Brand new 2.2M house in cupertino, is it a good buy or not? (Vista: sale)

[ayong]

21180 Grenola Dr Cupertino, CA 95014 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

My parents are thinking of getting this house as an investment for us to stay in the future. Is it a good buy?

What would the cost be buying a similar piece of land and building a similar house? Would it cost more or be cheaper?

Thanks.

[sonarrat]

Here's a comparable sale from July on a street that intersects with Grenola:

10655 Flora Vista Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014 - Zillow

07/27/2010 Sold $1,850,000 -5.5% $493 Public Record

Sounds like we have a serious pricing issue here. And your realtor thinks that this place is worth 20% more, two months later, why exactly?

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by ayong

21180 Grenola Dr Cupertino, CA 95014 - Real Estate | CENTURY 21

My parents are thinking of getting this house as an investment for us to stay in the future. Is it a good buy?

I don't think a 2 million dollar home in a subdivision only around 10 miles away from the San Andreas fault could ever be considered a good buy. The property taxes alone on this thing will be close to $25,000/year. I would buy a very similar home in a different part of the country for $400,000 and keep the remaining 1.8 million for an investment portfolio.

[ToulaHawaiiBound]

Not sure that you would be able to easily find another empty block of land to build a similar house.

That said, besides the question of property taxes, how much would it cost to run utilities on that place a month?

Personally if I had $2.2 mil I would not be putting it into real estate anywhere. Not sure who would be able to pay an appreciated value for such a house any time in the future. Housing prices are stupid in SV, however I would rather rent than invest these kinds of $s.

[hsw]

For most, smarter to rent some new, unsold house than buy (even if can easily write a check for a house)

RE is all about location (and seismic resistance of land/house and house's privacy/climate ctrls/computer tech)...would rather build a small, bespoke, well-engineered/designed house on desirable land in Woodside or PortolaValley than anything in Cupertino/Saratoga/LosGatos (socio-economics/career networking, air quality, bucolic topography, dist from Stanford if have heart attack or any other time-sensitive med event)

[telecomprovisioner]

Originally Posted by hsw

For most, smarter to rent some new, unsold house than buy (even if can easily write a check for a house)

RE is all about location (and seismic resistance of land/house and house's privacy/climate ctrls/computer tech)...would rather build a small, bespoke, well-engineered/designed house on desirable land in Woodside or PortolaValley than anything in Cupertino/Saratoga/LosGatos (socio-economics/career networking, air quality, bucolic topography, dist from Stanford if have heart attack or any other time-sensitive med event)

Aint that the truth lol!!!!

[telecomprovisioner]

Oh...just remember a few months back a lot of parents were complaining of the "cancer" risk due to quarry over in the Saratoga/Stevens Creek hills area. They were supposed to do some further research on that and I know they have held quite a few public meetings about the health concerns.

[Rosefolly]

One thing to be aware of is that there is almost no empty land in Cupertino. People who want to build must buy an existing house and tear it down. Most of the obvious "tear-downs" -- houses for under a million dollars -- have by now been torn down. The few lots that are still empty are empty for a reason. Typically they are perched on steep hillsides and have no services. You have to pay for water, electricity, and sewer lines to be run to your lot -- provided the owners of the land you must cross will consent. They are not legally obliged to say yes. If they do consent, they will charge you for it. A lot.

[Luke9686]

Originally Posted by Rosefolly

One thing to be aware of is that there is almost no empty land in Cupertino. People who want to build must buy an existing house and tear it down. Most of the obvious "tear-downs" -- houses for under a million dollars -- have by now been torn down. The few lots that are still empty are empty for a reason. Typically they are perched on steep hillsides and have no services. You have to pay for water, electricity, and sewer lines to be run to your lot -- provided the owners of the land you must cross will consent. They are not legally obliged to say yes. If they do consent, they will charge you for it. A lot.

When I lived in Cupertino a couple years ago, people were buying old 1950's houses on small lots just to tear them down and rebuild. One lady I had talked to inherited a house from her parents near Miller and Bolinger. Within a week of the death, she had several cash offers from people for $600K and up. After talking with them and hearing their intentions, she ended up just rehabbing the house. She couldn't sell the house just to see it torn down...