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Want to Live in a Castle? 10 Great Options for $250k or Less

Posted in Features on July 29, 2008

Have you dreamed of owning a castle? For the price of an average home in the U.S., you can own a piece of history or the whole shebang. Not all castles listed on the market command a fortune. You can find a masseria in Italy, a châteaux in France (or, as you’ll see below, a plot of land on a châteaux property) or a property in Poland for a mere pittance. If you conduct a Web search for castles for sale, you might be pleasantly surprised at the prices you’ll discover.

In Eastern European countries like Poland and the Czech Republic, where many old castles and estates were often turned into agricultural buildings, schools or communal housing, some structures may go for less than $100,000. However, many of these properties do not meet American standards for “ready to move in.” They may lack amenities such as plumbing or sewer or they’ve been neglected to the point where it could cost millions of dollars to restore the property. And, as these properties become more popular, their prices will rise. But, if you’re patient, you’ll discover new properties listed daily at many of these Web sites.

The listings below are filed in price range from the lowest- to highest-priced properties, and they include properties that were discovered online during the second two weeks in July 2008. Therefore, they may not be available when you get around to checking out the properties, but you may find more properties to take their places. Their standing in this list is no reflection on value, as this list is just a list, not an endorsement of any property or real estate broker. In addition, the USD prices listed in parentheses below are an approximate value of a given price listed for a given property, based upon currency exchange values for the week of 14 July 2008.

1. A Masseria in Italy
   The Lowdown: A masseria is a farm or estate, and many Italian masserias once belonged to royalty. This particular Salento masseria is located in the Puglia (Apulia) countryside. It needs vast restoration for its fortifications, which include cultivated lands and terraces. Once restored, this palace could be breathtaking. The price, which seems ridiculously low, seems to be part of an auction scheme, as the Realtor states no prices on the home site, simply, “Reserved negotiations,” whereas other listings show the 1 EUR price.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: Although you may pay more than $1.50 USD for this property, if you have the wherewithal to purchase and renovate this masseria, you then could have a wise investment on your hands. Did we mention that this property is located near Lecce, a city also known as the “Florence of the South,” for its rich Baroque architectural monuments and for its location in southern Italy? Speaking of location (location, location), this property is located in a region in southeastern Italy that borders the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southern portion is known as “Salento,” a peninsula that forms a high heel on the “boot” of Italy. This is an ideal purchase for anyone who loves the countryside and endless water.
   Price:: 1 EUR ($1.58414 USD)
2. Italian Castle Living
   The Lowdown: Don’t let the ‘Castle on the Lake for rent’ title throw you when you follow this link. This late sixteenth-century castle is for sale. Originally created by Cardinal Morigia, this property contains a terraced park, grand staircases, Renaissance-style statues, a swimming pool, tennis court and panoramic views of a lake. It is currently used as a hotel, complete with antique furniture, marble flooring and wood parquet, frescos, five bedrooms with bathrooms and balconies and more for a grand total of 13,073 square feet. Yet, it needs restoration.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: This castle is located in Piedmont Ghiffa, an area in northern Italy. This area is popular with tourists, thanks to adjacent Lake Maggiore and to the famous nearby Sacro Monte, a site of pilgrimage and worship for Christians. So, this steal-of-a-deal hotel could make a great investment property for anyone who wants to host guests. Or, just purchase it for the furniture and flip the hotel unfurnished. On the other hand, this romantic-looking property might just steal your heart. In that case, you might hire an architect to scope out the true state of affairs, as this price seems too good to be true.
   Price:: 15,000 EUR ($24,000 USD)
3. Auvergne, France Châteaux Lot
   The Lowdown: If you don’t have the stomach for heavy-duty renovation, but you might be in the mood to build, perhaps this sweet little plot in France will tickle your fancy. This is a nicely-situated building plot located on the grounds of a nineteenth-century châteaux. You can build up to a 200m2 (2152.7 square feet) villa with two levels and a semi-attic for storage. You will have water, sewage, electricity and phone service, and the boundaries already have been marked off with newly planted hedges.
   Why You Should Want This Châteaux Lot: It’s located in Auvergne, folks - smack dab in the middle of France. This region is famous for its cheeses, mineral water exports and Michelin tires. Outside these material items, the buyer has full access to the communal swimming pool, sauna and bar area. So, no need to build anything other than your new home.
   Price:: 54,500.00 EUR ($86,466.71 USD)
4. Bulgarian Castle
   The Lowdown: This lion-splashed property is located in a small and quiet European mountain village at the feet of the Stara Panina and Sredna Gora mountains (Balkan Mountains). But, the castle also is centrally located, as Sopot is about three miles away, Karlovo is about six miles distant to the east and it is 41 miles to the city of Plovdiv to the south, which is the second largest city in Bulgaria after the capital city, Sofia. A river passes near the castle village and the region is suitable for hunting and fishing. An asphalt road leads from the village to the castle, which makes this castle approachable during winter. The house is a three-story building with modern architecture, electricity, running water, sewage-system, etc. The courtyard contains a large area of cultivation that includes trees, flowers and bushes. All this crown home needs is a bit of exterior work, according to the sellers.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: If you do some research into the area, you’ll learn that Sopot is famous for its paragliding and handgliding, Karlovo is filled with history and roses (literally - this is large-scale rose production, including their famous rose oil), and Plovidv is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center. All this comes together to provide you with an opportunity to appeal to a wide variety of tourists as you rent out your castle to visitors. Or, if you decide to live here yourself, you can enjoy one of the most ‘ready-to-move-in’ properties on this list.
   Price:: 55,000 EUR ($87,125.77 USD)
5. Costa Rican Castle
   The Lowdown: Before you pass judgement on this ‘castle’ (it is listed as such), look at the price and the amenities first. This property is conveniently located in the Nicoya Península in Costa Rica, with good access and ample public road frontage. It is close to Carrillo and Sámara beaches, and it has awesome panoramic views to scenic valleys. There are three rivers, two are small and one is big, on 481 acres. And, it comes with water and electricity.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: Although this castle doesn’t come with turrets, it is located in the Guanacaste region, known for sportsfishing, heavenly beaches, bird watching, horseback riding, excellent surfing, superb snorkeling and truly amazing and breathtaking scenery. The eastern border of Guanacaste is formed by a chain of volcanoes. They offer great hiking and views of the surrounding countryside. Dense and lush forests fill the valleys, and many endangered animals and birds reside here, including jaguars and tapirs. If you’re a nature enthusiast, you could lose yourself in this kingdom.
   Price:: $100,000 USD
6. Southern Slovakian Castle
   The Lowdown: If you’d like four bastions on your castle as well as 35 bedrooms, then this gem - located in the Casoviapolis region of Slovakia in eastern Europe - might be yours. The rooms which were used as classrooms for a primary school during the last half of the twentieth century. The property carries a large park in front with a small pond, and it also is in reach of all the amenities that Trnava has to offer. The history within this town dates back to 1211, if not earlier. After the establishment of Slovakia in 1993, Trnava became the capital of the newly created Trnava Region in 1996. Any person who chooses to purchase this castle also will enjoy access to universities, libraries, theaters, a district hospital and other modern amenities against an historical backdrop.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: This structure is large enough to house a single family as well as a few guests. Make it work as a honeymoon retreat, complete with a history that would suit the setting. The first written document about this castle was generated in 1583, when the Croatian nobel, Ungnada, invited other nobles to this residence for his daughter’s wedding. Although this castle has seen numerous renovations since that event, this castle’s Renaissance/Baroque stylings can capture the imagination of any newly-wedded couple. For the price listed below, how could you go wrong?
   Price:: 107,000 EUR ($169,711.46 USD)
7. XVI-Century Palace in Lower Silesia
   The Lowdown: If your style is Baroque built with brick and stone, then this palace from the XVI century (1570) might tickle your historic decorating bone. Located in the Boleslawiec area of Poland (home of Boleslawiec Pottery), this building contains a strong foundation, an asphalt access road, electricity, sewer and water. Telephone lines, Internet access and a full basement makes this private property an absolute steal.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: While the property needs renovation, there’s a place for parking and the opportunity to purchase adjoining land. Along with all the amenities listed above, this building easily could be made into a tourist hotel for pottery fanatics. Much of the pottery made in this region is of high-quality, handpainted stoneware. In 1898, the German government established the Keramische Fachschule (Ceramic Technical Training School) to foster development of the art. The added plus is this castle’s terrace with mountain views.
   Price:: 125,000 EUR ($198,242.18 USD)
8. 19th Century Castle For Sale in Hungary
   The Lowdown: This European castle, built in the classicist style, is a gem in the rough. It is located in Kercseliget, Hungary, near the city of Kaposvar (the capital of the county of Somogy) and about thirty-one miles from the Balaton, one of the largest lakes in Europe and often called the “Hungarian Sea.” A water quality survey has been conducted on this property, and the water is spa-quality, the same as two other spas located nearby.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: Although this structure was built about 1840, the foundation is strong. Additionally, preliminary construction has begun to convert this building, which has a wine cellar, into a tourist facility. The spa waters add to the possibility that this castle could earn its keep, especially with its close proximity to Kaposvar and to the popular tourist destination of Lake Balaton.
   Price:: 150,000 EUR ($237,969.23 USD) (Negotiable)
9. An Irish Abode
   The Lowdown: The top write-up in this link is the one of interest, as it offers the Brackloon Castle Clonfert, County Galway for sale. Clonfert and its castle is part of the ancestral home of the Maddens and forms a stage of the Beara-Breifne Greenway which is based on the historic march of O’Sullivan Beara in 1603. Attacked many times and captured by Queen Mary’s forces during the sixteenth century, this castle was inhabited until the 1950s. At that time, teachers from the nearby Clonfert School were its inhabitants. They enjoyed four floors connected by a spiral stone staircase that, contrary to popular construction, spirals counterclockwise. The castle is now missing its upper floors and it is roofless, but the main structure appears sound and able to withstand restoration.
   Why You Should Want This Castle: If an Irish soul is reading this (especially a Madden), need I say more? But, just to entice you even further, the tower house of this castle is located on 8.5 acres overlooking a stream with opportunities for fishing. Plus, the owner can look for further entertainment on the Shannon, which is fit for sailing and cruising. This castle is situated close to the village of Clonfert, a tiny village in South Galway bordering County Offaly. This village is well known for Saint Brendan’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, the oldest living church in Ireland with an unbroken history of public worship.
   Price:: £120,000 ($239,605.18 USD)
10. Fortified Castle and Jesuit Estate
    The Lowdown: If you want a safe place to reside in the South American countryside, then you might find this fortified castle and 1790 Jesuit estate in Uruguay appropriate. The property is located on a 148-acre ranch in north Uruguayan hill country. Although the land around this area is traditionally known for sheep and cattle breeding, much of the area is being converted to forest. This may be the oldest castle for sale in Uruguay, as it dates back to Spanish colonial era, founded by Jesuits, and later used as a Spanish royal mail stage post.
    Why You Should Want This Castle: While the amenities are limited, many parts of this building are the original 1790s construction, including the entranceway. The property contains a quarters for staff, a barn and a workshop. You’ll own cattle installations along with a fieldstone corral. While you may not want to own cattle, these structures possibly could be used for horses. The property is located about 249 miles from Montevideo, which is the largest city, the capital and chief port of Uruguay. A big plus - most of that road is paved! The only problem, really, to acquiring this simple yet beautiful abode is the price. You may need to haggle down $10,000 USD to meet the the $250,000 mark, but this one was just too good to leave off the list!
    Price:: $260,000 USD

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10 Beautiful Private Islands for Sale (That You Could Actually Afford)

Posted in Features on July 9, 2008

Who hasn’t dreamed of living on a private island, away from the hustle and bustle of city life? But, how often have you dismissed this dream with thoughts that you couldn’t possibly afford this luxury? Well, you may need to rethink your dreams, because many private islands now are listed for less than $500,000 USD. In fact, you can find islands for less than $100,000. All you need to do is spend a little time searching online for your dream environment.

The point to remember in this situation is that you get what you pay for. Cheaper islands, on the whole, tend to be undeveloped. This means that you may need to acquire electricity, plumbing and land suitable for building to complete your dream of living on said island. Additionally, it may be tough to obtain a mortgage for island purchases, because most islands lack ‘comparables’ for valuation purposes. So, you’ll either need cash on hand or a solid business plan for development that could add valuation to your island (such as a resort).

On the other hand, you can employ such amenities as prefabricated homes, easy-to-install solar power, reverse-osmosis water filtration systems and composting toilets. All these items, which are perfect for island living, are within reach for an island dweller’s average budget. So, keep these plus-side items in mind when you tackle your search. The ten islands listed below will give you a head start, as they lead to real estate businesses that can help you realize your private island dream.

The list below is organized by price, with the least expensive listed first, and the most expensive at the end.

1. West Bank Lighthouse: The U.S. General Services Administration actually is auctioning two lighthouses/islands in New York. The one shown here, the West Bank Lighthouse, and the Old Orchard Shoal Lighthouse both are for sale. Both properties are open for bids starting at $10,000, and - as of this writing - no bids have been offered. On the plus side, both lighthouses offer 360-degree water views and both lighthouses retain basic integrity despite neglect. Plus, the new owners will claim a bit of history with either purchase. But, both lighthouses have been neglected, and they will be sold “as is” without warranties. Additionally, both properties require an easement to legally occupy the submerged land, and the properties must be maintained in accordance with the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and in consultation with the New York State Historic Preservation Office. The Old Orchard Shoal Lighthouse is located approximately 3.5 miles south of New Drop Beach on Staten Island, Richmond County, New York. The keeper’s quarters consist of approximately 1000 square feet of space with porthole-styled windows. The interior is brick-lined in the first three stories. The West Bank Lighthouse is located in Lower New York Bay and is situated approximately 3.2 miles east of Staten Island, Richmond County, New York. This property sits on a man-made island and includes a riprap breakwater which extends westward approximately 100 feet from the lighthouse. There are two pilings which serve as moorings, and the interior is accessed by a metal platform and ladder. Both properties are accessible only by boat. Current price: Starting at $10,000 USD.
2. Dolphin Bay Island: This is a small island that consists of 6,000 sq. ft., but it is located in a very nice area near Bocatorito, Panama, with views of Dolphin Bay. Plus, access to the island is easy, with a connection to San Cristobal Island via a strip of mangrove and access by boat within twenty minutes from Bocas. You’ll find a few large trees and some pineapple plants, and the island sits in protected waters with deep water nearby. The island displays elevation, and it is perfect for a single-family home. Current price: $40,000 USD.
3. Bereck Island: Canadian islands remain a relative bargain, with several available for less than $100,000. Bereck Island, located on Stuart Lake in British Columbia, Canada, represents one of these bargains. Stuart Lake is the seventh largest lake in B.C., and it is a fisherman’s paradise stocked with rainbow trout, lake trout and kokanee. The island is approximately one acre, and it is surrounded by a shallow rocky shelf on its south side that is exposed during low water level and that is visible during winter. The island is accessible by boat or by floatplane. Bereck Island is zoned as residential, so there should not be any problems building a dwelling. Nearby towns include Fort St. James, which is accessible by paved road and is located about 60 km north of Vanderhoof and 160 km northwest of Prince George. Current price: CAD $65,000 ($64,327.21 USD).
4. David Island: Settle down on approximately five forested acres in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. David Island lies in the bay of Port Felix, about 30km from the city of Canso and near the town of Whitehead. The existing simple 12′ x 16′ cabin was built in 2003, and it does not support a septic system. But, it will provide a roof over your head as you plan for your future residence (which is, in principal, possible). This island could serve as a great fishing camp, provided you bring potable water. The view includes the mainland and other islands, which lie in the Tor Bay direction. Current price: CAD $75,000 ($74,474.55 USD).
5. Chris Pinnacle: This sale consists of two islands, which comprise an area of approximately 2.47 acres or one hectare located in Jordan, on the western side of Guimaras, Philippines. One island contains a small bamboo hut with an outside seating area and a concrete pier. While no electricity runs to the islands, it is possible to transport power and water across from the mainland via underwater pipe. The mainland is only a few hundred meters, or a five-minute boat ride, from the island. The larger of the two islands holds a large area at the peak where a house could be situated. This view is magnificent, as you can enjoy the sunset to the west and unusual rock formations along the coastline to the east. The smaller island is in ‘virgin condition,’ and it also contains a flat top. Both islands are within viewing distance of a resort situated a mere 200 meters away on the mainland. This location and ease of access, in addition to the unusual stone formations, the potential for sea-kayaking and diving and snorkeling (yes, coral formations are abundant here) make these islands ideal for resort development. Current price: $100,000 USD.
6. Cockroach Caye: If you want to start from scratch, Cockroach Caye (shaped like a cockroach), located fifteen miles east of Belize City, Belize, Central America, is a great place to begin. This unspoiled, undeveloped virgin swamp-free ten-acre property features 500 feet of Caribbean sea front in Cockroach Bay with approximately 300 yards to the eighteen-mile-long reef. The island sits on top of the reef that extends from Turneffe Island, located a mere 300 feet west of this island. The island will need to be cleared for development, as it is packed with coconut trees and mangrove. But, you’ll discover beautiful white sand along its beaches. If you are into fishing, you’ll discover tarpon and bonefish in the nearby flats and in the deep blue you can fish for Marlin, Sail Fish, Tuna , Wahoo and more. Cockroach Caye is part of the Turneffe Atoll , which is about thirty miles long and about eight miles wide, and is the largest of the three atolls in the area. Turneffe is the closest to the mainland and is home to a number of world-class dive sites. The atoll has a scattering of fishing camps, some of which are permanently occupied, and some of which are used only on a seasonal basis. At peak times, when combined with tourists and researchers, the atoll is inhabited by approximately 300 people. If you arrive by air to Belize City, it will take you about one hour to get to your island by boat. The seller is eager, and will consider all offers and can offer some financing as well. Current price: $189,900 USD.
7. Lenur Island: Lenur Island is a beautiful and unspoiled thirty-seven acre island, situated in the crystal clear waters of South Malakula, Republic of Vanuatu, Oceania. The archipelago is some 1,090 miles east of northern Australia, 310 miles north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands. The archipelago is of volcanic origin, and maintains a tropical or sub-tropical climate. The island is surrounded by small trees and a few coconut palms and there is about three fresh water streams that run from the mainland to the island’s harbor. From all claims, this island is the best site for a fishing stop for people who decided to come for game fishing in Vanuatu. It claims the best harbor and beautiful sunset views. Current price: $400,000 USD.
8. Eagle’s Nest Island: Who would have thought that an affordable island could be found in the heart of the U.S.? Eagle’s Nest Island, located in Bath Springs, Decatur County, Tennessee, offers over 167 acres of undisturbed hardwoods, stone and sand in the middle of the Tennessee River. The island holds some Civil War history, as Union troops searched for Confederate troops here in 1863. Decatur County and its cities and communities (including Parsons and Decaturville) boasts an active and progressive Chamber of Commerce, fine medical facilities, one of the best paramedic and emergency response teams in the State of Tennessee, a host of volunteer fire departments, an all volunteer, highly professional rescue squad and an excellent education system. The county borders fifty miles of undeveloped river property, a tourism card that brings many visitors to this area to enjoy fishing, camping, swimming and river recreation, sports and hunting. The island is approachable only by boat. Current Price: $350,000 USD.
9. Carrington Cay: If you’ve been to Great Abaco Island and fell in love with this Bahamian island, then this treat is right up your alley. This island is located just 300 feet offshore from Great Abaco Island, but it provides the seclusion that only a 1.4-acre private island can offer. Still, you would be located within minutes of shopping and other urban conveniences at Leisure Lee, an exclusive canal community filled with quality homes. Carrington Cay also is located just three miles from the more cosmopolitan Treasure Cay, a thriving luxury resort with a full-service marina, golf course, shopping and every amenity imaginable. The island has good deep water for dockage at western end (eight-foot depth at mean low water), and spectacular views of nearby Great Guana Cay and Treasure Cay. A rare bonus is that due to the prevailing winds, the island is essentially insect-free, and with cable, electricity and potable water available for hook-up from the mainland, it will be easy to establish all the comforts of home on your private island paradise as soon as you sign the papers. Current price: $455,000 USD.
10. Katunayake Island: Located a mere two-minute speed boat ride from the west coast of Sri Lanka, this ten-acre Asian tropical island begs for an eco-tourism resort development. Why? For one reason, the buyer is required to divest in an Eco-Friendly operation. Secondly, the convenience of the nearby Bandaranayake International Airport and the short distance to Colombo, Sri Lanka, makes it easy for visitors to gain access to your property. Finally, the island is a beauty, with deciduous woods on the west side and green grasses and swaying trees on the eastern shores. The lagoon is peaceful, and you’ll enjoy birds that nest on the island, great sunsets and sunrises, swimming and fishing from the beaches or rocks, caving and shell collecting. Although the island lacks electricity and phone service (cell signal is available), you can develop connectivity easily from the main road. Current price: $500,000 USD.

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10 Little-Known Palaces and Homes Where Royalty Play

Posted in Features on June 12, 2008

How would you hide from the paparazzi, your scathing skeptics or needy subjects if you were a member of royalty? Would you own several homes far, far away from your domain? Or, would you show up unexpectedly with bodyguards and staff to a high-priced resort tucked neatly away in the Caribbean? It appears that some royalty maintain traditions where they show up at a summer home on schedule, a habit that tends to keep news about their travels low-key. Lately, however, it seems that some royalty have altered those well-known habits based upon political agendas or to simply break with generations-old customs. Why settle for the musty family summer palace when you can visit a new high-priced resort geared to royalty?

This ability to venture beyond tradition has led to another new trick for royalty and celebrities alike - if you can travel with staff, why not stay in the home of another multi-millionaire? This possibility has led some royals to stay in celebrity homes, palaces that belong to other royal families or in the homes of corporate CEOs who unabashedly rent their abodes for tens of thousands of dollars per week.

We discovered all the above choices when we picked a handful of royals to follow for their vacations and getaways. While the sites listed below are numbered and listed in alphabetical order, these organizational techniques do not indicate that we favor one getaway over another or that they are listed in order of value.

1. Château de Caïx: Queen Margrethe of Denmark is a real homebody. Although she visits other heads of state for political reasons, her heart stays with her homeland as she officially resides at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen (where the Queen was born), spends summer at Marselisborg Castle near Århus, and uses Fredensborg Castle in North Zealand during the spring and fall. But, Queen Margrethe and her husband, Prince Henrik, also acquired a more private abode in 1974 when they purchased the Château de Caïx in Cahors, southern France. This latter home is the Queen’s true playground, where she can devote herself to her painting, graphic work and other artistic pursuits. Her works have been displayed at several exhibitions since 1988. This home also is a hideaway for her husband and his French relatives when he wants to escape Danish royal life, as this home originally belonged to his wine-producing family. Henrik was born to French parents, and his native tongue also is French.
2. Marivent Palace (Palma de Mallorca): This is the traditional summer home for Spanish King Juan Carlos and his royal family. While kings usually grant aging castles and palaces to municipalities, this building was granted by the city to the king when he was a prince. King Carlos and his son, both ardent sailors, participate in the Yacht Regattas in August and the Royal Yacht is moored in Portals Nous. Palma is the major city and port on the island of Mallorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Spanish Balearic Islands in Europe. In 2007, however, tradition was broken when Juan Carlos’ daughters, princesses Cristina and Elena, arrived in Budva, Montenegro to stay at the Iberostar Bellevue in August. Also known as the Budva Riviera, this coastal town is a tourist attraction and one of the oldest settlements on the Adriatic sea coast in southeastern Europe. The hotel is located along the spectacular Plaza Bellevue beach and is surrounded by unspoilt, green countryside. Located just a few miles from the center of Budva, a jet-set summer resort, this hotel has been historically marked as a destination for European royal families. Among the prestigious hotels located here is the “Milocer,” former residence of royal family Karadordevic of Serbia.
3. Michael Appe home: Few individuals would know about this home or its location in the Town of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, unless they were born in the region, if they have too much money and a reason to hide away, or if they read the news about French President Sarkozy’s stay here in summer 2007. When French President and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (also simply known as Nicolas Sarkozy), visited this lakeside a town of around 6,000 residents 85 miles north of Boston last year, many learned that this area bills itself as the oldest summer resort in the U.S. Wolfeboro is a popular tourist destination because of its proximity to Lake Winnipesaukee. For residents, Wolfeboro represents a town with the seventh highest per capita income and the lowest crime rate in the country, the highest SAT scores for its students and - as a further benefit - a location in one of the lowest taxed states in the country. Like many current royalty, Sarkozy holed up in another multimillionaire’s home for his vacation, one that belongs to former Microsoft executive Michael Appe. Appe rents his 13,000-square-foot home for $30,000 per week, a fact that didn’t escape the notice of Sarkozy’s French critics. That amount equals one-third of the French president’s annual salary, another fact that might lead observers to understand that Sarkozy may not need his salary to stay afloat on Lake Winnipesaukee. Wolfeboro has a long history of hosting the rich and famous, including Monaco’s Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, author Kurt Vonnegut and actress Drew Barrymore.
4. Mustique: The Island of Mustique was made private when it was leased for 99 years from the British Commonwealth by Scotsman Colin Tennant aka Lord Glennconner in 1958. He turned the island into a hideway for British royals and celebrities. He lost the island in the 1970s, but the island remained private thanks to the operation and ownership of the Mustique Company, an organization comprised of shareholders and villa owners who are dedicated to protecting this island’s natural beauty, tranquility and privacy. Comprised of 1,400 acres, Mustique is part of the Grenadines in the West Indies on the edge of the Caribbean. Prince William and his long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton escaped to this resort for a romantic getaway in 2006, and they stayed in a villa owned by John Robinson (a close friend of Kate’s parents), the multimillionaire founder of the Jigsaw fashion chain (where Kate once worked). A more recent trip by Prince William and Kate put them in the £1,785-per-night Villa Alumbrera, one of the island’s most opulent and secluded mansions, for a week. This villa is owned by the widow of Swedish mining tycoon Adolf Lundin. Other royalty who have frequented this island include Princess Margaret and Viscout David Linley. Prices range from $5,000 per week for a two-bedroom villa to $27,000 per week for a nine-bedroom villa, depending upon season. Single rooms range from $500 to $1,400 per night. The most popular ‘hangout’ on the island is Basil’s Bar, which also is home to the Mustique Blues Festival. Proceeds from the sale of the festival’s CDs and t-shirts fund the Basil Charles’ Education Fund, an organization that provides education for children who reside in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
5. Nagarjung Palace: One way to use a royal summer home is to house a former king within its walls. Although King Gyanendra of Nepal won’t be playing around here, at least he has a roof over his head. And, he can dream about all the former summers he spent at Nagarjung Palace. King Gyanendra of Nepal was dethroned in May 2008 by this country’s new Constitutuent Assembly, which abolished the Asian monarchy and declared Nepal a republic. Officials met with Gyanendra in June, and the former King asked the new government to find alternative accommodation as his former home was occupied by his son and his family. The Cabinet decided to allow Gyanendra to move to Nagarjung Palace, which is situated on a forested hill on the edge of Katnamdu. Gyanendra used Nagarjung palace as his summer home, as it is surrounded by walls and has remained off-limits to the public. The palace has been nationalized by the new government along with most of the royal assets. It’s unknown how long Gyanendra will remain at the summer palace, or if the public will be able to view the inside of this vacation home in the near future. The monarchy’s end was the culmination of a two-year peace process that saw communist insurgents give up their armed struggle, join mainstream politics and win the most seats in April elections.
6. Necker Island: Before Sir Richard Branson became a “Sir,” he visited the British Virgin Islands to investigate real estate for his rock stars signed to his then new Virgin Label. Necker Island was the final island on his list, and he made such a lowball bid on the £3 million price tag for this 74-acre piece of real estate that he was evicted from the island. But, the owner, Lord Cobham, eventually settled for £180,000. Within three years and for $10 million, Branson built a 10-bedroom Balinese-style villa that crowns a hill above the beach. Each of the ten bedrooms contains open walls that provide a 360-degree view and cooling winds from any direction within the house. Built from local stone and Brazilian hardwoods, the retreat is decorated with antiques, art and bamboo furniture from Bali. With accommodations for up to 28 people, the entire resort rents for $47,000 per day. Famous figures who have stayed at Branson’s resort include the late Princess Diana, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Janet Jackson, Harrison Ford, Eddie Murphy and Oprah Winfrey. If you want to visit the island you can find a way to join a legitimate scientific expedition to study a rare species of gecko, which has full and unfettered access to the island. You can reach Necker via San Juan (Puerto Rico), St Thomas, Antigua or Barbados followed by a connecting flight to Beef Island, Tortola. From Beef Island there’s a 30-minute transfer via the Necker Island private launch. Necker Island currently is one of eight getaways now owned by Virgin Limited Edition
7. Paleis Het Oude Loo: Het Oude Loo is not a palace as much as a “Lust-hof,” or retreat, located near Apeldoorn, Netherlands in Europe. Now owned by the state, the former royal residence was built starting in 1684 for Stadtholder William III and his consort, Mary II of England. For over three hundred years, Het Loo was the summer residence of the House of Orange-Nassau, which became the Dutch royal family. Queen Wilhelmina declared that when she died the palace would go to the State, and it did in 1962 when Wilhelmina died at this retreat. After a thorough restoration, Het Loo now houses a national museum and library devoted to the House of Orange-Nassau in Dutch history and its gardens recently have been renovated to match earlier representation. Yet, Het Loo remains habitable, as evidenced by the use of the palace by Japanese royalty who are close friends to the royal family of Netherlands. Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Netherlands in October 1979 and May 2000 and stayed at the Het Oude Loo castle on both occasions. In the latest known visit, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and his family, on a two-week private trip to the Netherlands in 2006, visited former royal stables with Queen Beatrix and her family and stayed at Het Loo. This summer home is worth a visit by anyone who is interested in architecture, gardening and history. You can visit the park all year round, but the area around the castle is open only a few months a year.
8. Sofiero Palace: This palace represents a royal retreat that has been given to the state, while the current royals in Sweden look to other resources for relaxation. Sofiero Palace was King Gustav VI Adolf’s summer residence throughout his adult life, and he bequeathed Sofiero to Helsingborg Municipality in his will in 1973 after he created one of the most spectacular rhododendron collections at this estate. Few Swedish palaces can boast a more beautiful European setting. Today, there are over 10,000 rhododendron bushes of 300 varieties and just as many hybrids on the grounds. In recent years, the park has hosted a wide range of events, including open-air concerts, garden displays, exhibitions, courses and craft fairs. The current King of Sweden, His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, is the grandson of King Gustav VI Adolf, and he became the heir apparent when his father died in an airplane crash one year after the he was born. King Carl XVI Gustaf is most well known as the presenter of the Nobel Prizes each year. He and his family tend to travel to various locations for their ‘play’ rather than to retreat to a summer palace. With that said, visitors to Sofiero often can bump into royalty when they attend gallery openings or other events held at this palace.
9. The Glass Villa (Camli Kösk): Turkish presidents reside in the Çankaya Palace (shown at left), which takes its name from Ankara’s Çankaya district in the south of the capital. The palace, which was first used by Atatürk, has an important place in the history of Turkish politics. The compound, which has been enlarged in time with additional buildings and facilities, covers an area of over 400 acres. Designed by Seyfi Arkan, a Turkish architect, as a single-story modern residence during the mid 1930s, the Glass Villa is part of this compound and has served as a residence for Prime Ministers and Speakers of the Republican Senate until 1970. Through the years, the Glass Villa was extensively modified and extended, the latest having been completed in 1996. Since then, it serves again as a guest house for visiting heads of states as it once did in the 1950s. Although uncertain, we believe this may be the building where Queen Elizabeth II stayed on her recent visit to Ankara. Outside Ankara, Turkey has laid out the welcome mat country-wide to royals who wish to support Turkey’s bid to join the European Union (EU). So far as the West is concerned, Turkey can be said to be the most successful example of a Muslim country which has embraced democracy. Turkey closed its first chapter of negotiations with the EU in June 2006, and in May 2008, Queen Elizabeth II made her first visit to Turkey in 37 years. Despite France’s opposition to these developments, the French beauty, Marie Cavallier, joined Prince Joachim of Denmark in Turkey for a romantic getaway in summer 2007, where he proposed to her on bended knee. No matter if it’s Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul or some unknown hideaway, expect to hear about some royal getaway or real estate purchase news from this country over the upcoming seasons. The earliest date that Turkey could enter the EU, by the way, is 2013.
10. Whisper Bay: This new and exclusive development represents the typical resort that is replacing summer palaces and homes for many royals and celebrities. Located in Airlie Beach, near Queensland, Australia, this area - together with adjacent Shute Harbour - provides one of the embarkation points for both the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef. Airlie Beach, has appealed to backpackers for years, so it historically has been a relaxed and low-key tourist destination. But, this feel is changing rapidly, thanks to developers such as Rory O’Brien’s $280 million-dollar Whisper Bay project. A horde of the rich and famous, who use jets and sails to travel to and from this resort, have bought into O’Brien’s development among other exclusive development enclaves located in this area. Airlee Beach residents and visitors now see the likes of Scottish actor Sean Connery, former Dreamworld boss John Longhurst, ex-league rugby star Matthew Johns, former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and shipping multimillionaire Owen Glenn as they enjoy the area’s relaxing amenities. As a side note, Airlee Beach really doesn’t contain a beach - but it does sport a man-made lagoon.

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10 Most Beautiful, Unique and Amazing Celebrity Homes

Posted in Features on May 28, 2008

A few weeks ago, we introduced you to what we considered the Top 10 Ridiculous, Obnoxious, and Just Plain Ugly Celebrity Houses. Now, we’re going to do an about-face and show you the homes we believe to be the top ten most beautiful, amazing and unique celebrity homes. While some homes on this list teeter on the border of obnoxious, even the most expensive or largest homes have been saved by tasteful touches. We were not surprised to discover that the most beautiful homes were those that were modest, that seemed to fit into their surroundings, and that supplied just enough panache for each celebrity to call that house a “home.”

The list below is in no particular order. While the home sites are numbered, the numbering does not indicate that we favor one home over another or that they are listed in order of value.

1. Oprah Winfrey: This home, located in Santa Barbara, California, belongs to Oprah Winfrey. The property covers approximately forty-two acres and the house is 23,000 square feet. It has six bedrooms, fourteen bathrooms, ten fireplaces and a home theater. Oprah added a man-made lake stocked with rare fish and she had local Montecito sandstone bricks hand-laid into a quarter-mile long driveway. Although this house is nicknamed, “Oprah’s Hearst Castle,” we like it because of the landscaping, which is meticulous. To Oprah’s credit, this property contains the largest amount of green space in Santa Barbara. Its balanced elegance reminds us somewhat of the famous historic Biltmore estates located in Ashland, North Carolina.
2. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn: Actors Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell moved to Vancouver, Canada to support their son’s fledgling hockey career. This home, a Tudor-style creation located in the Shaughnessy area, is now on the market again and listed at $5.4 million Canadian. It contains five bedrooms and eleven fireplaces, a gym and a built-in theater room, and the house sports a grand oak paneled entrance hall with fireplace, two dens, new kitchen, private yard and a separate coach house. There is a formal living room and separate dining room, a conservatory, and the master suite contains a separate dressing area. The couple purchased the home in 2002 for $2,995,000, or $1,875,000 US dollars, and its charm and settings make the grade for this list.
3. Madonna: This pop-singer icon made a bid on Ashcombe, the former home of late photographer Cecil Beaton, in 2001. Friends including Rex Whistler, Salvador Dali and Augustus John returned Beaton’s hospitality by painting murals in the house. Located in Wiltshire, England, this 1,200-acre carried a guide price of £9 million. This was the first time that Ashcombe had been for sale on the open market since the First World War. It is an exceptionally private house, hidden in its own valleys which contain one of the country’s best shoots. The pop star learned how to fish, hunt and ride horses, so this home seemed to fit Madonna to a “T” in 2001. The couple also owns a mansion in London, and the Wiltshire property is within easy reach and close to the Wiltshire estate of Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler. They are close friends of the singer and first introduced her to her husband, Guy Ritchie. It appears recently, however, that Madonna has put Aschombe on the market again, this time to the tune of £12 million.
4. George Clooney: This sexy and talented actor purchased this 25-room Italian villa in 2001. Known as Villa Oleandra, it is said to contain an outdoor theater, a large swimming pool and a garage for Clooney’s motorcycles. Italian journalists and tourists swarmed to the small town of Laglio, where this villa is located, when they heard rumors that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would wed at pal George Clooney’s lakeside estate. Clooney has some illustrious neighbors as well - designer Donatella Versace owns a home on Lake Como near the burial place of her late brother Gianni. Singer Avril Lavigne and husband Deryck Whimbey honeymooned in Lake Como a few years ago as well. Clooney really admires this home and says, “I go there whenever I can. It’s where I wrote Good Night And Good Luck and where I finished the script for Leatherheads. It’s a really peaceful place to go and write.” Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas are regular guests at the mansion, where Clooney also shot scenes for the film, Ocean’s Twelve.
5. Joel Horowitz: The co-founder for Tommy Hilfiger found his home - named Tranquility - in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. This home, conveniently located on the tax-free side of Lake Tahoe, contains a 20,000-square-foot main house that is modeled after a northern European mountain home. It also contains a 3,500-bottle wine cellar, an indoor swimming pool and an atrium as well as a 19-seat movie theater. It also boasts nine bedrooms, fourteen full and five half-baths, a private lake with docks and two par-three golf holes. While this home could be called “ostentatious,” it carries a glamor reminiscent of Europe. The living room features a double-height ceiling adorned with carved beams, large windows at one apse-like end and hand-carved antique fireplaces. The dining room’s floor dates back to the 17th century, and was salvaged from a French chateau. Its ceilings are hand-painted, not with Old World themes, but images of animals indigenous to Lake Tahoe. Want to purchase the home? It’s on the market again for a cool $100 million.
6. Jerry Seinfeld: Comedian Jerry Seinfeld purchased this lavish and luscious East Hampton, New York estate from rocker Billy Joel for the then record-setting price of $32 million in 2000. According to the magazine, OK!, this home beat out properties own by Donald Trump, Sir Elton John, and even George Clooney’s Italian villa noted above for the number one celebrity palace in 2007. This home has been described as a “magnificent Tudor-style waterfront manor … sited on over 14 acres of rolling lawns and naturalized landscaping. There are three buildings total with a sum of twenty-four rooms, including eight full baths and five half-baths. There are thirteen fireplaces, a gym, indoor and outdoor pools, a gourmet kitchen, a tennis court, a bowling alley, a guest cottage, a music room, a smoking bar and a wine cellar. Annual taxes are $208,463.
7. William Zysblat: William Zysblat recently purchased this modern beauty located in East Quogue, New York. Zysblat’s company, RZO Productions, has handled business and management affairs for rock icons U2, David Bowie, The Police and the Rolling Stones among others. The sale of the oceanfront post modern home on Dune Road closed in December for $6.2 million. The asking price for the 3,200 sq ft dwelling had been $6.7 million. The property includes 166 feet of ocean frontage on 2.5 acres. The home was designed by Quogue-based architect Jay Sears, and has a heated gunite pool, guest house, and tennis and bocce courts.
8. Tony Hawk: Tony Hawk shoveled his profits from professional skateboarding and gaming into this modest 5,000 square-foot home with a 4,000 square-foot skate park in Carlsbad, California. He grew frustrated from begin hassled by fans at public parks, so he added this unique skateboarding feature to his home. It comes complete with a rail, a center pyramid and a ledge that serves as a bench. Other outdoor features include a basketball court and a pool. Inside you’d find about $150,000 worth of gaming electronics hooked to a 65-inch plasma HDTV. Sounds like Hawk lives his work - all skateboard and video games. And, although this home seems a bit on the stark side, Hawk has made it his home. That, in our book, is truly amazing for any celebrity.
9. Brad Pitt: We chose Brad Pitt and his home(s) for several reasons. First, although this cliffside home isn’t shabby (worth about $4.5 million), it is just one piece of the Pitt puzzle. When you compare this home to their modest 1830s New Orleans dwelling, the cliffside home takes on a new perspective. This house is unusual, just like the house in the New Orleans that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Not to say that the home in Louisiana was inexpensive - it’s located near the French Quarter, and Pitt paid $3.5 million in cash on January 2, 2007, for the right to live there. According to the news story, “A real estate listing for the property shows the house has a grand spiral staircase, elevator, gourmet kitchen, a large private courtyard and a separate two-story guest house. It also has private parking for two cars - a luxury in the French Quarter.” Of course, it was a matter of convenience as well, as Pitt was filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in Louisiana last year. And, in the process, he’s also overseer of the housing project in storm-ravaged lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. This effort, in our opinion, is a mighty one indeed. In contrast to his isolated home in California, Brad and his consort, Angelina Jolie, appear to be good southern neighbors in a busy and famous neighborhood.
10. Sandra Bullock: This home is the quintessential Tybee Island, Georgia beauty. Actress Sandra Bullock spent more than one million dollars to purchase this modest three-story home on the north end of the island in 2001. She also purchased empty lots on either side of the home to protect her privacy. She reportedly owns homes in Southern California, Jackson Hole, Wyoming and in Austin, Texas as well. Bullock bought the home after filming Forces of Nature. The island faces the Savannah river inlet east of Savannah where portions of the movie where filmed.

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The Foreclosure Investing Web Guide: 100 Useful Resources

Posted in Features on May 13, 2008

There seems to be no end to the number of foreclosure opportunities for investors these days. In keeping with this trend, a number of Web sites have been created to serve the foreclosure investor. To that end, we’ve listed 100 sites below, from tutorials to databases to articles and blogs. Although some sites are more useful than others, we’ve tried to avoid sites that offer no value to the investor whatsoever. These include databases listings without a clue as to who offers these databases and Web sites that offer advice without credentials. With that said, we may have missed a site or two that may truly be useful. If you know of a site that provides value to the foreclosure investor, let us know through your comments.

The list below is in no particular order, but each link is listed alphabetically under the provided categories. While the sites are numbered, the numbering does not indicate that we favor one site over another or that they are listed in order of value.

Tutorials

Few deep tutorials on how to purchase foreclosed property as an investment exist online. However, the basics are all anyone needs to hunt for further information. Remember that each state carries specific laws that relate to purchasing foreclosures, so be sure to check with local resources before you make a decision to invest in a foreclosure.

1. About Buying HUD Homes: Straight from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to you - a guide on how to buy a 1 to 4 unit residential property acquired by HUD as a result of a foreclosure action on an FHA-insured mortgage.
2. Buy Bank Homes: BuyBankHomes (BBH) and Real Estate Fortune, LLC have teamed up to offer BBH members the training and resources they need to have a competitive edge in today’s fast paced real estate market. This company provides distance coaching using the phone and Internet, and they offer a premier 90-Day Challenge Training live three times per year. They also offer a special “One-on-One Personal Mentorship Program.” You choose the training program that is the best fit for you.
3. Buying a Home in Foreclosure - The Basics: Foreclosure City offers a down-to-earth tutorial tht leads into more advanced topics and articles, including their Foreclosure Buying Toolkit.
4. Home Buying Institute: This site offers great advice for first-time home buyers, and this linked portion provides basics on how to purchase foreclosures.
5. Free Foreclosure Tutorial: This document, among others listed on this page, are free to download and read.
6. Foreclosure Free Research: A list of Q&A about foreclosure investment properties. If you can get past the Q&A on how to use this site, the questions are appropriate and the answers are short and sweet.
7. Foreclosure University: Although you’ll pay to take this course, the Web site is filled with plenty of free information, including individual state foreclosure laws, foreclosure listings for each state, free reports and articles and a glossary of foreclosure-related terms.
8. MSN Guide: This article explains the safest way to purchase foreclosures.
9. Realty Store Foreclosure Tutorial: The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an overview of the foreclosure process and to help you get started in achieving your real estate dreams.
10. Realty Trac Foreclosure Tutorial: This tutorial explains the do’s and don’ts when considering a foreclosure list.
11. Ways to Buy Foreclosed Property: U.S. News offers information about three keys ways to purchase foreclosed property.

Articles

Sometimes the investor can find further information about how to invest in foreclosures by reading recent articles about this topic. The following articles were chosen because of their relevance in content and to current market conditions, as each one was written since January 2007.

1. As foreclosures widen, a neighborhood erodes: This article that ran in the Boston Globe offers one perspective about what happens in neighborhoods where foreclosures have run rampant. This is just one perspective to keep in mind when investing in foreclosure properties.
2. AOL Foreclosure Topics: AOL has a new beta real estate section, and this article is just one of a developing course of articles provided by this site. Look in the right column of this linked article to find more information about foreclosure.
3. Before you Attend a Foreclosure Investment Workshop: Foreclosure workshops are springing up all over the country, and this article can help you save time and money if you plan to attend one of these events.
4. Buying Bank Owned Properties (REO): REO (Real Estate Owned) si a property that goes back to the mortgage company after an unsuccessful foreclosure auction. Walt Harvey, a Realtor located in Hawaii, offers his advice about this type of investment possibility.
5. Discounted Homes, Going, Going…: This piece on auctions covers more of the discount prices one might expect when attending one of these events.
6. Foreclosure Articles: This list at Ezine provides the investor with a plethora of articles abotu foreclosure investment possibilities written by a number of experts in real estate and in foreclosure properties.
7. Foreclosures hit some cities harder than others: This MSNBC article explains why some areas seem to be floating through this mortgage meltdown and why others are hit hard by foreclosures. The article may give you a clue as to where to look for your foreclosure investment opportunity.
8. Foreclosure Investment Nightmare: This article provides one example of why it’s important to talk with an independent, licensed real estate agent before investing in any foreclosure property or program.
9. Foreclosures slam doors on pets, too: Make sure the dog or cat doesn’t come with the property unless you want a foreclosed pet as well as a foreclosure investment.
10. Foreclosures up 75% in 2007: This article by CNN Money states that total foreclosure filings soared 97% in December 2007 alone compared with December of 2006. You’ll also learn about the states that have the least foreclosure filings from this article.
11. House Auctions and Foreclosure Sales: Not all auctions are intended solely for foreclosure properties. This article provides some insight into why auctions are used to sell homes.
12. How Foreclosures Work: Elizabeth Weintraub, who has more than 600 hours of real estate education, offers advice for the first-time foreclosure buyer.
13. Investing in Preforeclosures: Bankrate.com provides a concise article that explains preforeclosures as investment opportunities.
14. Notes from a Foreclosure Auction: A great article about an auction for foreclosures in Chicago provides readers with some sense of what to expect when attending these events.
15. Preforeclosure Flipping - the Key to Real Estate Riches: Some advice from Real Estate ABC on how to attempt a preforeclosure investment.
16. Real Estate Exchanging - an option to pre-foreclosure: The desire for new home ownership has, in the past few years, brought new problems into the real estate industry. It has also brought some solutions. Read this article about making an exchange as an option for foreclosure for the seller.
17. Real Estate Investment Articles: This list of articles focuses solely on foreclosure properties, and they’re written by a number of different authors.
18. Tips from a Foreclosure Investor: According to Ralph Roberts, author of “Foreclosure Investing For Dummies,” the best prospect for a foreclosure investor is “someone with a secure job, solid cash flow and lots of cash on hand — someone who wants to make some money on the side.” This and more in this interview in the Washington Post.

Websites

The following links will take you to all-inclusive sites that focus entirely on foreclosure investment opportunities, or to investment sites that have reserved entire sections for foreclosures. Some sites may carry blogs, discussion boards, tutorials and more.

1. All Foreclosure Information: When this site says, “All,” it means all. You can find tutorials, information about preforeclosures, foreclosures, auctions, listings and more at this site.
2. Bank and Government Foreclosures: This site focuses on bank-owned and government properties. They offer tutorials, listings, articles and more that focus on foreclosures, no matter the source.
3. Bigger Pockets Foreclosures: This link will take you to just one article about foreclosures at Bigger Pockets. Search through the menu at left on this page for more foreclosure information. The forums on this site also carry foreclosure-specific topics.
4. Foreclosure Connections: With over a decade of practical experience in the foreclosure real estate industry, ForeclosureConnections.com draws on contacts in all areas of the industry to provide our members with listings from all kinds of diverse sources, including mortgage brokers, lending banks, county and state registrars, and government agencies like HUD and FHA. But ForeclosureConnections.com is more than just another listings service, as this site provides news, market updates, detailed articles, tips and advice on investing in foreclosure property.
5. Foreclosure Data Online: Search through articles, foreclosure listings by state, tutorials, a blog and more at this site.
6. Foreclosure Databank: ForeclosureDataBank.com was established in 1998 as a one-stop source for information on regional foreclosure markets and listings for buyers interested in purchasing foreclosure homes for investment or as primary residences. Although the focus is on listings, this site provides users with tutorials, tools, a discussion board, news and more to help stay on top of the foreclosure investment market.
7. Foreclosure Fetcher: Unlike other foreclosure database sites, this site is upfront about their seven-day free trial. So users know on the front end that the service will cost some money. This site also is a bit more comprehensive, adding tutorials, foreclosure tools such as a home value checker and a mortgage calculator, and a blog.
8. Foreclosure Store: Although the services here are free, the user must register first to gain access to user guides, listings, training, and foreclosure investment tools. Information about listings are available to members only.
9. Foreclosure.com: This site is more for experienced investors. You can find listings for anything other than auctions, but you’ll discover few articles and no tutorials here.
10. Foreclosures.com: Learn how to invest in foreclosures through the kearning tools and expert help provided at this site. This site also carries foreclosure listings.
11. Government Repo Homes: This site offers more than listings by state, it also offers articles, news, resources and data for investors who want to pursue homes that have been repossessed by the government.
12. National Foreclosures: For nearly fifteen years this company has provided asset managers and private money lenders with a turnkey service for quick property disposal. They offer services such as property valuation, rehabilitation and security, marketing preparation for re-entry into the resale marketplace by our network of pre-screened local Bank REO Specialists and more. This site also offers an affiliate program.
13. RealtyTrac Foreclosures: RealtyTrac has a foreclosure niche that’s difficult to beat. They offer listings, tutorials, and users can chat with a customer service representative. This site is geared toward all levels of investors.
14. The Realty Store: The RealtyStore provides foreclosure information for all types of users. Their listings are similar to RealtyTrac, but you must register to peruse their offerings. On the plus side, this site contains some useful tutorials, but it’s fairly difficult to navigate through the site.
15. USHud.com: Although this site bills itself as “America’s only free foreclosure resource,” this tag already is out of date. But, this site is unique in that it focuses solely on HUD foreclosures. Users can pre-qualify, use email alerts, and search through a database designed to offer buyers HUD opportunities.
16. Yahoo! Foreclosures: Yahoo! offers a foreclosure section in their real estate guide, where users can find articles, tutorials, market trends and listings.

Auctions

Are auctions the right place to find a foreclosure investment? Some investment coaches say yes, others say, “stay away.” Learn more about auction procedures through these sites, many of which are offered by businesses that sell foreclosed homes under the auctioneer’s hammer.

1. Express Auction: This link takes you to the Express Auction calendar, where users can find information on upcoming foreclosure auction properties.
2. Foreclosures Auctions: This site has put together information on grants, foreclosure, auction and tax lien information from around the Internet. They go beyond auctions to provide news and resources centered on bank-owned, government, foreclosure properties and other real estate tools.
3. GovernmentAuctions.org: This is a membership Web site that helps users find and attend government auctions and foreclosures of every type. GovernmentAuctions.org is a division of Cyweb Holdings Inc., a closely held corporation headquartered in New York, U.S.A.
4. Government Real Estate Sales: Buy real estate the government has seized or doesn’t need. Commercial buildings, investment properties, land, multifamily, single family homes, condominiums, mobile homes, farms, ranches and more.
5. IRS Auction: Under authority of the Internal Revenue Code, the property described on this site has been seized or acquired for nonpayment of internal revenue taxes and is offered for sale by bid. If you can’t find the property you want, you can shop for jewelry, restaurant contents and more instead.
6. Modesto Real Estate Auctions: The Modesto real estate foreclosures provide investors with foreclosed home and property options throughout the U.S. They also educate investors regarding the forclosure property along with a strategic investment time frame and exit strategy.
7. Property Trac: This company strives to be the premier center for buyers, sellers and investors who want to maximize their return on real estate and properties in foreclosure. Get your answers through their informative resources, learn about how the aucton process works and more, even if you don’t use their services (they focus on the New York metro area).
8. REDC Auction Calendar: Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) traces its inception back to 1990. At that time, REDC embarked on a course that established a dominant position in the marketplace for the company, by selling over one million dollars of real estate assets using the auction marketing process. Use their auction calendar to discover when and where this company holds its auctions.
9. Williams and Williams: This company is one of the few auction houses that accept online bids. Look for online auctions by zip code or place auction alerts by registering on the site. They also provide tutorials for the auction process.

Listings

The following sites contain databases filled with information about foreclosures, preforeclosures, HUD foreclosures and government and bank-owned properties. Some sites offer free registration, but check closely to understand that “free” often means a seven-day free trial. Other listings, like the Home Sales HUD listed below, offer much more information - truly for free.

1. 4Viv: The purpose of this Web site is to provide access to the most informative, free foreclosure listings and resources on the Internet. You will find links and valuable information related to government, HUD, VA, and Bank/REO properties and much more.
2. Email Foreclosures: This site provides a service where they find foreclosure listings and deliver them to your email inbox as soon as they receive them. The listings are formulated by user criteria, so you only receive the information you request. Plus, this services will email you only if new or changed listings meeting your criteria become available. This service is “free for homebuyers.”
3. Foreclosure I: This site contains “the largest, most accurate, and comprehensive database of foreclosure, pre-foreclosure and tax lien listings in the US.” You have access to listings 24/7, and you can tap into a personalized listings update service based upon your request.
4. Foreclosure Data: This site belongs to National Foreclosure Data Company founded in 1998. With over 2.3 Million users and growing, this site offers specialized investment tools to help analyze data, detailed data on property listings, 24-hour customer support and more.
5. Foreclosure Deals: ForeclosureDeals.com is a leading online foreclosure listings service, founded in 1998. Working closely with banks, court houses, government agencies and local brokers, this site provides up-to-date information on foreclosure homes, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and auctions throughout the day.
6. Foreclosure Free Search: Once again, another site that offers free research, but the user must register to learn details about a property, and the offer is for a seven-day free trial.
7. Foreclosure Investor’s Report: The Foreclosure Investors Report (FIR) supplies qualified investors with advanced information about upcoming foreclosure sales by offering its members accurate, current data on loans that are in foreclosure. While this company’s listings currently include only Arkansas and Tennessee foreclosures, they plan to expand to other states very soon.
8. Foreclosure Listings: This site makes it easy to find foreclosure homes and bank foreclosures for great prices. By compiling research gathered on real estate markets in every state, ForeclosureListings.com has created a comprehensive, searchable database of foreclosure listings and made it available to members for a fee. Members also receive 24-hour customer support and information geared to every level of real estate experience.
9. Foreclosure Listings Nationwide: You must register with a credit card to gain access to listings provided by this service. Unlike straight database services, this site also offers a blog, short tutorials and more. But, it is basically a listing service.
10. Foreclosure Warehouse: ForeclosureWarehouse.com was created to help investors with providing a convenient, online foreclosure resource that combines the latest information with top-notch personal service. You have access to listings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and the site provides 24/7 costumer service.
11. Foreclosures 4 Investors: This mission of Foreclosures-4-Investors is to become the largest investment property wholesaler in the nation. This site focuses on both residential and commercial properties, and you can find useful resources here such as documents for the buyer, newsletter, tutorials and more.
12. ForeclosureNet: Use this site’s seven-day free trial to find bank foreclosures and government foreclosed homes that include single family homes, condos, town homes, multi-family unites, rental and income properties, office buildings, agricultural properties and more.
13. Free Foreclosure Listings: No registraton required to search through this database, which includes foreclosure and preforeclosure listings for all fifty states, including bank and government-owned properties. Choose from HUD, single family homes, town homes, rental and income properties.
14. Free Home Mortgage Foreclosure Listings: This site, like so many others that have popped up on the Web over the past few months, offers a database organized by state. While they offer searches for free, it’s a ruse for a seven-day free trial and users cannot delve into the details of an offering without registration.
15. Home Sales HUD: Unlike other listing sites, the investor can find actual images and information about HUD homes for sale here without a fee. These previously owned homes are for sale by public auction or other method depending on the property. An investor in a HUD home may need to find a real estate sales professional in your area who is authorized to show and sell HUD homes (most are).
16. House Repos: Like many of the foreclosure listings on this page, this site holds a database of house repossessions that users can gain access to for a fee. This site also provides a blog that focuses on foreclosures.
17. MSN Foreclosure Listings: MSN offers a foreclosure database, along with laws pertaining to foreclosures by state and a short tutorial on how to purchase foreclosures.
18. Preforeclosure Alert: Preforeclosurealerts.com offers investors the opportunity to find distressed properties before they hit the market. You must register first, then you begin to receive emails when the site lists new preforeclosure offerings.
19. Preforeclosure.com: This site contains more than 1.2 million foreclosure, preforeclosure, bankruptcy, FSBO and tax lien listings across the United States. They obtain their listings through hundreds of leading foreclosing lenders and government agencies, as well as an extensive network of corporate sellers, directly.

Blogs

Despite the wealth of real estate blogs, few blogs focus solely on the foreclosure market from the investor’s perspective. Some foreclosure focus is found in real estate investment blogs instead. If you have a favorite blogger who writes about real estate investment, search through that person’s blog to discover if he or she has focused on foreclosures within recent months. Also, be sure to check out the blogs that are included in the foreclosure Web sites noted above.

1. Ask Paul Wells: This blog is well worth the time for any foreclosure investor to peruse. More of a question and answer forum, Wells asks for questions about foreclosure investing and answers the questions in this blog format. Serious well of information.
2. Commonsense Real Estate: Anthony, the author of this blog, wrote “Real Estate Investing Made Simple: A commonsense approach to building wealth,” and he was a contributing writer to Donald Trump’s book, “The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received.” Lately, Anthony has been focusing on real estate investments in the foreclosure market in his blog.
3. Distressed Property Blog: This blog provides investors with practical tips, strategies and level headed warnings to help you succeed in developing a portfolio of foreclosures.
4. Finding Foreclosures: This is an interesting blog about foreclosures offered by two experts who have written a book about finding foreclosures across the U.S.
5. Flipping Homes 2.0: If nothing else, you can be amused by the humorous approach the writers take to this blog. Although the focus is on flipping, the latest craze is about flipping short sales homes. This blog tackles this topic full on, with notes like, “Ohio: Hired 1,000+ attorneys to work with borrowers to block foreclosures (FREE OF CHARGE TO THE HOMEOWNER!)” [emphasis from the blog] - this is a true roadblock for the eager snapper-upper!
6. Foreclosure Deals: This is more of a newsfeed than a blog, but the posts are frequent and the news is relevant to foreclosure investors.
7. Foreclosure Nation: This blog is more of a news service for the foreclosure investor who wants to keep tabs on U.S. foreclosure trends.
8. Foreclosure Pulse: This is a RealtyTrac blog, so the information provided here will be the most focused on the foreclosure investment market.
9. Foreclosures Daily: This is Mike Kane’s personal blog, and his idea of getting personal is to focus on foreclosure news nationwide. Unlike some blog newsfeeds, Kane does get personal, adding some opinion to national foreclosure topics.
10. Gammon and Associates: This blog provides another idea for foreclosure investors, as it’s written from the perspective of a corporate attorney. While some posts have no relevance to foreclosures, others hone in on this topic with stunning clarity. Worth a look to learn more from the legal angle.
11. Got Foreclosure!: This blog offers information on topics ranging from foreclosure strategies and deals to news, trends, foreclosure lists, and investment education in this active foreclosure market.
12. Real Estate and Investment Blog: Susan Reagor is an Associate Broker with Elite Realty in Mesa Arizona. Lately, Reagor has focused on the foreclosure investment side of real estate in her blog.
13. Real Estate Investing and Foreclosure News: This blog, perhaps, is the most relevant blog for foreclosures in this list. The authors post news and trends and offer information about the foreclosure investment market.
14. Real Estate Investing Training: Monique Fell, a real estate investment broker, recently has focused on foreclosures and has offered free information on how to invest in this market.
15. Simon Volkov: More of an article list than a blog, this tool can help the investor learn more about the foreclosure market. The articles are updated regularly, and are written by a professional private investor.
16. Tax Loopholes - Foreclosures: Although this blog focuses on tax loopholes, the foreclosure market has become a target for writers here. The perspective is toward the foreclosure investor.
17. The Foreclosure Report: This is one of Ben Jones’ blogs. If you’re not familiar with the name, he also writes for the Housing Bubble blog. The Foreclosure Report focuses more on foreclosure news from the perspective that might be of interest to the investor.
18. The Foreclosures Information Blog: John Nazareno has spent two decades in California’s Bay area, and he knows that region like the back of his hand. Although his Web site focuses on California foreclosures, his blog carries topics of nationwide appeal with a focus on foreclosure investments.

Forums

The forums that focus on foreclosure seem fairly few and far between and mostly inactive. Perhaps this is because foreclosures are happening quickly, and investors are busy buying rather than talking up the topics on the Internet. With that said, the following list contains the most active or interesting foreclosure forums on the Web.

1. All-Foreclosures: This forum is part of the All Foreclosure Information site.
2. Expert Law Forums: This forum provides a different insight into foreclosure investments. Learn more about the legal angles for this type of investment opportunity. The forum presents both sides of the foreclosure process, from buyers and sellers.
3. Foreclosure Forum: This forum also presents buyers and sellers, and the user may need to scroll through various questions to find any relevant information.
4. REI Club Forums: This forum belongs to the REI Club, but it’s free to browse through the various topics and threads. Both buyers and sellers pose questions here, and some even have posted investment opportunities for buyers.
5. Easy HUD Foreclosure Forum: There are four threads here focused on short sales, short sale flips, foreclosure course reviews, and a thread about how to use the Easy HUD site.
6. BK Forum: This forum, perhaps, is the most interesting forum on foreclosure topics. While the majority of questions and topics posed on this forum are from the seller’s perspectives, an investor could learn much from the questions and answers posed on this forum.
7. Foreclosure and Short Sale Questions: This forum is part of the “Wanna Network?” site. The topics situated here are specific to foreclosures, and many are relevant to investor-side questions and answers.
8. Get Real REI: This is probably the most active foreclosure forum found on the Web. Although the answers to topics posed aren’t frequent, the topics and threads have received plenty of views.
9. Foreclosure Real Estate Forum: This is an interesting layout for a forum. There are plenty of topic threads and questions with few answers. However, the investor may find something here of interest.

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101 Tips & Resources for the Upside-Down Homeowner

Posted in Features on April 24, 2008

Are you upside down in your home ownership? If you are, then you know that you can’t borrow from your home equity for emergencies because you don’t have equity to borrow against. You may not be able sell your home unless you come up with the money to cover the shortfall between your home’s value and your loan. In this case, either your house has lost value, or the loan balance has risen, or both.

Sitting upside down with a home ownership is stressful, but there are plenty of tips and remedies for this situation. No matter if you decide to sell, walk away or sit it out, the following list contains ideas that may help you financially and emotionally as you go through this trying time.

The list below is in no particular order. While the sites are numbered, the numbering does not indicate that we favor one site over another or that they are listed in order of value.

Get Ready to Sell

Unless you’re ready to ride out a volatile housing market, then you’re ready to sell your home. In this case, preparation for selling a home is similar to any other home sale, but the tips below are provided with empty pockets in mind.

1. Limit emotional involvement: This house may have seen births, deaths, marriages and more. But, now it’s a product that must be sold. If you can’t step away from emotional perspectives, bring in a friend who can provide an unbiased perspective about what needs to be done to this “product” to make it more attractive to buyers.
2. Curb appeal: Potential buyers won’t take a house seriously unless its exterior is enticing. Sometimes a little elbow grease is all that’s needed to polish up that front door, to clean the windows and gutters and to mow the lawn.
3. Small stuff counts outside: New house numbers or potted plants go a long way to create an inexpensive and attractive facade. You might even borrow the potted plants.
4. Small stuff counts inside: No need to replace expensive items. You might be amazed at how quickly a kitchen can change simply by replacing doorknobs on cabinets or by painting those cabinets.
5. Less can be more: Sometimes the elimination of shrubs, plants, and the addition of mulch can open up a yard and make it more appealing. Once again, this effort just takes a work on your part.
6. Remove furniture: Sell it, give it away or store it. Home buyers often like to envision their furniture in a new home without the obstacles of your living arrangements.
7. Paint the interior smartly: If you’re painting for resale, many parents will appreciate an easy clean-up paint with a satin finish. This paint also does well if you plan to rent the house instead of selling. See if you can find what interior decorator Jeanette Fisher calls oops! paint, or paint that has been rejected by potential buyers to save a few dollars on this renovation.
8. Hold a yard sale: If your neighborhood is conducive to yard sales, use this opportunity to clear out the house, make money, and to tell people the home is for sale.
9. Use consignment shops: Or, thrift shops or second-hand to sell items you don’t need.
10. Go secondhand: Nothing can beat a dishwasher, stove, sink, pot rack, pantry door, and four cabinet units used for $435. Just ask Frugal Babe about that deal.
11. Spruce up the siding [PDF]: Siding replacement hangs in right up there with kitchen and bath remodeling for home sale ROI (return on investment). If all you need is new siding to make your home stand out for sale, then go for it. Otherwise, just spend the money on a power wash to make that home seem like new.
12. Don’t overspend: Don’t run up those credit cards to overspend on a home to make it the best in the neighborhood. Buyers will not overspend on you, so why should you overspend on them?
13. Be frugal: You can have every thing you need to fix up that home for sale if you’re frugal. If frugality is a new lifestyle for you, check out frugal Web sites such as this one to learn how to ready your home for sale for mere pennies.

FSBO in a Down Market

The ability to sell your home without the expertise of a Realtor is the goal for many homeowners. Here are a few tips for the FSBO (fizber) homeowner that can help to sell that home in a down market.

14. Learn how to sell your home: Even if you end up with a real estate agent in the end, learning how the home sale process works can only help you understand the process and save money in the long run.
15. You might not have a choice: If you’re upside-down in your home and you need to sell, you may need to forgo a real estate agent. No equity means no 5-7 percent commission for a broker.
16. Build commission into sale price: Money that would otherwise be paid to a real estate agent can be built into the asking price, offering the home seller greater flexibility for bidding. In many markets, this can mean the difference between a property sitting on a market and being sold.
17. Be prepared legally: You’ll need appropriate paperwork for FSBO transactions. Either consult a real estate attorney or look