Rose Cottage Ltd

++ Four ways a real estate deal can die

++ 10 things real estate appraisers won’t tell you

~~This next one was FUN!
++ Classic Houses Go on the Imaginary Real Estate Market — QUIZ

++ $25 to $500 Gift Certificate from Chicago Steak

++ Top 15 Real Estate Apps

~~In the story below they make this comment right below the headline: “HOMES LACKING “ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE” NEED NOT APPLY” which seems a bit snooty if you ask me but I do like to see how the “other half” lives!

++ Why Dwell Magazine Is Jumping Into The Real Estate Business

++ Tiny is beautiful: Interview with Full Moon Tiny Shelters

++ 2014 Greenbuild LivingHome Showcases High-Performance Insulation

~~More “Apps”

++ An App That Works to Cut Your Home Energy Bill

Great news this week that Sgt. Tahmooressi was released after his ridiculous 214 days in a Mexican prison. The irony that we have some 12 million illegals in this country – predominantly Mexican, doesn’t escape most of us. If you missed the interview Greta Van Susteren did with him Thursday, look for replays this weekend on Fox News.

Now on with some real estate news for the week…

++ The Most Expensive Home in America

++ 9 Red Flags – When Picking a Real Estate Agent

++ 6 Best Home Fixes For the Money

++ Energy-Saving Home Remodeling: The Inside Game

++ 59 of 350 U.S. Housing Markets Recovered…

~~ Which means 291 have NOT.

++ Bigger isn’t always better: The standout small homes of 2014

~~ And for any who are looking to relocate for that perfect job…

++ Sotheby’s to sell luxury real estate in Poland

This makes me sick – and it’s being done to suit private individuals to use Federal lands:

++ Wild Horse Removal

This next one is very important if you want to sell your home. Get rid of clutter and if you have to, rent a temporary storage unit to store some of your belongings. People want to see space, not clutter.

++ Five Tenets of Home Staging For DIY

And another “bad” regarding fracking. The process uses a LOT of ground water so, why are they doing it in areas of drought or potential drought? Even if your well isn’t full of fracking chemicals, it might just run dry…

++ Water allocation an issue at fracking locations across US and globally

I LOVE Naples, Florida. If I were looking at a move south, this would be my primary target. Looks like I need to save some coin first though…

++ Survey says: Naples luxury home market among tops in the U.S.

Interesting news – but not likely to impact most of us!

++ London Has Mansion-Tax Lesson for New York

These are always subject to individual interpretation as to what is “best” about a city, but I find them interesting to view. This one has a nice slideshow of potential choices if you’re contemplating a relocation.

++ The 10 best U.S. cities to live in

++ Best towns for fall colors

And a quick reminder from Cato that October is “Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog” month…

++ Startups Racing to Renovate the Home

This is a bit of a “one-off” but I thought it was good info to know…

++ How long is too long to keep food in the fridge?

++ Ark. real estate agent disappears while showing home

++ Investing In Luxury Real Estate

Now here are two headlines that show how closely you need to pay attention to the news, and what it’s really telling you:

++ U.S. New-Home Sales Surge 18% in August

Versus:

++ US existing home sales fall, investors pulling back

So if any news source makes a blanket statement about what the “real estate market” is doing, be very suspicious!

++ Norway jumps to second-biggest foreign buyer of U.S. real estate

I don’t know why it bothers me, but I am concerned about how many foreign interests are buying up huge chunks of America. Some foreign investors are buying REITs or real estate investment trusts – which means they can potentially own major stakes in many US commercial buildings, rural property, or single-family communities.

My worry comes from what I know to be true in single-family properties. Who takes the best care in and has the most pride of property ownership? One who lives in what they own. Absentee landlords? Not so much.

++ This House Was Inspired By “Star Wars”

++ 3 Trends Could Affect These Real Estate Investments

This next one tells me a lot. If you’ve lived long enough to see past interest rates in the double digits and then you see how long they’ve hovered in the 4 to 5% range, you’ll wonder at all this talk of “economic recovery.” One would think with a lending rate of interest at less than 4.5%, buyers would be hopping on properties fast and furious. But they aren’t.

++ Mortgage rates rise to 4.23%

++ Shop heirloom seeds and plants at monticelloshop.org

Okay, I do like the idea of tiny house living and how it can be accomplished, but I think the one linked below goes a bit too far – and for over $350,000 US dollars? Must be “location, location, location.”

++ ‘Smallest house in the world’ on sale for £275k in north London

++ Top 10 international places to invest in real estate

Happy weekend. First day of Fall 2014 is Tuesday!!!

++ Top 10 Real Estate Investor Mistakes

++ Zillow Buying Trulia – Antitrust?

++ House Hunting in – Scotland

++ Mortgage Rates Remain in Holding Pattern

++ 5 DIY projects using wooden crates

++ Economist who predicted busted housing bubble says another recession is coming

++ 10 Luxury Homes With Slashed Prices

++ Luxury Real Estate: The Best Addresses in Europe’s Top Cities

++ Real estate agent and former tenant disputing with alleged squatters

We haven’t had a lot of problems with “squatters” so far in the US. For anyone who doesn’t know, squatters will move into a vacant property and then after some period of time – could be days, could be weeks, will attempt to claim “ownership” of the property. It’s too much to get into the details at the end of this post but I’ll be writing more about it next week. With the number of illegal aliens on the rise in the US – and many properties sitting vacant due to foreclosure – this is about to become a HUGE issue…

++ Foreigners Buying Up American Real Estate

++ Real Estate Valuation Websites Differ Greatly

++ FAA Has Commercial Drone Regulations Backwards

++ Off the Grid in a Florida Suburb, Fighting Municipal Code

++ Bathroom remodeling should start at the studs

++ Zombie houses haunt the market

++ Phoenix: Largest drop in homeownership in U.S. cities

++ Housing market is a ‘crapshoot’

Yes. It is. And if you read further than the headlines you’ll know why. Nearly 45% of real estate sales that are being reported as some sign of a real estate “recovery” are actually reporting all cash sales – from foreign buyers. In Florida, Texas, California and Arizona: International Home Buyers Cashing in on U.S. Market – it’s 55%.

This is creating an impression that does not really exist – at least not for US home buyers – and if the government is using this info to show a sign of economic recovery, then you’ll know you’re being manipulated yet again.

We end this week with “Beware HOAs” (Home Owner’s Associations.)

++ Florida vet says ‘Bring it on,’ as he faces eviction over flower pot flag

“The fight started in 2011 and landed in court a year later where the two sides reached a settlement in which Murphree agreed to display his flag in compliance with association rules. But two weeks later, the board changed the rules, saying flags could only be displayed on a pole outside the garage and that flower pots were only for flowers.”

A good HOA is one that protects neighborhoods against residents who do things like leaving derelict cars on the street, painting their house lime green, and having loud parties with 100 guests on a quarter-acre lot every weekend. The goal SHOULD be that you paid good money for your house and you don’t want someone coming in and ruining YOUR property values because of their behavior.

The story above shows the dark side of HOAs – and this is certainly not the only example. In court, the HOA made an agreement with this homeowner about how and where he could display his US flag – and then they changed the rules – meaning going to court and agreeing to “terms” apparently meant nothing to them.

This is a small US flag the homeowner wants to display – in America – in his own yard, on his own property. So what does the “Association” now want to do? Foreclose on the man’s property because he’s not paying his “assessment” fees. Sounds good for them, but what he’s NOT paying are the fines the HOA is charging (illegally if you ask me) because he is abiding by the 2011 court ruling and they are not.

We, as American citizens are being bullied by HOAs, local, state, and federal governments, energy companies that want to frack or otherwise invade our property without our consent, and the really scary “eminent domain” crowd who will use old and or arbitrary ordinances to sometimes just take people’s property.

In the meantime, certain factions in the US Government have apparently been targeting people with certain political leanings or philosophies that don’t agree with the current regime, and then making sure they get audited by the IRS. Not only is this bullying, it’s illegal – as some are hopefully soon to find out.

It appears US citizens are going to have to become hyper vigilant about protecting our rights. We aren’t lawyers, and most of us can’t afford to hire one big enough to fight a HOA or the IRS. Courts are not just there to protect the rights of criminals – which it often seems is all they do. Courts are there to protect OUR rights as well. Know your rights and be prepared to defend them as this gentleman is doing or, we will continue to be stopped from enjoying the very properties we’ve worked so hard to obtain.

Here we are past the middle of the month in the middle of the year and time for the longest day of the year. I won’t start counting down the days until Christmas just yet though – we’ll leave that for some other blog.

Here are some items of interest from the world of real estate for this past week…

++ VA home loans underused, real estate experts say

++ Housing Market Falters Amid Rising Prices, Lower-Paying Jobs

On the other hand…

++ Eight housing markets at all-time highs

++ Here’s What Wealthy People Want In Their Luxury Homes

++ Cow Hollow home listing price jumps from $3M to $13M after flip (WHOA!)

++ Thinking Out Loud: Creating Native Landscapes

++ Are Home-Remodeling Reality Shows Distorting Reality? (VIDEO)

My answer: Only if you forget you’re watching a “reality” TV show…

++ Previews: International Luxury Real Estate

++ Decorative Outdoor Faucets – Great Gift Idea

Another month of 2014 all but over. Doesn’t it seem we just had Christmas?

Some real estate tidbits of interest for this week…

++ How profitable is it to invest in real estate?

++ Glut of real estate shows feed TV’s appetite for easy ratings

++ The 10 Best Cities to Flip a Home

++ Smart Moves: Staging vital when selling vacant home

++ Garden.com Clearance – up to 80% off!

++ Share of home buyers paying cash reaches new high

++ Rent or buy? The math is changing

++ Short Sales, Foreclosure Sales Slow in U.S.

++ Countertops get creative

++ Property Tax Data by US State & County
    (Nice lookup tool!)