Carole VanSickle Ellis
Latest Spec Houses Include Shark Ponds, Tequila Freezers
Real estate developers catering to the wealthiest buyers on the planet are taking their spec houses—custom homes with extravagant features commanding astronomical price tags—to new levels. In fact, one Los Angeles development company recently created a spec house with an open shark tank with stepping stones. The “shark house” is ...
Foreclosure Rates Rise in Nearly Half of Metro Areas
Nearly half of all metro areas tracked by ATTOM Data Solutions saw a rise in foreclosure starts this summer. 96 of the 219 (44%) metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) measured by the housing data giant posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity. Month-over-month, national foreclosure activity increased in July as well, with ...
Building the Best Real Estate Postcard Possible
Postcard marketing is one of the most tried-and-true Newsletter Sign Up Interstitial strategies in real estate. Even with today’s massive array of digital options, many investors opt to designate a significant amount of their business budget to hard-copy mailings. If you are going to print and mail postcards, however, you ...
HUD Accuses Facebook of Housing Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has accused Facebook of housing discrimination. HUD alleges “Facebook unlawfully discriminates by enabling advertisers to restrict which Facebook users receive housing-related ads based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.” The complaint continues, alleging the social media ...
U.S. Commerce Dept. Warns Housing Inventory Still Short
If the goal of homebuilding is to cool rising prices, the slight uptick in new home inventory this past July won't do the trick. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, total housing starts in single- and multi-family building rose nearly 1% in July to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.17 ...
Porch.com Releases New Home Predictions
According to home services network Porch.com, certain things will be very different by 2036 regarding new home construction. The company’s research team released a study forecasting some basic details about houses built over the next 20 years, and while a port for your flying car is not included in the ...
Stock Markets Punish Redfin for “Cooling” Housing Trends Comment
After Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman predicted a national slowdown in housing could continue, his company’s stock suffered an immediate setback. The markets punished Kelman for his prediction and Redfin stock fell more than 22% last Friday. Redfin, a technology-based real estate firm engaging in traditional brokerage activities, has only been ...
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Offer Mortgage Moratorium to Fire Victims
As California's wildfires continue to spread, more homeowners face the destruction of their homes. Just this Sunday, the Mendocino Complex fires (formerly the River and Ranch fires), consumed 8,000 acres. Prior to that, they had burned over 336,000 acres. Today they're 70% contained, and the California Department of Forestry and ...
Top Neighborhood Names for Wealthy Homeowners
The top neighborhood names in the country tend to have certain words in common. According to a new study from Porch.com, the name of a neighborhood can attract wealthier homeowners. “Whether it makes sense or not, the names and identifiers of our American communities and housing developments often say more ...
Five Homeowners Accused of Fraudulently Paying Mortgages
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has accused five of the state’s residents of fraudulently paying mortgages. They used fake money orders, fake cashier’s checks, and other fraudulent documents and then purchased luxury cars. One individual is accused of sending a fake money order for $432,000 ...
Think Realty’s 2018 Mid-Year List of Notable Turnkey Rental Real Estate Markets
Turnkey real estate investing, the strategy of purchasing real estate investments that will be managed, ideally A-to-Z, by another party, is one of the most popular ways for capital-rich investors to place assets in a real estate investment vehicle, such as a cash-flowing turnkey rental property. These properties may be: ...
Vegas Shooting Victims to Share Proceeds from Gunman’s Homes
Nevada laws do not require real estate professionals to disclose if a property was owned by a notorious person. Still, Stephen Paddock’s two former residences will not fly under the radar. Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds more in October 2017 when he opened fire on concertgoers from the window ...
$1 Million Cities on the Rise in the U.S.
The United States has 197 $1 million cities according to Zillow’s $1 Million City List, which identifies cities with median home values of $1 million or more. 33 of those cities are new additions within the past 12 months, and Zillow analysts predict another 23 cities will join the rankings ...
3 of 4 Home Buyers Will Pass on Homes “Not Right” for Pets
Three-quarters of today's home-buyers who own pets said they would pass up their dream home if the property did not meet their pet’s needs. These numbers make up a portion of the results from a recent survey conducted in July by Harris Research. They interviewed more than 1,000 homeowners who ...
Renovation Rockstar: Historic Home Yields Hidden Treasures
Featured investors: Kathryn Harbour, Realtor with Keller Williams and Steve & Denise Nunley, Steeden Preferred Properties Deal Notes & Numbers: 1935 historic home in Acworth, Georgia. Within walking distance of Lake Acworth, multiple public parks, and the historic downtown Acworth area, home to local dining, boutique retail, an arts district, ...
High-Volume Lender Making Escrow Optional
One of the country’s highest-volume lenders announced it will allow borrowers to opt into an escrow-free loan structure. United Wholesale Mortgage reports it will waive escrow accounts and fees for all borrowers, regardless of their downpayment size or credit score. The lender predicted borrowers might save as much as $3,625 on ...
Zillow Expands Direct-Buyer Program for Second Time This Summer
Zillow announced last week it would expand its direct-buyer program, Zillow Offers, into a fourth market: Denver, Colo. This is just one month after announcing it would expand its direct-buyer program to Atlanta, Ga. By the end of 2018, the program will be operational in four markets, including the two ...
Inventory Climbing in One-Third of Largest U.S. Cities
According to new data from Realtor.com, high-priced local markets around the United States are showing signs of inventory climbing for the first time in months. Since the inventory “turnaround” is concentrated in high-priced markets, the effects of wider availability of housing may not become immediately obvious. This is true for the ...
Fannie Mae Warning: Generational Housing Bubble Forming
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group recently published a new report in conjunction with University of Southern California researchers in regards to generational housing. According to the report, as baby boomers exit their owner-occupied homes there could be a “void” looming in housing too big for younger generations to ...
Capital One Lays Off More Lending & Mortgage Sector Employees
Capital One announced last week it will lay off nearly 300 employees from its Plano, Texas campus as part of its ongoing termination of the company’s mortgage lending and home equity operations. These employees are part of a larger population of 950 employees laid off last November, although a small ...
Home Renovation Returns are Falling
As a real estate investor, to take on a home renovation there is an art to “forcing appreciation” or, as it is more commonly described, “adding value” to a property. The process usually involves a series of upgrades and home renovations to an existing property in order to bring the ...
Sourcing True Success in Housing
Today’s first order of business for Stephen Rosenberg, CEO of commercial real estate lending, investment, and advisory firm Greystone & Co., is simple, but it may catch the uninitiated by surprise. It is not, for example, allocating the approximately $30 billion in assets that his company manages, nor is it ...
Investment Company Faces Negative Press After Investigative Report
The investment company holding the most single-family homes in the United States, Invitations Homes Inc., has received negative press and is now being accused of improper maintenance with its rentals. The fallout could include a class action lawsuit and according to Reuters, issues include plumbing problems, leaks, and spider infestations. While ...
Smoking Can Decrease Resale Value by Nearly a Third
Most real estate investors know that a “smoking home” can be a bear to clean up. However, the issue may go far beyond the cost of smoke and stain removal. According to a new report from Realtor.com, smoking in a home can reduce property value by up to 29 percent ...
National Flood Insurance Program Extended
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through November. The program is the only option for many homeowners who live in areas threatened by flooding during hurricane season. It has come under attack for charging premiums much lower than the ...
