Short Sale Luxury~www.996wedge.com SOLD
February 15, 2010
Yes there are some luxury properties that are great deals and this was one of them, www.996wedge.com
Just closed last Friday for $1,861,000.This was a short sale,which was originally priced at $3.6m 2 years ago.We have had success on getting several of these closed now,and it takes true grit.Debbie Hansen ,on our team,has the tenacity and patience to work through the bank’s complicated maze.If you are looking for one of these luxury opportunities,call us,or email.
Ultimate Luxury www.stonegatelaketahoe.com in Incline Village, Nevada
February 12, 2010
Lake Tahoe Home Features Interiors By Noted White House Designer
For Immediate Release
Lake Tahoe, Nev., (Feb. 8, 2010) – Obama White House designer Michael S. Smith’s sophisticated, yet inviting design style is reflected throughout a stunning Lake Tahoe residence now offered by Chase International for $19,950,000.
Known for his work with Hollywood celebrities and most recently the first couple’s Pennsylvania Avenue residence, Smith’s low-key luxury sensibility was a perfect fit for the owners of this stunning 10,000 square-foot home (including exercise room and wine cellar) set on the sandy shores of cobalt blue Lake Tahoe.
“StoneGate is an extraordinary home,” comments Smith, who has written two home design books. “The attention to detail and craftsmanship is unmatched on Lake Tahoe. It can hold its own with the most beautiful homes in the world.”
According to listing agents Shari Chase and Kerry Donovan, Smith’s lush country lodge décor compliments a home that features unrivaled quality construction from its mechanicals to the impeccable artisan stone masonry and ironwork.
Chase and Donovan, who represent many lakefront homes, explain that with its private pier, sandy beach and buoys, this gated estate really has it all. According to these Lake Tahoe real estate experts, this caliber of property is very hard to come by.
“StoneGate is for a buyer who desires and appreciates attention to detail where no expense has been spared,” says Donovan, of Donovan Group of Chase International’s Incline Village office.
Acclaimed Tahoe builder John Brink believes “the quality of a home lives in the details” and nowhere is that more evident than in this five-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate that was completed in 2006.
“The owner hired and gave creative license to the team consisting of an extremely talented architect, Larry Henry, an award winning interior designer, Michael Smith, my lead project manager, Pete Dittle and myself to collaborate on the design and construction of his home,” Brink says. “It was a quality-driven project where we used only premium materials and left no design or construction detail to chance; the result being a truly extraordinary home that we are all very proud of.”
Like an exquisitely wrapped gift, the wrought-iron gated drive creates an enticing prelude of the detail and craftsmanship that lies ahead. Similarly, upon entering through the massive Alder doors, one’s line of sight is drawn to the end of the corridor, which connects the front of the residence to the primary living spaces and concludes with a dazzling view of Lake Tahoe. Natural flooring mined in Colorado, Jerusalem Gold Grand Granite and Southern Yellow reclaimed vertical pine and wrought iron are the residence’s signature design materials.
The 10,000 square foot home was aptly named StoneGate for its impressive exterior granite stonework. The main living area features a grand living room, formal dining room, gourmet kitchen and master wing, which includes the library.
With its sunlit lakeviews, 22-foot high-beamed ceilings and massive granite hearth, the grand living room epitomizes mountain elegance. Paned French doors provide access to the stone patio and barbeque. Adjoining the patio is a level landscaped lawn and garden. And best of all, a lovely private sandy Lake Tahoe beach is just a few steps down an adjacent stone path.
The gourmet kitchen showcases a 60-inch Wolf range with double ovens and a French country ceramic hood rising to the beamed ceiling. Perfect for entertaining, a butler’s pantry provides an additional prep area, wet bar and auxiliary refrigerators and freezer.
The richly appointed master wing offers a library complete with wood burning fireplace, plus a full bathroom. The master bedroom has high-beamed ceilings and picture windows that beacon the natural light and English garden views during daylight hours, and starlit skies by night. Encompassing a magnificent space, the master bath features Waterworks fixtures from London, a double steam shower and spa tub.
An impressive open winding stone staircase leads to the second floor lower living area, which includes three guest suites and a family room accessed on each side with French doors. Opening out to the backyard and close to the pier, a separate valet garage offers room for summer furniture, kayaks, and other Tahoe recreational gear.
The lower third floor level offers an exercise room with a full bath, cork flooring and windows with garden courtyard views. Also on this level, is a temperature controlled wine cellar with 1,200-bottle capacity. The upper third floor level features a private executive office with full bath and a peek of the lake as well as a staff or guest quarters with full bath, kitchen, den and sitting area.
And finally, two symmetrical double car garages with convenient built-ins flank the entry.
StoneGate is listed at $19,950,000 with Chase International. For more information or to arrange a private viewing of the property, contact Shari Chase at 775.588.6132; sharichase@chaseinternational.com or Donovan Group’s Kerry Donovan, at 775.750.2190; kdonovan@chaseinternational.com.
February 2, 2010
Lake Tahoe real estate: How to sell a $12.5 million home in Incline Village
Maybe it’s a story about the role of the home in history. Or the part it played in a famous life.
So when the Donovan Group of Chase International sat down to begin developing the marketing plan for a 7,130-square-foot home in Incline Village that just hit the market with a $12.5 million price tag, one of the first jobs undertaken by Warren and Kerry Donovan, the co-listing agents, was development of the home’s story.
Built in 1999, the house at Lakeshore Boulevard and Highway 28 hasn’t been around long enough to carry tales of history or celebrity.
Instead, the Donovan Group built the story of the house around its builder — longtime Incline Village contractor Ira Rodman. The story of the house focuses on its design that takes advantage of an unusually shaped parcel along a private cove on Lake Tahoe. The story pays substantial attention, too, to Rodman’s craftsmanship in details ranging from hickory flooring to massive ceiling beams.
Equally important, Warren says, is the creation of a name for luxury properties on the market — “Secret Cove” in this case.
Preparation for the marketing of the home also includes creation of a portfolio of professional photography as well as the registration of a domain name, www.1169lakeshore.com, as a home for the photographs and marketing materials.
Getting that message into the right hands, however, can present a challenge.
“Our buyer could be 20 years old. Or 50. Or 70,” Warren says.
That dictates a strategy that includes everything from social messaging and text messages to traditional advertising in glossy magazines such as Premiere Homes.
The marketing plan also includes Realtor.com, the Web site that’s used by shoppers for $12.5 million luxury properties just as it’s used by shoppers for $150,000 starter homes.
“It generates tremendous traffic for us,” Warren says.
Public relations efforts by Truckee-based Switchback Communications also help carry the word. Last fall, press releases about another of Donovan’s listings at Lake Tahoe —the $34 million property known as Osprey Point — landed on the pages of both the Wall Street Journal and Architectural Digest.
Even with all the marketing efforts, Donovan says the process of selling a home priced above $10 million takes time to find a buyer whose heart and pocketbook match the property.
In fact, Warren says, Chase International tells sellers of properties priced at $10 million or more that they typically can wait two to four years to find a buyer.
Happy New Year life is good,Incline Village,Nevada!
December 30, 2009
Take the time to enjoy every minute .Skiing at Diamond Peak Ski area,in Incline Village, Nevada,will boost your spirits and energize all who take the time to appreciate why we live here!
Why didn’t my house sell this year?
December 30, 2009
Year to date, 2009 had much more life across the Incline Village, Nevada,real estate market than 2008.There were and are many opportunities for buyer’s at all price points.It is more difficult for Seller’s who have not yet faced the truth, that what was for pricing a few years back ,is not coming back anytime soon.What you purchased your house for and the improvements that you invested in,may or may not make a difference to today’s buyer.Most of the seller’s that have accomplished selling their homes this year,have left their equity and improvements on the table for the buyer.
Many buyer’s have written many offers,and are satisfied for the most part of writing again ,until they find a seller who will match their needs.Many buyer’s are writing several offers at a time,with a clause to have final acceptance based on their review of all offer’s that they have submitted.
Where are the buyer’s…they are out there.Have you heard about the multiple, multiple, offers on the Ophir Peak home in 2009?
Or the multiple,multple,multiple, offers on the Lower Tyner home earlier this year,that came on as a bankowned property as $399k……with some interesting disclosures…..many buyer’s all waiting to pounce .
The new build on Chico Ct that sold for $701k,previously on the market at over $1.2m?
What about the 9000′ home on the golf course that sold for 50% off it’s original list price!(which was ridiculous)
We are not sure if the Incline market has hit the bottom,and we probably won’t know until demand overrides supply.If you are not having any showings in a given week,the buyer’s are sending you a message,they are not buying into your pricing.The buyer’s really do not care what you purchased your home for,but they all want to know,and can access very easily.
If you have refinanced and taken money out of your home,and spent it,that might be your only profit in today’s market you might have.Thinking that you are going to get a profit out of your current home,is getting tougher to accomplish. Why is this? Because the supply of buyer’s willing to step up and purchase in this market is not consistant with the supply of inventory at any price point.
89 single family homes have sold in 2009 to date,and 11 homes are in escrow.85 homes sold in 2008.If you want the breakdown call us,or send an email.
The good news(!),interest rates are still low,between 4.75- 6%. Inventory in the local market is at a low,hovering around 190 homes.Yes, there is snow on the ground,landscaping is covered,icy patches are every where and Winter has just begun.Inventory for homes in the Summer increases to around 260-298 homes,meaning alot more choices for the buyer and increased competition for your home.
If your house did not sell this year,and you really need to sell,call us,you need to now your options before you HAVE to sell.We are not miracle workers but we have successfully matched many buyer’s with opportunities this year,and assisted many of our sellers with offers,and the choice to get out,or hold out,or explore the options,some of which are the reality of the times,short sales and such.
Are you aware that a home in Millcreek closed for $375k a few months back?
Or that there have been several short sales in the $2-4m price point?
Or that www.996wedge.com now a bank approved short sale at $1.9m,was listed in 2008 for$3.6m?
Or that their have been a few bank owned sales in the lakeview subdivision,35%-45%,off purchase prices 3 years ago?
Seller’s like it or not your home DOES compete with these distressed short sale and bank owned properties.Why? Because psychologically buyer’s in today’s market want “the deal’.If you would like the statisitics on your neighborhood,best buys in Incline Village,or an updated list of the pre foreclosures,and bankowed properties,call us,we have it all.Our information is up todate and much easier to access by calling us ,than wasting your ski days trying to figure out what’s what.
Okay Seller’s you can hold out for what was,or now’s your chance to get the facts,and formulate a plan.Maybe you should wait 5-10 years,if you can…but the only guarentee we all have,is tha our precious Incline Village is built out.No more land to added,no tracks to be built…so our supply of housing in this most beautiful place IS finite.
So cheers to a new year and we look forward to working with you on you plan.
