Back in Serra Mesa

Back in Serra Mesa

We are happy to be in a little higher priced market working this summer with our new project. Serra Mesa is on the hill right above the old Qualcomm Stadium location and for those in the know it’s home of a billion dollar SDSU satellite campus location now with Aztek Stadium, something the Chargers seemed to never be able to pull off. We have remodeled a bunch of homes in this neighborhood and Serra Mesa is seeing some big time gentrification and is a solid bet for future growth in home prices. Serra Mesa home prices range from $850,000 to the high $900’s for little 3/2’s! We get to step up the design and materials on this one so its going to be a killer transformation.

You can see here the home is mostly original, we purchased this property from a tired landlord that simply wanted to cash out and retire. Even though the house was rented out, there was deferred maintenance issues but we bought it as-is. The seller benefited from an easy and fair sale without having a bunch of people through the home disturbing the tenants and didnt have to pay any realtor commissions or closing costs. Stay tuned for the complete remodel, we will make this house the shining star of the block and make all the nieghbors very happy!

Uni Hts Restoration

Uni Hts Restoration

I am so proud of what we have done with this project that just wrapped up today and is hitting the market for sale for $899.000. While this home is built in 1947, it’s not technically “historic” per se, but the neighborhood of Mission Cliff Gardens is second to none as far as history goes for San Diego Metro neighborhoods. Located in University Heights near Trolley Barn Park, this is one truly special pocket of homes, some of which overlook expansive Mission Valley.

The mid-century architecture on this home was all left intact so as not to alter the character. Casement windows, bold horizontal lines, big overhangs and horizontal wood siding all give this the Palm Springs vibe but in a million-dollar San Diego view location very close to downtown.

The exterior house colors are Sherwin Williams HGSW3282 Woodland Lichen for the body and Sherwin William HGSW3174 Lennox Hill Tan for the trim. These Sherwin Willams colors are from a new collection they did in partnership with HGTV and you can find the at Home Depot. The front door accent color is SW6606. The green body is very bold and makes a huge masculine statement in person. The satin sheen was perfect on our 70-year-old wood siding.

We kept the inside of this home mostly period correct and didnt even take out the original kitchen cabinets. Interior wall colors are SW9166 Drift of Mist which is our current favorite, trims are SW7004 Snowbound. The flooring we picked is light and beachy from Floor and Decor and is waterproof to allow it running straignt into the Retro kitchen.

We buy houses in San Diego. If you are considering selling your house as-is to a house flipper, or someone like Green Button Homes who will take great care of it, please call us for an offer. Purchaseing homes direct without agents involved makes it very easy and hassle-free. When Green Button Homes buys your house you are not asked to make any repairs or pay agent comissions. We remove all the uncertainty out of the process.

Mission Cliff Gardens

Mission Cliff Gardens

Mission Cliff Gardens in University Heights is one of San Diego’s hidden treasures with a lot of history. Situated on the steep hill above Mission Valley, it was Founded in 1890 by the San Diego Cable Car Company. This was the destination for San Diegans to come to at the end of the trolley line and walk around to see the lush gardens, Ostrich Farm, Aviary and was a real botancial wonder for its time.

The neighborhood is now home to tons of walkers and joggers with its close proximity to Adams Avenue, Trolley Barn Park and the main drag of the University Heights shops and cafes. In 1904 Spreckels expanded the park and gave people view points to enjoy the overlook of what is now Mission Valley. The cobble rock original wall built by John Davidson and entrance is still here and in fact the organ in Balboa Park was donated by the Spreckels and originally planned to be in Mission Cliff Gardens. The park and nature area was closed in 1929 to make way for a 1942 subdivision for single family homes along the canyon.

We bought this small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house in 2021 from a Trustee after the owner had passed away from natural causes. The house is an incredible find, sitting right on the cliff with a million dollar view over Mission Valley. The home itself is very unique in that its only 1000 sf and has a 1 car garage. The previous owner was a bachelor so he reallocated one of the bedrooms to puiblic space used as an office off the living room. It totally makes sense  so we decided to leave it knowing who our buyer will likely be. 

After some serious consideration I opted to only do a quick flip with flooring and paint instead of getting into a huge reconfiguration and total remodel. Selling it now versus spending $100k and 2 – 3 months here will end up netting us the same with a tune up and fast sale at a lower price. My plan is to list this house on the market in the high 800’s. There was a non-flip sales comp one block down in the mid 900s with no view.

The demographic for this neighborhood suggests a single person or couple, no kids, and urban professional lifestyle. Having not much yard is perfect for someone busy but wanting to enjoy everything University Heights has to offer. This is going to sell really fast even with the time period kitchen we decided to leave as-is. Nothing ever comes available on this side of the street, much less in Mission Cliff Gardens so get ready for a bidding war.

Stay tuned, we are going very bold and masculine with the colors to have some fun!

 

Almost Done in PQ

Almost Done in PQ

This remodel in Rancho Penasquitos is really moving along smoothly like a well oiled machine. Everyone worked over the Christmas and New Year holiday and on weekends to stay on track. I got the kitchen in and we went with white shaker cabinets which have been the most popular and best choice for todays buyers. Quartz countertops are also the go-to on trend design that we usually do. Quartz provides and easy to care for surface that is also antimicrobial and helps in spreading norovirus germs like granite would. If you are looking for the best countertop to prevent COVID germs quartz might be your option. I did a nice waterfall on the peninsula island which is where the counter top returns straight down to the floor by using a mitre 45 degree seam. It’s a really nice feature to consider on your new kitchen design. 

The bathroom tile jobs both came out really fun but we kept them classy. Pattern tiles can sometimes be too strong and a homeowner possibly might get sick of it after a few years. The light grey pattern I picked out is really soft and I think provides a timeless option that is easy on the eyes. I did the floors and back accent walls in this selection but kept the side walls in both bathrooms clean white large subway. Our complete bathroom remodels always get a brand new tub set, shower valves replaced inside the wall with raised shower head as well as hot mop shower pan.

At the project, out back we got all new concrete flatwork done this week. Indoor/outdoor living spaces are very important in San Diego. What was here previously just wasnt nice enough for this price range so we pulled the trigger on new flatwork and also ran a sidewalk up the garage side that leads to the driveway that wasnt there before. The exterior color is SW 7019 Gauntlet Gray body with SW 7005 Pure White trim. Gauntlet Gray is very dark and bold but really stands out on this block of all brown tone homes. Alot of sunlight hits this house so it works. It’s the finish line, all new landscape is going in complete with irrigation, rocks and new sod front and back. Stay tuned to Green Button Homes, we are almost done here in Rancho Penasquitos!

PQ Progress

PQ Progress

We had a great start to the PQ remodel. After really seeing what we have here, it is evident that the home was really taken good care of but just never updated over the years. A very big shout out to the sub-contractors that worked on this house over the holidays. We had guys onsite Christmas and New Years Day. It is a real testiment to our team and management to pull off a job this big in 5 weeks. 14 different subs will come though, all in a certain order, and materials need be fed to the jobsite to be ready. We love what we do, here are some pics of the process.

We removed a Hall and Coat closet at the entryway to create a more open space. The galley kitchen was also opened up for a new layout featuring a huge island peninsula. The master bathroom had a fir down soffit that we removed. The plan is to do a sliding Barn Door and take out the wall between the vanity and toilet/shower to open it up. The whole house was retextured after removing the popcorn ceilings and patching the damaged bedroom walls the old wood paneling glue left. These 3 minor floorplan changes will drastically improve the functionality of these spaces and bring it up to todays living standards.