Tasteful Friends—more from a quiet Berkeley street: underpriced at ~$2.1 million

Really nice. The 2nd living room seems like it was originally a dining room (based on the built-ins).

The neighborhood photos remind me of Mill Valley. Same vibe.

There's a Safeway in walking distance and a Trader Joe's a short bike ride or drive away.

Wish they had put a floor plan. Hard to believe there are so many rooms based on the exterior. That free-standing building had potential to be more than a storage shed, which it is set up to be with all of those shelves. People have way too much junk.

"Stands out for it's soft yellow color and beautiful windows!"

How is a small house underpriced at $2.1 million?

They couldn't throw a rug over those stains around the toilet?

I’m sure whoever buys this will be even more self-satisfied than they already are.

This may well be the first tasteful friends house that I actually find tasteful! If I had the money, I'd buy it!

I love it and want to live there.

I love the doctor’s office waiting room effect-so cozy.

The house is good and located in the only area I would consider living in although I'd never live in Berkeley. It was a pit when i went to school there many decades ago and it's worse now. I have a friend living in a 2 million dollar house and had her bags stolen when she set them down in her garage and ran upstairs for 4 minutes.. The "flats" where another friend lives are a total shithole. If you think your town has homeless, come to Berserkley and see them sprawled everywhere like kudzu vines, some of them very menacing since Berkeley homeless are entitled martyrs. One charming couple was fucking in the back of their beater car with the door open in the Whole Foods parking lot. And you WILL have to descend to the flats at some point.

Come to think of it, it was a paradise in 1980.

What’s California without Okies?

R9 you sound stoned. I was there in 1980 and now. Claremont will always be good. You’re exaggerating about several neighborhoods. Give the bing a rest.

Bing? Bong*

R3 sales in Berkeley are notorious for being offered at slightly below market to encourage bidding wars. It works—over and over again! That’s Bay Area real estate.

What exactly is a “Forever Home“ on the St Andreas Fault?

It’s still there isn’t it? As is all of the campus and the city.

Berkeley evolved into what it is for the very reason it had survived the 1906 earthquake.

The agent looks like a Devil that wears Prada.

This would be $165,000 in Flyover.

It was built in 1908, R16. Probably to replace the home that was destroyed 2 years earlier. And per Zillow the sale is pending.

They could have used the money they used to make a fancy she-shed to fix the decrepit bathrooms and the cheap ass original kitchen cabinets

[quote] Claremont will always be good.

I said Claremont was good, read and learn.

And it will always be—read.

R13 sales in Berkeley are notorious for being offered at slightly below market to encourage bidding wars. It works—over and over again! That’s Bay Area real estate.

You've got that right. When we sold our mother's small condo in a prized SF bay area location our realtor wanted to list it at $900. Our eyes bugged out because an equivalent property, even slightly lesser, went for a million. We pressed him, he pushed back. Finally he said I'll go as high as $950k absolutely no higher. We folded because this guy basically acted as our general contractor getting the condo updated, he was amazing and hot. The place got a 40 bids because it was priced under market. We chose between 2 bids at one million two hundred.

R18 Berkeley wasn’t a victim of 1906. It was the place where people moved to after 1906–you know like in1908.

It's a very pleasant and livable house with much to like about it, and seemingly in great condition with some room (but no need) for a few modest changes to taste in the kitchen and bathrooms. There's not much to criticize, though I would like higher ceilings and some more architecture to the place.

The relatively recent Tasteful Friends thread on architect Julia Morgan's house, a simple, similarly sized house of the same period delivered much more architectural interest. On the real estate market they are more or less peas of the same pod, but I liked the Morgan house much better

Thoughtfully landscaped.

R23 Correct. The 1906 earthquake drove people out of SF and particularly onto the peninsula which had been avoided because it flooded frequently.

R22 obviously i meant $900k.

Which is not Berkeley—but I get your meaning. There was more damage on the Peninsula than in the East Bay.

I love it. Needs lots of updates, but it would be a wonderful family home. It reminds me of my old tasteful small home in Westchester, NY.

R15, R23,R25, you are right. But I meant to say “the Hayward Fault”.

Absolutely beautiful home! Question for Berkeley or Northern California DLs: do homes there have basements?

The wood deck ruins it for me. Those decks are hideous and high maintenance. Termites, rot, ugly ugly ugly.

R31 no. There are “lower levels” on hillside homes, but not “east coast” basements. Who needs them?

R31 A few very large beautiful homes in Palo Alto that I am familiar with do. In general they don't. Growing up in the bay area I always assumed basements were for tornadoes.

[Quote] Who needs them?

I do.

Two million for a 3-bedroom house is a hate crime.

No basement, I'm assuming because of the earthquakes. Very few attics as well.

Not because of earthquakes. There are simply unnecessary.

Lovely.

[quote] There are “lower levels” on hillside homes, but not “east coast” basements. Who needs them?

There are basements in Oregon. I stayed at a friend's house in Oregon and slept in a basement bedroom. Loved it. I love sleeping in a pitch black room.

Basements make the most sense in areas with very cold weather. They provide more living space and the soil in these regions is generally stable and doesn't flood. Flooding possibility is probably the main reason Caliifornia houses don't have basements. Now that I think of it my relatives on the hillside in San Mateo California had a basement/gameroom which was probably because there was no danger of flooding.

Lovely; I really love it. A lot (though not all) of the furniture is meh, though probably only there to stage the home.

Very nice.

No garage is a dealbreaker for me though at that price.

Not because of flooding. R41…you make no sense

R44 Don't know why you're stalking me dear. Care to share the lonely passion of your life?

Nothing with fake shutters is worth the money to blow it up.

Great climate in this area you would virtually never have to put on a heater or cooler. The veal farts are rather strong in this hood.

Huh ? R47

Just by the neighborhood photos, looks like a snobby neighborhood.

It's just BARELY in Berkeley. Oakland border is like a block away.

Generally, Northern California homes don't have basements, but some do. In Sacramento early construction didn't have any due to flooding issues, but once the levee system was in place it wasn't problematic anymore.

My house has a full basement with a kitchen (gas hookup, cabinets, sink and counter). It also has a pantry and workroom. It was custom built by the owner in '48 who sold it to my uncle in '49 and it's been in the family since. I've been told the guy was originally from the Midwest which would explain it. My aunt and uncle spent their summers down there when the heat became unbearable. It's also warmer in the winter and surprisingly not damp.

Some people think basements have no use here. I can't tell you how many service people have come through and raved about the basement.

R50 and? It’s just as nice on the Oakland side. The Hotel is technically in Oakland—

It’s a beautiful house, big, sunny rooms, lovely sky and garden views. Heavenly. And not a bad price (I live in NYC).

Nice but a boring layout.