flippers

New to market this week (yes, odd timing) is a flipper remodel at 3613 Walnut.

There's a unique opportunity here to see a lot of before-and-after photos, since we can show you both the old listing and the new one.

3613 Walnut (4br/5ba, 3545 sq. ft.) sold in May this year for $1.665M. (Clicking the address in this sentence gives you the old, sold listing.)

At the time, the 80s build was dreary, pretty much spent and showing its age.

Dreary, uninspired listing photos taken with a smart phone did not exactly sell the place. The listing description was pretty frank at the time in calling it a project home for someone – designers, builders, anyone with "creativity and vision."

Turns out, it was a flipper that took it on.

Now, after a very thorough remodel…

Why would you spend $200K remaking an old house?

To live in it, or to make money, of course.

But at 1345 Voorhees (3br/2ba, 1750 sq. ft.), it looks like a flip is going to flop.

If they really did spend $200K – as stated – on the substantial remodel here, they're not going to get it all back.

So instead of a profitable flip, this one's turning into something more like a charitable contribution to community improvement.

The numbers here never made sense to us.

The current owner – and would-be seller – acquired the home at full retail back in April, paying $1.200M.

After overhauling and refashioning the home, they offered it on the public market at $1.499M, claiming right there in the listing that they had paid $200K for renovations.

The stated cost…

In a rising market, money chases opportunity. Find an underpriced dog of a property, add value with a quick remodel, and you can add value. Flip it and score.

Yes, flippers are back in Manhattan Beach. (We first noted this phenomenon in August last year.) Here are some of the most recent rehab projects to make deals.

3521 Oak (3br/2ba, 1900 sq. ft.) is built in a style you might call "modern Southwestern," with the interior getting a heavy dose of slick 21st-century finishes.

That upgrade was necessary. Last Summer, the same home was on the market but looking frumpy and almost hopeless. Location didn't help – across from the hotel parking lot and steps to Rosecrans. After listing at $1.200M, a tiny price for 1900 sq. ft. these days, the home traded to a…

Obviously location is a key issue – maybe the key issue – in whether a home is desirable. Start with a subpar location, and you can expect a rough time on the market. Yes, even today.

It's also true that every home has its price. So it can be interesting to watch what happens with homes that have an obvious location issue. In theory, a seller should be able to "price in" the location problem and get buyers off the dime. But sometimes a home will just sit. Here are a few to watch early this year.

One on the market in the Trees now would be 3516 Blanche (3br/3ba, 3000 sq. ft.). This one is the longest-running Tree Section listing now (among 6) besides a new construction project that wasn't fininshed when it first hit the MLS.

3516 Blanche is only in its…