Paying renters to help sell your house
Here’s an interesting new twist on ’staging’ houses for sale: Instead of paying a staging company to rent furniture to give homes that ‘lived in’ look, some US builders are now cutting deals with renters to temporarily move into new homes in an attempt to get them sold.
OCEANSIDE, Calif. — The fragrance of sage-scented candles and sounds of jazz fill the air of a 2,600-square-foot house a block from the beach. Tiger-striped chairs flank tables crafted from exotic woods. Photos of a chubby baby hang on the walls. Whoever occupies 211 Windward Way, they seem to live the good life.
Too good to be true, in fact. The house is owned by a builder, who hasn’t been able to sell it for more than a year. And while someone really does live here, it’s as part of an elaborate bit of stagecraft aimed at moving Southern California’s echoing inventory of luxury vacant homes.
This $1.2 million seaside pied-a-terre is occupied by Johnna Clavin, a 45-year-old Los Angeles event planner and decorator who has seen business slow. In exchange for giving the townhouse a stylishly lived-in look, she gets to stay there at a steep discount and stands to earn a bonus if the house sells fast.
Full article is at the Wall Street Journal website. Hat-tip to BC buds for the link!
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May 1st, 2009 at 5:34 pm
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Consumer insolvencies to skyrocket: TD
April 28th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Aleks, thanks for reminding me about the NDP’s policy of practicing sexual and racial discrimination (please don’t call it affirmative action. There is nothing affirmative about it).
I was outraged by their announcement of this policy a year or two ago, and had assumed they had given up on the idea after I stopped hearing about it. I don’t know why it isn’t in the news more. It is indeed offensive, and something that many people would be interested in knowing about.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Gordon Wilson!? Don’t make me laugh. He’s nothing but a whining hypocrite. The WORST.
Hmm. where is he now? And Judy Tyabji?
April 28th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
@31
I agree we need a viable third party again the last time there was one was with Gordon Wilson reviving the Liberals in BC during the 91 election. Unfortunately it seems the socreds took control of the party.
April 28th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
“I personally see him as the lesser of two evils (for the moment). If the NDP comes in, I guess they will: increase debt to pay for make-work projects for special interests; more debt to pay for big subsidies for forestry and other dead industries while the average person gets nothing; get rid of the carbon tax, and then forget about replacing it with cap-and-trade; drive the few remaining viable industries to Calgary by increasing business taxes.”
The Campbell government has quietly been running up debt to pay for things like the Olypmic Village, the ever-expanding Port Mann bridge and the Cambie skytrain. I think we are getting a similar political spectrum to the US, where there is no financially conservative option, both sides want to steal money from the public to give to their friends; they just have different friends. Certainly you’re seeing a very “liberal” budget from the federal Conservatives, likely undoing 10 years of budget surplusses by the actual Liberal government in 2 or 3 years.
I expect we’ll see budget deficits in BC no matter who gets elected. I’m hoping Campbell gets re-elected not because he’s the “lesser evil” because I don’t think that’s true, but because he made this mess and deserves the blame.
As far as what I said about Emmanuel and Dean, don’t confuse the platform with the party. The poing is that the Democrats won in large part because they quit focusing on other things and started focusing on winning. They built a huge, scalable ground team to get out the vote, they replaced candidates who had “paid their dues” and “deserved” the nominations with candidates who had a better chance of winning, they focused on candidates who could bring in campaign donations because at some level, the side with the most money wins.
Basically, what I want is a second viable party in BC to keep the SoCred/Liberals honest, rather than the NDP who seem honoured just to be nominated. I would love a socially liberal, fiscally conservative party, but more than anything I just want a second real party, who play the game as hard as the other side and can kick the bastards out of office when it’s time for a change.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
On a tangent….
Thanks for the new term VanBanker “reductive” – I’ve been looking for a term to describe the information lost when describing politics as “left” or “right” etc…
Is it me, or do the american’s/govt/media do this very often? For example: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – names born of acronyms. A few levels away from describing what they actually are. A convenience for those who know, but an over simplification for many? It’s like using big words you don’t understand. I suppose it is the responsibility of the reader to find out the meaning of the words.
Echoing VanBanker – seems to lead to the dumbing down of things that shouldn’t be dumbed down.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Why isn’t the government reporting the most recent numbers instead of trying to manage the PR with information thats months out of date? What BS.
“There were 25,480 more people collecting employment insurance benefits in British Columbia in February, a 66.8-per-cent increase, than in the same month last year, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
That percentage increase is almost twice the national average.
The number of beneficiaries in British Columbia reached 63,700 after an 11.6-per-cent increase in February, Stats Can said.
The total increase since October 2008 was 39.8 per cent.
The number of Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits jumped 7.8 per cent in February from the previous month, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.
EI beneficiaries were up 44,300 during the month, with the biggest increases coming in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan, the federal agency said.
On my calendar it’s almost May, nowhere close to February. If the EI stats were going through the roof at twice the national average in BC in FEB then what is happening now that the layoffs have started to really kick in. Would this information be held back because an election in BC, it seems likely. Why are we behind two months of info? Stinks to me.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Bu.....story.html
April 28th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
should be by not buy above sorry for bad spelling
April 28th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
so buy patriotz description left means equality, and just. Right means inequality, injustice, and corruption.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:23 am
“patriotz Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Please. Economically left means trying to promote economic equality. Promoting economic inequality has been the Republicans’ central goal since 1980.
The only people who call the Republicans “economically left” are ideological right wingers who simply use the terms “left” or “socialist” to insult anyone they don’t like and are trying to distance themselves from the Bush administration, which of course most of them enthusiastically supported not long ago. Americans who call themselves left or socialist don’t even use the terms to describe Obama, and justly so.
“Economically left” is not the same thing as “big government”. You can have big government that promotes economic inequality, i.e. is economically right wing. Combine that with social conservatism and you have a package that is historically known as fascism.”
This is the problem with left/right, it’s so reductive.
Politics is too complicated to be broken down into neat categories. People can have widely different views on each issue, many of which will be contradictory and inconsistent.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:49 am
VanBanker:
the Republicans are socially right and economically left;
Please. Economically left means trying to promote economic equality. Promoting economic inequality has been the Republicans’ central goal since 1980.
The only people who call the Republicans “economically left” are ideological right wingers who simply use the terms “left” or “socialist” to insult anyone they don’t like and are trying to distance themselves from the Bush administration, which of course most of them enthusiastically supported not long ago. Americans who call themselves left or socialist don’t even use the terms to describe Obama, and justly so.
“Economically left” is not the same thing as “big government”. You can have big government that promotes economic inequality, i.e. is economically right wing. Combine that with social conservatism and you have a package that is historically known as fascism.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:41 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating
Cheating is an act of lying, deception, fraud, trickery, imposture, or imposition. Cheating characteristically is employed to create an unfair advantage, usually in one’s own interest, and often at the expense of others.[1] Cheating implies the breaking of rules. The term “cheating” is less applicable to the breaking of laws, as illegal activities are referred to by specific legal terminology such as fraud or corruption. Cheating is a primordial economic act: getting more for less, often used when referring to marital infidelity. A person who is guilty of cheating is generally referred to as a cheat (Br. English),
or a cheater (Am. English).
April 28th, 2009 at 10:25 am
“other ted Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Its sad that people like gordon campbell are seen as right of centre economically. People assume that anyone who sells out to corporate sponsors are talks the talk about supporting business are right wing. As all of us have pointed out the province has not been run differently under him than the NDP. Only difference is he has been worse on a couple of fronts. Chief cheerleader for real estate bubble comes to mind.”
I personally see him as the lesser of two evils (for the moment). If the NDP comes in, I guess they will: increase debt to pay for make-work projects for special interests; more debt to pay for big subsidies for forestry and other dead industries while the average person gets nothing; get rid of the carbon tax, and then forget about replacing it with cap-and-trade; drive the few remaining viable industries to Calgary by increasing business taxes.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Following up on what I just said above: my ideal politician would be economically “right” (I still hate that term) as in small govt, reduce debt, reduce credit, encourage saving, but socially progressive (get religion out of politics, legalize + tax things instead of wasteful policing, etc).
April 28th, 2009 at 10:15 am
Its sad that people like gordon campbell are seen as right of centre economically. People assume that anyone who sells out to corporate sponsors are talks the talk about supporting business are right wing. As all of us have pointed out the province has not been run differently under him than the NDP. Only difference is he has been worse on a couple of fronts. Chief cheerleader for real estate bubble comes to mind.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:15 am
The new graph of the unemployment spike looks like it’s gone hyperbolic, just like the real estate bubble. I swear the economy of the last 10 years is starting to resemble the economies of the pre 1930’s. Is life going to be a constant boom bust bubble and crash cycle after this? I thought our great leaders had introduced the central bank policy to get some control of this. I guess not. Is the EI spike just another bubble? Rememeber that the EI stats are only the ‘official’ unemployment it does not represent the real unemployment numbers. There are all the contract workers, self employed , returning mommies from maternity leave who don’t qualify etc etc etc. The numbers put out today were from February, and as usual the government is playing fast and loose with the public information. They are showing a total of 640,000 total unemployment (ON EI) but that figure is probably well in excess of that considering the bulk of employment creation has shifted to self employment and contract status.
Good time to buy a condo? Not if you’re wondering who you’re going to sell to when you lose your job and other annoying factors that life can throw at you. Nope, it’s cash for me. I wouldn’t touch this market with a ten foot pole.
The swine flu pandemic and competition from the Seattle and Calif., markets for the film and cruise ship markets are really hotting up as noticed . Those were the good service and tourism jobs which had been holding up the BC economy while the forestry, mining and tech industries died. This factor is one more leg out from under the wobbly stool of the BC econ.
On the tech subject, my contact at Nokia says that ANOTHER round of layoffs is in the works, world wide, Layoff Tracker also indicates the layoffs are still happening en masse. Auto co’s are going to have to lay off huge numbers of additional workers in the shakeout, and that means dealerships and delivery services buisness here in BC are going Titter, woops therres another leg gone. We must be floating on hot air, theres nothing holding this economy together, The only thing left is a spike in taxes that will come sooner than people could have imagined. Wait till the election is over for the bad news.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:11 am
vanbaker you said it perfectly
April 28th, 2009 at 10:10 am
other ted, right and left by themselves are too limiting as labels. Better to describe someone on two different axis: social and economic. In relative terms (note relative here): the Republicans are socially right and economically left; and the Democrats are left on both accounts.
There are not really any old-school economically “right” politicians in the world anymore that I know of: keep govt small, limited or no debt, keep inflation near zero if possible, etc.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:55 am
patriotz i did say they are both at the centre now as they are the same. but I implied left of centre of conventional meaning. And of the electorate I would not make an assumption either way as more than half doesn’t vote.
anyways back to real estate sacramento homes: Look at this link some selling below $25,000. but that won’t happen here. We are the california of Canada right. Oh wait.
http://www.sacbee.com/business/story/1810481.html
April 28th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Renting the staging furniture can actually be quite expensive. It seems like a good idea at the outset, but can add up very quickly. You price it out roughly for a sofa and some tables, but the little things like silk plants, throw rugs, and art can double your costs. It’s a great investment if you can sell the place quickly, but the reality in this market is you’re going to rent it for enough months that you could have just bought the stuff outright at the beginning.
And keep in mind two things:
- The photos on their web sites/brochures are their best makeovers to date… your mileage may vary.
- The stuff they bring in looks terrific in photographs, but up close looks cheap, flimsy, tacky.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:52 am
That’s Lake Wobegone, of course.
And on a lighter note – break out the noisemakers folks. The first US metro has now passed the -50% mark on the Case-Shiller index. That distinction belongs to – surprise – Phoenix, which is now 50.8% below the peak in June 2006. Very close but not quite there is Las Vegas.
http://www2.standardandpoors.c.....0,0,0.html
April 28th, 2009 at 9:44 am
other ted:
That’s right of your centre, not the centre of the US electorate.
You cannot have two major parties both left of centre, any more than all of the kids in Lake Webegone can be above average.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Patriotz both parties have increased the size of government, the debt, the involvement of government in people’s lives for a generation. A real right of center politician would be ron paul.
April 28th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Jobless claims jump 7.8%
The number of Canadians receiving regular employment insurance benefits increased by 44,300, with the sharpest increases in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, Statistics Canada said. That marks the biggest monthly gain since July 1997.
In B.C. it jumped 11.6 percent in the month and has risen 39.8 percent since October.
Now, look around the city and what do you notice? Cranes, and construction hasn’t stopped. This WILL get ugly. Picture Vancouver & BC in 9 months or so once these construction projects are complete, no more cranes in the sky, no more jobs… the end is nigh.
April 28th, 2009 at 1:38 am
other ted:
But both parties have been to the left of centre for over a generation now
Um, you mean both the Republicans and the Democrats have been left of centre for a generation? How can the only two parties that elect anyone both be left of centre?
What’s your idea of right of centre? David Duke?
April 28th, 2009 at 1:25 am
Aleks good post until you through rahm emanuel and howard dean into it as role models. The democrats are at the center now as there is no difference. But both parties have been to the left of centre for over a generation now. A bit disgusted that you would speak praise for a man whose father invented modern terrorism. otherwise good post
April 27th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
It was only a matter of time before Vancouver’s real estate market took on “Arrested Development” overtones…..
April 27th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Yes, I remember that post.
Well, I guess everybody wants to sell to bail out now and are using the trick method – the perfect cute and lovely family. Is there a cute little dog or a gerbil too?
The thriller RE movie is turning into a commedy now. What is next? How about the actors catching the latest new and improved flu? Quarantine!! lol
April 27th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I recall an old posting we did about ‘fake families’ back when the boom was still going strong in the US:
http://vancouvercondo.info/200.....e-178.html
April 27th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
I have seen a twist on this where actors were hired to stage the house. Preparing diner and watching movies etc. They were handsome people who wore a smile and dress the neighborhood. Many ideas I pull out to get the job done. If you have a good agent and you set up the house clean. It’s all about price.
Never the less the market is picking up and all these ideas will get credit for the sale. I know it is just timing!
April 27th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Re: Stagecraft…
Dumb. It reminds me of that goofy TV show where they do a home makeover.
A sheet on the dining room table looks so-ooo divine. Not.
Dining room chairs fill up empty space in the living room. Yeah, sure.
People aren’t that “swayable”, are they?
April 27th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Aleks:
Good post. The affirmative action issue hasn’t been given enough negative coverage that it so deserves. I find it strange when you consider their current leader is female and their last Premier was a visible minority. Most people I speak to find this policy to be offensive.
The NDP are a couple decades out of date and out of touch. These dinosaurs should never be given the opportunity to govern again. I would rather see a new party take over the centre-left vote. On May 12th send a message to them… never again.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
From the previous thread:
“I don’t know whether the NDP really wants to lose or it’s just running one of its usual uninspired campaigns, but I think it would be best for them and for the province if they lose.”
I think part of it is just the usual NDP-ness, but part of it is also Carol James and the idiotic Affirmative Action program for candidate nominations. It’s just ridiculous that a political party would be more concerned about running female candidates than actually winning the election and governing the province.
Whatever good they think it does to have numeric equality in the election will be totally undone by the fact that they will lose, in part because they short-cirucuited the nomination process and didn’t run the candidate with the best chance to win in every riding. I really think this shows that James is not fit to lead. She doesn’t seem to understand what her job is; she’s more concerned with making a political statement than with the actual politics of campaigning and governing. It’s a loser’s mentality, like she’s already conceding defeat and wants to be able to say that even though she lost the election, she advanced women’s rights. It’s bullshit. I’m all for eliminating barriers and providing help to disadvantaged demographics (although I’m skeptical whether women still qualify). However, that’s all to get them ready before they run. Once the nomination process starts, it does the party and the candidate no good to cancel the competition and hand them the nomination. That’s not going to happen in the election.
It’s like if we decided that fat people deserve a chance to compete in the Olympics, and reserved 30% of the Olympic team for the clincally obese. Sure, they’ll lose badly and be embarrassed, but it’s important to do something to show that we’re against the discrimination that keeps fat people out of the Olympics.
The NDP needs to rework the party the way the US Democrats did with Ramm Emanuel and Howard Dean’s 50 State plan. They need to move to the center and worry more about becoming a party that can win the election rather than staying true to the ideals of a party that can’t win the election. BC needs a viable alternative to Gordon Campbell, and Carol James ain’t it.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Vancouver will lose another cruise ship
Norwegian Cruise Line reports its Norwegian Sun will leave Alaska in summer 2010 and operate in European waters. They say it’s because of a $50 per passenger fee, passed three years ago by the state of Alaska.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
This is a bit of a twist on it because the renter is supposed to help sell the house, but it’s still the basic reality that it costs the owner money to have a house sit empty, so if they can’t sell they need to rent it out. It doesn’t make a lot of difference that it’s the builder rather than a flipper or specuvestor. A lot of owners are going to become landlords because it’s the only way they can get any money out of the property at all.
April 27th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
This is old news. The tenant pays a discount rent and supplies thier own furniture. It’s a marriage made in heaven for the vendor really ( as mentioned) because the house is less likely to be pillaged. Any way these stories have been in the papers for a year at least.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:36 am
oracle:
Er cheating on what exactly? I doubt the sellers are claiming that the house is currently rented for $XXXX/month.
On a related note, I have heard that some banks in the US are starting to let tenants stay when they foreclose. It seems the houses are less likely to be trashed or occupied by squatters that way so the banks’ financial interest is better protected. Isn’t that amazing? It only took them a few years to figure that out.
As has already been noted on this forum, a foreclosure (or other change in ownership) does not affect terms of an existing tenancy in BC. So you can stop worrying about your landlord being foreclosed.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:52 am
is this called cheating maybe fraud?