The Home Front
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How Many Homes Does John McCain Own?
Continue reading… 7 CommentsAfter John McCain struggled to recall how many homes he owns, the investigators over at Zillow Blog put together this breakdown of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's real estate empire.
From Zillow Blog:
Republican presidential nominee John McCain took a lot of ribbing a week ago when he botched the question, "How many houses do you and Mrs. McCain have?" His answer landed somewhere between "I don't know" and "I'll have my staff get that for you."
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Home Giveaway Essay Contest Goes Bust
Continue reading… 18 CommentsWe've seen all kinds of gimmicks used to try to sell homes in the sluggish real estate market. Here's a new one: an essay contest.
But judging from the article below, sellers might want to take a pass on this approach.
From The Associated Press, via Boom2Bust:
The deadline has just passed for J. J. Rodgers and her husband Wes Ludlow to give away their second home in Red Feather Lakes, Colo. The couple started the contest in January after their two-story home sat on the block for three straight summers.From across the country, people mailed in essays and the $100 entry fee. Rodgers said she was "astounded and touched" by the stories strangers were willing to share.The couple extended the May 25 deadline, but still fell about 700 entries short of the 2,000 needed to make the contest work financially."We knew going in the possibility of it not being successful. That's historically true about essay contests," Rodgers said.
The couple plans to put the mountain home back on the market and return the entry fees. As for the essays, Rodgers isn't sure what she will do with them.
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Ed McMahon Will Sell Home, Trump Isn’t Buyer
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe Ed McMahon housing crisis looks as if it's drawing to a close but without the ending that Donald Trump originally envisioned.
From the Associated Press:
McMahon has agreed to a deal with a private buyer for his hilltop home, said Howard Bragman, the former "Tonight" show sidekick's spokesman.
Bragman declined to name the buyer or the selling price. But he said it isn't real estate mogul Donald Trump, who recently offered to buy McMahon's home and act as a landlord.
"For Mr. Trump, this acquisition was not business-related, but, as he has stated, was meant to help out an American icon," said Michael Cohen, special counsel to Trump. "If another buyer should emerge who will create the benefit Mr. Trump sought for Ed McMahon, then he is clearly pleased."
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Gunned-Down Broker Linked to Notorious Gang
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe housing market in the United States is scary enough. But just look at this terrifying incident involving a real estate agent in Canada.
Last week, the Vancouver Sun reported the following:
A realtor living in Chilliwack has been identified as the victim of what police say was a targeted shooting Wednesday evening.
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Pace of Home Price Declines Could Be Slowing
Continue reading… 0 CommentsTwo key housing reports were issued today. Let's start with the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices:
The decline in the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index—which covers all nine U.S. census divisions—remained in double digits, recording a record 15.4% decline in the second quarter of 2008 versus the second quarter of 2007. This is larger than the decline of 14.2% reported in the first quarter of the year. The 10-City and 20-City Composites also set new records, with annual declines of 17.0% and 15.9%, respectively. However, it should be noted that the acceleration in decline was only moderate in June. The May numbers reported annual declines of 16.9% and 15.8%, respectively.
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Builder Puts $10,000 Bounty on Copper Thief
Continue reading… 0 CommentsFrustrated by the repeated thefts of copper from construction sites, one builder is taking the Wild West approach to justice and putting a $10,000 bounty on the head of the thief responsible.
From New York's Staten Island Advance:
The bounty for turning in whoever is copping copper from construction sites on the South Shore has been doubled to a whopping $10,000 after new thievery came to light yesterday.
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Michael Phelps Buys Waterfront Baltimore Condo
Continue reading… 8 CommentsHow do you properly celebrate a never-before-seen, eight-gold-medal Olympic feat? Buy yourself a condo in Baltimore, apparently.
From TMZ, via The Real Estate Bloggers
Michael Phelps has plunked down $1.69 million for a condo on the waterfront in Baltimore, Md. Here's the headline—practicing in that pool ain't gonna win him any medals. [The websites have photos of a lovely but small swimming pool.]
His new pad is 4,080 sq. ft. (check out the model in the photos). The complex has a rooftop terrace, a private screening room, a state-of-the-art gym, [and] a clubhouse with pool tables.
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Home Sales Are Up, but So Are Inventories
Continue reading… 0 CommentsWhile existing-home sales increased 3.1 percent in July from the previous month, the backlog of unsold properties increased to record levels, the National Association of Realtors said Monday in a report.
From NAR:
Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—increased 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.00 million units in July from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June, but are 13.2 percent lower than the 5.76 million-unit pace in July 200....
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Armando Falcon: How to Nationalize the GSEs
Continue reading… 8 CommentsI just had a real interesting chat with Armando Falcon, who was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's top regulator for six years. He now argues that the two mortgage finance giants should be nationalized. He walked me through how such a process might take place. Excerpts:
What are the chances that the government will take more serious steps to stabilize Fannie and Freddie?
"They will need additional capital. They will not be able to do that through raising funds from the capital markets—their share price reflects the unwillingness of the markets to give them any more capital. So it's just inevitable. It's a matter of time before they become undercapitalized, and then the combination of the Treasury and the new housing regulator will take some action to resolve the companies. -
Roc-A-Fella Cofounder Dash Faces Foreclosure
Continue reading… 0 CommentsLooks like another high-profile figure has fallen into foreclosure. This time it's Damon Dash, the cofounder of Roc-A-Fella Records and the former business partner of rap superstar Jay-Z.
From the Associated Press:
Roc-A-Fella Records company co-founder Damon Dash and his wife are in jeopardy of losing two of their Manhattan apartments after apparently failing to pay their hefty mortgages.
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New Wrinkle in Trump's Ed McMahon Bailout
Continue reading… 0 CommentsLooks like Donald Trump might not end up becoming Ed McMahon's landlord after all ...
From the Los Angeles Times:
The listing agent for Ed McMahon's heading-for-foreclosure house in Beverly Hills said yesterday that the property is now in a "multiple offer situation." Last Thursday, billionaire developer Donald Trump announced that he had made the lenders an offer and expected to be able to buy the house and lease it back to the onetime "Tonight Show" sidekick. But it now appears that Trump has competition.Alex Davis of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, said a second buyer who wishes to remain anonymous is interested. The junior lien holders have agreed to a short sale at $4.6 million, Davis said, and "that's the number we need to get to."In a statement yesterday Trump, who said last week he wanted to help McMahon, said that if there was another potential buyer he wished them luck.
"I hope they take good care of Ed McMahon because he deserves it. The only reason anybody other than me would be interested in this house is because I showed an interest in it first," Trump said in the statement. "I just heard that the person negotiating doesn't have financing, and the deal would be subject to getting financing, something which I, obviously, don't need."
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Home Builder Offers Money-Back Guarantee
Continue reading… 2 CommentsWith declining home values keeping many prospective buyers on the sidelines, one Texas-based homebuilder is hoping the same tactic that got you to buy that Total Gym will convince you it's time to purchase a home: a money-back guarantee.
From the Houston Chronicle, via Realtor magazine:
Stonemark Builders said it will ensure the value of two of its recently completed homes in East Shore, an upscale subdivision in The Woodlands, by offering to buy them back for the same price if the owners decide to sell within two years.
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Developers to Open Paparazzi-Proof L.A. Condo
Continue reading… 2 CommentsTired of being harassed by that gaggle of photographers outside your house? Then here's the place for you:
From the Los Angeles Times, via Realtor magazine:
The developers of a luxury condominium high-rise in Westwood have come up with a new way to entice wealthy buyers: paparazzi-proof living.The Carlyle Residences, a 24-story tower under construction on Wilshire Boulevard, bills itself as the first building specifically designed to thwart prying lenses. Promotional materials for the property, which is set to open next year, promise round-the-clock patrols by "Israeli-trained VIP" security guards, private elevators that open directly into apartments, and high hedges that shield the swimming pool and yoga lawn from shutterbugs. Even the shape of the tower, a crescent, is advertised as an anti-paparazzi device. According to the developer, it minimizes views into the Carlyle from neighboring buildings.Thomas Elliott, chief operating officer for Elad Properties West, said the company was responding to complaints from celebrities and elected leaders about aggressive tabloid photographers."We are reaching out to the Hollywood community to do what we can to ensure their safety and security," he said.
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The Top 10 Foreclosure States (as of July)
Continue reading… 5 CommentsRealtyTrac recently released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for July.
From RealtyTrac, via The Real Estate Bloggers:
Foreclosure filings—default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions—were reported on 272,171 U.S. properties during the month, an 8 percent increase from the previous month and a 55 percent increase from July 2007. The report also shows one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
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Realtor Sues "USA Today" for Libel
Continue reading… 2 CommentsA Realtor in Las Vegas is taking legal action against USA Today, alleging that an article in the newspaper triggered her firing and ruined her career.
From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Las Vegas Realtor Erin Schlumpf claims her career was destroyed by a June 3 USA Today article about mortgage fraud in Las Vegas that featured a home she sold in the Sunrise Mountain area.
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The 10 Most Expensive States for Closing Costs
Continue reading… 2 CommentsAlthough home prices have declined sharply at the national level, closing costs are only increasing. That's according to a recent Bankrate.com study, which found that average closing costs in 2008 increased 14 percent, to $3,118, from a year earlier.
From Bankrate.com, via Realtor Magazine.
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Elvis Presley's Former Estate Up for Sale
Continue reading… 1 CommentDevoted—and wealthy—fans of the King of Rock-and-Roll now have an opportunity to pick up a souvenir that will put your Elvis Presley-shaped Cheese Doodles to shame.
An estate in Palm Springs, Calif., that Presley owned at the time of his death is now for sale. The asking price? $17 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Donald Trump to Bail Out Ed McMahon
Continue reading… 65 CommentsNot long after President Bush enacted sweeping legislation designed—among other things—to keep struggling borrowers in their homes, Donald Trump has apparently come down with a little bailout fever himself.
"The Donald" is reportedly going to purchase the home of Ed McMahon in a deal that would save the former Tonight Show sidekick from foreclosure and create a landlord-tenant relationship that's got situation comedy written all over it.
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Son Wields Gun to Stop His Mom's Eviction
Continue reading… 1 CommentThe more foreclosures, the more stories like this...
From the Associated Press:
Authorities say a son held Bergen County [N.J.] sheriff's officers at gunpoint as they tried to evict his 88-year-old mother from her foreclosed home.
Officials say John Brennan threatened two officers with a .22-caliber handgun.
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What Does a $1 House Look Like?
Continue reading… 0 CommentsYes, $1 can get you a house in Detroit. Unfortunately, it's this house. (From Zillow, via patrick.net)
