Real Estate Logic

This running article is too long to post here. Here is a small clip of it and the link to read the whole thing. This is what happens when a “builder” is more interested in shares prices, cares nothing about building a home and employs an unskilled labor force to construct a “minimum code requirement” home at best.

Carol of Summerville SC (01/07/08)
I purchased a brand new KB Home in 2006. They subcontracted an unlicensed, unregistered roofer to put up my roof. The roofer used very thin three-tab shingles attached with only four nails. This is a hurricane area, and the code calls for six nails per shingle. It does not specify the type of shingle, but anybody knows that architectural shingles are a must. The valleys are not done properly; they did not follow the instruction manual. KB Home denies a problem and thinks I am just a troublemaker. ALL of the homes on my street are out of code! They keep lying to try to get out of this situation. Jeff Meyer, the SC Pres. of KB, says that he doesn’t want to replace all of these roofs. It is critical that they be replaced so that we are better protected from storms. We live in a 120-130 mph wind zone. My roof is only warranted up to 60 mph winds. Consequently, I cannot expect my homeowner insurance to cover any claims from higher winds.Desired resolution: I want either $8000 to cover the cost of a new roof, or I want KB Home to contract a licensed, certified roofer to replace it.

Curri of Pasadena TX (12/06/07)
We bought our KB home brand new in May 2006. We recently moved out of the home and back into an apartment, November 1, 2007. We had continuous problems with the home from the day we moved in. The floor in the kitchen were uneven as well as the stairs and master bedroom. The back door was replaced and worked on three times and still leaked every time it would rain. The front door was the same. It would not close properly. Right after the one year anniversary was up, the master closet door would not shut properly and cracks started showing in the walls. Even though complaints were filed, no one was interested in fixing the house even before the 1 year anniversary was up. Our dream of owning a new home for us is gone. We were first time buyers. Thank you for your time.

Sandra  of Fairfield CA (12/06/06)
Major structural deficiencies in construction, joists cut in half, no support for 2nd story loft, 2 nails where there should be 10.

Lai of San Francisco CA (10/13/06)
We purchased a home 6 months ago, it’s new construction, but when it is completed, the house is built below the curb. It is at risk of flooding. When we brought this to the sales rep. she told me that the sales manager agree to let us choose another new home and apply the deposit toward to the new purchase. Few days later, the sales rep. contacted me again and said the verbal agreement is no longer valid. I have 3 choices, 1, proceed the presnet home 2, cancel the contract and lose the deposit 3, find an arbitrator.

Full article on KB junk homes

Lennar BVHP LLC should QUIT while the going is good - we want them out of our community
by Francisco Da Costa
Saturday Jan 12th, 2008 7:46 PM
Lennar Corporation is a ROGUE company that has been selling its homes for cheap - many for 40 cents on a dollar. Lennar Corporation is in deep trouble - it has laid off thousands of its employees - and here in San Francisco too. Lennar’s stock and shares have been reduced to Junk Bond Status - the banks will not do business with them - and all over the world in the financial circles - the word is - stay away from the skunk - Lennar Corporation.
A year ago no one would have thought that Lennar Corporation would be dealt a blow from which is would collapse - fiscally.

But, the fact now is - Lennar Corporation is sinking and with it the City and County of San Francisco. More some stupid backers - and they will be named as you read on.

Lennar Corporation is in deep trouble and has sold thousands of its units - forty cents on a dollar.
It has fired thousands of its employees - and the word around the world is - stay away from the “rogue company” - Lennar Corporation.

Here in California - especially Southern California - thousands of Lennar homes - have been sitting empty. No one in their right mind wants to have anything to do with Lennar Corporation.

Lennar homes are noted to be expensive and also not worthy - most of them defective.

In Northern California it is the same. Lennar built homes are taking a bad rap and rightly so.

Lennar Corporation the rogue company has been specializing for years - in making deals - buying land mostly former Department of Defense bases - doing little clean up - capping and building homes on toxic dumps.

It planned to do the same at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and has failed.

Why would anyone build 1600 homes in the middle of Chernobyl - that is exactly what is going to happen - if Lennar goes ahead with its plan - it will fail. It better cut it’s losses and split.

The City and County of San Francisco cannot get over it. The many crooked folks that took money from Lennar Corporation - now, do not know what to do.

For sure they all slept with the devil. Now they are all in hell and suffering the consequences.

The community wants the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard cleaned - but Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, Democrat Congressperson Nancy Pelosi and Democrat Mayor Gavin Newsom - want Lennar to build homes on a toxic dump.

These fools see nothing building homes and facilities - where there is an abundance of depleted uranium, heavy metals like lead and mercury, Asbestos Structures, and of course a multitude of radiological elements.

Democrats Marcia Rosen, Jesse Blout, Diane Feinstein, the Fishers, the Blums, the Pelosis - strive on building homes in the middle of Chernobyl - that is if they can make money - it is all about money and greed.

Recently there has been talk about some measly $82 million for some little clean up.

One really requires more then $2 billion to do the clean up at Hunters Point. Parcel E2 the worst contaminated will take over $800 million and that is a conservative estimate.

Lennar will spend no money to do any clean up. They simply have no money. They are history and going down the drain. Financially they are strapped.

Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein cannot understand this simple picture - nor can Congressperson Democrat Nancy Pelosi and Democrat Mayor Gavin Newsom.

These fools do not want to take NO for an answer. Time will tell.

Here is one of many reports on Lennar Corporation’s fiscal woes:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKTFOoHM.Jww&refer=home

A great article by Susan C. Walker regarding the housing market and the general publics “hearding mentality”. It was actually quite easy for the mainstream media to be the vehicle in manipulating buyers and sellers. And unfortunately the Liberal Democrats are also trying their best to talk down the housing market and general economy in a despicable attempt to fool people into voting for them in 2008. 

Suspect No. 1 – Phil Spector
No – sorry, wrong case, wrong suspect. Spector has been on trial for the murder of a guest at his home (the judge declared a mistrial this week), but Spector has nothing to do with the subprime mortgage fallout and ensuing credit crunch.

O.J. Simpson, who stands accused of trying to “recover” his sports memorabilia, is not the prime suspect either. If the crime doesn’t fit, you must acquit.

Suspect No. 2 – Alan Greenspan
Says that he didn’t catch on for a few years that subprime mortgages could create a problem for the economy. As chairman of the Federal Reserve, he let easy credit ride, which facilitated the housing bubble and the subsequent implosion. Could liken his behavior to supplying the gun to a rampaging murderer. Guilty of aiding and abetting, but he’s not necessarily the prime suspect.

Suspect No. 3 – Angelo Mozilo
Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial (largest mortgage company in the United States), says he kept his staff writing sub-prime mortgages day and night, because if they didn’t, then home purchasers would just find someone else to give them a low-quality mortgage. Company went from writing 4.6% of its overall mortgages as sub-primes and low-documentation loans in 2004 to 8.7% in 2006. Guilty of greed and a poor business plan but not murder.

Suspect No. 4 – S. & P. and Moody’s
Oh, whoops, say these rating agencies, we thought that once you sliced up a “BBB” rated security thinly enough and packaged it with other more desirable collateralized debt obligations that we could call it AAA.

Did we mislead anybody? Again, aiding and abetting but not a prime suspect.

Suspect No. 5 – Goldman Sachs and other investment banks
Says that their investors wanted higher returns and that collateralized debt obligations spiced up with sub-prime mortgages served the purpose. And besides, they say, the rating agencies gave them an excellent rating.

Guilty of acting like a fence but not the prime murder suspect.

The True Prime Suspect
All of these are worth a look as suspects, but the true prime suspect has neither a first name nor a last.

It’s known as “social mood,” and its m.o. is “herding behavior.” That’s our real murderer, the one that quashed the hopes and dreams of those who believed that house prices would always go up. Social mood changed, and with it changed the idea of what were smart financing moves to purchase a house. Suddenly, as house prices began to fall and subprime mortgagees began to default on their loans, the stick house built on low-quality mortgages seemed like a really bad idea.

Who knew? When social mood was positive, mortgage writers pushed people who couldn’t really afford a mortgage into believing they could. Then they sold the mortgages to eager investment bankers who sliced them up into small packages of risk and re-packaged them with less risky securities. Then the ratings agencies gave their stamp of approval: AA? Why not AAA? And eager investors who wanted higher returns bought them up.

But now the game is up. When social mood turns from positive to negative, fear replaces greed, and people begin to see the riskiness for what it is.

When social mood changes from positive to negative, markets turn from bullish to bearish. And no one can stop it – not even the Fed.

Notes from housingpredictor:

Nevada is attracting new residents from all over the world. Whether it’s for the thrills and excitement in Vegas, the mountains and natural beauty in Tahoe, or just the warmer weather, Nevada is seeing a growing period that will last for many years to come and as a result the housing market will do just fine over the long haul.

If you still don’t realize that the federal reserve does not really care about the real estate market just take a look at their actions last week. When the overblown talked up stock market started to tumble they quickly came to its aid and dumped billions of new printed money into the mix, but wait I thought they were most concerened with inflation, well that’s the line they market to everyone. Since dumping that money further increases inflation by devaluing the dollar seems that they care most about pumping up the stock market. But that was not enough and they raced to drop the discount lending rate on loans to banks, but still not enough to prop up the stocks.

From AP:”Right after the market opened, the Fed also announced it injected another $3.5 billion (€2.6 billion) into the banking system. The central bank has infused the market with nearly $120 billion (€89 billion) of liquidity since last week.”

Now I ask, where was any action when the real estate market needed help? nowhere to be seen for sure. The private banking cartel known as the federal reserve plays by different rules and has a different adgenda than you think and it certainly has nothing to do with the value of your home and the housing market.

You have to click the photo to see this one!

I know, long time no posts, well its summer and I am cruising around Reno looking at homes. I found myself on Catalpa Ln in Old Southwest Reno and found two real gems. This one located at 1825 Catalpa Ln and is for sale at $1,250,000. After some research I found this one and the other two doors down were designed by Reno architect Peter Wilday circa 1968-69. Every element of FLW prairie style is here, and pleasently surprising is in next to its original condition! The home consists of Lava Rock, big Redwood beams and Redwood tg interior walls, and some cabinets of I think Mahogany. I found the VRtour. I hope someone who gets it picks this one up, since it is on 2.5 prime location acres, unfortunately its a tear down canidate. I hop0e someone saves this real architectural classic.

This home could not be farther from the current crop of pathetic no design faked element stucco boxes that are the norm in Reno contruction, everything is faked, take a stucco box and mount false beams sticking out the ends of the roof and hey you have Craftsman. Or completely overdone “Tuscan Style” cliche stucco box.

Learn about FLW Prairie Style !

From Wright on the Web; Prairie houses were characterized by low, horizontal lines that were meant to blend with the flat landscape around them. Typically, these structures were built around a central chimney, consisted of broad open spaces instead of strictly defined rooms, and deliberately blurred the distinction between interior space and the surrounding terrain. Wright acclaimed “the new reality that is space instead of matter” and, about architectural interiors, said that the “reality of a building is not the container but the space within.” The W.W. Willits house, built in Highland Park, Illinois in 1902, was the first house that embodied all the elements of the prairie style. His masterpiece of the prairie style is the Robie House, built in Chicago in 1909.

Wright did not aspire simply to design a house, but to create a complete environment, and he often dictated the details of the interior. He designed stained glass, fabrics, furniture, carpet and the accessories of the house. Legend has it that, in at least one case, he even designed the gowns of his client’s wife.The controlling factor was seldom the wishes of the individual client, but Wright’s belief that buildings stongly influence the people who inhabit them. He believed that “the architect is a molder of men, whether or not he consciously assumes the responsibility.”

The newest Reno real estate professional to the blogging world is Michelle Plevel. A local Reno agent/broker who’s very colourful and fact filled blog is fun to read and learn from. I especially like the “Statistics” and “Metrohoods” pages. For someone relocating to Reno/Tahoe there is good information there. Go over to her blog and have a look www.michelleplevelreno.com . I have added her to my very short bloglist, you should too. 

www.iggyshouse.com a very powerful tool and powerful alternative to traditional route of having an agent list your house to sell. Recently launched in beta form, Iggyshouse lets sellers list their house for free on the MLS and Realtor.com and on Iggys own very detailed database. In a brief description from the San Francisco real estate connect blog: “Iggys House was launched in 2007 by BuySide Realty, a discount brokerage company started by brothers Joseph and Avi Fox to offer online services at lower prices. While BuySide is a buyers’ service, Iggys House is a free service for sellers. Home sellers can post property information, photos and videos at the IggysHouse.com Web site, and the company will enter property information in an MLS database that can be accessed by agents from other real estate companies. Both companies were founded by the creators of pioneering online stock brokerage company Web Street, which launched in 1996, went public in 1999 and was sold to ETrade in 2001.”

The last sentence to me may be the most important. It should be obvious to even the most casual observer how online stock trading revolutionized the stock broker industry. These same creators know exactly what they are doing and will sooner rather than later do the same thing to the business as usual real estate industry.

With the advancement of technology, your realtor must be up to date and taking advantage of that technology to best serve their buyer and seller clients. In today’s article on Inman news by Bernice Ross she points out the facts that most realtors just don’t get it.

“At the recent National Association of Realtors Midyear conference in Washington, D.C., an audience member asked the following question:

“I’ve just been hearing about this new blogging thing. Do I really need a blog?” The answer: “No — this shouldn’t be a high priority.”I was stunned not only by the question, but even more so by the answer. Blogging is new? I don’t need to make blogging a priority? When I’m out on the speaking circuit, I strongly encourage agents to use blogging and social networking as an innovative way to generate customer leads. The response to this approach has been lukewarm at best. Out of a typical audience of 200 agents, maybe one or two agents are blogging. Agents are interested, but only a small percentage will take action on any of the technological innovations I discuss, much less go the route of creating a blog.”

“What’s particularly disturbing is a recent survey that reports that 35 percent of all agents are not online. The long-term outlook for these agents is poor.”

“The challenge may be insurmountable for many agents. According to Ann Randolph of Lore Magazine, when baby boomers purchase technology they have an expectation that you plug it in and it’s supposed to work. Until the advent of computers, every electronic gadget we owned worked simply by plugging it in and turning it on. No manual required. This expectation is part of boomer DNA just as much as computers and social networks are part of the Gen X and Gen Y culture. User manuals are typically incomprehensible and offshore customer support is usually abysmal. It comes as no surprise that so many older agents are completely overwhelmed. The process is so frustrating that it’s easier to give up and say, “I’m sticking with what has worked for me in the past.”

Consequently, part of the blogger disconnect is due to the aging Realtor population. The median age is still at 52, placing over half of today’s Realtors being born before 1955. Even though boomers still own most of the listings, Gen X and Gen Y are now buying their first homes and many are preparing to sell. Web 2.0 applications are easy for them. In contrast, older agents struggle to learn an entirely new technology with an entirely new jargon. Terms such as “RSS,” “wiki,” “pinging,” “widgets,” “Technorati” and “trackbacks” are not only new words, they are entirely new systems for organizing and experiencing information. While it may be easy to understand how a television show like American Idol creates an interactive experience with the audience, the idea that a complete stranger may be able to post on my real estate blog or make comments on my social network can be intimidating to those who are unfamiliar with the process.”

As a potential real estate client you should make sure your realtor is taking full advantage of the new technology, that way you can be assured they are poviding you with every tool to make your buy or sell successful. If they can not provide you with this, then find one who can. BTW, the easiest way to do a check on this is simply do a Google or Yahoo search on their name and see what comes up. 

I have been cruching the Reno number over the past few months, tracking some sales numbers for specific homes. What I have found is that the home prices did in fact stablize and are selling at those stable numbers. All indications are that we will be shifting into at minimum of a normal real estate market here in Reno. Those fence sitting buyers have run out of time. Now the two wild cards we have are the federal reserve possibly lowering rates in a few months at their next meeting and when the next rush of Californian’s will come over the hill. I have been tracking an astounding number of Californians looking online at Reno real estate. All this means we are setting up for a nice spring of 2008.

Researching online I found this relevent article by Anthony Carr over at realtytimes;
Sales of new single-family homes jumped 16.2 percent in April — the largest increase in 14 years (Commerce Department)