"The phone is ringing off the hook!"

15 Amarante in Laguna Niguel is a single-family residence in Marina Hills that came up for sale a couple weeks ago with an asking price of $599,000.

The owners' situation is sketchy at best. Zillow shows this property sold for $810,000 in 2005, but it has also been on the market as a rental, first in September 2006 with a monthly asking price of $2,650, and again in October 2007 with a monthly asking price of $2,600.

We're not sure exactly what the house did end up being rented out for in the past, but there is no rational way the rent could even approach covering the mortgage, so it is possible the owner was banking on rapid appreciation to bail them out of a bad investment. If you're curious, the investor-friendly 120 GRM estimate has this place valued at $312,000 - assuming a rental rate of $2,600 per month.

Listing description (our emphasis in bold): Gorgeous single story detached home in the desireable Marina Hills. Remodeled kitchen with cherry wood finish cabinets and modern granite tile counters. Gorgeous travertine floors and plush carpet. Leaded glass front door with beautiful porch. Low maintenance private back yard with lovely landscape and flowers beds. Hurry on this one the phone is ringing off the hook!

If the phone is "ringing off the hook" with interest, then why did we see this today on ZipRealty?: Price Reduced: 3/31/08 -- $599,000 to $589,000

Guess you don't have to be in quite as much of a hurry as the listing leads you to believe.