Real-Life Ghostbusters

Some psychics and paranormal investigators charge hundreds of dollars to clear homes of unwanted spirits

 Excerpt:

There’s a cottage industry of people who advertise themselves as psychics, ghostbusters and paranormal investigators. Some charge hundreds of dollars to visit “haunted” properties—either in person, or via astral travel—and “clear” them of unwanted spirits. Others are volunteer ghostbusters who comb homes with high-tech gear to suss out paranormal activity. ... Jobs require [them] to remove “energetic things,” that can include ghosts but can also be portals—energetic holes connected to planets—as well as what she calls dark energies, which are “energies from other dimensions,”

Comment:  Image is of Tangina Barrons [Zelda Rubinstein] from Poltergeist. My thoughts: For real?! More:

Joe Nickell, senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry, an Amherst, N.Y.-based think tank focused on science and secularism, has investigated hundreds of claims of paranormal activity over the past 40 years. “I have never found evidence of an actual haunting,” said Mr. Nickell, 71. “Ghosts must be believed to be seen.”

Property Listing Extremes (San Francisco - Detroit)

16 De Long Street, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA 94112

Below: Comment: Not the cheapest Detroit listing by far ... but livable.

17624 Saint Louis St, Detroit, MI 48212

House Next Door

4250 Cottonwood Lane N

Comment: Our neighbor Shirley has moved in with her daughter and now her home is on the market. We knew it was going on the market and guessed the value at about $ 350,000. It's on the market for nearly $ 75,000 more. Will be interesting to see what it sells for. Hennepin County has it on the tax rolls for $ 338,000.

Below is pick of back of the of house .... red box is corner of back of mine.

Comment: See Guessing the value of one's home. This house was one the market for 1 or 2 weeks and then withdrawn

The rent ratio

As Home Prices Drop Low Enough, a Committed Renter Decides to Buy

Excerpt:

Over the last several years, I’ve come to like a simple, back-of-the-envelope way to compare the costs of renting and owning. You find two similar houses, one for sale and the other for rent, and divide the sale price by the annual rent. You can call the result the rent ratio.

The concept will probably sound familiar to stock market investors. It’s the real estate market’s version of a price-earnings ratio — a measure of how expensive an asset is, relative to the underlying economic fundamentals. Like a P/E ratio, the rent ratio provides something of a reality check.

Throughout the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s, the average rent ratio nationwide hovered between 10 and 14. In the last few years, though, it broke through that historical range and hit almost 19 by the time the housing market peaked, in 2006.

And while home prices — and rent ratios — have always been higher on the coasts, they reached whole new levels recently. In the Washington area, the ratio went above 20. In Boston, New York, Los Angeles and south Florida, it topped 25. In Northern California, it approached 35, higher than it had been in any city, at any point on record.

In concrete terms, a rent ratio above 20 means that the monthly costs of ownership well exceed the cost of renting. At current mortgage rates, for example, a $500,000 house would typically bring monthly expenses of about $3,000 (taking into account taxes, repairs, a typical down payment and, yes, the mortgage deduction). When the rent ratio is 20, that same house could be rented for only about $2,000 a month.

Comment: 20 is the magic #. Above 20, best to rent. Very good article. Be sure to view the graphic with the chart.

Hennepin County Foreclosure Map

Star Tribune: Interactive map

Comment: I was surprised by the number of foreclosures in Plymouth. Check out N. Minneapolis (area near I-94 and Hwy 55).

Minneapolis: speculators manipulate the system

'Straw buyer' deals fuel tidal wave of foreclosures

Excerpt:

In 90 days, with none of her money down, Thomas had $2.4 million in debt and 10 houses in her name, most in north Minneapolis. Nine belonged to officials of Universal, the same company that handled the transactions for her.

Comment: Be sure to view the graphic associated with the article!