Ah, California dreaming' : high taxes and tiny living spaces. I'm only surprised that more millions haven't fled.
I know people who live in Valley Village. I believe that all who own their homes bought a long time ago, long before the prices skyrocketed.
Interesting to note is that you can rent a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment in Valley Village for about $2,500 a month as long as you aren't looking for a new luxury building.
1
I love the interior of the Russian River house, but was a bit alarmed by the look of the porch bracing, and wondered why the lower floor was so tall. Now I know - flooding. As lovely as it is to be on the water, in low lying areas it’s madness to spend so much money on these places.
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$750K for a recycled 40's ranch with just two bedrooms and one bath. Sheer madness.
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@paul : It's a beautiful home and one could easily turn the enclosed patio into a master suite, which is what I would probably do. The current master bedroom would probably be my den/office/library.. And the backyard is substantial, so a new patio or gazebo could be added.
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Yep. Buy a home on the Russian River. It’s been known to flood on a 5 year basis.
All of these houses are overpriced and so are the property taxes.
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It shows the three rules of real estate are alive and well.
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My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I spotted that O'Keefe & Merritt stove. What a treasure!
I kept my mother's 1953 version (similar to the photo) until last year, when I downsized and had to leave it behind.
Not that I can imagine paying the prices these small houses are going for (three times the cost of far larger homes in Maine), but that stove... I want it!
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@MLChadwick That stove immediately grabbed my attention. Thank you for naming the brand.
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Well, this is just sad. We're pricing ourselves out of existence. After you're finished paying for the $750,000 home, it's doubtful you'll be able to afford anything else: kids, college education, etc. Not worth it.
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@East Roast, Sell the house and move eastward.
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@East Roast
Not everyone has kids.
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Guerneville used to be linked to SF by train and ferry, according to the article. I can't help thinking how great it would be to have that kind of public transportation restored across the US.
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@Talbot It's a miserable drive up to the Russian River from San Francisco.
Marin County, between San Francisco and Guerneville, has always fought light rail and didn't participate in BART, hoping to limit growth. Now what they have is terrible traffic.
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Prices in California appear cheap compared to the big cities in Australia. A comparable house like the one in LA in middle suburbs of Sydney or Melbourne would sell for around a million and a half.
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@Paul
Just to be clear - that’s US$750k which is over AU$1.1m. Not disagreeing that property is overpriced here in Australia.
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@Moose 🦌 For some reason the NYTs never shows the real pricing in the San Francisco Bay Area. That condo will go for over 1M easily.
They always show the area that are undesirable or too far away for commuting. Tell the realtor if that is the real price of the condo I will buy it today.
Now, show us homes in San Francisco proper, San Jose or Berkeley for $750 that are not rehabs.
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@Moose 🦌 For some reason the NYTs never shows the real pricing in the San Francisco Bay Area. That condo will go for over 1M easily.
They always show the area that are undesirable or too far away for commuting. Tell the realtor if that is the real price of the condo I will buy it today. Google the Bayview neighborhood. NYTs do your research.
Now, show us homes in San Francisco proper, San Jose or Berkeley for $750 that are not rehabs.
3
California is awfully big, and there are many other places to be besides these. My 1600 sq ft completely remodeled house plus garage and barn on 5 acres just went on the market for $700,000.
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@Marie
well if I wasn't very concerned about fire and the lack of fire insurance or expense of it, I might be interested. But in this day with global warming I'll stay in the valley, thank you.
1
@Marie $200,000 here.
1
I did not see a mention of the wind at the SF condo site. The hill behind it is known a KYA Hill named for the old radio transmitter for the old radio station. That hill contributed to the swirls of the wind at Candlestick Park. Very windy there from around 1p.m. to about 9 or 10 p.m. every day for most of the summer.
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@minnie I also see no mention of how frequently the Russian river floods Guerneville. The river there can rise 40' during an exceptionally large storm. Just Google Guerneville flooding.
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@minnie The article also didn't mentioned the misty fog which frequently blankets Candlestick Park in the afternoon and drops the temperature by 10 F. There are also no shops, restaurants/cafes, schools, gas stations or public transportation in this area and even if you drive across 101 to Visitacion Valley the options are very limited. They also don't mention anything about the high crime rates in Bay View and Visitaction Valley neighborhoods which are just around the corner from this condo complex.
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@David
Yes!!! Anyone buying a home in this area better own a canoe. Not the smartest place to live anymore!!!!!
2
That L.A. ranch with two bedrooms and one(!) bath would sell in many pleasant neighborhoods around the country for under $200,000. I mean, goodness, it's not like it's in Beverly Hills.
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@Jeffrey Waingrow if it were in Beverly Hills it would be closer to $6M and that would be just the land value.
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@David : No, it wouldn't. A small home such as this would probably go for around $1M to maybe $1.5M in Beverly Hills. I just looked up prices in BH.