Short sale in the canyon

Would you like to be stuck holding a 1-bedroom fixer in Trabuco Canyon? It could be worse ... you could be the bank stuck with the loan on this place.

20751 Trabuco Oaks Drive, 92678
Asking price: $210,000

Beds:	1
Baths:	1
Sq. Ft.:	572
$/Sq. Ft.:	$367
Lot Size:	7,699 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Residential, Single Family
Style:	One Level, Bungalow
View:	Canyon, Trees/Woods
Year Built:	1929
Community:	Trabuco Canyon
County:	Orange
MLS#:	S596082
Source:	SoCalMLS
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	58 days

From listing: This Bungalow is perfect for investors. This fixer is a perfect project for anyone who wants to rebuild in the huge piece of land. two parcels sold for one price. total sq ft 15,049 with lots of potential, must see. The small bungalow features one bedroom and one bath.

We don't know what this property previously sold for, but we do know that the outstanding loans wouldn't cover the $210,000 asking price, hence this property is a short sale.

This property came onto the market listed for $350,000 in November, then went down to $295,000 ... then $250,000 ... now to the current asking price. In all, the price has been reduced $140,000 or a whopping 40% off the original asking price just about two months ago.

Does that mean if the property continues not to sell that in March it will be down to $70,000?

Hitting the skids in Trabuco Canyon

Buy a house in Trabuco Canyon at or just past the real estate market peak. Spend $130k in upgrades. Price $160k above what you paid for the property. What could go wrong?

20592 Sycamore Road, 92679
Asking price: $685,000
Previous sales price: $525,000
Previous sales date: 11/30/06

Beds:	3
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	2,000
$/Sq. Ft.:	$342
Lot Size:	0.51 Acres
Property Type:	Single Family Residence
Style:	Contemporary
Stories:	2
View:	Trees/Woods
Year Built:	1954
Community:	Trabuco Canyon
County:	Orange
MLS#:	P690877
Source:	SoCalMLS
Status:	Active
On Redfin:	131 days

From listing: Over $130,000 spent in upgrades over the past 2 years-Spectacular-like a brand new home. Totally private 1/2 acre estate with tons on parking, rv access, garage w/small workshop, gated entrance w/impressive wrought iron fencing & room for at least 3 horses. Mature oaks & sycamores, creek & mountain view, reflection pond. All new dual paned windows, new wooden siding & fresh exterior paint, all new light wooden interior walls, mirrored wardrobe doors, recessed lighting, immaculate & clean. Family room enjoys granite wet bar, wood floors and a dramatic open beam ceiling, slider to patio & picture window with view of peaceful grounds. New kitchen with stainless dishwasher,refrig,microwave, gas stove, granite counters. Living/Dining Room has fabulous river rock fireplace, Spanish paver tiles. Master has separate office nook, private balcony w/mountain view, vaulted ceiling, huge bathroom w/claw-foot tub, walk-in closet. Public riding arena and trails down the street, 5 min to shopping.

This house sold for $343,500 and "only" went for around $200k more in 2006. As you can see, the current owner believes they have put enough work into the property to have it be worth even more today.

The fact that the property has been sitting on the market for four months with no price reductions says otherwise. If the property can be sold for the current asking price (not likely), and we were to subtract 6% for sales costs, the owner would be looking at a loss of about $11,000 - taking into account $130k spent on upgrades. In essence, they're looking to get out of this property for essentially breakeven.

Get yer bidding war on!

Another week, another tale of a furious bidding war in OC. We at South OC Tracker are officially getting behind this Trabuco Canyon property as the next great candidate to start a bidding war. What makes it so obvious you might ask? How about the asking price of $108/sq ft.

28873 Woodspring Circle, 92679

Beds:	3
Baths:	3
Sq. Ft.:	4,028
$/Sq. Ft.:	$108
Lot Size:	1,645 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Single Family Residence
Style:	Traditional
Stories:	2
View:	Hills, Has View
Year Built:	1987
Community:	Trabuco Canyon
County:	Orange
MLS#:	P698882
Source:	SoCalMLS
Status:	Active
On Redfin:	1 day

From description: Beautifully maintianed home with high ceilings and open floor plan. Private backyard features spa, grassy area, and planters full of flowers. Master suite opens into large master bathroom. Home is complete with down stairs bedroom, two additional bedrooms upstairs and a loft. Walking distance to Blue Ribbon Schools. Home Owner Association is complete with olympic size pool, tot pool, tennis courts and club house. Excellent move-in condition.

From what we've seen, this looks like your equity seller meets non-short sale meets turnkey property. Could it use some updating - for example, the kitchen? Sure. But the combination we just mentioned, plus the asking price seems ripe to equal multiple bids.

Redfin says the previous sales price was $200,000 in 1991 - probably a high before the down market of the mid 1990s. We'll see what this one eventually fetches. Hint: probably a good deal higher than $435,000 unless there's some big problem we don't see. Or a typo.

50% off train wreck in Trabuco

Have you ever thought to yourself while scouring real estate listings: "Man, they couldn't pay me to take this property." That is exactly what came to mind when we saw this one. The unusual thing about this property is it sold for almost $1.7 million about four years ago.

30461 Hamilton Trl, 92679
Asking price: $799,999
Asking price/ sq ft: $291
Purchase price: $1,670,000
Purchase date: 4/8/05
Size: 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,750 sq ft (built in 1999)
MLS: S564210 (33 days on Redfin)
Original asking price: $980,000
HOA dues: $70
Type: Single Family Residence
Style: Contemporary
Stories: 2
Lot size: 4.11 Acres
From listing: ***Short Sale FIXER***Custom Home on 4.11 acres of flat land backing Santiago Moutians. Located in the gated community of Hamilton Trail, this home brings country living with in minutes from the city! Property Includes a tack room,large custom barn with 5 stables and apartment/ workshop. The views of the lands surrounding the home are majestic. Plenty of room for horse trailers, RVS and extra vehicles. Home is modern style, less than 10 years old. This property is one of a kind...but needs some work!!! Home has been affected by the recent floods and fires, causing mud rock and debris in the yards, may have city violations on land. There is a natural run off on the property.Dogs on property

Is this property worth the hassle of fixing and possibly clearing up the city violations? We can't see any interior photos of the house, so it's hard to say.

The current owner bought the house using 89% financing from WaMu and a $180,440 downpayment. The property's first loan went into default in April 2008, and the notice of trustee sale amount is about $100,000 more than the original loan amount.

Assuming the property can be sold for the current asking price, and we subtract 6% for sales costs, the loss would be more than $900,000. The owner will lose his downpayment and WaMu (Chase) is on the hook for the rest. Not including sales costs, it would mean this less-than-10-year-old property, in its current condition, could have lost half its value.

Near '93 rollback in Trabuco

Here is another example of the type of property that has already gotten creamed during the real estate downturn - a small condo in an outlying area (Trabuco Canyon). Check out the current asking price range - we'll compare it to the 1993 price. They're not very far apart...

19001 Canyon, 92679
Asking price: $170,000-$185,000
Asking price/ sq ft: $156
Purchase price: $377,000
Purchase date: 1/10/07
Size: 2 beds, 2 baths, 1,087 sq ft (built in 1990)
MLS: S554832 (75 days on Redfin)
Zillow Zestimate: $267,000
HOA dues: $210
Type: Condominium
Style: Other
Stories: 1
From listing: Needs alittle TLC, but is a great first home for a small family. End downstairs unit with 2 patio's, 1 off the master bedroom. Bright and open with built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace. 1 car attached garage with plenty of other parking, close to the pool area. Stackable washer and dryer hookups inside the unit. Very close to schools, and toll road.

Redfin says this property was first listed for $190,000, but it has dropped a bit since. Similar units are trying to get about $1,650 per month from potential tenants, and even if we were to assume this property would rent for less (after being fixed up), it's probably still at rental parity.

The question, obviously, is would you want to live here long term when you could pay nearly the same price for a bigger apartment closer to job centers?

Assuming a sale for $177,500 (in the middle of the asking price range), it would mean the condo sold for just $18,000 above the 1993 price of $159,500. The property also is a 2002 rollback: It sold for $207,500 in April of that year.