I was laughing before I even opened the post.

Watching Bay Area real estate prices is a sad and depressing hobby.

Yikes. That boggles.

$350k buys a lot less than it used to here (D/FW). It used to get you a nice custom in a more upscale neighborhood, but now it might buy you an older home (1960s/70s) or a 10-15 year old McMansion in need of updating and/or repair.

Here's $350k in Colleyville, Texas. At least it's not a dilapidated shack though!

The real estate market is an incredibly strange thing ...

ETA: Not trying to highjack! Thought it would be interesting to see what that amount of money will buy in other areas though. :-)

Before I opened the post I thought it would be for a parking spot.

Does that include the air space above the structure? Depending on the zoning, a developer would do very well buying the lot and building up.

I think it can be really challenging to get building permits in the city. No personal experience, just stories I have heard. That may be why there's a reference in the article to an agent saying to renovate rather than burn it and start over.

I'm in the Dallas area too Auntjen and you are right. Teardowns in the close in neighborhoods are going skyhigh.

In my town, $350,000 would be a two bedroom co-op.

Wow! It boggles the mind. I live in the D.C. area and can't wait to move and get a much better house for a lot less.

Well, hopefully that will happen ;-)

It says they are taking offers. Do you think that means people will bid more than asking for that? Cool old stove if it could be restored.

I don't know about this shack and not entirely sure about how things are working in the city.

But in my close to the city location, people put a place on the market, hold two weekends of open houses and then look at all the offers on the following Wednesday and accept the winning bid (usually highest, but sometimes an all cash offer will beat a higher price). There are always multiple bids and properties almost without exception go for above asking.

So I wouldn't be surprised if it did go for over $350,000.

I believe this is an original 1906 earthquake cottage--built to provide emergency shelter after the quake. It could be said to have some historic value. Sad to say, someone may actually have been living there in recent times.

I'm so glad I've been living in the Bay Area forever. I can't imagine trying to get established here now. I bet it goes for over $350K, maybe way over.

Anyone care to rehab that stove?

No idea if that could be an earthquake shack. Here's a link to some information about them in case anyone is interested.

I would think that house is protected (aka on the historical list) so about all you will be able to do is fix it back to what it once was. But even if you got it for only $350 and put in another $350 it would still be cheaper than anything else you could buy in the area. Bet it sells for a lot more than asking price.

Auntjen, did you watch the video some locals made? It is cute and the house is only $600 k

I don't think it is necessarily on the historic list or required to be preserved even if it is an earthquake shack.

Here's an article about one that was recently demolished.

CurbedSF has more info

It is not on the historical list, but a fuss may be made about any attempt to tear it down or extensively remodel it.

What's worth noting, for those not from the Bay Area, is that this is not exactly near the best of neighborhoods and is pretty close to a freeway.

My, very secondhand, understanding is that it is very hard to proceed with any residential building permits if neighbors object. So if it is an earthquake shack and the neighbors kick up a fuss on that basis, extensive changes may be really hard to get approved.

And yes, not at all a desirable neighborhood.

What is the zoning?

in residential, ca, the permits for a complete tear are quit expensive, vs. leaving two walls for a remodel. Looks cheap on a comparative basis.

parking spot, a couple of beds.

The article in SF Gate dated 9/21/15 refers to this property as an "earthquake shack". Sorry, I am unable to post links.

I don't know why anyone thinks it's hard to get a renovation permit in San Francisco. It's not. Expensive, maybe, and tedious, and of course, if it really IS a historical structure, possibly more difficult. But otherwise, it's really no different than anyplace else that takes its building department seriously. It's conceivable they'll be required to keep some portion of the structure, like the facade, and build around and above it. Trust me, the neighbors will be thrilled to get rid of that eyesore.

Interesting. Just for comparison,

10x will get you this in Pacific Heights or this in the Marina

100x will get you this on the peninsula or this other one on the peninsula

Oaktown, I love that house in the Marina District, but it's weird that they staged it with contemporary furnishings when all of the fixed kitchen and batch elements are more rustic. I'd rip out the wine storage to make room for all of my dishes.

Here's an article that uses that exact figure on Nashville homes nine months ago. I bet you dollars to donuts, those houses would sell for an added $50,000 right now.

went and looked: close! A house they highlighted in the article, Poplarwood, sold: $339,500 (Sold on 08/27/14), is now worth "Zestimate®: $380,500". Actually, Zillow has been underestimating our values, so I'm likely right on the money. How much did it appreciate? An additional 11%. That's two years in a row. We'll match San Fran before long.

I have a friend who live on Avila in the Marina, in a house very much like the one Oaktown posted, except decorated as if an older couple had lived there for 50 years (which is the case).

Avila is a really nice street.

So this is how it goes....

The property sells for 350-400

Collectors being what collectors are, someone will pay the owner to take it away or perhaps donate to some preservation group.

Listed and previously sold houses in that area is 520-680.

Is there a profit to be had there ?I'm not an investor so I imagine I've missed something.

I really have no idea. I don't know that anyone will pay to have the shack moved. Some of them have been moved and preserved but I'm not sure how the money worked and now that some are preserved there may be less interest in preserving this one?

About the only frame of reference I can offer on costs is that we are very nearly done with a 100k remodel in the East Bay. That got us a new kitchen and bathroom with one wall taken down, some electrical upgrades in other areas of the house, a w/d moved into a new location, attic access moved into a new location and a few other misc. things done. A mix of low, middle and high finish choices, but nothing outrageous and many many things on the cheap end (HD ceramic tile, etc). Construction in the Bay Area is pricey.

I am sure there is money to made somehow, but maybe not all that much and delays dealing with the possible earthquake shack could prove problematic for any investor dealing with loans to finance the project.

Talking about what you could get for the money elsewhere, my parents recently sold their custom, three story, four bedroom, 3 1/2 bath, 15 year old house for about a hundred grand less than this place is listed for. They lived in mid-Missouri.

@4boys2: There may be profit in that property, but a lot of risk and risk of delays. Even if you could get someone to haul away the old building, you would still have to build something on that property. Say you could a do a two story home that was 1375 sq ft --- down the street there is one for sale for $700K. That leaves you only with $350K for construction plus profit. That's actually pretty tight considering SF construction costs and unknown variables.

Probably a small fortune in planning and attorney fees to get to the permit. But land has value. Moms old place comes in at about 1m but it is sure not what the house is worth but the value of the land split up

Gooster -That one has 1000 more sq ft so it's not that good of a comparison .

4boys2, I would guess that the shack would be demolished or hauled away, or even somehow incorporated into a much bigger house. So the bigger nearby places would become the comps.

Sorry- I meant the actual lot size...

Ah. If they could get permission to build up so the square footage of the house is comparable, I'm not sure the lot size would make a big difference in the sale price.

@4boys2 -- if you were to rebuild on the empty lot, after a long and expensive permitting process, you might build something comparable in size to the neighboring properties. My main point was the location was going to limit the upper value of what could be built (in addition to any planning restrictions).

The lot is 1633 sq ft.