You know you are living in bizarre times when Kevin Federline looks like a model parent in comparison to his ex-wife. So it may come as no surprise to most Californians that some folks are pulling out all the stops in getting their homes sold. Inventory is increasing on a daily basis. With this increase we are seeing a drastic jump in short sales and foreclosures. More and more lending institutions will be announcing layoffs in the upcoming months. In a few days, we will have the 3^rd quarter NOD results and we can all guess where they will be heading. Why are people shocked? All you need to do is attend a few open houses here in Los Angeles County and the warning signs will be flashing bright red. Desperate times call for desperate measures. With today’s home, we see what must be the smallest five bedroom home in the entire Los Angeles region. Today we salute you Pico Rivera with our Real Homes of Genius Award.

What is 856 square feet, has 5 bedrooms, and cost $300,000? Give up? It is a home in Pico Rivera! Now you may be scratching your beautiful scalp and asking yourself, “how in the world can you get 5 bedrooms out of 856 square feet?” Aside from this perplexing riddle, this home is listed as a 5 bedroom and 1 bath so there does exist an answer. The current owners have been kind enough to warn us about the dog as you can tell by the sign nestled on the black picket fence. The door is open, welcoming anyone and everyone in – that is if the dog hasn’t chased you out of one of the five rooms. We must realize that life is grand when you can ask for $300,000 for a 856 square foot home in Pico Rivera. So let us take a look at the sales history of this gorgeous piece of paradise:

Sale History

02/08/2001: $135,500

04/04/2000: $85,000

When we look at history we learn a lot. First, we learn that yes there was a time in California legend that homes sold for less than six-figures as early as the start of the millennium. But that time has passed since we are now swimming in the great barrier reef of subprime sludge that has jaded any fundamental economic price of housing. This home is now selling for $165,000 over the final sale price in 2001. This wouldn’t be such a big deal aside from the fact that it sold for $135,000 in 2001! This place went up $27,500 per year for six years straight. A record as great as John Wooden’s UCLA NCAA championship run. Forget about maxing out the 401(k), we need to convert every single home into a five bedroom money machine. Since we are finally starting to examine fundamentals, people actually care about, hold on to your undies, income! So let us take a look at the family income for people in this area:

Average Family Income: $55,000

So let us assume that a typical family in this area was to purchase this home. What would their monthly budget look like?

PITI: $2,208 (5 percent down payment, 30 year fixed)

Net take home pay: $3,689

So we are starting to make sense now! At this rate, housing only consumes 57 percent of their monthly budget. We have seen other Real Homes of Genius that ate up to 90 percent of monthly take home pay. As icing on the cake, we are told that this place has a really large backyard. With our trusty free satellite imagery systems, let us take a look at what they are talking about:

Yes, big back yard and five bedrooms. What more do you want?

Today we salute you Pico Rivera with our Real Homes of Genius Award.