Here is the ultimate reason for planning ahead. Today the wheels came off my friend’s dream. I had decided to leave the firm because of the craziness, and today it was decided that the remaining partners and the family could not come to terms. So the work my friend did to start a new agency goes to the grave with him. No one wins everyone loses. This is by no means an isolated event. It happens every day as we have all seen time and again.

The point here is not about any of us, it’s about making plans. If you don’t want your life’s work brought down and if you don’t want the ones left behind to suffer beyond just loosing you, take a moment to put what you want in writing and put your signature on it!

For me Alliance, REALTORS® is the end result. My own company with no partners, except my life’s partner. We will keep doing what we do best and look back on this mess having learned another of life’s lessons. “The smart man learns from his mistakes. The wise man learns from other people’s mistakes.”

Back to the upbeat business of luxury homes from here on out. The best to you all!

As complicated as this is, imagine the battle over Y.C. Wang’s fortune. Wang died intestate with 9 children. “Where there is a will there is a family,” the saying goes. The best of families seem to come apart at the seams when it comes to divvying up an estate. Imagine how it goes when the estate is estimated at $5.5 billion and the deceased has no will. http://tinyurl.com/pjfvub

Why does a man (or woman) do this to the people they leave behind? Although the heirs will probably fight anyway, leaving behind a will, instructions for disposing of the remains and other thought out written documents make it easier to sort things out. Did you know that in most US states only next of kin or an order in a probated will can order a cremation? An executer cannot order it, even if they know that is the departed’s wishes.

More to come on the plans you should make and the chaos left behind when you don’t.

There are many in our industry dusting off the crystal balls to see the direction the luxury market will be heading. The problem becomes defining the market. Rich, Well Healed, Wealthy, Uber-Rich? While it’s true that the rich are not insulated from the same market conditions that affect the rest of the real estate market (look at a report about Marin County home sales) one has to wonder when it comes to the wealthy and uber-rich.

A report in PRLog April 7, 2009 states “There have been 12 sales of properties in the ‘Over $10 Million’ category in just the last 90 days, which averages one major property sale every week. One $14 Million property sold in only 12 days. The strongest demand are for luxury estates and villas located in Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hollywood Hills, Malibu & Laguna Beach.”

So don’t count the luxury market out, just be sure to define what you mean by luxury.

#1 was Monte Carlo at $4,419.69 per sq. ft. (converted from sq. meters.)
#2 Moscow at $1,937.11
#3 London at just a little lower at $1,928.10
#4 Tokyo at $1,671.90
#5 Hong Kong at $1,497.91
#6 New York at $1,383.93
#7 Paris at $1,126.06
#8 Singapore at a mere $901.16
#9 Rome at only $851.46
And rounding out the survey #10 Mumbai at $851.18

Putting it in perspective, a 6000 sq ft home would cost $26,518,160.71 in Monte Carlo, $8,987,459.36 in Hong Kong and a mere $5,107,106.36 in Mumbai.

On another note, you can have “the Manor” the late Aaron Spelling’s home is up for sale for $150,000,000. At 57,000 sq ft that’s $2,631.58 per sq ft, just in between Moscow and Monte Carlo.

Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben (aka Spiderman) was right when he said: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

What does this have to do with luxury homes? Well as you may have gleaned from my site, I believe the home you buy is more than just a place to live; it’s a place to pursue your lifestyle. Understanding what drives that pursuit is important if you’re going to reach the higher goal of contentment.

Look around the site for more information on these and many more topics. Be sure to read the blog and post your comments. If you need more help, contact David Sweeney directly.

One place most people forget is staging the outdoors. Professional landscape engineers will prune, plant, and arrange exterior setting to make sure that the entrance your potential buyers’ experience will be memorable.

One last thing, remember that the way your house is shown can make all the difference. The listing agent should be completely familiar with everything in the home, presenting it in a competent and entertaining way.

Presentation is everything: in food, fashion, automobiles, jewelry, and fine homes.

The same standards are found in the luxury home market. There are homes for sale at prices that say luxury, but the quality of the product doesn’t live up to the luxury designation. Location, architectural and landscape design, and much more will tell you whether you have the genuine article or pleather. Some, like a good knock-off, are hard to distinguish. But a good eye will catch it every time. Do you have the eye?

I did some looking and discovered some interesting contrasts. According to the Los Angeles Times, many of the local stars live in Manhattan Beach. A quick search shows homes in the normal California range. Ten listings between $6m and a high of $8.5m are not as high as you might expect for those in this earning bracket, in fact, almost downright respectable.

On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal reports that there is a glut of homes that are diffidently over-the-top that are just not selling: “8-foot doorways, wrought-iron gates emblazoned with uniform numbers, and basketball courts with stadium seating,” are just some of the amenities The Journal mentions.

What this tells us is that there is an opportunity to own these homes at a greatly reduced price. You can own a sports star’s home for significantly less than they paid for it themselves. Hey, maybe they’ll throw in an autographed baseball card with the deal!