is anything but.

‘Gosh, that’s a ton of money,’ I think. ’Or maybe not. Maybe I’m just really poor.’

But then again, consider the average income of Americans …. once again, I’m back to, ‘Gosh that’s expensive.’

I start to think about other uses for that money. How could I make the money / the stay / the fun stretch? Is there somewhere we could fly, visit and stay for 3x as long for the same amount?

Then it occurs to me. And I’m soon Google-ing: “Travel deals to Haiti.’

Terranea Alternatives

For more information on the Terranea Resort please contact someone who cares. But for an unorthodox, dry and generally funny (but sometimes annoying) take on Real Estate in Palos Verdes Peninsula call me right away! I’m at 310-809-0203. And for goodness sake, subscribe to the blog already.

“If the bank wants this one, they can keep it!”

By Ryan Rockwood

Hidden Lane, Rolling Hills Estates = Bummer

3603 W Hidden Lane, Rolling Hills Estates, CA – Unit 109 – has just one single redeeming quality: its zip code – 90275.

In case your wondering, that’s valuable because residents qualify for some of the State’s best schools. Of course, that means your family would have to live in the unit. So it would probably be a wash.

For those of you keeping track of the Peninsula’s ever declining home prices, this is the bottom of the barrel for Rolling Hills Estates. All we know is that it sure as heck isn’t worth the $269,000 it was recently listed for (as a short sale).

Reasons to never consider any property anywhere on Hidden Lane, Rolling Hills Estates:

1. It smells gross. Disagree with me? Well, put it in the comments. Don’t write or call. I can’t be swayed. The whole complex reeks like dirty socks – and that’s on a good day. And yes, I’ve been in every building.
2. Community Laundry. Maybe these where once technically apartments. Regardless, it still feels like an apartment building.
3. Rotten parking. Enough said, right?
4. Lousy complex layout. I would compare it to a lovely and contemplative medieval labyrinth (Minus the lovely and contemplative part; and substitute ‘maze’ for ‘labyrinth’. Now add a drunken architect).
5. No dogs allowed. Well that stinks too!

Best use of this property:

1. Assuming that demolition is off the table …. Owning one of these properties could be the ideal solution for nearby Torrance residents looking to get their kids into PV schools.  Sorry, these puppies don’t cash flow yet (although they might soon) but considering that the out of pocket could be considerably less than $1,000/mo it starts to look like a great alternative to private school. Add More Kids = Even Better Deal!

For more information about my many dislikes and neurosis or for information on any property in the Palos Verdes Peninsula please p/u that phone and call 310-809-0203. And have you subscribed to this blog? Everyone is doing it. Better get on the stick.

Those auction trustees must be getting a real kick out of themselves.

By Ryan Rockwood 

Sure, we seen many PV homes ‘accidentally’ sold at auction. And lots of other funny incidents too, resulting in Palos Verdes families getting kicked out of their long-time homes. But this week a new high (or low, or whatever). It looks like the State of California is foreclosing on itself!

Check out the strip of municipal land in Palos Verdes Estates that recently got its walking papers! What exactly does the mailman do with a Notice of Trustee Sale addressed to a small strip of parkland? My best guess is to tape the notice to a tree, or something.

So are you interested in purchasing some city property that you can never build on and never live on? Yes? Well then this may be the property for you.

Stay tuned for more knee-slapping stories of foreclosures in the Palos Verdes Peninsula!

For information on this property (actually, don’t call me about this one…it’s obviously a mistake, right?) or any other property in Palos Verdes pick up that phone and call 310-809-0203. And for goodness sake, be sure to subscribe to this blog!

The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall?

Rolling Hills Foreclosure

By Ryan Rockwood

….If so there must have been a thunderous crash recently when 10 Poppy Trail, Rolling Hills, CA went on the auction block.

It appears the minimum bid was $2,880,000 which sounds steep until you compare it the properties recent list price of $9,990,00. Holy Cow.

So what went wrong here? Why didn’t the owners just sell for $2,880,000 last fall? Great question, I’m glad you asked! I would love to know myself. So if you are privy to inside info please comment below!

But we do know that the recent foreclosure killed about $2-million worth of other mortgages on the property. So it would have been impossible to have sold the home for much less than a cool $5-million!

For more information on this or any other Palos Verdes Peninsula Peninsula. Call me at 310-809-0203 right away!

A foreclosure too ugly for film!

By Ryan Rockwood

Check out one the lastest foreclosure listings on Basswood in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA – but don’t expect an exterior photo!

This is a brand new short sale – so the listing price of $750,000 means nothing, really. But to me it seems a reasonable estimate for someone seeking a primary residence.

For info on this or any other Rancho Palos Verdes Real Estate please call me at 310-809-0203.

Are you an unrealistic Peninsula homeowner?

Do you refuse to ‘give your house away?’ Well, use the recent sale of 27661 E Palos Verdes DR , Rancho Palos Verdes 90275 as your guide!

I won’t get into the details but suffice it to say this ‘determined’ homeowner has been trying to sell since late 2005. (That’s like 3-years on the market, for those wondering if I just made a typo).  I could go on and on about this property and how every Realtor in the area was sick of showing this listing at least 2-years ago – but I’ll just leave it at that.

Honestly I’ve too much listing fatigue to even analyze this one more than this: 9/9/2005 listed at $1,285,000. 8/20/2009 sold at $1,027,000.

One significant fact:

This is a really nice home. I would guess they had more than one $1.2 million-plus offer within the first 3-months of listings.

One amazing Realtor:

Hat’s off to listing agent Gayle Probst of PV Coldwell Banker. I’ve done a couple deals with Gayle and she is awesome. But to manage for 3-long years (without pay)  and not murder your clients must be a new record. Gayle is a real pro so I’m certain she didn’t pull any punches with this homeowner. This homeowner had the facts, a skilled and experienced agent and it was 2005, for goodness sake! Real estate was flying off the shelves.

The fact of the matter? Who knows, but smart money is on a homeowner that ‘knew better’ than everyone else!

*Sigh* Well, next time I’m reaching the Red Zone with a client I’ll have to repeat my new mantra: WWGD? (What would Gayle Do?)

Handy reference guide:

Realtor Gayle Probst in Action

Unreasonable Home Sellers (in general)

Transformers: Regular sale becomes Foreclosure sale?

By Ryan Rockwood

In the market for a 2/2 1,200+ sqft condo in beautiful Rancho Palos Verdes? It might pay to take a second look at this condo that recently entered my foreclosure radar.

One thing that’s great for potential buyers is this home appears to have equity – so a rapid sale can go down w/o the approval of shorted lenders.  How much equity? Well, that’s the question, isnt’ it?

As of today, it appears $333,000 is owed on the property by a single woman. I’m guessing she lives there.

“Gosh madam, do you really have to move?”

The current asking price is $429,000. So we can say w/absolute certainty that $429,000 is overpriced! This listing is an odd duck, to say the least. It’s quite literally been on/off the market since 2006-2007 when it premiered at $547,000.

Talk about chasing the market, huh?

It seems like some folks are just doomed to perpetually live about 8-months behind current market trends. From a listing agent standpoint – this is about as bad as it gets.

The bottom line:

Unit 310 is pretty darn nice. It is upgraded, clean, modern and the interior paint is nice.  It even has some views. But let’s be serious here. No one ever drove up to 28121 Highridge and announced they’d found the building of their dreams! It’s a lousy street. Actually, it’s more like a service road. The units are incredibly dense here. The entire area is built on an incredibly lame slope – you feel as if you are getting ski lift 1/2-way up the hill. And in fact, you kind of are. Just below you will find nice Palos Verdes starter homes. Just above, more and nicer condos and $1-million-plus homes. Also, an enormous lovely park, an award winning middle school, miles of nice flat streets w/big curbs for walking/running. And you get the ocean view too.

Anyhoo, this complex should never outsell the Armaga Springs complex, which is located less than 1-mile away at the plateau (ie, flat land)! Sure, Armaga isn’t luxury. But it’s better. Hands down. And those are selling in the high $300,000s.