A dated 976 square foot two-bedroom with one bath when purchased for $865,000 this past May (originally asking $1,010,000), 156 Vicksburg has returned to the market as a “dramatic & chic” three-bedroom with two and one-half baths and a “sexy fireplace wall.”
Apparently long fireplace walls are thought to be the new new thing this year (or somebody was having a sale). And a peek inside the “before” (note the difference in ceiling heights):
∙ Listing: 156 Vicksburg (3/2.5) – $1,598,000 [MLS]
∙ 1847 Scott Street Returns Anew (This Time For Reals) [SocketSite]
I like the long fireplace, you’ll stay warm from your cheeks to your toes reclining along its length. They just need to move that bearskin rug in front of the fireplace to complete the package.
really really like the location.
but seems pricey for what still must be tight sq ft. Plus, little/no privacy in that ‘urban garden’.
kudo’s to what seems like a fast turnaround (6 months ‘normal’ for this?)
I really like the before and after photography. Have I been asleep? have there been numerous long fireplaces?? Overall I think this house will live really well, double couches up!
so we’ll be putting in fireplaces like that one in Citizen Kane before long in SF’s wonderous stucco row houses
How is the dog supposed to curl up in front of the fire when it’s so high up on the wall?
I bet long fireplaces are a cat’s idea.
Eh, I gotta call a little bit of BS on a gas insert with a 4″ ledge in front of it qualifying as a fireplace.
What the? There’s a magical green tree that sometimes appears in front of this house.
Not a big fan of these so called “fireplaces”..it’s more like a horizontal gas heater.
About as trendy as the ubiquitous flat screen tv mounted way too high over a real fireplace.
I think it’s actually turning out to be a refinement of that look. It’s so popular, now companies are making, you know, fireplaces that makes a flat screen look great over them. Then again, my mom replaced the fireplace in the house I grew up in with a gas insert so maybe I’m just bitter.
did they at least design in a capacious chase to transfer utilities unimagined throughout building
Wow. Extreme makeover. Great work. Is it a real gas fireplace or a very long Amish stove?
Anyone know who did the work on this place?
Use of “sexy” to describe a fireplace is just creepy.
I wonder what happened to that pink toilet? It would match the rest of my Pink Palace bathroom. Pink toilets are so hard to find these days.
I like how the old place was pepto bismol, inside and out…
I’ve been keeping an eye on this place because I live close by. It’s hard to believe they fit all 3 bedrooms on the garage level. The lot is 1840 sq ft––looks like 20×92 if Property Shark is correct.
I’ll be at the open house this weekend to see how they did it and to see just how sexy that fireplace is.
Wow. Great remodel! I love the fact that two years ago, this would have been priced close to 2 mil.
Re the old pink bathroom fixtures… if they were smart, they sold them on eBay. I remember trying to find just new toilet seats for those 50’s bath colors (salmon, piss yellow, and aqua), and realizing that you basically have to buy blank white ones and paint them yourself, cause nobody makes any of that stuff anymore. The fixtures themselves fetch a pretty penny.
I’m a happy renter a few doors away from here. I visited this in the open house before renovation. It was a mess: The two bedroom were all on the top floor, and the second bedroom was about the size of a large closet. The electrical sockets in the house didn’t even have grounding prongs. The basement floor was basically wasted; besides the garage it was a massive unfinished storage/workroom. Definitely needed a massive renovation. Crews have been busy there.
That said, it’s a great neighborhood: Very walkable to stores, restaurants, etc. I’m excited to check out the “after” in person.
“The electrical sockets in the house didn’t even have grounding prongs.”
*gasp* OMG say it ain’t so!!
^^^
Sounds like every rent-controlled unit I’ve lived in. The worst part was having only one outlet in each room, and the wiring in the cieling wrapped in cloth (original to the structures in 1910 or so I guess).
“The electrical sockets in the house didn’t even have grounding prongs.”
*gasp* OMG say it ain’t so!!
I’ve lived in rental places in the past without modern electrical systems, and it was a pain in the ass. Probably even more of my stuff has three prongs now than back then, and surge protectors and UPSs won’t protect expensive electronics without grounding.
Buying a place like this means you should replace the electrical system when doing the renovation. The place probably doesn’t have as many outlets as currently required under the code, so it’s more likely you’ll need extension cords and will overload outlets. It’s a cost worth considering when buying a house, certainly. Ideally, the wiring isn’t knob and tube, or else the need to modernize is more pressing.
actually I just ripped out all the knob and tube wiring in my house and updated it all.
I had 4 electricians bid on it. They all said the same thing: they thought knob and tube was safer than the Romex wiring.
however, there is a caveat. Old homes with knob and tube wiring usually have few outlets. thus owners would open up the walls/ceiling and splice into the old knob and tube wiring… and do it incorrectly. THIS is what causes the fire hazard.
othwerwise it is hard if not impossible to have a fire with knob and tube, because the wires are separated by several inches of wood… (as opposed to Romex which is only separated by a few mm of plastic).
—-
all that said: I am happy we modernized, because the old stuff couldn’t handle all our computers and gizmos.
oops: one more caveat:
some insulation products cannot be used with knob and tube either, because the k&t wiring overheats if over insulated.
“I had 4 electricians bid on it. They all said the same thing: they thought knob and tube was safer than the Romex wiring.
however, there is a caveat. Old homes with knob and tube wiring usually have few outlets. thus owners would open up the walls/ceiling and splice into the old knob and tube wiring… and do it incorrectly. THIS is what causes the fire hazard.”
Yes, I know that all the electricians agree that it’s technically safer if done properly. However, you don’t know if and when someone tapped into the old wiring and did it incorrectly, especially since there are typically so few outlets with K&T. Hence, insurance companies get nervous. And yes, the insulation thing is an issue with K&T as well. Grounding is the biggest problem though, and especially kitchens and bathrooms need to have grounding to meet code.
The green tree is across the street.
I know someone is going to post that they like the pink paint better.
I haven’t seen the style of fireplace described here, but it has to be better than the gas ones with the fake log that have been commonplace over the past 20 years! Those were just awful.
Yes, we like wood fireplaces better, but they are not allowed because they produce a lot of particulate pollution.
OK, was interested enough to do a search.
A source of long fireplaces:
http://www.sparkfires.com/
Really long:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/01/04/realestate/04covspan.ready.html
And, here is the fireplace/tv combo (really!).
http://www.skloib.at/site/messen.php?id=14&start_id=0&messeort_id=10&detail_id=1157
I’ve got to say, I’m pretty impressed, especially after seeing the “before” shots. The ceilings look like they went from 8’to at least 10′ and – whether you agree with me or not – the house is definitely a lot “sexier” – almost loft-like which you don’t expect when viewing the house from the outside, even now. I like it a lot. I’m definitely stopping by on Sunday to take a look.
I was prepared to hate it––I usually don’t like modern remodels of older homes––but I actually liked it. The major drawbacks are that two of the three bedrooms have very little natural light, and they are both quite small. The backyard is small, but that is a plus for me. I’m not that into the fireplace; it may be sexy, but it’s not my type 🙂
$1.6M still seems steep for a place this size.
I’m really not impressed. The interior comes off as a modern loft-style condo, with no visual connection to the exterior.
Soon as you walk in, no sense of entry, no definition; you immediately are part of a very small living room with a ridiculous fireplace. The living room is basically a wide hallway.
You see, hear and smell the kitchen. I’m not advocating a layout of completely separate rooms with no spacial relationship, but this feels like a one room apartment, upon entering. The bedrooms are largely void of good natural light. The yard is small offering no real privacy.
Beautiful neighborhood and street, but that’s all that impresses me.
Oh, by the way: No handrail at the front stairs. Slip one time and you have a nice lawsuit on your hands. The code REQUIRES a handrail, so not sure how this got past the inspectors.
“Oh, by the way: No handrail at the front stairs. Slip one time and you have a nice lawsuit on your hands. The code REQUIRES a handrail, so not sure how this got past the inspectors. ”
Likely, since they didn’t change anything on the front, they didn’t have to retrofit a handrail.
I saw the house yesterday – I both agree and disagree with some of the comments above:
I personally like the “tension” between a “traditional” exterior and a clean, contemporary interior, so I have no qualms with that at all. I too like a house with a sense of “entry” which this one doesn’t have. However, the sense of expanse and lightness and brightness that this house has is fantastic. And I like the bold fireplace wall a lot. It really anchors the small living room area and sets a tone for the whole house. This would be a great house for someone who’s into entertaining. It’s made for that.
The two lower level bedrooms, however (not the master bedroom), are really small and I agree about the problem with them having very little natural light. For someone who just wants a small guest room for the occasional visitor and maybe a home office, or possibly someone with a young child that also has a guest room or home office, it might be fine. But, yes, they are definitely small.
The yard/garden off the master bedroom- frankly, I don’t know too many people who have much “privacy” in their urban yards. That’s not very possible for most homes in the middle of a neighborhood block surround by other homes. I personally would want a more expansive yard, but for those who aren’t into gardening but just want a patch of green to hang out in from time to time, it’s more than fine.
And, like I said the other day – after seeing the “before” shots of what the house was like prior to this, and now after seeing it – kudos to whomever did the design. Nice job. I like the outcome.
@ R: Ok, yes, I hear you and agree, essentially.
However….it appears to me that the white marble treads at the front stair are new, since they show NO wear on them. If they were existing over many years there would be considerable wear from use. So, perhaps there was some slight change at the front, but I don’t know for sure.
However, once again…My approach is always this: If you can upgrade a property for added safety and convenience, why would you not want to? Adding a nice handrail to the front stairs would cost no more than a few hundred dollars.
A stair without a handrail is a dangerous stair and a dumb stair.
Now in contract. I looked around inside last night during the open house, and the top floor is an impressive entertaining space. Well done!
The buyer must have really fallen in love with this place. I assume the offer is for asking or above, and the sellers will make a nice profit if the sale goes through. I’d like to hear Sparky-B weigh in on this one––I thought the original purchase price was a bit steep for a contractor, given its small size/lot. Seems like they have made it work, though.
A good result for the sellers, and a bit discouraging for me 🙂 I thought this place was overpriced, but I always underestimate how much silly money is available for modernized Noe Valley houses.
It closed today for 1.65M and if anyone is not surprised by that result I’m not too sure why that might be.
I liked the pink better. ;). Contests to all
wait a minute, $1.65million? for that? in this market??
20-35% off ??
Anonee- what exactly does 20-35% off mean in relation to 156 vickburg?
anonee: “NO WAY would this have ever sold for $2mm!”
But $2mm was commonplace in Noe in 2007. Look at:
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/3859-21st-St-94114/home/1873930
$2,080,000 for 3BR in 2007, but $1,840,000 in October 2009, down 12% ($240,000 — $55k more than the MLS indicates!). I’ve said that Noe has done less poorly than other areas. Down about another 5% since late 2009 is probably about right. Down a little under 20% from peak is a reasonable estimate for this place on Vicksburg, but we’ll never know, will we? I’m guessing just as you are. I agree that the seller got a great result; the buyer, not so much.
I sold a Noe home with a slightly irregular lot, albeit much better natural light and a slightly worse location, for 1.8M three years ago. This one with its good location, poor light, and 20 X 92 lot, probably would have fetched around that. 2M represented a higher echelon of quality, and certainly at least a 25 X 100 lot.
“Down a little under 20% from peak is a reasonable estimate”
i agree.
@history prof,
if you do a little digging you will find some pundits on here exclaiming that the market for everything is 20-35% off peak. some of the more shrill comments call for 40-50% off. the example in this thread is another proof that the market
cannot be so easily classified.
This house, http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/3859-21st-St-94114/home/1873930
was probably 1300 feet larger, and had a 1000+ larger lot, and a two car garage. It’s not an apt comparison, at all, to what the Vicksburg house would have fetched.
fluj, you think the higher end houses are declining more? I would probably agree with that.
Eh? You included some redfin link that didn’t tie in at all. It shows a Castro house, but yes Noe border, of a much higher quality home. It shows an 11.5 % loss from 2007 to 2009. Much lower than the 20 to 35% that you post on here ad nauseum. (But you still think you can slap another 5% loss on top of of the 11.5%, for some reason).
After that you want to take the dialog sideways, “do you think higher houses are declining more?” rudely calling me by a name that nobody uses any more, and based off some sort of logical leap conclusion you didn’t earn or prove that makes me scratch my head. I don’t particularly follow. However, the house in the thread I think illustrates that the 1.3 to 1.7M Noe house has stood up pretty well over these last few years. And that’s counterintuitive, because that’s a demographic made up of buyers who are working folks taking large mortgages.
Fine, fluj. Noe’s down “only” 12%? That’s possible. I’ve always said some areas and homes are a little worse than the overall – 20% to 35% in SF and some are not quite as bad.
See, e.g.
http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/636-28th-St-94131/home/1214862
12% off a $2mm home is a $240,000 loss in three years. Ouch! And let’s how things develop with interest rates heading up. If it isn’t there already, Noe is heading right toward that -20% part of the range. But it will still do less badly than other SF areas I suspect.
“Noe’s down “only” 12%”
I didn’t say that, one, you can’t prove your 20 to 35 percent, b, saying it over and over and over again isn’t an argument, three, and a single property does not a neighborhood make, cuatro. (Even though this one shows a 10.5 % loss, not the 12 you tried to put in my mouth.)
Wow, I don’t know how a squabble emerged out of anon.ed’s original comment. I’d guess 156 Vicksburg is about 1400 sq ft, and it’s definitely not over 1600 sq ft. So over $1000 sq/ft for a small 3/2.5 on a small lot.
That’s a great result for the developer/seller and an annoying comp for those looking to purchase a 3/2 in Noe. IMO, the buyer overpaid, but I hope he/she is happy with the house and doesn’t try to sell in the next five years.
I can’t see this one having gone for much more at the peak given the floor plan and size. 70 Vicksburg, just a block away, which is a large “real” 4/2 (the bedrooms aren’t in the basement), never made it above $1.5M. http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/70-Vicksburg-St-94114/home/1255218