Impending Housing Crashes for Connecticut Cities? & The Florida Housing Market is in Flames!
Abby & Joe talk about the 5 cities are at risk for housing crashes this year, Critics slam presidential hopeful's plan to 'tax the hell out of' the rich, Beauty queen accused of interior design fraud by hotel mogul, NYC competitor sues Compass over allegedly poaching manager, Automate your post-close contacts with W+R Studios’ Homebeat, Here's what a nearby Trader Joe's can do for home values, Fire sale? Zillow listing features Florida home engulfed in flames, Working with out-of-town buyers? 7 tips for making it less stressful.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
A new GoBankingRates study published on Tuesday looked at the number of underwater mortgages, home vacancies as well as delinquency and foreclosure rates to identify the cities most at risk of a housing crisis in the coming years. A crash is generally defined as a market in which large numbers of properties are in negative equity, or worth less than the owners’ mortgage.
Here are the top 5 markets that are most at risk of a pending crash:
Newark, New Jersey
The housing market in Newark, New Jersey showed the biggest signs of trouble. Nearly 30 percent of mortgages have negative equity while vacancy rates for houses and rental units sit at 5.2 percent and 9.5 percent compared to the nationwide average of 1.7 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. Approximately 6.5 percent of mortgage payments are in some sort of delinquency, which is more than six times the national average.
Detroit, Michigan
Post-crash, Detroit’s real estate challenges and opportunities have long been a nationwide topic of conversation. But in this study, Detroit came in second place for crash risk due to its floundering home values — $161,300 compared to the national median of $226,300. At 34.4 percent, the number of homes with negative equity is also the highest in the country while vacancy and delinquency rates are also higher than average.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
The largest city in Connecticut, Bridgeport has seen real estate values drop due to a high crime rate and low economic prospects. The median house in the city is worth $176,200 while 26.9 percent of mortgages are underwater.
“The city’s high delinquency and foreclosure rates are not inviting to people looking for the best place to buy their first home,” reads the report.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore has been taking a hit from all sides lately — President Trump recently called parts of the city a “rat and rodent-infested mess” in attacks on local House Representative Elijah Cummings. But while the city’s low median home values ($119,200) and high negative equity rates (26.5 percent) put it fourth on the at-risk list, Baltimore in fact does see constant development and provides plenty of opportunities for investors.
Hartford, Connecticut
While only 22.4 percent of Hartford homes have negative equity, the capital of Connecticut has a high homeowner vacancy rate. At 4.3 percent, the rate is more than 2.5 times the national average. The number is even worse for rental units, which has a vacancy rate of 9.2 percent. A median home in Hartford is worth $130,900.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio came out last Wednesday night for his second presidential debate with his gloves off.
“When I’m president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to make sure it’s a country that puts working people first,” de Blasio declared during his opening remarks.
De Blasio repeated the comment at the end of the debate, while also plugging his new fundraising website TaxTheHell.com, and dropped the line again at the conclusion of the night during an interview with MSNBC.
The line is a catchy one with a certain Trumpian ring — you can imagine people chanting “tax the hell” at a rally — but now, critics are arguing that the actual policies behind de Blasio’s comments would in fact lead to financial problems, particularly in the real estate industry.
de Blasio’s proposal could negatively impact people who have their wealth locked up in property, which is valuable but not very liquid, wants to “repeal the estate tax… and replace it with a more aggressive inheritance tax.
In any case, it’s highly unlikely at this point that de Blasio will get anywhere near the White House. Polling and news site FiveThirtyEight currently has the mayor in a multi-way tie for last place among nearly two dozen candidates.
A couple who hired a former Miss Sweden to decorate their opulent property in The Bahamas is now accusing the one-time beauty queen of interior design fraud. Hotel magnate Henry Silverman and his wife Karen Silverman have filed a suit against interior designer Sofia Joelsson in Florida federal court. With a registered net worth of $300 million, Henry Silverman has at one point controlled hotel brands Howard Johnson’s Ramada, Super 8 and Travelodge.
According to the complaint, Joelsson defrauded them out of millions of dollars by overcharging clients through a network of shell companies and inside vendors.
The lawsuit calls Joelsson a “penthouse queen” of South Beach and claims that she misled them to believe that her company was a licensed interior design firm when it wasn’t.
The Silvermans are asking for at least $7 million in damages based on alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Florida Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act. They further claim that Joelsson would arrange for contractors to give overinflated invoices and then launder the funds through various real estate purchases while keeping several sets of records for each transaction to defraud tax authorities.
The well-funded New York City-based brokerage Compass has been hit with yet another lawsuit.
This time, New York City-based competitor Elegran is suing Compass and one of its former managers over what it calls a “brazen scheme to unfairly compete with Elegran by stealing Elegran’s confidential information and trade secrets and using them to target Elegran’s other real estate brokers, clients, and potential clients.”
At the center of the complaint is Zino Angelides, a former manager who defected to Compass from Elegran. Compass allegedly recruited Angelides and three other brokers while they were still at Elegran. On June 24, 2019, Angelides and the three other brokers abruptly resigned from Elegran with no prior notice, according to the complaint, and immediately began working for Compass. They also took what could potentially be $10 million in leads, assuming they all close.
A Compass spokesperson, in a statement, told Inman that it is focused on providing the best experience for its employees, agents and their clients.
Compass has been the target of a number of lawsuits from Competitors, including, most recently, a lawsuit filed by Realogy, the nation’s largest real estate holding company. Realogy is suing Compass over, “unfair business practices and illegal schemes to gain market share at all costs.”
A Compass source said that all new agents are asked to sign a document stating that they are not allowed to bring any confidential or proprietary information with them from their old firm.
Software company W+R Studios announced in a press release the launch of a new tool that might help alleviate the challenge of staying in touch with clients to earn future business called Homebeat.
Subscribers to the company’s Cloud Agent Suite will be eligible to use the feature, which sends recurring comparative market analyses (CMA) to members of an agent’s database.
Each recipient will have a branded Homebeat landing page that will update their home’s financial status each month, quarter or year.
While drip campaigns are a very common tactic to staying in touch post-close, they remain difficult for agents to consistently maintain, especially when self-publishing.
It’s not easy to keep up a steady stream of relevant content, and a large part of the industry’s technology stack is dedicated to helping them with that problem to different degrees of efficacy.
Homebeat can live on its own without ongoing intervention from the agent.
Zillow allows consumers to sign-up for regular home value updates, as well. Encouraging clients to check Homebeat instead of their Zestimate could help mitigate the influence of Premier Agents when the time comes for a new home.
A new study by Attom Data Solutions confirmed what many may have already felt intuitively. Homes within a close range of popular food stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have high home value rates and investment returns.
On average, a home within close range of a Trader Joe’s, a popular supermarket chain known for its budget-friendly fresh food and healthy frozen items, is worth $608,305. Homes near a Whole Foods, a high-end healthy food supermarket more common to urban areas, is worth $521,142.
Homes near ALDI, a discount supermarket known for its super-low grocery prices, have home values more in line with the national average ($222,809), but the presence of the supermarket can indicate potential for major neighborhood growth.
According to the study, homes near ALDI have an average gross flipping ROI of 62 percent, which means that properties in the neighborhood are likely to grow in value. By contrast, homes near Whole Foods which had an average gross flipping ROI of 35 percent while those near Trader Joe’s sit at 31 percent.
Just like with a short commute, close access to groceries can shave hours off your week and, as a result, make a neighborhood a more desirable place to live.
There’s a hot real estate market and then there’s a house that’s literally up in flames.
In order to draw attention to a lot where a home recently caught on fire, Florida Realtor Dylan Jaeck published photos from the disaster on Zillow. The 1,280-square foot property in St. Petersburg was badly damaged in a fire approximately nine months ago and the existing lot is for sale for $99,000.
“Bring your smores to the campfire and build your dream home!” reads the listing.
While Jaeck’s listing was quickly picked up by local news, not everyone was happy with it. Some called it unprofessional while others said that, due to its realism, it could confuse buyers. But in Jaeck’s view, there is clearly no such thing as bad publicity.
Working with clients from afar can be tough, but these helpful hints will get you on the right path for relocation success
1. Focus on photos, videos and virtual tours
Showcase through photos, videos, and if you have access to them, virtual tours of the types of homes that are common in each area your client is considering, and give them examples of what a “typical” home might look like. This is useful for starting the conversation and helping your client feel involved in the process.
2. Recommend moving services
Your client is likely stressed about the logistics of moving across the country, so do what you can to help them by recommending different services or strategies they can use during the move.
3. Set a timeline in advance
As proactively as possible, set a timeline for the move. This is going to be helpful in determining how to set your clients’ priorities and also how to approach each stage of the process. You can also use the timeline to help your client prepare for their move, which can save them stress and make them feel more confident in their decisions.
4. Make strong recommendations
Most of the time, when someone moves long distances, they won’t be familiar with their target neighborhood. They’re going to lean on you and your expertise to learn more about the surroundings, and they’ll strongly rely on your recommendations.
Accordingly, you’ll need to take on a more active role in making recommendations for your clients. If your client gives you a list of desires and a budget, you should be able to confidently assert yourself when a property seems perfect for their needs.
5. Take advantage of multiple forms of communication
These days, long distance realty work is possible thanks in part to the plethora of communication options available. You can call, text, video chat or email your clients and use these forms of communication on a regular basis.
6. Time an in-person visit appropriately
Most buyers will want to visit the area in person at least once before committing to a move. It’s partially on you to determine when an in-person visit would be most appropriate.
You might want to wait until you have a handful of potentially viable properties lined up, or you might think it’s more appropriate to wait until there’s a clear winner and plan a visit to finalize the details.
7. Empathize
One of the best things you can do for someone attempting a long-distance move is to empathize with them. This is a stressful and high-stakes decision, and it won’t be easy to make when you live across the country.
See this challenge through their eyes, and listen to them as they talk about their challenges and needs. If you can provide them with a comfortable and accepting atmosphere, they’re going to be more decisive and more confident in their final decisions.
Here's a list of 5 things not to do when you're deciding on your renovations.
DON'T remove your only bathtub. The reason: many home buyers need a tub for small children. Trying to sell a house with no bathtub can be a challenge.
DON'T leave the kitchen cabinets on when you paint them. Painting your cabinets white can be a big "wow" and pay off at resale. It's a time-consuming and labor-intensive job, though, so homeowners will make the mistake of leaving the doors on while repainting.
DON'T plant a tree too close to the house. That small sapling that you planted to mark your move-in day won't stay small forever. Planting trees too close to the house puts your house at risk to falling limbs, leaves clogging the gutters, and mature roots weakening your home's foundation or putting your sewer or septic and plumbing pipes at risk.
DON'T try to cover wallpaper with water-based paint. Removing old wallpaper can be a real chore, so if you decide to paint over instead, be sure to use oil-based primer.
DON'T tear out original architectural features. Custom woodwork, tin ceiling tiles, stained-glass windows or mid-century modern brick give your home its character and set it apart from every other house, so keep them when remodeling (assuming the features are in good condition).
Here are five types of treasures that could be sitting around your house and what you can do instead of hosting a garage sale, for each
Books: If you have books that you've already read, and don't plan to read again (or at all), selling online is an easy way to turn them into cash. First, look to see if you have any first editions or books with author's signatures in them, which, depending on the book or author, could translate into a great return.
Clothes: Selling gently used, in-style clothing on consignment, both children and adult, can be another way to earn cash from your closet. To earn top dollar, look for upscale consignment shops with lots of foot traffic, as they'll tend to offer more. Find out what brands, items, and condition the store accepts, and make sure that your clothes meet their standards.
Jewelry: A jewelry box of mismatched odd pieces, the piece that you inherited that isn't your style and have no one to pass it on to, or the engagement ring that you don't wear anymore because you're divorced could be another source of income.
Fine jewelry can certainly be worth a lot, and you'll want to have it appraised before selling it. You can find an appraiser online at sites like appraisers.org.
Unused Gift Cards: According to the professional services firm CEB Tower Group, each year roughly $1 billion in gift cards go unused. If you're not planning to use them you can resell them for cash, at a discount online at sites such as Cardcash. Some CoinStar kiosks in grocery stores will also allow a gift card exchange.
Sporting Goods: Craig's List is a great resource to sell unwanted items like outdoor sporting goods and sports gear in a DIY-kind of way. Bicycles, fishing gear, and canoes are popular finds. Equipment like cleats, helmets, gloves, golf clubs, and skis can also be taken to stores like Play it Again Sports, where consumers can sometimes receive 30 to 50 percent off the selling price.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..