Big Bear Bummers

Address: 850 Maple Ln, Sugarloaf, CA 92386

Link: https://www.redfin.com/CA/Sugarloaf/850-Maple-Ln-92386/home/4126037

Beds/Baths: 1 bed, .5 bath, 504 squares

Purchase Price (5/2022): $285,000

Asking Price: $239,000

Difference: -$46,000

Commission (3%): -$7,170

Total Loss: -$53,170

Today’s seller (over)paid $285,000 in May 2022, just months after the Fed started cranking up interest rates. In April 2024 they listed for $269,000, ruefully acknowledging that breaking even on their investment was a no-go from the get-go.

After a series of incremental price reductions they are currently begging for $239,000, representing a loss of $53,000 after commissions. Some of you might be thinking, “That’s not such a bad loss compared to some of the brutal ones we’ve seen on BigBearBummers” but you need to remember this place cost $285,000 just two years ago. That’s a substantial loss in such a short amount of time.

And those loss calculations presume they can actually get the current asking price. And when you dig a little deeper, you quickly realize that isn’t bloody likely.

First, it’s important to understand this is a one-bedroom, half-bath shack barely more than 500 square feet. As a rental property this is as useless as tits on a boar. So there is very minimal opportunity to supplement the monthly mortgage with Airbnb income.

Second, it’s in Sugarloaf, which as we’ve noted before is highly undesirable compared to Big Bear Lake.

Third, to get to the upstairs bedroom you need to climb up this external staircase. Yep, when it’s time to go bed after a long day, you need to leave the cozy confines of your living room, put on your jacket and boots and go outside. Forgot to bring up glass of water? Need to take a leak in the middle of the night? Better put on that North Face puffer again and trudge downstairs.

Utterly ridiculous.

There does appear to be a wooden ladder inside – a ladder! – that might connect with the upstairs, but holy moly does that seem dangerous after a few Hot Toddies.

Fourth, even if you think $239,000 is a reasonable price (it’s not, what’s wrong with you?), are you really willing to pay $5,000 a year to insure a 504-square-foot cabin built in 1956? Come on.

That means it needs to be cheap enough to buy with cash, leave it uninsured and not have to worry about renting it out. We’re talking, at most, $150,000.

That would obviously be devastating for our buyer, and at that point they would probably just mail the keys back to the bank. My advice for them is to just hang on to this turd and ride it out, but this place wouldn’t be for sale if they could afford to continue making the payments.

They’re in a tough spot because if they discount any more then their entire down payment will go up in smoke. And at that point there’s not much point in keeping it on the market. And Christmas would be a good time for some Jingle Mail…