Seventh annual Sugar Plum holiday home tour set for Dec. 7

Historic and contemporary homes to be lavishly decorated for the holidays

            AKRON, OH (Nov. 5, 2008) - Five of the area's finest historic and contemporary homes will open their doors Sun., Dec. 7 from 2 to 6 p.m. for the seventh annual Sugar Plum Tour,

Sugar Plum tour-goers will experience Akron's period of boom or bust, circa 1928, a period of architectural and economic importance. They will visit two of these period homes on Merriman Road and two in Fairlawn Heights, with a 1983 home thrown in for good measure.

Each home revives design elements from an earlier period, such as Tudor, Georgian and Arts and Crafts. Each homeowner has a handsomely different sense of decorating, unique art collections, and festive holiday décor.

This exciting holiday event draws sell-out crowds each year, so residents are encouraged to mark their calendars and order tickets early. General admission tickets are $25 and include a five-home, self-guided tour. They can be purchased online at www.sugarplumtour.org or by calling 330-761-6426. Cash-only general admission tickets are available at Angel Falls Coffee Co., 792 West Market Street in Akron.

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Recently, I attended a conference in Cleveland that covered an array of topics; 1. Real Estate in the Health Care industry (Huge and Booming) 2. Panel Discussion on maneuvering through government financing (at the State, local, and federal level) 3. LEED certification and information.

The topics were good and presented well. The speaker on LEED applications was very interesting. Our speaker informed us that the #1 source of emissions into the atmosphere are buildings. The emphasis to us was that builders today should be more conscience about how they build, waste from the project (ie: How much garbage hits the landfill), and why LEED certification status (or a designation like it) are so important. The speaker reassured everyone that going "green" was more than a fad and is here to stay. What does this means long term and short term. Are the costs to become LEED certified necessary vs just a "green building?" Read the rest of this entry »

Today's story is sad as well as personal.  My best friend lives overseas and recently lost one of her family members.  She came home for the funeral and when she went back, she realized that she had brought more than her luggage with her.  My friend has lived abroad for well over a year without incident, but since the loss of her loved one, she now seems to have a houseguest she didn't invite.  Let's dive in!

1. What year was your house built? 1982.

2. What historical significance/ if any does your house have? It is on property that is adjacent to a park which was the site of one of the last and fiercest battles of the Second World War, fought by the Malay Regiment against the invading Japanese army, the Battle of Bukit Chandu (also known as the Battle of Pasir Panjang), 12-14 February 1942.

Read the rest of this entry »

Save the laughter for later!  Yes - supposedly its true.  

I have been teased before for writing about and quoting celebrity blogs but I love them SO since this is a real estate blog and Ms Hilton did purchase some real estate…..I found it news worthy! 

Here is the scoop according to "The Hollywood Rag"; 

The 27-year-old hotel heiress is thrilled with her £850,000($1.4 million) investment located in the city's famous East End district and has no qualms about the illicit history of the building, which was also a haven for drug users and pirates.

Paris said: It's just beautiful. It doesn't have regular rooms but is more like a maze.

It used to be an opium den and still has iron joists where pirates and thieves were shackled to the wall.

The socialite's new home was apparently used by vagabonds and sailors who wanted to indulge in sinful pleasures after months at sea.

A source added to Britain's Daily Star newspaper: Paris really appreciated the quirkiness of the place" and the knockdown price for such a unique building" and immediately put in an offer.

Good luck Paris with your new purchase and with the renovations!!!  That would definitely be an interesting project to follow!

Its 65 degrees outside and the pumpkins, glass bulbs, and cornucopias are all out at your local retail stores. It is a blunt reminder that it is "that time of year" again and that the holidays are quickly upon us.  So - the ever looming question;  "When is the appropriate time to bring out the Christmas/ Halloween/ Thanksgiving marketing materials?"  

Not that long ago, I use to think the appropriate time to shop/ think about the holidays were as follows;  Halloween was the beginning of October, Thanksgiving was the beginning of November, and Christmas should follow after Thanksgiving  - until I was in Target Saturday.  There was a christmas decoration that showed the countdown until Christmas, there are only 60 some days until we have sugar plums dancing in our heads.  In retail time - that's not that much.  I bring it up today because I received a call for one of our plaza's - its time to hang the little white lights.  I was shocked and then not.  So - give me your feedback.  

1. When is the right time?
2. Is there a right time!!!  (HA)
3. How overrated is all this - does the marketing of all this stuff make you want to stick a pen in your eye - or shop?

House #3 scared me out of sleep this morning.  I woke up at 4 am because there was a lingering feeling and a fear. I had the privilege of spending some time at the Simon Perkins Mansion!  OMG!!!!  It was fabulous and fabulously scary.   

Picture it (think of Sophia Petrillo as you read this): October 2008, a steely cold afternoon, me in my patently leather Manolos walking towards the SP Mansion.  The crisp leaves are crunching below me and my heart is beating, I feel the cold air blow through me and think, "What have I gotten myself into!!!"   As I approach the home - I look up at the grey sky and catch the eye of a man looking back at me.  It was a roofer - a hot one I might add - BUT - his eyes look at me almost as if to say - are you sure you want to do this, I immediately look away.  As I ring the bell and wait, the buzzer goes off and I am escorted into the carriage house.   Executive Director, Paula Moran, arrives almost immediately and smiles, easing some of my fears and just as I get comfortable, we are whisked away to the main house.  

Simon Perkins Mansion

There is a professional organization called NAIOP: National Association of Industrial & Office Properties.  This organization is well respected and is very "finger on the pulse" organization.  They and CBRE (CB Richard Ellis) have released a "survey of observations for 2008."  While I think some of this is DUH - it is good to know that you are not alone in your thinking or to hear different points of view.  AND - I have not really done any "control key C" action for a while - so for the sake of keeping up appearances - below find the research NAIOP has reported.

Also - please note that the content of this report is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as investment advice or an offer or solicitation. Any opinions are solely those of the Research staff of CBRE Investors and are subject to change without notice, and may not be consistent with market trends or future events. This research is based on current public information that we consider reliable, but I do not represent it is accurate, updated or complete, and it should not be relied on as such.  (I am married to an attorney - what do you expect- happy reading!)

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Its Friday and time to unveil House #2.  It comes to us from the Barberton Area and is definitely an interesting story!  Here is my question to all of you; Is a house that has seen the paranormal once truly haunted or just a spirit passing by?  This story asks you to think about the definition of haunting and it definitely makes you think next time you go to a funeral!!!

1. What year was your house built? 1932
2. What historical significance/ if any does your house have? It is our family home - My Aunt and Uncle built this house in 1932 and it has been a part of our family since.
3. What initially interested you in purchasing this house –feeling or look? The house just spoke to me. It was the neighborhood and the warm feeling when I was in the home. I had many fond memories growing up here and it just felt right.
4. What signs of the paranormal have you seen? A Face – there was a face that looked at me when I was a teenager. I have not seen it since but my sister and I witnessed it together so we knew we were not hallucinating! Read the rest of this entry »

I was reading one of the comments from yesterday's post and thought this was something to share with everyone;

" Just so you know…

We bid on a bank owned home over a over last summer. They rejected us a few times. Then we finally came up past where we were comfortable, it took them so long to get back to us….over two weeks! That we pulled our offer. The house sold 3 months later for $40,000 less than our final offer.

In our case it was the best thing that ever happened! We purchased another home and couldn't be happier. But the bank missed out.

The thing with the bank is nothing they do makes any sense. If they would get some people that know what they are doing and sell some of these houses they wouldn't be going under. I think right now the have so many homes they are really looking at the information that they should. Like the comparables and they fact they could sell that house for a fair price. They need to get some real estate people working for the bank and really looking at some of these offers.more

I feel like this is really widespread problem. The banks are making it unbearable for "regular" buyers to deal with them. Once the "good" buyers give up. The only people that can hang in there at all is investors….and they are the ones that low ball and are totally unemotional.

What do you think? Why does the bank play all these games? Why don't they just really access the house appraisal, condition, comparable. And come up with a more fair and aggressive price….below market value if they have to. To ensure that this house will be out of their inventory. It would create urgency and they might get some bids above asking. Maybe you should start that company." - Is it Friday Yet!

I thought this was great!! SO - To answer the last paragraph and give my thoughts in general….

What do I think: In a past life, I represented the bank on properties that had been foreclosed on or worked with the bank appointed trustee, it is never easy and always complicated. Commercial properties are a little different because some of these loans are guaranteed by the SBA at a percentage of the properties appraised value. So - the bank can't sell these properties for less than what it is guaranteed to appraise for or its insured value - they are in the business of getting their money back. I assume the same goes for houses. (minus the SBA guarantee) They will write properties off eventually but will make every effort in the meantime to maximize their invested value.

Why does the bank play games: They suck - JUST KIDDING!!! I know that once the bank has an offer - unless it is amazing - they will typically shop it to see if they can get a better offer. (thus the time lag with all bank held transactions) There is also an entire organization to muddle through which adds to the time in which they respond. (Lots of red tape) No one wants to put their A$$ on the line because when something goes wrong - guess who gets axed - the person who approved the transaction. So - all "i's" and t's" are dotted and crossed. It is also why initially the bank tends to be uber conservative.

Why not use market appraisals, conditions, comps (thus better pricing/ more aggressive): This is (in part) part of the problem we are seeing with the current state of the economy. The appraisers were valuing properties too high. The Realtors were agreeing to list properties too high. And finally - buyers bought too high. SO - all of this has led to skewed appraisals and comps. The numbers from 2006 are not relevant to today's numbers and different areas (ie: Bath vs Copley) are not the same - even though they seem close. So they think they ARE being aggressive but they're not. The bank (sometimes) will not have a local presence, so they have no idea how to price out that market. Banks do like to get inventory off their books - they are retardo though!

I am not sure what is going on with our offer but I loved the question (s)!! Hopefully my answers helped?! As for the new business/ company idea - everything is a possibility!

We got rejected - AGAIN and AGAIN with no counteroffer. I have to admit that this time, I am confused and a little angry. When the market is crap - and in general - the bank generally does not like to hold property. (It works as a liability vs an asset in most cases.) The banks tend to work with buyers to move stuff off their "books." It seems like the bank would want to get this property off of their inventory.  

I am mostly confused because they had approached us about resubmitting an offer. To reject it without a counteroffer seems almost irresponsible. Our Realtor asked the listing agent what it would take to get the property sold and the response she was give was "about $35,000 more." But, this was the opinion of the Realtor working for the bank and trustee vs actual thoughts from the "owners." SO - we are going to sit and wait. At this point I am angry - WHICH I KNOW is too much emotion and I know better BUT STILL!!! Why ask us to resubmit an offer if you had no intention of working with it - they knew where we stood, the comparables, and that the listed square footage of the house was off. (we reviewed the drawings and the house was approx 200 SF smaller than they originally stated)

That is my update. I swear there will be positive news from me this week. There is always a silver lining - we shall see what this one is.

Happy Monday!