REAL ESTATE? HOW ABOUT UNREAL ESTATE!
I thought I would make this edition all about the sale of land and dirt that can get pretty “unreal.”
PRICIEST PIECE OF UNDEVELOPED REAL ESTATE IN LA
High up in the mountains above Beverly Hills, in the famed 90210 zip code, lies a 157 acre undeveloped lot that is on the market. Price tag? $1,000,000,000. Did I get enough zeroes in there? The price, my friends is $1 Billion and, like it says in the title of this article, it is $1 Billion with a “B”. The article also says that just the marketing budget to try and sell it will be between $400,000 and $1,000,000. I don’t know if I should faint or hyperventilate (probably both) but before I do so I have to wonder, “How much commission would the Real Estate Agent earn?”
THERE ARE OTHER EXPENSIVE ZIP CODES BESIDES 90210
For those of us who cannot fathom so many zeroes, there are other expensive and exclusive zip codes that are a little closer to reality and which acreage actually comes with a structure on it. You would be surprised at where you would find them. I don’t know where Atherton, CA 94027 is, or Medina, WA, 98039, but according to this article, if you have some loose change lying around, you can do some shopping there and splurge a little.
AND HOW MUCH LOOSE CHANGE DO WE NEED?
Let’s see, how much money do we need to live in the pricier zip codes? Here is a breakdown.
If you want to find out how much we need to earn to live in the most expensive cities, here is another link.
I think they included the groceries and sundries that are so important to our daily lives, but did they include the payment of property taxes? Many of these places have property taxes that are not California Proposition 13 regulated and the increase each year can be a real deal-breaker.
Pretty depressing isn’t it? All these outrageous home values and people willing to pay it. I heard they finally made a movie about all those crazy people with loose change lying around.
BUT, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Land and dirt? How about a rock priced at $1 Million? Only in San Francisco, guys. I kid you not. Here is the article!
If you can’t afford to buy, can you afford to rent? Here is one of the priciest rental homes you will ever find today, situated in (where else) San Francisco’s Pacific Heights area. See what $55,000 can rent for you!
Now you know why I say “unreal.”
MANUFACTURED HOMES IN A COMEBACK
I mentioned in previous posts that Manufactured Homes are making a comeback. Bloomberg News substantiates this. Faced with UNREAL prices on normal SFR homes, a good percentage of the population are priced out. Besides rentals, are there other alternatives? It seems so. These are not the manufactured homes of old. Quality, construction and curb appeal have taken huge steps. Give it a chance! Instead of a fixer-upper (are there still affordable ones out there?), think of investing in a manufactured home as your first home. For the older generation on the cusp of retirement, there is an attraction to selling your present high-value high maintenance home for a minimum maintenance manufactured home in a nice area and park and increase your retirement nest egg with the leftover equity.
ARE WE IN AN UNREAL ESTATE BUBBLE?
I get asked this a lot: Are we in an UNREAL estate bubble? Are we headed towards another UNREAL estate market crash? Here is an article from Forbes which traces the crash trends to every 18 years or so. The writer doesn’t actually give his opinions, just states some historical stats on previous booms and crashes. My gut instinct is this: We are in a bubble because prices are so unreal. But it’s not a bubble that will pop and suddenly all sorts of dirt and debris gets thrown at the market. I think it will be a slow deflate. Yep, market corrections will slowly deflate the bubble to the point that it won’t be straining the parameters of unbelievability and financial affordability. But that’s just me. Queen of positive thinking.
SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES AND OTHER AREAS
Smoke not only gets into your eyes, your lungs, my eyes, my lungs, but it will also get into your clothes, your furniture, your walls… in short, your entire house. If you are looking to sell your house in this day and age of smoking inhibitions and concerns, this is an article to consider. What am I saying? You should consider this article even if you are thinking of renting your house or apartment out. As a prospective owner or tenant I would not like to move into a house that is permeated with the odors of smoke! Would you? Smokers need not answer.
USING TECHNOLOGY TO BUY/SELL UNREAL ESTATE:
What a concept, eh? We buy everything online (hence Jeff Bezos’ moniker of Richest Man In The Whole Wide World), why not buy or sell UNREAL property online? Using videos and video chat or Skype to walk a potential Buyer through the process is becoming very popular, and why not. We have the technology, why not use it? Click on this article and if you are a Real Estate Agent, look at the potential! If you are Buyer, look at the potential! If you are a Seller, look at the potential! Why not make a video of your house, extol its attributes and put it on social media. See if you have Buyers who are interested. Cost to you? Zero. But I would clean up your rooms first.
WIRE FRAUD VIDEO
If you didn’t get this one from our subscription list, we haven’t forgotten you.
Wire Fraud is one heck of a Grim Tale and the #1 topic that we seek to educate the general public, here is a short 12-minute video for you. Please send this to anyone you know.
We need to educate everyone. We need to elevate awareness. The losses due to wire fraud are mounting daily.
Knowledge is power, pass this on. Don’t let the Fraudsters win!
Finally, here is this month’s FUNNY for you:
Given all the trade issues we now have, clear communication is critical – as shown by this short video.
Joy! Joy! The kids are back in school!