A mere 1.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean make this home ideal for the active outdoor types.  With the wide open beaches of Huntington Beach and the Newport Bay all close by you will never have a lack of plenty of things to do!

As if that is not enough, you are very short drive to a wide range of restaurants and shopping at South Coast Plaza.  This location really has it all!

1035 Sea Breeze Dr 5, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 (MLS # S687725)

ONLY 1.5 MILES FROM THE BEACH! NICE CAPE COD STYLE COMMUNITY; END UNIT 2-STORY TOWNHOME. LIGHT AND BRIGHT WITH VAULTED CEILING IN LIVING ROOM AND IN LOFT OPEN TO THE LIVING ROOM; MASTER BEDROOM AND GUEST BEDROOM SHARE A LARGE BATHROOM ON THE FIRST LEVEL; HUGE LIVING ROOM/DINING ROOM WITH CORNER FIREPLACE; SLIDER TO BRICK PATIO; LIGHT MAPLE CABINETS IN KITCHEN; TILE COUNTERTOP; DOWNSTAIRS LAUNDRY CLOSET; LARGE LOFT WITH HUGE WALK-IN CLOSET AND PRIVATE BATHROOM. NEW PAINT, NEW CARPET, LAMINATE FLOORING IN LIVING ROOM, DINING ROOM AND KITCHEN; TILE FLOORING IN BATHROOMS; SMOOTH CEILING; DETACHED GARAGE. READY TO MOVE IN.

Property Type(s): Condominium, Residential

Last Updated	2/16/2012	Tract	California Seabreeze (CASB)
Year Built	1978	Community	Southwest Costa Mesa
Garage Spaces	1.0	County	Orange
Total Parking	2	Walk Score ®	40

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with Kristin Boyd DRE# 01869503, Harcourts Prime Properties

(view all details for MLS #S687725)

The house itself has been completely remodeled with a brand new kitchen and bathrooms. All you need to do is buy the house and move in.

Call Rusty Eddy at (714) 362-5402.

Click on this link to get all the details and amenities for this turnkey property you don’t want miss.

Are you ready to make a move or just want to know more about the area or any other real estate questions, you can always contact me at RustyEddy.com

1725 Pine St, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 (MLS # S669765)

Custom Craftsman home built in 2003 in the charming 'Park Area' of Downtown Huntington Beach. This home is built with luxury quality materials & workmanship and is truly a one-of-a-kind. Entering the home you see a living room & dining area awash in light from the high ceilings & windows. Large chef's kitchen features professional quality (Thermador & Subzero) stainless appliances, island, granite counters, and a view out onto the flagstone patio. Also downstairs, there is a cozy family room, large separate game room & bar, two downstairs bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms. Game room looks out onto a beautifully landscaped flagstone patio with spa, fountains, & outdoor living space centered around a fireplace. On the second level is a spacious master suite featuring a luxury master bathroom with separate shower, bath, & walk-in closet with island. There is also a secondary bedroom upstairs with full bath & an open loft style office work space. Finally on the third floor is a rooftop sundeck

Property Type(s): Single Family, Residential

Last Updated	2/1/2012	Tract	Downtown Area (DOWN)
Year Built	2003	Community	West Huntington Beach
Garage Spaces	3.0	County	Orange
Total Parking	6	Walk Score ®	74

Schools

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with Scot Campbell DRE# 01235106, Coldwell Banker-Campbell Rltrs

(view all details for MLS #S669765)

This house has some other weirdness’s to it.  Thin 2″ walls with plywood (no plaster or drywall), light switches that are sideways below waste level right about where your hand would hand allowing you to turn on/off lights as you walk by, literally with out lifting a finger!

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # R1107310 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

2000 Beryl Ln, Newport Beach, CA 92660 (MLS # S682921)

GORGEOUS HOME ON CORNER LOT WITH SMALL POOL AND SPA. EXTENSIVELY REMODELED IN 2005. PLANS AVAILABLE. GREAT CURB APPEAL. WHITE PICKET FENCE AROUND BACK AND SIDE YARD; COVERED FRONT STOOP. FORMAL DINING ROOM OPEN TO KITCHEN WITH WHITE CABINETS, GRANITE COUNTERTOP, TILE BACKSPLASH AND STAINLESS STEEL APPLIANCES; HUGE LIVING ROOM WITH CORNER FIREPLACE;SPACIOUS MASTER BEDROOM WITH VAULTED CEILING, BAY WINDOW AND LUXURIOUS BATH WITH GARDEN TUB, WALK-IN CLOSET WITH ORGANIZERS. GUEST SUITE WITH VAULTED CEILING; THIRD BEDROOM WITH DOORS TO HUGE BACKYARD; FOURTH BEDROOM CURRENTLY USED AS OFFICE WITH BUILT-IN DESK AND BOOKCASES. HARDWOOD FLOORING THROUGHOUT EXCEPT FOR BATHROOMS; SMOOTH CEILING; HEAVY CROWN MOULDING AND BASEBOARD; RECESSED LIGHTING; BEAUTIFUL GLASS DOORS TO MOST BEDROOM CLOSETS; READY TO MOVE IN.

Property Type(s): Single Family, Residential

Last Updated	2/3/2012	Tract	Harbor Highlands I (HH01)
Year Built	1955	Community	West Bay - Santa Ana Heights
Garage Spaces	2.0	County	Orange
Total Parking	4	Walk Score ®	52

Schools

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with Kristin Boyd DRE# 01869503, Harcourts Prime Properties

(view all details for MLS #S682921)

328 17th St, Seal Beach, CA 90740 (MLS # S677995)

DREAM BEACH COTTAGE; WEST OF PCH, 4 BLOCKS FROM THE BEACH AND .7 MILE FROM THE PIER! COMPLETELY REMODELED AND GORGEOUS INSIDE AND OUT. GREAT CURB APPEAL; SODDED FRONT YARD WITH SPRINKLERS; REAR ENTRY 2-CAR DIRECT ACCESS GARAGE. DRAMATIC FLOORPLAN: VAULTED CEILING IN LIVING ROOM AND ALL THREE BEDROOMS UPSTAIRS; SYLIGHTS; OPEN FLOORPLAN: LARGE LIVING ROOM WITH STACKED STONE FIREPLACE OPEN TO FORMAL DINING ROOM WITH SLIDER TO PATIO AND TO CUSTOM GOURMET KITCHEN WITH NEWER CABINETS, GRANITE COUNTERTOP AND BREAKFAST BAR; STAINLESS STEEL UPGRADED APPLIANCES, INCLUDING BUILT-IN REFRIGERATOR; GORGEOUS BATHROOMS WITH CUSTOM TILE, STONE AND TRAVERTINE FLOORING AND SHOWER/TUB SURROUNDS. TRAVERTINE THROUGHOUT DOWNSTAIRS; DISTRESSED HARDWOOD FLOORS IN MASTER BEDROOM; MOSTLY DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS AND SLIDER; AIR CONDITIONING AND CEILING FAN IN EACH BEDROOM; CLOSET ORGANIZERS. READY TO ENJOY!

Property Type(s): Single Family, Residential

Last Updated	2/4/2012	Tract	Unknown (OTHR)
Year Built	1977	Community	Seal Beach
Garage Spaces	2.0	County	Orange
Total Parking	4	Walk Score ®	82

Schools

Additional Details

Features

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listed with Kristin Boyd DRE# 01869503, Harcourts Prime Properties

(view all details for MLS #S677995)

To quickly evaluate a property and come up with an offer price.  This will be preliminary, after a property inspection we may, and often do adjust our offer and rehab prices.

Keep track of what offers we have to prepare, offers that are active and in negotiation and offers that have been rejected that we may want to followup on because they stay on the market, fall out of escrow or just expire, etc.

Use our initial evaluation once the project has been completed to see if we need to make adjustments to our evaluation process.

Keep notes as negotiations progress or things of interest about the property, etc.

How we make offers:

1. We contact the listing agent and offer to let them write up the offer and represent us. We do this by sending the offer (letter of intent) & POF in email and following up with a phone call.
2. If the agent does not want to, or is non-responsive, I’ll write up the offer myself.
3. If another agent brings the deal, they write it up.

I Use the MLS

This is how I create and track offers.  I use the MLS for a the following reasons:

• I have access to it.
• The user interface pretty much sucks but it is powerful
• I get the private remarks on listings
• I can download properties in a format that can used by other programs, like my Google docs.
• MLS allows you to get very specificsearches that I have not found in other program will, such as a polygon map search.
• MLS allows me access to Realist tax records which makes it super easy to get high level comps with the click of a button.

NOTE: redfin will also allow you to download captured listings, but you have much less flexibility regarding your searches.

Example

Here I have done a very simple search to provide me with all Single Family (SFR), REO under 500k in Huntington Beach.  This resulted in 7 properties, of which I browsed through and found 4 that I am interested in.

I then selected the 4 properties I am interested in and hit the Download button as follows:

This results in a “Tab Seperated Text File”, basically a file that can be read into a spreadsheet such as Excel or (as in my case) a Google Docs spreadsheet.

What are Google Docs

Google Docs (Google apps to be more specific) are basically an online version of a Word Processor, Spreadsheet and Power Point.   In otherwords they are very simple versions of the MS Office programs: Word, Excel and Power Point, and they are all accessible via a web browser.

If you use Gmail, you have access to Google Docs.  I happen to have a business version of Gmail that allows me to run my email services or rustyeddy.com and barracasproperties.com through gmail, and hence Google Docs.

Anyway…

I access Google docs through my ‘rusty@barracasproperties.com’ gmail account as follows:

Getting MLS Listing Into Google Docs

This will take me to my Google docs account, where I select a spreadsheet called ‘MLS Listings’:

This brings me to my MLS Listings spreadsheet in which I have create my Offer Making/Tracking script.

While in the MLS spreadsheet, I import the Tab Separated Text file that I previously saved from the MLS Download.  (I am going to skip the screen shoots for that, just because it is pretty simple and I am getting lazy .

The imported file will have the top row being the Column Headers there will be one row for each property, this file consists of a ton of information for which we will just pick out the stuff we are most interested in.

Here is what the spreadsheet looks like after I have imported the MLS listings:

Stage The Offers

I now select the “Process MLS” menu item from the MLS Menu item above.  These menus were added by the script I wrote.  This is the point the script runs off and does it’s magic.  Depending on the number of properties to be processed, it will typically take a few seconds.

When it is finished, I will end up with a Google Docs folder “Offers – Prepare” used to stage our offers.  ”Offers – Prepare” will in turn have one folder for each property we want to prepare an offer for.   The Offer folders use the following naming convention:

City – Street – Address – MLSNUM

Prepare the Offers

Now I will go through and actually stage our offers:

NOTE: Prior to this I have run quick comps and make a wild ass guess as to rehab costs

Now I go into the property folder, in this folder are two documents:

• Rehab Analyzer Spreadsheet
• A Google document just to keep notes on the property (counter offers, etc.)
• I will also upload a PDF of the Realist comps report in this folder (I skipped this step here).

The analysis spreadsheet is the key to this whole thing.

The spread sheet above ending in ‘-analysis’ is the key to this whole thing.  It gets pre-populated with 4 sheets or tabs as follows:

1. A Summary sheet: to a summary of the deal
2. An info sheet with specifics about the property, access info and agent remarks (how to make an offer)
3. Rehab Evaluator, this sheet calculates the offer price and profits to be made.
4. A sheet with the raw data.

The Summary Sheet

The following sheet is the first sheet you see, to make this whole thing work you only need to enter two pieces of information:

• The ARV
• The repair costs

The Summary Sheet

The summary sheet allows you to just take a quick look at the property, it provides access information to go look at the property and the agent remarks which, among other things typically provide information on how to make offers, etc.

The Evaluator

The last sheet of interest is the Rehab Evaluator.  This sheet has all the costs and calculations that go into deriving the Offer price , profits and amount of money to be borrowed.

Sadly, I could not fit the whole evaluator sheet in one screen shot, but I think you get the idea .  Any of these numbers can be adjusted to play out different scenarios, etc.

That’s all folks!!

If you are going to buy a home, put up your hard earned cash and go through the challenge and inconvenience of managing and living through a rehab project or two, you are also, in all likelihood looking for a good deal.  And that is where the challenge is. Guess who else is looking for a good deal? Yep you got it, the dreaded investor.

To alleviate that problem, check out the Freddie Mac First Look Initiative.  The purpose of the program is to give home owners (people that want to live in the house) first chance at purchasing those homes.  Freddie Mac is giving home owners 15 days to look at these homes (Home Steps)  and make an offer before they will entertain offers from investors.

Side note: Now, the reality of it is that most investors are typically looking for really steep discounts. They know how to negotiate and are very seldom willing to pay as much as a typical home owner is willing to pay.   With that in mind, a home buyer with decent credit and a stable job does have an advantage over the steep discount seeking investor.

Are you looking for your first home?  Would you like to know the secrets to buying a house that will give you a big advantage over investors?

Of course, you can feel free to contact me at any time. After all I am an investor and I work with many first time buyers. I know how to help you buy your first home, even houses that investors are swarming after!

If you are just looking for information, provide your name and email below to receive your complementary Beginners Home Buying Guide. Additionally, you will receive periodic information and tips of what is happening in the market right now.

Houses that only a rehabber could love.

Since I started rehabbing houses with my partner, we have have looked at hundreds of houses.  Some of them are ugly, some of them are eerily hideous. There are times when I’ve been afraid to open a closet or look into a green pool in fear of seeing a dead body.

Some houses have had really weird designs to begin with or glopped-on in a way that makes you think they were created by Dr. Frankenstein.   Anyway, here is my collection of Monster Houses (not the type you would find on The Learning Channel :)

With the proliferation of TV shows that have highlighted Orange County, you know The OC,  Laguna Beach and the House Wives Of Orange County that are obsessed with demonstrating the ugly side of “beautiful people” I thought it appropriate to expose to the world the ugly side of ugly in “The OC”.

These are houses that not even a mother would love, as matter of fact any self respecting mother would run screaming from.  These are houses that only a rehabber would love, if you are a rehabber you may find some of these houses gorgeous!

Enjoy!!

Monster Houses

• Rickety Shack in Anaheim Near Disneyland!
• Monster Houses Of Orange County

Showing properties 1 - 3 of 3. See more UGLY Houses.
(all data current as of 2/17/2012)

1. $789,900 : 328 17th St, Seal Beach
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,703 sq ft

   Lot size: 2,500 sq ft

   Year built: 1977

   Parking spots: 4

   Days on market: 115

   Walk Score®: 82
2. $275,000 : 648 E Ash St, Brea
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,426 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,120 sq ft

   Year built: 1957

   Parking spots: 4

   Days on market: 121

   Walk Score®: 91
3. $285,000 : 7521 Warner Ave, Huntington Beach
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 1,240 sq ft

   Lot size: 4,770 sq ft

   Year built: 1964

   Days on market: 205

   Walk Score®: 89

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Well I do, or at least I did until I ran my little research project. I have to tell you I was shocked (ok maybe shocked is a slight over-statement) at what I found, the results are interesting.  In this post I will share my findings and provide my interpretation of the results then finally I will list a couple related questions that popped up in my head at the end of the post.

How I did the Research

I focused only on Huntington Beach and asked the following questions:

During the last year (2011) of all the houses sold in Huntington Beach on the MLS, how many where REOs, how many were Short Sales and how many were Standard Equity sales?

Also do the ratio’s change at different price ranges?  

In a nutshell, these sales were pulled of the MLS, they are all in Huntington Beach, they are all Single Family Residences (no condos, duplexes, multiplexes, etc.).

I ran reports for the following types of sales: Short Sales, REOs and Standard (Equity) Sales. I ran all three reports in 4 different price ranges: less than $500,000, between $501k and $750k, between $750k and $1Mil and greater than $1 million, for a total of 12 reports.

The Results

What do I think this means?

The lower end of the market has been hit the hardest

My interpretation of the results first of all is:  the lower price range has been hit the hardest with these distressed sales. The higher end perhaps has the means to stick out bad economic conditions (or avoided the problem altogether).   It may also mean that those price ranges have a higher probability of having gained equity of many years of ownership.

That could mean the lower end buyers had a greater tendency to get into loans that did not make sense long term.  Perhaps the lower end was hit harder with a loss of employment and income?

This seems to bear itself out in other geographic areas such as Riverside and San Bernadino counties, the default rates in those areas have been hit (much) harder than OC.   I am also willing to bet cities like Santa Ana and Anaheim are going to see stats similar if not more exaggerated than the lower price points of HB.

Short sales are way out selling REOs

Second observation (or surprise) is that short sales are clearly out selling REOs.  This I find ironic because of the media and chatter over the past five years has been the looming tsunami of REOs about to hit the market, also the constant comments regarding the difficulty of short sales.  I doubt the former will ever happen (at least the tsunami part) I think it will be more of a stream or river,  right now it is just a stream, at least here in OC.

Granted short sales very often are a pain in the ass neck, the evidence is clear that many lenders are willing to work with short sales, that is not to say they are more difficult than other types of sales, but they are selling!  I believe this be due to the fact that the lenders now understand Short Sales better, they have had time to staff up and train by now and  acknowledge they will save more loose a lot less money selling the property before they take it through foreclosure.

What this means to me: even though they are generally difficult they may be well worth the effort since there is still an overwhelming sense that people prefer to avoid short sales.  I also happen to think short sales will have a much better impact on the economy than letting problem properties linger until eventually being sold as REOs.

There is still Equity out there

This was a reality check.  Sure distressed sales make up a huge portion of the market, especially in the lower price ranges and more so in areas outside of OC, however the majority of  properties sold last year in HB were equity sales at all price ranges.  It has been said that 1 out of 3 houses nationally are owned free and clear!  Though I find that surprising I did a quick survey near my neighborhood and seemed to confirm that indeed about 1 out of 3 of the houses were owned free and clear!  So equity sales are not to be ignored.

Why did I do this?

Aside from shear curiosity, my main motivation was two fold, first as an investor where should I be looking for deals, similarly as a Real Estate agent how should I guide my clients to make there purchases?

Much of this was motivated by the fact that so many people are fixated on REOs expecting that we would be able to scoop them up left and right for bargain prices, but that just is not the case, you have to work very hard to get a good deal, let alone a great deal.   Since the Real Estate down turn (a euphemism for the bubble popping  exploding) in 2007, the common thought was that tons of foreclosed homes would end up being taken over by the lenders after the foreclosure process and subsequently tons of these properties would be hitting the market.

This was a logical and reasonable expectation, however that has simply not been the case.  So it is time to do a reality check and get focused in this current market.

To be more specific about the research:

The reports I ran are from the MLS, I did not take into account all sold properties from tax records but I do not believe the non-MLS listed sales will change the outcome in any notable way.  Many (most?) of the homes not listed on the MLS are going to be passed between family members or a few houses that have been sold directly by owners.

Conclusion and Questions

A couple questions that I am now wondering about are:

Has this trend changed much in the last 5 years?

How do other cities in Orange County compare with Huntington Beach?

What are the Ratios in other counties around OC?

Where can I find a great deal?  :)

Ultimately, this tells me that many people, especially bargain hunters (myself included) are focusing too hard on REOs.  We have witnesses some intense competition on REOs, especially those priced well.  That will not stop us (our investment company) from looking at REOs and going after them, but it does tell me that I should spend more time on alternate strategies.

What do You Think?

What do you think, or would you like to know what I’m thinking.  Or do you have a suggestion for me?  Do share!