DISQUS

Even worse than the execution is the location. That was a death wish from day one. Right on the busiest stretch of Mercer? No thanks. Right above a gaudy looking QFC? No thanks. Right across from major, ongoing construction? No thanks. This is a terrible location for a terrible condo.

It's a bad format for links. Just post your links to this blog, as you find them.

I'm not 100% sure of this, but I believe if you know about a pending special assessment, you are legally obligated to disclose that in the real estate documents to potential buyers. The article you point to only says she sold to "avoid" the assessment and doesn't say she actually neglected to disclose it, but it mildly implies that. If she knew about an assessment and didn't disclose, I believe that is considered fraud:

http://www.searchlightcrusade.net/2009/06/selle...

Good move! Typepad is for weekenders. :)

So glad I rescinded my contract on a unit here a couple of years ago.

I still don't understand why, after two years, they still don't even go to the trouble of taking actual photos from inside the units that are for sale. That's what, like a day's work?

My guess is that you were asked to sign the extension because without it, you could very easily get out of your contract. I am not sure how your contract is written, but developers do not like to be in breach. By making you sign an extension in writing, it removes any doubt as to whether there is breach.

I think it's probably smart not to sign. However, it's also possible that by you not signing, the contract can be voided by them as well, if they wanted to. So, theoretically, if someone came and offered double for the unit you reserved, they might be able to sell it to them instead of you. Probably not going to happen in this market though. :)

Errr, La Jolla, I mean.

The dope-ass SeattleModern one appears to be in Del Mar, California actually. $9.975m:

http://www.5672dolphin.com/

I love your blog. Did you design this yourself? It rawks.

Weird choice of name considering that "barrio" generally has a negative connotation. It's essentially slang for "ghetto".

There are Trio buyers? Where!?

... which is fitting, because Lumen is what most people would call "a unique flop". :)

Yep, my experience is that grout pretty much never comes sealed, and I, too, have always wondered why not. It's shocking to me that it only took you an hour. Usually it takes at least an hour to buff the excess off the tiles themselves.

Joel: Haha. Well, what I'm actually saying is that with new construction these days, the marketing is almost always going to make you feel better than the actual place is. That doesn't mean both won't make you feel good, but clearly the marketing is designed to create all sorts of feelings of unbridled enthusiasm in you whereas the place itself is, well, the place itself. The effect the place has on you is real and can't be faked or puffed up easily. For this reason, when looking at an existing place, you don't need to set expectations. It is what it was. But with pre-sale, it's probably wise to knock about 25% off of your enthusiasm level and then ask yourself if you still want it. Either way... it's real estate... you move out eventually and you profit eventually.

Yep, you'll be fine in about a month, but the feelings you mention are why I will never buy new construction again. It's not like a new car. There aren't many real benefits to being the first one in there, unless of course you got a screaming deal which is rarely the case. I bought my only new construction at The Ballard in 2000 and although it was an ok two years living there, had the unit been finished before I saw it, there's no way I would have gone through with it. Old construction = known quantity.

Wow, I don't read your blog, and I'm not sure I've ever left a comment on a person's site merely to tell them they are arrogant, but damn. How do you write this stuff?

... which still doesn't answer why.

Robert: Again I offer my admission of ignorance on both this particular situation and situations like it, but I'd need someone to explain to me how this makes sense before I actually believe it. I definitely believe that sales agents could be trying to create the appearance of scarcity and demand, but I simply don't see how *actual* scarcity and demand would lead to the holding back of units for a good eight months. Time is money, and inventory in Ballard has been increasing tremendously with at least four huge buildings going up lately.

You said the sales agent told you they'd be able to sell them for a lot more in two years, and of course that's true in any steady real estate market, but to what end? Why not hold them back 10 years?

Again, I do believe that if they are holding them back, it's to increase profit. I just don't believe that it's current demand which is causing that.

I'm no expert but that doesn't seem to make a ton of sense. The only time you'd ever hold back units midstream would be if they *weren't* selling well and you thought the market would be considerably hotter in X number of months.

If a complex is selling extremely well, you simply *raise the asking price* of the remaining units. That way, you continue to lock in your profits before market conditions can change unexpectedly and everyone who has already bought a unit is all the happier they got in at a lower price.

I'm not an agent so I could be missing something obvious here, but this just doesn't make a ton of sense.

If it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. The only way I'd get into any of this new construction is if you found *your* favorite unit which wasn't priced like a favorite unit in the building, or if you know the developer and can get the bro deal.

Otherwise, go find an existing building. They are out there. I'm sitting in a 1200 square footer with a phat view on lower Queen Anne right now. $300 sq/ft... purchased a few months ago.

Yet another reason why Lower Queen Anne continues to be the best all-around neighborhood for urbanites. Walkable to the city, and none of the noise.

FYI: SportsNation is run by some very key guys who left ESPN to start this. I'm biased because they are friends of mine and funded by the same group we are funded by, but they're all experts at what they do and they've created something in a matter of months that SI likely would have taken years to produce. Traffic aside (they did no marketing or anything of the sort), their product fits in well with SI and other TW properties and yes, you can consider this a "people" deal and a technology deal.

People who have never worked at companies which employ tens of thousands of people often don't appreciate just how long it takes to get stuff done internally. I'm not even saying SI is any slower than normal... they are probably of average speed, but big equal slow and small equals fast. FanNation thus far has been fast, fast, fast... hence the appeal.

cml: You are on crack.

Very well done. I like it!!! B-Vel is money.

Art: Don't try and hide what you know is true. Tracy is merely calling you out on your claim during the show that you designed the new addition to the Guggenheim. You don't remember telling Jerry's lawyer girlfriend that? You even said it "didn't take you very long either". Cocky bastard!

... and you want to be my latex salesman!

:)