Real Estate Blog

After doing a post about the home in Detroit that is listed for $1, there were some challenges that I had the wrong home. While I was 99% confident it IS the home, I thought I’d verify it by going to Ron French of the Detroit News, the person who originally reported the story.

Ron, who has visited the house, took the time to describe it to me, but the real verification was in the photos he sent (below). The reason why there was a question as to whether this was the house was because it doesn’t look anything like it used to, due to the vultures that have swooped in and stripped it of nearly everything of value.

BEFORE: Traverse Street home before being stripped

AFTER: Traverse Street home with siding removed

AFTER: Another view of the Traverse Street home

AFTER: The rear of the home, with the back door entirely gone

Ron said it’s fairly typical to see this type of thing in bad neighborhoods in Detroit, but it’s becoming more common to see it happening to in nicer neighborhoods. “As soon as they know it’s empty, it’s like a gazelle limping in the Serengeti — they will take it down. You will see people pushing a wheelbarrow down the street, full of siding or copper. They take everything.”

And by the looks of these photos, not much is spared.

Read more from the original source:
The Remains of the $1 Detroit House

There wasn’t a full moon last night, but it looks like we’re leading up to one…

Phoenix, AZ:
Explosion launches water heater into the air, landing 3 blocks away

Saddle Brook, NJ:
Foreclosure of 88-Year-Old Leads to Police Standoff

See the original post:
Weird House Happenings

Earlier in the week, we posted about Starbucks’ store closures. Evidently, that list only had about 50 stores on it. Yesterday, Starbucks announced its full list of store closures.

See the full list of 600 stores closing in the U.S.

(Yikes! 7 stores in Seattle? Where’s the love, Howard?)

Why are we writing about coffee when Zillow is about real estate and homes for sale? Because there is a theory — the Starbucks Effect, it’s called, — in which home prices go up when Starbucks moves into the neighborhood. Rubbish, most say! But maybe they don’t have a Starbucks addiction — whether it’s the coffee or the overall Starbucks ambiance. Or, maybe they don’t value the fact that you can find a clean Starbucks bathroom any where in the world.

Either way, if I had a Starbucks in my neighborhood and it was closing down and there was no other choice, I would be bummed. It might even affect my Walk Score, which takes into account proximity to nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. And, after all, neighborhood walkability is huge in my book.

Excerpt from:
Starbucks Announces Full List of Closures

Elk Grove, CA, with a Zillow Home Value Index (Zindex) of $292,500 at this writing, seems to have attracted a fair share of real estate known as pot houses or, indoor marijuana farms, according to an article in the San Jose Mercury News.

In 2007, authorities busted 3,713 indoor marijuana houses in the United States, 590 in California, according to DEA figures.

Evidently, occupants jerryrig the homes with growing systems to be a year-round harvesting operation for marijuana. Walls are ripped out, sprinkler systems installed, special lighting and electrical support rigged and chemicals and fertilizer brought in. As a result, the homes’ structural systems becomes compromised and the walls and foundation are exposed to possible mold contamination.

So, if you’re looking for homes for sale and see a real estate deal too good to be true, make sure you get the full disclosure of the home or hire an expert to sniff out the possibility that a home had a dual purpose.

See original here:
Real Estate Bargain: Pot Houses

This past January, banks and lending institutions started sending “Dear John” letters of sorts, telling borrowers their HELOC was being cancelled or frozen. And, just like that, the spigot of money was switched to the “off” position.

But, what if you were in the middle of a kitchen remodel, your house is torn apart and your cash flow to pay the contractor suddenly goes dry? This Wall Street Journal article, “Renovators in Limbo,” provides just that scenario for several families. Some people have other sources to draw from, but others need to save money the old-fashioned way — bit-by-bit — to finish the project.

The WSJ article provides some information on what to do if your credit line is frozen, or might be soon:

• Look locally for funding
• Look at resources that provide a broad range of loan sources, such as Zillow Mortgage Marketplace
• Pay for full appraisals
• Be proactive: Pull money from your HELOC before it freezes and stash it in an interest-bearing account until needed
• Scale back your project or postpone it

Seriously, if you are looking for a HELOC, home equity loan or a mortgage, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace offers an innovative approach to borrowing. You, the borrower, can fill out a mortgage loan request form anonymously — no name, address, phone number or Social Security number is required — and you will get mortgage loan quotes returned to your private Zillow account. No one knows who you are. No one will call or e-mail you to pressure you. You are in control. It’s really a pretty cool approach to borrowing. Here’s more about how it works for borrowers.  Try it out– especially if you can’t stand looking at the sink sitting in the bedroom another day.

Read more here:
Renovators Caught in HELOC Freeze

Summer is the busiest season for real estate.  So it’s fitting that as of today we have reached 2.5 million listings on Zillow.com.  We launched our Listings Feed program back in November, and are thrilled at how popular it has become in just seven short months.  In fact, this spring has been incredibly busy, as we’ve had over 2700 brokers and other providers sign up for our feed program, including Alain Pinel, Homes.com and Prudential.  It has been a great spring and we’re looking forward to an even better summer!

Want to join the party?  Visit www.zillowfeeds.com to sign up.  It’s free, it’s easy, and your listings will be served to Zillow’s 5 million+ users (2/3 of whom are buying or selling).

Source:
Zillow welcomes summer with 2.5 million homes for sale!

Honing in on what you like or don’t like for home remodeling ideas can take a tremendous amount of time, energy, and magazine tear-outs. But, just by process of elimination, you can narrow down your likes and dislikes. We have just the home improvement tool to help you: Dueling Digs. Just point ‘n click.

Kitchens:
See kitchen remodeling ideas
OR:
Vote for kitchens you like

Bathrooms:
See bathroom remodeling ideas
OR:
Vote for bathrooms you like

Bedrooms:
See bedroom remodeling ideas
OR:
Vote for bedrooms you like

Living spaces:
See living space ideas
OR:
Vote for the living space you like

Exteriors:
See exterior ideas
OR:
Vote for the exterior you like

Yards & Gardens
See yards & garden ideas
OR:
Vote for the yard & garden you like

Excerpt from:

San Diego real estate company Wellsford Realty is offering an unusual incentive for gay couples in California or those who might venture to California to take advantage of the recently passed same sex marriage law: If you buy a home (primary or vacation home) in the San Diego area through Wellsford Realty, you will get your wedding reception or honeymoon paid for by the realty company. Now that is creativity!

“It’s more than showing appreciation for our customers,” Michelle Koert of Wellsford Realty said of their Pride Promotion. “It is understanding that domestic partners married under the new Same Sex Marriage Law want all of the securities and happiness that investment in a home has to offer a couple.” “We encourage same sex couples from out of the area to purchase their vacation home in San Diego.”

And yes, this same promotion applies to heterosexual couples, too.

Go here to read the rest: