Bad Juju!

So we went and did a 'drive by' on the two properties in my most recent two posts.

The first was this gorgeous home, and unfinished $1.5 million dollar custom home with outstanding views.  They were asking $375K as part of a short sale, so no question this is a steal:

We drove up to see it and the neighborhood is just gorgeous.  This home is perched on the hillside and is really beautiful, with the listing claiming that the home is "98% finished".  What a gross understatement!  Just walking around the property we noticed a lot of unfinished work: it needs more siding, the decks and patios finished and stained, an entryway stoop, a driveway, HVAC vents, and who knows what else as we couldn't see much inside.  So, this one was out (it's out of our price range, but for the resale price we would have found a partner to use this as an investment. . .perhaps one of Dave's friends.  Our theory was to buy it, finish it, and sell it for $900K, split the profits and then have cash in the bank to buy a home we really want).

The next home we visited more out of gross curiosity than anything else!  It was the house I detailed in 'An Eccentric Steal', it came back on the market (out of contract), and having seen it in person the word 'eccentric' does not even begin to describe!  The last two times this home sold, they were asking between $450K and $750K.  It is currently listed for $280K, and having seen it I strongly feel that it is at least $100K overpriced: this house is in bad shape.

Walking the exterior we notice that the adobe siding is full of cracks, indicating that the foundation is poor.   The siding is a combination of stucco, stone (several random ones are missing), wood (dry and brittle), and paint (orange?  not sure why the orange. . .).

To the right of the home is a hill we trekked up to see in the back.  It quickly became apparent that the architecture is a strange extension of what was formerly a 1 bedroom log cabin which is still standing, so logs stick out of the back and show inside the home (seen on left):

This appears to be the old bathroom, and that blue tub thing is sketchy beyond belief.

The rear deck (a 4 x 5 rickety mess) has no stairs on it, and the doors leading too it are in really poor shape.  Lighting fixtures and trim are a mess if not completely nonexistent.

Moving around to each window we could see inside where the previous owner (foreclosed on and angry) had used a sledge hammer to put large holes in the walls and destroy the baseboard heaters.  Some parts of the home are very modern and contemporary (like the kitchen and many of the bedrooms) while other parts are really old and bizarre.

Adding insult to injury for this strange home, 'Bad Juju' doesn't even begin to describe it!  I have never felt so uncomfortable looking at a home: there is a really bad vibe and the place is borderline creepy.

It was worth looking at. . .but now we know why (despite it's former high-end price tag) it's not selling.  They are going to have to mark it down further or demolish the place because it needs serious help and nobody I know would touch this house with a 10 foot pole.

Yikes.