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Madonna Unloads Her $19.5M Mansion...Pockets $8M Profit

10/27/2013

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The original Material Girl finally sold the Beverly Hills mega-mansion she shared with Guy Ritchie during their marriage.  The private star tried to sell it privately but had no takers. Eventually, it hit the MLS and garnered a $19.5M offer. The savvy business woman acquired it for $12M, put in a ton of renovation and made out like a bandit! Congrats! 
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Remember when Madge & Guy caused a scandal in these Halloween costumes! Hail Mary!
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How Reality TV Shows Have Warped Our Real Estate Expectations Beyond Belief!! 

10/26/2013

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Tori Spelling: My real estate compulsion put us in serious debt...We were living a lie in a grand house!

10/25/2013

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Lesson #1 about home buying. Live within your means! Despite being born into the lap of luxury, even Tori Spelling has had to learn to reign in her spending.  She even tried to do a real estate flip, but it was a real estate flop! RadarOnline below has more! 
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“After selling our Encino house at a loss, we were hoping to make a bit of the money back on Malibu,” Spelling writes. “We’d sunk a lot of money into it … But our [Malibu] house took a few months to sell, and when it did, it was for two hundred thousand dolls less than we had paid. You heard of those people who flip houses to make money? We were the opposite: flippers who lost major sums of money on every transaction. My restlessness would be our financial ruin.”

But even as her finances dwindled, Spelling kept living the high-life, renting a “spacious and grand” 9,000 sq. foot home in Westlake Village with a pool, movie theater, “columns throughout the house, a huge chandelier, leaded glass windows, and cold stone floors mixed in with the nice hardwood.” Spelling admits, “We couldn’t afford to buy a house. Yet now we were living a lie in a grand house.”

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In Today's Episode of Crazy Things Rich White People Do: $2M Mansion in Marin Burns to The Ground The Day of Tenant Eviction! Arson or Coincidence?!

10/24/2013

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Remember that 1990 thriller Pacific Heights, where tenant and landlord fought til the bitter end? That's basically what happened in real life, but not in Pac Heights, but in another uppity area called Marin. 

You see, a software entrepreneur was renting this $2 million dollar Tuscan McMansion for $10,000/mo.  But within 6 months, he couldn't make payments, so he offered some profit sharing with landlord in lieu of 1/2 the rent. (that sounds like a ding dong idea, but whatever). 


A nasty disagreement between the 2 launched a protracted ugly public fight (Check out all the files at Marin County. These people were out to destroy each other!). Judge sided eventually with landlord, and that's when things got suspect! The day of the tenant eviction, the house gets incinerated! Things that make you go Hmmmm!
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When Tech Companies Rename Downtown San Francisco as #CloudCorridor, It's Cool. When Realtors Rename Area, They Are Slammed! WTH?

10/23/2013

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When realtors rename a neighborhood, all hell breaks loose! (ie, check out this scathing Bold Italic article about NOBE in Oakland)   But when tech companies do it, they get praised to high heaven! What's up with that?!  BuzzFeed has more.
SF Examiner:
It’s a concentration of more than 50 cloud-computing companies that have set up shop between Market Street and AT&T Park. Today’s Cloud Corridor is roughly located in what used to be called the Multimedia Gulch during the first dot-com era. Names come and go. But with our digital lives moving to the cloud, these techies claim their innovations will determine the future as much as Silicon Valley has transformed our lives already.

Such impact requires a memorable name.

Is Cloud Corridor a marketing ploy? Sure. But so was Silicon Valley. No one called it that until 1971. The media forever branded it the place where cool stuff happens.

Names matter because any city that gets to coin the zeitgeist’s next big tech destination will enjoy economic benefits for decades to come. Based on the venture capital dollars flowing into San Francisco, we’re already being called the “new” Silicon Valley. But we deserve a unique name.

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Herman's Secret Tips for Buyers (Love Letter!) & East/West Coast Market Comparison on Atlanta Radio!

10/23/2013

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One of the highlights of my trip to Atlanta was my radio interview on "At Home with Paisley."  Me, Paisley McDonald and co-host Krisztina Bell
 were just three Southern belles chattin' up a storm about houses and design! 
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Click here to hear the whole interview, full of sass and advice!

herman chan sf realtor with radio host paisley
herman chan design lifestyle expert  on air w/ paisley and krisztina
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Stalker Kept Diary of 200 Possible Victims (Mostly Realtors!) & Then Tried To Rape One in a Model Home!! 

10/23/2013

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This is our worst nightmare! This can happen to anyone, boys too! This dude stayed at my open house the whole time pretending he wanted to buy. He waited til everyone left, and then told me he did come here for the house. He came for me! ACK!!!  


Realtor Mag Reports:
A 29-year-old Bucks County, Pa., man was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison for attempting to rape a real estate agent. Frank Yeager kept a diary of more than 200 names and addresses, Facebook pages, businesses, and churches of possible victims, many of which were real estate professionals, police say. On Nov. 25 last year, police say that Yeager tried to lure a Pulte real estate rep into a secluded model home with plans to rape her. 
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Celebs like Freddie Prinze Jr & Sarah Michelle Gellar Flee From KIMYE...over N.I.M.B.Y.!! 

10/23/2013

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Even NIMBY happens to famous peeps! NIMBY = Not In My BackYard. See, superstars, they ARE just like us! 

Per RadarOnline:

A source has told The National Enquirer that “the moment that Sarah and Freddie heard Kim and Kanye bought a home in their Bel-Air neighborhood, they put their house up for sale...feared that Kim and Kanye were turning their house into a tacky nouveau riche McMansion.”


Have you ever moved away because of your neighbors?! 

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American Home Buyers Stats Now Include LGBTQ, BFF's & DINK (Dual Income No Kids)! Times, They Are A-Changing!

10/23/2013

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herman chan realtor break down of real estate buyers infographic
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We Always Admired Jenna Jameson's Business Savvy...So How The Heck Did Her House Get Foreclosed Last Month?! 

10/20/2013

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Jenna Jameson (aka Queen of Porn) whose company ClubJenna generated over $30 million in revenue alone in 2005 just lost her Hollywood Hills  home to foreclosure. She got it for $2.7M in 2006 & it was just auctioned for $1.85M. How does that happen to such a successful businesswoman?! 
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Morbid But Useful Website! Discover Who Died in Your House!

10/20/2013

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Oh my Gawddd!  Have you ever walked into a house and felt something was off? LIke some eerie feeling washing overing? Someone watching you? Some states require seller to disclose a death on property within past few years but others don't! Now you can find out for realz whether someone had croaked in your future home.  Good info to know before you buy a place! DiedInHouse.com will cost ya $12 though. Would you use this?! Boo! 
More from USA Today:

For $11.99, a search on his website — which was a year in the making — will dig through multiple sources to see if anyone spent their last days at your address. Coast to Coast AM says the site scours millions of records. (In Texas, for example, you might want to avoid the Fort Worth home where a drunk woman hit a homeless man with her car and left him to die in her garage.)
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No Bueno! Michael Jordan's in Trouble! His Chicago Mansion is Going to Auction!

10/20/2013

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Michael Jordan put his Chicago mansion on the market in February of 2012, but no one bought it!  According to the Wall Street Journal, he has decided to have it auctioned off on November 22.
Per WSJ:
The basketball star lived in the home for nearly 20 years. In an email, he said he is selling the home because “my kids are grown now and I don’t need a large house in Chicago.” The owner of basketball team the Charlotte Bobcats, Mr. Jordan said he splits his time between the team’s base in North Carolina and a new home he built in Jupiter, Fla. “It was time for some warmer weather down at my new home in Florida,” added Mr. Jordan, who said he also has a vacation home in Utah.

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VISA is Clamoring To Return to SF! Cuz No Self Respecting "Young Urban Engineers" Wants to Work in the 'Burbs! 

10/18/2013

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Just last year VISA moved out of San Francisco and into a suburban office park. Well now they are hankering to return! Apparently, who wants to commute or work in such a bedroom community when all your fellow techie friends are partying it up in the city, at Zynga, Twitter, Salesforce, Airbnb, etc!? VISA is on the prowl to lease space in SF to retain these millennial employees who know what they want. And they wanna live and work where all the cool kids are ...in SF! 
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San Francisco Lost Its Appeal! Palo Alto & Berkeley Ranked Top 3 Most Livable Places! (SF Didn't Even Crack Top 100. Wonk Wonk) 

10/18/2013

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Livability.com scores the top 100 cities across America as the best places to live and visit. Their criteria is based on housing, education, amenities, transportation/infrastructure, social/civic capital, health care & economics. Over 2 dozen cities in California made the list! Did your city make it? 
palo alto real estate herman chan
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Four Reasons Why You Can't Sell Your House! Tsk Tsk! 

10/18/2013

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reason why you cant sell your house herman chan
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Marilyn Manson's House For Sale...It Ain't A Thing Like We Expected! 

10/18/2013

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Folks, we're having a hard time reconciling these 2 extremes! Would you ever guess Goth metal musician Marilyn Manson (rumored to eat animals on stage!)  would decorate his home like a bored suburban housewife!? Check out his Los Angeles home on the market now for a hair over $1M! How do you explain this?! 
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Zac Efron's New $3.9M Pad Is Perfect Post-Rehab Getaway! 

10/18/2013

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Zac Efron snapped up a Los Feliz 5 bedroom home for $3.9M. Hope he gets some peace & quiet Zen time and doesn't relapse, like so many of his contemporaries! 
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What's the Secret to China's Hot Property Market? Mistresses! 

10/11/2013

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It ain't uncommon for Chinese officials and bizmen to have a mistress or two. In fact, one recently convicted dude kept 18! That's a lot of apartments and has bolstered the housing economy per Aeon! Lotsa these women are from the boonies and are installed into pied-a-terres near their sugar daddies' home/work. It was estimated in 2010 that 200,000 mistresses were living in Beijing alone. 
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Sell Your House ASAP with These 5 Tried & True Tips! 

10/11/2013

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Fortune Builders has a great infographic with top seller tips to move your property!  They might seem rudimentary, but they are tried & true!  
How to Sell House Fast - Herman Chan SF Real Estate Agent
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Are These The Top 5 Most Expensive Houses in the U.S.?!

10/10/2013

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With enormous wealth comes an enormous purchase! The fact is true as the below stated houses of USA are owned by the millionaires, who are rich enough to have the possession of these mansions, which are today in the list of United State’s most expensive houses. These dwellings are larger-than-life with all the amenities that individual dreams of. Take a look at the top five most expensive and stupendous houses in the U.S.
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1. Fair Field, Sagaponack, New York

This astonishing 110,000 square feet beachfront property is located in Sagaponack, New York. This luxurious house is owned by hefty business tycoon, Ira Rennert. The house is covered with gorgeous Mediterranean-style tile roof and is named after a local water body, Fairfield Pond. 

The house values around $248 million and is regarded as the largest occupied inhabited compound in the U.S. The area of the main house is around 66,000-square feet, and it has its own power plant. The house has 29 commodious bedrooms, 39 luxury bathrooms, 91-feet long formal dining hall, different courts for different sports, and the most amazing hot tub worth $150,000. Such extraordinary attributes make Fair Field one of the most expensive mansions in the United States of America. 

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2. Hearst Mansion, Beverly Hills, California

The legendary landmark and the heavenly abode of departed newspaper publisher, William Randolph Hearst, is situated in the Central Coast of California, United States. Architected and designed by Julia Morgan, the house was built somewhere between 1919 and 1947. 
However, after the death of William Hearst, the property was donated to the Government of California, but this lavish palace still boasts its story that how the owner 
used to experience living in one of the lavish dwellings of the world. 

This massive mansion of 90,000-square feet stands fifth on the list of 15 most expensive houses in the world. The house is worth $190 million and has all the luxurious features, 
like 56 bedrooms, 19 guest rooms, 61 bathrooms, several swimming pools, a movie theatre, an airfield, 127-acre garden, and tennis courts. The most astounding feature of the house is the world’s biggest private zoo with a number of exotic animals from

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3. The Spelling Manor, Los Angeles, California

Designed as an appealing French-chateau, The Spelling Manor is situated in the Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Once, it used to be the property of the well-known television producer, Aaron Spelling. Lavished with nearly 123 rooms, the house is constructed on 4.6 acres, which certainly makes it one of the largest and expensive houses in the world. According to thecelebworth.com the house stands on the 8thhouses of the world. Currently, this house is in the market for $150 million. 

The Manor has also made its position in the list of pricey homes in the real estate listings of the USA. It also features a bowling alley, tennis court, gym, pool 4 garages and a screening room. Currently, it is owned by Petra Ecclestone. 

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4. Blossom Estate, Palm Beach, Florida

One of the most expensive beach houses in the world, Blossom Estate is owned by hedge fund manager, Ken Griffin. This stunning estate has four ocean facing mansions in a row, which is used as one by Ken. He purchased this sumptuous and magnificent estate in 
2012, worth $130 million. The property is spread in the area of eight acres. 

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5. Fleur De Lys, Beverly Hills, California

The owner of Fleur De Lys is the pop singer, Mariah Carey, who shares it with her husband, Nick Cannon. The house is valued in the market for about $125 million and is  embellished with various beautiful chattels, which gives it an imperial look. The stately mansion stretches in the area of 45,000 square feet, featuring twelve enormous bedrooms, fifteen bathrooms, a fifty-seater movie theatre, a fitness centre, a ballroom, a tennis court, a 1,200-metre long running pathway, and a guest house. The house was established between 1996 and 2002 and is considered as one of the most expensive houses in the U.S.

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Bankrate Chats with Herman Chan: Home Buyer Checklist! 

10/3/2013

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Check out my Google Hangout for Bankrate.com with Greg McBride Senior Financial Analyst. "A Checklist For Buying Your Home Sweet Home"
  • Will the government shutdown affect real estate?
  • Should sellers do For Sale By Owner in hot market?
  • How should you vet your realtor?
  • Advice on getting pre-approved
  • Insider tips on getting your offer accepted in sellers market
  • Beware hidden costs!

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Are South Korean Romulans?! Cloaking Device for New Skyscraper...The Dang Building Can Go Invisible!

10/3/2013

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Remember those tricky Romulans on Star Trek who could cloak their ships & ambush the Enterprise!? Well, South Korea must have stole that technology b/c they how are doing the same thing to this new building!

FORBES reports:
"The tower’s facade will come equipped with LED projectors and cameras. The cameras will capture the area around the building, then stitch them together in a panorama to display through the projectors. The result will make the tower seem transparent from the outside when the projectors are turned on."

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It's Finally NOT Illegal To Be a Real Estate Agent...in Cuba! 

10/3/2013

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Did you know it was against the law to be a real estate agent in Cuba?! That all changed recently when the Cuban government unbanned that job. All this time, can you imagine selling homes under the radar, under threat of arrest?! Its a tough enough job as it is. Hope our Cuban realtor friends can finally sell in the light!

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Herman Chan Speaks at Luxury & Global Forum Atlanta

10/1/2013

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Come see me chat it up with my Atlanta peeps about all things lux and global real estate!  
October 6, 2013 1-4pm at the Residences at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Register here! 
Happy to be invited by my friends at AREAA. This is my first foray into the South! Any advice honeychile!?
Herman Chan Luxury Global AREAA Speaker
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