Dubai is planning to redress its "unhealthy" luxury hotel imbalance. A company owned by Dubai's government plans to open four hotels in the sheikdom to expand the supply of mid-priced rooms in a market entirely dominated by luxury accommodation. The three-star properties that they plan to build will be managed by non other than by the Hilton and Hyatt corporations, with a plan to build 19 hotels before 2017 comes to a close. This idea was put into place after the many five-star hotels that Dubai has to offer have been losing occupants and profitability has declined. The average cost to stay in a luxury hotel costs around 2000 Dirhams ($550) or more per night. By building these three star hotels, they can provide nice hotels for people to stay in that only have nightly rates from 367 to 735 Dirhams. As this emirate plans to increase its hotel rooms to 160,000 by 2020, it aims at offering affordable hotels to business travelers and families on holiday. Also, for the first time ever, properties will begin to sell to foreigners. With lower occupancy rates and decreased profitability from these exorbitantly priced luxury accommodations, these lower costing hotels will surely be a breath of fresh air for tourists and will increase profitability for Dubai.

Recently, the most expensive Chicago home has been sold for $17million. What is this home you may ask? This is none other than Chicago's Trump Tower Penthouse, which makes this transaction the most expensive residential real estate purchase ever. If this doesn't get anymore riveting, the millionaire who bought it offered $17 million in cash to close the deal! Sanjay Shah, a local tech millionaire and the founder and CEO of the Global Technology Vistex, is the man of the hour as he has made history with this insane purchase. Pictured below is Sanjay Shah after his purchase, enjoying the view from the trump tower penthouse.

The penthouse, a 14,260 square foot residence was listed for 32 million. However, due to being involved in negotiations for over 2 years, Shah was able to reduce the asking price down to 17 million.

Like any kind of penthouse, the view is the asset most prized by any buyer. The 5 bedroom 8 bath penthouse is located on the 89th floor and comes with a 360 degree view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Although the price of 17 million already seems like an exorbitant amount, Shah said he plans to put another 15 million into the luxury home.

It seems as though there may be a new head honcho in town, literally situated above everyone else.

There is an increased number of people set to retire as more aging baby boomers quit the work force. With a slew of these people retiring many seek to move and buy new homes in other areas more fit for retirees. However, what are the top places these baby boomers have picked to settle? In a new article published by the Wall Street Journal, they have pin pointed different cities the National Association of Realtors thinks will receive an influx of older baby boomers. Not only are they looking for a lower cost of living, but they also are seeking stronger economies that can support delayed retirement. Since baby boomers are the consumers that spend more comparable to the average citizen, many businesses have been interested in predicting their spending patterns on homes.

The U.S. Census researchers have predicted that there will be 60 million baby boomers between the ages of 66 and 84 in 2030. Since the leading edge of the boomer population is set to enter its retirement years, the NRA remained interested in predicting where they think they will move. The NRA still believes that many will remain where they are, but here is a list of the top cities boomers are believed to migrate to:



1. Albuquerque, NM

2. Boise, Idaho

3. Denver, CO

And here are the rest!

4. Fort Meyers, Florida 

5. Greenville, South Carolina 

6. Orlando, Florida

7. Phoenix, Arizona 

8. Raleigh, North Carolina 

9. Sarasota, Florida

10. Tucson, Arizona

In a new trend to luxury housing, there has been an increased demand for "bathrooms where water goes everywhere." Literally flooding the market, these bathrooms are basically "wet rooms" which have a barrier free shower or tub. 

Without the need to tuck in a shower curtain anymore, more homeowners have been demanding to have these wet rooms built into their homes. The shower is barrier-free and the whole bathroom is covered in tile so that virtually everything can get wet. Extra additions not seen in regular bathrooms in order to account for the large amounts of water accumulation include expanded tile work, elaborate drain placement, and additional fiberglass for waterproofing. Floor surfaces are meant to be sloped in order to keep the water from backing up, which can increase the cost.  

If this spa-esque type of bathing doesn't scream luxury living, I don't know what would! There is even an option to add on steam generators and free standing tubs for soaking. However, although the free standing soaking tubs may seem appealing to some, It bears an odd resemblance to what happens when a person drowns. That is only my opinion though! 

As for pricing, certified bathroom designers have suggested the cost for a 200 square foot wet room to be 50,000 if you include the floor to ceiling tiles, the free standing soaking tub, and the steam generator. From what you can see, the pleasure that comes with this luxury wet room clearly comes with its costs. Not only is it over 50k, but purchasing the large shower heads that these bathrooms require can be up to $996, something a resourceful person may never wish to spend in their lifetime. 

 Greece has suffered the second biggest property crash in the EU since the debt crisis began. 
Consequently, home ownership in Greece has been deemed a sick joke in lieu of this crisis. Remax, Greece's largest property company, has decided to speak out on the implications of this crisis on the housing market. They have specified that this financial meltdown has caused a multitude of problems. They went on to discuss how "basement flats are selling for as little as €5,000 (£4,150) in the less salubrious parts of Athens. On the isle of Mykonos, cash-strapped Greek celebrities have been selling luxury villas for a song." These extremely low prices for housing have been a direct result of the crash of their economy.  To put it into better perspective, last year alone there were only 3600 property sales in the whole city of Athens, where the vast majority of Greece's population resides. The social and economic crash is reflected in the property slump, as the property values have dropped a whopping 32 percent. Some estate agents even speculate that the drop was closer to 50 percent than 32. Historically, property taxes have been virtually non existent. However, with the onset of the crisis and to the dismay of buyers, property taxes have risen drastically, disenchanting people from purchasing new homes. An exorbitant amount of Greeks, who can't make their mortgage payments, have resorted to giving their property back into the hands of the government. 

The property bust in Greece is a huge problem that will not be fixed overnight. However, if the recession can ease in Europe, and foreigners start to return, it would be a part of the solution to one of Greece's biggest problems. 

In honor of the impending winter here in the U.S., I wanted to cover a topic that may be of interest to you and send your head spinning. What if I told you that there was a way to save money in the winter by simply adding a few home improvements? Well, in these few easy ways that I want to expand on in a moment, you can greatly reduce the cost of your utility bill with these ingenious home improvements that will be energy efficient and allow you to pay less for heating! That being said, there a number of measures that you can take to accomplish these goals. From implementing do it yourself renovations to more pricey ones where you have to actually hire a contractor, all are beneficial as they attempt to keep warm air in and cold air out. Essentially, one should concentrate on improving insulation, windows, and doors. 

Here is a list of 9 things you can do to greatly improve the energy efficiency of your home

1. Caulk around the windows and doors to seal up cracks and holes. In addition to keeping out the cold, it doesn't let unwanted bugs into the house. If possible, seal around the heating ducts in the basement and attic. 

2. Put down rugs on tile and wood floors, which not only keeps your feet warm, but it also creates a layer of DIY insulation. 

3. Cover holes around electrical outlets.

4. By installing glass doors to close off the fireplace, you are keeping warm air from leaving your house and preventing cold air from getting in. 

5. Add insulation to your attic, crawl space, garage, and basement. Adding a layer of insulation always can help if your home is over 20 years old. 

6. If you reverse ceiling fans and run them clockwise, you will circulate the warm air back into the room. Running the fans counter-clockwise makes it cooler during the summer months. 

7. Change your furnace filters, because the dirtier they are the less efficiently they are going to run. 

8. Buy insulated garage and exterior doors, since the garage doors that come with most homes aren't insulated. Also, an alternative to replacing exterior doors is to add a storm door. 

9. Replace or repair thresholds and door sweeps. Since this is where the door seals shut, it keeps cold air from entering and bringing down the temperature of your home. 

The difference in real estate and real property is as follows; Real Estate is property in land and buildings. It consists of the physical land and structures. Real Property consists of the legal interests associated with ownership of the physical real estate.

For example, in 2004, Private property owners Ford and Christina Huntington learned that in 1996 they had built their dream home, located in Skamania County, on their neighbor's property. Their neighbor then proceeded to sue the Huntingtons in hopes of gaining his land back along with his property. However, the case made its way to the Washington Supreme Court, and after a 5-4 vote it was decided that the huntingtons would gain an acre of the neighbor's land. In essence, they were given the better end of the deal. The Supreme Court's logic was to try and ease away from a rigid injunction rule to a more flexible approach of property law.

Private restrictions on ownership can be Covenants, conditions, and restrictions that are encumbrances, which limit the way a property owner can use a property.  They are promises made by a landowner about how the property will or will not be used that are enforceable through a court system.

Quite recently, new California laws were enacted to restrict groundwater use on private land. They passed this new legislation to allow the state to control and regulate the use of water on privately owned land. Citizens, feeling undermined by government control, are ready to take this matter under control to gain back their private property rights.

Public property restrictions stem from the fact that governments create limitations on the ownership of real estate, rising from their powers of taxation, eminent domain, police power, and escheat.

One news article is centered around the topic of eminent domain. UNT is prepared to exercise these powers as it is prepared to take over a local Sack N' Save in Denton, TX.  The UNT board of regents voted to acquire the property to make room for it's growing student housing. A problem arose when the board was willing to offer Fair market value to the owner, however he argued that the property was worth much more. It is safe to say these situations occur many times as the government prepares to exercise this power.

Hello! As per my first blog post,  I would like to welcome you to my blog. Hopefully it is not too boring, however I can't make any guarantees that it won't be!

First and foremost, my name is Elena Pappas and I am a senior finance major (class of 15') from Houston, TX. Apart from spending half of my time here at A&M playing on the women's club soccer team and practicing more than my body can handle, I enjoy a variety of things, one including beating UT at club soccer regionals for the first time in 5 years. For time's sake, however, I will revert back to what I was talking about.

I am extremely competitive when it comes to athletics. Not only do I enjoy soccer, but I love playing basketball as well as swimming. Since my father never had any boys to raise, my sisters and I were practically forced to learn how to shoot the basketball correctly. Sporting events are always fun for me. Nothing is better than watching a tied college basketball game in the fourth quarter with 20 seconds on the clock, especially when the seats are first row.
In addition to athletics, I have a deep connection to my Greek roots. If you ever meet someone who is 100 percent Greek they will tell you, nothing is better than embracing your culture. I take pride in  dancing in the Greek Festival in Houston with my friends, no matter how foolish it may sound!
I love movies, especially quoting them. My friends can vouch for me on that one. I am always the one to remember the most random move lines and insert them into everyday life scenarios. No matter how disappointing it is when the other person doesn't know the quote, I still get a kick out of doing it.

Just from being in this class a week now, I can already tell that I am going to learn a lot of information totally foreign to anything I have learned in the past, something I deem as very vital to courses taken in college. I genuinely hope to get a good knowledge of the practical aspects that are associated with real estate and use that knowledge to help me make better decisions now and later in life. I plan to attend law school after graduation, so I also feel as if this information is applicable in some ways to things I am going to learn in graduate school!

As of now, my mind will not be at ease until the LSAT is over on September 27th. Getting in to law school is everything to me right now, and I can only hope that the test goes well.  My short term goal would definitely have to be to get the highest score that I can. I hope to be transactional attorney in the future once I am done with school.

I can speak Greek! My family and I travel to Greece every other summer to stay at the summer house we have next to the Ocean. Last summer we went on a weeklong sailing trip around the Ionian Sea, which was amazing to be given the opportunity to not only learn how to sail, but also view some breathtaking scenery. On one of the islands we made port at was the Island of Scorpios, which is Onasis's island, one of the wealthiest men in the world at a point in time. Not to mention he also was married to Jackie Kennedy.

My bucket list gets longer everyday. Off the top of my head though, I'd love to be given the opportunity to attend the Olympics and the Fifa world cup. I hope to have traveled to every state. I would kill to see the grand canyon. I want to vacation in florence and eat enough spaghetti to last me a lifetime.

Here are links to some of my favorite sites!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com
http://www.buzzfeed.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com


This architectural structure is one of my favorites. The Parthenon, one of the seven wonders of the world, is a temple that sits majestically atop the Athenian Acropolis. Devoted to the Goddess Athena (the patron Saint of Athens), the parthenon is the most important surviving building from Classical Greece and also a symbol of Ancient Democracy. It gathers tourists worldwide that come see the ancient structure built around 447 BC. It's ornate Doric columns are sheer architectural beauty. That being said, my absolute favorite part of the Parthenon has to be the the view atop the hill, where you can gaze out and see the whole city of Athens sprawled out in front of you..



From left to right:
My god sister Noelle, my sister Lexi, Me, and my sister Demi