AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog/media/feedlogo.gif AOL Real Estate - Blog http://realestate.aol.com/blog en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/A Real Horror House for Salehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/27/a-real-horror-house-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/27/a-real-horror-house-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/27/a-real-horror-house-for-sale/#commentsFiled under:



Around this time of year, horror houses are a dime a dozen. Unless it's a real horror house, in which case the price is $589,000.

That's how much agent John Weinrich is asking for the Pennsylvania home that his parents fell in love with and bought nearly 25 years ago. In an interview he gave to ABC News, Weinrich told the tale of the home's gruesome history.

In 1986, the year before his parents plunked down $239,000 for the five-bedroom house, it was the site of a grisly double murder. The owner, a prominent Islamic scholar and peace activist, and his wife were slashed to death; their pregnant daughter was wounded but survived the attack. Although at first thought to be a burglary, nothing was taken. Police investigators later described the incident as an "assassination."

Weinrich has no problem telling prospective buyers about the place's violent past, he told ABC. "No one has ever raised the issue," he said.

Asking a Realtor whether the house you're about to buy has been the site of a murder isn't necessarily the first thing that comes to mind for most people. Consider it the real estate version of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"It's not a piece of information that brokers can or have to give out" in most cases, Jeffrey Kitchen, regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors in Beaver Dam, Wis., told AOL Real Estate last year.

Unless your state requires it -- and most don't -- sellers do not have to disclose murder, suicide or other violent crimes that would make the home a so-called "stigmatized property." There are more of these than you might think. In just the past year, at least three of them hit the market: the Long Island, N.Y., home of serial killer Joel Rifkin; the Dutch Colonial where the "Amityville Horror" took place; and the Colorado home of Anthony and Rita Bucklew, who unknowingly purchased a serial killer's crime scene.

If the idea of living in a stigmatized house gives you the willies, here are five ways to, um, dig up some information.


1. Ask the question directly.

In most states that have formal seller-disclosure laws, sellers and their agents do not have to reveal if a death occurred in the home, if you don't ask. And in some states, they do not have to reveal it if it occurred more than a year or so ago, or if the death was due to AIDS-related complications.

If the agent won't say -- or doesn't know -- your best bet is to ask the neighbors. Neighbors generally know if a home has been the scene of a grisly murder. They might also know if grandpa passed away peacefully in the place and his heirs put the house on the market.


2. Request police records.

Police precincts serving that neighborhood generally would charge you a nominal fee to give you a printout of any police calls made to a given address going back a few years. Discover whether the home was a meth lab, a site of frequent domestic disputes, was burglarized or had body parts stuffed under floorboards.


3. Research the address.

Sometimes you'll discover newspaper articles written about the home or incidents that occurred there. In addition to the exact address, also try searching the street and city name with the words "in the block of."


4. Check city records.

Just as you might want to know if the cross street is going to be turned into a major highway, you can find out a lot from city records, such as if the plot next door used to be a cemetery, or if the former house on the site was torn down and rebuilt. If it was, try to find out why. For instance, serial killer John Wayne Gacy buried 29 of his victims in the walls and crawl spaces of his house in suburban Chicago. The place was later demolished, and the lot sat empty for about a decade until a new home was finally built there.


Click here to see the Weinrich house listing.

Also see:
Open Houses of the Week: Scary Good
Old Haunts, New Buyers: How to Handle 'Stigmatized' Property
New Amityville Horror: Yuppie Tourists

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]]>murder housestigmatized propertiesLaura Goldstein2011-10-27T17:00:00 00:00Superstition Keeps Richest Man Out of Billion-Dollar Househttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/26/superstition-keeps-indias-richest-out-of-billion-dollar-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/26/superstition-keeps-indias-richest-out-of-billion-dollar-house/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/26/superstition-keeps-indias-richest-out-of-billion-dollar-house/#commentsFiled under: ,

mukesh ambaniA year ago, we brought you the story of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, who built a Mumbai skyscraper for $1 billion and planned to use it as a private residence -- all 27 stories of it.

Well, looks like we jumped the gun a little. A report in the U.K.'s Daily Mail says that the building stands empty today because of the family's fears that living in it would bring them bad luck. The belief is based on the Indian system of vastu shastra, similar to the Chinese practice of feng shui. According to the Vaastu Shaastra website, "Vastu shastra relates to the universe, delivering peace, prosperity, health and happiness to the people."

Among other things, good vastu shastra requires that houses be constructed from the eastern portion first, that they must sit on a square or rectangular plot and that they can't share a wall with an adjacent property.

We're not exactly sure where Ambani's building, called the Antilla, ran afoul of the rules, but with its Lego-like layout -- the Daily Mail describes it as a "jigsaw-puzzle facade"-- and un-houselike features including three helipads and six stories of parking, Ambani isn't taking any chances. While he uses the place for parties and movie screenings in the private theater, he hightails it home to his nearby 14-story apartment building to sleep.

Or maybe, as The Wall Street Journal speculates, the real disruptive energy is coming from Ambani's neighbors, the citizens of Mumbai, who roundly criticized him for building such an expensive and ostentatious pleasure palace in a country where the average income is just over $1,000 a year.

mukesh ambaniAmbani (pictured at right) wouldn't be the first billionaire to buy a house and not live in it. The Journal cites the case of Larry Ellison, who bought the 249-acre Porcupine Creek estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for $43 million and rarely uses it. Then there's hedge fund billionaire David Tepper, who last year paid $43.5 million for a beachfront estate on the shores of Long Island -- and then proceeded to knock it down. Wonder what the vashtu shasta gods would have to say about that.

See also:
Billion-Dollar House for India's Richest Man
Mukesh Ambani: The World's Next Richest Man?
Now You See It, Now You Don't: The $43.5 Million Teardown

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]]>antilla housebillion dollar homebillion dollar housefeng shuiindias richest manMukesh Ambanimukesh ambani houseMumbaivastu shastraLaura Goldstein2011-10-26T14:00:00 00:00Mansion or Meth House? 'Flip Men' Want to Knowhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/25/mansion-or-meth-house-flip-men-want-to-know/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/25/mansion-or-meth-house-flip-men-want-to-know/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/10/25/mansion-or-meth-house-flip-men-want-to-know/#commentsFiled under: ,



Remember "Flipping Out," the Bravo series that brought us high-strung house flipper Jeff Lewis and his high-end portfolio of properties? Well, you can wipe that image from your mind. The new reality of the housing market brings us a new breed of wheeler-dealers: the Flip Men. And what kinds of properties do these guys flip? Why, foreclosures of course.

Mike Baird and Doug Clark buy foreclosed properties at auction, sight unseen. And what they'll find when they get inside -- usually by busting down the door or shimmying through a window, since "when you buy a house at auction, the auctioneer isn't usually handing you keys and giving you a big kiss," Baird says -- is anyone's guess.

So ... meth house or mansion? Watch the video below to find out. And check out the "Flip Men's 5 Foreclosure Tips" on AOL Real Estate. "Flip Men" premieres premieres Oct. 25 at 10:30 p.m. (9:30 p.m. CDT) on Spike.


Sneak Peek - Meth House
Get More: Sneak Peek - Meth House



Also see:
Viewpoint: Feeling Guilty About Buying a Foreclosure?
'Mortgage Prof': 5 Reasons Banks Would Rather Foreclose
Tempted to Invest in Real Estate? Read This First

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]]>flip menflipping outhouse flippingjeff lewisspike tvLaura Goldstein2011-10-25T17:30:00 00:00Woman Faces Foreclosure on House She Bought for $1http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/09/woman-faces-foreclosure-on-house-she-bought-for-1/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/09/woman-faces-foreclosure-on-house-she-bought-for-1/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/09/woman-faces-foreclosure-on-house-she-bought-for-1/#commentsFiled under: ,

Linda HatchellWe all know the housing crisis narrative: Back in the go-go days of the boom, someone bought a house they couldn't really afford, financed it with a "creative" mortgage and proceeded to use the place like a piggy bank, on the theory that home values would remain forever up in the stratosphere. Then the housing market crashed, the bills came due and now many of those homeowners are staring down foreclosure.

It's a story we've heard so many times we can practically recite it by heart.

Well, Linda Hatchell didn't do any of those things. In fact, Hatchell paid just $1 for her home in Glen Ellyn, Ill. Yet today she's on the brink of losing it, reports NBC Chicago.

When Hatchell bought the historic Victorian in 1989, it was in such bad shape that the previous owner wanted to knock it down. Hatchell, seeing her "dream" in the graceful house with the turret and wraparound porch, plunked down the asking price -- in vintage turn-of-the-century coins! -- on the condition that she move the property to another location.

Over the next 20 years she restored the house to pristine condition and filled it with period antiques. She took out a mortgage to finance the project, but the cost of renovation and ongoing maintenance, coupled with the loss of her job and a health crisis, stretched Hatchett to the breaking point. Now she must sell the house or lose it to the bank.

Watch the video below to hear Hatchett tell her story.


Update: Linda Hatchell, Woman in $1 Foreclosure, Responds

See homes for sale and foreclosures in Glen Ellyn, Ill. on AOL Real Estate.

Also see:
Mortgage Mod Hell: Trapped Between Lenders, Collectors
HAMP Mortgage Modification Program Still No Help
The Mortgage Fix That Can Save the Economy


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]]>Glen Ellynhelp+linda+hatchellhelplindahatchellHouse bought for a dollarLinda HatchellVictorian homewoman+faces+foreclosure+on+house+she+bought+for+$1womanfacesforeclosureonhousesheboughtfor$1Laura Goldstein2011-09-09T10:45:00 00:00Artist Makes Luxury Home in a Dumpsterhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/07/artist-makes-luxury-home-in-a-dumpster/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/07/artist-makes-luxury-home-in-a-dumpster/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/07/artist-makes-luxury-home-in-a-dumpster/#commentsFiled under:



The first time we saw this, via Curbed, we weren't sure it was for real. Maybe this Berkeley dude was having us on, we thought, or making an elaborate point about the current state of the housing market. But artist Gregory Kloehn sounds pretty serious when he explains why he built a luxury residence in a dumpster. "I was trying to deconstruct what a home can be," he says in the video below, "how you can turn different objects into a home."

Kloehn told BerkeleySide how he got the idea for his "Elite Waste" creation: "I would look over the fence at a dumpster and think that it looked like a little house."

Luxury is relative, of course. It's still a dumpster -- albeit one with granite countertops, hardwood floors, a gas cooking burner, plumbing and electricity. "I think I've made a nice little home out of a garbage can," Kloehn says. What do you think -- one man's artistic expression, or a creative solution to the housing crisis?



Also watch:
Tour the 258-square-foot Transformer Apartment
Teenager Builds 130-Square-Foot House for College

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]]>berkeley californiadumpster homeDumpster housesmall space livingtiny house movementtiny housesweird newsLaura Goldstein2011-09-07T13:15:00 00:00Katharine Hepburn's Connecticut 'Paradise' for Salehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/06/24/katharine-hepburns-connecticut-paradise-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/06/24/katharine-hepburns-connecticut-paradise-for-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/06/24/katharine-hepburns-connecticut-paradise-for-sale/#commentsFiled under: ,



Katharine Hepburn was nothing if not passionate, and one of her fiercest attachments was to Fenwick, her estate on the water in Old Saybrook, Conn. From 1939, when the Hepburn family built it, to 2003, when the actress died there at age 96, it was her favorite place of refuge.

And now, according to Realtor.com, it's on the market for $28 million.

The current owner, New York developer Frank Sciame, bought the property in 2004 for $6 million, subdivided the acreage, and completely renovated the house. He told the Wall Street Journal that he planned to flip the place long ago, but his family "fell in love with it" and started spending summers there. (And who could blame them?)

Overlooking the Long Island Sound, the 8,000-square-foot house has six bedrooms, seven-and-a-half baths, a den, a "chart room" and a gourmet kitchen. Colette Harron with William Pitt Sotheby's International has the listing.









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See more Old Saybrook homes for sale at AOL Real Estate.

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]]>celebrity homescelebrity real estatefenwickKatharine Hepburnold saybrookLaura Goldstein2011-06-24T15:24:00 00:00Tour the 258-sq.-ft. Transformer Apartmenthttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/05/15/tour-the-258-sq-ft-transformer-apartment/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/05/15/tour-the-258-sq-ft-transformer-apartment/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/05/15/tour-the-258-sq-ft-transformer-apartment/#commentsFiled under: ,,


We've been writing a lot about super-small spaces lately. First there was Felice Cohen, who bunks in a 90-square-foot apartment. Then we discovered Luke, a dude who lives large in only 78 square feet.

Well, our new favorite in the can-you-top-this small-space sweepstakes is Christian Schallert. At 258 square feet, his apartment is practically palatial by comparison, but whereas those other folks make do with half-size fridges and hot plates, Schallert has all the amenities: a full kitchen, double bed, dining room, even a terrace.

Like a Transformer toy, his apartment swings out, flips up and unfolds to turn into a high-style living space. If you don't believe us, watch the video and let him show you.



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]]>small space livingsmall spacesLaura Goldstein2011-05-15T11:00:00 00:00Where Leno and the Late Night Stars Call Homehttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/04/01/where-leno-and-the-late-night-stars-call-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/04/01/where-leno-and-the-late-night-stars-call-home/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/04/01/where-leno-and-the-late-night-stars-call-home/#commentsFiled under: ,

When the stars of late night--Jay Leno, Dave Letterman, Conan O'Brien and the rest of the boys--finally pack it in and head home, they bed down in some pretty palatial places. Leno's 100-car garage has its own website; his rivals' pads (like Letterman's, at left) may be more publicity-shy but they're no less impressive. Rob Baer at Curbed leads us on a cross-country tour of estates, townhouses, apartments and car parks of the nighttime hosts.



The talking heads of late-night television rake in oodles of money for their nightly hijinx and some of them aren't shy about showing it off. Yeah, we're looking at you and your 100 cars, Jay Leno. Leno's fellow nocturnal comedians might not splash out on a gaggle of flashy rides-or set up a web site for their garage-but they sure invest in some palatial pads. Late night small-fry and SNL-alum Jimmy Fallon might be the new kid on the block, but he's well entrenched at this 1883 co-op overlooking NYC's private Gramercy Park above. In 2006, Fallon was thinking about moving out and put his two seventh-floor units on the market for $3.75M. In 2010, he changed his mind completely and bought another $1.35M apartment on the eighth floor of NYC's oldest cooperative. Guess he had no time for a house hunt once he got the seat behind the Late Night desk.

Read the full story at Curbed.com.

And for a taste of million-dollar deals gone wrong, check out our Foreclosed Mansions gallery.

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]]>celebrity real estatedavid lettermanjay lenoJimmy Fallonlate-night TVLaura Goldstein2011-04-01T12:26:00 00:00Christina Aguilera's Mansion Hits the Market for $13.5Mhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/17/christina-aguileras-mansion-hits-the-market-for-13-5m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/17/christina-aguileras-mansion-hits-the-market-for-13-5m/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/17/christina-aguileras-mansion-hits-the-market-for-13-5m/#commentsFiled under: ,

christina aguileraChristina Aguilera's latest real-estate saga is a good news-bad news story. On the upside, she no longer has to worry about not being able to unload her Midcentury Modern aerie in the Hollywood Hills, because she just moved back into it. The place has been on and off on the market since 2008, when she and then-hubby Jordan Bratman traded up to the palatial former home of shock rocker and TV dad Ozzy Osbourne.

But that's also the bad news: Aguilera is roosting there again because the couple split up and just listed their Beverly Hills love nest for $13.5 million.

According to the listing (see photos below), the place has 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and enough zebra-print upholstery and harem-style decor to make the Burlesque star feel right at home. What with all Aguilera's other recent travails--including a National Anthem snafu, an arrest for public drunkenness, and an album flop--getting the place sold is the least of her worries.

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]]>beverly hillsbeverly hills real estatecalifornia real estatecelebrity real estateChristina AguileraChristina AguilerasJordan Bratmanozzy osbourneLaura Goldstein2011-03-17T16:06:00 00:00Ready, Set, Sell: Home Staging Tips for Springhttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/09/ready-set-sell-home-staging-tips-for-spring/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/09/ready-set-sell-home-staging-tips-for-spring/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/03/09/ready-set-sell-home-staging-tips-for-spring/#commentsFiled under: ,,,

home staging exteriorThere may still be snow on the ground in your neck of the woods, but if you're trying to sell a home this spring, it's not too early to start getting the house ready. One of the surest ways to speed a home sale is through artful home staging.

Home staging is more important than ever these days, when houses are not exactly flying off the shelves. "It's a tough market. The quicker your house sells, the better off you are," says Karen Eubank, Dallas chapter president of the Real Estate Staging Association. "You can't change the location of your house. You can change the price--though you probably don't want to--or you can change the condition. It's totally under your control to change the condition, so why not do it? It's very inexpensive, and the return on investment is phenomenal."


According to a HomeGain survey, simple staging techniques, such as cleaning and decluttering, can return up to 10 times the investment. Even more expensive jobs, like repainting rooms, can more than pay for themselves in increased sale price and reduced time on the market. One of the leading home staging companies found that houses that have been staged spend about a month on the market, versus more than four months for homes that haven't been staged.

Check out the gallery below, from AOL home improvement expert Tom Kraeutler, for more home staging tips and techniques. Then get your place ready for its star turn.

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]]>home saleshome stagershome stagingsellingselling your homespring 2011stagingLaura Goldstein2011-03-09T14:15:00 00:00Valentine's Day Inside the Most Romantic Home in Americahttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/02/11/valentines-day-inside-the-most-romantic-home-in-america/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/02/11/valentines-day-inside-the-most-romantic-home-in-america/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/02/11/valentines-day-inside-the-most-romantic-home-in-america/#commentsFiled under: ,

valentine's day most romantic houseWanna get lucky this Valentine's Day? You could buy your beloved flowers, chocolate, jewelry -- or seal the deal with the Most Romantic Home in America.

As it does every year, Top Ten Real Estate Deals surveyed agents nationwide to find the country's sexiest houses for sale. The 2011 winner: a "romantic oasis of rustic charm" overlooking Lake Tahoe in Incline Village, Nev.

The 9,000-square-foot waterfront chateau has five bedrooms for love-making, five bathrooms for bubble-filled soaks, and a private lakefront beach for watching the sun sink behind the snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains.

If you lived here, every day could be Valentine's Day, starting with a morning stroll along one of the wildflower-strewn hiking paths, continuing with an afternoon dip in the heated pool with waterfall, and ending with a bottle of Champagne from the temperature-controlled wine cellar.

According to the listing details, the "Castle on Lake Tahoe" is currently on the market for $22.8 million. Look at the bright side: At that price, the diamond you buy instead will seem like a bargain.


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]]>2011+most+romantic+home+in+america+in+nevada+incline+v2011mostromantichomeinamericainnevadainclinevincline villagelake tahoe real estatemost romantic housetop 10 real estate dealsvalentines dayvalentines+day+and+real+estatevalentines+day+real+estatevalentinesdayandrealestatevalentinesdayrealestateLaura Goldstein2011-02-11T18:03:00 00:00World's Most Expensive Real Estate: $9,500 a Square Foothttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/26/world-s-most-expensive-real-estate-9-500-a-square-foot/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/26/world-s-most-expensive-real-estate-9-500-a-square-foot/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/26/world-s-most-expensive-real-estate-9-500-a-square-foot/#commentsThe just-completed One Hyde Park apartment complex in London is notable for more than its A-list architecture and posh park views. At as much as $225 million a unit, it sets a real-estate record: a jaw-dropping $9,500 per square foot, making it the most expensive real estate in the world.

By way of comparison, the closest competitor in the States is the beachfront cottage in Carpenteria, Calif., that we wrote about last fall. At $5.3 million for a snug 641 square feet, it comes out to a paltry $7,000 per square foot.

So what does $225 million get you?In the case of One Hyde Park--whose buyers are mostly Russian, Chinese, and Arab citizens, as well as British property millionaires looking to trade up--it gets you custom-designed interiors, squash courts, and a private wine-tasting facility. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the penthouses are bulletproof, and if that's not enough to make the owners feel secure, there's also a panic room. (Check out the video below).

When it comes to luxury real estate, the U.S. is a relative bargain. The average price per square foot in the States tops out at about $1,400 in Malibu, Calif.; in New York, it's around $1,300. Compare that with the world's most expensive city, Monte Carlo, where a luxury property will set you back almost $4,500 a square foot, and Moscow, where that deluxe dacha will cost nearly $2,000 a square foot.

But even One Hyde Park can't hold a candle to the world's most over-the-top urban digs--the billion-dollar house in Mumbai, India, that the fourth-richest man on Forbes's list of the world's wealthiest calls home. All 27 stories of it.

See a full list of the Top 10 Most Expensive Cities.

See more Luxury Real Estate

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]]>luxury homesluxury real estatemost expensivemost expensive housemost expensive real estateprice per square footLaura Goldstein2011-01-26T16:10:00 00:00Las Vegas Homes Bad Bet Until 2032http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/07/las-vegas-housing-bad-bet-until-2032/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/07/las-vegas-housing-bad-bet-until-2032/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/01/07/las-vegas-housing-bad-bet-until-2032/#commentsFiled under: ,,

las vegas real estateIf you're laying odds on when the Las Vegas real estate market will recover, prepare to wait a long time to collect. According to a recent report, it will be decades before Las Vegas home prices rebound -- the year 2032 to be exact, says Celia Chen, housing market analyst for Moody's Analytics.

And Las Vegas isn't even in the worst shape when it comes to depressed housing prices. Foreclosure-plagued cities like Phoenix and Naples, Fla., will take even longer to see anything like pre-recession home prices, Moody's predicts. In Phoenix, for example, the number of listings with price cuts in December topped 40 percent -- an indication that any rebound will take months, if not years, to be felt.

But Las Vegas remains ground zero of the foreclosure crisis, with 1 out of every 99 properties in foreclosure, according to data from RealtyTrac. One surprising group that has benefited: Australians. Aussie real estate agent Vincent Selleck is busy marketing distressed U.S. properties to his countrymen Down Under. For the cost of a new car in Australia," he told AOL Real Estate, "you could own a home in the U.S.A."


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]]>housing crisishousing recoveryHousingCrisisHousingRecoverylas vegas real estatelas vegas real estate marketLasVegasRealEstateLasVegasRealEstateMarketnevada real estateNevadaRealEstatephoenixworst housing marketsWorstHousingMarketsLaura Goldstein2011-01-07T14:27:00 00:00Curb Appeal Is Still Kinghttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/12/15/curb-appeal-is-still-king/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/12/15/curb-appeal-is-still-king/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/12/15/curb-appeal-is-still-king/#commentsFiled under: ,

house exterior showing curb appealCurb appeal counts: If you're looking to invest some money in your house, look no further than the front door. For the second year in a row, curb appeal projects remain at the top of the list of high-value home improvements, according to just-released data from Remodeling's 2010-2011 Cost vs. Value Report.

In fact, an entry door upgrade is the curb appeal project that returns the most at resale -- and the only one surveyed to recoup its entire cost, at 102 percent payback. Other big returners are a replacement garage door, an upgrade to fiber-cement siding and a wood deck addition.
This year's edition of the annual survey covers 35 exterior and interior improvements, with data on project costs and resale value nationally and by region. As you might expect, home improvement returns overall have taken a hit in recent years, with project costs escalating while home prices have stagnated. This year, for the first time since 2006, the cost of remodeling projects started to come down--but resale values declined even more precipitously.

To read the full survey, visit Cost vs. Value's official site.

For help making smart home improvements, check out these AOL Real Estate guides:

Improvements That Get Your House Sold
Top 10 Home Improvements That Pay You Back
Home Improvements Sellers Should Avoid

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
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]]>cost versus valueCostVersusValuecurb appealCurbAppealhome improvementhome valuesHomeImprovementHomeValuesLaura Goldstein2010-12-15T16:07:00 00:00Bedbug Lawsuits Swarm Landlordshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/18/bedbugs-alert-there-oughta-be-a-law/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/18/bedbugs-alert-there-oughta-be-a-law/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/18/bedbugs-alert-there-oughta-be-a-law/#commentsFiled under:

Bedbugs spread a lot of things -- fear, disgust and now, lawsuits. The Real Deal reports on a spate of cases being brought against landlords in New York, the city with the worst bedbug problem in the country. But the Big Apple isn't the only place that the bloodsuckers find tasty. According to statistics from the National Pest Management Association, bedbug complaints nationwide are up 81 percent since 2000, with most of those calls coming from apartments and condos. If New York's bedbug strategy spreads to the rest of the country, eliminating the pests will become a two-step process: first, call the exterminator; then, call your lawyer.

As bedbugs continue to pop up at locations in the city -- most recently at the Manhattan district attorney's offices, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and at a Brooklyn public school -- tenants are increasingly looking to the legal system for help.
Michael Kozek, an attorney with tenant representation firm Jeffrey S. Ween & Associates, said that dozens of New York City rental and co-op residents have hired him over the last six months to fight their landlords. Most cases have been resolved before reaching the point of a lawsuit.

A number of cases have made it to the Housing Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York as well, where tenants sue the city for failing to enforce the law, and go after their landlords for failing to comply with it.

Read the rest of the story at The Real Deal.

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]]>bedbug infestationbedbug lawsuitsbedbugsbedbugs outbreaklandlordslawsuittenantsLaura Goldstein2010-11-18T16:31:00 00:00Home Prices: Army Housing Buoys El Pasohttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/10/military-housing-buoys-el-paso-home-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/10/military-housing-buoys-el-paso-home-prices/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/11/10/military-housing-buoys-el-paso-home-prices/#commentsFiled under:

In celebration of Veterans Day, HousingWatch is featuring stories about veterans and their real estate experiences throughout the day.

This Veterans Day we can thank the military for something else besides keeping our country safe: rescuing a depressed housing market.

The expansion of the Fort Bliss Army base in El Paso, Texas has sparked a local building boom and kept the town from falling into the depths of the recession. While the rest of the country has seen home prices fall an average of 20 percent since the peak of the housing runup, prices in the West Texas town have held steady.

And El Paso's not alone. The government's 2005 base closure and realignment program, while it weakened some communities, breathed new life into others. The transfer of thousands of military personnel to Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County, Md., is expected to spark as much as $61 million in new construction spending, according to an Army study released last spring.
Similar effects are being felt in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington State, as bases overseas close and soldiers return home. In Fayetteville, N.C., the expansion of Fort Bragg is credited with keeping the housing market
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stable from the gyrations of the past couple of years. "Because of Fort Bragg, we didn't drop like the rest of the nation, nor did we ever go through the roof," Realtor David Evans told USA Today.

When they get back stateside, those returning soldiers can take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit, which, while it has expired for the general population, is still available to active-duty military personnel returning from overseas. (Also see "VA Loans: Homebuying Help for Veterans")

See homes for sale in El Paso, TX at AOL Real Estate.
See rentals in El Paso, TX at AOL Real Estate.

These AOL Real Estate guides can help, whether you choose to buy or sell:

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]]>army baseel pasofort blissFort Braggfort meadehomebuyer tax creditmilitarymilitary familiesmilitary housingtexasveteransVeteransDayLaura Goldstein2010-11-10T13:57:00 00:00Home Furnishings Sale at ShelterPophttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/10/06/shelterpop-hosts-home-furnishings-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/10/06/shelterpop-hosts-home-furnishings-sale/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/10/06/shelterpop-hosts-home-furnishings-sale/#commentsFiled under:

With refis booming on the strength of low interest rates, perhaps you're fantasizing about what you might do with a few extra bucks in the till at the end of the month. Well, the folks at our sister site, ShelterPop, have a suggestion for you: Blow it on new bedroom decor. ShelterPop's design-savvy editors and product mavens have curated their first-ever sale, for flash-shopping emporium Gilt.com.

The four-day sale -- virtual doors open on Wednesday noon and clang shut Saturday at midnight -- features deep discounts on retro-chic bedroom furnishings, rugs, furniture and accessories from big names like Jonathan Adler, Ligne Roset and Missoni Home. For more info and tips on how to spruce up a bedroom with the stuff you buy, check out all the stylin' ideas at ShelterPop.

For more on home improvement and design see:

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]]>gilt.comhome designhome furnishinghome furnishingshome productsjonathan adlerLigne RosetmissoniShelterPopLaura Goldstein2010-10-06T14:41:00 00:00Inside Home Inspections: Tag Along With a Prohttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/08/25/inside-home-inspections-tag-along-with-a-pro/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/08/25/inside-home-inspections-tag-along-with-a-pro/http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2010/08/25/inside-home-inspections-tag-along-with-a-pro/#comments



Every house tells a story--if you know how to listen. Kenny Rhodes, a licensed home inspector for nearly 20 years, has a finely tuned ear for the messages a house is trying to send. That's why buyers hire him to give their potential new digs a thorough once-over before they close the deal.


A home inspection isn't required by law, but it's an awfully good idea. It's not uncommon for the lender to include a home inspection as a condition in your purchase agreement. The inspector's report is the best way for a buyer to find out about any issues with the home prior to closing.

And this information can be good for your wallet--if you include an inspection clause in your offer and the need for a repair is discovered during an inspection, you can require the seller to make repairs before you purchase the home, or to compensate you in advance for repairs you'd make after you purchase the home. This kind of clause is called a "contingency" and buyers usually have a dollar value for repairs that the contingency clause will apply to. If they refuse, you have the right to walk away from the offer without any penalty.

Rhodes's typical home inspection takes three to four hours and covers the house's mechanical systems, structural integrity, and safety features. He likes prospective buyers to tag along, so that they can get an up-close look at the property--along with an education.

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"It's very important for you to follow me, shadow me, watch everything I'm doing," Rhodes explains. "Your understanding of this home will be so much greater if you have first-hand experience." And don't worry about slowing him down. "The more questions you ask, the the more comfort you're going to have when we're done," he says.

Here's are the major stops on a home inspection, and what the inspector is looking for.

Foundation and supporting structures: Your home inspector will check the visible foundation, roof, framing and related structural components for sagging or gaps, as well as obvious signs of insect damage or rot. In some cases, home inspectors also check for termites and other wood-destroying insects, or you can hire a separate pest inspection firm for that part of the evaluation.

Exterior: The inspector will check decks, balconies, siding and porches. He'll also look for signs of drainage problems--a frequent cause of wet basements--and examine walkways and driveways for deterioration or safety concerns.

Roof: In many cases, the home inspector will get up on the roof as well as visually inspect it from the ground using binoculars. On the checklist here are also roof drainage systems, flashings, skylights and chimneys.

Plumbing: He'll check the main water line and distribution systems, including water pressure, and the condition of water heating and filtration equipment.

Electrical System: Home inspectors will typically open and inspect the main electrical panel, looking for overloaded circuits, proper grounding and the presence of any trouble spots like aluminum branch circuit wiring, a serious fire hazard.

HVAC Systems: The furnace or boiler gets tested for safe operation, even if the inspection occurs on a warm summer day. The same goes for air conditioning systems, weather permitting.

Rhodes also examines the walls in living areas for signs of water leaks or cracks and inspects the condition of the windows. When he's all done, he writes up his findings in a detailed report that also serves as a useful guide for future repairs. And that's where the home inspector's job ends. "I tell you the conditions and what I find," Rhodes says. "What you do with that information is really up to you."

Interested in learning more about inspections and getting the biggest bang for your buck? Here are some AOL Real Estate guides that might help:
Video: Home Inspections: It Pays to Know What You're Buying
Home Inspections: What to Expect

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
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]]>aol originalAolOriginalvideowhat works nowWhatWorksNowLaura Goldstein2010-08-25T15:36:00 00:00