According to a plugged-in tipster, punk rocker Fat Mike of NOFX fame is making the move from his “don’t judge a book by its cover” (or rather don’t judge a front man by the exterior of his digs) manse at the gateway to St. Francis Wood.
From our tipster: “CRAZY interior design, with an attempt to downplay it with staging.” No word on how the exquisite gardens and cherub fountain affected Fat Mike’s street cred.
∙ Listing: 1601 Monterey Boulevard (5/6) – $5,400,000 [MLS]
Yo, this place is straight up CRIBS circa 1999. I like the white room with red accents. Surprise there is no pool and jacuzzi.
Not what I expected for an interior! I’ve always liked the lot – it’s quite lovely.
Wow, another house that I’ve walked by a thousand times on SS.
$5.4 million? I just don’t see it. Nice house, sold for $4.1M in 2003 and then extensively renovated, but over $5M is a LOT for that part of the world. The two neighboring houses to the southwest sold in the low- to mid-$3M range I think in the last 2 years. The houses directly across the street from this one are nicer IMO, because there is a little park in between them and Monterey. Monterey is a busy street over most of its length, but right at this house the street turns into Santa Clara, and Monterey is a lot quieter just to the south and west of 1601 Monterey.
I never dreamed that a “punk” rocker owned the place. Always very quiet, and they always had a lot of nice Christmas decorations in December.
Uhh.. aren’t punk rockers supposed to be HARDCORE?? Jack Black said it best “You’re not hardcore unless you LIVE hardcore!” This is just like the Metallica band members with froo froo mansions in Pacific Heights and Marin County. Great house though there’s something very Illinois about it (in a good way)
I kind of like the blue hardwood floors.
Interior design doesn’t look that crazy to me. Certainly out of step with the exterior, but who aside from a cubist painter can see the interior and exterior at the same time ?
My only complaint is one small detail in that black/white bedroom : never accentuate the crown molding with such a contrast ! It really brings the ceiling down. Where the ceiling is low, the transition to the wall should be as unnoticeable as possible. Coved ceilings are the best.
I like this place. very original. It challenges what I’d normally do with such a place, but overall for whatever reason it works for me (which is a surprise to me)
I love the white room with red accents (very striking and really makes the red impressive) and also the blue floors… although I think they went a little too blue in that room and kitchen (would have been nice with a different accent color to tone the blue down… like white or even red or green… but not the god awful brown!)
anyway, cool pad. at $5.4M i’d probably live elsewhere but then again if I had $5.4M lying around I would retire immediately and downsize so that I’d never have to do anything I didn’t want ever again, so I’m clearly not the intended market!
thanks loads, socketsite. i’ve been planning to write about this one for the past 3 weeks. darn you web site people who can post as soon as they hear about something!
the whole time, i’ve been wrestling with the idea that a mid-level punk front man can afford a $5 million house. crazy.
With some of the loans out there from 2003-2007, ANYONE could “afford” a $5M house.
Whether anyone can afford it NOW is a different question, which may be being answered by the sale.
GREAT place. Very creative designer. Who needs a pool when the whole house looks like a pool!
“the whole time, i’ve been wrestling with the idea that a mid-level punk front man can afford a $5 million house. crazy.”
First off, I wouldn’t call NOFX ‘mid-level.’ They’re a well established band that’s been around forever and have sold their fair share of albums. Second, don’t forget that Fat Mike also owns Fat Wreck Chords, a label that’s signed some pretty successful bands over the years (although they’re no Epitaph Records). If you consider royalties, the guy can probably swing a $5MM house.
But to the editor’s point about street cred, my view of NOFX may be tarnished after seeing this place. 10 car parking and 6 bathrooms? And I didn’t see any “Linoleum” on the floor. When did punk rock become so safe?
the blue wood floors are CRAZY, in a good way! only a special buyer is going to want to keep those! very unique though I must say.
If this sells at this price, will it not set a new record for SF outside of the northern neighborhoods?
Alrighty, lets hoist the engine and cars back on the track for a little RE photo commentary. I was about to post a gushing complement about the quality of the photography, then I noticed that the streetside photo was doctored : they removed a “No Parking” sign. A minor infraction to be sure, but I would hope that those sorts of deceptive alterations would be abandoned. Why deceive buyers when a property like this has some many positive qualities ?
Anyways, yeah the photographer otherwise did a good job. The lighting and angles are great and a good job was done with the tight spaces without giving that warped wide angle acid trip look.
And the fire in the fireplace is a nice touch. Or was that also faked in?
[Editor’s Note: We’re with The Milkshake with respect to getting the discussion back on track. And yes, we’re doing so with brute force…]
If this sells at this price, will it not set a new record for SF outside of the northern neighborhoods?
Not unless you call Noe Valley a northern neighborhood.
If this sells at this price, will it not set a new record for SF outside of the northern neighborhoods?
Not unless you call Noe Valley a northern neighborhood.
How many houses have sold over $5m in Noe Valley? Must be a pretty big house for Noe.
It won’t be as much as some of the places about Clarendon either. Palo Alto St., Mountain View St. etc.
I thought the firehouse was supposed to be the most expensive SFR ever for Noe when it sells?
Have there been any sales between $5.4M and the $6.4M asking price for the firehouse?
FWIW, I’d be REALLY surprised to see 1601 Monterey go for over $5M. Sellers tend to get all starry-eyed. Hey, it’s all funny money anyway, but over $5M is a lot of cash out there. There was a house 2 years ago that initially listed for $5M – 175 San Pablo – and it sat and sat until it sold for $3.1M:
I’d think $4.5M, possibly $4.75Mish if someone happens to fall in love with the remodel. In other words, about 10% higher than it sold for – unrenovated – in 2003. IMO, Fat Mike should have sold 2 years ago….
$6.25M for 625 Duncan
Hi to everyone commenting on 1601 Monterey. I’m an avid Socketsite reader and I appreciated all the comments on the property.
Yes, the house is as good as it looks. It will be open Tues the 9th 12:30-2:30pm. Come take a look and enjoy lunch. Jane P
In addition to 625 Duncan, which went for just under $6 million earlier this year, another house a half-block away (the “Google” house) sold for over $5 million several years ago.