<p>Re post #20. Custom Hilltop Estate. 1.49 million and you can’t use a slab of granite on your countertops, you have a cheesy fluorescent fixture over your island (maybe that’s due to CA’s energy code?), you’ve got arches that almost touch the ceiling (obviously no architect actually looked at the elevations), wall to wall carpeting so they could have cheesy plywood floors, but yeah you need a four car garage. And what’s with the ceiling in the second bedroom? Ugh. For that price it would be nice to have something well-designed. Instead you get this ill-proportioned mess.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t move to Hayward…</p>
<p>For that kind of money…I would live some place else…actually…I just wouldn’t live in Hayward. Period.</p>
<p>I hope nobody lives in Hayward on this board. :)</p>
<p>And mathmom…you’re tough. Remind me not to put any pictures of my place on here. :)</p>
<p>I’ll design you a nice house for much, much less than 1.49 million dstark. :)</p>
<p>Hey, lots of tech companies are moving to the East Bay! Just check this one out:</p>
<p>[Bay</a> Area, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Real Estate, House Price, and Mortgage Blog - Burbed](<a href=“burbed.com - This website is for sale! - burbed Resources and Information.”>http://www.burbed.com/)</p>
<p>I used to live in San Ramon and commute to work in Hayward. I agree about living in Hayward…</p>
<p>Mathmom…
</p>
<p>That size?</p>
<p>Not where I live. ;)</p>
<p>I bought a much smaller place…but there are built in imperfectons…I can’t fix them all. And many are obvious to me. My guess is more would be obvious to you. :)</p>
<p>Vballmom…so that is why that place in Hayward costs that much?</p>
<p>mathmom, I don’t like the $1.49 million house either but can’t quite articulate why.
OT, Isn’t the other side of menlopark is newark?</p>
<p>I think that size is obscene, so no. But nicer, more useful space that you’d actually want to hang around in, yes that I can do. I don’t understand why up till about 1930 or so builders built nicely proportioned houses with nice details and after that they didn’t. I like modern architecture, I like traditional architecture. But most contemporary traditional architecture sucks. You really need to hire an architect if you want to go traditional.</p>
<p>I’ve seen that Hayward listing before but there’s no address in the virtual tour. I thought it was San Mateo. Doh! Guess I had my San Mateo Bridge backwards.</p>
<p>Yes, Newark is across the Dumbarton Bridge from Menlo Park/East Palo Alto/Facebook HQ.</p>
<p>I think one reason why the $1.49 million house is so unappealing is that it’s frozen in 1994. The kitchen especially, with the heavy-grained oak cabinets and tile counters & backspash. I know this because that’s how my kitchen looked before I remodeled. Well, ok, maybe mine was about 1/4 the size of this one, but the cabinets & tiled counters were the same.</p>
<p>And dstark I have no idea about East Bay housing prices. I’ve got my hands full just figuring out prices here on the Peninsula!</p>
<p>vballmom, :)</p>
<p>Mathmom…I think that size is obscene too…</p>
<p>I heard a saying…the larger the house…the less the people in the house like each other. :)</p>
<p>I’m stuck with an HOA…so I’m a little limited in what I can do to the place.</p>
<p>RE: Hayward,</p>
<p>Yes, it is bad, bad school, bad everything. But that Hilltop Custom Estate is in Hayward Hills gated community. Beautiful view and almost everyone in Hayward Hills goes to private schools. Nothing wrong with that location. lot batter than the Berkeley teardowns.</p>
<p>The address is 4083 Oakmanor Ct. Hayward… and btw, the HOA is almost $500/year for the privilage to be in the gated community.</p>
<p>Mathmom,
I understand there are lots of flaws through the eyes of an architect. But other than the 2nd bed room ceilings, everything else is easy to correct, Perhaps another $50K will do the job. For that, you can replace the kitchen, put down hardwood floors and adjust the arches etc. But the location and the view is unreplaceable…</p>
<p>In real estate it is all location location and location. :)</p>
<p>and no, its not my listing…^^</p>
<p>The view is lovely. Hard to judge the floor plan, but for that price why not have done it right in the first place? Most of what is wrong with it, wouldn’t have cost much if anything more to do right the first time.</p>
<p>“The address is 4083 Oakmanor Ct. Hayward… and btw, the HOA is almost $500/year for the privilage to be in the gated community.”</p>
<p>The Hayward hills, in the vicinity of CSU Hayward, has some nice neighborhoods with beautiful views of the bay. But at some point you have to come DOWN the hill to coexist with the rest of the flat-landers, schools, retailers, etc. To most of us California residents, paying $500/year for gate security only would be a bargain. In my So Cal community, we pay just under $2600/year for (multiple) guard-gated security and common area maintenace only (no pools, tennis courts, etc.).</p>
<p>^^ As a realtor, I have seen lot worse homes than that one. One of the worst was a 2 stories home, first floor has 2 bedrooms, a full bath and a two car garage, but the two bedrooms are separate by the garage. Whoever lives in the bedroom on the far end must go through the garage to reach the bathroom, it is really wierd. For that one, I have no clue how to correct.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, you don’t have to visit Hayward downtown. Castro Valley is nearby via Five Canyon Parkway and access to major highways is only less than 2 miles away.</p>
<p>I don’t always feel that safe in Castro Valley these days either…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I did! It is “American.” Let me see if I can find a link…here it is:</p>
<p>[Residential</a> Ranges by American Range](<a href=“http://www.americanrange.com/residential/48residential.html]Residential”>http://www.americanrange.com/residential/48residential.html)</p>
<p>They also make a (pricey) wall oven that has “french doors.” I adore the design. No more attempting to stretch over the door to put things in or take things out or check on progress. They have the commercial version of it at a soup kitchen where I cook, and I love it. </p>
<p>[Wall</a> Ovens by American Range](<a href=“http://www.americanrange.com/residential/30walloven.html]Wall”>http://www.americanrange.com/residential/30walloven.html)</p>
<p>My kitchen plans didn’t include it, though. I’m told that serious bakers love it. I’m no longer a serious baker, since I can’t eat carbs. :(</p>
<p>The price of the 48" is thousands less than Wolf. If memory serves, I could get it here for about $7K, while the Wolf was around $12K or even more. Basically, I could get the American Range 48" with a grill in the top in addition to the 6 burners and have a stainless back splash with shelf–and all the burners and two ovens would be under an excellent but well-priced stainless Broan hood-- for about the same price as a professional-style cooktop and two wall ovens. But in that case the wall ovens would not be under the hood. And that is important to me.</p>
<p>I’ve seen the American Range product in the flesh and pulled the racks in and out, hefted the burners, and so forth. It is VERY sturdily made, great quality. And it comes in a variety of attractive colors if you want that.</p>
<p>Edit: I forgot, I was also going to get a wok ring. :)</p>
<p>Re the house in post 20.
I find it VERY appealing… because I love a good view and that view is lovely. The yard has real promise if you have a good gardener (although your water bill would be high). Yes, the kitchen is dated, but not that badly. I might replace the cabinet doors but I might not, too. (I’ll note that my favorite real estate agent says “you’re either a view person or you’re not.” I am: the first thing I do when I look at a house is look at the view. When we moved to Portland, I looked at eighty houses. Some I walked out of immediately, because I didn’t like the view.)</p>
<p>Whomever did the staging… well, that’s a real problem. That furniture is so ugly it makes the house look terrible.</p>