Sunday Roundup: LA’s Champion House-Flipper, Another Subprime Warning

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Roundup of Sunday real estate news and tidbits:

The New York Times gives the full-on Style section profile treatment to serial remodeler Sandy Gallin, calling him ‘Home Flipper to the Stars.’ ‘Owning a Sandy Gallin flipped home is now nearly as prestigious as it once was to be managed by Sandy Gallin,’ The Times says (Gallin once managed Dolly Parton). What’s the secret to the successful high-end flip? “Lots of windows and light, modern, outdoor California living,” says Gallin’s architect, Scott Mitchell.

Also in The Times, but not available for free, Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street columnist Gretchen Morgenson warns, ‘Beware of Exploding Mortgages,’ writing, ‘Anyone who believes that the worst is over in the subprime mortgage fiasco need merely wait awhile. A tsunami of interest rate increases on these loans is headed your way.’ She adds, ‘this is what a mania always looks like when it unravels.’

The handsome home above proved too small for actor Josh Duhamel, star of TV’s ‘Las Vegas.’ According to Ruth Ryon’s ‘Hot Property’ column, he sold the 2,500-square-foot, 3-bedroom home in Brentwood for ‘close to the asking price’ of $2.4 million.

Photo Credit: L.A. Times/William MacCollum