[quote=no_such_reality]. . . BTW, the largest slumlord in California is about to sell off a bunch of properties. CalTrans is going to sell the homes they own in the path of the never built 710 extension in Pasadena.[/quote]
Caltrans apparently took the Pasadena homes under eminent domain (for the proposed I-710 extension) sometime in the late ’60’s. As such, the neighbors very likely squawked loudly about their lack of upkeep and so most (all?) of the homes were later demolished and their lots razed by Caltrans. A two-lane “parkway-type extension road” (southbound only from the SR-134) currently exists down in a fairly steep, grassy valley just east of the section of about two parcel maps in which Caltrans is auctioning off five unimproved parcels on 9/24/15.
The option deposits and opening bids for the lots all seem reasonable to me and 4 out of the 5 lots they are auctioning off appear to be almost or entirely flat. They range in size from ~7500 sf to 20,000+ sf.
The end of the option period is 12/14/15 (for the 9/24 auction date). The “winning bidder” would need to perform by then or risk losing their option deposit. The “Director’s Deed” the agency will issue to each winning bidder is likely similar to a quitclaim deed. The auction rules state that buyer is free to take out a title policy if they wish. At the very least, I think it is a good idea to purchase a preliminary title report prior to the auction for the properties you are intending on bidding on … even for just public easement knowledge. Any liens in the late ’60’s against any former owners (who sold to the state) were likely extinguished in escrow from the eminent domain proceeds they recieved. In any case, the statute of limitations has long expired for any prior judgment or collections liens which were on these properties at the time of condemnation, methinks.
Okay, I knew there had to be a catch. From the satellite view on Mapquest, the first five (residential) lots the state is auctioning off are situated in a very beautiful, even “stately” SFR neighborhood. Those (likely mostly longtime) neighbors aren’t going to approve any new owners building garden-variety medium-sized ranch homes (for $250-$300K). And it will likely cost a new owner a minimum of $100K just in repeated architectural renderings (to satisfy the neighbors) and city permit fees (not including the actual cost of the plans) before even breaking ground.
It’s going to interesting to see what these five lots end up selling for (we won’t be able to find out until after the option period is over). There seems to be a never-ending supply of local, deep-pocketed Chinese business people in that area, many of whom will likely show up to bid. If anyone gets these lots for anywhere near the opening bid amount, they will likely do very well, IMO.
If there was even a couple of studs left with an old utility meter dangling between them on any of these lots (qualifying any new construction a “remodel” with the city instead of completely new construction) and these lots weren’t located in such a pretentious area (likely loaded w/deep-pocketed NIMBYs), I may have considered bidding.
We’ll see if any lots trickle out in future auction announcements which actually still have an “improvement” still standing on it (tiny old garage or doghouse?) but somehow, in this town, I doubt that. The longtime residents around there have enough clout (and the wherewithal to fund that clout into oblivion) to keep anything even remotely undesirable out …. and I can’t blame them.
Thanks for sharing, NSR. It was interesting to me to see a state gubment foible of this magnitude with my own eyes. It is astounding to me that it has taken this long for Caltrans to finally decide to go thru the process of unloading this valuable inventory! I hope they learned their (very lengthy and expensive) lesson NOT to plan freeways through well-established residential areas where pride of ownership and property values are high. There are plenty of areas they could have successfully gotten this fwy extension through but unfortunately, for them, Pasadena was not one of them.
