Walk Score Helps Consumers Walk Away From the Pump

Earlier this week, I reviewed the new beta version of Hoodeo and lamented that it wasn’t more pedestrian-friendly. More people are beginning to consider the price of gas when choosing the location of a new home and Hoodeo didn’t do much to find walkable communities for interested users. In pointing this out, I would be remiss to not mention a site that has a leg up in this regard: Walk Score.

Walk Score gives areas and addresses a score on a scale of zero to 100 based on distance to retail, entertainment, restaurants and cafés. This is good news for people looking to trade their house and car keys for a condo and a pair of Mephistos and who want to find a neighborhood that will give them a reason to step out of the house without worrying about gas prices.

Walk Score’s system is limited, however, because it cannot account for tough hills, lack of infrastructure (safe sidewalks and crosswalks) and other obstacles which may make even a short distance a major obstacle. Most suburban areas will rank well below 50 points, which is considered unacceptable. This lack of walkability is precisely why suburbs may soon be less in demand in coming years (See our article Stepford No more: The Death of Suburbia). For now, Walk Score is only appropriate for people living close to downtowns or communities with a pedestrian-friendly town center.

Walk Score just released a list of the most walkable neighborhoods in my own area, Seattle, with an overall score of 72. To compare, the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue enjoys a score of 86 (assuming he can count that high). Meanwhile, the home of the King of Rock (Graceland, that is) scores a measly 32. That’s still much better than the King of Pop can do: Neverland Ranch scores a perfect 0. Maybe that’s why Jacko abdicated to Dubai, which will probably have self-cleaning conveyor-belt sidewalks before the boom there is over.

Wandering back on track—Walk Score is limited, but the developers know this, so with time it may provide a much more accurate and useful tool. Though a little too arbitrary for use on its own, it could help some homeowners narrow the field, and used in conjunction with sites such as Hoodeo, it may have users running, not walking, to the best place of all: Home Sweet-New Home.

Real Estate Investing Game

I’ve always thought it would be interesting to have a game about real estate investing, but the few I’ve seen have been lackluster at best. Typically these games over-simplify things and in the end don’t really teach players anything about real estate investing. I finally came across a real estate investing game that is actually decent: The game is called Real Estate Empire. It is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it is entertaining and someone who is new to real estate investment may even be able to learn a thing or two.

Some things the game has which set it apart from the others are that it takes into account things such as the economy, market cycles, credit, savings and professional skills. In the game, players can select from one of five different professions including real estate agent, contractor, interior designer, handyman and MBA. Each has a skill set that can help in the game as well as an accompanying savings and salary. To win the game you have to make more money than the competition--namely, the 4 remaining professionals.

As the game progresses you can buy, fix up and re-sell homes. While one of the downsides to this game is that it basically focuses on the fix and flip strategy of real estate investing, I think it does a pretty good job covering it. Players have to make sure they negotiate a good deal when they buy and decide which repairs to make and which ones will ultimately provide the highest return for them. When they sell the home they have to decide if they want to use an agent (to sell it faster and potentially for more money, but with higher costs), or go it alone. The game even takes into account peak selling seasons, so selling in winter is harder than selling in the spring or summer.

Another cool feature the game has is that it teaches credit and savings. In order to buy a home you first have to have a down payment, and you have to build your credit up along the way as well. At the end of each month, players have to decide which bills to pay and whether to use savings or credit to pay them. As the player pays their bills off, their credit gets better and their credit lines increase and subsequent mortgage rates available to them become better--just like in real life. This part of the game is pretty cool and this is the only game I’ve ever seen that incorporates this piece, which of course is vital to investors.

Rather than explain the entire game, though, I’ll provide you with a link to the place where you can download a trial version and play it for yourself. The trial version is just like the regular game, only a trial game will end after 60 minutes of play time. That is plenty of time to decide whether or not you like it, though, so I recommend checking it out if you like this sort of thing. Happy playing…

http://www.logler.com/real-estate-empire

HotPads Helps Answer The Question: “Rent Or Buy?”

With a new mapping tool released by Hotpads.com, called the rent ratio heat map, users can now quickly and easily determine whether it makes more sense to rent or to buy in a certain area. The tool evaluates each area based on the rent ratio—or ratio of rental pricing to for-sale pricing—and assigns the appropriate heat map color.

While the tool is not perfect, it is a very cool idea that I’m sure will evolve with time. A couple of problems I noted were the comparison properties and the buying costs used to calculate the ratio. In their comparison, they use the number of bedrooms to determine the costs. The problem with this, of course, is that the apartments and other multi-family rentals examined are very different from the homes to which they are being compared. In areas like Manhattan, where single family homes are virtually non-existent, this comparison model makes sense. However, in suburban areas that have a high concentration of single-family homes, things are going to get a little off. Most people in the suburbs would prefer to live in a home rather than an apartment for various reasons. As a result the prices for rental homes tend to be considerably higher than apartments.

Another problem is with the cost they assign to the buy side of the equation. They simply take the cost of the home, but neglect to consider any additional expenses involved in home ownership. This of course includes property taxes, utilities (typically higher than in apartments), maintenance and so on. These costs vary greatly based on which state, and even city, you are in. For example, property taxes in Texas are more than double those in Washington.

This tool is a great idea, and as it evolves and becomes more accurate it will become an incredible resource for people to consult. It is most definitely worth checking out, and you can even use it as a starting block when evaluating neighborhoods, but don’t let it take the place of additional due diligence. This tool is not meant to be the final word on whether a person should actually choose to rent or buy; it is simply meant to be a starting point for them.

Google Mortgage MarketPlace: It’s Coming…

Zillow recently made headlines with their new mortgage marketplace, but Google is quietly testing a mortgage marketplace of their own in the U.K. Whether or not that means that Google will bring the marketplace to the U.S. is unclear, but in all likelihood if things go well in the U.K., we can probably expect to see it hear too.

After seeing the success that Zillow has had with their tool--over 28,000 loan requests in the first two months, according to Zillow-- I can’t see why Google wouldn’t also be successful. Google’s viewer base is more than 50 times larger than Zillow’s and they have a lot more money to throw into designing a great tool for users.

What does a Google Mortgage Marketplace mean? Well, it likely means even more competition among lenders, which means lower rates for borrowers. The main questions will probably revolve around service. Sure it’s great if someone quotes me a loan, that’s lower than another lender, but how can I know that they are going to actually close it? Is this lender someone who is going to pull the old promise the world trick only to hand over something completely different at the closing table?

These are questions that Google is going to have to answer if they hope to have success with their new tool. What I would love to see is the ability for users to rate lenders (it doesn't appear that Google's UK mortgage marketplace has this ability). Much like they have with their shopping site. That way users could compare not only quotes, but also past service records, which offers a much better solution for borrowers. Zillow offers a rating system as part of their mortgage marketplace, and if Google wants to take this thing to the next level they would be wise to add one too, maybe even with some additional features to what Zillow offers. In the end, Google’s name and size alone should allow them to control this marketplace, and I foresee them doing just that.

Estately.com Expanding To Include Portland Properties

Estately.com, a real estate search website that uses referrals to connect consumers, real estate professionals and brokerage companies, is expanding outside Washington state by "adding 35,000+ Portland homes to our existing database of nearly 50,000 Western Washington homes," according to a recent blog post on Estately.com announcing the news.

"The site incorporates interactive mapping and displays details about the proximity of schools, parks, transit stops and restaurants to selected properties. Consumers can subscribe to get updates on price changes for properties and can save property notes," according to Inman News.

Estately.com users can search properties in specific neighborhoods and choose from agents in Estately's referral network by viewing competing bids anonymously. "The company has an agent-ranking algorithm that narrows the list of agents for a given area, and Estately staff research these agents and conduct interviews with some agents in developing its referral network," according to Inman News.

"We hope we make it easier for you, Portland, to search for a home in the hip neighborhoods--Hawthorne, Woodstock, Lloyd, Belmont, The Pearl District, and Sellwood--and the less hip ones. We also hope we make it easier to decide if a house is actually right for you," according to a blog post on Estately.com.

For more information on Portland real estate, see our previous article, Steady Growth in Portland Real Estate.

Facebook Application Helps Buyers Decide Where To Buy Property

I just discovered a new Facebook application which could help change the way people buy property. The name of the application is Facebook Neighborhoods and the basic gist of it is that users are able to meet and interact with their neighbors. The tool is pretty far-reaching; it covers many countries and neighborhoods already and is growing rapidly. I believe the tool is originally intended for neighbors to communicate with one another and stay updated, but I think it could also be used as a great tool for potential homebuyers and investors alike.

Once you are in the Facebook Neighborhood tool you are able to browse through neighborhoods, see what is going on in the particular neighborhoods and also see the names of other people living in the neighborhood. Typically, unless you are friends with these people, you won’t be able to view their full profiles--in case you were wondering what type of people are in the neighborhood--but you can send them messages.

For real estate investors, talking to neighbors can be one of the more beneficial due diligence tasks they can undertake. Neighbors are going to know whether there is a drug house in the area, or a neighborhood thief or numerous other helpful things. They might even know things about the particular house in question. Many times I’ve found that the neighbors know about damage the house has suffered (which homeowners are supposed to disclose, but sometimes things magically slip their minds), or specifics about the sellers such as why they are selling and so on, which can be helpful in negotiation. You might be surprised at what types of things can come up when you talk to neighbors.

Obviously not all the neighbors are going to be part of the Facebook Neighborhood, so prospective homebuyers are probably still better off at least attempting to knock on the neighbor's door (especially for the property-specific information), but for those who are too shy for face to face confrontation--or maybe just don’t have the time--this could be another way to conduct due diligence.

I would use this tool to accomplish a wider neighborhood survey of sorts. I would craft a message that asks a few questions about the neighborhood, send it out and then see what type of responses I get. I wouldn’t ask anything specific about the house, but would start the message by saying I’m thinking about buying a certain property in the neighborhood and just wanted to get a little more info about the area. By throwing out the address--even though I don’t ask directly for property information--if they have some juicy information they just might share it. Mainly I’m looking for information regarding the neighborhood. What do they think of the schools? How is the homeowners association (depending on how wide the neighborhood is; there may be different HOAs)? Any problems with crime? How do they like living there? Things like that. People like to share this type of information, and it will be useful whether you plan on living in the home or renting it out. This initial communication could also serve as a spring board for further relationships with the neighbors so that you can ask them for help in the future for things such as checking on how your tenant is maintaining the property (helpful for out of area investors) and so on.

Questions are your friend when conducting property due diligence and this tool just provides homebuyers an easy way to connect with people who might have the answers they are looking for.

PolicyMap Offers Tons Of Info For Investors And Developers

PolicyMap is a new online service that was created by The Reinvestment Fund, a non-profit organization that funds neighborhood redevelopment. I read about PolicyMap on Future of Real Estate Marketing blog and thought it sounded like an interesting service. When I went to check it out, I was astonished by the amount of information and customization they offered.

Real estate investors or developers who need to do extensive demographic research should definitely check this site out. They offer more than 4,000 different demographic variables for which you can customize maps and reports. They cover the standard ones such as crime, income and so on, but they also have powerful ones you can’t find anywhere else, such as an estimation of a neighborhood's population in the year 2012 and many others I just don’t have space to mention.

All of this information does not come cheap, however.

They offer limited data and customization for free upon registration, but for the real goodies you have to be prepared to ante up. Their standard subscription starts at $200 a month, and they don’t even publish their premium subscription price. If you are a developer or real estate investor who does a significant amount of deals, though, I think their service is well worth the price. This is especially true if you have to put together presentations for money partners or others as part of your investments. PolicyMap offers data that would make your presentation much better, in addition to tools that should make gathering the data and putting into presentable format much easier.

NAR Releases New Commercial Real Estate Listing Service

The National Association of REALTORS (NAR) launched a new commercial real estate listing service called Commercial Source yesterday. The new site can be found at www.commercialsource.com and should offer the commercial real estate leader LoopNet.com a run for their money. With the strong backing of NAR, Commercial Source already has a leg up on the competition.

Browsing the site I found it to be laid out well, with an attractive design. As an investor, though, one problem I came across was with the property searches. It doesn’t appear that they have any sort of advanced search, and their available options are a bit limited. If I’m trying to narrow down my search to a specific type of property, I'm going to have a more difficult time on this site than LoopNet, for example.

As this is a new site, though, I’m sure changes such as this will come with time. For a first release, I think NAR did a good job on this site and I will definitely be keeping my eye on Commercial Source. Other than LoopNet, I really haven’t been impressed with any of the other commercial real estate listing sites out there, so this new competition is welcome in my eyes. Hopefully this pushes both sites to make improvements and become even better.

HomeGain Launches Agent Blog Platform

Last month, HomeGain, an online real estate marketing company, announced the launch of their new blogging platform for customers of real estate agents.

HomeGain’s Source4Sellers marketing system allows agents to sign up as bloggers on the network and to post their contact information and profiles for consumers seeking real estate.

Users searching for homes in a particular neighborhood will see a display of blogs related to that neighborhood or area from agents working there. Consumers then have the option to contact agents directly from the website through their blog.

Since HomeGain is known in the industry as a lead-generation and sales tool, the blog provides an identifiable way out of that niche by allowing agents to receive some of the web traffic that would otherwise be reserved for HomeGain’s site.

Many other service provider blog programs allow agents to communicate only with other agents, but this tool, designed for the consumers use, is intended to allow direct interaction between agent and consumer, giving agents another way to market themselves and gain exposure to the right buyers.

Neverland Ranch Avoids Foreclosure: Peter Pan Still Truant But Optimistic

Michael Jackson, the original Lost Boy, has negotiated a way out of foreclosure just days before his Neverland Ranch was to be auctioned. Colony Capital purchased the $23.5 million loan from Fortress Investment Group and will begin negotiations with Jackson to save his beloved sanctuary/ruin/amusement park from hell.

For the ruined pop icon—who hasn’t darkened the doors of the decaying Indian village or fed exotic animals in his private zoo, now home to domestic algae, for almost three years—it is a sad testimony to his inability to accept the end of his inane and insanely decadent lifestyle. He may simply be hoping to preserve what little equity he has. Half of his 50 percent stake in the ATV music catalog is in place as collateral for a $200 million loan he negotiated three years ago to restructure his debt.

As for his benefactors at Colony Capital who purchased the loan, I cannot say whether they expect to ever be repaid by Jacko or if they expect to eventually take the dilapidated Nymphenberg off his hands as an investment property. The 2,800-acre estate has been valued as high as $120 million, but it is in desperate need of repair: the cost of which will no doubt figure into any deal to purchase it, lowering the sale by a sizable margin if Capital chooses to sell it as a single property.

If the property were subdivided, it could be sold piecemeal for a better profit overall (I call dibs on the Bumper Car tent). It is safe to assume that Neverland will never be restored to its former, nightmarish glory. It took an...extraordinary individual to dream up the theme and layout of the Ranch, and it would take an extra-extraordinary individual to buy it as a residence. If Neverland ever reopens its doors intact, it will as almost certainly be as a tourist attraction, but given its history and the fact that its former occupant is still breathing (in an oxygen tent, through one nostril), it won’t be a viable one until Jacko is fairy dust.

I think the surest investment with the abdicated King of Pop would be a life settlement. To quote the crocodile: Tick tock, tick tock. As a one-time human being, Jackson still inspires some sympathy in me, but the bottom line is he is finished, and he won’t turn a real profit again until he’s halfway to the first star on the right, straight on ‘til mo(u)rning. For now, I only wish him and the goodly pirates at Colony Capital the best of luck.

The REX Agreement: Capitalizing On America’s Real Estate Pessimism

Unsure about whether your home may see much appreciation over the next five years, and looking for some liquidity on your home equity? Then a REX agreement might be the solution for you.

What is a REX agreement? What it boils down to is an exchange of cash today for a share in the future appreciation (or depreciation) of your home. Let’s look at an example:

Say your home is worth $1 million today. You decide to take a payout from REX of $100k in exchange for a 40% stake in the future change in value of the home. Without getting into the more complicated parts about how REX structures their agreement to share in the appreciation or depreciation and get their original funds back, let’s consider three different options for sales price of the home after five years.

Sales Price	Gain/Loss	Homeowner Share	REX Share	Homeowner Gross	REX payout	Homeowner Net
$1,100,000	$100,000	$60,000	$40,000	$960,000	$100,000	$1,060,000
$1,000,000	$0	$0	$0	$900,000	$100,000	$1,000,000
$900.000	$100,000	$60,000	$40,000	$840,000	$100,000	$940,000

If the homeowner sells for a larger amount, REX will keep a portion of the upside. If the homeowner sells for a break-even price, then the homeowner has been able to use the original $100k payout without any costs other than origination fees for the REX agreement. If the homeowner sells for less than the original appraised value, then REX will actually lose a portion of the original $100k payout it gave to the homeowner. In other words, REX only gets paid (other than a return of their payout) if the homeowner makes money.
While these scenarios may sound enticing as an alternative to using a loan, there are some other key factors to know about the REX agreement:

• Appraisal value – REX’s appraisals will likely come in lower than the bloated appraisals we’ve come to expect in the past. REX requires 6 comps, twice the number of most residential appraisals, and is much more particular about ensuring those comps are actually good comparables for the property.


• Owner occupation – Thinking of using a REX agreement to take some cash out of your home to go buy a new house? That’s a no go. Part of the agreement states that you will continue to occupy it as your primary residence.


• Closing costs – Although REX started with few closing costs, typically paid by REX, they will begin charging a 3% origination fee within the next few weeks.


• Home values – For the deal to work for REX, your home probably needs to be worth $350,000 or more. The average home price that REX has been funding is about $750,000, which is one of the reasons it has only ventured into 6 of the higher-priced states (California, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Florida and Massachusetts). There are other states that REX anticipates coming online before the end of the summer, including Colorado, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia and New Jersey.


• Five year timeframe – The REX agreement includes penalties for selling your home before five years have passed. The penalties are steep during the first year (25%), declining by 5% each year after that. After five years there is no penalty, but REX still shares in any gains in the home’s original appraised value.


• Amount of equity – You’ll need to have at least 25% equity in your property, based on the REX appraisal, in order to qualify. REX will provide a cash payout of up to 13% of the value of the property, which would put the total value of liens on your property at a maximum of 88% (75% in loans and 13% in REX’s payout).


• Inflation – With a timeframe of a minimum five years without penalties, inflation could likely add value to the home (even if the true inflation adjusted value of the home doesn’t change). In that scenario REX would be entitled to share in their portion of that gain.

On another interesting note, the big money behind REX & Co. is AIG. They are not only a major shareholder, but also the institution providing the bulk of the financing for the actual REX agreements. That ought to say something about what the “smart money” thinks about where the market is headed.

Trulia And Topix

Trulia is watching you.

This week they announced the development of a widget that will promote listings from neighborhoods based on localized information about the user, capturing the ever-evasive longtail markets.

One site of the 50,000 odd sites that Trulia is seeking to partner with in installing the widget is Topix, a Web-based news community that allows users to post and browse articles relevant to their topics of interest.

Today’s widget launch on Topix will show Topix users a grouping of listings in close proximity to them, and clicks on the listings will send them to Trulia to read further.

"We're really excited about this," Trulia CEO Pete Flint said of the new partnership with Topix. "We've seen the best results when we've gotten down to the hyperlocal level. The great thing about Topix is they have a huge national reach as well as local content."

Topix is the fourth most-popular stand-alone newspaper site on the internet, as well as the seventh-ranked Web site within the newspaper subcategory of news and information sites, according to comScore. Clearly, this partnership will be a great coup for Trulia.

This is not just another widget. Service providers in the real estate industry should see this as a worthwhile tool to promote their businesses online. Topix CEO Chris Tolles says that because the newsfeed is localized, it offers a great opportunity for users to differentiate themselves from other sites. This looks to be another way for service providers to find free exposure on the Web, and they’d be smart to use it.

Franklymls.com: The First Wiki MLS

Franklymls.com, the first wiki MLS, officially launched in early April promising enhanced searchability, more user-friendly tools and—most importantly—the ability to communally modify postings.

Founder Frank Llosa of Frankly Realty in Virginia says on his blog, “The goal is to add information, and not opinions…competing agents come together to give what the customer wants...more info and photos.”

The site also has a point system to reward agents with outbound links to their sites. One point is awarded for posting a comment, and ten points are awarded for adding a photo album. The user with the most points for a given property gets a link back to their website, and most likely, any business from buyers who view that property through Franklymls.

Two very important things are happening with this site: First, buyers and agents alike now have an all-in-one MLS that focuses on the details of properties, and someday may compete with larger brokerages who have built extensive MLS search pages on their sites. Secondly, the site is an excellent source for buyers agents to market themselves through the properties they show. It’s an easy algorithm: The more properties you comment on and photograph, the more outbound links the site publishes back to you. A marketing no-brainer for any service provider in the real estate market.

Zillow Launches Mortgage Rate Valuation Tool

Zillow has launched a new platform allowing users to compare mortgage rate quotes alongside their already popular home valuation tools.

The mortgage rate-quote platform will not only help buyers shop for the best mortgage rates, but will also be a lead source for mortgage service providers. And while users’ contact information is not released directly to these mortgage groups, enough information is supplied to enable mortgage professionals to determine the best rate quotes for buyers.

Zillow CFO and VP of Marketing, Spencer Rascoff said that the new platform is intended to protect the privacy of consumers while providing a more accurate and transparent process for quoted loan rates.

It seems that this tool seems will be a great coup for buyers and mortgage professionals alike. For buyers, it will take the pressure out of shopping for the best quotes in person. For mortgage professionals—who pay a one-time fee of $25 to participate—it will provide an excellent lead source.

This new platform will compete with others already available in the loan industry, such as MortgageMarvel.com and LendingTree.com, both of which allow mortgage professionals access to customer information. Both companies list fewer than 280 lenders in their network, while Zillow received over 300 registrations last week alone.

CNN Money Number One Places To Live: Bellevue, Wash. Ranks Highest

The number one place to live and work in the U.S. is Bellevue, Wash. according to a recent CNN Money article.

The article lists the coexistence of large companies like Microsoft and Boeing alongside startups, and cites a “highly skilled” local workforce as the driving factor in this city’s marketplace success. Also notable is the absence of a corporate income tax, meaning small businesses are exempt from the B&O tax, so long as they gross less than $135,000 in taxable income. This fact alone has made the area attractive to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Bellevue also boasts one of the better school districts in the state, which—when coupled with large suburban neighborhoods—makes for a healthy family environment. Just 15 minutes across the water from downtown Seattle (without traffic), Bellevue will most likely be an even match to the growing metropolis in coming years.

Also, this view doesn’t hurt:

Image courtesy of Seattle Luxury

MyMarketware.com: The FSBO'S Answer to Marketing Real Estate

Marketing was once the FSBO’s biggest obstacle, but one company, MyMarketware, has developed MarketSites to help sellers overcome this obstacle by creating individual home listing web pages for a property.

Whereas other sites list several properties in particular cities, neighborhoods or even streets, MarketSites allows the seller to send buyers directly to their property. View a sample MyMarketware page here. Sellers can upload up to 100 photos of their property, embed audio and video podcasts, change SEO settings with Meta descriptions and keywords and add RSS functionality to their page. Users can also customize links to their page, and modify their link dashboard within their user accounts, allowing them to be reused for future listings:

After paying the flat $39 fee, sellers can create a URL using the physical address of the property, which is a helpful tool for out-of-town buyers who may not know the area in which they are looking to buy.

Listings are syndicated by some of the bigger seller sites like

Trulia, Craigslist, Yahoo and Google Base.
For more information and updates on the site, visit the MyMarketware blog.

Real Estate Agent Review Website Launches: IncredibleAgents.com

Choosing a real estate agent can be a daunting task, but this week two new sites have launched that may help buyers and sellers discern the good agents from the bad.

The first, Incredible Agents (sister company of Incredible Agent), is a real estate agent review site that allows buyers and sellers to rate their agent to help other buyers and sellers find the right agent for them. One of the cooler features on this site is the ability to directly interact with agents that you’ve reviewed: When you write a review, the agent can comment back on it.

The site also features agent interviews, whereby users can anonymously ask a variety of questions to a series of agents. This is a feature that I haven’t seen on any other site, and it should gain some traction among consumers.

I especially like Incredible Agents’ logo because it reminds me of The Incredibles, which is one of my favorite Pixar movies.

The second site, AgentRank is still in beta form, but will allow users to search for agents and reviews by city and endorsements by other users. What makes the functionality of this site unique is the access users have to an entire database from a single location–pretty sweet.

Let me know what you think about these sites once you use them. I’m curious to see what kind of traction they get.

(Via Dustin at 4Realz.net)

Real Estate Investors And First-Time Buyers Climb Aboard The Foreclosure Bus

As final legislation on foreclosure rescues near, real estate agents are pulling out the (bus) stops to sell pre-foreclosure and bank-owned homes. Brokers are offering bus and limousine rides to groups as a unique way for investor clients and first-time buyers to view several properties in one meeting.

Agents with The Gold Rush Group in Auburn, California, a suburb outside of Sacramento, have rented a stretch-SUV limousine to cruise clients around properties in style (and efficiency). Other companies are organizing bus tours, complete with slide shows and presentations to educate buyers about the purchase process. One brokerage, RE/MAX Central in Las Vegas has even offered agents on the tour for the purpose of drafting purchase and sale agreements on the spot. Often, guide packages with area details and comps are included in the tours—a great deal for first-time or out-of town-buyers.

These tours, while fun and convenient, feature advertisements and free-with-purchase deals. In the case of RE/MAX CENTRAL, the bus itself is an advertisement on wheels. The benefit to buyers is the ease with which they can view and tour properties, and many first-time buyers and investors are getting into properties they otherwise would have been priced out of or avoided because of these tours.

Cesar Dias, an agent operating out of Stockton, Calif., was covered on a segment of “60 Minutes” to talk about his tour. He said that foreclosure tours accomplish the two goals of finding buyers in down markets and selling properties—all in one fell swoop.

A simple Google search brought up several tours all over the country. This gets me thinking—and cringing—about the term ‘foreclosure tour bus.’ As the foreclosure market looks to be bottoming out, is this a last ditch (and expensive) attempt to sell a few extra homes? Inspectors are on hand at the homes, as are lenders, in an attempt to unload these properties from the banks. Depending on how you look at it, this could either be a sales trap or a great opportunity to buy a quick property. I’m not so sure I’ll be hopping on this ‘buswagon’.

Real Estate Websites ActiveRain And Move Inc. Set Trial Date For December

A lawsuit filed by ActiveRain against Move Inc. has finally received clearance for a court date and jury trial that will take place in December.

Move Inc. (formerly Homestore) is a public company that operates move.com and Realtor.com through a contract with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) trade group. ActiveRain is a social networking online community with close to 75,000 members who use the site for interest groups, blogging and online networking.

Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that Move Inc. approached ActiveRain in hopes of purchasing their website, and then intentionally fell into breach of contract by engaging in fraudulent activity and unfair competition during the failed acquisition. Move has countered that they believe their actions were without malicious intent, and conducted in fairness.

The lawsuit further alleges that officials at ActiveRain were misled when they were told that the acquisition was nearly complete. They believe this is further proof that Move was trying to acquire “highly sensitive material about its members and its network or platform in electronic format, in anticipation of the supposed impending closing.”

Both parties are currently in the process of gathering data and depositions.

A Blast From The Past Makes A Home For Today

The year is 1961. In the midst of the Cold War, the US government is building hundreds of Atlas-F missile silos in upstate New York in the event of a nuclear attack...which never comes. Equipped with air and land access, these silos sit, nestled underground, unused and completely unknown for several years. What the general public won’t know until many years later is that these long-abandoned silos will be prime for human occupation–in accessibility and functionality.

Straight out of a Bond movie, cousins Bruce Francisco and Gregory Gibbons purchased one of the missile silos and converted it into a multi-level underground luxury home. By renovating the 2,300 square foot control center, the cousins made a bleak and vacant space into a two-story, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. Sliding ‘Star War[s]-like doors’ between the open living area and the kitchen serve as entry into a tunnel which accesses the main chamber of the silo–a 20,000 square foot, nine floor steel structure.

I wonder if Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s butler, could be hired to park my bat mobile the dark depths of these silos.

As of 2001, the cousins had listed the property at $2.3 million, boasting:

“(A) new well, 200 amp electrical service, phone, original 1800 gallon functional septic. Contemporary fiber optic effect lighting along with natural sunlight rendition back lighting. High circulation venting (two 18" vent tubes), specifically designed to handle the demands of everyday living as well as those that may be posed in a crisis situation. (i.e. a nuclear or biochemical attack)."

I haven’t been able to determine if they sold it, and if so, for how much. I assume they purchased it from a government property auction, which avails government land and property to citizens looking to buy.

I hope we will never need to consider living in security-enhanced, nuclear and biochemically safe structures, but in the case we do, I suppose it’s comforting to know that they exist. And it doesn’t hurt that they could be kind of swanky in a post-apocalyptic chic sort of way.