Monterey Village Is Back (mostly)

According to the Sacramento Bee, a vulture fund has purchased half of Monterey Village, the half-built former Dunmore Homes development in Elk Grove:

"A Los Angeles firm has jumped into a macro version of buying a bank repo.

It scooped up 187 home lots and 35 unfinished homes, buying half of a repossessed Elk Grove subdivision named Monterey Village...

Strategic Investment Partners said it will finish homes abandoned during construction when Dunmore ceased operations and closed the sales offices on Sept. 28, 2007. The partners also hired Mode and Durham, a team of Elk Grove real estate agents to sell the project's leftover homes.

"They just went on the market last Saturday," said Lori Mode, a Keller Williams agent. Prices range from $199,000 to $274,000, well below original prices that lured buyers into the gated project."

"Strategic Investment Partners" is surely an optimistic group, as evidenced by the prices they're asking for the completed units:

5200 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $342,000 Bedrooms:4    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:2119 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 True days on market: 4 # of Times Listed: 1 MLS# 90006558      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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5204 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $315,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1825 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 True days on market: 4 # of Times Listed: 1 MLS# 90006564      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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5105 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $312,500 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1825 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 True days on market: 4 # of Times Listed: 1 MLS# 90006299      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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5213 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $274,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1425 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 True days on market: 4 # of Times Listed: 1 MLS# 90006307      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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5020 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $272,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1711 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 True days on market: 4 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: MLS# 90006569      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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Here's what a bank repo is asking right now:

4912 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Total Loss: $166,500 Percent Loss: 46.8% Asking Price: $189,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1638 Last Listing Date: 2009-01-24 Listing History: Down 16.3% from $225,900 On 2009-01-10 True days on market: 18 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: Sold on 2007-05-30 for $355,500 MLS# 90001584      Google Maps Assessed Value       Property Tax Bill

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Keep in mind, this "development" is mostly a vacant lot. Here's a photo I took in 2007 flying over Elk Grove in route from LA:

I wish them luck completing what has become an eyesore, although I doubt they'll have much luck at those prices.

Dunmore Homes Monterey Village Photos

As a follow-up to several news stories on the apparent collapse of Dunmore Homes, I swung by the Monterey Village development in Elk Grove and took some pictures.

The development is located in the Franklin Reserve area in southern Elk Grove, and was one of the last parcels to be developed. It was considered an "affordable" development, consisting of small, tightly packed townhomes with shared common space. Construction began in late 2006, with model homes opening in January 2007 to great fanfare:

Builders say higher-density projects generally are more affordable than single-family homes on large lots and that affordability gives them a broader range of buyers.

"From our standpoint, it's the price," said Jill Shannon, vice present of sales and marketing for Dunmore Homes, which is building 150 Pull-A-Part townhomes in an Elk Grove development that includes standard housing as well. "Affordability being such a huge issue these days, we can bring home ownership within reach of more people."

The townhomes in the company's Monterey Village development range from $254,000 for a 1,000-square-foot model to $350,000 for a four-bedroom home with about 2,000 square feet. The area's average home price is above $400,000.

While touring the models recently, West, the partner in charge of BSB Design's El Dorado Hills office, recalled the challenges in creating the design.

"We started to wonder how far we could take the concept, using every building code we could to our advantage," she said.

At first glance, her creations look like traditional townhomes. A closer look reveals five varying floorplans that are separated -- by just six feet in some cases, with three feet of lot space and a fence running between them. The density is about 15 units per acre, and BSB designed them to be built in what they call "10 paks."

Dunmore's models have been open since mid-November; 15 of the planned 150 units have been sold in advance of construction. "That's a really good figure in today's market," Shannon said.

From the looks of things, those 15 pre-sales were the only sales that took place. Most of the development is an empty, graded field with some lots marked off and a few streets layed:



A few buildings in various stages of completion are located near the sales office:




The only occupied homes are on the east side of the development. It looks like they built several on spec, and sold units in an alternating pattern to make it appear as though they were all occupied:





The sales office was still furnished, but the posted message left little comfort. Even the office hours were removed:


My heart goes out to the residents of this development. From what I saw, there were no unoccupied houses that didn't have a Dunmore "Available" sign in the window. The few people who bought there are victims of poor decision making and a builder who didn't deliver on his promises. Odds are this will take years to resolve, and the community will look nothing like the original plan.

Monterey Village Status Update

* Update on the parking story. Lisa Heyamoto from the Sac Bee is looking for feedback or comments from a blog reader. If anyone would like to get in touch with her, she can be contacted through her column home page:

Lisa Heyamoto Home Page

Don't forget to mention the blog! :)

I've been watching the degradation of Monterey Village from afar for the last few months, so I thought I'd take a closer look.

Things have been moving steadily downhill since my last real update in January.

Although the city has finally cut the weeds along the outside of the surrounding walls, the inside continues to fall into disrepair.



Weeds now completely cover the bare lots that surround the unfinished buildings. It has only been 9 months since the last construction crews left, but the winter rain and constant wind has taken its toll. The once white weather wrap is peeling off and yellowing, and the stucco wire is falling down in some places:



The abandoned construction site is attracting vandals and garbage:



Every unit has windows and doors open, probably to dry them out after rain got in:



Loose roofing tiles litter the site:


There were a few signs that at least some care is being given to the property. Someone had to open the windows to dry out the units, and as far as I could tell, no animals or squatters have moved in yet. The slow, steady decline continues.

Monterey Village In The Rain

Dunmore Homes had a soap-opera moment this week when the new "owner" declared the company bankrupt. According to a Dunmore executive, the decision to declare bankruptcy came after an "aggressive move" by one creditor. In a twist, the new owner of Dunmore, (a senior executive with a local brokerage called Comstock Mortgage) reincorporated the company in New York State, which is where the bankruptcy filing took place. No doubt this was done to make life difficult for Dunmore's creditors, who are mostly Northern California-based contractors and banks.

Meanwhile, it's raining in NorCal this weekend, and they still haven't completed the roofs on several buildings in Monterey Village. By the way they're treating their current creditors, I seriously doubt Dunmore will find anyone willing to do the work without cash up front. These buildings will continue to deteriorate all winter.

Weeds Surround Monterey Village

The weeds have started growing around Monterey Village. Curiously, they appear to be growing on city property. The grass strip on the opposite side of the street looks great:






According to a thread on Elk Grove Online (reg required), it looks like the developer normally picks up the tab for street maintenance while the subdivision is under construction, and Parks takes over once construction is complete. Since the whole subdivision is in foreclosure, nobody knows who is in charge.

Luckily, the fire department will mow the weeds in a few months once they become a fire hazard.

Monterey Village Getting Shredded

The big Northern California storm is tearing up the unfinished Dunmore Homes structures at Monterey Village. So much for weatherproofing. Check out the video at the bottom of the post.

Eye On Monterey Village

The beat goes on at Monterey Village, and it looks like the new owners are making some sales. They also seem to be playing games with the listings there, since many of the houses were delisted (and not renewed) after the 90 day clock expired, while others have been "sale pending" for over 30 days. It does look like the last asking prices were a bit high for the area. 95757 is averaging $120/sqft right now, which makes the $151/sqft for 5205 Ocean quite a premium to live in a half-built development! Of course, we won't know what the buyer really paid until the sale gets recorded.

5121 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Total Loss: $6,000 Percent Loss: 2.5% Asking Price: $234,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1825 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-25 True days on market: 60 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: Sold on 2007-07-30 for $400,000 Sold on 2009-02-23 for $240,000 Likely REO   Status: Active MLS# 90016946      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5112 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Total Loss: $109,483 Percent Loss: 32.3% Asking Price: $229,900 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1825 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-25 Listing History: Down 4.5% from $240,760 On 2009-03-14 True days on market: 46 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: Sold on 2007-05-30 for $407,000 Sold on 2009-03-03 for $339,383 Likely REO   Status: Active MLS# 90019296      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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4912 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Total Loss: $180,500 Percent Loss: 50.8% Asking Price: $175,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1638 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-25 Listing History: Down 22.5% from $225,900 On 2009-01-10 Down 7.4% from $189,000 On 2009-01-17 True days on market: 109 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: Sold on 2007-05-30 for $355,500 Status: Short Sale Contingent MLS# 90001584      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5200 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $275,000 Bedrooms:4    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:2119 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-04 Listing History: Down 19.6% from $342,000 On 2009-01-24 Down 8.0% from $299,000 On 2009-02-07 True days on market: 95 # of Times Listed: 1 Status: Delisted MLS# 90006558      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5204 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $249,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1825 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-04 Listing History: Down 21.0% from $315,000 On 2009-01-24 Down 5.7% from $264,000 On 2009-02-07 True days on market: 95 # of Times Listed: 1 Status: Delisted MLS# 90006564      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5020 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $215,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1711 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-04 Listing History: Down 21.0% from $272,000 On 2009-01-24 Down 13.0% from $247,000 On 2009-02-07 True days on market: 95 # of Times Listed: 1 Status: Delisted MLS# 90006569      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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4926 Ocean Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $199,900 Bedrooms:4    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1711 Last Listing Date: 2009-04-25 Listing History: Down 12.3% from $227,900 On 2008-12-27 Down 4.8% from $209,900 On 2009-02-07 True days on market: 123 # of Times Listed: 1 Previous Sales: Sold on 2007-04-30 for $340,500 Sold on 2008-12-15 for $284,061 Status: Pending Sale MLS# 80123534      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5205 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $215,000 Bedrooms:3    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1425 Last Listing Date: 2009-03-21 True days on market: 39 # of Times Listed: 1 Status: Pending Sale MLS# 90021350      Google Maps Property Tax Bill

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5016 Ocean Ln Elk Grove, CA 95757

Asking Price: $169,000 Bedrooms:2    Baths: 2    Sq. feet:1001 Last Listing Date: 2009-03-21 True days on market: 46 # of Times Listed: 1 Status: Pending Sale MLS# 90021321      Google Maps Property Tax Bill