Archive for August, 2007
50 Simple Feng Shui Tips
by I was asked to share some simple Feng Shui tips for home offices, written by Laura Milligan over at the Bootstrapper Blog. She lists 50 great ones, but I’ll tease you with a few she has listed in her article.
In spite of a personal bookshelf full of Feng Shui education, I found these suggestions particularly useful in that I am currently refiguring my own home office and need constant reminding to keep the chi flowing freely.
Some of my favorite reminders from Laura?
1. Rearrange furniture regularly. You don’t have to move the contents of an entire room, just do enough to shift the energy flow. You’ll feel the difference!
2. Make sure your furniture and accessories represent the elements of fire, wood, earth, metal and water. Most furniture is wood, but the other elements can be added via pottery (earth), furniture and plants (wood), fountains or paintings with water (water), brass lamp and/or wind chimes (metal), and lighting or a candle (fire).
3. Don’t overcrowd a room and if possible, leave 3 feet between pieces of furniture. I can’t sit that far from my desk, but some Feng Shui practitioners would suggest that I leave my chair 3 feet out when not at my desk. Hmm….
4. Consider hanging a mirror over your computer and desk so that you enlarge the feel of the room and can keep an eye on what is behind you (Feng Shui suggests you always be alert to doors–and never sit with your back to one.
5. If it doesn’t have a function, you don’t need it (and function could be that it is simply something you love). Again, allow for the free flow of chi/energy.
6. Play soothing music throughout the day to relieve stress and drown out distracting noises.
7. Eliminate clutter, hide cords, file away loose papers, don’t eat at your desk and clean up before leaving the desk.
For the entire list of 50 tips (we’re a digest, remember?), pay a visit to the Bootstrapper Blog. It’s a worthwhile trip!
For additional Feng Shui and decor reading:
D.Porthault Sheets for Luxury Dreams
The Beauty of Front Porch Swings
read comments (3)Richistan Home Prices Continue to Soar
$50 million is the new $30 million, says Glenn Roberts over at the Inman News Blog–especially when it comes to high end luxury homes.
Citing a 2007 Mid-Year Luxury Report by Stribling Private Brokerage, Roberts explains how just a few years ago, even a rumor of a $30 million real estate sale in Manhattan would create big buzz. But since the sale of a $53 million property there in late 2006, prices have leapfrogged into the $50 millions.
This enormous inflation at the top tier of the real estate market is occurring across the country–from San Francisco’s $55 million fixer, to Donald Trump’s $125 million estate in Florida to Tim Blixseth’s $155 million estate offering for his 53,000 square-foot estate in Bozeman, Montana.
I couldn’t resist responding to Glenn’s article:
We are seeing a similar phenomenon in the San Diego’s luxury end of the real estate market. Late last spring, a Del Mar oceanfront estate was sold at $48.15 million–setting a California record.
Now, just listed, is another 5.5-acre Del Mar oceanfront estate with a price tag of $76 million.
Inflation in Richistan continues to amaze!
Other articles of interest:
Breaking All Barriers: Luxury Homes Reach Nine Figures
Mortgage Crisis and the Blame Game
Brad Inman this morning wrote an excellent article about the mortgage and real estate crisis that has gripped so many markets in the United States–and elsewhere. In The Housing Market Blame Game, Inman reports that even formerly raging real estate markets that were once seen as unshakable, such as Manhattan, are now beginning to share the pain with regions that had collapsed earlier.
Many blame the real estate industry for hyping the real estate market; others the mortgage originators. But Inman makes an interesting observation:
“….hyperbole from every day Realtors is not the underlying problem causing the housing quake. I would assign more blame to industry experts who peddled their demographic-as destiny arguments and ignored other issues.
This is akin to the expert analyst problem in the equities industry, where favorable reviews were tied to conflicts of interest.”
My response:
The blame game and finger pointing has become a conversation staple from Wall Street to Main Street. Some blame greedy hedge funds, some the greedy mortgage industry, some the greedy real estate agents, and some the greedy mortgage fraudsters.
The conversations that interest me most are the ones that seek ways to sift through the rubble to find approximate market bottoms. That is where the next real estate fortunes will be made.
Greed survives.
Del Mar Estate Most Expensive Home in San Diego
We follow luxury listings throughout the world, and when a home listed above $50 million hits the market, it’s NEWS by any stretch of the imagination. And San Diego is just the latest to break that barrier.
Priced at $76 Million, this circa 1937 oceanfront Del Mar trophy estate sits on nearly 5.5 singular acres. The two story home has nine bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms and ocean frontage of 396 feet. It is an oceanfront estate that will appeal to top tier and global real estate collectors–and is a relative bargain compared to other hurricane-prone waterfront estates.
We caught first official details of the story from Michelle Mowad, crack reporter and writer for The San Diego Business Journal. She interviewed agents (listed by Brian Guiltinan with Prudential California Realty) involved in the offering and reveals that the property is owned
by San Diego venture capitalist William “Bill” Stensrud, one of San Diego’s wealthiest residents. He is a partner with Enterprise Partner’s Venture Capital, who recently acquired Muze, Inc.–reportedly purchased the Del Mar property seven years ago for a (then) record-setting $25 million.
This just-listed, private, and gated estate also sits across from the Del Mar Race Track, and is just a short stroll away from Del Mar Village and shopping in Solana Beach.
And given that Del Mar and coastal San Diego County arguably have the finest year round climate in the world as well as a thriving economy–this is one real estate offering that may not last for long.
For additional reading about luxury real estate and listings, read:
World’s Most Expensive Mansion
Luxury Home Management: Ask for the Butler
Montana Luxury Real Estate Coup?
Easy Feng Shui Tips for the Luxury Home
Mortgage Fraud Rocks Beverly Hills
Luxury real estate circles are abuzz with the latest report that two top producing Beverly Hills agents have been indicted for their alleged participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. The LA Daily News reports that Joseph Babajian and Kyle Grasso have been suspended by Prudential California Realty, and are under orders not to conduct any real estate business until federal charges against them have been resolved.
Both men deny any wrongdoing in the charges leveled against them, which reportedly include multiple counts of conspiracy, bank fraud and loan fraud. Included in the the indictment are two licensed appraisers. According to RISMedia, the foursome allegedly duped lenders out “of more than $40 million in fraudulent loans for homes in some of Southern California’s most expensive neighborhoods.”
While details of these alleged transactions are not yet available, a commonality runs through most mortgage fraud cases.
1. The buyer makes an inflated offer to purchase a property and obtains an inflated appraisal to support the purchase.
2. The lender is duped into believing the property’s inflated value, and loans money for the mortgage accordingly.
3. At closing, the buyer/borrower gets money back–which generally exceeds any amount the purchaser has invested in the property. In other words, the buyer makes money on the transaction without the knowledge of the lender.
In our San Diego real estate practice, we have run into several cases of blatant mortgage fraud. In a couple of instances, straw buyers would make inflated offers on our reduced listings and would ask for at least $100,000 back at closing for “repairs.” Lender financing was to be 100 percent.
We advised our clients of the legal dangers, and rejected the offers outright. In one blatant instance, we contacted the San Diego FBI and tried to get them to pursue the case. At that time, they were reportedly “too busy” to pursue such issues.
That was two years ago, when the San Diego real estate market had just started its retraction. Since that time, the mortgage fraud problem has mushroomed and we are all left to clean up the mess.
In the meantime, I am glad these issues are finally being pursued at the federal level–and will be watching this case closely.
For more in-depth reporting regarding this real estate fraud case that has rocked not only Beverly Hills, but Holmby Hills, Bel Air and Malibu as well, visit the Mortgage Fraud Blog.
