Anticipation can be a heady thing, a mix of optimism and suspense, with the knowledge that eventually, you’ll get what you’re after. But one New York City co-op owner is likely past the stage of simple expectation, after waiting 16 years to move into an apartment that cost him millions. [More]
real estate
Airbnb Partners With Realtor.com To Show Potential Homebuyers What A Neighborhood Is Like
By 6.25.15
You can try out a mattress before you buy it, test drive a car or ask for a frozen yogurt sample before you buy, so why not a house? That’s the niche Airbnb and Realtor.com are trying to fill with a new partnership that lets potential homebuyers try out a neighborhood before they make the big decision to move there. [More]
RadioShack Sells Last Thing Of Value It Owns: $50 Million Worth Of Property
By 6.18.15
In its bankruptcy auction, RadioShack has sold its store leases, the merchandise in most of its stores, and even key intellectual property assets like its customer mailing lists and “TheShack.com.” Now the company has found buyers for its last multimillion-dollar assets: property in Texas and regional facilities in Maryland and in California have been sold, taking in about $50 million that will go to the company’s creditors. [More]
People Who Bought Pontiac Silverdome For $583K Now Asking $30M For Run-Down Arena
By 6.12.15
The Pontiac Silverdome hasn’t played home to the Detroit Lions since 2002; the Pistons fled 27 years ago. Aside from a handful of one-off events, it’s basically gone unused for most of the last decade, with much of its few remaining assets recently auctioned off. And yet the company that paid only $583,000 for the arena at a 2009 auction are now asking for a whopping $30 million. [More]
Woman Suing Ebay Claims She Owns The Sun, Has The Right To Sell Real Estate There
By 6.5.15
Although no sovereign nation can claim ownership over any celestial bodies, one woman is taking eBay to court, saying she has the right to sell real estate on the Sun. As in, that big fiery ball up in the sky where no one could possibly live. [More]
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Family Suing Previous Homeowner, Real Estate Agent After Realizing “Dream Home” Was Infested With Snakes
By 6.4.15
It’s the stuff of nightmares: Fearing that the walls of your home are crawling with snakes, only to find out that no, this isn’t a bad dream, there are actually reptiles infesting the house you live in. That was the reality for one Maryland family who’s now suing their home’s previous owner and the real estate agent behind the sale, claiming both parties knew the house was chock-full of snakes before they sold it. [More]
Homeowners Accept Buyer’s Offer After She Sweetens The Deal By Offering Free Pizza For Life
By 6.3.15
When it comes to buying a home, prospective buyers are always looking for bargaining tools that can help them get a leg up on the competition. And in Portland, OR’s competitive real estate market, one new homeowner found the leverage she needed to close the deal in the form of free pizza for the sellers — for life. [More]
If You Have $100M To Spare, Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch Could Be Yours
By 5.29.15
If you don’t know who Bubbles the Chimpanzee was, you should probably just stop reading now. For the rest of you who may have a spare $100 million burning a hole in your pocket, Michael Jackson’s famed Neverland Ranch is on the market under a new name. [More]
Why Builders Are Tearing Down Old Suburban Houses And Replacing Them
By 5.27.15
I was recently alarmed to see a modest-sized house in my neighborhood demolished to make way for a much larger residence that straddles two lots. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see that house knocked down: it was a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home built during the Great Depression taking up space in a wealthy suburb, and the real estate market won’t stand for that. The little house’s demolition fits with a nationwide pattern: older suburbs are turning over. [More]
Sears To Sell $300 Million In Property To Joint Venture With Mall Owner Macerich
By 4.30.15
A few weeks ago, Sears Holdings announced that it would be starting a joint venture with mall operator Simon Properties. This new company would buy Sears stores, then lease them back to the company in an effort to raise some quick cash and keep the company’s retail operations retailing. Now Sears has announced a similar deal with another mall owner, Macerich Properties. [More]
Owner Finds His Rental Home Has Been Rigged To Explode At The Flip Of A Switch
By 3.25.15
Talk about nightmares: The owner of a house that he’d been renting out had a close call recently when an inspection revealed that the place had been rigged to blow up when a light switch was flipped. Because that kind of intricate wiring isn’t a mistake, police are now investigating. [More]
Woman Wants To Back Out Of Buying House Saddled With $400K Debt, Blaming Winning Bid On Diet Pills
By 3.11.15
Feeling like maybe you shouldn’t have splurged on that shirt when you’ve already got a bunch like it already in your closet is one thing, but deciding you’d rather not own a home you purchased is an entirely other category of buyer’s remorse. A Florida woman is blaming her winning bid on a home that comes with a $400,000 debt on it on diet pills, saying they caused her to become confused. [More]
Maine Innkeeper Who Won 210-Year-Old Inn With An Essay Is Offering Potential Owners The Same Chance
By 3.9.15
If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own country inn, tucked away somewhere in Maine with all that entails, you don’t need a huge bank account or a surprise inheritance from a distant relative to make that dream come true: The owner of a 210-year-old inn in Maine is offering up the place for just $125 — to the person who submits a winning essay. [More]
Woman Convicted Of Stalking Couple Who Outbid Her On House Says Losing Dream Home Was “Devastating”
By 2.12.15
In a twist on the old haunted house tale, a couple in San Diego found themselves haunted by the ghost of a woman in their present, who was convicted of stalking them after they won a bidding war over a house. Though the woman says she didn’t intend do to any harm, the loss of her dream home was “devastating.” [More]
New Homeowners To Pay Less For FHA Mortgage Insurance
By 1.8.15
In the wake of the devastating crash of the housing market, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development was forced to increase mortgage insurance premiums for borrowers with loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, effectively stopping hundreds of thousands of potential homeowners from climbing the property ladder. With the market stabilizing, HUD is rolling back most of that rate increase for new homeowners in the hope that it will spur more borrowing. [More]
Sears Holdings Ponders Forming A Real Estate Trust, Selling Stores To It
By 11.7.14
Two things are true about Sears Holdings: the company owns a lot of stores, and those stores are not selling enough merchandise. In order to raise some cash, in the last year the company has spun off its best quality clothing brand, sold shares in its Canadian subsidiary, borrowed money from its CEO, and taken on some roommates. What’s next? Selling some of its stores and leasing them back. [More]
Man Buys Foreclosed House, Finds Decomposed Previous Occupant
By 11.6.14
Earlier this week, a man won a foreclosure auction in Cape Coral, Florida. He stopped by yesterday to check out his new purchase, a pink house with metal bars on every window. Neighbors hadn’t seen the previous occupant in a few years…because she had moved away. Or so they thought. The house’s new owner found a very decomposed body inside. [More]
For Sale: Cemetery Plot. Slightly Used
By 11.3.14
When you move away or need cash, it’s a good idea to get rid of any local property that you no longer need or want. For some families, that includes the deeds to unused cemetery plots in faraway graveyards. Or slightly used cemetery plots. [More]
