Saturday, October 31, 2009

Memphis Hauntings - Ghost Stories - Real Estate Sales

The Stambovshys found a nice Victorian home in the New York village of Nyack and in 1991 they made an offer on the home. The offer was accepted and they purchased the home for $650,000.
A couple of months after the contract was signed, Mr Stambovsky was horrified when he learned that the home was well known in the community to be a Haunted House!!
Apparently, the phantasmal reputation of the house was commonly known in the village. The sellers had even publicized the "hauntings" in the local media as well as Readers Digest. In 1989, the house was included in a five home tour of Nyack and described in a November newspaper article as a "riverfront Victorian (with ghost)". The Stambovskys were not from the area and did not know about the poltergeists.
Soon, they brought legal action against the sellers and the seller's agent based on the non-disclosure of the presence of ghosts in the home. They wanted out of the contract because of this non-disclosure.
The trial court said no way! However, the case went on appeal and the appellate court ruled in favor of the Stambovskys because " as a matter of law, the house is haunted".
The court reasoned that because the seller had promoted the hauntings to several publications, that they could not now deny the existence of ghosts. Therefore, the appellate court ruled that under the equitable principals of the law, the Stambovskys were entitled to a refund of their down payment of over $32,000.
This by the way, was the Amityville house... Stambovsky v. Ackley. ..decided in the New York state appellate court in 1991.

So, sellers of Memphis Homes beware and Realtors take notice; if selling a haunted house, it is best for the seller to disclose this in the Tennessee property disclosure form. Whether you believe in ghost and spirits of the afterlife or not, it is best to be covered just in case.

The most haunted spots in Memphis, according to Memphis Paranormal Investigations LLC :
Old Tennessee Brewery Earnestine and Hazels
Cotton Exchange Theatre Memphis
Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park

Friday, October 09, 2009

Memphis Real Estate Market News

As we are deep into this buyer’s market now, everyone is looking for signs of stabilization. Although no one really expects major changes in the housing market over the next few years in terms of major appreciation, there appears to be some smaller market cities that fare better than others. Memphis TN is one of those markets and has been named as the fourth best metropolitan area based on Case-Shiller Index figures. Another source, Moody’s Economy.com, has also forecast the ten best and ten worst markets for home appreciation between 2009 and 2013. Since the Memphis real estate market has been known for its lack of major swings in pricing up or down, it has placed the Memphis homes market in the top ten markets for appreciation….Listed as number four.
This all sounds good for sellers in the sense that a market turn around for values may be close at hand. On the other side of the coin, and good news for buyers, is that36% of Memphis home listings took a price decrease in September, which is the highest percentage on a list of the 50 largest cities. This information is based on data compiled by Trulia Inc, a real estate research firm. The average price reduction for Memphis homes was 9%. In dollar terms, that depreciated the homes values by about $27 million. Overall, Memphis residential real estate has seen a 24% increase in price reductions between June and October, the seventh highest of the fifty cities being watched on Trulia’s research during that time frame.
What does this all mean? I guess we have to keep watching. Rates are still very good, home prices are down, but unemployment is close to an all time high for the last thirty years. Which way are we going?

Monday, October 05, 2009

Memphis Pyramid Future Plans vary among Mayoral Candidates

Opened in 1991, the Pyramid has in the past cost the city close to $1 million a year to keep shuttered and secure. City officials say they've since reduced costs to close to $300,000 a year.
The last concert held there, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, was in 2007. In years prior to this, the Pyramid was known as the “Tomb of Doom” and was the home basketball court to the University of Memphis Tigers. Now, it stands empty and is such a waste, when it could be utilized in any number of ways as a museum, an aquarium, a casino, an addition to St Jude children’s hospital, or some type of tourist attraction for our city. Instead, it has sat empty while years of negotiations have supposedly taken place with Bass Pro Shops. This company has stretched past the limit on procrastination regarding their megastore plans.
This beautiful structure, part of the downtown Memphis skyline, could be used in so many other ways to reflect some of the history of our city. Memphis does have a sister city in Egypt…Memphis Egypt… and the Pyramid could be used as a museum for the University of Memphis' Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology. If relocated there from the University of Memphis campus, not only the museum but also international symposiums could be featured in the arena. Restaurants with an international flavor as well as some retail could be located in the facility to create a destination for visitors and generate revenue.
Another mayoral candidate would like to see the building donated to the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and converted into a United Nations for Children, furthering the hospital’s worldwide fundraising.
Other mayoral candidates also have other unconventional ideas for the Bluff City’s iconic but vacant structure. Some of the other suggested ideas include a casino and a Memphis music hall of fame venue. Another candidate thinks that with its all glass sides, the pyramid could be turned into a power generator and supply power to all of downtown. Another candidate sees it as a possible home of the blues entertainment and museum center.
Meanwhile, Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery's administration is pushing to close a deal that would turn The Pyramid into an outdoors megastore for Bass Pro Shops. The county mayor also thinks that the Bass Pro Shop which would also include restaurants, a museum, an entertainment facility and a hotel would bring an anchor to the entire north side of downtown and help with the economy of the area.
However it ends up, let’s just hope it adds to our downtown and does not end up being the deserted building that it has been for several years now. It is surely a waste of a landmark that took years to build and does make an impression next to the mighty Mississippi River.