The Property Pundit

U.S. home foreclosures soar in January

Caroline — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:08:36 +0000

“The number of homes facing foreclosure jumped 57 percent in January compared to a year ago, with lenders increasingly forced to take possession of homes they couldn’t unload at auctions, a mortgage research firm said Monday.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080226/ap_on_bi_ge/foreclosure_rates

More Sam Zell… Well, maybe

Steve — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:17:06 +0000

This clip is really, really, stupid. But, you know, I’m in the mood for some Chicago Cubs baseball. And, since it does involve Sam Zell, I feel kind of obligated to share it with you since I’ve promised to be all things Sam Zell. Here’s Sam talking to Donald Trump about what Zell is going to do about Wrigley Field. Take a look at the clip and tell me where exactly you think someone got these dolls from. The Donald doll actually looks a lot like his son…

Go Cubs!

For you bloggers out there- how to get more traffic

Steve — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:47:20 +0000

I was looking through Problogger’s site the other day and thought I’d highlight the post about StumbleUpon: how to bring more users and how to turn those users into followers. If you have a blog or if you’re thinking about starting one, whether in real estate or not, the tips here are really good. I’ve had a few posts “stumbled” and I can say that it immediately brought a few hundred new visitors here in one day. The key, though, is to turn those readers into repeat visitors. This post gives you some advice on how to do that.

If you don’t follow these guys already, I definitely recommend taking a look at Problogger, John Chow, and Shoemoney.

And, as always, if you haven’t joined my feed, yet, now’s a great time to do it!

Comments problem solved… hopefully

Steve — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 05:51:51 +0000

I understand there’s been a problem with the site freezing up after you attempt to leave a comment. I believe I’ve fixed it now. I had changed some of the spam controls, and I think I changed something I shouldn’t have. The only way to know for sure is if you attempt to leave a comment. If I don’t have any comments over the next 24 hours, I’ll know I haven’t fixed it.

Sorry about the problem! I love comments, so don’t let this snafu discourage you.

More Lost

Steve — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:23:38 +0000

I’m not trying to make this a weekly thing, but how about a little more Lost tonight? I’m going to give you another Lost Web site to check out. This site puts up screencaps from the show. I’m telling you, I missed a lot of this stuff while watching it because it just goes by so fast. Here at the screencaps site they’ll take the shot, lighten it, whatever, to make it easier to see. For example, when I watched last week’s episode I didn’t know the Jack’s Father was sitting on the rocking chair in Jacob’s cabin. It turns out the screen was darkened so it wasn’t obvious, but there’s a screencap here that definitely shows it was him. What the heck is going on? Is he really dead?

If you haven’t already checked out the J. Wood blog too, he’s been updating this new season and it’s good stuff.

Sam Zell’s music box

Steve — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:12:28 +0000

I’m on a little bit of a YouTube kick, so I though I’d add this clip about Sam Zell. If you read the article I posted about Sam Zell in the New Yorker last year, you would know that he gives custom music boxes to his friends at the end of each year. I found this clip of the music box he gave at the end of 2006. He uses these music boxes to communicate how he feels the markets are. At the end of 2006 he talked about all of the liquidity in the market which, I’m sure, led to his sale of Equity Office Properties.

Goofy? Yes, but Zell’s a unique individual.

If you’re interested in Sam Zell and want to stay updated with my posts about him, join my feed.

The worst building in the history of mankind

Steve — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:59:30 +0000

I came across this from Esquire magazine the other day. Apparently the world’s 22nd largest skyscraper was built in North Korea in the late 1980’s. The idea was that it would be an example of the triumph of communist planning. Um, yeah, that worked out. It’s 105 stories, but, unfortunately it was never finished. North Korea spent 2% of its GDP on this thing until they ceased production in 1992. The article says there may have been a design flaw, or the North Koreans may have run out of money. I think the design flaw was that no one would come to stay in a 3,000 room hotel in North Korea. To get an idea of this thing, check out the YouTube video below.

I love this building for the sheer stupidity of it. Many people believe it’s an ugly monstrosity, but I have to admit, I’m not totally turned off by it. It kind of looks like a rocket. That’s fitting for the North Koreans. What do you think?

Lost

Steve — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:21:06 +0000

This is a little off the subject, but I’m really looking forward to the season premiere of Lost tonight. I’ve been hooked since the beginning. When I was in Iraq in 2005, my buddies and I would download the latest episode off of iTunes just to watch it. If you’re a fan as well, I want to make you aware of probably the best blog about Lost out there. Over on the Powell’s Books Web site, there is a blog written by J. Wood. To say he goes in-depth is an understatement. He’ll put up a new post after each episode. All of last year’s posts are archived as well. If you’re a casual viewer, you’d be blown away by all that’s going on. If you’re one who tries to dissect the episode you just watched, you’re going to love J. Wood’s blog. Take a look and let me know what you think.

Check out J. Wood’s blog here: J. Wood

Real Estate Mogul Sam Zell Makes a Splash in Seniors Housing

Steve — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:53:38 +0000

Another edition of my all things Sam Zell. I’ve created a new tag so it will be easier to categorize my posts about him. Two interesting things in this article: One, of course, he’s getting into the Senior’s market, and two, he’s doing it overseas.

The same week the Tribune deal closed, Zell’s Equity International invested $75 million in two companies that own and operate retirement communities overseas. The move represents Zell’s entry into the seniors sector.

Read the article here: Real Estate Mogul Sam Zell Makes a Splash in Seniors Housing

If you’re interested in Sam Zell and want to stay updated with my posts about him, join my feed.

Closing on the San Antonio house

Steve — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:43:18 +0000

I’ve been so busy the last few days I haven’t had time to post anything. We closed on the house in San Antonio today. I’ll go into more detail later, but financing got to be a real pain. An old $400 delinquency from five years ago on the guarantor’s credit report took many, many hours of dealing with and potentially suspended the funding. It turns out that the delinquency was mistakenly put on the credit report in the first place, so that made the time spent on it even more frustrating.

The tenants are another issue. Apparently the seller has told one or more of them they can get out of their lease early. I’m meeting with them tomorrow, so I’ll get the real story then. At any rate, it sounds like a few of them are a real pain anyway, so it might be better to get new ones anyway.

With these issues, the last week hasn’t been very fun. Hopefully we’ll get some good tenants in there in the next few weeks and let it go on auto-pilot for awhile. Anyway, more details later.