Word: teardowns
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...reported on the teardown craze in Brentwood Flats, Calif. We live next door to an 11,000-sq.-ft. mansion being built on a 16,000-sq.-ft. lot. The only thing more massive than the structure is the owner...
...does it really make financial sense to destroy one house to build another? In recent years, as the price of residential real estate has rocketed, the answer has often been yes. Today, with the boom losing steam, a teardown is no sure thing. Still, it can prove worthwhile--as long as you're careful. As Peter Miller of Realtytimes.com explains, you need to crunch the numbers to make sure the value of your new home will at least match your purchase, teardown and rebuild costs--plus leave you some compensation: "A typical profit margin should be on the order...
...course, there are other complications with a teardown. You should talk to the local zoning administrator or planning commissioner to see whether there are any restrictions on new construction. It can also be wise to meet with local preservationists. And in the end, make sure that money is not your only motivation. Says Columbia University real estate professor Christopher Mayer: "Look at it as, 'Am I really going to like what I'm building?' Most of the return from the house will ultimately come from living...
...sentimentality will not halt the teardown trend. "Not in this town," snorts broker Elaine Young. "Not when you can make $2 million or $3 million." Nor is community spirit likely to prevail. "I like privacy," says one Beverly Hills homeowner, holding his mobile phone and surveying his 30,000-sq.-ft. mansion. "I hear that the people who live down the road are getting a divorce," he advises broker Nelson. "You should look into it. I'll buy it and tear it down. I don't like having a house there...
...focusing particular attention on how rivals go about reducing the weight of their cars in order to placate a public increasingly concerned by the cost of gas guzzlers in a fuel-short society. Since foreign-car makers generally tend to build smaller vehicles than the Americans do, the teardown experts are devoting special emphasis to ripping apart and examining every Toyota, Audi or Taunus that they can get their socket wrenches...