As the Halloween season approaches it's fun to have some nice "Spooky" stories to share with clients and friends. If any of you have any stories to pass along please let me know..... We promise to keep names and locations private if requested!  

The Halloween decorations have already been up in my neighborhood for about a week, announcing that the season for spine-tingling ghost stories has arrived.

To get in the spirit, we asked real estate professionals to share their creepiest stories from the field. Your clients may not want to know what’s lurking out there — at least until All Hallows’ Eve has passed — but these real estate tales of terror could be fun to share with colleagues, friends, and family during this spooky time.

 

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the White House, with american flag in foreground

Now that the presidential race is hurtling forward at a breakneck pace, we got to pondering one of the many prizes at the finish line: the chance to live in the White House!

Because let’s face it, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is not only the seat of power for the free world, it’s also a pretty nice place. Sitting on 18 acres of prime Washington, DC, real estate, its 55,000 square feet featuring 132 rooms, 28 fireplaces, and more than 750 historic artifacts.

All of which got us wondering: How much is the White House actually worth? In cold, hard cash?

Some, of course, might argue that you can’t put a price tag on this symbolic structure any more than you could price the pyramids in Egypt or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. But the Royal Institution of…

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Moving and decluttering go hand in hand. After all, what better time to offload all those unwanted belongings than when you’re planning to sell and leave your home? But sometimes home sellers take their inner Marie Kondo a little too far.

From BDSM rooms to snow machines, there have been some epically wacky things that sellers have tried to get off their hands—even, in some cases, the family dog. (That’s ruff!)

Read on for some stories of seller add-ons that sound too wacky to be true—but aren’t.

A dungeon in the master bedroom

Sometimes you can hide the dungeon, and sometimes you can’t. In this instance Dean Ferraro, a real estate agent in Oceanside, CA, was on a listing appointment at a house that was curiously overpriced. Upon…

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Property Website HERE

3907 222nd Ave SE, Sammamish

Price: Now $1,500,000

Beds: 5

Baths 6.25

Sqft: 4,210

Stunning Sammamish custom home on exceptionally large and flat lot within Issaquah School District. The materials and details put into crafting this beauty are extensive. Start with the driveway comprised of Roman and Mediterranean pavers, exterior consists of Western Red Cedar shingles, clear cedar tongue and groove enclosed soffits. Custom stone work all around with artistic details. Metal railing on the deck and throughout the house is work of a local Redmond Artist. The reclaimed wood timbers on the deck and entry come from a barn in Vancouver WA. Exterior paint is Miller ‘Evolution’, a lifetime product and the roof is a 50…

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The Names of the agents have been withheld to protect their privacy and that of their clients and in some cases "The Guilty Parties".

Is Anyone There?

One home I showed my client in Inman, S.C., gave us a chill. When we arrived, the house was dark and apparently empty. After I flipped on the light switch in the living room, we headed to the bedrooms in the back of the house. While we were in one bedroom, we both heard banging and what sounded like someone moving around in the other bedroom on the other side of the bathroom. “Hello?” I called out. There was no response.

Though we were sure we were freaking ourselves out, neither of us was brave enough to check the other bedroom. When we went back into the living room, the kitchen light on the…

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The Names of the agents have been withheld to protect their privacy and that of their clients and in some cases "The Guilty Parties".  

Doing the Jitterbug

My clients and I were coming in from the backyard of a listing when something darted up my pant leg. I started screaming and jumping around like a crazy person, and my clients were obviously alarmed. Whatever was in there kept jumping higher and higher, and all I could think was, “I have to get these pants off! Am I really going to take my pants off with clients here?”

I bolted into the master bedroom, and my clients followed behind. Now they were screaming as loudly as I was. I dashed into the master closet and slammed the door behind me. Still squealing, I ripped my pants…

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It’s hard to believe that sixteen years ago my life would be forever changed by the birth of my son. It has been such a pleasure to watch him grow and to become the fine young man he is today! Keenan I am very proud of your big heart, how hard to work to be a strong leader and all around good person. You have inspired me to be a better man and father, and I have no doubt that you will do great things in your life!

 

Here’s to Keenan and for everyone else a few fun facts about Keenan “The Gooch” Porter I’d like to share!

  • Keenan does not "style" his hair. It lies perfectly in place out of sheer terror.

  • Keenan has counted to infinity - twice.

  • When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for …

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Sixty-nine percent of consumers recently admitting to having a “home crush”—a property they liked so much they were drawn back tolooking at it more than once online or in person, according to a new realtor.com® survey of 1,000 consumers. But men and women respond quite differently to these crushes, according to the survey.

For example, the survey found that women are more likely than men to have a crush on a home that was out of their financial league. Forty-one percent of women revealed their home crush is out of their price range, compared to only 30 percent of men who said the same.

Men were more likely than women to move from one home crush to another. Thirty-six percent of men surveyed say they find a new house crush weekly, compared to 29…

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Whether you’re pounding for the Panthers, repping Bronco’s country or just in it for the ads, Super Bowl 50 is going to be one for the ages. And, there’s more to it than what’s happening on the field in Santa Clara on Sunday. There are the fans back home to consider. Pride and honor are on the line — along with some serious bragging rights!

While the attention is focused on Levi’s Stadium, we’re looking at the how Broncos’ and Panthers’ hometowns — Denver and Charlotte — stack up in a local real estate head-to-head. You decide which home field comes out on top.

The hottest housing market vs. steady gainer

Denver was ranked this year’s hottest real estate market due to its white-hot mix of job growth, income growth and low unemployment. As…

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Home Values in Seattle and Charlotte

Comparison Highlights

 

Seattle, WA tends to be more expensive for home buyers than Charlotte, NC. During the last year, Seattle home values have risen by 12.8%, while Charlotte home values have risen by 5.8%.

Seattle is 193% more densely populated than Charlotte

People are 6% less likely to be married in Seattle

The Median Age is 2.7 years older in Seattle

Cost of Living Comparison Highlights

 

Charlotte is 48.3% less expensive than Seattle

Charlotte, housing costs are 100.9% less than Seattle, housing costs.

Health related expenses are 21.7% less in Charlotte.

Crime

The crime indices range 1-100. A higher number corresponds with more crime. Our crime rates are based…

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