Houston Realtor Sells $389,000 House for $150

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Houston real estate agent Michael Wachs has a trick up his sleeve. He is selling his nearly $400,000 Houston home to one lucky winner for only $150!

But if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. In this case, your $150 enters you into a pool, and Wachs will only sell if the home draws enough sales to reach the market rate. At $150 each, it will take about 3,000 entries to reach the level he wants to sell. If he does not reach his target, he will refund all applicant entry fees and sell the property with a standard listing. Continue reading

Criminal Gangs Make Good Landlords

Dealing with a bad tenant is one of the worst parts of real estate investing. Bad attitudes, late rent, and damages can cause plenty of stress to give even the most level headed landlords a string of bad headaches.

One thoughtful writer had a clever idea on how to transfer skills used for illegal activities into something a bit more productive. It made me wonder, would gang members make good real estate investors? Continue reading

George Lucas to Build Low Income Housing

After plans to build a state of the art production studio fell through, filmmaker George Lucas has come up with an alternate plan for his Grady Ranch property. Lucas’ new plan for the sprawling estate is to build low income housing on it. Lucas plans to sell the property to the Marin Community Foundation, a non-profit that has already funded more than 2,500 units of affordable housing, and will explore options for developing Grady Ranch. Continue reading

Homeowners Change Their Address to Attract Buyers

Can Homeowners change their address to attract buyers?  An interesting tactic in marketing your home is emerging in Vancouver. An increasing number of homeowners are changing their street address to attract Chinese house hunters who place value in specific numbers.

The numbers six and eight have a positive association because in Cantonese the number eight sounds similar to the word for fortune, and the number six means smooth and easy. The number four, however, is not as appealing to buyers because in some cultures the word four sounds too similar to the word for death. According to Vancouver realtor Alec Zhang, a home address that includes the number four could even reduce a home’s value by up to five percent. He advises a property address ending in four should be avoided. But how? Continue reading

A Historic Medieval Village Is Now For Sale in Italy

Have you ever fantasized about owning a piece of the Italian countryside? Well, today is your lucky day! Valle Piola, a historic medieval village is now for sale in Italy, in its entirety. The price of the sprawling village, which is nestled in the Gran Sasso national park is £485,000 (approximately $736,000 US dollars). Continue reading

What A Roller Coaster Of An Open House

Dutch real estate promotion company, Huizen Promoter, is putting an innovative spin, or shall we say thrill in real estate marketing. After a listing in Ermelo, Netherlands sat stale for several months, the company came up with a creative approach to promote the home to prospective buyers. A wooden roller coaster was constructed inside the home as a way take potential buyers on a home tour of a lifetime. Continue reading