that's it for us tonight. i'll be back next week with another in-depth interview on "wsj at large." hope to see you then. thank you for joining us, and >> i'm bob massi. for 34 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, the center of the recent real-estate crisis. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now, well, it's a different story. the american dream is back, and nowhere is that more clear than the sunshine state of florida. so we headed from the strip to the beach to showyou how to live the american dream. i'm gonna meet real people who are facing serious problems, take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe, and give you the tips that everyone needs to navigate the new landscape, because information is power, and the property man has got you covered. [ woman vocalizing ]

welcome to florida, the sinkhole capital of the world. ♪ it's an issue that many people never think about until it's too late. but if you're buying or selling property, well, you can't afford to overlook it. natural sinkholes happen when acidic rainwater seeps down through surface soil and gets to something like sandstone or limestone, which dissolves over time. and eventually, the land can't support its own weight and collapses. and it's not just florida. last year, eight corvettes were damaged after being devoured by a 30-foot-deep sinkhole at the national corvette museum in kentucky. imagine coming in to find that damage. sinkholes have wreaked havoc across the country -- texas, tennessee, alabama, pennsylvania. now, sinkholes don't get as much attention as natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes because many of them are localized. but they can cause just as much damage.

florida has more sinkholes than any other state. there have been more than 15,000 verified sinkholes across the state. >> florida has what people call a swiss-cheese geology. >> [ chuckles ] >> we have a limestone bedrock underneath the state, and there's an aquifer. over time, the rock is dissolved by the acidity in ground water. it creates caverns and voids that, when the surface can't support it, they collapse. >> a few months ago, this florida sinkhole reappeared two years after it opened up under the bedroom of a 37-year-old jeffrey bush. he was sucked tragically into the 20-foot sinkhole with his entire bedroom and died before he could be rescued. i'm standing by lake rose in winter park, florida. it's named after mae rose williams. her house was here until may of 1981, when the ground opened up and swallowed it. what happened here, which is now all water? tell us the story behind it, please. >> mae said she was looking out her window, saw a sycamore tree in her front yard disappear

into the ground, and she realized that there was trouble. [ helicopter blades whirring ] it took with it a three-bedroom home, a luxury car dealership with about five porsches and a truck, half of the city's olympic-sized swimming pool, a portion of the street, and caused about $4 million worth of damage. >> it grew to 320 feet wide, 90 feet deep, and even became a tourist attraction until the city filled it in. >> florida's laws change in about 2011. it was in response to what was seen as runaway abuse of insurance when it came to sinkholes. insurance companies were paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in claims and taking in a fraction of that in their premiums. so the legislators responded. they changed the laws. and now a lot of people think that the pendulum has swung way too far in the other direction because sinkhole claims are incredibly hard to make. >> florida state law requires insurers to cover catastrophic ground cover collapse. >> and those are the really extreme cases that you hear about. and there's four criteria for that type of coverage.

you have to have an abrupt collapse of the ground, a depression that is visible to the naked eye. you have to have damage to the structure, including the foundation of the building, and the property has to be deemed uninhabitable. so, it's condemned. >> two years ago, a 60-foot-wide sinkhole had opened up underneath the summer bay resort near disney world. amazingly, a security guard heard some creaking, saw a window break, and the building was evacuated before it all collapsed. outside of that, sinkhole damage is not covered unless your policy specifically includes it. >> they can offer it, but they don't have to provide it. and that typically comes at a higher premium, which is prohibitively expensive for a lot of property owners. >> a lot of states, you have a disclosure form. is there a statement on there, "has there been a sinkhole problem?" >> yes, so, on residential disclosure forms, you'll find this most typically. it will have whether you know of any sinkhole activity or whether there's any reported on your property.

but florida statutes require a certain level of disclosure from sellers, as well. so if you've made a claim to your insurance company and your insurance company has paid that claim, you have to disclose that fact, along with how much of that money you spent to actually repair the sinkhole damage. i always encourage people who are purchasing a piece of property to look for that specific disclosure, and if it's not provided on the forms you're given, to mandate that the seller tells you whether they know of or have reported any sinkhole activity to their insurance company. >> a federal grand jury recently convicted a florida couple of wire fraud for pocketing a $153,000 settlement and then quietly selling their home. >> they made a claim. they were paid on that claim. and then they only made cosmetic repairs to the home, sold it, and didn't check the box that, "yes, there has been sinkhole activity." >> so, if you're representing a seller, what would you be telling them, as their lawyers, to what they should do? >> during a due-diligence or inspection-period phase,

anytime you're gonna purchase a property, you want to first make sure that there are sinkhole disclosures in any of those closing documents that you're going to have. you want to also make sure that your property is even insurable. make sure you can get coverage, especially when you're in those areas that have these high rates of sinkholes. sometimes mortgage lenders will require that an inspection is done on a property, but that generally isn't performed by a licensed geologist. it's typically by contractors that they've hired. so you can have other types of testing done, but that can be prohibitively expensive. if you make a claim with your insurance company and they send out somebody to inspect the area and if they find sinkhole activity, that engineer's report is going to be filed in the county clerk of courts. so you can find those on a title search or a public-record search whether there's been any filings against your property 'cause it is tied to the legal description and the owner's name whether there are sinkhole claims that have been made and how much has been paid out on it. >> so, a buyer, in their due diligence, should probably get either

a capable lawyer like yourself or do some due diligence, get the title report done from an escrow company, make sure you understand what's going on on the property, what the history is, so if you're gonna go in and buy... >> correct. >> ...you have the knowledge and you have the risk. >> yes, you want to get on top of property insurance, titled insurance. that way, you can find out what types of risks that you're gonna undertake when you do own this property. when y n ou do ow is>> p broe pesurtrey. to stickr at the end of the show, in the massi memo, i'll explain the specific ways to protect yourself and your wallet from sinkhole damage. also coming up, an exclusive peek at a property you just don't want to miss. plus, it was not just primary residences that got squeezed when the housing bubble popped. many people lost their investment properties. and that includes rentals with tenants living inside. so, what canyoudo when the place you're renting goes into foreclosure? i'll tell you next. [ woman vocalizing ] i can't believe it.

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>> welcome back. i'm bob massi. let me talk to you about dennis and patty. dennis served in the marine corps. in the early 2000s, he decided in florida that he was gonna make an investment in some property. >> we didn't have retirement because we've always been self-employed. and our intention was for it to be a rental property. >> but in 2008 or '09, all of the real-estate values in florida, like different parts of the country -- well, they dropped. >> the problem was the property was upside-down in the sense that we weren't making any money on it for the rent. >> it began to be tough in the rental market. we were kind of at the top of what we could ask for that property. and so we began to have to put money of our own into making the mortgage. >> they contacted the lender in the hopes of getting a loan modification. >> i asked them if they could lower the interest rate so that we could actually make some kind of a profit on the property. >> i don't have to tell you.

what did the lenders say? "go late on your payments." >> how could they think like that, you know? i mean, we want to make some payments on the property, just a little less, with lower interest. >> so they did. they went late on their payments. and, of course, no loan modification occurred. ultimately, they lost their house to foreclosure. >> we agreed to pay all the back payments, all their charges, all their interest, whatever they wanted. but we just wanted the interest rate down so we could get a cash flow. that's all. >> and then we got notice that it was going to court. >> i'm gonna go in and talk to dennis and patty and talk to them about loan modifications and how lenders look at a primary residence versus an investment property. and in addition to that, you, the homeowner who rents out, i'm gonna give you some tips. and you, the tenant who decides to rent, i'm gonna give you some tips. both of you, pay attention. how many times did you try to contact the lender for purposes of a modification? >> i think he probably called them at least once

a month, if not more. >> over what period of time? >> probably a year and a half. >> and during that period of time, were you current on the payments? >> yes. >> so, what -- >> well, until he told us not to make them anymore. >> so, let's talk about that. >> yeah. >> how did you react to that? >> well, we both thought it was kind of a wacky idea. >> did you let your tenant know that your house was going into foreclosure? >> i tried not to do that because i didn't want them upset. so, i didn't do that, no. they were there for a while, but i heard that the mortgage companies don't really want anybody to move out of the property, anyway. >> at some point, we quit expecting her to pay the rent. >> yeah. >> and she stopped paying, which, you know, we weren't making a payment, so we didn't think she should have to. >> there's a couple issues we should talk about. >> okay. >> first of all, florida's a little different 'cause it has judicial foreclosure as opposed

to nonjudicial. it goes through the court to foreclose property. but essentially, lenders look at homes. they look at primary residence versus investment property. and they don't have a lot of sympathy for investment property for the obvious reason. >> i understand that a private or primary residence is important and that they would think it was more important to work with them. but on the other hand, we're not flipping houses, and we feel like we're providing a primary residence for somebody. >> the lenders' opinions were very simple -- "you called that an investment property. sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose." and in this particular case, like many cases, loan modifications were denied. on the other hand, we had the issue of tenants who were in homes that were being foreclosed on. and they didn't know that there was a foreclosure. and there was a law passed several years ago called the tenant protection act, which basically said that if a lender forecloses on a piece of

property, the lender has to honor the term of the lease or a portion so that they stay there for a period of time 'cause a lot of tenants got thrown out in the street, and they didn't know. >> mm-hmm. >> so, you're only asking for a reduction in interest, but as you can see, they didn't care. >> yes. they didn't. >> and i'm sure you knew other people that probably was going through this. >> oh, yeah, so many other people i've talked to. >> now, what about the other side of the street? let's talk about the tenants. a lot of tenants were victims of foreclosures. they were paying good money to people over the years, and then, all of a sudden, they got a foreclosure notice, and they were thrown out of the house. there has to be a certain amount of time given to the tenant before they get thrown out of that house. so, those of you who are tenants that are living in a home, go through a realtor. have that realtor check as best as they can if the homeowner is current on their payment. the bottom line is, whether it be the homeowner or the tenant, do your own due diligence to protect yourself. i've got more tips for both tenants and landlords

at the end of the show. but up next, i'll take you some place cameras are not usually allowed -- inside isleworth, central florida's most exclusive community. [ woman vocalizing ] as one of the nation's largest investors in infrastructure, we don't just help power the american dream, we're part of it. this is our era. this is america's energy era. nextera energy. this is america's energy era. a business owner always goes beyond what people expect.

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♪ >> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. i've been given the opportunity to go behind the gates of isleworth, one of central florida's most exclusive communities and a place where cameras are usually not allowed. i get a lot of e-mails from people saying, "bob, why are you showing us these multimillion dollar homes that most people could never afford?" well, here's a few reasons. first, they're just amazing to look at and something that most of us would normally never get to see. and two, if you're buying

or selling a home, whether it's worth $200,000 or $20 million, you can learn a lot from seeing how these luxury listings are showcased and how they handle them. i asked mark hayes, president of isleworth and stockworth realty, to show me around. isleworth was a citrus-producing operation for several decades before golf legend arnold palmer uncovered its potential for a world-class golf course and country club. >> this land was protected by the surrounding chain of lakes, which produce some of the best oranges, so it became known as the isle of worth. and then arnold palmer, who wanted to build the best golf course in the world, located this to build his ultimate golf experience. >> in 1993, the billionaire investor joe lewis and tavistock re-imagined isleworth by constructing magnificent estates. isleworth is home to celebrities like nba legend shaquille o'neal and multiple members of the pga tour. and the place -- let me tell

you -- it is immaculate. they like to say that the leaves get picked up before they hit the ground. >> it's a 600-acre luxury community. uh, we like to say, you know, "we provide anything any time." >> isleworth is comprised of 320 luxury homes, ranging from 20,000-square-foot multimillion dollar lakefront lots to more modestly sized golf-course villas. ♪ one of those lakefront lots holds the property they call the bermudan. this 13,519-square-foot home sits on more than 2 acres and has 7 bedrooms and 9 1/2 bathrooms. >> bob, this home is a love story. media mogul rance crain took his bride to bermuda for a honeymoon, fell in love with the architecture. he hired the world-renowned architect taylor & taylor and gave them one task -- "build me a home and keep me on my honeymoon forever." >> [ chuckles ] and he did. >> and he did. >> well, let's go look at this home. >> bob, the first thing

you notice is just the fabulous walnut herringbone floors with inlaid, hand-painted marquetry modeled after a vanderbilt estate in newport, rhode island. >> when you walk in, though, you feel like there's a sense of history, and you could -- you really could feel the memories in this type of home. it's so beautiful, looking up here at the, you know, the stairway and all the details. the second floor has three guest rooms and a childrens' bedroom that would be any kid's dream. the room is a painted forest with custom-built log-cabin furniture, including two bunk beds, fiber-optic, sparkling stars in the ceiling, and a sound system that plays chirping noises, frogs, and jungle sounds. the stunning library features a full bar, ceiling-high wine cellar, temperature-controlled closet, floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and a secret, hidden panel with access to the master bedroom. >> you'll notice the high ceilings, just the amazing,

hand-carved woodwork on the doorways. >> this room is unbelievable. >> crystal chandeliers everywhere, candles on the walls. >> this looks like where heads of state would meet... >> absolutely. >> and, as you said, probably have. >> yeah. >> the kitchen has a beautiful barrel ceiling made of chicago brick, an antique french market counter with original ironwork. every room stands on its own, with its own character, with its own personality, and its own memory. >> absolutely, absolutely. and something else you'll notice is, as we walk down this hallway, we have a view of the lake almost from every room. this property sits on 300 feet of lakefront on lake butler and overlooks the 14th fairway of isleworth country club. two covered terraces, a heated pool and grotto-style spa, shimmering waterfall, and a private boat dock. >> coming out to one of the most extraordinary views on all of lake butler. >> oh, this is beautiful. >> we are right across from the world-famous bird island, where dozens and dozens of

different species of birds -- attracts a lot of visitors. world-class bass fishing. and this deck easily holds several hundred people. but if it was just four of you, it would still feel very cozy. people refer to this area as the blue lagoon. >> i feel that. i feel that. and private. up next, the massi memo, with information you can't afford to miss. stick around. [ woman vocalizing ] (toni vo) 'twas the night before christma, and all thro' the house. not a creature was stirring, but everywhere else... there are performers, dancers, designers the dads and the drivers. there are doers of good and bringers of glee. this time of the year is so much more than a bow and a tree. (morgan vo) those who give their best, deserve the best. get up to a $1,000 credit on select models now during the season of audi sales event.

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save at trelegy.com. ♪ >> time now for the massi memo. at the start of the show, we looked at sinkholes. they're formed when part of the earth erodes underground, and it causes a collapse. if you're buying property, it's important to check the area and ask about the history of sinkholes. ask the homeowner selling the property for total disclosure of any history of sinkholes in the area. look over your insurance policy very carefully. insurance companies do not automatically cover sinkholes. they can refuse to cover them, particularly if they know that sinkholes exist in the area of the real estate. usually, it can be added as additional coverage, which can be quite expensive. we also heard about a couple who lost their investment property to foreclosure while it was rented to a tenant. tenants living in most foreclosed properties don't have to worry about being evicted until their leases end.

now here are some tips you should keep in mind when you intend to rent a home or an apartment. examine the actual unit or home you intend to rent, not just a model, not another new unit like yours. two, check all the appliances. take pictures once you decide to rent. remember, the lease is a final contract. no verbal agreements or understandings are enforceable. do a walk-through before signing any lease to see if there are any deficiencies within the property and understand the laws of the security deposit. it is the biggest issue faced when you finally vacate the property as a tenant. make sure you have rental insurance covering your personal contents. it's very important. and read the lease closely, particularly as it relates to the right of the landlord to inspect the property once you occupy the property. as always, there is more information on our website at foxnews.com/propertyman. that's it for today.

be sure to send me your questions or property stories at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi. i'll see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] >> i'm bob massi. for 35 years, i've been practicing law and living in las vegas, ground zero for the american real-estate crisis. but it wasn't just vegas that was hit hard. lives were destroyed from coast to coast as the economy tanked. now it's a different story. the american dream is back. and nowhere is that more clear than the grand canyon state of arizona. so we headed from the strip to the desert to show you how to explore the new landscape and live the american dream. i'm gonna help real people who are facing some major problems, explain the bold plans that are changing how americans live, and take you behind the gates of properties you have to see to believe. at the end of the show,

i'll give you critical tips you need to know in the massi memo because information is power. and "the property man" has got you covered. thanks for joining us. i'm bob massi. one of the greatest aspects of the internet is its ability to connect people to each other. it's now changing how people use their homes, with countless sites popping up that allow you to turn your property into a short-term rental. >> it was born out of, uh, just an idea of -- of renting out a couch. it facilitates a transaction between host and travelers. and, uh, now it's just exploded. >> there's homeaway, flipkey, vrbo, roomorama, and, of course, the biggest and most well-known, airbnb. >> airbnb redefined and expanded room capacity throughout the world. it shifted the economic models of the lodging

and travel industries and tourism destinations. >> the growth of airbnb has been staggering. >> two million rooms. if you take a look at marriott, they have maybe 750,000 rooms. scaled very, very fast over a very short period of time. >> bob cox had a large shed on his desert property outside of cave creek, arizona. he decided to turn it into a rustic yet modern cabin. >> the floor is recycled pallet wood. this is a door from an industrial building in downtown phoenix. >> he tore out much of the walls and installed garage doors on both sides, which open up to completely bring the nature in. >> the concept here with the kitchen is have an open plan so that you can prepare a meal here. and your guests can sit at the stools. so you've got this interactive indoor/outdoor kitchen. >> bob listed the cabin on airbnb

and says that it's been great. >> people who've stayed here have a unique experience. they have the openness of the house. they can eat outside. >> he says so far every guest who has stayed here has been wonderful. and they have really enjoyed it. >> some of my guests say this has been the best experience of their life. it's that unique. you can go to the grocery store. you can go to the restaurants that are 5 minutes away. there's the same exposure to the area, but the privacy of being in your own space. there's a fireplace stove. there's an outdoor fire pit. there's horseshoe pits. >> the cabin provides a truly authentic and private desert getaway. >> almost everybody that's stayed here likes to hike, enjoys wildlife, enjoys the desert. >> you have an authentic experience that you're not gonna get from a hotel that's downtown. it's out in the surrounding community. and many folks really appreciate that.

>> some people just can't handle the thought of strangers living in their homes, while others embrace it. >> i'm really open to having people stay in my home because it's just stuff. it's all replaceable. >> rachel hillis and her family often rent their house out through airbnb. >> i am so thankful for this website because by opening up our home, that gives us the ability then to go and travel, which i think is key to a family. >> they have traveled all over the world, staying at other people's homes. >> one of the trips that i loved was when we went to florence as a family. we were able to rent an amazing castle for about $145 a night. we each got our own rooms. >> so how does it work? >> you have to fill out a profile. there's gonna be a list of possible places with descriptions and something about the host. and you can read through what people have posted so you feel comfortable. >> i stayed the first time in paris using airbnb.

and it was a really easy process. just clicked on, um, the map of paris and clicked where i wanted to stay. >> and there are many people out there who feel like you can't really get to experience an area by staying at a hotel. >> i can do laundry, have my own bathroom. i could open up the windows and see the neighborhood. that truly made me feel like i was in paris. >> what's really critical is trust in this whole process. >> when first meeting our visitors, we meet them at the door, show 'em around the house. >> i've had absolutely no problems. all the people have left the cabin the way they found it. >> this is our welcome book that we created, our family picture. and then a list of area foods and drink places, our favorite places to go. >> airbnb is a unique culture, i think. part of it is the way guests review the host, and host reviews the guest. >> so it keeps it honest

for both of the people. >> if you're thinking of doing this, you have to check the rules of your apartment complex, hoa, and local government laws. it's all very new. but suddenly, the laws are catching up. >> every state, every locality could be very different in terms of -- of their rules and regulations. so you really have to be on top of that. in the state of arizona, the governor recognizes that this could be a great revenue generator. but in other places, it could be up to, you know, your hoa, your city. it could be your lease agreement. >> san francisco law currently states that you can only rent out your own primary residence. airbnb recently agreed to crack down on people listing multiple homes in san francisco and said it will kick hosts off the site who turn homes into private hotels. cities like new york have banned rentals of less than 30 days to try and crack down. like uber drivers who are suddenly caught between

being a carpool and a taxicab, people now are finding themselves to almost be amateur hotel operators. >> you know, you're like a quasi-professional because you're not a business. you're not a person. you're kind of in between. so you -- you've gotta be familiar with the laws and the rules and the regulations. so the hotel competitors are just going to have to figure out how are they gonna compete. they may get into shared alternative accommodations. and the chess moves are on. >> up next, i'll take you behind the scenes of this national historic landmark that may have changed the way you live without you even knowing it, the home of legendary architect frank lloyd wright. your mornings were made for better things,

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>> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. ask any american to name a famous architect, and i'll bet you hear only one name -- frank lloyd wright.

>> considered the greatest american architect, his concepts on how we live, how homes are designed, uh, it was really revolutionary. >> wright was born in 1867 and was already working as an architect by the time he was 20. over the next 70 years, he designed pretty much anything you can think of -- residential homes, schools, churches, skyscrapers, even museums, like new york's guggenheim. >> he started practicing in the late 1800s. and he really broke away from the traditional models. >> he really changed the way things were built and how people lived in america. >> in the 1800s, victorian homes were what wright called boxes within boxes. square house, square room. you open a door, go into the next square room. he blew all of that open. >> wright wanted buildings in the united states to have their own character, one uniquely american. so in 1937, he bought 160 acres of land in arizona

and built what he called his winter camp, taliesin west, right here in scottsdale, arizona. >> he had been here in the '20s working on the arizona biltmore hotel. uh, fell in love with the desert. it was just -- for him, it was just pure geometry. the rocks of the mountain, the form of the plants. this was his laboratory. it was a place where he came and experimented with architecture. >> today it is the home of frank lloyd wright school of architecture and the frank lloyd wright foundation. and the property itself, it's a work of art. >> wright built to the human scale. everything in the desert is low. the trees are low. um, so his buildings are low. he also uses the low ceilings to kinda push you through spaces, right, at an entrance, drop the entry real low. and that helps push you into the space. it's a little technique he called compression and release. we call this the garden room because you sit on the bench here, and it frames the view of the mountains, uh, in the distance.

it captures the garden. he uses a japanese technique called the borrowed landscape. >> he lived the way he believed. and he designed the way he felt things should look. >> it almost like a seamless transition between outdoor and indoor. >> even if you didn't know what he did, it was -- from when i was a kid, frank lloyd wright, you knew this guy was an icon. and why did he become such an icon? >> well, you know, i think he was a bigger-than-life personality. he really wanted to revolutionize the way americans lived. >> you hear about people that write music, and it's always in their mind, the lyrics and the sound. when you see the things he designed, it's gotta be the same type of genius. >> he would walk around and just create the whole building in his head. then he'd go into the drafting studio, sit down at the table, and just pour it all out. >> the entire compound sprawls over 491 acres and was constructed over a span of 20 years by wright and his apprentices. >> so this is the drafting studio. this is where the guggenheim was designed.

during the depression years, he didn't have a lot of work. his wife said, "if you can't create architecture, why not create architects?" and so he started the school. when you come to taliesin to study, you're fully immersed in architecture. uh, you're living it every day. you'll see the students working in the drafting studio, uh, cooking in the kitchen, setting the dining room. and the students have been working in this space, the apprentices, uh, continually since 1932. you know, they're learning by being completely immersed in the, uh, the buildings of taliesin and taliesin west. >> talk about immersive learning. just as they did in the beginning, the students live in the desert. instructors, they make themselves. >> when wright first came here in -- in 1938, there was nothing here. so he purchased these canvas tents for the apprentices to live in while they constructed taliesin west. as they had free time, they would expand on the tent. maybe add a wall, add a concrete floor, until it kind of grew into a shelter.

and then this tradition continues on in our school. the students build their own shelters. >> we live out in the desert. and that's a way of engaging with the natural environment and knowing how to respond to the climate through architecture by living in it and being subjected to it day after day after day. >> over time, taliesin west expanded to include studios and performance spaces. he designed the music pavilion. >> music and dance were always an important part of the community. uh, this building was constructed in 1956. the apprentices would, uh, put on a performance, open it to the public. uh, you could come up and see the show. this is the cabaret theater. after world war ii, wright, uh, in 1950 constructed the cabaret. it's built down into the ground. it's a wonderfully acoustic space. >> from any spot in the theater, you can hear even the tiniest whisper coming from on stage. >> it's all concrete. but there's no echo. and you can't design a commercial kitchen if you've never worked in a commercial kitchen. you can't design a restaurant if you've never served. so on these formal evenings

that they would have, the apprentices were in charge of making the meals, serving the meals, uh, setting the, uh, tables. >> you have to understand what you're doing. and the best way to do it is just do it. the signature feel of taliesin west is desert intensified. >> he wanted taliesin west to feel like it had just grown out of the desert and it kind of had been here for all time. if you kind of look at these masonry walls, and you looked at the floor of the desert, and you just imagine tilting up the floor, that's what these walls represent. >> taliesin west is preserved as a national historic landmark. and members of the public arrive every day for guided tours. >> we have over 100,000 visitors a year that come through and get to experience this jewel that wright created in the sonoran desert. >> up next, i received an e-mail from a couple who's been trying to buy a home in a short sell, but getting the runaround from the bank. i'll go meet with them, next.

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>> welcome back. i'm bob massi, the property man. i received a letter from a couple named noreen and shawn in tucson, arizona. nearly a year ago, they put in an offer on a house that is listed for a short sell. >> it's a property i used to play when i was a -- a child, 7, 8 years old. >> lot of memories. >> lot of memories. >> lot of good memories. >> yes. >> the property that they want was bought by the current owner in 2006 for $600,000, right before the housing market collapsed. it's now worth just a little over half that. >> he had a situation, losing his job. so they tried everything they could to keep the property. but they realized how much we care about it, and that we're gonna take care of it. >> now, to your knowledge,

when was the -- i understand that they vacated the property. how long ago? >> goin' on 2 years. >> they haven't even made payments for a couple years? >> correct. >> the home has been empty for 2 years and is slowly falling apart. >> it's dilapidated. there is no landscaping. >> it's horrible. >> mother earth has taken over, if you will. >> now a short sell is when you're selling a piece of property for a value less than what's owed. chase bank serviced the mortgage. but the actual note was owned by fannie mae. noreen and shawn put in an offer. but the same day, the note was sold. >> at which time, when fannie mae realized they made a mistake, there was an offer on the table. they had to buy it back. >> and over the course of a few months, noreen and shawn went back and forth to the bank with offers and counteroffers. >> so much frustration. lot of emotions. >> we're -- we're just a -- a -- a piece of paper on somebody's desk. they don't know us. they don't care about us.

>> finally, an offer was accepted. but the same day noreen and shawn sent in their signed paperwork, the note was sold yet again. >> the owner accepted it. we accepted it. we all signed on it. the bank didn't. at which time, they sold it again. it's been, uh, an emotional roller-coaster. we have storage units full. we're -- we're ready to go. and, uh, this house, this note, the piece of paper just gets shifted from, uh, financial institution to another one to another one. >> even though the seller agreed to their offer, it still has to be proved by the new holder of the note. the seller really wants you to have this property. >> because he knows i'm passionate about this property. >> because of the history of it. >> because of the history. he knows i'll take care of it. he's a great guy. >> here's a perfect example of two people who've had a meeting of the minds, the seller and the buyer. you're willing to pay. he's willing to sell.

but in this situation, we have a third party involved, which is why the short sell process is so frustrating. >> we've been in this process for 7 months now. >> so in 7 months, you've literally had three servicers of this loan... >> yes. >> ...that you've had to try to negotiate with. >> yes. >> correct. >> there's also a second mortgage and a judgment on the property. >> the judgment they've negotiated with. they're willin' to go away for a sum of money. >> okay. >> they're gonna have to negotiate with the second. they don't seem to be budging. >> even if the second mortgage decides and says, "we'll take $10,000 to write it off." let's say they owe 200,000. the big issue for the seller is, will that first and second mortgage waive the balance as what's owed on that property? remember, on a short sell, assuming the lender agrees to sell the property for less than what's owed, the key for the seller is that deficiency, the difference between the actual value

received and the money owed is what you wanna have waived. it's the second mortgage that has many times caused the problem. so if -- if they accept it, and they waive, you got a deal. then you close escrow. and life is good. you get the property. the seller walks away from the debt. and that's it. if, on the other hand, the answer's no, the answer is no. >> right. >> and the frustrating part for so many americans that went through this process is they saw a ready, able, willing buyer that made a good offer on that property. the lender turned it down, foreclosed on the property, and sold it for less than what the offer was in a short sell. don't even ask me to explain why and how. it makes no sense. >> my vision is a wraparound porch around the whole thing. this house could be so beautiful. >> i can feel the emotion in your voice. and i don't know how you walk away from this and --

and how you're dealing with the idea that you may not get this. >> i'll get it. it saddens me every day that i drive by this property, knowin' it's not bein' taken care of, bob. if you come back in a year or 18 months, after i'm in here, you wouldn't believe your eyes. >> we're going to follow shawn and noreen's story. and we'll let you know if they're ever able to get this property. i wanted more from my copd medicine... ...that's why i've got the power of 1-2-3 medicines with trelegy.

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>> time now for the massi memo. i received an e-mail from john. it was his first house he bought in texas. his mother flew down to help him set up the house. and when they were in the kitchen, john's mom said, "you know, this kitchen's very dark. what's the story?" so they started walkin' around the house. there's two windows on the outside part of the house that was covered with bricks. and the inside of the house, where the kitchen is, the cabinets covered up the windows. what's amazing is, probably in his excitement of buying a home for the first time, and it happens to all of us, they never saw it. so we're starting a new segment on "the property man" called property bloopers. so send us your pictures of any property bloopers to propertyman@foxnews.com. can't wait to see them. that's all the time we have for today. be sure to send me your property stories, questions, or pictures of your property bloopers. send them to... and don't forget to check us out on facebook and twitter.

there's also plenty more information and videos on our website... week, bulls & bears is up next. david: hi everybody this is bulls & bears i'm david asman joining me on the panel today, liz peek, adam lashinsky and steve moore. well, more chaos in the markets, take a look at this the dow closing down 559 points after rallying at the open, we've lost more than 1,100 points this week alone driven lower by mixed signals coming from the president, and his administration over the progress with china on trade. negotiations and what exactly will happen at the end of this negotiating period, and while all of this is unfolding one of china's highest profile tech executives is arrested in canada on our request