PoS for a Young Family in Corte Madera

This Corte Madera bungalow was built in 1914; 3 br 1 ba, 930 sq ft. The realtor write-up claims it is the "Best price in the area. Perfect for a young family". So this is the best price you can hope for in Corte Madera and it is what those Marinites consider to be perfect for a young family. Now you know. If you desire to live the Marin PoS lifestyle and want to have a young family, well, this PoS is what you get. And it will cost you $849,000. This is what the market has been reduced to. Shameful.

'Cozy Fixer' in San Rafael

This 2 br 1 ba, 988 sq ft 'cozy fixer' (i.e., PoS) is in San Rafael. It's a "Cozy cottage with amazing views. Living rm with fireplace. Living rm and bedrooms have access to outside area. Built-ins provide additional storage. Outside storage area. Two car garage. Located in a quiet country setting this fixer has great potential. " I looked at the picture of the view and it is quite a stretch to describe it as "amazing". Otherwise, this PoS sounds pretty mundane to me. I mean how remarkable is access to the outside, a storage area, some built-ins, a fireplace? And is that gravel on the roof? The realtor dares not show any pictures of the interior. Gee, I wonder why? Asking $689,000. Ha!

A Most Lovable PoS

Love your PoS. Embrace it. Become one with the Marin PoS lifestyle. This 2 br 1 ba (built 1925), 976 sq ft stucco PoS is described by the realtor as "Classic downtown mill valley bungalow...A most lovable home with lots of potential". 'Lots of potential' -- all that has really been done to it is a fresh coat of paint. Asking a jaw-dropping $1,099,000. That's $1,126 per sq ft for a "bungalow". The amount of rationalization and self-justification that must accompany paying this kind of money for so very, very little must be staggering and would no doubt result in the publication of a number of peer-reviewed academic articles in prestigious journals.

Booger Green in Corte Madera

...3br/1ba home. 2+ car garage. Lots of windows. New deck, roof and exterior paint. Small, private yard... Good bones, needs updating...

Doh! What am I missing here? This "good bones" (not even "nice" bones mind you), ugly-arsed, booger green, in 'need of updating' PoS is asking $925,000!? Again, the "I'm eating ramen and PB & J every day, but at least I have a house" mentality comes immediately to mind.

Piece of Stuccoed Shister in San Anselmo

This tiny arsed, stuccoed PoS is in San Anselmo. 2 br 1 ba, built in 1947, 1011 sq ft. It's been taken care of; the interior is pretty nice, nothing fancy, but you can tell that the person who lived there actually cared about the place enough to replace stuff that needed replacing (unlike this PoS). But I'm sorry, at $829,000 this is definitely a PoS. And by the way, in Marin, if it's made of stucco then it is looked down upon by Marinites as being "low class" (which is why, IMO, southern Marinites are pretty much agreed that all of Novato is a "pit" where the riff-raff are kept at a distance from the real classy folk). So keep that in mind if you just have to live in Marin and end up buying something like this.

Waiting for TLC in San Rafael

Great opportunity to fix-up/remodel a home...[realtor BS]... await your tlc! Huge potential here! As is sale please!

$689,000 buys you the right to apply your TLC for additional cost. And is that a plywood garage door? No, can't be.

Novato Triangle

Ok, it's not really a triangle, but it is a PoS in Novato. This is your typical dilapidated Marin tract home. The write-up has this to say:

"This 3 bedroom, 2 bath home needs some work and some fixin'! Bring your toolbelt. Bring your paint. Bring your imagination. This has been a great home to the original owner, now the next owner can do the upgrades to their own tastes. Owner is offering a credit of $10,000 in escrow."

So you have to spend mucho dollars to fix this thing up to "Marin standards" and you still have to pay a laughable $699,900 sales price?! Oh, and that 1.4% ($10,000) credit is just plain insulting...insulting to the buyer that is. I mean puhleeeeze, in today's market, when everyone is admitting we are in a bubble, the best the seller can do is a paltry 1.4% discount?

Novato Eye-Sore

This Novato PoS (1520 sq ft, built in 1951, 3 br 2 ba) is a total fixer. Nothing has been done to it (obviously) but it does have a large lot (14,244 sq ft). Asking $749,000.

WTF In Novato

Here are excerpts from the write-up of this generic, typical, Novato tract home:

Gardener's special! Huge back yard w/level lawn, apple tree & raised beds for growing vegetables or flowers. Sprinkler system...Great curb appeal.

Excuse me, but I fail to see the "curb appeal" in this PoS. And if the garden is so wonderful, why is it that the listing does not show any pictures of it? And what is so special about a sprinkler system? Does it sprinkle merlot or something?

And then:

Kitchen w/blt-in oven, gas cooktop, refrig & breakfast area. Large family room or use as a formal dining room. Spacious living rm w/brick fireplace & attached deck. Master suite w/tiled bath. Freshly painted interior. 2-car garage w/laundry area, sink.

Brick fireplace, built-in oven, tiled bath, fresh interior paint, laundry in garage, a sink... Yeah, that is really special. You can't find that anywhere else in the county I am sure.

And heaven forbid if you work in the city because then you are looking at a minimum 50 minute morning commute to just Corte Madera in Marin's crushing traffic care of a county that has refused for the last 30 years to do much of anything to improve the quality of life for working people and instead pushes its own obligations on to neighboring counties... Welcome to Marin. If you were smart you would stay where you are.

Who would be stupid enough to pay the $749,900 asking price or even anything close to it? I mean are we talking Forrest Gump stupid, idiot sevant stupid, or just plain Homer Simpson stupid? I want to meet the person who actually thought it a good idea to buy this PoS because I have some great investments to sell them that are sure to make them some serious amounts of f**k-you money.

Becoming a Larkspur PoS

This Larkspur PoS was built in 1946, 2 br 1 ba, 1000 sq ft. It's being sold not based on what it is but on what it could become: "Currently a cute and updated 2br/1ba house waiting to be transformed into a 2100/sf 4br/3ba brown shingle home. Plans approved by the town of larkspur. Owner/builder has provided an estimate for the build-out of $535k and 6-8 month timeframe. Ready to go; you pick the finishes." So if you don't want to own a small Larkspur PoS, pay the $1,095,000 asking price then tac on the $535,000 for a total of $1,630,000 and then wait 6-8 months and you could hold a mortgage on a large Larkspur PoS.

Tiburon PoS

2 br, 1 ba, built in 1952, 874 sq ft, no "lifestyle" upgrades. It's a Tiburon "boutique" PoS at $1,062,500. Come live in Tiburon where everyone hates everyone else and there is no parking except what you have to fight for.

A Sad Excuse of a House in San Anselmo

You might think that this is the same pathetic Mill Valley PoS that was previously posted. It's even priced the same at $775,000. But it's not the same house. This sorry and depressing excuse for a (prestigiously-priced) house was built in 1947 and is located in San Anselmo. Apparently, nothing has been done to this thing as the realtor writes "Upgrade and personalize into your dream home...Trustee sale /as is". Marin is just full of uninspiring PoSs like this being listed at ludicrous prices; demonstrating this fact is getting so tedious.

Live the Life of the Po' Folk in Mill Valley

This uninspiring Mill Valley PoS, built in 1949, 2 br 1 ba, is located in the "flats of Mill Valley", traditionally and still the slums of Mill Valley, where the po' folk live. All that the sellers have done to this pathetic house is refinish the floors and apply a new coat of interior paint. And for all that you are being asked to pay $775,000. The realtor's write-up includes this desperate plea: "Please call your realtor and see asap."

Commercial Break

I love the fact that this blog has inspired others to do the same. At least, that is the impression I get for all but one of the following. Anyway, if you like reading about Marin's PoSs then I also suggest you check out these excellent blogs as they also list PoSs:

America's Overvalued Real Estate
Burbed
Flip This
Bubble Meter

If you know of others, please list them in the comments section. Thanks.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

There is Room for a Desk

This PoS (the green and white thing) is in San Rafael. According to the realtor write-up it's an "Adoarble 1920's cottage. Cozy but charming. 1 bedroom but room for a desk in living room..." [sic]. Oh good, I am sooo relieved -- there is room for my desk! And note that it seems that "cozy" is a realtor buzzword for PoS. Anyway, this thing was built in 1921 and is so small that the square footage isn't even listed. And what do you have to pay in Marin for this cracker box? A laughable $629,000.

A Blank Canvas

It has been said that Marin suffers from a certain conceit; namely that people here speak and act as if they believe the vast majority of the rest of the state (or even the country) is an armpit compared to Marin. Well, I have to say I don't share in that fantasy and this Fairfax house sure doesn't bolster that conceit one iota. It's described by the realtor like so "Move in now and make improvements to increase value. This blank canvas will soon become your masterpiece. Equipped with a wonderful base: two bedrooms, one bath, fresh paint, refinished fir floors". It comes in at 952 sq ft, was built in 1946, and is going for only $649,000.

Grandma's House

I just loved the realtor's write-up so I had to post this one: "As-is probate sale; details are in conf. Instructions. Charming grandma's house w/formal dining room, eat-in kitchen, laundry room and garage. Lawn and patio in the rear. Wonderful neighborhood. No flooding." Did you catch that? "No flooding". Realtors are starting to emphasize whether the house is in a flood zone. For those of you not familiar with Marin, many of the so-called desirable areas also happen to flood on occasion (or slide) and do so in a big way (I guess it will only get worse thanks to global warming). I've heard lots of stories (a relative of mine is a big insurance salesman here in Marin) about folks who bought property in the last few years but didn't buy flood insurance because they thought it was too expensive and have recently been flooded. I bet they don't think it is too expensive anymore.

Oh, right, and the details of this charmer: 900 sq ft, 2 br 1 ba, PoS, built in 1921, in San Anselmo asking $675,000. Any grandmas out there who want (and who can afford) to bid on this one?