Tag: Living Spaces

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Living Spaces Real Estate

In Focus

When my wife and I used to daydream about having our own place, sometimes our wishful thoughts involved having an aquarium. But not just any aquarium: a big, wall-length sucker stocked full of petite darting wonders so crazily colored they look made-up. It would be a melting pot of South Pacific sea life, right in our own home. We wouldn’t even need a TV anymore, so tied up would we be in the little fish-world soap-opera panorama playing out in our living room.

So we dreamed big — nothing wrong with that. What we got, though, instead of the super-cool fish tank, was a koi pond full of leaves.

The folks who lived in our home prior to us had a pond installed sometime in the last couple years. The pond was actually quite attractive when we first viewed the home, late summer last year — landscaped all around with lots of large rocks, pieces of driftwood, and creeping plants. In the pond were live water lilies and anacharis and even fish! Several big goldfish, a school of little goldfish, and even a Kohaku koi (that last is up for debate) were in the pond.

So, we bought the house. Not because of the pond, mind you, but it certainly didn’t present a stumbling block. Once we took possession, I immediately began actively not dealing with the pond. By the time we moved in, it was almost autumn, and getting hands-on with the pond seemed like more of a spring thing. Besides, the fish seemed fine, and I would surely only screw that up by trying anything.

You live and learn. Fall happened, and the trees in our backyard did what comes natural, dropping leaves like gravity got increased tenfold. You know how they do. Bad news, though: Apparently in the pond with the anacharis and suspected Kohaku is some kind of leaf-attraction device. I’m pretty sure every leaf in the tri-state area loaned their leaves to my pond.

So that’s why a few weekends ago, I found myself leaning over the pond, up to my elbows in the water, fishing leaves out with my hands, pulling them carefully because I didn’t want to catch any fish. It was nasty business. This is what you get when you don’t cover your pond in the fall. I worked about two hours and didn’t get halfway done.

And I loved every minute of it. It was exciting to see the fish hearty and hale even though the pond froze over a few times during the winter, and nothing could take away from the fact that I wasn’t just cleaning out some dirty pond, I was cleaning out my dirty pond.

Home ownership, if it teaches you nothing else, instructs you on the rewards of being a little bold. You’ll no doubt do things you never thought you’d have to do, and not all of it seems fun on the surface. But don’t be too shy (I can’t bring myself to say “coy”) because, as they say, “El riesgo siempre vive.”

But I’ll be covering the pond this fall.

Greg Akers

greg@memphisflyer.com

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Number One

CREDIT: Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

All due respect to the King’s Graceland, but Beale Street — with its significance as ground zero for the blues throughout much of the 20th century — is the premier cultural/real estate spot on the Memphis map. And at the foot of Beale is that other prominent component of Memphis’ history: the Mississippi River. A new development set to break ground is capitalizing on both in a manner unprecedented in the city’s history. For a town as wild and wooly as the Bluff City, anything that happens that can be described as “unprecedented” is worth a closer look.

The development is One Beale, the brainchild and soon to be very real building from the Memphis-based Carlisle Corp. It will stand overlooking the intersection of Beale Street and Riverside Drive, called by Chance Carlisle, director of special initiatives for Carlisle Corp., “the gateway to downtown.”

The location of One Beale was selected because “it’s a corner deserving of something of stature. It showcases where Memphis is headed and pays respect to where it’s been,” Carlisle says.

But what is One Beale? It’s a little bit of everything. The $175 million project is one of the biggest condominium buildings in the city in addition to housing a large upscale hotel, Class A office space, a retail and dining center, and a spa and fitness center. It’s a rocketship of a building, a two-tower steel behemoth with an insistent finger of glass improbably shooting up and enveloping the north tower’s body. It’s One Beale, and the Memphis skyline will never be the same again.

Earlier this month, Carlisle Corp. announced the teams who will design, construct, and market One Beale. Among them are a number of Memphis-based companies: Architecture firm Hnedak Bobo Group is designing the development. Hnedak Bobo is responsible for FedEx Express World Headquarters, Clark Opera Memphis Center, Peabody Place, the Main Street Trolley, and the Lofts at South Bluff. Paradigm Productions will market One Beale, and Martin Group Realty will sell it.

Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

For all of the hoopla and bated breath surrounding One Beale, it’s still just a muddy patch of land right now. “We’re making significant progress each day to take condos to market,” Carlisle assures. “We anticipate releasing units this April.”

How many units need to be sold before ground will be broken is still in discussion, Carlisle says. “We haven’t decided what that number is, what’s reasonable for us and for the lenders.” Nevertheless, Carlisle is confident the development will break ground late this year or early 2008.

One of the main components Carlisle Corp. is involved in right now has to do with the mix of condominium sizes and prices. Overall, there will be 130-145 units. Condos will range from 1,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet, selling for $550,000 up to several million dollars. “That’s a wide benchmark,” Carlisle admits. But the bulk of units will run $750,000 to $1.2 million.

One Beale features two towers, one 30 stories tall, the other 34 stories high. There’s a common misconception that the hotel component of the development will take one tower, with condos housed in the other tower, Carlisle says. But it’s not true, he adds. The hotel and office space will be situated in the lowest floors of each tower, across the entire development. Condominiums will start above the hotel and office space on each side and take each tower to the sky. On the shorter tower, condos will run from the 12th to the 30th floors. In the taller tower, condos will start on the 18th floor and terminate at the top, floor 34. When built, One Beale will edge out 100 North Main as the tallest building in Memphis.

Which hotel will call One Beale home is still in negotiation. But the hospitality aspect of One Beale doesn’t stop with the hotelier. Whichever hotel partners with Carlisle Corp. will bring with it its own restaurant. There will also be another restaurant, a 4 to 5 star destination to complement the city’s already fine dining. There will be a bakery/coffee shop, retail space, and a big lobby bar overlooking the Mississippi River.

Additionally, One Beale will have a destination spa on the 10th floor. This spa will be open to the public and hotel guests; condo owners will be granted full access. The spa will feature individual treatment rooms, workout facilities, and swimming pools. Swimmers can get wet over 100 feet above the Mississippi River.

One Beale hasn’t been without its detractors and doubters. The development trod a long path before being granted city approval. It faced opposition from residents and owners of Waterford Plaza and the Candy Factory condos, two neighboring developments that stand to feel the effects of One Beale’s footprint. The development was approved by the City Council in October 2006, with some compromises made by the city with regard to neighbors’ objections.

Other concerns have to do with the downtown Memphis real estate market and its ability to support One Beale in light of so many other projects built in the last decade.

Artist Rendering Courtesy of Paradigm Productions

One Beale makes the Memphis of the future look sci-fi

Carlisle responds that there’s a flaw in such thinking: One Beale can’t be compared to anything else on the drawing board in Memphis. “We’re in a different market,” he says. “It’s a step above any proposed or current building. It’s ambitious, and we think the city is ready for that and demand it. The Memphis market is fully capable of supporting One Beale. It’s a development buyers have wanted.”

Carlisle also shrugs off the market slowdown during the last quarter. “It’s tough to use recent history as a comparison,” he says.

“We think One Beale is the next progression in downtown urban living for Memphis,” Carlisle says. “People demand to have a luxurious life on the Mississippi River and downtown. You have all of the services of a hotel and the benefits of having a pampered lifestyle,” Carlisle says, citing condo owners’ spa access and the use of the hotel’s room-service menu as examples.

“If that’s not something that interests you, you can also have a great kitchen with an unrivaled view of the river. If all that sounds good to you,” Carlisle adds, “you call it home.”

“Nobody has quite the advantage that One Beale is going to have,” says Regina Bearden, vice president of marketing with the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The hotel promises to draw more visitors to Memphis and more dollars for local businesses. It will also make Memphis more attractive for large conventions. “Anytime you add room inventory in Memphis, especially downtown, it assists us … as we’re trying to build conventions,” Bearden says.

It’s the number-one new development on the horizon in Memphis. If it’s as successful as it promises to be, things are looking up Memphis and its skyline. ■

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Living Spaces Real Estate

The Dyson DC14 “Animal”

I don’t hate vacuuming. But I do hate when I have to clean something that my vacuum is inadequate for or when I have to frequently empty the vacuum or buy new bags.

The Dyson DC14 “Animal” promises to correct these typical complaints. On a recent test drive, I found it to be as good a vacuum as I’ve used, though perhaps it doesn’t entirely live up to the expectations I had, seeing as how it claims to be “the most powerful upright for pet hair.”

The Dyson has lots of little features and characteristics that take some time to get used to but that are very handy once you do get the hang of them. For example, the leading edge of the main floor component is too low to the ground to suck up larger pieces of refuse, such as dried cat food. But by briefly positioning the handle of the vacuum vertically, the base angles upward to allow room for any large bit of dirt to get sucked up.

The vacuum also comes with many attachments and a telescoping, easy-to-maneuver arm for cleaning up high and on furniture. The hose to the arm extends 17 feet, so you can easily vacuum stairs without having to deal with a bulky base.

The crevice tool is the best I’ve ever used. It’s slanted, so when vacuuming behind and in between couch cushions, you don’t have to bend or strain your back to reach down deep. It also has a second opening on the side of the attachment. If the main opening is blocked, it can still suck in dirt.

It also has an attachment with stationary brushes surrounding the opening for dirt. If you’ve put some kind of cleaner on the floor that needs to be rubbed into the surface, let the vacuum do the rubbing.

Marketed as being a beast on animal hair, on this count, at least, I had disapointing results. The Dyson has an attachment with a spinning brush to pick up animal hair, and I found that it was more effective if you don’t push down hard on the implement. (The brush spins faster if it’s not being blocked by the upholstery you’re trying to clean.) The vacuum cleaned 95 percent effectively, but it left behind some of those hairs that act as if they’re sewn into the fabric. I suppose nothing on earth can get those out.

On a flat expanse of hardwood, the sucking action is strong enough to compel dust bunnies and lighter dirt toward it even when the vacuum is still several inches away. (My pets, on the other hand, were compelled to flee the scene.)

The machine’s design is attractive, and it’s easy to use once you get the hang of it. It’s got some heft to it, which I like on a hardwood floor. The exertion needed to push it across carpeting may be greater.

One great feature is how you empty the chamber of dirt. The vacuum collects the dirt in a see-through compartment. When you’re ready to empty it, release the section from the vacuum, hold it over your trashcan, and push a button to make the bottom open, spilling the contents into the waste bin. Your hands never get dirty. Since it doesn’t require bags or filters (it has a lifetime HEPA filter), over the long haul you’ll save money on the vacuum, which sells for $549.99 at www.dyson.com.

Despite its few instances of underwhelming performance, the Dyson DC14 “Animal” is still the best vacuum I’ve ever used, taking into consideration the functionability, ease of use, and price. You may not look forward to vacuuming, but you’ll certainly enjoy how clean it gets your home. ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

Organizing Idea Book

Anyone who’s ever lived in a condo will tell you: Condo living necessitates smart living. When it comes to your stuff — clothes, kitchen items, laundry essentials, mail — you can’t be frivolous with a condo space the way you can with a 2,500-square-foot house. That said, a home can get just as messy in 2,500 square feet as it can in half that.

The key to household sanity is, of course, organization. But if organization was simple, everybody would be organized. In my experience, entropy is the rule rather than the exception, and home spaces aren’t easily kept free of clutter.

Thankfully, there are lots of smarties out there to offer some solutions for organizing your home. John Loecke is one of them. He wrote Organizing Idea Book, a handy guide to getting your house in order.

Organizing Idea Book has lots of tips from professionals and suggestions on different methods of storage and display of household items. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, of course, and one of the best features of the book is that it gives the reader lots of different means to get to the same happy-home goal.

To be sure, much of Loecke’s advice is common-sense stuff, such as the suggestion to “place things at their point of use” in the kitchen. And the book has a love of hooks and pegboard that’s borderline fetishistic. To be fair, hooks are a hit at my household too: My 2-year-old daughter gets a kick out of hanging her little purses and necklaces on hooks in her room. (The book also states, “Rooms exclusively devoted to the activities of children don’t have to be chaotic.” Says you.)

The book can also be a little frustrating in its suggestions for storage in the kitchen. I’d love extra cabinets too, but where am I going to put them?

But the author evidently grasps human psychology, as when he suggests: “Avoid forcing yourself to learn new habits. If shoes are always piling up by the door, create storage for them there by adding a large bin or basket.” This is helpful advice coming from a realistic perspective, and it’s far preferable to phony rah-rah cheerleading that readers must change everything about themselves to have an organized home.

Some of the kitchen storage ideas and cabinetry are the stuff of dreams — I may have drooled a little on page 37. But the book’s best suggestions are universal: “Getting organized isn’t about changing the way you live, but rather it’s about accommodating your lifestyle” or “Pretend you’re a stranger and write down the things in each space that need improvement.”

One of the better features of Organizing Idea Book is the resources it lists, including companies that sell containers and organizing supplies, furnishings, and storage systems.

True to its name, there’s lots of ideas in Organizing Idea Book, and lots of them are good. And, really, there’s no excuse, so armed, that your own space can’t be relatively crazy-free.

So, buy multipurpose furniture: a bench for putting on shoes that also has storage spaces, an attractive coffee table that can conceal magazines and remote controls. Use see-through and open-topped storage bins to teach your kids to clean up their toys. Repurpose items that are no longer useful in one part of the house and give them new life elsewhere.

In a world where there’s such a thing as the National Closet Group (www.closets.com, natch), how hard can it be? ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

The Road Not Taken

The opening of the Avenue Carriage Crossing in Collierville in 2005 marked a critical juncture in the history of the town. The mall’s existence made palpable and immediate what had been true on paper for a long time: Collierville’s a big town and growing fast. Traffic congestion on Poplar and Byhalia is one sign. And Target opening a store in 2004 carried its own share of the classic small town having truly made it. But when what is arguably Shelby County’s premier mall opened in Collierville — far-removed from the town square but a Collierville zip code nevertheless — a couple of juxtaposed (but not exactly contradictory) questions came immediately to mind: What’s to become of the once small town, and how high can this baby fly?

All of those stretches of undeveloped land between the mall and the town proper looked about ready to pop.

One swath of land, west of Houston Levee and north of Bill Morris Parkway, was targeted by Memphis-based developers Clark & Clark for transformation. Their original proposal, called Bailey Farms, had the land turned into a mix of retail, office buildings, and hotels that could capitalize on the heavy traffic brought in by the mall and the proximity to Highway 385.

Bailey Farms is “retail designed to simulate small-town architecture,” says Ben Clark, a partner with Clark & Clark. “It’s something different for Memphis.”

That “something different” was not just consistent with the town visually but was also unprecedented in physical size. The Bailey Farms proposal covered 292 acres to be developed in a number of phases. Its neighbor, Carriage Crossing, sits on approximately 100 acres. “The fact that the master plan is so grand in scale affords the opportunity to create a real sense of place,” Clark says. But he admits that the scope of the development might have built-in disadvantages, as well. “It’s so large, the magnitude is not something Collierville deals with on an every-year basis,” he says.

In Collierville’s 2001 land-use plan, a non-legally-binding outline of how the town sees development progressing far into the future, the area proposed for development is described as open space, low-density residential, and office and business parks. Bailey Farms, with its heavy retail, does not fit that description.

When Bailey Farms went before city officials for approval, it was denied.

Jim Kuzdas, Collierville town planner, says, “When the Avenue Carriage Crossing was approved, the planning board made a commitment to not rezone the property around the mall as endless commercial and retail space.” The image town administrators wanted to avoid, an image Bailey Farms called to mind for some of them, was Wolfchase Galleria, with its acres of asphalt and retail.

Instead of approving the development, the town opted to take a wait-and-see approach. Since the Bailey Farms proposal came hot on the heels of the mall’s opening, the attitude was “let’s see what happens with the mall,” Kuzdas says.

In addition to timing, the size of the development was a concern for town administrators. “The board liked the overall design, the character, the identity of Bailey Farms,” Kuzdas says. “But it was almost too big to get our arms around.

“The vision for the town is to try to retain as much of its small-town character as we can, to find a good balance between quality growth and development,” Kuzdas says. Town administrators have referred to the land-use plan throughout the years when considering new developments, and Kuzdas says Collierville has “held to true to the overriding goals and principles of the plan.”

But a land-use plan is not law. The zoning map is, and the Bailey Farms project is by no means dead. Clark & Clark has applied for and gotten approval for three rezoning requests for sections of land within the scope of the proposed Bailey Farms. These sectors are now zoned MPO — Medical Professional Office — though other parcels of land are still zoned in a way that would not allow for the retail space that Bailey Farms calls for. Clark says his company continues to talk with Collierville about the future of the development.

According to Kuzdas, “Growth will be coming. We need to prepare for it carefully and make sure we have adequate infrastructure.” With regard to Bailey Farms, he says, “Maybe down the road, five or 10 years, as we see how Collierville develops, some portion of the project could be more acceptable.

“That location is prime, and at some point in time it will be developed.”

The story of growth in Collierville isn’t a Pandora’s box and it’s not a perfect storm. It’s just town planners and private developers striving for what is best for the town in the long run. The future of Collierville lies somewhere between the two visions. ■ — GA

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Living Spaces Real Estate

In Focus

What does it mean to be “new and improved”?

It’s a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately in regard to the publication you hold in your hands right now, the Memphis Flyer‘s Living Spaces. You may notice a few things different about this issue, including new features and sections, making this issue a veritable “new and improved” version of Living Spaces.

But if that phrase isn’t a lie, it’s also only a half-truth. Because, with Living Spaces, we’ve tried to be “new and improved” with every issue. Memphis’ real estate market and skyline is ever-changing. The furnishings, décor, and decorator businesses in town are continually tapping into or leading the way on new trends and new ways to express old ideas. Technology improvements are altering the way we construct, improve, and find happiness in our homes. Memphis is in a constant state of aspiring to be “new and improved,” and if we didn’t reflect that in Living Spaces, we’d get left behind soon enough.

With Living Spaces, we strive to be at the leading edge of “new and improved” every month, bringing you not just the latest in real estate market news and ways to make the most of your condo or home lifestyle, as we always have done, but also to report on innovations, new products, and new strategies used by local businesses and our neighbors to help make Memphis “new and improved.”

That’s reflected in new features such as Neighborhood Network (p. 4), where the focus will be on community and neighborhood news and how individuals, private groups, and public administrations are doing their part to make the Mid-South a better place.

It’s reflected in User Friendly, where a product is rigorously tested to see if it’s everything it claims to be and to report on any problems we experience with it. This month is the Dyson DC14 vacuum cleaner. Does it make your floors and furniture look new and improved? Check out page 6 for the answer.

It’s also reflected in Fine Print, a review of books pertaining to home and garden — real estate, home improvement, decoration, or related fields. There are a lot of books out there claiming to have all the secrets. We’ll try to pull the weeds out and find the good ones.

Our goal is to help you make the most of your own living space, to make it each day a new and improved version of the day before. We’d love your help, of course: If you’ve got any tips, news or events, suggestions, or comments, please let us know at LivingSpaces@memphisflyer.com.

Greg Akers

greg@memphisflyer.com

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News News Feature

Healthy You, Better You

Memphis is fat. We don’t need annual recognition of that fact by Men’s Fitness magazine to know what we can observe just by looking around town (or in the mirror).

And why wouldn’t we be one of the fattest cities in the country? We’ve got some of the best food on the planet to tempt us — from barbecue to soul food to fine dining — all in addition to the McDonald’s and Taco Bells on every street corner (turning all us fast-foodies into fat foodies).

Oh, I suppose we could just revel in our obesity and put together a serious run at top-ranked fatty Chicago. But then we’d all be dead or on our way out, and who’d be left to remind Nashville of their inferiority? No, better to head this two-tons-of-fun thing off at the pass, crack the whip, and get in shape.

No reason to stress though (that’s not going to help your heart either): Luckily there’s all kinds of help to be had in the Bluff City on the road to fit. In a town where parking can be fun, why can’t living healthy be too? And, of course, you don’t have to be a blimp to get some benefit out of a little extra exercise. Who’s to say we can’t take a shot at the top 10 fittest cities list. Milwaukee’s fifth, for Pete’s sake!

1. Find strength in numbers with the Group Power barbell program at Inbalance Group Fitness.

2. Prepare for your big bout against Mayor Herenton with boxing lessons from another former Golden Gloves winner — Joey Hadley — at Hadley’s Boxing Fitness.

3. Achieve your fitness goaaaaal! as part of a team in the Greater Memphis Soccer Association.

4. Dance all night to disco at Raiford’s Hollywood. Drink lots of water; go light on the 40-ouncers.

5. Help Lichterman stay clear of invasive plants during a “Privet Pull.”

6. Get your recommended dose of Omega-3 fatty acids at Blue Fish, Blue Fin, or the Half Shell.

Show off your bod with techniques taught at Strip to Fit.

7. Instead of taking the tram, walk the bridge to Mud Island. Then, pretend you’re the Jolly Green Giant and hike from Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans in 15 minutes on the Riverwalk. (Eating green beans is good too.)

8. Go with the flow of your body movement at Push Pilates.

9. Save lives and get buff with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training Program.

10. Take two mulligans, get one free, at the Links at Galloway.

11. Launch a sailboat into Patriot Lake at Shelby Farms.

12. Thrash with the kids at Skatepark of Memphis.

13. Battle with your date for the last bite of K-Pie at Paulette’s. Lose.

14. If you must have pie, make it a mud pie with the “Moor Mud” facial at Eden Spa and Laser.

15. Volunteer to walk dogs for the Memphis Humane Society.

16. Eat your veggies at Wild Oats or Square Foods.

17. Enjoy the view on the way down and count the steps on the way back up on the Bluff on the Mississippi riverfront. Repeat.

18. Get equipped by Outdoors Inc. and get out of town for an adventurous weekend in the woods.

19. Do it all night on the Midnight Classic Bike Tour.

20. Learn to swim with the American Red Cross swimming program or improve your stamina with aqua aerobics at Cordova Athletic Club.

21. Duck, then retaliate, playing Memphis Dodgeball.

22. Keep pace with the current of the Mississippi River in Greenbelt Park on Mud Island.

23. Get yourself under control practicing pranayama at Eastern Sun Yoga, Midtown Yoga, or Better Bodies Yoga.

24. Ace the fitness pop quiz with tennis at Racquet Club of Memphis.

25. If Emmitt Smith can do it, so can you: cut a rug with ballroom dancing at Gallery Ballroom, Middle Eastern dancing at Rhodes College’s Bryan Campus Life Center, or Argentine Tango at Quetzal.

26. Stop keeping the doctor away and go get a physical and check-up.

27. Turn the ice-cold brrr into grrrl power with Memphis Women’s Hockey. (Those XX chromosomes sure look like crossed hockey sticks.)

28. Get “Rolfed” at Insideout Life Gym.

29. Take it all off — the pounds and the clothes — at Strip to Fit.

30. Look at the beautiful houses while walking through Central Gardens.

Categories
Living Spaces Real Estate

The Bookshelf

Investment in a home is a huge commitment with an equally sized potential for profit. But don’t just take our word for it. Here are five books already released or coming out soon that offer advice that can guide you to a great buy and a wise investment. — Greg Akers

Make Money in Abandoned Properties: How to Identify & Buy Vacant Properties & Make a Huge Profit (Wiley)

Chantal Howell Carey and Bill Carey

Now Available

$34.95

Working under the axiom that one man’s trash is another’s treasure, this book swears to be the only reliable and comprehensive guide to abandoned-property investment. It provides “ten tips for finding abandoned properties, five techniques for locating owners, five keys to the foolproof offer, and four ways to obtain financing.”

The Wall Street Journal: Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook (Three Rivers Press)

David Crook

December 2006

$14.95

Don’t let the author’s name fool you: Crook is the editor of The Wall Street Journal Sunday, which is syndicated in newspapers around the globe. This book claims to be the authority on real estate investing and teaches you how to avoid schemes, get financing, make contacts, find the right properties, and more.

Nothing Down for Women: The Smart Woman’s Quick-Start Guide to Real Estate Investing (Free Press)

Robert G. Allen and Karen Nelson Bell

January 2007

For the woman on the go, this book swears it can give the basics of real estate investment in short chapters that can be read and fully understood in less than five minutes. It includes scripts for communications with buyers and sellers and templates for sales ads.

The Complete Guide to Purchasing a Condo, Townhouse, or Apartment: What Smart Investors Need to Know — Explained Simply (Atlantic Publishing Company)

Susan Smith Alvis

January 2007

$24.95

This book guarantees an easy overview on this specialty market, including what to expect from the many people involved (realtors, condo boards, attorneys, bankers) and hints and tips on what to look for and how to avoid common mistakes.

Beyond the Bubble: How to Keep the Real Estate Market in Perspective — And Profit No Matter What Happens (AMACOM)

Michael C. Thomsett and Joshua Kahr

February 2007

$16.95Are you considering real estate investment but afraid that the bubble will burst? This book will help you distinguish between the facts and the myths of real estate investment. Published by AMACOM, the book publishing division of the American Management Association, this book also offers ideas for what to do even when sales hit a slump. ●