re$real

re4real will be flying the friendly skies again, off to visit real estate in faraway lands. I was just recently in Sydney, Australia, where surprisingly the condo/housing market is on par with prices in Los Angeles. The only difference being their escrow period – it is much different than ours. They have a “cooling off” period, but don’t do the due dilligence like we do here. I’ll report from Cape Town, South Africa and London soon! Sit tight!

Watch it like a hawk? Or, let it simmer in the “crock-pot?”

I visited this property back at the end of May when it had just hit the market. My initial intrigue with it led me to “do the math” myself (well, at least a rough estimate of) and hypothesize as to what it would take to make the mortgage (+ taxes, + insurance, + utilities, etc., etc.) on this sweet 1906 gem in the heart of Venice beach. I estimated it would be a hair over $6,000 a month, IF you were able to buy the property for $200,000 off the sticker price. Now, two months later, I revisited the property, this time online, rather than in person, and noted that there has not been any reduction in price. The agent’s caveat in the written details state that the property can be “delivered vacant or with 1 tenant paying $3150 per month (ahem, 1 bathroom, hmmm, well your guests can pee in the ocean when it’s occupied): additional income – lease 2 parking spots!” WOWZIE! Oh, yes, this is a “duplex” per se, with 2 units, 1 lower, 1 upper, each with own washer/dryer, 2 bedrooms, 1 bath each, remodeled to reflect modern aesthetics and accomodate 21st Century living – but incorporating touches from the early 1900’s, including the original O’Keefe & Merrit stove. So, if you can cover $3500 month, stand having a tenant live within close proximity (and handle the stress that the tenant might not always be able to pay that high rent – but then again, life’s a crap-shoot and if you want to gamble in real estate, you’ve got to take the chance sooner or later!), and maybe, just maybe, rent a couple-o-parking spots out to some neighbors for some extra milk money – perhaps you can make an investment in this god-awful market! But, that is, if the seller will budge on the asking price. Seller, seller, where for art thou? And, why is your head in the sand like an ostrich? Here’s a link to the listing agent’s private site for the duplex: www.1900pacificave.com

She ain’t nuthin’ but a gold digger….

First of all I love this ad. How can you not? And, even though I can scour the MLS for properties in the pre-foreclosure state, this is a good way to access the lion’s share of them all at once.

Check out the link to find properties that are “short sales.” This means, in a nutshell, they are listed for sale at prices less than what the current owner owes. It’s all about market value, supply and demand. Basic economics. The only downside is that the process can be grueling and arduous, but who ever said that buying a house is fun? Oh, I did!

www.shortsense.com