Elliott & Company Appraisers


December 2006	A Publication of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers



HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ELLIOTT® & COMPANY APPRAISERS

All of us at ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers wish you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. With the holiday season upon us, we would like to pause and reflect upon our appreciation for the business we have received from our long-time clients, as well as the ones who have started doing business with us this year. We would also like to extend our holiday wishes beyond our business circles and extend our appreciation for those who go the extra mile in all walks of life, including those who are serving our country in the military, those who risk their lives on a daily basis to keep our highways, cities and neighborhoods safe and those who offer service through the many outreach programs through our churches, food banks and other volunteer organizations, helping to make our lives and lifestyles superior to any other in the world. Our office will be closed on Monday, December 25, and Monday, January 1, for the holidays. We will be open all other weekdays during the holiday season, including Tuesday, December 26, offering appraisal service in all 50 states.

REPORT SHOWS DECLINE IN RENOVATION RETURNS

A recently released report by the National Association of Realtors and Remodeling Magazine concluded that rising home-renovation costs are adding a smaller percentage of resale value to houses.

Last year one type of renovation project actually made money (on the average) on houses. Upscale residing actually averaged a 103.6% return of its cost ($10,393) to the market value of the house. This year those who choose to enhance the outside of their home with upscale siding can no longer expect a financial gain from such a transaction. Such an investment would cost an average of $13,499 and add only 88% of that to the house’s market value.

This year in the United States, the average cost of adding a master bedroom suite to a house is a whopping $94,331. The addition raises the home’s resale value by $68,548, only 72.6% of its cost. Last year, the study said, such a project would have cost an average of $75,959 and generated an average return of $64,419, 84.8% of the cost.

A home office remodel tends to be the least profitable renovation. This year, such an undertaking would average a return of only 63.4% of its cost, the report said.

STUDY LISTS MOST EXPENSIVE RESIDENCES IN THE WORLD

A study with its conclusions published by Knight Frank, an international real estate company, listed the 10 highest-priced residences for sale on the world market. The actual values of these homes will be determined when willing buyers purchase them. They are (priced in U.S. dollars):

Updown Court, Windlesham, England - $139 million – 103 rooms, five swimming pools, tennis court, squash court, bowling alley, 50-seat screening room, heated marble driveway, 12-carat gold leafing on library floor.
Starwood Estate Aspen, CO - $135 million – 95-acre ranch with 56,000 square foot mansion ($2,410.72 per square foot) and several other buildings, tennis court, indoor swimming pool and 15 bedrooms.
Maison de L’Amitie, Palm Beach, FL - $125 million – 475 feet of oceanfront, ballroom, conservatory and 100-foot-long swimming pool.
Waterfront Estate, Istanbul, Turkey - $100 million – 30,000 square-feet ($3,333.33 per square foot) with 64 rooms, 200-foot long quay.
Toprak Mansion, London, England - $92 million – 28,000 square feet ($3,285.72 per square foot) of living space in addition to staff and guest apartments, four kitchens, twin grand staircases, 80 foot long grand salon, indoor leisure complex with swimming pool, Turkish bath and sauna.
Three Ponds, Bridge Hampton, NY - $75 million – 60 acres, Rees Jones golf course, 14 gardens, 75 foot long swimming pool and guest house, great room with 28 foot high domed ceiling.
The Portobella Estate, Corino del Mar, CA - $75 million (which means it’s actually tied for 6th) – Triple oceanfront, 30,000 square feet ($2,500 per square foot), including eight bedrooms and 10 full baths, modern design that resembles a nautilus shell, grotto.
Pierre Penthouse, New York, NY - $70 million – Grand salon, which was the luxury hotel’s original ballroom, paneled library, wine cellar, marble staircase, marble baths.
Locksley Hall, Belvedere, CA - $65 million – 10,000 square feet ($6,500 per square foot), including six bedrooms, herringbone floors, marble baths, views of San Francisco, San Francisco Bay, Angel Island and Golden Gate Bridge.
Oceanview Estate, Malibu, CA - $65 million (therefore, tied for 9th) – Seven acres with a bluff, seven bedrooms, two riding stables, swimming pool, tennis court.

QUOTES OF WIT & WISDOM

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." -- Aristotle

"Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful." -- Ann Landers

"Money is the opposite of the weather. Nobody talks about it, but everybody does something about it." -- Rebecca Johnson

"People want peace so much that, one of these days, governments had better get out of the way and let them have it." -- Dwight Eisenhower

"If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more." -- Erica Jong

"He who is in love with himself has at least this advantage – he won’t encounter many rivals."
-- Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

"I not only use all the brains that I have but all that I can borrow." -- Woodrow Wilson

"No matter what side of the argument you are on, you always find people on your side that you wish were on the other." -- Jascha Heifetz

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." -- Alan Kay

"It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing, when every 12 minutes, one is interrupted by 12 dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper." -- Rod Serling


For previous newsletters or columns written by Charlie Elliott, MAI, SRA, president of ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers, for mortgage publications visit our Web site at www.appraisalsanywhere.com.



CONTACT US
Newsletter Editor: kevin@elliottco.com	Web Site: www.appraisalsanywhere.com
3316-A Battleground Avenue • Greensboro, NC 27410