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December 25, 2006

$1M Homes

Wooden_bird_house Floor plans of apartment buildings in New York City at The New York Public Library Website. (From Hanuman)

A triangle house at the top of the Ozarks

Dull Moscow suburb painted bright

How to Buy a $450K Home for $750K

How I Sold It, conversations with real estate agents who sold the highest-priced properties in their area. The interviews are by Jeff Ordonez, editor of Luxury Brokers. See some Featured Listings there and in The Leading Estates of the World. The first site offers an access list to a Billionaires Directory, an online database of over 10,000 Richest Millionaires and 1000 U.S. Wealthiest CEO's ($59.95/mo)

What $1 Million Buys In Homes Around The World. (You have to first “Skip a welcome screen” = “Ignore the ad”)

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December 25, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

December 05, 2006

Some gorgeous estates for sale

Tommy_hilfiger_lake_tahoe A Tuscan Farmhouse for sale

210 Secluded Acres, Private Lake, Main Residence, Conservatory, Boat House Pavilion, Art Studio, Stable, Gymnasium, Two Par 3 golf holes, Guest Residence, Guest and Staff Quarters, and Garaging for 16 cars. “Tranquility”, Tommy Hilfiger’s Lake Tahoe home for sale. The property is offered at $100,000,000. Make an offer today.

Another legendary piece of real estate marketing: The home previously owned by Steve Wozniak in Los Gatos. (From Inman Blog)

On the other hand: Affordable Living in Silicon Valley One-of-a-kind 3 bedroom 0 bath home

I must admit that my heart finds for some strange affections. I love dingbats! Now.. I better explain myself. I'm not referring to an "intellectually disinclined" woman. I'm talking about the multi-family building so prevalent to Southern California

Real estate agent decides that honesty is the best policy. (From Arbroath)

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December 5, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 07, 2006

Charging too little for rent?

Island_in_the_sun The Kane mansion, a Ja Jolla house, resembling an anus

Real Estate Art in New York by “Loft Ninja”

Charging too little for rent? Paying too much for rent? Rent-O-Meter! (I found it handy & pretty accurate)

Hotblack Desiato Real estate Company - Not the minor character in ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Re-post: Ben Katchor’s weekly comic strips Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer and others

Another real estate agent giving a bad name to his profession: A Haitian warlord who had been living in New York City as a real estate agent was ordered by a U.S. court on Tuesday to pay $19 million to three women who say they were raped and had their breasts slashed by his men

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November 7, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

October 07, 2006

1428 N. Genesee Ave, LA, 90046

House_on_elm_street £20,000 for a house that is 0.5mm across

Freddy Krueger's House on Elm Street for Sale. Only $1, 095, 000

Cartoons About The Housing Bubble

Avery Ant’s Irrational Distrust of Real Estate Agents

Taking your helicopter to work from Scottsdale just got a whole lot tougher

I'm a 24-year-old aspiring real estate investor from Sacramento CA. After going to few seminars I bought 8 houses in 8 months across 4 states with no money down. I fixed and sold 2 and then ran out of cash. I am Now Facing Foreclosure on 5 houses. I'm learning my lessons, finding solutions and blogging about it

A new blog aggregator that is like Digg for real estate - Real Estate Voices

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October 7, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 23, 2006

Middle Earth Village

An_english_cottage The former home of Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett up for sale

B&W Downtown gif. (Thanks, JJ)

English-style cottages and town-homes at The Shire, of Bend, Oregon. (Thank you, William G.)

I know how she feels: Despite owning 15 units in the central Los Angeles area, landlord Marceline Brown can only count on receiving on-time rent payments from one of her tenants: full-time crack dealer Nathan "Buck" Cruz, 24

Also there: Home Sales Dropping

Handyman Special! New Orleans Charmer! Buy our moldy house! At a fraction of appraised value! Only US $6,501.00

(By the way, before getting my real estate license, I worked at the Mike Ferry Organization training company. Mike Ferry, then with his sons Tom Ferry and Matthew Ferry taught me everything about success in real estate I needed to know.)

/// Add it to your del.icio.us /// A Huge Depository of Unusual Real Estate Stories Here

September 23, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

September 09, 2006

Bubble? What Bubble?

Housing_bubble_1 Building a Cob House (Cob = clay + sand + straw mix. From A Jolly, Socratic Science)

Roger Dean has designed a house for the new millennium: artistically beautiful, environmentally kind, but cheap and quick to build

Nightmare Mortgages. They promise the American Dream: A home of your own -- with ultra-low rates and payments anyone can afford. Now, the trap has sprung

Update: One of a kind house for sale - The Underground Fortress in Blaine, WA is the eighth wonder of the world in engineering. Now you have the opportunity to own one of the most amazing homes ever seen

Insider's Real Estate Glossary

Index of housing prices from 1890 through 2006

Property Shark Title search

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September 9, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 26, 2006

When gelato stores start moving into the neighborhood

Local_gelato_store The road to buying a house is paved with dwindling bank accounts, devious brokers, and home owners who (you hope) are desperate to sell. Yes, it's a challenge. But with the help of these easy to follow instructions, you can negotiate your way into unthinkable debt. Mad Kane’s Hapless Home Buyer’s Guide

Best real estate movie recut: Glen Garry in Glen Ross turns gay

Artist Heman Chong’s Real Estate From Above – 100 Aerial Drawings

Living in a 70 sq. ft home

Five Signs Your Downtown is Gentrifying

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August 26, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 07, 2006

You choose the speed of rotation…

Birds_eye No longer will you need to decide which rooms will have a great view and which rooms will have a minimal or no view at all - the Rotating Home allows you to see your entire view from all the major rooms in your home. (From Sellsius. Also there Signs of The Times). Previously blogged: Suite Vollard in Curitiba Brazil - The only revolving building in the world

Bird's Eye View of Famous Homes at Zillow

Why are some agents willing to buy overpriced listings?

By the way, I finally added some of our current listings on The Champion Company’s website. It’s about time

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August 7, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 05, 2006

The Elvis of Real Estate

Hong_kong_apartments Wah Fu, High-density living in Hong Kong

The Ehrlich House, designed by John Friedman Alice Kimm. (Flash site. Go to Portfolio, click on ‘Houses’. From BB Links)

The Residence for Florence and William Tsui in Berkeley, CA

US Government General Services Administration Office of Property Disposal! (You know what that means: Re-starting the "Uncle Sam wants to give you free real estate" rumors)

NYC Seller Offers 10% Real Estate Commission

Charms for Realtors. (Thank you, Craig)

Bottle houses pool on flickr. Previously blogged: Other Bottle Houses

Rodney Hamrick, Elvis Impersonator and ERA Real Estate agent in Mobile, Alabama. (From 360 Digest)

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July 5, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

June 17, 2006

Toyota 21

Sell_a_house It’s time once again for those wacky, egomaniacal Southern California real estate agent signs

Upgrade your Avalon or Lexus into a Toyota Home

“As I lay down to sell a House” - William Faulkner, the real estate agent. (From Coudal)

Floorplan Porn: 10BR, 9455sf. Asking price is $31 million

The opportunity to own land in outer space nets two British entrepreneurs £4,000,000 in fees

Transformer Houses aren't houses at all – they're architecturally-disguised electrical substations, complete with windows, blinds, and bourgeois landscaping

Another Skinny home on market

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June 17, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack

June 03, 2006

The secret agent

Zzyzx $150,000 wooden deck and other hi-end real estate deals at “Luxist”. (Bug-me-not password for the article: Username: [email protected] / Password: mercury)

Why I Don't Own A House. I don't own a house. I rent. Still… Now that summer is here and picnics and family gatherings abound, I must once again prepare myself to deal with the question that is inevitable. When are you going to buy a house? I don't plan to. What? Why throw your money away renting and making a landlord rich? Because to me a house isn't a good investment. It is an illiquid asset with high transaction costs

Odd Real Estate photographs

How to Buy a $450K Home for $750K

Go wealthy - Latest Property launches in Dubai

Starting with a dollar, like the $1M pixel site, but for buying a house

An undercover investigation reveals the secret world of real estate agents' dirty tricks. (Thank you, Nick)

Many More Unusual Real Estate Stories Here

June 3, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

May 28, 2006

50-Unit Apartment Building for sale in Fontana

Fontana_apartments














Even though I am not about to leave for New Zealand for another 2 years, I’ve decided to sell now a 50-unit building that I own in Fontana, California. I have priced this property at $6,250,000 for a quick sale.

Like the previous building that I posted here recently, I do not expect to have many Grow-a-brain readers as potential investors in such local Inland Empire building, but I will offer to the many real estate bloggers (and other webmasters) who read this site the same deal I did before: If you link to this post, and if you’re able to generate a lead among your clients who’ll send me an accepted offer for the property, I will pay you $15,000 referral fee, at close of escrow. So please spread the word (or call me to discuss a protected arrangement).

Here are some details regarding the subject:

The Park Terrace Apartments on 1531 W. Rialto Ave, Fontana, 92335.

Fontana_building














Price: $6,250,000
Down payment: $1,712,632
Assume existing $3,937,368 fixed rate 1st trust deed & note, due 10/10, at %5.75 interest, $23,074 per month, 1 point assumption fee
Gross Scheduled Rental Income: $48,080/monthly $576,960 Annually
Allowance for Vacancies & Credit Losses (5%) $28,848
Gross Scheduled Income $548,112
Operating Expense allowance (34%) $188,724
Net Operating Income Estimates $359,388
UPSIDE / MARKET RENT DATA 46 2/2’s @ $950/ $43,700
4 1/1’s @ $ 895/mo. $ 3,580
Laundry Income/mo. $ 800
Total Market Rent $48,080/ $476,960 yr.
MARKET RENT GRM (GROSS RENT MULTIPLIER): 10.83 x Gross
MARKET RENT CAPITALIZATION RATE (CAP RATE): 5.75%
Rialto_apartments













This gorgeous property consists of a 50-Unit Apartment project, with a good mix of 46 2-Bedroom 2 Bath and 4 1-Bedroom 1 Bath units, on a spacious 2.3 acre. Security gated 2-story frame and stucco construction throughout. The buildings all have pitched, asphalt tile roofing. The project offers a Pool, Spa, and Laundry, and 50 garages. Built in the late eighties. It is located on the border between Rialto & Fontana, in a very high-growth part of town.

Please share this information with your qualified prospects. Email me at realhanan (at) yahoo (dot) com, or call me on my cell for more details.

See you in escrow.

More about The Champion Company

May 28, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack

May 13, 2006

72-Unit Apartment Building for sale in Riverside

Countrywood











I own (together with 3 partners) a 72-unit building in Riverside, California. Because two of the partners want to liquidate this investment now, we have drastically reduced the price of the property for a quick sale. Originally we offered it for sale at $10,500,000. It is now an excellent “Buy” at $9,150,000.

I do not expect to have many Grow-a-brain readers as potential investors in such local Inland Empire building, but here’s my offer to the many real estate bloggers (and other webmasters) who read this site: If you link to this post, and if you’re able to generate a lead among your clients who’ll send me an accepted offer for the property, I will pay you $15,000 referral fee, at close of escrow. So please spread the word (or call me to discuss a protected arrangement).

Here are some details regarding the subject:

The Countrywood Apartments on 11300 Magnolia Ave, Riverside, 92505.

Aerial













Price: $9,150,000
Down payment: $2,950,000
Financing Quote for the project from Fidelity Bancorp: 5.95% 5 year fixed 30 yr. am., all due in 10 (LIBOR) $36,973 per month P&I
Current Gross Scheduled Rental Income: $65,305/monthly $783,660 Annually
Allowance for Vacancies & Credit Losses (5%) $39,183
Gross Scheduled Income $744,477
Operating Expense allowance (35%) $260,567
Net Operating Income Estimates $483,910
CAPITALIZATION RATE (CAP RATE): 5.288%
Gross Rent Multiplier (GRM): 11.67 x Gross
UPSIDE / MARKET RENT DATA 27 2/2’s @ $1095/ $32,265
45 1/1’s @ $ 895/mo. $40,275
Laundry Income/mo. $ 954
Total Market Rent $73,494 / $881,928 yr.
MARKET RENT GRM (GROSS RENT MULTIPLIER): 11.33 X GROSS
MARKET RENT CAPITALIZATION RATE (CAP RATE): 5.898 %
11300_magnolia











This very well-maintained property consists of a 72-Unit Garden-Style Apartment project, with 27 2-Bedroom 2 Bath of 960 sq. ft. (25,920) and 45 1-Bedroom 1 Bath units averaging 655 sq. ft. (29,475) for a total of 55,395 in total lease-able square footage. Security gated 2-story frame and stucco construction throughout. The buildings all have pitched, asphalt shingle roofing. The project offers a Pool, Spa, Laundry and Recreational Facilities on site. Built in 1987. One exit away from the Tyler Galleria.

Please share this information with your qualified prospects. Email me at realhanan (at) yahoo (dot) com, or call me on my cell for more details.

See you in escrow.

More about The Champion Company

May 13, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack

March 19, 2006

The Yogurt Dispute

Roberts_house The price of paradise. What makes a Bel-Air estate worthy of a $53-million listing price instead of, say, a mere $38 million?

Real Estate Commissions Under Pressure. Steven Levitt (Author of Freakonomics) says their standard six-percent commission may become a thing of the past. The Internet is putting pressure on the fees that agents have become accustomed to

Real Estate Rap Song from Miami Realtor Phyllis D. Huguenin

World's largest tree house, in Alnwick Castle, Scotland

Amish neighbors take just one day to rebuild home destroyed by twister

Yogurt dispute hits a brick wall

Many More Unusual Real Estate Stories Here

March 19, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 18, 2006

Real Life Monopoly

Waterfront_estate This is my kind of a game: I’ve been playing it for real for the last 4 years….

House Wrongly Valued at $400 Million. (From Steel Turman)

Maison de L'Amitie for sale – the most expensive home for sale in Palm Beach, FL. Offered by a new listing broker for $125M. Here’s a Google Earth photo

Waterfront estates on the French Riviera

Also, the Larry Ellision’s estate in Atherton. (From The Walk-Though)

Home Blessing-Service. Got ghosts? Paranormal activity? Buying or selling a home? A house blessing can help with aura/spirit cleansing, ancestral or generational ghosts and alien visits using Catholic/Hebraic methods. (From J-Walk)

Open House, a real estate musical film by Dan Mirvish

Many More Unusual Real Estate Stories Here

February 18, 2006 in Real estate | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack