October 1, 2009
A little birdie (Curbed SF) let it spill the old-fashioned way (blogging) that the sweet SoMa penthouse of Twitter co-founder Evan Williams is on the market for $1,498,000. Evan then followed up with his own tweet:
The penthouse at 6014th St, San Francisco, CA 94107 is described as a “Manhattan-style penthouse loft” in the historic Heublein Building. Williams and his wife are planning to build a home.
In July, Williams’ Twitter other half, Biz Stone, listed his Berkeley home for $575,000 and it quickly sold after he tweeted about it. We’ll see how fast Williams’ penthouse moves. Maybe for a Twitter-like price of $1,400,000 (140 is the number of characters you can tweet), it might move.
Take a look at some photos of Williams’ SoMa penthouse:
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October 1, 2009
This must be the year that prime real estate once owned by disgraced businessmen hits the market. We’re talking about former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski and Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff, who are both serving jail time for their acts of fraud and deceit.
Luxist reports that Kozlowski’s homes in Nantucket and Boca Raton are both on the market as Kozlowski sits in an upstate NY prison serving 8 to 25 years for, essentially stealing from his own company.
1. Kozlowski’s Nantucket home:
37 Squam Rd, Nantucket, MA 02554
For sale: $16,450,000
Marketing teaser: “Spectacular waterfront estate”
Fun facts: Kozlowski purchased the property in 1997 for $5 million. After Kozlowski’s conviction, it went on the market in 2006 for $23 million. The asking price has since come down. The home has 16 bedrooms and 7,000 sq ft of living space and the nearly 4-acre lot borders a preserve.
2. Kozlowski’s Boca Raton home:
4101 Ibis Point Circle, Boca Raton, FL
For sale: $24,900,000
Marketing teaser: “Monumental 1.6+-acre Sanctuary point compound”
Fun facts: The home was put on the market last year as part of Kozlowski’s divorce agreement from his wife, Karen. Moroccan-style design includes 10,701 sq ft, four bedrooms and eight bathrooms, plus 600 feet of deep-water shoreline.
Then, there’s Bernie
Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff was the latest rip-off artist who is serving his 150-year sentence at a federal prison in Butner, NC. All three of Madoff’s homes went on the market last month and the Montauk home is said to have a contract above the asking price.
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October 1, 2009
Zillow Mortgage Marketplace recently launched a unique Break-Even Point graph on every loan quote borrowers receive from lenders. This graph helps borrowers who want to refinance determine their “break-even” point, which is when they would start saving enough from a new loan to offset the costs of refinancing.
After anonymously submitting a refinance request, borrowers are presented with custom quotes from a network of thousands of lenders. When borrowers click on an individual quote to get more information, they can view this new graph which indicates how long they need to live in their home to offset the costs refinancing.
In addition, the graph shows the cumulative savings that would occur over the entire life of the loan. Borrowers can use the interactive feature to scroll across the graph to see the accumulated savings in each year.
On Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, the average borrower gets 24 quotes in 6 seconds. With the launch of this new feature, Zillow calculates and creates an interactive Break-Even Point graph on each refinance quote instantly, something that would be very difficult for borrowers to do manually.
Given the historically low mortgage rates we’ve seen this year, refinancing a mortgage is something that many homeowners are considering right now. This new graph helps borrowers quickly and easily compare the break-even point on all the refinance quotes they receive to determine which loans make the most financial sense for them.
If you are looking to refinance and want to try it out, submit a refinance loan request — anonymously — on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.
Originally posted here.
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September 30, 2009
It looks like former NBA superstar Michael Jordan will put down some roots in Palm Beach County, Florida. Like, really, really deep roots with a home of nearly 38,000 square feet, 11 bedrooms, an elevator, a ginormous fireplace, grand stairway, cottage, and guard gate, according to Jose Lambiet of the Palm Beach Post.
Sir Air made some headlines this past March when he purchased a Miami home with Cuban model/girlfriend Yvette Prieto for $281,000 in a very average-looking, down-to-earth neighborhood in The Hammocks section of Miami.
But, this latest Jordan real estate entry is a 180-degree flip from the Miami purchase. Jordan purchased two adjacent lots totaling 3 acres at The Bears club, an exclusive and gated golf community, for $4.803 million back in February. Located at 172 Bears Club Road, Jupiter FL, Jordan’s home — once completed — will sit on the 10th hole of the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.
The cost for Jordan’s mansion is estimated to be $7,627,669.
Speaking of big houses, do you want to see the largest house in the U.S.?
(Photo of Jordan courtesy Contact Music)
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September 30, 2009
Many complain that McMansions are unreasonably large for a single-family home, but McMansions have nothing on what is reportedly the largest home in the U.S.
Located in Sagaponack, NY, this massive waterfront compound was built on 63 acres. Construction began in 1998 and was completed in 2003, but not without an outcry from the local community, many of whom believed it would be used as a hotel, business retreat or religious center.
Not so. Instead it was built for self-made billionaire Ira Rennert and his family. Rennert, who has large holdings in the industrial sector, commissioned the home to be built for his personal use.
Located at 281 Daniels Ln Sagaponack, NY 11963, the actual square footage and number of bedrooms and bathrooms vary, depending on source. Living space ranges anywhere from 43,031 to 100,000 sq ft; bedrooms vary from 21 to 29 bedrooms and bathrooms are equally difficult to pin down, ranging from 18 to 49. At Zillow, we get our data from public records and our facts show 21 bedrooms, 18 bathrooms and 43,031 sq ft. Discrepancies in data can also be attributed to whether other buildings on the estate are included in the numbers.
One thing is certain: this is one, big house. The aerial image below shows a portion of what’s on the property, but in addition to the main home is an indoor theater, two bowling alleys, two tennis courts, two squash courts, game rooms, and a basketball court.
(Photo of Rennert courtesy of Dan’s Hamptons)
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September 29, 2009
Reggie15 asks on Zillow Advice:
“Is our daughter considered a ‘first time home buyer’ for the purpose of the 8,000 tax credit?”
The worried parent continues:
“We purchased a condo six years ago and added our daughter’s name to the deed. We paid cash for the condo - we paid the homeowners and the taxes, and she lived there and paid us rent. She now wants to purchase a home. Can she be considered a first time home buyer? She moved out of the condo 1.5 years ago. “
The answer looks like a no.
Here’s more on the $8000 first-time homebuyer tax credit.
Originally posted here.
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September 29, 2009
Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed rates decreased slightly this week, with the weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 5.02%, down from 5.04% the week prior. For 15-year fixed mortgages, borrowers were quoted on average, 4.42% and for 5/1 ARMs, 3.94%.
This morning, the national rate for 30-year fixed purchase mortgages was 4.93%.
What are the rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for up-to-the-minute mortgage rates.
Originally posted here.
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September 29, 2009
If you live in an earthquake prone area (yes, Seattle is one — that’s where Zillow is located), you probably wonder if earthquakes are covered under your insurance policy. Chances are, probably not.
So, this earthquake question in Zillow Advice is a good one:
Is it worthwhile to buy earthquake insurance?
Several insurance agents are chiming in such as Ruth Stroup, Nicole Larsen, and Eric Kossian. Thanks, insurance agents! It’s great to have you join the conversation and offer your expert advice.
Read more about when you need disaster insurance.
Originally posted here.
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September 29, 2009
While pro golfer Fred Couples didn’t get the asking price of $12.5 million for his Montecito home at 1144 E Mountain Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 93108, he did make a nice profit from his original purchase price.
Couples bought the Colonial-style Montecito home for $4 million in 1999 and just recently sold it for $9.56 million — a profit of $5.5 million. As we reported in an earlier blog post, Couples wanted to sell to be closer to a golf course.
While the location of the Montecito house lacked golf, it had everything else: 5.28 lush acres with ocean views, a spacious main house with 5 bedroom suites, a spectacular 3-bed guest house, art studio, nine-car garage, a tennis court, pool, spa, brick courtyard, pergolas, rose gardens, expansive lawns, and it even had a putting green.
But it was missing one thing, which is a must-have for a pro golfer — good golf courses nearby.
Originally posted here.
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September 28, 2009
Our own Spencer Rascoff appeared on Fox Business this morning to discuss the next wave of foreclosures lurking on the horizon and how this will impact any housing recovery.
Foreclosure resales already make up 20 percent of home sales nationwide (and in certain places like Central California, Florida and Arizona that number is much, much higher). Another 1.4 million homes are at least 90 days or more overdue on their mortgage and the foreclosure process has not yet begun.
Watch Spencer discuss how this ticking time bomb of pent-up supply could delay any housing recovery. He also shares his thoughts on interest rates and the first-time home buyer tax credit.
Originally posted here.
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