By The Tim on September 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 AM · 53 Comments
An example of a $2.5 million property in Seattle:
- 4-bed, 4.5-bath 2-story in Magnolia
- 4,440 sqft
- 5,029 sqft lot
- 2008 property tax bill: $18,286
- “sweeping sound and mountain views”
An example of a $2.5 million property in Wisconsin:
- 2-story stone lodge in Couderay
- 407 acres
- 37-acre private lake
- 2008 property tax bill: $14,948
- 8-car garage
- guard tower
- “massive fireplace, a caretaker’s residence and other outbuildings”
Oh, and the second one happens to be formerly owned by one Al Capone.
When I do finally decide to jump into the housing market, I think I’d be doing myself a disservice not to seriously consider other parts of the country where your housing dollars seem to go a bit further than they do in Seattle.
Hat tip: Calculated Risk.
P.S. – Yes, I realize the $2.5 million price tag on Capone’s hideout is the starting bid for a foreclosure auction which is not really directly comparable to the price of a MLS-listed home. This post is meant to be light-hearted. Note the “Humor” tag.
Categories: Humor
Tags: anecdote, Humor, listings, Magnolia, Wisconsin
Okay this is just too funny not to post. Over in my favorite forum thread Detrimental Listing Photos Everett_Tom spotted this gem [update: the listing photo has since been changed—original screenshot here], where the (presumably) brown grass in the listing photo has been extremely poorly painted over in bright green in the only photo on the listing. Shortly thereafter, I spotted another similar example [original screenshot here], where the digital green spray paint is creeping all the way up the fence.
One thing led to another, somebody posted it to Reddit where it subsequently made the front page, and before you know it, guess which two homes are the most popular in all of Snohomish County on Redfin?
Who knew MS Paint could be so effective?
[Update]
Everett_Tom strikes again, pointing out that the MS-Paint-ified photo was just grabbed from Snohomish County records!
Before MS Paint
After MS Paint
Categories: Humor
Tags: bad-photos, forum, listings
I was looking through the real estate section Half Price Books recently and stumbled upon an interesting book: Tips and Traps When Buying A Home, by Robert Irwin. The edition of this book I was thumbing through was published in 1996, and was just chock full of all kinds of helpful advice, such as this:
You want to buy as soon as you see prices going up. Never mind that it’s a seller’s market and you’ll have to pay more today than you could have for that same property last year. If prices are going up, the home you buy today will be worth even more next year and, hopefully, more still the year after that. You want to catch and ride the wave.
And this:
How Do You Know When the Market Turns Around?
It’s easy to tell. You can simply read the real estate articles in your local newspaper.
…
Or you can make contact with a real estate broker, announce that you want to wait until the market gets better, and ask for a call when there’s a turnaround.
Following below is a four-page excerpt from this 238-page book of gems that I found to be especially entertaining. I hope you enjoy it as well. Click any page to enlarge it to a more readable size.
Mr. Irwin also wrote another, more recent book that was even more well-timed: Tips & Traps for Getting Started as a Real Estate Agent, published in 2006.
Categories: Humor
Tags: advice, books
I think yesterday’s Dilbert is front-page worthy. At least for a Saturday.
Categories: Humor
Tags: comics, Dilbert
The foreclosure scammers are out in force, and they’re coming at the “opportunity” from all angles. Not only are there unscrupulous people out there trying to dupe struggling home debtors out of their money, but now even the financially stable (homeowners or not) are apparently becoming targets.
Check out this spam I recently received:
From: 1 Day Dough
To: The Tim
Subject: Flip REOs With Proof Of Funds
It’s no secret that the biggest area of opportunity in Real
Estate right now is in For’eclosures. There is a tidal wave of
them for us to ca’sh in on.
The rules of engagement have changed though.
The good news is I’ve cracked the code and so no there’s NOTHING
to hold you back.
Join me Thursday June 4th at 8:00 PM ET /5:00 PM PT for a fr’ee
webinar where I will share with you the details on how you can
start flipping For’eclosure deals immediately with none of your
own mo’ney or cre’dit.
Space is limited. Reserve your seat now here
[website address removed]
Here’s to you and me making 2009 our best year EVER!
W’ow. I should probably ju’mp on this opportunity right AWAY!
Categories: Humor
Tags: foreclosures, Humor, scam, spam
I thought this was amusing…
From D.R. Horton: Smaller is better in some markets, May 5th:
D.R. Horton’s chief executive says smaller, more affordable homes are selling well in some areas and will bring higher profits to the nation’s largest home builder.
CEO Donald Tomnitz said the smaller homes were particularly popular in Seattle and Portland, Ore. Smaller homes are cheaper to build and attract first-time buyers because they are priced competitively with foreclosures.
From Weyerhaeuser CEO: Housing excess ‘made up for’, April 21st:
Weyerhaeuser CEO Dan Fulton (Weyerhaeuser owns Quadrant Homes) – “We see some signals that average home size is declining. That to me makes sense. It’s simpler. It’s smaller, and that’s bringing that home price back down to the point where your average prospective homeowner with the median income can buy a new home.”
Meanwhile, on 196th Street in Lynnwood:
Hmm…
Categories: Humor
Tags: builders, DR Horton, Humor, Quadrant
