Sunday, July 15, 2012

mid-century modern short sale in Corona del Mar, California

Yesterday, we found a flyer on our doorstep advertising an Open House for a 1955 mid-century modern in Irvine Terrace at 730 Santana Drive in Corona del Mar, California. Intrigued, we went and talked to the Realtor, Sue Ross-Chayes about the home. It is a three bedroom, two bathroom 1,707 square feet $1,250,000 short sale on a lot that is 7,245 square feet. Here is the listing.Open house is running July 14 and 15th, 2012 from 11am to 4pm. They are looking for offers by Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 6pm.

mid-century modern front door
Facing the front door 

Before you gasp too loudly at the price, a property on that same street recently sold a few months ago for $1.75M. Of course it was in pristine condition, had a pool and an extra bathroom and was about 2,100 square feet. But, honestly, one story homes are in demand (aging baby boomers) and this one is a deal. It could be purchased quickly, and with a cash infusion, could be potentially flipped for a nice profit.



According to the Realtor's listing: "Single Story 3 bedroom/2 bath on a corner lot. Back yard features an outdoor fireplace. Interior features include Stainless Steel kitchen with 6 burner Thermador stove, wine cooler, and marble counter tops. Living room is wired for surround sound to enhance your entertainment experience. Walk to restaurants, shops, markets, movie theaters, parks, and Balboa Island. Fabulous location with very low HOA ($500/annually). Great Fixer Opportunity to live or invest in this coveted Corona Del Mar Community."

The Realtor admits that the house has been beat up a bit. But underneath the grime, its former glory shows with marble bathrooms, kitchen counters and flooring (frankly, lots and lots of marble ). It had been remodeled a few years back in a very modern style (marble), fairly in harmony with its mid-century modern roots. It is obvious that this home hasn't been maintained, which makes the low price possible. I went over and took some pictures with the Realtor's permission. 


mid-century modern circular driveway
It is on a corner with this huge tree at the edge of the lot.

old tree
Tree is original and probably 50 years old.

attractive mid-century modern driveway
Front of the home, off Bonnie Doone Drive

santana drive, corona del mar, california
Circular driveway takes up a lot of space and could be shut down easily.
This is the Santana Drive side. All the streets in Irvine Terrace are named
after famous yachts. The Santana belonged to Humphrey Bogart.

from the street, santana drive and bonnie doone
House from the street corner

side drive way with tree
From Santana

inside circular driveway
Inside the circular driveway

side yard
Side yard next to the neighbors

side yard
Side of house from the next door neighbors.

mid-century modern back yard
Big backyard with planters, walkway, fountain and outdoor fireplace. Nice use
of rock pavers.

mid-century modern back yard
View of back of the house. Landscape needs a lot of work to bring it
back to basics.

mid-century modern back yard
Closer to main patio. The hardscape is nice, but needs to be
repainted and tidied up.

backyard fireplace
 Main patio with outdoor fireplace, tree well and fountain

modern windows
Lovely new windows off the living room. Patio is beautiful.

giant patio door for indoor outdoor living
Patio door for some very nice indoor outdoor living.
The temperature rarely varies from around 70 degrees in this area.


side yard with nice windows
Side of house with relatively new windows

side yeard
Side of house, can see a soft water device.

all marble kitchen
Stainless steel kitchen, Thermador oven at the end.
Really very nice. Marble backsplash :)

mid-century modern kitchen
Another view of the kitchen. Marble countertops. I think this could be
cleaned up and saved.

in kitchen laundry
Other end of the kitchen, laundry, fridge, pantry on right.
Door to outside.

mid-century modern pantry
Pantry area

mid-century modern dining area, bar and skylight
Dining area with large skylight in kitchen.

mid-century modern dining area, bar and skylight
Dining area and bar area, the floor is marble. Did I mention there is a lot of marble in this house?

mid-century modern built-ins
Other end of dining area has beautiful built ins.

master bedroom midcentury modern
Master bedroom with built in desk on right.
The odd thing about this master is it was built off the front
of the house next to the garage. Not typical, but the corner lot
probably constrained the architect & builder.

master bedroom midcentury modern
Master bedroom, cool porthole windows.
And recessed lighting.

master bedroom midcentury modern
Master bath, in good shape and beautifully done.

mid-century modern bathroom
Master bath counter top, is floating. Very mid-century.
mid-century modern bathroom
View of shower (um...marble).
mid-century modern bedroom master
Another view of desk.

master bedroom closet
Walk in closet.

mid-century modern living room
Fairly spacious living room, very attractive fireplace at end and vaulted ceiling.

mid-century modern living room
Another view of living room.
mid-century modern fireplace
Closer to fireplace (dark marble hearth).
projection camera
Projector built into the top of the wall, there is a retractable screen
that comes down on the other side, before the days of flat screen TVs.

mid-century modern bath
Guest bathroom with tub.

mid-century modern bath
Guest bathroom with tub. And marble.


second mid-century modern bedroom
Guest Bedroom at back of the house.

mid-century modern hall
Hall with marble tile.

third mid-century modern bedroom
Final bedroom which is off the interior courtyard and has French
doors and the porthole windows.

It is really not a bad little house. The price is steep but the neighborhood is great. Elbow grease would make this home livable right away. An additional bedroom and bathroom off the back would be a good use of space and appropriate for the neighborhood. Cutting down the massive circular driveway off the front would provide even more options. Or you could leave it as a charming, original layout, mid-century modern.

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4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. It is a nice house but it doesn't show well.

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  2. Such a shame that they ruined the interior. I came across this the other day and it is HILARIOUS. For those of us that actually love mid century modern, this is the best.list.ever! They managed to hit quite a few of the items on here! "100 ways to screw up a mid century modern home": http://www.lortondale.com/2010/09/100-ways-to-screw-up-your-mid-century.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They did hit quite a few nails on the head! Thanks for sharing!

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