Double trouble in a Brentwood condo building

First Dutton's Books, now this: a double foreclosure in a Brentwood condo complex right around the corner from the old book shop.

The address is 11959 Dorothy St. One unit, a  two-bedroom, two-bath, is listed for $550,000, and the listing says, "Bank-owned REO foreclosure." (It also says "hip, sleek and stylish," but I'll let you be the judge of that.)

Inside the same building, another two-bedroom, two-bath, also in foreclosure, listed for $499,900. "REO priced to sell!" the listing says.

A third condo in the same building, a one-bedroom, one bath, is listed for $489,000.

A reader who has seen some of the units writes, "I wish I would have taken my camera with because one of the units was completely empty except for a sheriff’s notice to get off the property.  The notice was displayed nicely on top of the mantle over the fireplace!"

Someone better at surfing the Web than yours truly can probably determine peak sales prices and dates on these units, and that someone would win the award of L.A. Land Sleuth of the Day.
Hat tip:  AK via e-mail.
Your thoughts? Comments?
Photo Credit: L.A. Times
 

Comments

[John]

Per propertyshark.com
http://propertyshark.com/mason/california/
Reports2/showsection.html?propkey=16186355#
restore=true

Can't find the info for units 3 & 6, the ones for sale (unless they've numbered the condos different from the deed description), but other units in the building sold in 2006 for $1.2mil and $800k, which seems a little high (like mortgage fraud high).

Also, for those of you saying the Westside is immune to correction, check out the 10%+ correction on Unit 6
http://www.redfin.com/CA/LOS-ANGELES/11959-
DOROTHY-St-90049/unit-6/home/12362361

Yup, $549k - $489k. So far. That's a 1br condo folks, so I'm guessing there's a way to fall yet. Even in Brentwood.

[laura]

I believe that building was a conversion from apt. to condo.
Regardless still too much, even if it is Brentwood.

[Jonah LaFollette]

Peter,

Just go to the Redfin site and type in the exact address, click on "full details" for the property and then scroll down. It will tell you all the selling history with the dates and prices they last sold for.

thank you ...thank you...

[someday the ants will eat grasshoppers]

Here is the redfin sales history for two of the units. I don't know how accurate they are--the numbers for unit 7 look like they reflect sales for the whole building rather than one unit (sometimes).

Unit 7:
Date Price Appreciation
Jan 29, 1999 $1,175,000 --
Aug 31, 2005 $3,200,000 16.4%/yr
Feb 15, 2006 $615,000 -97.2%/yr
Apr 20, 2006 $699,000 107.7%/yr
Jun 21, 2006 $545,000 -76.9%/yr
Aug 01, 2006 $1,200,000 >1,000%/yr
Aug 24, 2006 $675,000 -100.0%/yr
May 18, 2007 $800,463 26.3%/yr
Sep 06, 2007 $715,000 -31.0%/yr
Jan 15, 2008 $576,582 -45.1%/yr
Apr 15, 2008 $459,701 -59.7%/yr

Unit 1:

Date Price Appreciation
Oct 02, 2007 $690,000 --

[peter m]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tejon8-
2008may08,0,25201.story

Peter V,

Why don't u do a topic on the huge Tejon development as featured on the latimes of may 8th .
I have some definte opinions on this subject and other less covered areas of housing/urban development all over LA and SCal in general.

To stay on topic, I will give a very short reply to that Brentwood REO condo price. Brentwood is a very hi-end part of West LA, probably more so than Beverly hills, but the value is in exquisite hi- quality SFH's in clean kept up hoods or substantial palatial estates, not in condos. Any one who wants a hi-priced condo will buy one at or within walking distance of the beach, and brentwood is not within walking distance to the beach. It is close to beach but not that close.

BTW There should i believe be decent deals on condos coming up even in Santa Monica, a much more desirable condo area than brentwood. Reason: there was a ton of condo contruction in SM last 2-4 years and tons of condos are coming online all over LA in such aeas as SFV, mid-cities, studio city, Dwtn and arounf dwtn . Many of your westside bloggers would have better info than me on thi s subject of burgeoing LA condo supply so they are welcome to comment on this.

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Jan 15, 2008, the date unit 7 was sold 25% over the current listing price, I believe Lefty was on there three times at the least chanting 'Today is a good time to buy in metro LA!'

[Corntrollio]

If it's as 10:08 says and is indeed conversion from apartments to condos, that means they are likely not to great quality condos too, since apartment buildings tend to have lower quality materials, thinner walls, etc. as compared to buildings that were originally built as condos.

[Ace]

I am not sure who this 'AK' character is but he stole my hat tip!

I don't understand the draw of Brentwood. Why would someone pay double rent or mortgage just to live there?

The previous apartment owner really cashed in.... $3.2 million dollars for 7 units!?!?! Wow. And then the flipper really cashed in. Probably made a million bucks on those 7 units.

[Rob]

The Feds are going to be busy for years...hmm, maybe a good career move....

[peter m]

Just a note on falling condo prices in LA.

There was a hugh amt of condos/other multi-units put up all over metro LA area during the Re boom period from 2002-2006, and many projects will continue to come online even in face of the current Re/economic downturn from 2007 onward .

Take any area of LA whether SFV, westside, dwtn. northeast LA, midcities, santa monica, pasadena, Scentral ,USC area, mar vista, playa vista , east LA, yadda yadda, and i can point out the tremendous Condo contruction boom. I have seen many of these projects being hammered up, some of them large mid or hi-rise complexes covering as much as an entire city block. Many of them might have been fancy apt projects: it is hard to tell as line bet condos & hi-end apts is sometimes hazy.

This might be called infill development, putting up multi-units in and around crowded dense urban centers such as dwtn and westside in any available city lot. The city of LA has been extremely accomodating in green lighting virtually any and all developments.

Condo Prices should be going down as supply keeps building up and buyers can be choosy. Choice units near the beach will still be over priced but more than 2 mile away from the coast condos should be dirt cheap. Too much supply, some of which might be soon absorbed by large influxes of outer exurbanites fleeing from the IE &, hi desert to seek units closer to the coastal job centers, due in large part to astronomical gas prices and foreclosure refugees.

[amc5805]

I've seen and shown both of the 2 bedrooms. The $499K unit is the least expensive 2+2 in a "better" Westside neighborhood. What do you get? A view over a neighbor's back yard covered with a blue plastic tarp; a long, narrow living area which leads directly into a very small kitchen; only a piece of a wall separating them. Bedrooms are also small; if my memory serves, what would be the master bath is off a hallway!
But the floors are bamboo! Wow!
Yes, it's a peaceful street in Brentwood, but please...

[A Scanner Darkly]

This 7 unit property seems to track World Series Gate Receipts. Built in 1969 the gate receipts in '68 were $3,018,113.40 and $3,049,803.46 in '71 (these were 7 games) hence the recent $3.2 million sale (apt to condo). 4 game series (the mimimum) obviously bring in less. 3 of the 7 have been foreclosed.

"Nothing too very scientific"- Bob Dylan ("Series Of Dreams")

[A Scanner Darkly]

Take a look at World Series winners shares and the relate it to median priced houses:

1960- $8,417.94
1965- $10,297.43
1971- $18,215.78
1975- $19,060.45
1982- $43,279.69
1986- $86,254.00
1991- $119,579.66
1997- $188,467.55
2001- $279,147.47

I did these in 5 year increments with the closest 7 game series. The numbers appear to fluctuate between LA prices and regular America. In 2007 the winners share was $308,235.75 but it was a 4 game series

[vultur]

Peter M- you really think there are 'a ton of condos coming on stream in Santa Monica'? By a ton I assume you mean 10 or 20. There just haven't been that much building in this area because the city just won't allow it.

[tarbubble]

come on down to safe, quiet south Orange County - you can have my 1400 square foot townhouse for $300k. i'll even give you a new master bathroom. what a bargain! (ha, i'm turning into the Lefty of south OC.)

[peter m]

"Peter M- you really think there are 'a ton of condos coming on stream in Santa Monica'? By a ton I assume you mean 10 or 20. There just haven't been that much building in this area because the city just won't allow it."

Just my recollection from back in 2005-2006 i know of at least 4 good sized Condo projects going up in SM, most of them east of lincoln blvd or or just east of the dwtn area, and just north of the 10. There are probably other SM multi-unit projects which i may have missed.

It may be as u say that SM controls the amt of permitted condo developments but that is the rare exception . SM can control development as it is not within la city limits. However, any area WITHIN LA city limits was and is pretty much a multi-unit free for all. Especially in parts of the SFV such as Studio city & N hollywood, and such LA city districts within the westside as Mar Vista,
Playa Vista, Marina del rey- this is just a very short list.

[A Scanner Darkly]

Those 3 foreclosed condos have a combined value of $924,707.25. Unless it's a couple of blocks from the beach, you'd have to be a fool to pay more than $308,235.75 for a 2/2 condo in LA (similar to this SM property with no amenities such as a pool).