TresSugar

Got $12 Million? John McCain's Arizona House Is For Sale!

CitizenSugar — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:00:35 -0700

Would you pay a "celebrity premium" to scoop up the former Phoenix house of John and Cindy McCain? The current owner is selling the abode (Cindy's childhood house, and the McCain's residence for 20 years) for a cool $12 million - four times more than the current owner paid Cindy for it in 2006. That's a lot of air conditioning. Though the decor has been updated from the McCains' time, the jungle bedroom is . . . specific. If it's your taste, you're in luck: the furniture (including leopard-print dining chairs) is included.

The 14,000-square-foot home, with 13 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, could leap in value if the senator is elected. Not to mention, the McCain family handprints in the cement outside are pretty precious. What do you think - would you move in?

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Woman Puts Her House and Herself on eBay

GiggleSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Devon Traboscia, a 42-year-old single mom of two, thought she'd multitask by auctioning off her house and herself as a package deal on eBay and Craigslist. Devon's itching to get married and her four-bedroom Florida home is, apparently, the best thing she has to offer. Intellect? Humor? Charm? Nah. For this real estate agent, square footage sells. Although Devon claims to be "doing it for the real reasons, the right reasons," I'm not sure there's ever any reason to hit up eBay for love - that is, unless this winner is her kind of Prince Charming. (Click here for more on the story and to see a slide show of Devon looking, uh, you'll see . . .)

Owner Knows Best

GiggleSugar — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:00:00 -0700

Whoever said "sex sells" hasn't been unemployed, divorced, and living in asbestos -
now that sh*t sells.

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Front Page: Teen Tennis Star Takes Center Stage at US Open

TresSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:00:33 -0700

Seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin is taking the US Open by storm, beating some of tennis's biggest female stars. - FitSugar
Former first lady Laura Bush defended President Obama's upcoming speech to schoolchildren, a speech some conservative parents oppose because they say Obama is trying to indoctrinate children. - AP
A British playboy has been found guilty of killing a tenant who got in the way of his real estate deal. - London Times
Photographer Annie Leibovitz must repay her $24 million loan by today. - AP
The Sudanese journalist who was arrested for wearing pants has to pay a fine instead of being whipped. - New York Times

Real Estate Agents Gone Wild

GiggleSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0700

Now that's an interesting bonus feature.

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Stacy Anderson Is The Cougar

TresSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:36:08 -0700

Meet Stacy Anderson, a sexy, intelligent, 40-year-old real estate agent who's done really well for herself and her four children. Married at 16 and feeling like she lived her youth for her ex-husband and children, Stacy's now ready to ~~PARTAY, mmkay?~~ find true love with a guy in his early 20s. (Wait - what?) I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but is looking for true love as a mature, accomplished woman among a pool of inexperienced horndogs with a thing for older women going to get you what you want?

This clip from the premiere episode of TV Land's The Cougar, hosted by Vivica A. Fox (!) will make you wonder if "true love" is what our gal Stacy here is really after. I'm just sayin'. . .

Front Page: Treasury Unveils $1 Trillion Plan For Banks

CitizenSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:49:10 -0700

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a complex plan today to end the nation's banking crisis. A new federal entity would help private investors buy as much as $1 trillion in devalued real-estate assets. - New York Times
Fourteen people died after a plane crashed into a Montana cemetery last night. - CNN
JPMorgan Chase, which has received $25 billion in bailout funds, plans on buying two luxury corporate jets and a luxury aircraft hanger at the cost of $138 million. - ABC News
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says comments from President Obama have made him reconsider his plan to send an ambassador to Washington. - Reuters
Three police officers were killed and a fourth is brain dead after a shooting in Oakland, CA, this weekend. - San Francisco Chronicle

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Country on Sale: Foreclosed Home Tours For China's Wealthy

LibertySugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:30:20 -0800

I've heard stories of savvy English people hopping across the pond for a shopping holiday in New York City thanks to the strong pound; but believe it or not, the Chinese are taking shopping trips with the mission of buying million-dollar homes.

These aren't rogue bargain hunters. Rather they're part of organized tours targeted at Chinese investors looking to take advantage of deflated American real estate prices.

The AP reports that growing incomes and isolation from the global crisis have created a rising Chinese upper class, looking for smart investments internationally. Companies, eager to steer the investors toward their dream homes, are organizing tours. From Feb. 24 to March 6, a group from China will visit foreclosed properties in New York, California, Boston, and Las Vegas. Such trips go for $2,000, plus the cost of airfare.

The buyers plan to rent out their new homes, or use them on business trips. One dad hopes his son can live there if he goes to university in the US. Since there are fewer investment options at home, the American dream is becoming China's, too.

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Sante Fe's "Robin Hood" Tax, Rich to Pay For Police Housing?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:00:16 -0700

If you have a fancy mansion in Santa Fe, NM, you might be asked to foot the bill subsidizing more affordable housing for local public servants like police officers and nurses. The Santa Fe City Council voted this week for a special election next Spring to decide on a one percent fee to be added to house sales that top $650,000. If that sounds like a lot, it's not an uncommon price tag for houses in the area, and it's keeping those who serve the community, from living there.

The mayor says, "More than half of our police force doesn't live in Santa Fe. They can't afford to buy a house in Santa Fe. The thinking is that it's a reasonable fee that helps us meet a very, very important goal in Santa Fe."

The funds raised would help workers make down payments or pay rent. Opponents worry that the extra tax on spendier homes would trickle down to all homeowners later making real estate even more expensive, not to mention that the plan won't generate the revenue the mayor thinks it will. A local realtor says, "We support affordable housing as well as a rich, diverse and sustainable economy."

Is this a great plan to have the wealthiest with the best living conditions directly help those with the opposite problem? Is this Robin Hood run amuck in real estate? Is it important to have local public servants live in the communities they serve?

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Debt Clock Maxes Out & Five Historic Financial Meltdowns

CitizenSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:15:11 -0700

The national debt came up last night at the debate, with Obama pointing out that it's doubled since 2000. Yikes. The famous debt clock in New York City, the one that calculates what we owe right before your very eyes is feeling the squeeze - literally. The counter, put up in in 1989, just ran out of space to calculate the debt as it passed $10 trillion. Oops. I know it seems all gloom and doom but how does what's happening now stack up? Here's a quick and dirty look at economic uh-ohs through the ages:

The Panic of 1907: After a 25 percent decline in the market left investors scared and pulling money out, and the government dependent on JP Morgan to help stop the domino effect, the government created the Federal Reserve System.

The Wall Street Crash of 1929: Over the course of three days, three times the normal amount of shares were traded causing prices to tumble. On Black Monday and Tuesday, the market lost 13 and 12 percent respectively. That week's losses were $30 billion, 10 times more than government budget and more than the cost of WWI. When it reached bottom in July 1932 the market had lost 89 percent and would take 25 years to recover.

To see the rest, read more.

The Great Depression: On President Hoover's watch, 9,000 banks failed and newly homeless Americans set up shanty towns called "Hoovervilles," an image that haunts his legacy to date. When Roosevelt took over in 1933 he initiated the New Deal, the effects of which we still see today in Social Security, the FDIC, and the FHA.
The Oil Crisis of 1973: When the US supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Syria and Egypt, members of OPEC shut off oil exports to the US quadrupling the per-barrel cost of crude. The government responded by rationing gas and imposing a national speed limit of 55 m.p.h.
The Savings & Loan Crisis of 1989: The real-estate boom of the 1980s caused the S&L industry to grow very quickly, overextending the institutions whose job was to collect money from people in the form of savings, and then loan that same money out in the form of mortgages. When people started pulling their money out for higher interest rates in money market accounts, trouble, also the Keating Five, ensued.

For five more economic panics that lend at least a little perspective on the current day, and more info about the five above, the whole piece is definitely worth a read.

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