Denny Oh 858-243-2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

Click here to see condos for sale at Bayside San Diego.

Currently there are only 21 active listings in downtown San Diego, for 2 bedroom condos between $400-500K.  Four of these listings are in buildings that have litigation, which means that you need at least 20% down.  The Legend however, is not in litigation and is even VA approved.  Condo #306 at The Legend has a split “dual master” layout and a view into Petco Park.  Listed for $475K, this 1,062 sqft 2bedroom, 2 bath condo is a great value.  The last few 2br/2ba condos that sold at The Legend sold for $500K and $515K(third and forth floors).  Unit #306 is also being offered fully furnished, which includes a 55″ and a 46″ Samsung LED TV, as well as very lightly used leather furniture.

The Legend is the only residential building that is literally on Petco Park’s land.  The Legend is probably most well known for the incredible 3,200 sqft outdoor lounge area on the 7th floor.  This common area is free to use and has multiple fire pits, an outdoor kitchen(including grills, sinks and a refrigerator/freezer) and a couple flatscreen TVs.  I have friends and clients who use this space to watch ball games, have meetings, or just to hang out and enjoy San Diego’s weather.  The Legend also have a gym, pool, spa, steam and sauna, as well as an indoor community room.

If you’re looking for a vacation home, rental property, or something to move into, The Legend #306 might just be what you’re looking for!  Contact me to schedule a showing, or with any questions.

Denny Oh 858-243-2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

I’ve been writing a lot about the downtown San Diego Hard Rock Hotel lately and here’s one more blog on it.  I just listed an 8th floor Rock Star Suite.  Unit 801 is at the south west of the hotel and it’s one of the few Rock Star Suites in the hotel.  This suite has beautiful hard wood floor, two 42″ plasma TVs, a oversized shower and much more.

For those of you who don’t know how the Hard Rock Hotel works, owners get 28 days a year for free and can have it rented out when they’re not using it.  It’s not a time share – you own your room and can do what you want with it.

What’s great about this room, is that since it’s a Rock Star Suite, it tends to generate more revenue than a standard one bedroom with a king bed.  I’ve seen the rental revenue for two similar suites on the 6th and 9th floors and they earned around $23-27K(this is the owner’s share and not the gross amount that is shared with property management) in 2010.  All you have to pay for in addition to the purchase price are the $672/mo HOA dues and property taxes(about 1.15% of the purchase price).

This unit was originally sold for $615K! Even worse, the unit directly above it(same type of room) sold for just under $830K from the developer.  Based on the current list price of $269K, unit 801 is at least 56-68% less than what these originally sold for(801 sold after the initial sales of the Hard Rock).  This is an incredible opportunity for someone to pick up a one of a kind, high yielding investment property in downtown San Diego.  Call Denny Oh today to get more info about the Hard Rock Hotel, or other San Diego real estate deals.

Denny Oh 858-243-2092 denny@sandiegoh.com

The second deal I recently talked about was Parkloft #408. This condo was also bank owned and came off the market in only 6 days.  This 1631 sqft loft was listed at $434,900 and sold for $440K.  At $270/sqft, this was even less expensive than the first deal, but arguably less impressive and less unique than #1003.

Both of these units sold incredibly fast – in 6 and 14 days.  The average market time for downtown condos that went pending between 9/1/11 and today, was 105 days! To learn about downtown San Diego condo deals as soon as possible, contact me today.  Often times, I do not blog about deals because I already have an interested buyer and want to offer them the deal before I advertise it.  If you’re looking for something and don’t have an agent, please call me.  You can also subscribe to my blog by clicking here.

Denny Oh 858-243-2092.

Just like cars, or computers, or even ballpoint pens…repeat buyers are typically a result of a quality product. In this case, we’re seeing people who bought condos for $400-500K(on average) just 3-4 years ago, buy those same condos(more or less) for about $170-200K!  To me, this means a few things:

1. Owners at the HRH are happy with what they own.  This means that they like the condo itself and feel that it’s a quality product.  I would assume this also means that they like Tarsadia’s management of it and the income they’re seeing – at least enough to buy more condos there.
2. There’s no better alternative. No, I haven’t checked to see what else these buyers may have purchased, but I do know that the clients I’ve helped(12 of the 22 sales this year), have not purchased any other real estate in San Diego during this same time.
3. Owners are optimistic about the hotel’s future. Based on the rental figures I’ve seen(2008-2011YTD), the Hard Rock Hotel has been producing more income for it’s owners in 2010 and 2011(2011 slightly better than 2010).  2008 was the best year and 2009 was the worst.  It looks like San Diego and the Hard Rock may have already seen the worst.

So why do all these people want to buy at the Hard Rock?  For starters, this is property that can generate revenue for the owner and still be used by the owner, pretty much whenever they want.  Unlike traditional “rental properties,” owners at the Hard Rock Hotel can collect rent on their condo on a daily basis and are not restricted by weekly, monthly, or annual leases.  This means that you as an owner, can rent out the room for most of the summer, but still come down and use it whenever you want!

At the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, owners get to use their condo-hotel 28 days a year for free. This includes valet parking, gym/internet access and of course, San Diego’s incredible weather(it’s 72 degrees out right now – it doesn’t matter when you read this).  And if you don’t use up all of your 28 days, that means you might make more money(the more your room is available, the more it might get rented!).  And for those of you who want to spend more than 28 days a year here(14 weekends), I can help you buy a few more condos.

Numbers:

I’ll give you some estimates on what some rooms might earn.  Studios appear to bring in about $17-22K a year for the owners.  This is their share.  Owners would have to additionally pay HOA dues(about $580/mo) and property taxes(about 1.25% of the purchase price/yr).  So if you pay $170K for a studio and it makes $20K/yr, after you pay HOAs and taxes, you’re looking at about 6.4% ROI.  Not bad, right?

Now there are other factors to consider…

1. There are no guarantees. There’s no guarantee that the revenue will continue to rise.  Who knows what will happen to the economy, or the hotel.  Maybe a new hotel could be built and take all the market share.  Yes, it’s unlikely, but who knows what might happen.
2. Future Assessments. Every good hotel must keep their hotel looking and feeling good.  This means new beds, TVs, linens, etc.  At some point, you have to assume the Hard Rock will made some renovations and the owners will have to pay for it.  I’m not sure when this would happen, or how much it might cost, but I wouldn’t be surprised if owners would have to cough up $5-15K every 10 years or so.
3. Branding. The Hard Rock name is currently being leased.  My understanding is that it’s a 20 year lease and there are measurements to adjust the amount being paid, depending on the hotel’s performance.  I don’t see why the hotel would get rid of this iconic brand, but who knows.  A potential owner should consider what might happen if the Hard Rock, was no longer a Hard Rock.  Would this be good or bad?
4. Inventory. Since the hotel was completed in 2007, there have been approximately 50 resales(this includes short sales, foreclosures and some investor sales).  This means that there are another 370(420 units total) or so condos that were purchased for considerably more than the current going rate.  I’m assuming maybe 20-40 of these have no loans, so that leaves us with about 330-350 condos that are significantly upside down.  I would also assume that most of these owners will at some point try and complete a short sale, or let them foreclose.  This means that prices(probably) will not rise until this inventory is absorbed.  But…if you pay cash and the rent is stable, this shouldn’t matter too much.

Even with all these “what if’s,” I think the Hard Rock is a great buy.  There are risks, but I think they are small and predictable risks.  With that said, it’s still your money and your decision.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  I’ve sold 15 condos at the Hard Rock and was part of the “in-house” resale team when I was working at Prudential.  And yes, I’ve help people buy and short sell their units.

Click here, here and here to read more about the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel.

Click here to see what’s currently for sale at the Hard Rock Hotel(*I currently have additional units for sale that are not on the MLS and are not short sales).

Ok, how does someone with a few million bucks choose a penthouse to buy in downtown San Diego?  Well the first step would be to call me, 858-243-2092, and then the next would be to figure out what you want.  Do you want to be in the “front row” and be as close to the water as you can?  Do you want to be closer to the Gaslamp District and the grocery store?  Or maybe you want something that’s unique and exciting.  Well if it were me, I’d look long and hard at The Mark’s two story, top floor(s?) penthouse.

Penthouse #3200 at The Mark, is a very unique property and in my opinion, one of the best values in downtown San Diego.  This penthouse is a two story condo.  All three of The Mark’s elevators open up into the fourier of this penthouse so you don’t even need a front door(no one else has access to the top floor).  As it stands, this penthouse is currently one big open space – no interior walls, fixtures or anything.  It’s just a big open shell ready for one lucky owner.

The bottom floor of The Mark’s penthouse, is approximately 2900 sqft, not including the 840 sqft of outdoor space on the west end of the condo.  There’s also a smaller balcony on the south side of the condo and yet another balcony off the second floor, which has about 740 sqft of living space.

As you might imagine, this is a huge space with incredible views.  There are views to the east, south and west, with great floor to ceiling windows.  The only negative thing one might say about the view, is that it’s not a “front row” view – meaning it’s not super close to the bay.  I personally prefer this, because I like to have a city and water view, but others prefer as much water as they can get.  One thing I always tell clients to consider is that water is pretty to look at, but at night, it’s just darkness.  Either way, it’s something to consider if you’re looking for a penthouse.

Going back to the size of this penthouse, I can stress how rare/great it is to have so much outdoor space.  With over 1700 sqft of patio space, it’s not very different from living in the suburbs with a big back yard!  Only here, you won’t die of boredom.

And now for the best part…the price!  Originally listed at $12.5M(at least that’s what I recall…it was a long time ago), this condo has come down further and further and still further in price.  #3200 is now listed at $2,675,000. True – whoever buys this place will have to put a fair amount of money into it, but so what?  I think spending about $4M on a 3,742 sqft, two story, top floor penthouse in a premiere building isn’t a bad deal at all.  The buyer would get to build out the space exactly to their needs and they wouldn’t feel bad about ripping out costly upgrades that the previous owner might have done.

The buyer may also purchase the designs in the video above, if they wanted to speed things up.  I think The Mark is one of the best buildings in San Diego and especially in East Village – it’s either The Mark, or The Legend. I love the high ceilings, the floor to ceiling windows, the lawn and pool area…I pretty much like everything about it.  And as downtown San Diego grows, East Village will rise in value(probably more than any other 92101 district).

For questions about and downtown San Diego condo, or to schedule a showing on The Mark penthouse #3200, please call Denny Oh at 858-243-2092 or denny@sandiegoh.com.

This new deal is on the 4th floor and faces east, over 9th Ave.  It’s 1631 sqft and has two full bathrooms(there are no “bedrooms” at Parkloft – it’s just one big open loft).  It’s currently listed for

$434,900(only $266/sqft), but was listed for $1,024,000 back in 2007(it originally sold for $603K in 2003 from the developer).  As you probably know, most real estate in San Diego is selling at prices similar to what they sold for back in 2003, so going $168,100(28%) lower than the 2003 purchase price is a pretty good deal.

Aside from the incredibly low price, I love that this unit is very practical.  It has a great layout that makes sense.  The condo comes with two side by side parking spaces and it has a balcony(**Correction – there is no balcony on this unit.  There are two sets of double doors that open up, but there’s nothing to step out onto, aka, Juliet balconies).  What I also really like is that if someone like myself (a single guy) bought this, I could easily continue to live in it for several years even if I ended up falling in love, getting married and had a baby tomorrow(well 9 months from tomorrow).  And once it was too small, or too whatever, I could easily rent it out and cover my costs.

At $435K, with 20% down, my total monthly payments would be around $2800(based on an 80% loan at 4.5%, including the HOA dues and property taxes).  This does not take into account that I’d be able to write off a portion of my payments either, which would lower them by a few hundred.

I’ve learned to be much more conservative with my money, so I’m always thinking about back up plans and exit strategies.  With properties like this, it makes it much easier to buy and not have to worry about what if I get have to move for work, or what if I get married, etc.  Especially since my goal is to buy and hold properties forever.

The only negative I see with Parkloft is that it doesn’t have a pool or hot tub.  Aside from that, I really love this building.  Please let me know if you’re interested in this condo, or any others in San Diego.  This will not be on the market for much longer.

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Click here to see what’s currently for sale at Parkloft.

This loft has travertine flooring in the bathrooms, cherry wood flooring throughout and a large balcony.  The second floor was previously used as the master bedroom, providing maximum privacy.  There are two parking space and the HOA dues are ONLY $692/mo.  If you like open spaces, this is it.

If you’re looking for something unique and something that’s a deal, this is it!  Call me today before this place sells.  Click here to see this unit and others for sale at Parkloft.

Denny Oh 858-243-2092

Parkloft has seen a huge drop in prices, primarily because of the litigation that was going on there.  From what I’ve heard, the HOA sued the developer, Douglas Wilson(same developer of The Mark) for your typical construction defect issues.  However, unlike most buildings, Parkloft had some serious drainage issues in some of the bathrooms.  Apparently, some of the showers were not installed/sealed properly(or something like that) and caused some water damage.

As a result of the litigation(which has been resolved), there were no lenders(or at least very few) who would lend on the building, causing prices to drop enough to entice cash buyers.  This was on top of the overall downturn of the housing market.

Now that the litigation has been resolved, we’re starting to see more condos being purchased there, but prices are still down(as they are pretty much everywhere).  What’s great about this building is that it’s unique.  There are no interior partition walls(no bedroom walls…just “areas”) allowing you do do whatever you want with the space.  Parkloft also has high ceilings and triple pane windows.

I know this one is of no use to you since it already sold, but maybe there’s something else at Parkloft you want to buy…click here to see what’s currently for sale at Parkloft.

As you can see in the CMA above, there have been 4 recent sales(in the last 6 months) of the same floor plan.  The prices range from $680K for an 8th floor condo, to $910K for a 32nd floor unit.  A 19th floor unit sold for $835K and one on the 29th sold for $850K.

Additionally, an 18th floor condo is currently in escrow, set to close for about $800K next month and a 20th floor unit that will probably close in a few months for about $900K(both according to the listing agents).

Aside from that, you have the choice of two other similar condos on the 31st and 30th floors of The Grande at $934K and $947K respectively.  And I can tell you from 7 years of experience, 2-3 floors is not going to make much of a difference at these levels(and in my opinion, certainly not $150-160K difference).

So to recap, here’s what we have:

• A protected water view
• About a 15% below market list price
• One of the best downtown San Diego developers
• Triple pane windows
• Guest Parking
• An in-house Guest Suite
• And it’s NOT A SHORT SALE!

For all you people looking for a deal…hear you go.  Click here to see what’s currently for sale at The Grande condos.

Or, if you’re looking to take advantage our downtown’s incredibly low inventory and sell now, call me today.  Denny Oh 858-243-2092 or denny@sandiegoh.com.

I am The Grande Expert.  www.1199PacificHwy.com or www.1205PacificHwy.com