La Boheme North Park (DR Horton) Public Auction

[SD Realtor]

Interesting that this is not marketted on the ushomeauction site that redc usually uses. This is on the redchomeauction.com website. The usual rules apply including the reserve pricing that patientlywaiting brought up. I would imagine the 5% broker fee to the winning bid applies as well.

It will be interesting to see how this one does.

Realtor

[PadreBrian]

I think it will bring in high prices. I was there last weekend, and one of the sales guys said they were getting 50-60 people a day viewing the units. Yep, the 5% broker fee is still there. BUT, if you bring your agent to help he/she gets 2% of that.

[betting on fall]

I do expect it will a success for the developer. The winning bids will be 5-10% less than last sale price and the new buyers will think they got a great deal.
Tons of attention and press coverage for this- just like that first big house auction down at the convention center.

Just wait until the third, fourth, . . . tenth. . . buildings get auctioned. Already the second auction at the convention center got lots less attention than the first.

When you can hear crickets chirping after the call for opening bids, then you have a chance to actually get a good deal at one of these.

[sd gal]

I went to see the sales office at La Boheme and took a tour to see 4 models.

One with loft was really nice. I think lay out’s are unique and I wouldn’t mind living in this building…. but… this is North Park. Silliest part of North Park with a lot of homeless people and nasty commercial buildings.
Once I was outside of La Boheme, reality kicked in and I decided not to bit on this…

Sales person said all 220 units are sold out except for 35 units that is going for auction. Not bad for today’s market after all.

[HereWeGo]

The “previously valued” numbers are just nutty. 400K for a 921 sq. foot 1 bedroom condo in that location? No thank you.

[barnaby33]

Some people value Northparks diversity and centralized location and have been willing to pony up accordingly. I’m not sure who those people are, or how close they need to be to their crack dealer, but they do exist.

I looked at La Boheme a year and a half ago out of curiosity. They were still constructing the building so I didn’t see any of the insides. The outside spoke volumes. Its located in a part of Northpark that might as well be in City Heights, its that diverse.

Anyone who pays more than rental value for something like that, even though its new construction is deluding themselves. Nortpark isn’t coming up in the world, in fact its re-ghetto-ing(is that a word) as we speak. Poor people aren’t going to go away in a down cycle, they are just going to move to Northpark!

Josh

[Anonymous]

Scary auction? Well the auction maybe is a little scary but a quick Google search shows that auctions are taking place in many parts of the country right now, at condo complexes modest to top-notch. My friend has a top floor 1-bedroom w/loft at La Boheme that he bought for $370,000 pre-construction. He had it appraised last week to get a re-fi and it came in at $457,000. He said some top-floor 2-bedrooms there are being appraised at close to $600,000. So I think the people who bought there are still doing ok in the overall scheme of things. It will be insteresting to see how high the bids go for the remaining units. Could be some people pay as much or more via bidding than the original owners paid for their places. I also live in North Park and find it has a funky urban vibe unlike any other neighborhood in the city. Not perfect, but always fun and interesting. New farmer’s market, new restaurants and stores opening monthly, summer concerts, monthly Ray at Night art walk, restored theater, cool coffee shops up the wazoo. My friends in Hillcrest and downtown are souring on those locales, calling them ‘boring.’ They hang out with me with me in North Park when they want to see an edgier, hipper part of the city. I guess it boils down to tastes, but those who love North Park are happy with that staying a secret.

[Arty]

He had it appraised last week to get a re-fi and it came in at $457,000.

I would like to find out who the appraiser is…

[sd gal]

One bedroom with loft is starting at $169k at the auction. It won’t go more than 200k-250k in my opinion.

Appraisal is wrong….

[Arraya]

Could be some people pay as much or more via bidding than the original owners paid for their places

That’s ridiculous… 92104 attached homes are dropping pretty dramatically. Lots of 03 prices popping up. La Boheme is not immune.

[barnaby33]

No no guys, its funkier and edgier here, really. Having your car stolen and lots of petty crime is what makes it so. Having your friends from the more white washed parts of town want to hang out there makes it even more so, honest. Funny how I’ve lived in NP for 2.5 years and never though funky or edgy once. Then again, I just don’t get it. Of course I don’t get 600k for any condo in 92104; even were it on morley field. Then again, I just don’t get it.

Josh

[Anonymous]

Appraisal was Chase mortgage arm, according to my friend. Granted, his unit is a corner unit with unobstructed views that may carry a premium. The ones being auctioned on the top floor are interior units with views of….other units, explaining their lower value. Go to zillow.com and type in any La Boheme address, and you’ll see appraised values closer to what my friend got for his.

[Anonymous]

I guess if you’re just looking to flip your condo fast and get rich you’re out of luck at La Boheme as anywhere else. But if you stick with your property for a few years, maybe less, your future will likely be bright, since the weather will always make San Diego desirable and North Park is getting lots of new investment and development, regardless of what others say. It’s the nature of a downturn in the market. Use your home for what it was meant to be, a home, and it will be a cash source for you in due time. That’s advice I gave to my friend at La Boheme, and he likes his views and the neighborhood so much that he sees himself there for even longer than that timeframe.

[Anonymous]

Hey sd gal and you others badmouthing North Park, take it easy! I live here near La Boheme and this neighborhood is tight! Those of us who dig the area know the real side of North Park, like http://www.northparkscene.com/

One look there and you begin to realize that this neighborhood is still up and coming. I really can’t think of too many other parts of the city right now with this level of new shops and restaurants coming in. That’s why La Boheme is flooded with people looking to get in via the auction. Yeah we got our problems, but what neighborhood in the central SD area doesn’t? If you can get shot at Extraordinary Deserts in Banker’s Hill or electrocuted at a bust stop in the gaslamp or attacked by thugs in Hillcrest, then what one typically runs across in North park isn’t all that bad.

[patientlywaiting]

I think that the small shops in North Park, Hillcrest, Downtown, etc. will close during the recession. Many of those small business opened thanks to home equity extraction.

Who would pay $10 for a candle or such useless junk? Who would pay $5.00 for a quart of milk when you can get 2 gallons for $5.00 at Costco.

If we want a more densely populated areas, we need mass transit linking apartment dwellers to multi-story shopping centers like they do in other countries. Small affordable luxury, street level, stores won’t last when the home equity ATM dries up. Those type stores are fine in some high end neighborhoods or tourist areas, but they don’t make economic sense is most areas.

I know of two people who took home loans to start businesses. They aren’t making enough to pay themselves, the rent, and service the loans. They will eventually have to give up.

[Author]

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