In the East Memphis neighborhood of High Point Terrace, a dented plastic water bottle and faded Dr. Pepper can rest between a set of rotting rail ties and contorted, overgrown brushwood. At first glance, the rail tracks stretching behind High Point residential backyards appears to be part of property that has been long forgotten. But this is not just another abandoned lot. It’s a piece of an out-of-service railway owned by CSX Transportation, a company that has placed a $17 million price tag on the 13-mile discontinued rail corridor stretching from Midtown Memphis to Cordova. And it’s all part of a brewing dispute involving a number of local entities, including a private equity firm representing a consortium of civic organizations; city, county, and state government; and one of the largest railroad companies in the Eastern United States.
Park and trail advocates envision a greenway in place of the blighted and ignored corridor: a much-needed green space for Memphis, complete with a jogging trail that would connect Midtown to the massive Shelby Farms park. But their price is much different than the one that CSX -is asking. Is $17 million an accurate value for the land? CSX maintains that it is. The price is “based on the value to us,” says Meg Sacks, spokesman for the Jacksonville, Florida-based publicly traded corporation.
Read more: mbqmemphis.com
Each city has blocks that everyone knows; and not by their street address but by nicknames like “billionaire’s row” or by the number of film and Wall Street stars that live there.
They often are the most expensive block in their respective city.
Usually the block orients around the city’s defining feature. In New York, it’s on Central Park; in San Francisco it has views of the bay; in Seattle it sits on Lake Washington; and in Miami it’s on the water.
In Pictures: The Most Expensive Blocks In The U.S.
For the first time ever Forbes.com has generated a list of the most expensive blocks in 10 cities across the country. To do so, we created an index with California-based data provider Reply! of the 100 most expensive properties in each city, mapped them geographically and then measured home values and the concentration of high-priced home values in each particular cluster.
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image source: www.ebookslife.com
You see a lot of articles and books about how to make money “real estate flipping.” Perhaps you’re heard radio or television news reports about the illegalities of flipping real estate. Maybe you’ve seen the late-night infomercials promising you easy overnight fortunes.
What’s the truth about making money flipping real estate?
First, real estate flipping isn’t illegal. Because some dishonest real estate investors conspired with deceitful mortgage brokers and property appraisers, their stories made “good news” for newscasters who love to grab attention with “Investors Scam Banks and Bilk Buyers out of Millions!” sound bites. True, some investors defraud mortgage lenders and/or desperate home buyers. Cheating investors hyped up property values, helped home buyers tell untruths on mortgage applications, and conned banks and buyers.
On the other hand, ethical real estate investors make a lot of money real estate flipping. There are many ways to make money flipping real estate:
1. You can help home sellers in foreclosure save their credit by arranging a sale of the property and never even take title. In other words, buy the property and double-escrow the property to a home buyer who wants to live in the home.
2. Find a seller under stress with a bargain property, secure a sales contract, and sell your contract for roughly $500 to $5,000 to a seasoned real estate investor without financing or taking title.