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Strange Real Estate in Los Angeles
Not exactly sure what this home owner is trying say with these decorations but if you own your own home, you can pretty much do what you want. Scary or art? What do you say?
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Strange Real Estate News: Honey, There's a Gator in the Bathroom!
I'm afraid I would be putting the home on the market!
It was a typical Saturday in April when Alexis Dunbar walked into her Palmetto, Fla., home's bathroom to find herself staring at a 7-foot-long alligator. The reptilian intruder was staring back at her - with its jaws wide open.
Screaming, Dunbar and her boyfriend propped a small table against the door to keep the gator in the bathroom until help arrived.
The alligator apparently went through the cat door of Dunbar's home and, while looking for food or a cool place to rest, wandered into the bathroom.
The alligator was removed without damage to the home, and ABC Newsreports that Dunbar consequently decided to remove the cat door. One gator invasion was, apparently, enough.
Ready to move? Call me today to see how much your home is worth! The Market has Changed! Laura Key 310.866.8422
In A Hot Market...Bid First...See House Later
The market is so hot right now it seems the only way to even have a chance at purchasing a home is to put your offer in a contingency to view and inspect the property. What are your thoughts on this process? Is this creating another false bubble? Laura.A.Key@gmail.com
As soon as it hit the market, the four-bedroom Sea Cliff home inspired a bidding war, with the top two prospective buyers both offering well above the multimillion-dollar listing price, in cash.
In today's fevered real estate market, that's no longer unusual.
But there was a twist: Both bidders were located in China, and both made their big-bucks offers without ever setting foot in the house. One of them ended up buying the house for $3.1 million, substantially above its $2.8 million list price.
"At first, I was really, really surprised and kind of suspicious," said Nina Hatvany of Pacific Union, the listing agent. "I was concerned that they hadn't seen the property. After all, they might not like it when they saw it."
But since both offers looked serious and included proof of funds, "I said to the sellers, 'This seems like a new buyer profile. You might as well take it.' "
Buying homes sight unseen is a small but growing trend in the Bay Area, fueled by the over-competitive market and burgeoning interest by international buyers - and enabled by technological advances.
Buyers might make offers without seeing a house for several reasons: They live elsewhere or are away for business or personal reasons; they had scheduling conflicts and couldn't visit before bids were due; they're investors accustomed to buying just based on property characteristics; or they're taking a scattershot approach of making lots of offers and seeing which get accepted.
Not completely blind
Today's array of tech tools means they're never truly buying in the dark, however. Besides extensive photos and video tours of homes for sale, plenty of websites offer the chance to learn about neighborhoods and schools, and research comparable sales.
Often, those who bid sight unseen have a chance to tour the house during escrow and can still back out. But sometimes, as in the Sea Cliff case, they're willing to pay huge amounts based on photos, videos and their agent's recommendation. (The winning Sea Cliff bidder also had a family member visit.)
Professional investor Paul Livson of Danville has been buying and selling properties for 30 years, both for rental income and to resell. Bidding before visiting is a tactic he and others increasingly adopt, he said.
"Lots of people are doing it now because they know they need to get their offer in quickly," he said. "The market conditions are such that if you wait to see it, if it's any kind of decent deal, there are already five to 10 offers on their way, and yours will be at the back of the pack. I need to be at the front of the pack."
And while he bids blind, he never buys blind.
"The risk is limited because you have an inspection period, so there's always an opportunity to see it and walk away" if it's not up to snuff, he said.
Still, there can be surprises. He's now buying a Pleasanton condo for $279,000. When he first saw the unit - after his offer was accepted - some issues surfaced: cigarette odors, marred floors, outdated bathrooms. Since it's a short sale, in which a bank has final say, it will be difficult to negotiate the price down based on the unit needing work, he said.
But he won't walk away. "With market conditions the way they are, it's still a good value for me," he said.
Riskier deals
Some sales, such as courthouse auctions that are the final stage in the foreclosure process, don't offer a chance to see properties in advance, nor is there an inspection period. While many investors bid at those auctions, "that's much more risky to me," Livson said. "I don't like to buy without having at least a day or two to inspect it. You could have a property that looks great on the outside but has $50,000 worth of termite damage.
His agent,said she's increasingly representing investors who want to bid sight unseen for efficiency, and she has created a "buyer concierge" program in response. "We hunt the properties for them," she said.
Some agents worry that such bidders muddy the waters.
"I am concerned about buyers feeling that this is a viable option in competition," said Bebe McRae of the Grubb Co., who has sold some properties to people who bid blind. "I heard seven offers yesterday on (a property) and the deciding factor for the sellers in choosing the winner was all about the confidence they felt in the buyers being able and willing to close successfully. The buyers went to the property on several occasions and also did their inspections prior to writing the offers."
People who have made the leap of faith to bid blind - especially those planning to live in the home - said having a knowledgeable real estate agent is a big plus.
Fernando Filippelli was overseas for business reasons when a Berkeley home came on the market, in a neighborhood he knew he liked.
"I had four different friends visit the property for me. One of them is an architect," he said in an e-mail. "This, plus the fact that (my agent) provided me all types of info, made me feel comfortable to put a bid on the house."
Inspection by FaceTime
Friends and relatives thought Adam Chang and Gwen Liu were crazy when the first-time home buyers made an offer on a Kensington house while they were in Taiwan, visiting sick relatives. Chang had never seen the house in person, although Liu had.
"We did the home inspection over FaceTime, Apple's video-chatting service," Chang said. "Our agent, Mark Biggins (of Redfin), had an iPhone, I had an iPad. I could see how high the ceilings really were. If they said a floor was sloping slightly, I could get a sense that it wasn't that bad. They took me down into the crawlspace. For being halfway around the world, it was great to be able to be virtually present."
The couple returned to the United States a few days before they needed to lift the inspection contingences.
"I was able to make sure everything was copacetic; it was better than I expected," he said. "It was all about taking that leap of faith."
Source: Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
If a Home Gets Hit by a Meteor, Who Pays?
After a meteor struck western Siberia and more meteors threatened the entire globe on Friday, CNNMoney asked the question: Who pays for damage to a home if hit by a space object?
Rest easy, “your insurance covers falling objects," says Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute. In the rare events when meteors have crashed through home owners’ roofs over the years, insurers have paid the damage for those insured, Hartwig says.
“Blue ice” — the frozen sewage that sometimes falls from airplanes — is more common and is also covered if it falls from the sky onto your home, Hartwig told CNNMoney.
A remnant of a meteor struck in the Urals region of western Siberia Friday injuring more than 700 people and damaging nearly 300 buildings. It was referred to as a “once-in-a-century” event.
"The earth is pelted with 40 tons of space debris a year," says Laurie Leshin, a former NASA scientist. "Most of that is in teeny dust particles" and rarely does it injure people or damage property.
Source: “Who Pays for Damage From a Meteor?” CNNMoney (Feb. 15, 2013)
Thinking of selling your home? Call Laura Key today for more info on what the value of your home is worth in this market! The market has changed? How does it effect you? 310.866.8422 or visit www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com
Historic House Infested With 20,000 Bats
(Tifton, Georgia) Could you imagine living in a home which has become infested with around 20,000 bats? One historic home in Tifton, Georgia has exactly that problem.
Between 10,000 and 20,000 Mexican free-tailed bats have taken up illegal residence inside a home in the Tifton historical district. According to neighbors the bats have been living in the house for some time. Health officials have declared the home unfit for living or any other use until the bats have been cleared out of the dwelling. The health officials also report that the interior and exterior walls of the house are filled with guano, some of it is fresh and the rest has turned to dust, and the clean-up will require the use of special protective equipment for the workers of that particular detail.
There were officials from Tru Tech, officers from Tifton county Environmental Code Enforcement Office, other city officials, neighbors and one Realtor congregated outside the historic home at 316 W. Sixth Street as they decided on what could be done about the infestation.
One way valves, which are special openings that allow the bats to leave the house but not be able to re-enter, will be used to clear the home of the bats.
The Tifton Gazette reports that local realtor Julie Smith, said that the house is in foreclosure and that it is listed with Norris Bishop Realty out of Moultrie. She said that agency has a buyer interested in purchasing the house. Smith also claims “The goal is for everyone to work together so that a family can live here safely. We hope it can again become a house in the historic district that is a viable property on the tax digest.”
Well, whatever they plan on doing let us not forget that there are going to be 20,000 homeless bats in the Tifton Georgia area seeking residence (FYI: The bats have stellar credit, pass the background check, have a 6% cash down payment and are currently seeking a Realtor).
Don't let this story scare you! It's time to own your own home! Contact Laura Key today to see just how to start your journey! www.KeyCaliforniaHomes.com