Purchased for $285,000 in September of 2007, the 580-square-foot single-family home with a recently remodeled kitchen, bath and facade at 17 Laidley Street, which sits “within walking distance of…Billy Goat Hill, Harry Street Stairs, Upper Noe Valley Recreation Center, and Walter Haas Playground,” hit the market priced at $749,000 this past March.
Reduced to $730,000 in July and then to $657,000 last month, the “cheapest single family home in San Francisco” has just been listed anew with an official “1” day on the market and a further reduced $599,000 list price, a sale at which would now be considered to be “at asking” according to all industry stats and aggregate reports.
And in terms of sheer lot value, keep in mind that the Glen Park parcel upon which the home sits totals a substandard 614 square feet.
Proof that SF housing is totally affordable….
I like it! Great location (for this price range) just a few blocks to the J, up the hill from fun stuff on Mission…
The site is terrible, your living room window is right at street level and it stares straight into a tall cement wall. No parking and no outdoor space.
There seems to be a seam in the roof shingles. And I’m not sure what to make of the cinder blocks. At least Google Maps street view can confirm the walls are insulated.
They’re to hold the house down from blowing away in the wind 🙂
No, actually I think it’s pretty nice (inside at least, the lack of yard and – even more – exposure is problematic) Or at least a sensible use of resources, which seem emminently more sensible than blowing a bundle on costly finishes that won’t survive the next flip…not everyone wants – and few really need – twin sinks or a 20 seat ‘media room’.
What’s wrong with the dormer?
Does appear that something is amiss with the roof structure…
614 sqft lot – 580 sqft house = 34 sqft yard, which i’m guessing is that ‘patio’ in front of the entryway
For those who are curious about its past – and let’s be honest: beyond a certain amount of snickering and overwrought replies in its defense, there isn’t a lot to talk about – it was offered for;
$800 in 1918
$990 in 1934
I may be going out on a limb here, but I’m betting the head “Now Listed Below its 1918 Price” won’t be appearing any time soon.
With 20% down the mortgage would only be $2200. With property taxes, it’s still a monthly payment of less than most 1BR apartments on the market. For someone who wants security that they won’t be evicted, it’s a better deal than a rent-controlled apartment…
Would a bank write a loan on a house like this? I think the 615 sqft lot would block things, but that’s just a guess.
Guess again. Multiple banks have provided a mortgage for the property, including Bank of America (most recently).
Do you just hang around at the recorder’s office, or is there some other way you can learn these facts?
propertymap.sfplanning.org/
the only issue is if you can get a ‘conforming’ or ‘non-conforming’ mortgage. There is a max size for a lot to be conforming (5 acres, no need to worry about that in SF) but AFAIK there is no minimum lot size.
Yep. The key for the owners of 1BR apartments is that the overwhelming majority of leasees don’t have $120,000 sitting around as seasoned funds to make that 20% down payment, so even if they want the security that they won’t be evicted, that desired security is effectively out of reach. Hence the need for rent-controlled apartments.
Yep. And it’s illegal to get a loan for a down payment.
It is, although my parents got an illegal under the table loan from a developer for $500 to buy their house in 1966! They didn’t have enough for the 10%down payment.
What a relief the financial injustices that brought us suburbia weren’t only about redlining.
Buying his first home in 1980, my dad took the more traditional route and charmed (perhaps seduced, he was coy) his realtor for some downpayment help.
No bedroom closet and no space for a dresser with only a full size bed.
Did you see the headline (“the Cheapest Single-Family Home in San Francisco”)?
It’s a small house. It doesn’t have all the amenities.
It seems strange that they made the kitchen so large, though. I’m all for prioritizing kitchen space, but this really seems like it came at the expense of other useful amenities (e.g. a closet.) I still think this gets torn down based on the roof structural issues alone.
+1 on the roof. The snapshot of the work done last year is really entertaining — don’t think I’ve ever seen a house undergoing remodeling already have a for-sale sign on it before.
All it needs is a cute white picket fence along the front sidewalk to give it a cute super tiny little yard. I’m not kidding.
Is there an opportunity to build up?
Update : Zillow says pending at 599k (20% reduction from original listing)
Keep in mind that Zillow’s “Pending price” is simply equal to the last list price for the property, not the actual contract price in play.
Well, just for comparison purposes, Redfin is showing it went into contract earlier this month at $652,000, or what they are calling 7.1% per year appreciation (although they also say their value estimate is 18.2% more than its last list price)! SFH’s are resilient, bifurcated market, prices are going to continue upward unless we all give up our cell phones, etc.
Nice work, listing agent, high fives all around. Bottle of bub at the club on you later tonight.
could you follow 109 cornwall. sold in 2014 for $1.08M, and currently for sale for $1.65M. they did little work to it. this part of the richmond seems to be doing really well. 210 2nd ave, a 3bdr condo just sold a few months ago for $1.85M in a 100yr old victorian
Simply considering 109 Cornwall’s kitchen before and after, not to mention the newly renovated bedroom suite, we’d be hard pressed to consider it a “little [bit of] work,” much less an apples-to-apples sale to track. But the improvements will certainly help raise the neighborhood averages, both in terms of the overall price and price per square foot.
that couldnt be more than $50K. even if so, will be interesting to see if they get near their $600K (60%) increase of past 5 years.
Based on the work, the overall budget was likely a “little” bit more, at least from a retail perspective.
Regardless, if improvements were simply valued based on out of pocket costs, neither flipping nor development would yield any returns.
i live in the neighborhood so will be interesting to watch. im not a housing bull and fully expect another 10-15% correction, but the inner richmond appears to be really hot right now. maybe its the fact that the summer fog is less than half what it was just 7 years ago (<20days of fog this summer), and still somewhat less pricey than surrounding presidio heights. this is also 1 block from lake so may be marketed that way
The resale of 109 Cornwall has closed escrow with a contract price of $1.775 million. But in addition to the aforementioned work, keep in mind that the now three-bedroom home was relisted with an additional 400 square feet of space (now 1,770 in total) for a resale price of $1,003 per square foot.
The sale of 17 Laidley closed escrow with a contract price of $652,000. And despite having been listed for $749,000 and subsequently reduced three times, the sale was officially 8.8 percent “over asking” according to all industry stats and aggregate reports.
In other words, a profit of $367K on the purchase price. If the seller put $57K (20%) down in 2007, they walk away with a profit of about $600K. Not bad. I suspect they didn’t spend $600K on the remodel.
Definitely sign us up for one of those mortgages, where payments aren’t required and it doesn’t appear the mortgage balance is required to be paid back upon a sale as well!
Would you also like to be signed up for a mortgage where one gets an income tax deduction? Or should we sign you up for a zero dollar rent, which is apparently your alternative?
Seriously. If you’re not on board with this being a big investment win, please show your work.
While certainly a good investment, your attempt at the leveraged math was particularly egregious and misleading.
How was it egregious?
Please, show your work about how this was not a good investment.
For starters, when attempting to calculate the profit of a leveraged investment, it helps to take into account the cost of said leverage and the need to actually pay it back.