152 4th Avenue Cleanup

Bidding at the probate hearing for the Lake District Victorian within which the mummified corpse of the homeowner was found among the items hoarded by her surviving adult daughter has resulted in a final sale price of $1.56 million for the home.

The sale required court confirmation as the mother’s death was never reported. And as we first reported in early July, while a $1,029,500 bid for the house had tentatively been accepted for the property, interested parties had an opportunity to bid higher at the hearing which was held later that month.

The sale of the “major-fixer” with “lots of Vintage Charm/Details and a real News Worthy History” at 152 4th Avenue, the story of which we first broke, officially closed escrow on 9/11.

33 thoughts on “Corpse House Fetches Over $1.5 Million”
  1. I suppose the flipper will strip it done to the bones, removing all those Victorian details like wainscot, crown moldings and ghosts.

    1. The fireplace surrounds in there are still in place. The living room one is in very good condition. Expect to see all of it ripped out and an IKEA fixtures put in place.

      1. 4th Gen SF’er should know better than calling 4th Avenue 4th Street!
        It nullifies anything else said in the same sentence or next!

  2. If I was the buyer I’d have a nice carved wood “Corpse House” sign hanging over the entrance in the vein of “Whispering Dunes” or other such names people like to give to their houses.

        1. I think 27th Ave would have gotten +$2mm 8 months ago. Not sure about now – I think it will sell over by some good amount.

          Here is another house in the 94121 that seems to me, underpriced. Both of these are small homes on blue chip streets.

          The 100 blocks of 27th and 32nd are north of Lake Street near El Camino vs the 100 block of 4th (corpse house) which is between California and Lake.

          With my buyer/investor hat on I like 162 27th because a rear yard addition could pop up a great GGB view. The block slopes down to El Camino Del Mar and the house next door at 160 27th sold for $2.9mm less than a year ago. Great comp for financing etc.

          27th Ave is ready to live in – not really a comp for the “fixer” on 4th, but again I think makes the argument that 27th Ave is underpriced vs. 4th Ave. even stronger.

          1. “I think 27th Ave would have gotten +$2mm 8 months ago. Not sure about now – I think it will sell over by some good amount.”

            You think the market was hotter 8 months ago? why?

          2. Stock market hiccup.

            Interest rate awareness.

            Feels like we have arrived at sufficiently high prices such that buyers are questioning the wisdom of bidding through offers with abandon. Someone will find anecdotal evidence to the contrary I am sure, but I will not be surprised to see a flat market through mid 2016 as people (buyers, lenders) make peace with what happens in a rising rate environment.

            Are Uber drivers employees here? Everywhere?
            Is AirBnB a real business if 98% of their listings in SF are flaunting zoning laws?

            Prices have been going up for a while, that’s easy to discern. Inflection points, not so much.

          3. But higher rates will drive mortgage payments higher. That, of course, tends to drive selling prices lower (not higher).

            Though I suspect we will see lots of realtor ads shouting “Buy now, before rates go higher!!!” (uh, and prices go lower . . .)

            FWIW I don’t see dramatically higher mortgage rates on the near-term horizon. But they will come eventually. That will be a good thing as it will signal the economy is on stronger footing.

          4. No offense intended. Even if the market slows down, SF is still one of the hottest in the nation.

            These houses will all sell.

          5. OK, cool. My point was, haven’t minimal onterest rate raises precipitated flurries of activity previously? It need not be everyone. People don’t need to act out of fear. The salient point is if x amount of fence sitters decide to motivate. That’s all. I think it makes sense.

          6. The weather is better at 4th Street, closer to shops and just in a way better neighborhood. The lower the street #’s the better the neighborhoods. 27th is farther, and if you take public transportation living out where it’s colder, bleaker, less shops is not great.. 4th St will sell for 2m+ if not more in this market. Even WITH all the new condos coming in, the devels have to put 30% or more for “low income housing” which eats into their profits, + this is a standalone rather than someone who has neighbors.

          7. Every time Michael Bluth heard his family have this conversation, he could not believe that four generations of San Francisco residency had failed to instill in them an appreciation for the difference between a street and an avenue.

          8. Corpse house sells for $1.5
            162 27th Ave sells for $1.85mm. Move in-ready, views of the GGB.
            Quieter street, half a block from El Camino Del Mar.
            Inefficient market, for sure.

    1. Different block, not necessarily better. 27th is prettier. More trees. Wealthier neighbors. Closer to the beach.

      Both are close to the Presidio. 4th Ave is 23 blocks closer to the city, which would make a difference in commute time. It’s closer to a bunch of different shops and services. Walkscore 91 vs 74. Significantly better transit access.

      Which isn’t to say that 1.5m for that house is a good deal…

      1. The sad thing is, closer to the beach in SF isn’t the same as closer to the beach in Los Angeles. The further from the SF beach the better. Burrrrrrr……

        1. You must have missed this summer on the west side of town. Wait, never mind – there weren’t any nice sunny days at all(!) Stay home.

          1. Yep, until it all gets reclaimed by the rising Pacific Ocean, global warming will be good for the far western parts of SF. Cool, blue-sky city of love.

          2. “Yep, until it all gets reclaimed by the rising Pacific Ocean, global warming will be good for the far western parts of SF. Cool, blue-sky city of love.”

            Why do people say things like this on the Internet so much? bizarre.

  3. Mare you kidding? Richmond and sunset (where we be) have been cold af the last two years. I’d stay home too. I agree with market cooling too, but not for long. Limited resources.

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