Flip this House - on A&E

[Vlad-The-Impald]

Originally Posted by scrow9

I was thinking of trying to buy a townhouse which would be less but in any case home prices here in Southern California have no basis in logic/value hence many people are talking about the bubble bursting.

Well that 'bubble' has been going out of control since about 2001, so its got to stop at some point. I'd just be concerned if I owned one of those higher end priced homes. They are the ones that typically lose much of their equity value quickly. I just got back from Australia, where we have some properties as well, and I noticed that their 'bubble' which didn't burst, but has deflated a bit has caused some properties in more expensive neighborhoods in Melbourne to drop 30% of their entire price in 3 months. I saw examples of properties that were selling for $900,000 in March, now lucky to get $600,000 on the markets. But average priced homes seem to hold firm on their gains.

I've been doing real estate a long time, so this is a freak thing we are seeing. Just don't fall into the habit of thinking that these sorts of equity rises are 'normal'. They are far from normal, but when money is so cheap (ie. low interest) people often get silly in mass numbers about what they think they can afford. When those interest rates start creeping up, and they realize that they really can't afford that mansion they have anymore, then there will be some serious bargains for those wanting to scoop up foreclosures.

Vlad

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[Broadway]

Originally Posted by Vlad-The-Impald

That's interesting. I was wondering how that real estate sales guy can sell a place in a day each time? I live in Phoenix, Arizona and right now the market is just plain stupid, but this is a freak thing and normally you'd sit on a place for a month or so for the sale, no matter how good the agent is.

Vlad

Ehh.. it really depends upon the market and how well the home is priced. My last two homes, in Michigan and Connecticut, sold in 4 days and 4 hours, respectively.

I know in my area now, new homes are a dime a dozen, so existing homes are having a very, very tough time selling. I wonder what the new home market is like in Charleston, South Carolina?

[Bearcata]

My brother and sis-in-law had been living in Waynesburg, PA which is about an hour south of Pittsburgh. They bought this ranch house on 1 acre of land. They have been living there about 7 yrs, personally, I thought the place was a dump, although they had been talking about renovating it. I'm glad they never got around to it they would never have recouped their money. Anyway, they moved to Boston in June and I basically expected the house to sit on the market all summer and felt bad they would have to pay 2 mortagages, but that's life. Imagine my amazement when I called him this weekend and asked about the house. He told me that it had never been officially on the market. They moved out and the realtor had 2 couples look at it and the second couple bought it. As far as outrageous profits, they bought it at $110,000 and sold it at $135,000. This reflects the much more normal rise in property values.

[LaDeeDa]

Originally Posted by agamergirl

I watched the one today on John's Island. Richard is an awesome man! To put those people in a hotel until the house got restored is amazing. He's a lot braver than I am. I can understand people having a hard time and all but he took a big gamble moving them back in the house. I mean, he saw the way the people(and poor animals) lived. Who's to say they'd all of a sudden respect that house and take proper care of it. Heck, I'd venture to say that the animals weren't even up on their shots. And their property surely shouldn't have been allowed to be put back in the house. Richard and others said it just reeked. That car he had restored was beautiful! I honestly hope that family really realises and respects what all was done for them. I'd like to see a follow up on this one.

I hope they respect it too. There's that saying, though.. No good deed goes unpunished.

[candor]

I put my Oregon condo up on craigslist and had an offer within 2 hours. Drove down, showed it to the guy and he we signed the initial papers within 15 minutes.

[snoopy]

I manage a retail store that is next door to Trademark- they are all such cool people- should I tell them to check this website out? I think they would absolutely love to give their takes on all that has been said.

It's so funny, because for weeks, I have seen cameras following them around, and I had no idea what was going on until a month ago when I read about the show in the local paper.

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by snoopy

I manage a retail store that is next door to Trademark- they are all such cool people- should I tell them to check this website out? I think they would absolutely love to give their takes on all that has been said.

It's so funny, because for weeks, I have seen cameras following them around, and I had no idea what was going on until a month ago when I read about the show in the local paper.

The thing is when I googled about Trademark I got a couple fo local articles in the newpaper and they claim that Trademark is such an underdog company in the real estate market, yet if you go to their website, Richard Davis employs a lot of people and has quite a few projects going for him, so that does seem a tad misleading. So how many people do work in that particular office???

[agamergirl]

Originally Posted by snoopy

I manage a retail store that is next door to Trademark- they are all such cool people- should I tell them to check this website out? I think they would absolutely love to give their takes on all that has been said.

I think you should. It would be nice hearing from them.

[LaLaLa Linoleum]

Originally Posted by Bergi

The one with Ginger was great. Not to mention she's the hottest girl on the planet. Does anyone have picture of her?

Bergi -- I agree with you about Ginger, but I am biased as I know her very well ... she is a really terrific person and we are all very proud of her and of this show. I have to admit that I just about choked on my pretzels when she talked about her "bad ass sunglasses"!!! Go Ginger ... and I also agree with the other poster: I want to get some Dawn lessons. When I get all "Dawn" at my house, there is about a 2 second delay, and then peals of uncontrolled laughter.

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by Bearcata

The thing is when I googled about Trademark I got a couple fo local articles in the newpaper and they claim that Trademark is such an underdog company in the real estate market, yet if you go to their website, Richard Davis employs a lot of people and has quite a few projects going for him, so that does seem a tad misleading. So how many people do work in that particular office???

It's a small office that had two bays in the strip mall, and they are currently expanding into another bay next door that recently was vacated. However, they are going to be building an extremely large office building about 3 or 4 stories right next door to where they are currently. Yes, they have been the underdogs (The Beach Company is currently the largest in Charleston, but our real estate market is BOOMING here.) Also Charlestonians are notorious fans of the underdog, especially for local companies, so they are climbing up the ladder for their personal attention to their clients and have developed a great reputation in town. That means way more to the people here than what they have produced compared to the competition.

As far as employees, there are about 20 people that I see come and go to this office, but a lot of their people aren't in this office. I am assuming that a lot of their agents work from home like many other agencies. It's a small strip mall on James Island, 5 minutes from the Downtown part of Charleston, and 5 minutes from Folly Beach. They are great neighbors, and all seem to be great people. I'll be there Monday, and I'll alert them to the FORT. I think they will LOVE you guys, and be thrilled to hear your feedback.