F REAL ESTATE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM INDEX Handy 3F Permits 6F Stone 7F HOUSE PLAN The Cortez The three-bedroom Cortez is a contemporary stucco home designed with a zero-lot-line concept in mind. PAGE 4F LISTING OF THE WEEK: Edmond home offers space The Listing of the Week is a two-story brick house on a 0.38-acre wooded corner in east Edmond. PAGE 4F FRAUD WORRIES There are signs that the wreckage left behind by the hous- ing bust may be reigniting dubious real estate schemes and fraud. PAGE 7F IN BRIEF FAUCET RISES TO CHALLENGE Pfister’s Elevate EXT kitchen faucet lets you adjust its height to accommo- date taller pots or minimize splashing. The faucet has three height settings rang- ing from 8 to 11 inch- es. It also has a spout that swivels 360 degrees, a spray head with spray and stream modes, and a 70-inch pull-out hose. The product was recently in- cluded in the “This Old House” 2011 list of 100 Best New Home Products. The Elevate EXT faucet is available at Lowe’s. It can be ordered for in-store pickup if your store doesn’t have it in stock. Suggested retail price is $198. BOOKS SEWING UP A MAKEOVER Basic sewing skills are all you need to give your home a decorative boost with the ideas in Lexie Barnes’ “Sew Up a Home Make- over.” Barnes pro- vides instructions for 50 projects — everything from simple throw pillows and place mats to Roman shades and slipcovers. She pro- vides guidance on choosing fabric and supplies as well as quick lessons on sewing techniques, so anyone who can operate a sewing machine can take on her projects. “Sew Up a Home Makeov- er” is published by Storey Publishing and sells for $19.95 in paperback. MCT INFORMATION SERVICES Home changed radically for Marilyn Blake and her husband, Jerry, this year: Over 10 months, their three daughters all moved out of the house, two tak- ing jobs overseas, one go- ing to college out of state. They went from full house to empty nest, with all that suddenly silent space. For Marilyn, it created an opportunity for a kind of retreat, a spiritual one, a place for prayer, reading and meditation. With a simple makeover — soft earth tones, a com- fortable loveseat and otto- man, a desk, some books and personal treasures such as her grandfather’s pipe chest, now an end ta- ble — a vacant bedroom became a personal haven. She said she wondered beforehand: “Will I really use it for purpose, and will it change my relationship with God?” The effect surprised her. “I didn’t know it would impact me that way, but it makes me want to go back in there and pray more, read the Bible more,” she said a few days before Christmas. She is a member of Northeast Baptist Church in Norman and its wom- en’s ministry team. Prayer spaces are prob- ably as old as prayer itself, although what constitutes “space” can be open to interpretation. Susannah Wesley, mother of a passel of chil- dren — among them John and Charles Wesley, foun- ders of Methodism — was said to simply settle in her Religious icons and Bibles on a shelf are just a glimpse of the images and prayer aids in the prayer-meditation room in Kory and Veronica Warr’s home in Yukon. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN Space for prayer at home can make every day holy BY DYRINDA TYSON For The Oklahoman [email protected]Kory Warr is shown in the prayer-meditation room in his home. The icons lining the walls, he says, “are like hymns in paint ... a means to draw us into worshipping God.” PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN SEE HOME, PAGE 2F Are you hunting for a wonderful home at a rock-bottom price? If so, you and your real estate agent should avoid hard- nosed bargaining that wears down the sellers by criticizing their property, said Kate Zabriskie, an expert on the art of nego- tiation. “Saying something nasty about the sellers’ house is like saying their baby is ugly,” said Zabris- kie, author of “Negotia- tion Power Skills: How to Get What You Want Without Being a Jerk.” If you’re shopping for clothes and find a shirt you like with a hole in the sleeve and missing but- tons, you might convince the store manager to dis- count the item by stress- ing its bad points. But because most homeown- ers identify with their property, criticizing their place is more likely to make them mad than cooperative. “When it comes to buying a home, you never want to get personal in your bargaining,” Zabris- kie said. What negotiating strat- egies make sense? Zabriskie said to stay positive and convey to the sellers, directly or through their listing agent, how much you admire and appreciate their home. Also, assuming you’re looking in an area with a strong buyer’s market, you might also wish to use the power of time to motivate the sellers to sweeten a deal. For instance, suppose you’re seeking to buy a family home from sellers who need to move quickly due to a financial reversal. You like the property but have a few reservations about the kitchen. Through your agent, you convey your admiration for the place but also your concern about its lino- leum countertops. Then you pause for a few days before making a move. “In this case, motivated sellers could well step forward and offer you granite countertops and possibly even a price re- duction to encourage your bid. Or they might give you other concessions just to get the deal closed,” Zabriskie said. Although you probably wouldn’t want to take this approach in an area where multiple bidders are the norm rather than the exception, slowing down negotiations in a neigh- borhood where “For Sale” homes are plentiful could Negotiating a great price takes strategy Ellen James Martin SMART MOVES SEE SMART, PAGE 2F Kenneth Harney THE NATION’S HOUSING
Transcript
FREAL ESTATESATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
INDEX
Handy 3FPermits 6FStone 7F
HOUSE PLAN
The CortezThe three-bedroom Cortez isa contemporary stucco homedesigned with a zero-lot-lineconcept in mind. PAGE 4F
LISTING OF THE WEEK:
Edmond homeoffers spaceThe Listing of the Week is atwo-story brick house on a0.38-acre wooded corner in eastEdmond.
PAGE 4F
FRAUDWORRIESThere are signs thatthe wreckage leftbehind by the hous-ing bust may bereigniting dubiousreal estate schemesand fraud.
PAGE 7F
IN BRIEF
FAUCET RISESTO CHALLENGEPfister’s ElevateEXT kitchen faucetlets you adjust itsheight to accommo-date taller pots orminimize splashing.The faucet has threeheight settings rang-ing from 8 to 11 inch-es. It also has aspout that swivels360 degrees, a sprayhead with spray andstream modes, anda 70-inch pull-outhose. The productwas recently in-cluded in the “ThisOld House” 2011 listof 100 Best NewHome Products. TheElevate EXT faucetis available atLowe’s. It can beordered for in-storepickup if your storedoesn’t have it instock. Suggestedretail price is $198.
BOOKS
SEWING UPA MAKEOVERBasic sewing skillsare all you need togive your home adecorative boostwith the ideas inLexie Barnes’ “SewUp a Home Make-over.” Barnes pro-vides instructionsfor 50 projects —everything fromsimple throw pillowsand place mats toRoman shades andslipcovers. She pro-vides guidance onchoosing fabric andsupplies as well asquick lessons onsewing techniques,so anyone who canoperate a sewingmachine can take onher projects. “SewUp a Home Makeov-er” is published byStorey Publishingand sells for $19.95in paperback.MCT INFORMATION SERVICES
Home changed radicallyfor Marilyn Blake and herhusband, Jerry, this year:Over 10 months, theirthree daughters all movedout of the house, two tak-ing jobs overseas, one go-ing to college out of state.
They went from fullhouse to empty nest, withall that suddenly silentspace.
For Marilyn, it createdan opportunity for a kindof retreat, a spiritual one, aplace for prayer, readingand meditation.
With a simple makeover— soft earth tones, a com-fortable loveseat and otto-man, a desk, some booksand personal treasuressuch as her grandfather’spipe chest, now an end ta-ble — a vacant bedroombecame a personal haven.
She said she wonderedbeforehand: “Will I reallyuse it for purpose, and willit change my relationshipwith God?”
The effect surprised her.“I didn’t know it would
impact me that way, but itmakes me want to go backin there and pray more,read the Bible more,” shesaid a few days beforeChristmas.
She is a member ofNortheast Baptist Churchin Norman and its wom-en’s ministry team.
Prayer spaces are prob-ably as old as prayer itself,although what constitutes“space” can be open tointerpretation.
Susannah Wesley,mother of a passel of chil-dren — among them Johnand Charles Wesley, foun-ders of Methodism — wassaid to simply settle in her
Religious icons and Bibles on a shelf are just a glimpse of the images and prayer aids in the prayer-meditation room in Kory and VeronicaWarr’s home in Yukon. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
Space for prayer at homecan make every day holyBY DYRINDA TYSONFor The [email protected]
Kory Warr is shown in the prayer-meditation room in his home. The icons liningthe walls, he says, “are like hymns in paint ... a means to draw us into worshippingGod.” PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMANSEE HOME, PAGE 2F
Are you hunting for awonderful home at arock-bottom price? If so,you and your real estateagent should avoid hard-nosed bargaining thatwears down the sellers bycriticizing their property,said Kate Zabriskie, anexpert on the art of nego-tiation.
“Saying somethingnasty about the sellers’house is like saying theirbaby is ugly,” said Zabris-kie, author of “Negotia-tion Power Skills: How toGet What You WantWithout Being a Jerk.”
If you’re shopping for
clothes and find a shirtyou like with a hole in thesleeve and missing but-tons, you might convincethe store manager to dis-count the item by stress-ing its bad points. Butbecause most homeown-ers identify with theirproperty, criticizing their
place is more likely tomake them mad thancooperative.
“When it comes tobuying a home, you neverwant to get personal inyour bargaining,” Zabris-kie said.
What negotiating strat-egies make sense?
Zabriskie said to staypositive and convey to thesellers, directly or throughtheir listing agent, howmuch you admire andappreciate their home.Also, assuming you’relooking in an area with astrong buyer’s market,you might also wish to
use the power of time tomotivate the sellers tosweeten a deal.
For instance, supposeyou’re seeking to buy afamily home from sellerswho need to move quicklydue to a financial reversal.You like the property buthave a few reservationsabout the kitchen.Through your agent, youconvey your admirationfor the place but also yourconcern about its lino-leum countertops.
Then you pause for afew days before making amove.
“In this case, motivated
sellers could well stepforward and offer yougranite countertops andpossibly even a price re-duction to encourage yourbid. Or they might giveyou other concessionsjust to get the dealclosed,” Zabriskie said.
Although you probablywouldn’t want to take thisapproach in an area wheremultiple bidders are thenorm rather than theexception, slowing downnegotiations in a neigh-borhood where “For Sale”homes are plentiful could
Negotiating a great price takes strategyEllenJamesMartin
SMARTMOVES
SEE SMART, PAGE 2F
KennethHarney
THE NATION’S HOUSING
2F SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
work to your advantage.“In many cases, mov-
ing slowly is a good idea ifyou believe the sellers willcut a better deal if youwait,” Zabriskie said.
Here are a few otherpointers:
I Choose a real estateagent who knows the areaand is a credible negotia-tor.
Who you select to rep-resent you when you buya home can heavily influ-ence how your deal comes
out in the end, said LeoBerard, charter presidentof the National Associ-ation of Exclusive BuyerAgents (www.naeba.org).
He recommends thatbuyers begin by creating ashort list of potentialcandidates. Give extraconsideration to agentswith extensive experiencedoing transactions in thearea where you’re looking.
Zabriskie said youshould ask all the candi-dates for the names andphone numbers of clientswith whom they’ve
worked on recent trans-actions.
“Ask references open-ended questions abouttheir experience with theagent. Find out if theagent really listened tothem or treated them inan impersonal way,” shesaid.
I Bargain over repairswith the support of asolid home inspector.
“You’re at risk for get-ting yourself in a badposition if you purchase ahouse that has seriousdefects. And the more
qualified your home in-spector, the more likely itis that he or she will un-cover big problems beforeit’s too late,” Berard said.
Berard urges buyers toseek a home inspectorwho has obtained ad-vanced training and certi-fication through a profes-sional organization, suchas the American Societyof Home Inspectors(www.ashi.org).
Most weekdays for KoryWarr, it’s a few quiet mo-ments first thing in themorning in his office atPraxis Development, thefamily commercial prop-erty management and de-velopment company heowns in Warr Acres.
“The place is not as im-portant as what goes on inthere,” said Warr, a mem-ber of St. Elijah AntiochianOrthodox ChristianChurch in Oklahoma City.“Without that daily con-nection with God throughprayer, my life would be acomplete shambles.”
He does have space ded-icated at home, however.Warr and his wife, Veron-ica — and more recently,baby son Isaac, born Nov.27 — live in a 1920s-erahome in Yukon. A smallroom just off the masterbedroom upstairs has adesk and comfortablechair surrounded by iconslining shelves all aroundthe room.
Warr said he has setaside space for prayer andcontemplation in hishomes over the years sincehe became a Christian.
“I’ve never actually hada whole room before, butit’s great to have it,” hesaid.
The icons were centralto early Christianity, hesaid.
“Icons are like hymns inpaint,” he explained.“They are a means to drawus into worshipping God.”
Icons depicting JesusChrist and his mother Ma-ry are especially impor-tant, he said, highlightingChristianity’s centralmystery: the Incarnation— God entering humanitysome 2,000 years ago inBethlehem.
“By becoming a manwithout ceasing to be God,he offered us the opportu-nity as humans to unite
ourselves to him,” Warrsaid. “And the icons of thesaints remind us thatthrough that union withChrist, we’re able to betransformed and becomeholy like he is holy. Theicons of the saints in par-ticular remind us that thatsanctity is the rule, not theexception. That’s what issupposed to happen to us.”
For Marilyn Blake, herhome retreat provides anespecially special place toread her Bible and pray.
“Sometimes I pray thoseverses back to God, espe-cially if a particular Bibleverse seems to answer theneed of someone who’s re-ally on my heart,” she said.
She said she often takesa few minutes in her set-aside space in the morn-ings before heading towork at Oklahoma HeartHospital in OklahomaCity. She said she used tolisten to the radio on theway: “Now I find I leavethe radio off, and I justkeep praying,” she said.
She recalled a recentmorning when an unusuallonging lingered as she
walked out the door andgot into her car. She want-ed to see God more.
“I see God in the Bible,but I want to see him andhear him,” she remem-bered thinking. “I knowmost people don’t get tohear the voice of God likeMoses did, but anyway, Iwas like, ‘God, I want to
see you more.’ ”The sun was just peek-
ing over the horizon as shestarted off, the sky brilliantred. A spectacular sunrisemet her yearning.
“That’s the brilliancethat surrounds the throneof God,” she said. “That’sthe way it was communi-cated to me.”
Home: Family takes time for prayerFROM PAGE 1F
A look inside Marilyn Blake’s home retreat. Blake says she uses the room for read-ing the Bible and for prayer.
Religious icons line the shelves in the prayer-med-itation room in Kory Warr’s Yukon home. “The place isnot as important as what goes on in there,” he says.“Without that daily connection with God, my lifewould be a complete shambles.” PHOTO BY CHRIS
LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
The backyard chapel,complete with Orthodoxdome and cross on top, ishardly a secret in Jeff’sOklahoma City neighbor-hood.
People are sometimesinvited over to share thesacred space, just 10 feetby 10 feet. Neighbors,many of whom attend withJeff and his family at St.Elijah Antiochian Ortho-dox Christian Church, areknown to stop in occasion-ally while out on walks.
“I tell them it’s alwaysopen, come pray,” he said.“And they do.”
Sometimes neighborsslip in and out unan-nounced.
“We don’t even knowthey’re there, and thenthey keep going,” he said.
While Jeff doesn’t mindsharing the chapel, he saidhe preferred that his iden-tity not be made public.The chapel is personal, forone thing, he said, andpeople might mistake it forboasting, for trying to be“holier than thou.”
“There’s a lot of greatthings in the Bible, andthey’re usually taken out ofcontext,” he said. “But Ithink one of the ones that’s
good for me is: ’Don’t letyour left hand know whatyour right hand’s doing.’ ”
That verse, from Mat-thew 6:3, is often taken to
mean acts of giving orgoodness shouldn’t betrumpeted in public.
Three verses later inMatthew is this teaching
from Jesus: “When youpray, go into your roomand shut the door and prayto your Father who is in se-cret; and your Father who
sees in secret will rewardyou.”
Jeff said he installed thelittle chapel seven yearsago. He bought it from aman who builds them andships them all over NorthAmerica. Jeff said hishome itself, set in woodswith a creek winding
through, provided the in-spiration. The city recedesas trees form a canopyoverhead, and wildlifemake regular treks acrossthe yard.
“We just felt closer toGod back there,” he said,“so we thought it would bea great place for a chapel.”
Backyard chapel is man’s sacred retreatBY DYRINDA TYSONFor The [email protected]
Friends and neighbors are welcome to pray in this backyard chapel in OklahomaCity. The owner, pointing to biblical cautions against boasting, declined to be iden-tified out of concern over being misunderstood. PROVIDED PHOTO
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 3FREAL ESTATE
When you hear the word“audit,” you probably immedi-ately go into panic mode.
But not every audit has toconjure up scary images of box-es full of paperwork and scow-ling accountants. When it comesto a warmer house and savingmoney on your utility bill, anenergy audit can be one of thebest things you’ve ever done foryourself.
Simply put, an energy audit isan in-depth inspection andanalysis of your home’s struc-tural envelope to determinewhere you might be wastingenergy, and then to providesolutions both large and small.
The auditor will take a num-ber of measurements along theway and perform a variety ofdifferent heat-loss and heat-gain calculations. All of thisinformation is then used todetermine how much heat yourhome is losing — or, in warmerclimates, how much it’s gaining— and then offer solutionsabout how to reduce that loss orgain in order to make the homemore comfortable and also re-duce energy costs.
There’s no single set proce-dure for how an energy audit isperformed, and they can vary inscope and complexity. Typically,however, all audits address sev-eral common factors, includinginsulation, windows, air infil-tration, heating and coolingequipment and ventilation.
Evaluating insulationOne of the first and most
important aspects of the energyaudit is to inspect the levels ofinsulation that are present in allareas of the home. Auditorstypically start with the attic, asthat’s one of the most importantheat-loss areas in the home, aswell as one of the easiest areasto improve. They’ll measure theaverage levels of insulation, aswell as the type and condition.Also in the attic area, the audi-tor will note the insulation levelson knee walls and skylightshafts.
They’ll also note the amountand distribution of attic ventila-tion, since that plays a key rolein removing moisture from theattic and preventing ice dam-ming. For the same reasons,auditors also pay close attentionto the condition of ventilationfans, chimneys, and othersources of moisture.
After the attic, the crawlspaceand basement will be checked,with the auditor looking for thesame basic factors: insulationlevels, proper amount of venti-lation, and good moisture con-trol. Finally, they’ll use probes tocheck the levels of insulation inthe walls wherever possible.Some auditors also use thermalimaging cameras to look for heat
loss through walls and otherareas of the home.
Air infiltrationAir infiltration is the leakage
of cold outside air into thehouse, and heated inside air tothe outside. In other words, it’sa fancy term for drafts, and itcan be a significant factor inboth comfort and wasted mon-ey. In fact, depending on the ageand style of the home, the U.S.Department of Energy estimatesthat reducing air leaks can ac-count for energy savings of 5percent to 30 percent per year.
The auditors will look at someof the obvious areas of concern,such as window and doorweatherstripping. They’ll in-spect caulking around windows,doors and other penetrationsthrough the exterior walls.They’ll often inspect flashings,intersections, vent dampers,crawlspace doors, the areaswhere siding overlaps the foun-dation and any other areaswhere air can leak into or out ofthe house.
In more complex energy audi-ts, a blower door test may beperformed. For this test, theauditor removes the building’sfront door, and replaces it with aspecially sealed panel that has ablower motor in it. All of theother doors, windows, fans andother penetrations in the homeare sealed off and the blower isactivated, pulling air out of thehouse. This lowers the air pres-sure inside the house, whichresults in outside air being
pulled in through any availablegaps or cracks. The auditor thenuses a smoke stick to locatethose otherwise hidden air leaks.
Windows and doors are an-other key factor in the audit.Imagine that you have a wallinsulated to R-19. The averagedouble-pane window is lessthan R-2, so that’s a pretty bigenergy loser in the middle of thewall — even worse if it’s single-pane. As such, the auditors willpay a lot of attention to thehome’s windows. They’ll mea-sure the size of each one, andnote its frame type, glass coat-ing, and even the thickness ofthe space between the panes.Skylight sizes and types are alsonoted.
The same is true for all of theexterior doors. Auditors willnote the size and material of thedoors, and whether there’s glassin them.
Furnace and ACFinally, auditors will examine
the home’s heating and coolingequipment. They’ll usually be-gin with an inspection of thefurnace and, if there is one, anycentral air-conditioning equip-ment. They’ll look at the size,general condition, types of fil-ters being used and location ofcold-air returns. They’ll alsomake note of the type of ther-mostat being used, and whatsettings are available for thehomeowner to use.
A lot of attention will be paidto the duct system, because thatcan be a real energy loser in a lot
of homes. The auditor will in-spect the type of ductwork be-ing used, the way it’s installed,the condition of the joints, andthe level of insulation. Ductworkin the attic, crawlspace andbasement will all be inspected.
Tying it all togetherAll of this crawling and mea-
suring and calculating doesn’tmean much until the auditorpulls all the information togetherinto some conclusions that youcan understand and implement,and that’s a big part of his job.
The auditor will put togethera written set of recommenda-tions, covering everything fromincreasing insulation levels andreplacing old single-pane win-dows, to the little things likecaulking air leaks or upgradingyour thermostat. Typically, themore expensive components ofthe package, such as replacingwindows or changing out aheating system, will be accom-panied by projected paybackperiods to help you with thefinancial decision-making.
To find an energy auditor inyour area, start by contactingyour local utility company. Someutility companies have auditorson staff, or else they can directyou to reputable local companieswho do audits. You can also doan Internet search under “energyaudits, (your city).”
Remodeling and repair questions? Email Paul [email protected]. All product reviewsare based on the author’s actual testing of freereview samples provided by the manufacturers.
INMAN NEWS
This audit could save you some moneyPaulBianchina
HANDY @ HOME
Kara Calderon hasjoined Churchill-Brown &Associates Realtors officeat 4401 W Memorial, Suite109, as a residential realestate sales associate.
She also is executivevice president for market-ing in real estate softwarefirm a la mode’s real estatesolutions division. TheSanta Fe, N.M., nativeholds a bachelor of arts inbusiness with a minor inart and photojournalismfrom Muskingum Univer-sity in New Concord,Ohio.
Kara Calderon
Calderon joinsChurchill-Brown
4F SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
The Listing of the Weekis a two-story brick houseon a 0.38-acre woodedcorner in east Edmond.
The 3,738-square-foothome at 3116 Durango Wayhas four bedrooms, 3½baths, three living rooms,two dining rooms and anattached three-car garage.The formal living room hasa fireplace. A game room isupstairs. The family roomhas a fireplace and built-inentertainment center. The
kitchen has a center island,walk-in pantry and break-fast bar. The master bed-room has built-ins and abath with double vanitiesand whirlpool tub. A guestbedroom downstairs alsohas a full bath. Upstairsbedrooms have walk-inclosets. The home has adecorative pond with awaterfall, a wine cellar,covered patio, open patio,storm shelter, humidifier,underground sprinkler
system and security sys-tem.
The home, built in 1994by Matt Wilson, is listedfor $400,000 with KarenBlevins of Churchill-Brown & Associates Real-tors. For more informa-tion, call 203-4663 or330-0031.
Nominations for Listing of the Weekare welcome. Send information onsingle-family homes to The Oklahoman,Richard Mize, P.O. Box 25125, OklahomaCity, OK 73125. Nominations may befaxed to 475-3996.
LISTING OF THE WEEK
Wooded corner, pondhighlight brick home
The Listing of the Week is at 3116 Durango Way in Edmond. PHOTO PROVIDED
The three-bedroom Cortez is a contem-porary stucco home designed with a zero-lot-line concept in mind. It is only 38 feetwide and has no windows along the rightside.
This design concept is brought into playwhen additional privacy is desired alongone of the lot lines or when a builder wantsto construct two mirror-image units in aduplex configuration. This allows each ofthe units to have one wide side yard insteadof two narrow ones.
If these concerns aren’t relevant, win-dows could be added, but the home hasplenty. The rear of the Cortez has morewindows than walls, facing out across acovered terrace that can be screened. Slid-ing glass doors provide access from thekitchen-nook area and owners suite.
From the dining room, you gaze into anenclosed courtyard through wide win-
dows, crowned by an arched transom. In-side, a columned archway echoes thegraceful curves of the windows and definesthe boundary between the dining roomand the airy, vaulted living room. Counterand storage spaces are plentiful in thekitchen. A powder room is centrally locat-ed, close to the front door and a pass-through utility room that opens into thegarage.
Amenities in the Cortez’s generousowners suite include a walk-in closet, lin-en storage, oversize shower, twin basinsand an enclosed water closet. A smallarched window brightens the stairwellleading upstairs to two more bedroomsthat share a compartmentalized bathroom.
A review plan of the Cortez, including floor plans, elevations,section and artist’s conception, can be purchased for $25 byphone, mail or online. Add $5 for shipping and handling.Associated Designs, 1100 Jacobs Drive, Eugene, OR 97402.www.associateddesigns.com. (800) 634-0123.
HOUSE PLAN
Cortez offers zero-lot-lineoptions, plenty of windows
SAN FRANCISCO — Mu-seum Tower Penthouse, a20,000-square-foot con-dominium sited on the toptwo floors of the five-starSt. Regis Hotel and Resi-dences in San Francisco,has sold for $28 million,the highest sale price for acondominium in San Fran-cisco, according Sotheby’sInternational Realty Inc.
The property also is be-lieved to be the highestpriced bank-owned listingin the United States, ac-cording to The Wall StreetJournal.
“The sale aligns withwhat we are experiencingin San Francisco, which isthat the high-end marketis now very active,” saidKathy Korte, president andCEO of Sotheby’s Interna-tional Realty. “Within thelast several months fourproperties have sold be-tween $20 and $33 million,according to county tax re-cords. Buyers are acting onrare opportunities such asthe St. Regis penthouse,perhaps the largest newconstruction penthouseavailable for sale anywherein the world.”
The property was placedon the market this fall bySecond Step Asset Man-agement and receivedmultiple offers, Sotheby’sInternational said.
“One of the largest per-sonal residences in thecity, the Museum TowerPenthouse stands amongSan Francisco’s most pres-tigious properties,” saidJeffrey Gibson, vice presi-dent and brokerage man-
ager of Sotheby’s Interna-tional Realty’s San Fran-cisco brokerage. “Withfour offers from qualifiedbuyers in the week leadingup to the closing, the salereflects the reality thatamidst all of the challengesin today’s real estate mar-ket, the San Francisco BayArea remains an interna-tionally recognized marketfor real estate investing.”
The condominium hasfloor-to-ceiling 21-footglass walls with 360-de-
gree views of many SanFrancisco landmarks, sixbedrooms, seven full bathsand four half baths, and2,900 square feet of ter-races. The penthouse, cre-ated by internationalaward-winning interiordesign firm Orlando Diaz-Azcuy Design Associates,also features a grand two-story entrance foyer with awaterfall, double-heightliving room, dining room,library and 2,500-square-foot master suite.
Penthouse nets $28Min San Francisco deal
Museum Tower Penthouse, a 20,000-square-footcondominium in San Francisco, has sold for $28 mil-lion. PHOTO PROVIDED
NICHOLS HILLS — LisaStockton has joined Chur-chill-Brown & AssociatesRealtors’ Nichols Hills of-fice, 6447 Avondale Drive,as a residential real estatesales associate.
She has six years of ex-perience selling real estateand has lived in the metroarea for 15 years.
Lisa Stockton
Stockton joinsChurchill-Brown
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 5FREAL ESTATE
All Vernon McDow waslooking for was help with acouple of dilapidated out-buildings on his property.Instead, the OklahomaCity Army veteran and histhree young daughtersended up with a practicallynew home just in time forChristmas.
“What didn’t they do?”he countered when askedwhat Central OklahomaHabitat for Humanityoverhauled in his house aspart of its Critical RepairProgram.
In less than a week,Habitat for Humanity —along with partners AT&Tand Home Depot — trans-formed the mechanic’shome at 1222 SE 51, replac-ing the roof and carpet,closing in a former diningarea to create a third bed-room, installing new wir-ing and insulation as wellas replacing kitchen ap-pliances, cabinets andcountertops. Crews alsowent through and repairedthe interior walls.
“Basically, all this dry-wall is new,” said ErichFont, the program’s pro-ject manager.
The paint in the livingroom was practically stilldrying as Habitat andAT&T and Home Depotrepresentatives crowdedinside with well-wishersMonday afternoon for theHabitat’s traditional “re-veal.” McDow and hisdaughters — Casey, 15,Brooke, 11, and Hannah, 9— sat together on thecouch as Habitat’s chair-man and CEO Ann Feltonwished them well in theirnew home.
“Hannah looks forwardto growing up in this homeand not moving apartmentto apartment,” Felton said.“And Casey is especiallyexcited to be sleeping inher own bedroom insteadof the couch in the livingroom.”
The family was supposedto begin moving back inlater in the day, but aChristmas tree alreadygraced one corner near thekitchen. Events took on amore festive air as an AT&Trepresentative handed outpresents, including tabletcomputers for each mem-ber of the family. The girlsdispersed afterward, usingtheir new gadgets to photo-graph their new digs andeach other.
Vernon McDow said thehouse was built in 1952,and his father bought itaround 1979. McDow andhis family moved in afterhis father died a couple ofyears ago.
A neighbor told him tocall Habitat about build-ings in the backyard thatwere in disrepair.
“They came out andtook pictures, and thenthey came back and toldme they were going to dothis,” he said, waving ahand around. “And in themiddle of it all, they decid-ed they’d do more.”
Habitat launched itsCritical Repair Programabout two years ago, tar-geting low-income peoplewho need help with res-toring their homes. Theywork with the Home De-pot Veterans Initiative tohelp low-income veterans.McDow served in the Ar-my from 1979 to 1985.
McDow’s house was the165th revamped under therepair program.
Most projects are small-er, but this time Habitathad more money to workwith, Felton said, “so wewere able to do the realwork, take it back to thestuds.”
The results run deeperthan paint and carpetthough. “I really don’tknow what to say,” McDowtold the gathering Mon-day. “We’ve been trying tofigure out how to say thankyou. This is more than Iexpected.”
Someone in the groupsaid, “It’s going to be agood Christmas.”
McDow nodded andsmiled slightly.
“Oh, it’s going to be agood Christmas for thenext 10, 15 years,” he said.
Habitat for Humanity repairs veteran’s homeBY DYRINDA TYSONFor The [email protected]
Repair materials remained at the McDow home Monday during the “reveal” byCentral Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity. PHOTOS BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
Vernon McDow looks over the kitchen of his home during the Central OklahomaHabitat for Humanity/AT&T/Home Depot “critical home repair" reveal.
Hannah McDow, 9, and her sister, Brooke, 11, look overtheir bedroom.
Workers move the furniture into Vernon McDow’shome as part of the Habitat for Humanity CriticalHome Repair Program.
Ann Felton, chairman and CEO of Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity, speaksat the “reveal” of work done on the McDow family’s home.
6F SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COMREAL ESTATE
Oklahoma CityGirl Scouts of Western
Oklahoma, 6100 N Rob-inson Ave., office, add-on,$1,532,000.
Downey Contracting,2801 NE 50, amusement,add-on, $445,320.
Timberlake Construction,2500 N Utah Ave., tempo-rary building, move-on,$1,800.
Ridgemont CommercialConstruction, 7733 S Walk-er Ave., office, move-on,$1,500.
Demolitions
Lawrence Baker, 3925 NHenney Road, chickenhouse.
Efrain Romero, 3025 NW28, garage.
M&M Concrete & Wreck-ing Inc., 805 SE 49, single-family residence.
M&M Concrete & Wreck-ing Inc., 4105 S HudsonAve., single-family resi-dence.
Midwest Wrecking, 839NE 6, residence.
Permits
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2011 7FREAL ESTATE
WASHINGTON — Could today’s seduc-tive conditions in the housing market —severely marked-down prices, record lowinterest rates and hundreds of thousandsof foreclosures waiting to be resold — bebreeding new generationsof the very practices thatled to the crash?
In an ironic twist, thereare signs that the wreckageleft over from the housingbust may be reignitingdubious real estateschemes and fraud. Ac-cording to researchers:
I Property flippers are back in action inplaces such as south Florida and LasVegas, where condo prices crashed butare now seeing appreciation again insome areas.
I So-called “floppers” are defraudingbanks by hijacking short sales at pricesbelow what legitimate purchasers arewilling to pay. In these schemes, realtyagents obtain fraudulent appraisals toconvince banks to sell houses at below-market prices to investor groups. Theinvestors then flip the houses at fair mar-ket prices to ordinary homebuyers andsplit the quick profits.
I Creative “credit enhancement” com-panies are “renting” the bank accountbalances they need to demonstrate tolenders that they have the financial
wherewithal to qualify for a mortgage.The accounts are for real, but they don’tbelong to the loan applicants who claimthem. Account names are assigned toapplicants — who pay for the service —
but they are never allowedaccess to the money.
When mortgage under-writers check to verify thedeposits, which are inreality fraudulent sub-accounts, they are told themoney is in the name ofthe loan applicant. Oneinvestigator pretending tobe a purchaser was ver-
ified as having funding available in theamount of $850,000. The loan applica-tion was to buy 935 Pennsylvania Ave.NW, in Washington, D.C., which is theheadquarters building of the FBI.
I Investors are hoodwinking lendersinto giving them low down payments androck-bottom interest rates by lying abouttheir intentions to occupy the propertythey plan to buy as a principal residence.Some investors consider such dissem-bling nothing more than a fib, but inreality it’s bank fraud. Researchers at theFederal Reserve Bank of New York havedocumented that widespread falsehoodsby investors about occupancy played amajor but previously unrecognized role inthe real estate bust.
To Ann Fulmer, a former white-collarcrime prosecutor who is now a vice pres-ident with mortgage fraud analytics com-pany Interthinx, this all amounts to a“past is prologue” situation: the marketconditions are ripe for a reprise of someof the worst behavior of the boom andbust.
Her company’s latest study of mort-gage fraud nationwide, covering loanorigination and other data from the thirdquarter, found that applicants’ dishon-esty about their employment and incomewas up 9 percent from the same periodthe year before and a stunning 50 percentfrom the third quarter of 2009. The rea-son: Borrowers increasingly are falsifyingW-2s and other records in order to meetthe tougher debt-to-income thresholdslenders adopted following the bust andrecession.
Interthinx works with major mortgagelenders to spot fraud and has access tovast loan application databases, creditbureau data and other information, andruns it all through proprietary models toestablish estimates of fraud risk. Forexample, when an applicant claims to bepurchasing a home as a principal resi-dence, Interthinx pulls credit bureau filesand public records and may find that theapplicant already has other homes listedas principal residences. The anti-fraudsystems also spot cases where buyers
apply to multiple lenders for the sameproperty.
For the sixth straight quarter, the statesthat Interthinx ranked riskiest for mort-gage fraud are the same that experiencedthe most explosive booms and the mostcrushing busts between 2004 and 2008:Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida.California alone accounted for half of the10 highest-risk metropolitan areas in themost recent rankings.
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and Cape Cor-al-Ft. Myers, Fla., are high on the list aswell. Metropolitan Washington, D.C.,which had been ranked sixth in fraud riskearlier this year, dropped to 24th place inthe most recent study. San Jose, Calif.,saw a 16 percent jump in “identity fraud”schemes where loan applicants seek —and get — new identities and credit his-tories good enough to qualify them formortgages that would otherwise be be-yond reach.
Deja vu? “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Fulmer said.
”There’s so much money on the side-lines” looking for high returns in the faceof a volatile stock market and low yieldson conventional investments. If you havelarceny in your heart, mortgages andhouses can be tempting targets.
DEAR BARRY: What isyour opinion about homeinspectors who pay referralkickbacks to Realtors? TheU.S. Department of Hous-ing and Urban Develop-ment has said that thesekickbacks are illegal, butthey are still happening inthe marketplace. What areyour views of this prac-tice?
RandyDEAR RANDY: The le-
gality of referral kickbacksmay vary from state tostate. But regardless of le-gality, the practice of pay-ing referral fees to real es-tate agents is entirely un-ethical and is prohibited byrecognized home inspec-tor associations such asthe American Society ofHome Inspectors, the Na-
tional Association ofHome Inspectors, andsimilar state associations.
Any home inspectorwho pays referral fees andis a member of one of theseassociations should be re-ported to that associationfor violating its profes-sional codes of ethics.
An ongoing problem forhome inspectors has beenthe pressure that is placedon them by some real es-tate agents — pressure to
avoid jeopardizing a sale.By no means, however, isthis a practice among allagents or all home inspec-tors.
There are many honestreal estate professionalswho encourage and pro-mote thorough disclosureof property defects. Un-fortunately, there are alsocompromising agents whotry to influence home in-spectors to be less detailedin their findings. Whetheror not a home inspector ispersuaded in this way, re-ferral fees cast an indelibleshadow of suspicion.
Homebuyers should becareful when choosing ahome inspector. The bestbet is someone with manyyears of experience and areputation for thorough-
ness. If kickbacks are aproblem in your area, besure to ask the inspector,point blank, if a referral feewill be paid to the agent.
DEAR BARRY: We justpurchased a home and hadit professionally inspected.But home inspectors can’treport defects that areconcealed, and sureenough, when we movedin there were holes in theplaster where the walls hadbeen covered by furniture.What can buyers do toprotect themselves fromsuch surprises? Shouldthere be a second inspec-tion when the house is va-cated by the sellers? Andwhat about the sellers’ re-sponsibility? Aren’t theyliable for these repairs?
Andrea
DEAR ANDREA:Homebuyers typically do afinal walk-through in-spection, accompanied bytheir agent, before theclose of escrow after thesellers have vacated thepremises. This provides anopportunity to discoversome of the defects thatwere concealed from viewon the day of the home in-spection. Apparently, thisfinal review did not takeplace before you complet-ed your purchase, or per-haps the sellers had not yetmoved on the day of yourwalk-through.
As for the sellers’ liabil-ity, they must have knownabout the wall damage andshould have included thisin their disclosures. If theydidn’t know about it when
they submitted their dis-closure statement, theymust have discovered itwhen they moved theirfurniture. Failure of sellersto disclose known defectsis illegal in most states,making them liable for re-pair costs.
Fortunately, holes inplaster are not likely toneed expensive repairs.But you can ask your homeinspector to evaluate thedamage.
To write to Barry Stone, visit him onlineat www.housedetective.com.
ACTION COAST PUBLISHING
Inspector referral fees are illegal in most statesBarryStone
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