The Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp District

As far as I know, only one condo has been be resold, which was actually a foreclosure.  Having been a member of the resale team, I’ve experienced first hand, how different this type of property is.  I’ve listened to what owners had to say, I’ve stayed at the hotel and I’ve lived like Rock Royalty.  At this point, there are 26 condos for sale.  Click here for a quick rundown of how the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel and the condo-hotel model works. 

Being a downtown San Diego real estate specialist, I get a lot of inquirers about the Hard Rock.  I’m also in a position where I know of many owners who would like to sell, but don’t have their condos on the market.  Additionally, I know some owners who are open to selling partial ownership to interest buyers. 

If you have questions about the Hard Rock, or want to buy or sell here, let me know.  I personally think this is a great investment, but it has to be a long term hold.  Don’t expect to turn a profit in a year and be prepared to into break even every month.  With that said, I think the name, location, quality and concept are incredible and see a ton of potential for those who can take advantage of the current market and economy.  San Diego is one of the country’s most visited cities and when the economy turns around, San Diego will still be 70 degrees and sunny, waiting for people to visit. 

Buyers – if you’re interested, lets talk and throw an offer out there.  Do you want partial ownership?  Do you want a guaranteed stream of income?  Do you want to trade property?  This is the time to get creative and make deals happen.

For more information, please call Denny Oh at 858–243–2092 or denny@sandiegoh.com. 

The Legend

The 7^th floor deck looks right into Pecto Park and offers owners and guests a great place to relax, BBQ, watch the game, or just get some sun.  Condo number 901 at The Legend, is a 1,234 sqft 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo that has beautiful city and Petco Park views.  This condo is an H2 floorplan and various slightly from the picture provided.  The difference is that the fireplace on the left has been removed, creating a more open and functional living space.  The bedrooms are also larger, with pop-out windows that provide an extra 116 sqft.  Even though it’s only 116 sqft, it makes a HUGE difference, especially in the master bedroom. 

The H2 floorplan allows the master bedroom to triple its closet space.  The left side bedroom wall is pushed over to the right by about 5ft, creating two double door closets(instead of the one) and it also allows the northern most closet to become a true walk-in closet.  The pop-out windows also give you a great view into Petco Park’s outfield and of course, the Park at the Park.  If you’re looking at the H plans, definitely get the H2!

Condo #901 at The Legend is a great buy.  It’s listed at $589K, which is about $100K below the unit directly above it(same exact floorplan) and larger than 1301, which Bosa is selling.  If you want to experience the excitement of downtown living, but still get the luxury of a top quality highrise, give me a call and I’ll show you around.

Click here to see all the condos for sale at The Legend.

Click here to see more great condo deals in downtown San Diego

The Hard Rock Hotel’s condo #633 is a standard studio room, which faces over the courtyard area.  This condo was originally purchased in 2007 for $429,000 and recently closed for $238,000 – a 45% discount! I’ve spoken to several condo-hotel owners and many want to sell, but can’t(or they don’t want to lose so much money).  In my opinion, now is a great time to take advantage of these condo-hotel deals.  Buy now at a severely discounted rate and then sit back and wait for the economy and tourism to recover. The Hard Rock Hotel is in a great location and has one of the most recognizable names.

You won’t be able to flip it, but long term, I think it’s a great deal.  Contact me for all the best deals, on and off the MLS.

Denny Oh denny@sandiegoh.com 858-243-2092

Condo #206 at Discovery, sold this past March for $320K and is a model match, but one floor lower and has street access.  Discovery offers condos ranging from the low $300Ks, up to about $1 million in today’s market.  Discovery offers the convenience of downtown without all the noise.  The only drawback to this unit, is that it only has 1 parking space, which is common for these lower floor units.

This deal is so incredible because you’re getting a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo for about $300K…and it’s NOT a condo conversion, nor is it in a bad area.  If you’re interested, please contact me ASAP.  FYI, this condo was purchased by the bank for $320K in May and was previously purchased for $520K in 2005 and $370K in October of 2002!

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

Click here to see more great downtown San Diego Condo Deals

Click here to see all the condos for sale in the Discovery condo building.

With one and two bedroom condos, Vantage Pointe seems to be targeting the first time home buyer, the investor who has a few hundred thousand sitting around and probably some second home investors.  What I don’t get, is how they ever intended to sell off so many condos.  At this point, Vantage Pointe is renting out some of its condos and try and sell the rest.  I’m not sure how they plan on doing this, but I don’t think I could ever advise a client of mine to purchase here.  In fact, I’ve talked people out of buying at Vantage Pointe!

Here’s what I don’t like…

1. Competition – with almost 700 condos in one building, how can you expect to sell anything when you’re neighbor and 100 others are trying to sell the same condo?  Ok…so it’s not the same exact condo, but they’re not going to be very different.

2. Amenities – again we are faced with a ton of people(assuming people buy/rent) who are all sharing the same common area amenities.  The pool area, lounge, gym and media room are all great, but what if more than 20 people want to use it?  Considering the fact that, from what I saw, nothing at Vantage Pointe was much different in size compared to buildings with 200 or so condos, how do they expect 3.5 times as many people to use the same amount of space?  I will say, however, that the lobby at Vantage Pointe is very impressive…but that’s about it.

3. Litigation – with so many condos that were built(which were not phased), I can’t help but imagine there were some cut corners during the construction of Vantage Pointe.  I’m not saying anything illegal was done, nor do I think that, but as all developers have been hit, I doubt Pointe of View was any different. When I toured the property, I saw things like un even rails, less than perfect 90 degree corners, etc.  I would be surprised if Vantage Pointe did not go into litigation at some point for building defects.  Like I told my friend, I don’t think it’s going to fall down on you, but you might have problems with your plumbing and everything else.

4. Desperation – as a realtor, I see how developers try and market towards us.  Some developers only come to us when times are tough and nothing is selling and others value our services and always want our help.  With Vantage Pointe and Pointe of View, realtors are being offered a 5% commission and I can’t tell you how many emails I get about new events with food and drinks.  Typically I’d say this is great, but in this case, I think it smells of fear and desperation.

Just take a look at the ad below.

All of their marketing is talking about “bottom line” pricing and negotiating “an UNBELIEVABLE price”….”without even trying.”  Last time I checked, that wasn’t the best way to sell something and make money on it.  All that’s missing are the dotted lines where you cut out the coupon!  Granted, they’re probably just trying to sell off some inventory so they can increase their occupancy rates and get financing on the remaining condos, but even with this aggressive approach, I doubt they’ll sell much.

One of their ads shows a price reduction on a 1br from $249K to $216K – a 13% decrease.  Another unit went from $381K to $341K – also a 13% price reduction.  Typically, you’ll see this when a developer is closing out their inventory, or when there’s something wrong with a particular condo(i.e., it has no view at all, or it’s next to the rail road track, etc.), but not when it’s a brand new building.

I know people will say I’m wrong and that this is a great building, but I don’t think that there’s anything one could say or show me to convince me otherwise.  I would never buy here, nor would I want to represent someone who does.  If you want a downtown San Diego realtor who will advise you and not just look for a paycheck, give me a call.

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

For those of you who haven’t been in the 2 bedroom plus den condos, they’re pretty nice.  The other great thing about this downtown San Diego condo deal, is that it’s one of The Grandes’ A2 floorplans(2br + den, 2ba, 1,684sqft)!  What’s nice about these units, aside from the square footage, corner views and den, is that the master bedroom closets are larger than the 1,625 sqft A1 condos.  The master closet is probably a yard or so deeper than the slightly smaller A1 floorplans, which are essentially identical otherwise.  FYI – the ‘02 units in the Grande North and the ‘05 condos in the Grande South are the slightly smaller A1 condos. 

The most recent sale for these A1 and A2 floorplans was back in July of 2009, for #3402 in the Grande North.  This condo sold for $1,130,000.  Then back in December of 2008, #2205 in the Grande South sold for $953K.  To put things in perspective, condo #405 in the Grande South, the slightly smaller one that’s going to lose almost ALL of it’s view, has a list price of $689K and is in escrow. 

What’s even better about this downtown San Diego condo deal, is that it’s not a short sale!  The owners are the original buyers from Bosa and they paid $905K back in August of 2005.  And from what I can tell from the tax records, they only owe about $300K.  Who’s ready to make a deal?  FYI – unit 606 in the same tower, which has the same exact layout, is currently listed for $985K!  Which would you rather buy?

Click here to search what’s currently for sale in The Grande condos

Click here to see other great San Diego real estate deals.

I wonder why someone was using a heater?  It’s not even cold in San Diego!  Well, I’m glad no one got hurt and it’s good to know Diamond Terrace’s fire sprinklers work.

I can tell you which buildings have nice pools, which ones have guest parking and which ones are close to the bars!  I know this market inside out, so let me know if I can help you.  Downtown San Diego has plenty of condos for rent and if you need some time to figure out which highrise you want to buy in, just let me know. 

If you want great views, you may want to consider Sapphire Tower, The Grande, Bayside, Pinnacle, Harbor Club, the Metropolitan, Electra or Park Place.  If you want something a little quieter, you might want to rent in Discovery, Cortez Blu, Meridian or maybe head north to Park Laurel.  For those of you who want to be in the thick of it, why not try The Legend, M2i, Gaslamp City Square or Trellis?  Whatever it is, there’s a downtown San Diego condo for you.

Denny Oh 858–243–2092 denny@sandiegoh.com