June 25, 2008

Perk Up Those Ears!

One of my favorite houses near where I live is up for sale again! This house goes on sale about every 3 or 4 months and has done so over the last 2 or 3 years. It is now at its lowest price during that time. Check out 41467 Fremont Blvd., Fremont – 3/2.5 – 2278 sf on 1/3 acre for $885,000. It’s a great looking place but the location isn’t terrific because Fremont Blvd. is a very busy street, and since sidewalks have been put in around this house it sits very close to the street and people passing by. But I love this style house. It looks like a dollhouse! If only (as I posted on this house last year) I could muster up the money to move it to some grand lot in the foothills, where it so obviously belongs. It needs a space that will show off its grandeur. But alas, it is where it is. Still a great looking house though. While we are in this neighborhood, the Irvington District of Fremont, let’s see what else is going on. Some of these may stand a better chance after today of selling to buyers who are having a tough time qualifying for the stringent loan requirements. Apparently Congress is voting today on a change for the better. Let’s hope it passes. I hate to see the way the pendulum on mortgage loans swayed from extremely easy to extremely difficult to qualify. That was just plain irrational! Especially when you look at a Google map showing all the listings, because right now it looks like an ant infestation there are so many. Help! I present to you some very cool deals on houses in the Fremont and Milpitas areas based on $ per square foot:

FREMONT:
3300 Walcott Cmn #117 – 1/1 – 712 sf - $237 sf for $168,888
This condo is actually very spacious for only 712 sf because it is laid out very nicely. It’s close enough to Ohlone Junior College to make it a good investment for the parents to get and let their college student live in. Although my Grandpa always said to never, ever get in to financial deals with family and/or friends, times are tough now.

This next house doesn’t give an address but says it is very close to Lake Elizabeth (Central park is a super great park) and it’s only 10 years old to boot. At only $237 sf it’s almost too hard to refuse. Its stats are 7/2 – 2,346 sf all for only $698,888. I say run, don’t walk to nab this baby up. AND it is in a desirable neighborhood. I’m almost ready to write a check now.

4162 Bullard St – 3/2 – 1677 sf - $298 sf for $499,950
This house is a steal in the Irvington district. It’s clean, neat, and well presented at an amazingly low price. Landscaped with sprinklers and all. And with all these grass fires in California happening I would think sprinklers would be a great idea. Turn those puppies on when there is a fire nearby. That’s got to help, right?

Check out 40396 Canoga St – 3/1 – 1376 sf - $327 sf for $450,000
Okay, so I think this house looks a little boxy, but it is near my favorite park, Central Park/Lake Elizabeth. It also has RV parking so if you didn’t want to hang out at home maybe because you’re retired, you can just hop in the old RV and split for the wide open spaces. I LOVE to RV. We did that for our honeymoon in Canada. We have friends up there living in Lions Bay (a quaint community between Vancouver and Whistler) that let us take their RV for a drive through Canada. What a fantastic treat. They said we could use the RV for weeks (or they even were kind enough to say months). Months were tempting but we opted for 3 weeks. Spectacular scenery!! Anyways, back to Fremont and reality. The above houses are great deals that I would encourage you to look into. C’mon, do it, you know you want to!

MILPITAS:
Now Milpitas has been proving to be a real bargain hunters dream over the last few months. Check these places out (that are well away from the dump stench). Sorry I seem repetitive on the stench of the dump but my husband always relates a childhood story about whenever his family was in the car and riding by the Milpitas dump area on 880 no matter what the bad smell (even a skunk) when the kids would ask Mom & Dad what that bad smell was the answer was always “Milpitas”. Sad, but true, except for the skunk smell.

1445 Jupiter Ct – 4/3 – 2555 sf - $219 sf for $559,000 (reduced $60,000)
Well, this is a good deal but to say in the description “put in some sweat…” doesn’t sound too appealing when the temperatures here have been over 100F. But that’s not all the time and having a house to work on does keep you out of trouble! Working, raising kids, etc. the rest of the time assures no time for getting into trouble. This would actually be a great home for first-timers or someone who wants to invest in a rental. It is a lot of house for the price and it is in a good area.

256 Temple Dr – 6/3 – 2037 sf - $290 sf for $590,000
What is it with these 5+ bedroom houses for low prices (the Fremont one above with 7 bedrooms)? I thought families were supposed to be smaller these days what with over-population and all. I’m puzzled! This one has a good sized lot and is in a nice area to boot, so meander over there soon.

Both of these areas have lots of houses for sale so we’re talking great bargaining potential, so go see what you can find. You won’t be sorry.

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REAL ESTATE TERMINOLOGY:
Fictitious Deed of Trust - A blank trust deed form filed for record to save recording costs on real deeds of trust.

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