It has been a week of odd real estate happenings.

Monday I attended an auction in Kensington -- not an auction for a house, but an auction for the dubious privilege of participating in a short sale for a major fixer. My client and buddy, Gordon, has decided to augment his income as an architect by becoming a slumlord. We knew that he would probably not bid on the subject property, but the auction promised to provide some entertainment value. Indeed.

I do not understand why Kensington is considered a prime location. Granted, it is close to FatApples and the site of Narsai David's old eatery on Kensington Circus. But the school disctrict is West Contra Costa -- as bad as Oakland, but without the economies of scale. Nonetheless, 40 prospective bidders stood around in the decaying house, perched on a series of retaining walls that marked architectural epochs up the hillside.

The listing agent was one Bodhi Kroll. (With a name like that, what could his parents have been thinking, lo these forty-some years ago?) The auctioneer pointed out some of the salient features of the house: the filtered view of the Bay, the "partial skylight" where the ceiling had collapsed, the old range standing in the living room.

Bidding started at $98k, That;'s why there were so many prospective buyers present. Gordon had estimated that there would be $250k in repairs, and a potential sale price of $520k. Thus, it would not make sense for him to bid more than $200k if we wanted to make a $70k profit. He guessed that the house would sell for $250k.

I guessed that it would sell for $362,500, and optimistically considered recent sales in the $625k range. The actual sale price turned out to be $292k, so Gordon's guess was closer.

Whenever I see a major fixer sold, I say "Better that buyer than me!"

Today brought me another major fixer: an 1896 Queen Anne cottage on the corner of McClelland and Daisy, just east of 580 and Mills College. Judi Martin may decide to write an offer on it. We spent a couple of hours there today, with Steve Hayes, the super-contractor and historic house buff.

This house is being sold by the Baptist sect that owns the Home of Peace at Buell and Daisy. It is so dilapidated that even the most fervent Baptists cannot maintain it any longer. Priced at $95k, it saw a steady stream of relators, agents, fans of historic buildings, and immigrant contractors seeking to make a quick buck flipping the property.

I have for many years loved to drive down Daisy Street to contemplate the Home of Peace. It is a spectacular yellow-and-white, four story wood frame Victorian with turrets that occupies a hilltop above Mills College. Its purpose has long been a retirement home for missionaries, put out to pasture in the healthful Oakland hills. But at some point in its history it was an orphanage.

The main Home of Peace property encompasses several acres, and has a big yard and a barn with a hayloft. You can easily imagine the horse-drawn wagons being driven up to load and offload farm products.

The subject property is painted the same yellow and white as the large Victorian and the chapel, directly across Daisy Street. At the rear of the subject property is a concrete ramp, with the original old laundry cart that was used to transport the orphans' washing back and forth. I can close my eyes and imagine the sullen magdalines scrubbing away at the clothes, saved from a life on the rowdy Oakland streets of 1910.

Steve estimated that it would cost $250k -- $275k to fix up this lovely old 3 bedrrom house. Its foundation is still partly brick, and the segment that is 1980 concrete was poorly engineered, well below grade, so that ground water pours into the basement. The roof leaks as well. Judi wrinkled her nose. Well hell, it's her money, not mine!

In a final attempt at deviltry, I made an appointment at City Hall to meet with Betty Marvin, the city historian. Last month when the city council was poised to fire all the senior planners, cut its contractually deliverable $450k per year to Chabot Space and Science Center, and other budget cutbacks, a large number of people (including me) showed up at the public hearing to demand that Betty be kept on the payroll. And this did come to pass. When I go to Betty with news of historic property going on the market, she eagerly thinks of clever ways to prevent contractors from tearing down the houses and replacing them with particle board McMansions.

My ace in the hole is the fact that the listing agent is legally required to disclose to all prospective buyers any materlal facts concerning the marketability of the house. Betty provided me plenty of printed material on the history of the Home of Peace historic preservation district, and noted that the subject property would be rated C2+. Caveat emptor, prospective demolishers and flippers! The listing agent thanked me politely for the informative material.

My final real estate adventure is the continuing saga of the sale of the Laguna Murder House. The current prospective buyer is one Tai Power Seeff, international photographer and granddaughter of Tyrone Power, 1950s era star of Walt Disney's "Zorro" and other productions. One wag in my office inquired as to whether she signs her contracts with a flaming "Z". We'll see at close of escrow.

Meanwhile, while the property was Back On the Market (while I was in Oregon and Joshua Tree), an investigator for the defense attorney representing the accused murderer came to see the property during a Sunday Open House. I warned the buyer that the notoriety of the property may grow as the alleged perpetrator, Rennie Pratt, comes to trial.

Stay tuned. This report brought to you by the Trail-Staggering Realtor.