“Vancouver Special”

We’ve heard a lot about the hot U.S. housing market of late, but a story over the weekend out of New York certainly gives new meaning to the art of the flip. It seems a couple of lucky New Yorkers made quite the discovery in a ‘teardown’ little bungalow they purchased for $300,000. Looking at photos of the home in the newscast here, it could easily be one of those dated “Vancouver Specials” where the lot value alone might reach $2 million, especially if a motivated developer were to come knocking. If you think that’s mind-boggling, it turns out the proud new owners in Bellport, Long Island could flip their little place for a whopping $30 million – without so much as having to cut the lawn. That’s because after they took possession, piles of presumed garbage found in the attic turned out to be a lifetime of works by an obscure Armenian-American artist named Arthur Pinajian. Some of the thousands of his coveted paintings – spanning 60 years – have reportedly already sold for $500,000. On that note, I’m off to rummage through the piles of old purchase orders in our recycle bin here at the office. Who knows, there just might be a forgotten car of 2×10-14’ rolling around in there somewhere.