Special Olympics Southern California to Auction a $2.2 Million Home

February 24, 2010
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You can own the $2.2 million home in Studio City, California in buying a raffle ticket for $150. Special Olympics Southern California is raffling off the home as part of a fundraising campaign. The home is a newly built five-bedroom Mediterranean home that has a four car garage, gourmet kitchen, and wet bar, master suite and city views.

The winner can also opt for a cash payout of $1.5 million. The net proceeds from the raffle will benefit the more than 13,000 Special Olympics athletes in Southern California.

Other prices include cash payouts of $25,000, $10,000, $5,000, $2,000 as well as smaller prizes of $1,000, $500 and $300 – a total of…

The New Construction Techniques

February 24, 2010
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The advancement of the new construction techniques evolved together with the new materials, possible for its development if it is not associated with it. For instance, large glass panels could not have been used in the eighteenth century even if they had been available. No large-span lintel-support back then. Both new materials and new techniques are developed to be able for the architects to be free to design. Today’s structures are usually a combination of old and new skeleton-frame, curtain wall and cantilevered constructions are good examples of old post-and-lintel.

The skeleton frame is one of the first techniques developed. It employs modern materials. It is an open frame to which a…

Housing Recovery in Gradual Process

February 24, 2010
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The end of the foreclosure crisis is finally seen. The number of homeowners falling behind on their loans is decline for the first time in almost three years.

The plunge means the number of people losing their homes will start to descend. However, some pain from the crisis is sure to carry on. Because millions of people are already in foreclosure, deeply discounted houses will put pressure on home prices for years.

“Housing is on a path to recovery,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. “It’s going to be a very long, gradual process.”

In high-foreclosure cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, homes have lost roughly half their…

Building on Former Prison Camp Needs Added Effort

February 22, 2010
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The 106-acre farm north of Lambs Road in Clarington has had a captivating history during its 90-year history. John Jarry donated the property to the province in the early years of the past century for use as a reformatory – the Bowmanville boys’ training school.

For a time during the World War II, it became a prisoner of war camp for captured German officers – Camp 30. Until recently, you could find former inmates paying return visits to the property and to the Camp 30 museum in the Clarington municipal building.

For the past 25 years, it has been home to a succession of private schools that saw the opportunity to take…

The Late MASH Creator, Larry Gelbart Listed His 6,724 Square-foot Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA for $7.999 Million

February 22, 2010
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The property of Larry Gelbart – the late creator of the TV show MASH – has placed his longtime mansion in Beverly Hills, California on the market for $7,999,000.

The mansion was built in 1924. Gelbart’s house was on Alpine Drive in the flats of Beverly Hills, has nine baths, and five bedrooms upstairs, which includes a master suite with his and hers baths and a kitchenette, according to public records and listing information.

Other features of the mansion include grand-scale public areas, outdoor areas for entertaining, two guest houses, a hidden tennis court, a lagoon-style pool with a waterfall and a greenhouse, all on a 0.83-acre (36,198-square-foot) property, according to public…

Vacant Houses and Apartments Really Do Not Sell

February 22, 2010
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It has been a mistake of always thinking that a vacant house or apartment sell the fastest. Well, it does not most of the time.

According to the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) in a 2008 survey, vacant homes that were for sale spent 131 days on the market compared with occupied homes which spent 106 days on the market.

The survey also revealed that vacant homes that were staged with furniture and decorative accessories spent 85% less time on the market than un-staged vacant homes.

Why must a vacant property be staged by a professional home stager?

There are many reasons and here are those:

-Only 10% of buyers can see beyond emptiness and…

A 6,015-square-foot Ocean Bluff Estate Goes to Auction

February 22, 2010
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After the successful Hawaiian real estate auction last month, Concierge Auctions has announced another auction scheduled for March 8.

This auction on the island of Kauai will feature a 6,015-square-foot ocean bluff estate on 5.79 acres. The estate was previously offered for $9.995 million and is being auctioned with a reserve of $2 million and a pre-sale estimate of $3 to $7 million.

The home in Kealia Kai is perched atop Paliku Point and offers ocean views. The home includes three bedrooms, study, exercise room, gourmet and a large great room as well as plenty of covered lanai space and a terrace. There is also a pool and spa and a detached…

An Escapee Title Company Owner is Under Arrest

February 22, 2010
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Baltimore, Maryland - Daniel E. Fink Jr. who owned and operated Homemaxx Title & Escrow LLC (Homemaxx), a title company that conducted residential real estate closings with offices in Middle River and Parkville, Maryland, was arrested in Palm Beach, Florida and had his initial appearance in federal court in Florida.

Fink had been an escapee since March 26, 2009, when a federal grand jury in Baltimore, Maryland, returned an indictment charging him with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud lenders and homeowners of over $500,000.

From February 2003 to July 2004, Fink caused Homemaxx to fail to pay outstanding first mortgages on real estate transactions or…

Reform, Reorganize, Reassure – Three Steps to Recast the Housing Finance Industry

February 22, 2010
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The US Housing Finance Industry is similar to a stool with 3 legs. One of those legs is the “government”-sector leg existing primarily through FHA and Ginnie Mae; the second leg is the “private”-sector leg and functions through large diversified financial institutions such as Bank of America, Citi, Chase, and Wells Fargo; and the third leg of that stool is the “quasi-qovernmental”-sector and functions through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The recasting of Housing Finance Industry must take on three steps and these are reform, reorganize and reassure. Let us understand each step better.

Reform: requires that action be taken to reform FHA and Ginnie Mae.

At their core, both organizations are insurance…