Saturday, July 12, 2008

For sale by delusional owner

I don't usually look at the "for sale by owner" listing because most of them are upside down sellers listing at ridiculous peak prices. In the past you could often get a better deal on a FSBO property because you could eliminate the realtor commission and split that savings with the seller. Today however all the FSBO properties seem to be offered by sellers wishing upon a star, hoping to somehow find a buyer that will swoop down and save them from the foreclosure monster. It's not likely to happen because most of those homes are worth about 1/2 what the people are trying to get.

Like I said, I don't usually look at them, but today I was bored and looked at some. Most were just your average Joe trying to unload his overpriced home. But then I ran across this one.



312o Curly Horse Way in Norco, Ca. This home is in the Norco Ridge estates development. Another one I feature here quite a bit. According to the listing this home is owned by a BROKER! A broker apparently too embarrassed to list this thing on the MLS. This one caught my eye not because of the ridiculous price. It's priced similar to most of the other FSBOs, at about peak pricing. It caught my eye because of the description in the listing. I highlighted the comedic portions of the listing.

Come see this gorgeous home in the elite community of Norco Ridge Estates built by Standard Pacific Homes. It is surrounded by upgraded homes valued at $1,200,000 and up! All of the interior upgrades available were done including but not limited to Maple Mantle and cabinets with upgraded hardware, full security with cameras, Platinum Theater Sound System in Family Room, intercoms/radios throughout house and garage, internet and cable tv wired to every room, spa-jet tub and separate shower in huge master with 2 walk-in closets. Zoned for 6 horses. Landscape is planted with bareroots, bulbs and seed sprouts of drought resistant, beautiful flowering trees and plants. New patio and gorgeous 12'W X 14'L X 10'H custom wood arbor. Small dog/pet black vinyl mesh fence enclosure creates yard area about 40' X 30' behind home. Wrought Iron fence and gates around entire property. Custom wooden latching 48"H gates built to enclose huge front porch. Corner lot on hill with a bird's eye view from master balcony of entire neighborhood and city lights below. Unobstructed view of undeveloped mountain directly in back of property makes it look like back yard goes on and on and up the mountain. Sprinklers and timers on all slopes around property and unique non-wasteful spot irrigation system in use for plantings. Purified drinking water, all upgraded stainless kitchen and laundry with sink. Granite counters and back splashes, glass doors in cabinets, butlers pantry, big kitchen pantry w/ glass door, Kitchen Aid appliances, formal dining and living rooms. Full insulation in floors and walls throughout. Upgraded staircase with wrought iron spindles and Maple railings. Curtains throughout custom made. Split slate in autumn colors on all bathroom, family room and high traffic floor areas with upgraded carpet everywhere else. French-style elevation with concrete tile roof and rock accent in front. Windowed garage door w/ keyless entry. Gardener and pest control in place. Horse trails everywhere and equestrian center down the road. Owner is a broker but not listing on MLS and would prefer direct buyers only, no agents or other brokers. Let's keep the costs down! All offers considered, willing to be creative.

Surrounded by homes valued at 1.2 million and up?? Where pray tell are those? Surrounded by homes $400k and up would be more accurate this month. The highest price sale up there lately is around $600k. He goes into great detail about all the upgrades yet there is not a single picture of the inside of the house. 4 pictures of the front of the house is all you get. This guy is a broker, he has a big house that his is trying to get $987k for and the best he can do is post 4 pictures of the outside. Now lets talk about the beautiful landscaping. From the 4 piss poor pictures all I see is splotchy grass and a few plants. Like every other FSBO listing this one has no hope of selling. And as a broker this guy knows that.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Interesting. The property is hyperlinked to Redfin, a discount broker, with a redirect to forsalebyowner.com which has probably done an affiliate agreement with them. Sounds to me like the "agent" bought a flat fee service that Redfin won't service as they couldn't get a commission. Pricing is everything. I'd check to see if the agent holds a license and that the phone number is accurate and I certainly wouldn't send any money to the buyer without a face to face visit.

Santa Ana River Rat said...

Actually Redfin does not service IE area period. Don't think it's a matter of commission.

westfieldrental said...

You have got to love the misrepresentation by the supposed "broker". Has he driven by this home that he owns. The landscaping mention is quite humorous.