XXX Valley Park Drive. $284/sqft. Asking $185,000.
I spent a summer living in the Valley Park Apartments years ago. I shared that tiny two bedroom apartment with a friend of mine. It was cramped, the kitchen was tiny. My friend had TiVo, which made up for a lot. That, and my portion of the rent was only $300/month.
Recently, the apartments were converted into condos. The kitchens were remodeled. They now have the tiniest work surface I've ever seen in a kitchen. BUT that tiny strip of counter top is custom granite. Ooooo. Granite.
When I was surfing Realtor.com this spring, I saw them go up for sale and thought, "who would ever pay for that shithole?" Well, the original offerings disappeared from Realtor.com shortly after they went up. I drove by this evening, and sure enough, there are people living there.
Except, Orange County does not have any record of these condos having been actually sold. Only today's property is listed. The other condos, when they were listed in December '08 originally listed for $195K. If they really did sell for $195K in May (when they disappeared from Realtor.com), then why is this one being listed for 10K less?
I have a feeling this apartment-to-condo conversion is now in its second phase: condo back into apartment.
*Correction*
Two of the nine do have recorded transactions on the Orange County public records website. One of the two deeds-of-trust lists 4 people on the loan (all with the same last name) and makes reference to "rent" several times. I have a feeling these four people bought this property as an investment and are renting it out. The place rented for $600 / month when I lived there; I would hope they can get a lot more so that they can cover the expense of the mortgage.
2 comments:
Apartment-to-condo conversions in Florida where I grew up have been a complete disaster. They are in the deconversion process in many places. They were really a way for property owners to cash-in by selling.
Before I can write anything else, this is listed for more than I would get for my 2200 sqft home with a huge backyard!
I wonder if they were looking for parents to buy these for students while at UNC.
@650/mo rent this should sell to an occupant for ~100k.
Small CH 'apartments' are more suitable as rentals than owned units.
I could believe that they were intended for Business school or Med students; people who feel like they have to have the shiniest and prettiest kitchen appliances, but don't have the time or interest in cooking.
You can't cook if you only have 6" of counter space. There used to be a lot more counter space in those apartments before they remodeled. The kitchen was ugly, sure, but functional.
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