My Very First Tear Down in South Pasadena

I’ve been in some rough houses. Some were hoarder homes and some were abandoned. There are those that come to market needing obvious repairs. I have seen all of these homes as the buyer’s agent and never attempted to sell any South Pasadena real estate in tear down condition…until now.

Recently I listed 1636 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena for sale. It’s in a good location – in the flat part of South Pasadena right next to South Pasadena High School. It was built in 1950 and has all the earmarks of classic mid century modern architecture: slanted roof, cool beams, a huge wall of windows with a sliding door out to a patio. It also requires major repairs. That may be an understatement. It’s possible that this structure will be torn down. You can get a sense of the condition issues from the video tour below.



There’s a large hole in the roof which sits above one of the bedrooms. It’s supposed to rain this week – so water will likely be pouring in through the hole while I’m showing the home to potential buyers. It was boarded up with sheets of plywood over all the windows and doors for security purposes for over 2 years. It has a peculiar smell in the interior due to the age, the moisture and the lack of air circulation. Oh, and also the previous own died in the home.



So it’s ripe for developers, flippers, contractors and investors. This group of entrepreneurs takes on restoration projects which would frighten average home buyers. In southern California there are many businesspeople making a good living from taking absolutely horrible structures and breathing new life into them as awesome rehabbed or rebuilt living spaces. Rents and home prices are high here – so that funds and motivates the desire to rebuild.

Having never marketed or sold a property in this poor of a condition I set about laying bare all the flaws in the listing and description. I didn’t try to sugar coat the condition issues. I took photos with my phone when the electricity was turned off. It looks very rough in the MLS listing – because it is rough. The real key to the popularity of this property is simple: price. Working with the seller we priced the property at land value. That meant the price was a fraction of what any other property would sell for in this area. It seems to have done the trick so far. The interest level is very high after just a few days on the market – and potential buyers are offering all cash offers. We’ll see where this goes – but for now I am confident that the seller will be happy with the outcome and some brave buyer will be getting a big project to showcase their amazing building skills. Check the video above if you want to get further details on 1636 Meridian Avenue in South Pasadena.