Speaking of Zillow,
I just checked values on some of the properties that I sold recently to get a gauge on how much values have gone up in the neighborhood.
Del Monte French Normandy house - value has gone up to $1,875,000. He has made 4 1/2% appreciation in less than 6 months. I actually think that house would sell fast in the current market.
Liberace House - value has gone up to $1,356,000. I don’t think this is an accurate valuation, so I’m going to call it $1,275,000 because of the slightly less desireable neighborhood, no usable yard, 1 car garage and steep stairs to bottom level, although views are just as good as the high value homes. This house has gone up in value 25% in a year and a half.
Hoarder House - value has gone up to $1,075,000… yowza! I’m going to lower that based on 1 car garage and steep stairs to house. Let’s say $1,040,000. 17% appreciation in 2 years.
Wow! CB - the neighborhood blight exterminator and value creator! Have you checked those properties via Redfin? It seems to have a better algorithm than Zillow.
Zillow shows the value of our house as 35% over what we paid two years ago. I really really don’t think that’s accurate but it’s nice to see!
My realtor friend just sold the mid-century modern that went on the market in January. Don’t know yet what it sold for.
A home not too far from us just got sold for $90K over the list price. I am gobsmacked.
Yes, I saw the listing on Lowell. I think i t has a lot of potential. Interesting that some amateur just took some cell phone photos, without any photos of interior, and stuck them up in the listing.
This owner of this house is a doozy. Has been in foreclosure since 2009. She keeps filing bankruptcy cases and then not following through with filing any claims/documents so they get dismissed. She currently has a bankruptcy case open as Chapter 13 since 2014. This means that the bankruptcy judge has to approve any sale of the property to meet obligations to creditors. And… it looks like she tried to sue the lender for predatory practices for the $650k loan from 2007.
I’m very familiar with the area that Westport house is in. The lot is not large for the area, and the house is very small. It appears that some of the square footage is actually finished basement with that horrible hung ceiling. Based on the windows and the big shingles and closet doors I’d say that this place was cheaply built and a bit of a dump, and the current owners fixed it up quite nicely. It looks like they didn’t get around to touching the finished basement room(s). The interior is probably fine: they just have it weirdly furnished. Although it would be interesting to see what the bathroom looks like!
I’d say that adding on would be the only thing that would really raise its value. Or scraping it and building something bigger.
BTW, Californians, check out the property taxes. 
I think there will be multiple offers for the Lowell property. It was listed $815k - $915k and then 2 days later the listing agent changed price to $850-$950, probably based on a lot of interest in the property. We will see
My taxes in NY are way higher for a house worth much less than one in Westport. My sister and her H moved from Westchester County to Fairfield County because of the cheap property taxes in CT.
The Westport house looks like a great bargain for a young couple looking for excellent school district. It needs some sprucing up but nothing in that house they couidnt live with for awhile.
All my cousin’s kid couid afford when they moved from Queens to CT was a town house in New Canaan for $800k. They would have loved to be able to afford a house.
Just closed escrow on a house I bought in 2013, paid $162,000, put in about 80,000 for renovation, rented for $3200/mo since 2014, made about $85,000 in net rent. Selling price $525,000
This house is in BAD neighborhood. The homeless broke the fence 16 times since it was vacant in Feb. 2017. One week before closing 4 windows were broken, even with security alarm turned on. They never came in the house but the yard was a disaster because the tenant that was evicted left 20,000 lbs of garbage in the yard. The tenant was in constructions. The cleaning and repair was about $10,000
I drove by the Westport house a little while ago. The landscaping in the front is hideous. The house is hidden from the street by an ugly pile of overgrown mess, and that would need to be cleaned up and landscaped. Certainly not cheap. But oh, what an opportunity.
That house is pretty cute, @VeryHappy
It needs different furniture, paint, and some nice area rugs. The place is livable as is.
It’s livable but, as I mentioned, the outside is a mess. Not at all appealing, and one needs to climb a set of rickety wooden stairs from the driveway just to get to the front door. At the least, the stairs should be replaced with something stone.
But for the price, no matter how yucky the yard is, it’s a steal -especially considering the school district.
My house was a mess inside and outside when we bought it. That’s how you get a good deal, and as you can afford it, you fix it up. Location, location, location.
Ohh fun! @VeryHappy reporting live from location. I wish I knew the date of the auction (or auction website) so we can follow what it sells for. Although most of the auctions listed on the MLS will take any offer above their reserve and cancel the auction.
@artloversplus
Is that the house with unpermitted patio covering that was in escrow forever and buyers would not cancel the escrow???
I agree that Redfin seems to have better estimates for certain areas of the country (especially ours) but I was in Zillow for other reasons today so I thought I would just run some numbers.
Geez…just checked Redfin. Del Monte house valued at $1,950,000 now. That is a $155,000 rise in 5 months!!! And that’s a huge difference between the websites
If he is so upset that the gate doesn’t close perfectly he should sell quickly and reap a good profit:)
^ He’d have to spend most his profit on commission.
The current bid on the Falmouth house is $251K. The auction ends next Monday.