The actor Walton Goggins, currently starring in the sitcom “The Unicorn,” has put his unique Hollywood Hills home on the market for $3.35 million. The five-bedroom, three-bathroom home is extraordinary in a number of ways. Chief among them is the fact that it was designed and built by Harold Ogden Sexsmith in 1927, and has only traded hands three times since. Goggins purchased the place in 2010 for $1,555,000, and has done an admirable job of updating and restoring the property since then, while being careful to preserve its old Hollywood charm. The home is said to resemble the look of the nearby Chateau Marmont. Among the meticulously restored features are the original coffered front door, hardwood and tile floors, an original wood-burning fireplace, arched openings leading from room to room, and classic casement windows. With many original lighting fixtures hanging graciously from wood-beamed ceilings, the 3,240-square-foot home exudes a classic yet comfortable, well-lived-in vibe. Built-in bookcases in many rooms, even the kitchen, provide character. The kitchen also features a cozy breakfast nook, top-of-the-line stainless-steel appliances, and is attached to a butler’s pantry/laundry room with a charming Dutch door leading to the side yard. Every one of the bedrooms, one en suite guest room downstairs and four others upstairs, feature the beautiful and classic casement windows. The main suite features a pristine bath and a large walk-in closet. Another bedroom located upstairs is currently being used as a spacious office, with more built-ins. The listing photos show that it was well-used by Goggins. The outdoor areas on the private and gated large lot also have a natural, vintage feel, and have been masterfully tended. There are two outdoor dining areas, a fire pit/lounge, mature fruit trees that yield a generous harvest every year, and a lovely pool, lit with strings of overhead lights. Goggins, 49, is one of the busiest men in Hollywood, currently starring in not one but two comedy series, the aforementioned “The Unicorn” and “The Righteous Gemstones.” Prior to that, he’s had leads in TV series including “The Shield,” “Justified,” “Vice Principals,” and “Six.” He has also appeared in such films as “Cowboys and Aliens,” “Django Unchained,” “The Hateful Eight,” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” Josh Myler of The Agency has the listing. The post Actor Walton Goggins Puts His Glamorous Hollywood Hills House on the Market appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/walton-goggins-puts-hollywood-hills-house-on-the-market/
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For anyone driving around an established neighborhood of traditional homes in Madison, WI, one residence on Stevens Street stands out. Or doesn’t stand out. “It’s an earth-sheltered home. Not necessarily built into the ground, but it’s earth-covered on the roof and on a couple of sides,” explains the listing agent, Jennifer Rios. “It’s in a kind of older neighborhood, with typical midcentury homes and older.” She says she doesn’t believe any comparable earth-covered home can be found within at least a 10-mile radius. The style has proved popular with buyers. The home was listed for $329,900, and multiple offers above the listing price came in after just a few days on the market. “We went into it not really knowing what to expect with the uniqueness of the home,” Rios explains. “I laid out two scenarios: In this market, we’ll either see a very quick turnaround, or we may sit awhile. We tested it and had the best outcome possible.” The home has two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, plenty of living space, and is surprisingly bright. “It has full exposure on the back side, so there’s lots of nice natural light,” Rios says. “Because of its earth-covered roof and partially on the sides, it’s very temperate inside. The earth provides a really nice installation and flow of air.” Which adds up to lower electricity bills—a boon in this part of the country. Built in 1980, the home has only had two owners in the past 41 years, and the current owner has lived there for 26 years. Rios says she feels a perfect buyer would be somebody who is environmentally conscious and appreciates the uniqueness of an earth home, and who also likes being able to walk or bike around the city. She grew up in the neighborhood and knows this distinctive dwelling quite well. “I would ride my bike by, and wonder who in the world lives there,” she says. Now that Rios has been inside and scoped out the place, she says that looks are deceiving. “When you walk in, you kind of feel like you’re entering a hobbit house,” she says. “It’s really surprising when you open the front door, and it’s an abundance of natural light. It feels like a very traditional home for the most part, except for the curved roof line.” The curve is an interesting flourish. “It creates such a nice sort of vaulted ceiling effect, but it’s kind of open and airy, which is what a lot of people like nowadays,” Rios adds. Inside, the house doesn’t need require any more maintenance than any other 40-year-old home, but Rios points out that the roof does need attention and upkeep—at least after the snow melts. “You can let it go and become real grassy, or you can mow it,” she says. “The sellers have just gone up there with a weed whacker a couple of times a year.” The post We Really Dig This Adorable and Affordable Hobbit House in Wisconsin appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/hobbit-house-in-wisconsin/ Whoever decides to buy the castle in the Indianapolis suburb of Irvington will have to leave room in the family budget for the neighborhood’s favorite holiday. “The Halloween festival is massive. We’re talking 50,000 people at the Halloween festival, and on Halloween night, you get anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 trick-or-treaters. I set aside some money for my candy budget,” says Emily DiGiusto, who owns the residence with her husband, Dennis. The welcoming porch at the house with the turrets on University Avenue is a perfect place to greet trick-or-treaters. Multiple offers above the asking price of $385,000 came in after the property, the most prominent house in the neighborhood, had been on the market for only three days. “The towers really make it stand out. If it didn’t have the towers, it would just look like a cool Victorian Gothic house—but it wouldn’t have that sort of defining feature,” DiGiusto says. The smaller octagonal tower at the back of the house is easily accessible from the main-floor family room and from the second-floor bedroom. “Our kids had a massive beanbag there, with lots of stuffed animals, and it was the perfect spot to read,” DiGiusto recalls. The larger main tower at the front of the house isn’t as easy to access. It’s on the second floor above another reading nook, through a trapdoor on the ceiling. “You have to use a ladder to the ceiling access panel,” DiGiusto says. “And then, on the third floor, there’s another ladder up there to get up to the very top, where four windows are, that face out in every direction. It’s never been finished off, and it does have amazing views.” She adds that the family initially had plans to put in a spiral staircase, but never got around to it. Built in 1876, the house, known as Irvington Castle, was also once known as the Johnson home, after the man who built it, Eudorus M. Johnson, a son of a founder of the suburb of Irvington. At one point, the 4,689-square-foot house on one-third of an acre was turned into apartments, but it was converted back into a single-family home in the 1980s. As currently configured, the residence has three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, many with historic features. The house has six original fireplaces. “The three on the bottom floor have been updated, and the three upstairs in the bedrooms are blocked off,” DiGiusto explains. DiGiusto says that although the house is imposing, it doesn’t have a formal or unapproachable atmosphere. The wood floors, stairs, and other vintage accents give the large rooms character. “It’s more the ceilings are 12-foot tall, and the rooms are massive, and it has all these beautiful fireplaces and beautiful moldings,” she adds. “It has a good feel to it, a good vibe of good energy.” She says the current kitchen and the laundry/office were part of a 1910 addition to the original house. A detached garage was added to the property in the 1940s or ’50s. The house is just across the street from a circular park with a fountain, where summer concerts are held and many holiday events take place. Since the house is in a historic district, owners are not permitted to make changes without the approval of a preservation council. DiGiusto says potential buyers must understand that this isn’t a starter home, and should be ready to assume responsibility for the task of caring for the building. She said the ideal buyer would be someone “interested in history and restoration” who is willing to play a part in the life of the community. Since the property is 140 years old, a familiarity with old homes and what it takes to maintain them would be helpful, she says. The listing agent for the home is Molly Hadley. The post Built in 1876, This Indiana Castle Is a Lovely Local Landmark appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/built-in-1876-indiana-castle-lovely-local-landmark/ When Wes Swenson sold his data center company in 2017, he was able to buy the retirement homes of his dreams in Utah. He purchased a $1.5 million house in Woodland Hills and a $1.2 million house in St. George. Both homes are in resort-like communities that tourists love; the former for skiing and the latter for access to Zion National Park, hiking and golf. Both are also in cities where homeowners can make high fees from short-term renting their houses. But Mr. Swenson won’t make a penny that way. He sought out communities with homeowner association rules, known as Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or CC&Rs, that forbid short-term rentals and have histories of strong enforcement. Real-estate agents around the country say that it is far more common for a buyer preparing for retirement to seek out a property where they can generate revenue by short-term renting until they are ready to occupy the house themselves. But for a minority of buyers, making sure they will spend retirement in a community of neighbors, not a rotating cast of visitors, is essential. This is especially true for retirees who want the same deserts, mountains and coastlines as short-term renters. By a long shot, buyers over 65 in the NAR study identified a “desire to be closer to family/friends/relatives” as their top reason for buying a new home, indicating how important community and relationships are to this age group. Ensuring a short-term-rental-free neighborhood has gotten harder in the last few years. From the beginning of 2015 to the beginning of 2020, U.S. units rented short term on both Airbnb and Vrbo grew from about 450,000 to 1 million; revenue grew by 150% in that same period, according to Jamie Lane, vice president of research at AirDNA, an analyst for the short-term rental industry. Though the pandemic caused travel, bookings, and revenue to nosedive, a recovery is already under way, Mr. Lane said. “The five-year outlook is for strong growth in demand for short-term rentals,” said Mr. Lane, who expects a full recovery to pre-pandemic revenue levels by next year and a growth rate similar to pre-pandemic levels thereafter. “The vast majority of U.S. short-term rentals are in destination/resort and small town/rural locations around the country, of which many are the owner’s second homes.” As short-term rentals have proliferated, so too have negative stories about living next to one, especially if it is a site used for frequent parties. These tales, plus his own experience, were what convinced Mr. Swenson to seek out Summit Creek and the Vistas at Entrada, both gated communities with strong rules and reliable enforcement, he said. In his previous home in Payson, Utah, the home two doors down from him was a short-term rental owned by an investment group, he said. Guests choked the street with parked cars and sometimes had loud parties. “I have nothing against short-term renting in principle, but I don’t want to live somewhere that allows it,” said Mr. Swenson, who recently launched a new data center company. “It makes life too unpredictable.” Close relationships with neighbors mean a lot to Bill Webbe, 77, a retired healthcare executive. He moved with his wife, Connie Webbe, to Durango, Colo., and built a nearly 6,000-square-foot mountain-style house within Glacier, a community that currently has 110 homes in a private club with two 18-hole golf courses. It lies 9 miles from Purgatory ski resort. Rentals of less than six months are prohibited, and renters have to undergo background checks, said chief operating officer Jim Goodman. A three-bedroom condo within Glacier could theoretically rent for $1,000 a night during peak ski season, said Michael Gullotti, associate broker with the Wells Group, who handles many transactions within Glacier; he based his estimate on what condos outside the community charge. Homes within Glacier have sold for between $539,000 and $2.5 million, he said. Leaving money on the table doesn’t bother Mr. Webbe. “Our concern is to have a community where we know each other well and do things together,” said Mr. Webbe, who said he skis, plays golf and bridge, and hikes with his neighbors. Short-term rental rules are set in a number of ways, some of which overlap, some of which contradict each other and some of which can change over time. First, there are local municipal ordinances that can mandate rules such as 30-day rental minimums or require landlords to take out a permit. The gold standard for anti-renting ordinances is “platform accountability,” which means online platforms are held liable if they are found collecting fees on listings that contradict local laws, said Dale Carlson, co-founder of ShareBetter SF, a group that advocates for regulation of short-term rentals. Mr. Carlson has been retained personally to consult with hotel industry groups, but said the organization isn’t currently funded by the hotel industry. San Francisco, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Boston, Portland, Denver, and Honolulu all have platform accountability statutes, Mr. Carlson said. Even in places where state or local ordinances allow short-term renting, there is still another barrier: Homeowner associations with CC&Rs that prohibit it. Sally Finch, 76, and her husband, Parker Finch, 81, just purchased a roughly $1.85 million, two-bedroom condominium in Coronado, Calif., that has stricter rules than even the town of Coronado, where city rules limit renting to a minimum of 26 days. In their building, rentals of less than six months are banned, said the Finches’ agent Scott Aurich of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty. Ms. Finch said though the couple used to rent out their single-family home when they went away to another home they own in North Carolina, she is relieved it can’t be done in their new place. “I expect to get to know the people on my floor and in my building,” said Ms. Finch. Many CC&Rs were drafted before short-term renting became commonplace and don’t even include language to address them, said Dawn Bauman, senior vice president of government affairs for the Community Associations Institute, a trade group for property associations. Changing CC&Rs typically requires the approval of two-thirds of the membership, Ms. Bauman said. Another limitation of CC&Rs is that the rules are only as powerful as the enforcement behind them. About 70% of community associations are managed by professionals who often have more wherewithal than all-volunteer boards to discipline rule breakers with letters, fines and legal action, Ms. Bauman said. Chuck Murray, a 68-year-old retired financial adviser, said he bought a home within the Shadow Estates Homeowners Association in Sedona about 10 years ago, partly attracted to the community because it didn’t allow rentals of less than six months. For four years, he was president of the HOA and was active against violators of rental rules, sending out letters of warning and issuing fines. Homes in the community cost roughly $1.7 million to $2.4 million, said Re/Max agent Brian Dante. “You have a true sense of community. You talk to your neighbors as if they were your friends, and you wouldn’t have that if there were short-term rentals,” Mr. Murray said. He’s not entirely anti-short-term: Mr. Murray partly finances his retirement with income from two properties he rents out via Airbnb, one on the west side of Sedona and the other in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. “We live on that cash flow and it’s worked out amazingly well. It’s purely just a business to me,” he said. Finding a short-term-free community for the long term1.) Search Airbnb and Vrbo for listings where you are considering buying. Locate the home you are considering by zooming into the cross streets on the sites’ maps, then zoom out looking for listings. 2.) On AirDNA.co, the website of the industry analyst, click on “Market Minder” and input the ZIP Code where you are searching. Free, the site will show a map of short-term rentals, identify which are whole house rentals, which are shared houses, and how many days a year they are available. For a fee (from $19.95 to $99.95, depending on how many short-term rentals are offered in the area), the site will also show how many days a year listings are occupied and how much revenue the owner makes, among other data points. 3.) Call the city attorney or the city’s planning department and ask about the local short-term-rental laws. The gold standard is “platform accountability” whereby platforms are held liable for listing rentals that contravene local laws. 4.) Ask to read the CC&Rs of any community in which you’re home shopping. Look for policies that ban or limit short-term renting and that spell out penalties for noncompliance. 5.) Discover whether the association is professionally managed. Speak to management about how they address rental violators. If it is an all-volunteer board, consider joining or becoming active. 6.) Look through a community’s minutes over the past year to see how often complaints about short-term rentals came up in meetings. Interview board members and neighbors about whether they are an issue. The post For These Retirees, Short-Term Rental Bans Aren’t Just a Perk—They’re a Must appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/for-these-retirees-short-term-rental-bans-arent-just-a-perk-theyre-a-must/ After moving into a massive, $25.8 million Beverly Park compound, the pop star Justin Bieber and his wife, the model Hailey Baldwin, have officially sold their smallerâbut still very spiffyâspot in Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Times reported. The listing came on the market about a year after they had picked up the property in 2019, for $8.5 million. An $8 million deal on the home closed last weekâso the hit-maker took a hit. The couple had originally placed the home on the market for $9 million in the fall of 2020. It reportedly sold fully furnished. Real estate âchangesâAfter settling down and buying the gorgeous traditional, which dates to the 1930s and is known as âThe Tropics,â Bieber and Baldwin quickly desired some changes when it came to their real estate choices. Bieber announced to his Instagram followers his intention to unload the property, and in the fall of 2020, placed it on the market with a $9 million price tag. âI think I wanna sell my home in Beverly Hills who wants it,â the Grammy winner teased to his followers. On another post, he added, âIâll sell it with all the furniture. MAKE AN OFFER.â While Bieber and Baldwin decamped to a deluxe estate in an exclusive area, the place they left behind is also very upscale. In fact, itâs next door to the compound owned by the billionaire founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. With 6,132 square feet of living space, the residence, which was completely redone, comes with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The stylish layout features white oak floors, custom built-ins, and seamless indoor-outdoor living. Steel-case windows and doors open up to the property grounds. The interior offers a living room, great room, office, theater, and a wine cellar with a bar. The sleek chefâs kitchen includes white oak cabinets, a marble island, and Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances. A master suite features vaulted ceilings, a fireplace, bathroom, and custom closet. Surrounded by tall, lush greenery, the backyard boasts an infinity pool, a water feature, barbecue, and a cabana with a fireplace. Meanwhile, the furnishings that come with the place are pitch-perfect with the interior design. Beverly Park padThe couple didnât go far, and they scored a deal in the process. They upgraded to a much bigger property on 2.5 acres with almost double the square footage, at 11,000 square feet. Amenities include a large living room, library, dining room, eat-in kitchen, and adjacent family room. The spread also features a home theater, wine cellar, and gym. The sprawling grounds sport an infinity pool, sport court, lawns, a koi pond, and barbecue with pizza oven. On and off the market since 2018, the posh property was once the most expensive new listing on realtor.com®, at $42 million. Following an initial lack of interest, the place received an interior refresh and the price was dropped to almost half the original ask. The couple appreciated the huge discount when they snapped up the gated property for $25.8 million. Now that the deal is done on their initial foray in Beverly Hills, the couple can fully move on. Joshua Altman with Douglas Elliman represented the seller. Steven Schaefer with Newmark Residential repped the buyer. The post Justin Bieber Takes a Loss, Sells Beverly Hills Home for $8M appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/justin-bieber-takes-a-loss-sells-beverly-hills-home/ A wild residence in South Lake Tahoe, CA, crammed with clutter—including dozens of dead-eyed mannequins dressed in evening wear—is the week’s most popular listing on realtor.com®. The home ticked all the boxes for the kind of listing designed to be shared far and wide across the web. Unassuming exterior? Check. Listing details with no acknowledgment of the weirdness within? Check. Photos that defy easy description—and leave you with more questions than answers? Check! Carefully posed throughout the house, with at least one mannequin sprawled across a rug wearing nothing, these eerie ladies—and at least one gentleman—serve a dual purpose. They force you to take a closer look at the listing for an otherwise humdrum duplex and serve to distract from the messy kitchen and bathroom. The combination was enough to send the listing ricocheting on social media. Bold move. But that wasn’t the only off-the wall listing racking up clicks this week. A Pennsylvania home with painstakingly customized interior touches—including rounded doorways, a honeycomb-style grand staircase, and floating light fixtures—grabbed your attention, as did a Disney-themed home in Disneyland’s home town. Other popular picks this week included a pair of dreamy celebrity properties: the historic New Orleans home of a politically polar-opposite power couple, as well as A-lister John Travolta‘s 43-acre oceanfront Maine estate. There’s a lot going on this week. Scroll on down through the list, and take it all in for yourself. 10. 1171 Palmer Ave, New Orleans, LAPrice: $3,380,000 The massive home was built in 1906 and has been updated to perfection. The quarter-acre lot is described as a “tropical oasis,” filled with gardens, mature shade trees, a terrace, a pool, and fountains. ——-- 9. 967 Housel Craft Rd, Cortland, OHPrice: $197,000 The raised octagon has an open second floor, a deck, and a shop with kitchenette. The home is outfitted with electrical and septic systems and well service, but needs to be completed by a buyer with big dreams. ——-- 8. 421 N. Pine River Rd, Ithaca, NYPrice: $195,000 ——-- 7. 48 Hidden Cove Dr, Southampton, PAPrice: $1,399,999 Although it was designed for a very specific taste, the home, from 1987, is upscale, with a saltwater pool, kids playhouse, whole-house generator, and many upgrades. ——-- 6. 726 W. Garfield Blvd, Chicago, ILPrice: $535,770 Today, the four-level, 12-bedroom home is in need of repair and is being sold as is. It still has much of the original woodwork and moldings, as well as walk-in vaults and a two-story coach house. ——-- 5. 5743 Pleasant Hill Rd, Hartford, ILPrice: $700,000 There’s a heated shop off the garage, a private pond, a new roof, as well as a number of other recent upgrades. ——-- 4. 535 W. 13th St, Laurel, MSPrice: $255,000 ——-- 3. 1543 W. Harle Pl, Anaheim, CAPrice: $835,000 The custom Disney designs are so spectacular, the four-bedroom home was featured on the Discovery Channel. Besides the decor, the home includes a heated pool, custom carpets, and a toddler-safe playroom floor. ——-- 2. 299 Drexel Ln, Islesboro, MEPrice: $5,000,000 The extraordinary property includes a deepwater dock, open fields with ocean views, a third-floor children’s space, and a detached barn used for car storage. ——-- 1. 3695 Primrose Rd, South Lake Tahoe, CAPrice: $650,000 Most of the mannequins are dressed in evening gowns—adding to the mystique. Built in 1962, the place could use some work—and a lot of tidying up. There’s no word on whether the list price includes the mannequins and/or their glittery gowns. The post Messy Tahoe Home Filled With Mannequins Is the Week’s Most Popular Home appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/messy-tahoe-home-filled-with-mannequins-most-popular/ When spectacular mountain views are available, nearby homes almost always feature an abundance of windows to soak in the vistas. However, this property in Montana heads in a completely opposite direction. These four homes have no windows at all—they’re completely underground. The quartet of below-ground homes sit beneath 10.6 acres in Paradise Valley near Emigrant, MT, just north of Yellowstone National Park. Listed for $1.75 million, the earth-sheltered homes were originally built as fallout shelters. They offer all the amenities a comfortable residence requires—albeit with curved walls. Three of out of the four homes measure in at about 2,500 square feet, and each features multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, and living spaces. The fourth home is significantly larger, with space to accommodate a crowd looking for a real escape. “The largest one has several bunk rooms, so you could have more than a couple people in there,” says the listing agent, Theresa Lunn. Each boasts a basement for food and supplies storage and to house all of the mechanicals. The earth keeps the houses at a constant 50 to 55 degrees and to increase the temperature as needed, each home is equipped with its own HVAC and ventilation system. “It never feels musty in there with the air circulation system. It always smells fresh,” Lunn says. Each home comes with its own kitchen, complete with appliances. “Once you’re in there, they’re comfortable. It’s just like you’re in a house,” Lunn explains. “You walk down hallways, but then you just you walk into a kitchen that you think is your mom’s kitchen—a great area, bedrooms, very nice bathrooms.” One house features a pool table in the rec room. The current owner is a builder and is willing to sweeten the deal for a buyer who might be interested in buying the land and the underground homes. “He would put a very nice [above-ground] home for an extra $240,000 onto the list price. Underneath the house, it would have a discrete entrance into shelter No. 4,” Lunn explains. “The additional house has not been built. He is offering that as a buyer package, if someone wanted that.” The Paradise Valley area is known for its outdoor activities. “It’s arguably one of the most beautiful places in the U.S., for sure. It’s a huge mecca for fly fishermen,” Lunn says, adding hunting, hiking, snowmobiling, four-wheeling, and horseback riding are also popular. “It’s a great spot for vacation rentals,” Lunn says, adding that renting an underground home could offer a unique allure for guests. “If you bought this, you could live in it and still rent it out. It’s also a great retreat possibility.” Lunn says buyers have shown an interest in the property—ranging from those in search of a sustainable property, to folks who desire the ultimate in protection. The agent says she doesn’t like to use the term “preppers,” because of the negative connotations attached to the term. But she acknowledges that that is basically what people do when they store supplies in underground bunkers. “If our great-grandparents didn’t prep, none of us would be here,” she says. “It’s just being prepared.” The homes are currently attached to the electrical grid, but could be unhooked if a buyer decided to rely on the property’s own generators for power. As in the case of most fallout shelters, the entrance to each home is through a thick door. Upon entry, the hallway takes a turn at a right angle. “Any bunker worth its salt has to have those 90-degree turns, because nuclear and chemical material can’t go around [corners],” Lunn explains. “That’s really one of those tips of the trade for guys that are building bunkers.” Lunn stresses these are regular homes where people would be very comfortable living or vacationing. “[They’re not] some kind of freaky, end-of-the-world, zombie-apocalypse whatever. There is a lot of need for this type of property.” The post Underground Compound of 4 Fallout Shelters in Montana Awaits Buyer To Burrow In appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/underground-compound-fallout-shelters-in-montana/ Would you spend the night in the house of Buffalo Bill, from the terrifying film “Silence of the Lambs”? One horror superfan, Chris Rowan, hopes so. He recently sewed up a purchase of the Perryopolis, PA, home that was the scene of some of the most chilling scenes in the classic flick, and he plans to turn it into a “cinematic destination.” Work to add some film-based flourishes to the property will be a labor of love for this New Jersey-based art director and prop stylist. “It seems to be a match made in heaven,” he says. Rowan, 39, has loved horror films since he was a kid, and for a decade, he’s hosted the New York City Horror Film Festival. As an aficionado of all things creepy, he was excited to find the home back on the market last fall for $298,500. He visited the Pittsburgh-area house and walked up the infamous path to the front door. “It was a really special moment for me. As a fan, it was an amazing feeling,” he says. Now that he has the keys to the not-so-spooky residence, Rowan is ready to lean in to the home’s cinematic connection. He plans to turn the Queen Anne Victorian into a “boutique accommodation” for overnight stays, as well as guided tours.
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The unforgettable movie, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, starred Anthony Hopkins as an imprisoned serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, and Jodie Foster as an agent in training for the FBI, Clarice Starling. The film, based on a novel by Thomas Harris, won five Academy Awards and continues to resonate throughout pop culture. This house served as the residence of the sadistic murderer Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine, who imprisons his female victims at the bottom of an old well in the basement before killing them. Scenes from the movie were shot on site, and the home’s exterior, kitchen, living room, and basement can be seen in the film. As for the well in the basement where the serial killer kept his victims lotioned up? That was actually a sound stage. Rowan has his own designs in mind for bringing a well into focus. He’s “actively working” to recreate some of the scenes from the movie in the home’s cellar. Once everything is completed, guests will be able to set up scary fun photo shoots in the faux dungeon and Buffalo Bill’s “workshop of horrors,” as Rowan calls it, complete with mannequins and sewing machine. He may even throw in a pair of night-vision goggles. Beyond its creepy cinematic ties, the home, which is over 100 years old, bears little resemblance to a “house of horrors.” The space measures nearly 2,400 square feet and has four bedrooms and plenty of vintage quirks, including a wraparound deck, pocket doors, original wallpaper, and hardwood floors. Rowan has filled the place with movie memorabilia, including an animatronic Hannibal at the front door. A third-floor loft could be the perfect place to set up a modern media room to screen your favorite scary movie, Rowan says. You, like Hannibal Lecter, might want to pair it with a “fine Chianti.” Set on almost 2 acres, the picturesque property is on the Youghiogheny River, and includes a pool, rose gardens, and fountains. Other notable features outside include an antique train caboose and a three-car garage that was once a general store. In 2016, the home attracted a ton of buzz before finally selling for $195,000. Records show that it was sold for $290,000 late last month. For those who can’t resist a spooky thrill, the home will be set up for visitors sometime in the future. Along with short-term rentals, the homeowner also plans to provide guided tours and rent the space out for film shoots. To keep up with Rowan’s project, head to @buffalobillshouse on Instagram, or visit the home’s website. The post House From ‘Silence of the Lambs’ To Become a ‘Cinematic Destination’ appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/unique-homes/silence-of-the-lambs-house-to-become-cinematic-destination/ The Federal Housing Finance Agency will allow homeowners to receive an additional three months of forbearance as it extends the COVID-19 relief options available. The agency announced Thursday that homeowners with loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can receive up to 18 months of payment relief. To be eligible for the extended forbearance, homeowners must already be signed up for a forbearance plan by the end of February. The FHFA also amended its separate payment deferral option for homeowners so they can now miss up to 18 months of payments. Those missed payments can be repaid when the mortgage reaches maturity, when the home is sold or when the mortgage is refinanced. Originally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac instructed loan servicers that mortgage borrowers could request up to 12 months of forbearance on their mortgages as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. But earlier this month, the FHFA extended the forbearance period by an additional three months, for up to 15 months’ forbearance. The new changes announced Thursday were made to bring the agency’s policies in line with the policies set forth by the Biden administration for loans backed by the federal government, including Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgages. Beyond extending forbearance, the FHFA also announced that it was extending its moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions until June 30. The moratoriums were previously set to expire at the end of March. The post Borrowers With Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Mortgages Can Receive Up to 18 Months of Forbearance, Regulator Says appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/borrowers-with-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-mortgages-can-receive-up-to-18-months-of-forbearance-regulator-says/ The numbers: The index of pending home sales fell 2.8% in January after four consecutive months of declines, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The index captures real-estate transactions where a contract was signed but the sale has not yet closed, making it an indicator of where existing-home sales will go in the months ahead. The median forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch had called for a 0.5% decline in pending sales on a monthly basis. “Pending home sales fell in January because there are simply not enough homes to match the demand on the market,” Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said in the report. “That said, there has been an increase in permits and requests to build new homes.” Compared to 2019, pending sales were up 13%, indicating that the housing market remains strong despite the weakness that has crept in during the winter months. What happened: Pending sales didn’t fall across all regions, as contract signings increased slightly in the South. The largest decline in pending sales occurred in the West, where the index dropped 7.8%, closely followed by the Northeast (-7.4%). The big picture: A record-low inventory of homes is leaving buyers with few options to choose from, and builders have even begun selling a vast array of properties that haven’t been built yet to meet this demand. But there’s evidence that demand could begin to suffer as affordability concerns grow. “The timely weekly mortgage purchase applications index is signaling a slowing in activity,” said Rubeela Farooqi, the chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, while citing mortgage application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The latest reading signified the lowest level for mortgage applications since mid-May of last year, Farooqi noted. Some of the decline in the volume of mortgage applications was a reflection of the disruption in Texas caused by recent winter storms. But generally speaking, rising mortgage rates are reducing interest from home buyers to an extent. With prices also quickly rising, buying a home is becoming less and less affordable, which could hinder home sales in the months to come. What they’re saying: “Home buyers are staying surprisingly active during the colder months. However, buyer demand is getting squeezed by a scarcity of ‘For Sale’ signs and rising mortgage rates,” said Realtor.com senior economist George Ratiu. The post Pending Home Sales Fall in January as Inventory Constrains Buyers appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®. via https://www.realtor.com/news/real-estate-news/pending-home-sales-fall-in-january-as-inventory-constrains-buyers/ |
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April 2021
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