So basically, you buy this rail car and then tug it around the country depending where you want to vacation. Done and done–a home and a means of transit all in one.

And even better, if you have crazy friends who ALSO own rail cars, you can link them together and travel across the country caravan style. How amazing does that sound?

Ok, now let’s get down to business. What will this awesome acquisition cost you? The car was originally listed a couple years ago at $225,000 but now it’s down to $89,900–not bad! The cost of moving it is less than you’d think, too, at $1.50/mile.

Given that you avoid real estate taxes (a house on wheels isn’t considered real estate), the monthly “parking” cost is very reasonable at $150/month. The car itself is approximately 85 feet long and 9 1/2 feet wide with 10 foot doomed ceiling.

Sources: Laurie Holland, Tiny House Blog

On to the post. There have been a few changes around here, which I’ll announce with this:

No, I don’t live here. My point is, this is a damn fine house. Gorgeous Victorian architecture, excellent condition, and in a central, upscale neighborhood (I’ll just vouch for that). 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2,600 sq ft. So how much do you think it costs? $1 million? $1.4 million? $2 million?

This home just went into contract for a mere $585,000. And that, my friends, is because it is located in Portland, Oregon – land of reasonable prices.

Thus begins my reintroduction into Portland, where this crazy blog got its start. Yes, it’s true – I have left San Francisco. And far from the long, drawn-out saga of the move to SF, the move back to Portland was short and sweet. I (along with my S.O.) decided to move, signed a lease, and bam, here we are. We’re renting a lovely home not far from my furnished rental condo, which I’ll be managing full-time from now on. The best part is we’re paying the same rent we paid back in SF and are getting about 3 times the value in return.

Anyway, enough about me! On to the Portland real estate porn. This home was built in 1890 but appears to be fully updated. Interestingly, it sold for $489K in 2003, then for $720K in 2005 (nicely done, bubble!), and now it’s back down to $585K. Given the stellar location and large size, I’d say we’re back to a somewhat realistic price.

Check it out:

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I love being back in an area where even fancy pants homes are vaguely, one day, attainable–I mean, if you squint really hard and it’s kinda dark. [View on Redfin]

I gush more fully about it on my vacation rental blog, but here’s a little appetizer:

This home is a true ode to history. Everything from the architecture, furnishings, and art pieces lining the walls pays homage to the people (Georgia O’Keefe, Ansel Adams and D.H. Lawrence, by the by) who once claimed this space.

I loved the place as a vacation rental, as a piece of real estate, and as a historical looking glass all at once.

How could you not?

All these firehouses for sale begs the question, what happens if there’s a fire? Are there any firehouses left? But no matter…

Former Engine #40, a firehouse sitting above Cole Valley, was chopped in half–lengthwise–and now its front half is on the market for $1.9 million. While most duplexes in San Francisco sit atop one another, for some reason the architect decided that these houses needed to be 5 levels. That’s right: 5 levels. On the bright side, you can always just use the fire pole!

wheeeeeeee!

The listing describes 3 bdrms / 3.5 bathrooms, original details, views, and (naturally) a fireplace. [View on Redfin]

No firemen in these photos, sadly, but I’ve got plenty of eye candy nonetheless:

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But then you realize that this house is literally built into a CLIFF.

That's right.

The 1,900 sq ft home sits on 40 acres along California’s Big Sur coast. With 3 bdrms/2.5 baths, it’s not sprawling by any measure. And I wonder if the bedrooms feel like caves. But nonetheless, it’s an architectural gem. Dwell Magazine and the New York Times have both featured it. I came across it on Curbed’s new House of the Day feature, which is pure crack for someone like me. Originally on the market for $6 million, the price was recently reduced to $4,950,000. The house is cool, but I guess it’s not $6 million cool.

Maybe that’s because no one can find it?

“The idea was to let the terrain roll onto the structure so all one could see from the uphill side is the natural slope of the sod roof,” said principal architect Mary Ann Schicketanz of Carver & Schicketanz architects in Carmel (quoted on Curbed).

I like the idea of living under ground with a secret spectacular view. Nicely done, architects!

[view on Zillow]

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In honor of my recent pro-renting rant, I thought I’d feature a rental for a change. No, it’s not exactly thrifty at $30,000/month, but hey, budgeting has to start somewhere.

Towering ceilings, a game room, wine storage, a library, a "fully staffed" building (whatever that means), it's got it all. I can barely stand to look at this place, it's so stunning.Here's where I'd cascade down the stairs each morning to report for my indentured servitude.

The full listing at Sotheby’s says this place is perfect for an art collector or someone who loves entertaining. Seems to be the right stereotype for this space.

You know how I love my mixed-use, multi-family properties, so while this place's price tag makes me nauseous, I have to give it credit for being so industrious. There's a separate entrance for the downstairs area so you really can have live/work separation. I appreciate that.

I also love that Sotheby’s lists for rent this little sidekick loft – also in TriBeCa, with a similar vibe, only much smaller. Sotheby’s can slum it when times are tough!

The price tag on this little punkin’ is a mere $4,500. Seems practically free compared to the $30,000 artist’s behemoth.

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One final note to my dear readers: I realize posting has been a tad slim of late. I assure you it’s for a good cause–I’m building a new business, one that I think you’ll all really dig. I’m spending my days scouting out exceptional vacation rental properties that I can recommend on my new site, Inhabit Vacations. So the next time you curse fate that there’s not a witty, insightful Real Savvy post before you, know that I’m out in the trenches, finding super cool houses that you–yes you!–can visit. Real Savvy Real Estate isn’t going anywhere, so don’t lose faith, but posts may slow down a little while I get Inhabit up and running.  I’ve got a ton of real estate stories and inside scoops in the pipeline, so stay tuned!

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The building, if you remember, was a rent-regulated 6-unit West Village building. Listed for $4.5 million, it’s now under contract, and the owners are already trying to rent out the garden studio apartment for $2,500. Seems a bit steep for a tiny, dark apartment, but then again it’s been a while since I’ve dealt with astronomical NYC prices.

I wonder if the new owners will occupy the “Owner’s South Garden Duplex,” which looked nice based on the floor plans.

Word to the wise: it’s smart to start marketing your rental property ASAP, even if you’re still in escrow. Don’t get yourself into trouble by signing contracts, but it can’t hurt to start screening tenants. Everything takes longer than you think, so start making your money from Day 1!

Today’s real estate disaster is rather epic in scale, and it’s also a tale of six degrees of real estate separation. Remember the Taos home from last week? The one built by the Mithun architect? Well, I was clicking through the Mithun site and came across a stunning condo building they did back in 2004-8. After further digging, I found out that the condo building–Seattle’s Mosler Lofts–was the subject of much drama, which was dutifully reported on by my blogger bud Matt over at UrbnLvin.

It’s not Kevin Bacon, but it’s still cool to make connections across the real estate world. The drama largely surrounded a lien that stuck around for years (a lien being a claim against the title of a home, meaning you can’t sell it). The lien was finally resolved in the spring of this year, and the owners are thrilled to be released from their lien-created prison. Even the developer himself is using the opportunity to sell his unit.

Dramz aside, the building was ambitious in scale and in sustainability goals. The developer, Mark Schuster, even wrote a book about it: Lofty Goals. It’s clear that the building was a true labor of love for Schuster, who named it after his grandfather. I don’t know how much dirt he’ll dish on the lien, but hopefully he’ll go for transparency rather than simple PR. Sharing real stories is a great way to learn from each other.

On to business!

Let’s check out the units. The developer isn’t the only one peacing out on this building. Here are the units I found currently for sale:

• Penthouse #1 – 2,398 sq ft – $1,970,000
• Penthouse #2 – 2,000 sq ft – $3,00,000 (this is the developer’s unit)
• Unit #900-901 – 2,035 sq ft – $1,395,000
• Unit #1007-8 – 1,546 sq ft – $898,000
• Unit #316 – 991 sq ft – $388,000
• Unit #311 – 697 sq ft – $224,950
• Unit #704 – 551 sq ft – $209,000

A true condo assortment!

You’ll have to click through to see photos of each unit (and I do recommend checking them out – they’re pretty diverse), but here are a few to whet your palette:

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What I know ISN’T lame is this tricked out sustainable house in Taos, NM. (Disclaimer: I was born and raised in New Mexico so I have inside information about how awesome it is.)

The home is 3 bedrooms / 2.5 bathrooms / 2,300 sq ft and is listed for $749,000. [Full listing here.] Oh, and to answer your question, horses are indeed allowed.

Designed by Antonio Pares, who now works with the sustainable architecture firm Mithun, the home’s listing claims one can live “off the grid.” One must wonder what exactly that means, as there isn’t much detail about the exact nature of the home’s sustainability claims. But when we’re blissing out to Real Estate Porn, we don’t ask too many questions. We don’t ask why it’s been on the market for 3 years, or why there are no photos of the kitchen/bathrooms/fireplaces.

Just splurge on images:

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This is not a new phenomenon. Back in the early 1900s, a man had a dream. He wanted to live on a rock in the Narrangansett Bay off the coast of Rhode Island:

And so, with the help of an artist, he sketched out the 3-story, 23-room Clingstone Mansion with lots of big windows. Despite heavy skepticism from the public, he made his dream into reality. It was to be a place where no one could bother him:

The man died in 1938. His house stood empty for decades, suffering from brutal weather and vandalism, until it was purchased by a distant cousin in 1961 for $3,600. The cousin is an architect named Henry Wood, and he undertook the monumental effort of putting the home back together (as quoted in the New York Times):

Every spring for a decade or so after the sale, Mr. Wood said, he cursed “this albatross,” his roofless, windowless, floorless, powerless, waterless house. Wrangling what had been a rich man’s plaything, attended by servants and even its own shipyard, into a working couple’s weekend getaway turned out to be much more than a working couple could handle. Eventually, though, as the Woods mustered the talents of their friends, Clingstone and its maintenance evolved into a communal lifestyle, and ultimately a kind of religion.

The house is an exercise in constant maintenance and pseudo-camping. In the early days, power was supplied by a generator, drinking water was brought in from the mainland, and toilets flushed into the sea. Now, solar panels, a wind turbine, and rainwater collection help the house run a bit more efficiently.

Henry has even found a solution for the epic maintenance Clingstone requires: every year around Memorial Day, he hosts a Clingstone work weekend, where 70 friends and volunteers come to the house to do everything from wash the house’s 65 windows to replace the sewer lines.

The house is stunning, but don’t plan on holding your wedding here. Not only is Henry Wood twice divorced, the three weddings hosted to date in Clingstone have all ended in divorce. I suppose the house is interested in supporting the free spirit, not matrimony.

Clingstone’s story is one of devotion, imagination, passion, and maybe a dash of insanity – I highly recommend reading the full account of its history in the New York Times.

Images courtesy the NYT