Feel like spending around $1.3 million or so?
Here’s what it’ll get you in the Convenant of Rancho Santa Fe:
Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
Broker-Associate, Compass
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
- 682 S. Coast Hwy 101, Suite #110
Encinitas, CA 92024 - (858) 997-3801 call or text
- klingerealty@gmail.com
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
I love that lot! My dad really liked it, but he said that he would want to build a new home. The problem is that when we built our house in Leucadia, it went way, way over budget and it took a year and was a big hassle.
He wants to know how much you think it’ll cost to build a 3,000-3,500 sqft home…single story…high quality spanish style home with a pool.
Is it worth it?
Now THAT’s what I’m talkin’ about!!!
Had you mentioned a “million dollar tract home” just a decade ago they’d have shipped you off to a padded cell; frankly, I still find the idea ridiculous.
This, OTOH, is the stuff that dreams are made of. Sure, the house is out of date but still entirely livable; hell, it’s still quite nice and spacious. But that lot/location? WOW! Love the trees, too.
Can’t wait to see the video of G-man’s…
Is it worth it?
IMHO… YES!!!
I see in sdlookup listing that the house was sold for $615,000 in 1987. Back then it was A LOT of money. (To put that price in perspective, back in the day, you could’ve gotten a very nice house in RB or PQ for 150-180 grand.)
At 1.279, the place has definitely failed to appreciate by the same amount as much of the county, or even its RSF neighbors.
At least two neighbors made it like bandits, though: 15440 and 15465 Las Planideras were probably very similar to this one originally; their owners razed them, built 7000+ sf megamansions, and managed to flip them for 7 mil and 5.5 mil respectively. There may be something to your idea of razing and rebuilding.
I wonder how much these houses were worth in the 50’s, when they were built. Couldn’t find that info anywhere.
What’s the address?
When I saw it last year, it was listed for $1.5 or $1.6. Very nice view, but very dated.
It just totally killed it for us when we saw those million dollar stoves. The MBR redeemed the house a bit, but still the price was too high. At $1.28, it’s at a good price. I figure $400k for a teardown and rebuild, and you could have a $2-2.5M estate. There was room down the lot at a lower level to build a guest house too. If you have small kids, there is little room to run around, but if you have 6+ years old, it’s a great place to explore like JtR said.
One of the best things about people: that we all have different tastes! 🙂
I’m with tj on this house. It’s pure paradise just the way it is. If not for the isolation, we’d jump on that in a hot second.
It’s a shame people think houses like these need to be torn down. For people who like ugly, stucco boxes, there are plenty to choose from. Leave these gems to those of us who truly appreciate them. We can’t build any more old-school houses with a history (even if it’s just the history of another family living there). Some of us really like the feeling of these older homes.
Thanks for sharing this, Jim.
It’s not all that isolated. Sure, you won’t see your neighbors much, (not to mention they’ll snub their noses at you for being a cheapskate and buying a 1.3m house) but it’s in a very nice location. Two miles from the freeway, three miles from the beach. RSF gets a lot more isolated than that.
for some reason this seems like a better deal…
http://www.ziprealty.com/buy_a_home/logged_in/search/home_detail.jsp?listing_num=100014593&mls=MLS_SANDIEGO&source=SANDICOR&propertyType=SFR
Ah, see, that just seem so much more worth it to me that the tract homes. Just out of question, would the zoning in RSF allow you put two homes on that lot?
Nameless,
Yes, it’s convenient enough. The isolation I was referring to was the social isolation. With kids, we really want to have more of a neighborhood feel (but with larger lots than the newer properties have). Something like this RSF home, but with a half-acre lot or slightly less, depending on the topography.
It seems to me that some high-end property values are still falling like a stone and this doesn’t bode well for the mid-tier properties. The way things are going, my best guess for the bottom of the high-end market is mid 2001 nominal pricing plus or minus a 10-20% fudge factor depending on uniqueness of the property.
How about a guessing game as to what that piece ultimately closes for.
I submit $1,465,000
-s
I would guess that these were worth about $65-$70k when they were new in the 50s. Recent appreciation has definitely been less than what occurred during the 70s and 80s.
I simply am baffled by the CV real estate prices. Over the mountain, in Palm Desert, we just received the card in the mail from the local real estate agent with the latest numbers from our neighborhood. Comparing top to bottom prices, there has been a 52% reduction in price over here. Just putting things in perspective with the other side of the mountain point of view. Its a smoldering crater over here.
The big scrape/build question.
Answer: It will cost a lot more than you imagine in order to deliver a product that will command a strong price and be of “RSF” quality.
Let’s take a ‘smaller’ house that is more reasonable in todays world, say 4,000sf of buildable space.
RSF quality/finishes = $300/sf including basic pool, adequate landscape, and nice finishes inside. This could rise to suit your tastes, but while it is very, very nice for non RSF tastes, those with wealth will have expectations of this level.
Thus:
$1.2mm teardown/build
$200k plans, permits, art jury, engineering, etc.
$100k construction loan interest/fees
$1.2mm current lot price
—————-
$2.7mm is your COST (i.e. no profit)
$675/sf
Sure you could cut your const down to whatever you want, but then your sale value will drop as fast (or faster) as each dollar you spend as their are LOTS of alternatives north of $2mm.
If I was to build a spec for profit I would want a 20% profit on my cost and risk, or $500k, which puts your needed resale value at:
$3.2mm which won’t fly today very comfortably.
Hence why no one is starting any spec homes.
PS: It is also why all the homes built were so big…so we can amortize the lot value and fees over a larger area and bring down our $/sf.
Lastly, no way you can split a lot in RSF, just isn’t going to happen 99.999% of the time. Plus your plan approval is going to take you apx 2 years between design and RSF Art Jury approval…and they will only demand changes that cost you more $$$ not less.
As a spec I would only pay $800k for the lot given todays housing prices.
What is an art jury?
The isolation I was referring to was the social isolation.
CA renter,
Were you a city kid? I grew up in the country where the smallest spreads (like ours) had at least 5 acres. Socially it simply isn’t an issue; kids find each other one way or another.
clearfund,
It may not readily pencil out as an investment, but if you were looking at it as a place to realize a dream (and live out your days there) then it’s a different ballgame.
Well, I’m certainly not a kid anymore, but that canyon Jim showed made me drool. Yep, it reminded me of when I was a kid. Beautiful and peaceful = just perfect!
Osidebuyer – I’ll go out on a limb and guess that the “art jury” is the panel of local concerned citizens that want to decide what you are or are not going to build in their jurisdiction. Your taste will have to match their taste.
See also: Santa Barbara.
We had an oven just like that one when I was a kid. What did they call that color? Coppertone brown?
I love that house.
What a nice lot and probably the best value I’ve seen so far Jim.
It appeared there was a view in most directions, the area was quiet and yet location is close enough to all the main areas of interest (freeways, beach, etc).
It would be a tear down for me though.
What’s interesting is the price premium this house has simply by the virtue of being in Rancho Santa Fe.
Take this house and this lot and transplant it exactly as is, trees, views and all, into Coronado Hills, Escondido, El Cajon, Jamul, or any other place where acreage is common, and you’ll find it hard to get 700k for it.
In RSF, it’s listed at 1.3m and it gets multiple offers during the first week on the market.
A quick google search tells me it’s an RSF thing.
“I would guess that these were worth about $65-$70k when they were new in the 50s. Recent appreciation has definitely been less than what occurred during the 70s and 80s.”
I don’t know if we will ever see the kind of inflation we saw in the 70’s and 80’s again in our lifetimes. It was absolutely hideous.
Here is an example of the power of inflation and this is the midwest. A 40 acre lot very good farm land creek bottom. The lot has been in my family since the 70’s. We paid about $400 an acre and it just sold for $6000 an acre. That is 1500% gain. The land probably would have brought even more a few years ago when corn was $8 a bushel. Most of the inflation occurred in the 70’s and 80’s.
This is why IMHO that everyone seems to be programmed to fear inflation.
No way I would ever buy a rebuild in the Covenant. An old co-worker of mine got jammed up terribly by the Art Jury on a teardown. I love the RSF layout but couldn’t deal with RSF neighbors. Buying into the Covenant puts you at their mercy which is not the point of living in RSF
Also those are eucalyptus trees in the back. You know the ones that explode during a fire…
We didn’t want to buy a rebuild either. The best we’d do is buy an updater. If the house has nice bones, you can put whatever skin you want on it.
The isolation I was referring to was the social isolation.
CA renter,
Were you a city kid? I grew up in the country where the smallest spreads (like ours) had at least 5 acres. Socially it simply isn’t an issue; kids find each other one way or another.
tj & the bear | March 13th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
————————–
Kinda city kid. I grew up near where you live now (I believe), in Woodland Hills.
Suburban kid, through-and-through. 🙂