2 Architects Make Magic With This Mid-Century Modern Classic

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Sitting amid a grove of mature oak trees, a classic Mid-Century Modern property is back on the market for $2.25 million. Built in 1973, this secluded home has gone through two architects and two renovations.

You’ll find this real estate gem in the woodsy enclave of Monte Nido in Malibu Canyon, 10 minutes from the beach in Malibu.

“It’s understated and low-key,” listing agent Brian Linder says of the design. “And yet it’s gorgeous, classical Mid-Century Modern architecture.”

Local architect Doug Rucker was commissioned to build the original home, which was completed in 1973. In 1990, the home’s second owners brought Rucker back to expand the space, adding a bedroom wing, living room extension, and an outdoor lounge with fireplace.

This pristine remodel weathered the decades and renovations with grace, which isn’t always the case when a classic is updated.

“When someone does not hire the original architect, particularly in a Mid-Century house with a working philosophy, the mistake will usually be profound,” says Rucker.

House sits amid a grove of mature oak trees.

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Outdoor fireplace and lounge

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“Since I did all the remodeling, I like what I’ve done,” Rucker adds. “The original philosophy of ease and freedom has been maintained.” He notes that his favorite part of the home is the “sense of freedom, safety, and closeness to nature. Good homes respond to love of being there.”

Back patio and floor-to-ceiling windows

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The home was purchased two years ago by Dan Meis, architect of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and his wife, Brandie Meis, who also has a background in architecture.

The two updated the interior to meld a bit of a contemporary vibe to the original design.

Custom bookshelves

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The update included replacing carpet with hardwood floors, renovating the guest bathroom, and adding custom shelving in the library. The lighting was also updated inside and out.

Open kitchen

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Describing the home as “magical,” Meis says, “The house was in great shape … so [it] didn’t need much renovation or change.”

According to Linder, Meis “respectfully renovated the home, preserving the original design and introducing new materials and finishes in keeping with a modern lifestyle.”

We can definitely get behind this California-modern lifestyle. The home exudes casual cool with its open floor plan and “seamless connection to the outdoors” thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows.

The focus on entertaining is evident with a space that spills outside and features a fireplace, decks, and built-in barbecue. Multiple living areas inside include two fireplaces, an office, living area, four bedrooms, and three baths. The 2,986-square-foot house sits on just over an acre.

With all the time he spends in New York and Europe, Meis concluded that keeping a home in L.A. didn’t make sense. He put the masterpiece back on the market with the intention of relocating to the East Coast, leaving behind a home that has withstood the test of architectural design.

“There’s a timelessness to it that still resonates,” Linder says.

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Country Star Ronnie Dunn Buys Horse Property From Tennessee’s Richest Resident

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Country singer-songwriter and record executive Ronnie Dunn, formerly of the chart-topping duo Brooks & Dunn, recently bought 6 acres of prime Nashville horse property from Thomas F. Frist Jr., the richest man in Tennessee.

Dunn paid $2.25 million for the completely fenced parcel of land that contains grassy meadows, mature trees and foliage, a stream, and a barn, all conveniently located within chipping distance of the Harpeth Hills Golf Course.

It’s likely Dunn will start construction on his next dream home on the property as soon as he sells his own lavish Nashville estate, which is currently priced at $9 million and has been on the market since 2014.

Ronnie Dunn’s new 6-acre horse property

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Aerial view of Dunn’s $9 million estate, which is currently for sale.

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Apparently Frist was in no rush to sell the bucolic 6 acres—records indicate that it’s been on the market since 2008, when it was listed for $2.9 million. Because the 78-year-old heir, businessman, and philanthropist who’s the co-founder of the Hospital Corporation of America was … busy.

Besides his professional duties in health care and aviation, Frist is heavily involved with health-oriented charities, as well as the United Way. He and his wife, Patricia, live on an $18 million estate in nearby Belle Meade, TN. Frist is reported to be worth upward of $8.1 billion.

Grammy winner Dunn is also keeping busy, as a solo artist. His latest single, “Damn Drunk,” is a fan favorite. But the video for the song was obviously not shot on his new, lush property.

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Why Lower House Prices Lead to Higher Student Loan Default Rates

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Add this to the list of potential consequences of the housing bust: Rising student loan defaults.

Drops in housing prices during the Great Recession account for between 24% and 32% of the rise in student loan defaults during the same period, according to a working paper distributed this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonprofit economic research organization. The study — which is based on administrative student loan data, de-identified tax data and zip code home price data for roughly 300,000 student loan borrowers in repayment during the recession — shows that borrowers living in zip codes where home prices fell more dramatically were more likely to default.

The study doesn’t indicate that the risk of a student loan default is directly connected to the value of a borrower’s home. Instead, the findings show that the effect of declining home prices on a region’s labor market contributes to rising student loan defaults. Earlier research cited in the paper indicates that when the value of homes in an area fall, households spend less and therefore local businesses are often forced to keep workers’ pay stagnant or, ultimately, lay them off.

“The huge rise in student loan defaults is on everybody’s minds and the question is what’s the cause of this rise?” said Holger Mueller, a professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business and one of the authors of the paper. “What we want to do is point to another very important source of default risk and that’s just the labor market.”

The study adds a new element to prior research, which has pointed largely to one explanation for the rise in student loan defaults: An uptick in riskier borrowers attending college. So-called nontraditional students, who tend to be older and attend community or for-profit colleges, have accounted for a growing share of student loan borrowers. Because this group is at higher risk of defaulting on their loans, the growth in their ranks has pushed up the overall default rate, previous research by Mueller’s co-author, Constantine Yannelis, has indicated.

More than 1 million federal student loan borrowers defaulted on their debt last year. Defaulting on student debt, particularly a federal loan, can be devastating for a borrower; it’s typically a credit-ruining event and the government has the power to garnish your Social Security check, tax refund and wages over a defaulted student loan.

Mueller and Yannelis’ research indicates that the policies the government offers to help borrowers avoid this outcome are somewhat effective. Federal student loan borrowers have the ability to pay back their loans according to their income. These plans also offer borrowers the opportunity to discharge their loans after at least 20 years of repayment. Mueller and Yannelis’ research indicates that these plans are at least partially successful at protecting borrowers from the income and employment shocks that can come from falling home prices — as long as borrowers sign up for them.

The Obama administration expanded these plans, but struggled to publicize them. What’s more, regulators and others have accused student loan servicers of making it more difficult than necessary for borrowers to enroll in the plans. But congressional Republicans have questioned the plans, as the potential cost of forgiveness appears larger than estimated.

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Atlanta mansion sells for $6.4 million (SLIDESHOW)

An Atlanta mansion in Buckhead's Tuxedo Park recently sold for $6.4 million. The home at 435 King Road sits on nearly 1.4 acres and was built in 2009, according to the property's FMLS listing. It was was originally listed for $6.85 million. Linda Williams of Beacham & Company, Realtors represented the buyer, whom she would not disclose, and Beacham & Co. founder Glennis Beacham represented the seller, whom she would not disclose. However, the home was last owned by Karl F. Meyer, according to…

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MAAR renames top Pinnacle Award after late CRE titan

Since 2002, the Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) Commercial Council has recognized a Pinnacle Award for Commercial Broker of the Year. But, that will change this year. Starting with this year's Pinnacle Awards, being held later this week, MAAR will instead recognize the "Wyatt Aiken Commercial Broker of the Year." The name change honors Aiken, a local commercial real estate titan and chief operating office and principal of Cushman & Wakefield/Commercial Advisors, who died at the age…

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February home sales dropped in Buffalo as inventory remains tight

Home sales in the Buffalo metropolitan area declined by 3.8 percent in February compared to a year ago while prices paid were mixed. There were 685 single-family home sales conducted during the month this year, down from 712 in 2016, according to the Buffalo Niagara Association of Realtors. Median prices rose 1.1 percent to 4120,000 from $118,720. The average sale however declined 1.5 percent to $139,013 from $141,138. The number of properties on the market was off significantly — down 30.6…

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Get Housing’s Hottest New Trend: Wearable Tiny Homes!

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Unless you’ve had your head buried in some massive McMansion for the past decade, you’re probably aware that tiny houses are just about the biggest trend around. These miniature abodes—which rarely exceed 500 square feet—are cheap, eco-friendly, and oh so cute. Which explains why folks ranging from NFL star Deion Sanders to hipsters to corporate bigwigs are rushing to downsize.

But guess what? Some people think tiny houses are still too big. As a result, they’ve come up with a way to make them even smaller, cheaper, more eco-friendly and yes, even more adorable than ever before.

Behold the next big thing: wearable homes.

Why live in a home when you can wear one?

Here’s how they work: Rather than opening a door and entering your house, you wiggle into it. An oversized skylight or chimney allows your head to poke out the roof, while your arms extend out windows and your legs out the floor (there’s a trap door for bathroom trips).

Then at night, you curl up—tight—to fit inside and go to sleep.

Sound uncomfortable? Truth told, it takes some getting used to, early adapters say. But hey, so did tiny houses, and look how those caught on! And if you look around, wearable homes aren’t actually new … in the animal kingdom.

“Turtles do it. Snails do it. Why not humans?” points out Tony Timmons, a tiny house builder in Boulder, CO,  who pioneered the idea of wearable abodes to meet his clients’ demand for radically reduced living spaces.

“We were already were building homes that our clients could barely squeeze into,” Timmons explains. “We eliminated the loft, the living rooms, even the bathroom. But even that wasn’t enough. They wanted less, less, less.”

Once Timmons outfitted his first satisfied customer in a wearable ranch, his phone started ringing nonstop. Since then, other tiny house builders have followed suit and shrunk their floor plans, offering an array of architectural styles from elaborate Victorians to daring Mid-Century Moderns with floor-to-ceiling windows perfect for showing off your home and your abs all at once.

And in case you meet that special someone and need more space, you’re in luck: Manufacturers have just started offering wearable duplexes (if you part ways, they’re detachable).

Not surprisingly, celebs are hopping on board. Kim Kardashian was recently snapped by paparazzi on the red carpet wearing a stunning Mediterranean with an extra-large basement. And globetrotting do-gooder Angelina Jolie was spotted in Namibia swathed in a rustic, traditional mud hut, with miniature versions for her six kids—by most accounts, the world’s first wearable-home community.

Imagine: Wherever you go, you’re always home

The benefits of wearable houses abound. For one, they’re highly energy efficient, since your body heats the whole thing. There’s no need for pricey security systems, since anyone who tries to break in will be within punching or macing distance. Plus, travel is a breeze—no need to worry about finding a hotel room or Airbnb!

Fitting onto a commercial flight, on the other hand, is still an issue. Jet Blue is the first carrier so far to accommodate the trend, with its premium “Extra Extra Extra Room” seats.

Yet challenges remain with wearable home design. For one, although there’s some cabinet space for snacks, cooking can be a challenge. In one recent case near Seattle, WA, a wearable-house fire erupted that left its owner, Ike Rivers, suffering from second-degree burns.

“I was just really craving a grilled Gruyère sandwich,” Rivers says. “And things got out of hand.”

Another problem with wearable homes is one that has long plagued traditional “tiny” homes: You can’t just park them anywhere. Just ask Sherry Robbins, who had found a nice patch of land on the outskirts of San Francisco to put down roots in her wearable Tudor. Within hours, she was apprehended by the police.

“They called me homeless,” says Robbins. “They just don’t get it. I am home. I am always home. And I love it.”

Honestly guys, how can you resist? Maybe it’s time to downsize into a wearable home of your own. But before you do, check the date on this article first.

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