5 ways to invest in real estate

5 ways to invest in real estate

 
NEW YORK – Aug. 28, 2017 – If you've ever had a landlord, you probably don't dream of being one: Fielding calls about oversize bugs and overflowing toilets doesn't seem like the most glamorous job.
But done right, real estate investment can be lucrative, if not flashy. It can help diversify your existing investment portfolio and be an additional income stream. And it doesn't always require showing up at a tenant's every beck and call.
The trouble is that many new investors don't know where or how to invest in real estate. So here are five options, ranging from high maintenance to low.
1. Invest in rental properties
Tiffany Alexy didn't intend to become a real estate investor when she bought her first rental property at age 21. Then a college senior in Raleigh, North Carolina, she planned to attend grad school locally and figured buying would be better than renting.
"I went on Craigslist and found a four-bedroom, four-bathroom condo that was set up student-housing style. I bought it, lived in one bedroom and rented out the other three," Alexy says.
The setup covered all of her expenses and brought in an extra $100 per month in cash – far from chump change for a grad student, and enough that Alexy caught the real estate bug. Now age 27, she has five rentals and is a broker and owner of Alexy Realty Group in Raleigh.
Alexy entered the market using a strategy sometimes called house hacking, a term coined by BiggerPockets, an online resource for real estate investors. It essentially means you're occupying your investment property, either by renting out rooms, as Alexy did, or by renting out units in a multi-unit building. David Meyer, vice president of growth and marketing at the site, says house hacking lets investors buy a property with up to four units and still qualify for a residential loan.
Of course, you can also buy and rent out an entire investment property. Find one with combined expenses lower than the amount you can charge in rent. And if you don't want to be the person who shows up with a toolbelt to fix a leak "or even the person who calls that person "you'll also need to pay a property manager.
"If you manage it yourself, you'll learn a lot about the industry, and if you buy future properties you'll go into it with more experience," says Meyer.
2. Fix up and resell properties
This is HGTV come to life: You purchase an underpriced home in need of a little love, renovate it as inexpensively as possible and then resell it for a profit. Called house flipping, the strategy is a wee bit harder than it looks on TV.
'There is a bigger element of risk, because so much of the math behind flipping requires a very accurate estimate of how much repairs are going to cost, which is not an easy thing to do,' says Meyer.
His suggestion: Find an experienced partner. 'Maybe you have capital or time to contribute, but you find a contractor who is good at estimating expenses or managing the project,' he says.
The other risk of flipping is that the longer you hold the property, the less money you make because you're paying a mortgage without bringing in any income. You can lower that risk by living in the house as you fix it up. This works as long as most of the updates are cosmetic and you don't mind a little dust.
3. Use a crowdfunding service
If you're familiar with companies such as Prosper and LendingClub which connect borrowers to investors willing to lend them money for various personal needs, such as a wedding or home renovation you'll understand the concept behind investing through a real estate crowdfunding site.
Companies including RealtyShares and RealtyMogul connect real estate developers to investors who want to finance projects, either through debt or equity. Investors hope to receive monthly or quarterly distributions in exchange for taking on a significant amount of risk and paying a fee to the platform. Like many real estate investments, these are speculative and illiquid you can't easily unload them the way you can trade a stock.
The rub is that you need money to make money. Real estate crowdfunding is generally open only to accredited investors, defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as people who've earned income of more than $200,000 ($300,000 with a spouse) in each of the last two years or have a net worth of $1 million or more, not including a primary residence.
4. REITs
REITs, or real estate investment trusts, allow you to invest in real estate without the physical real estate. Often compared to mutual funds, they're companies that own commercial real estate such as office buildings, retail spaces, apartments and hotels. REITs tend to pay high dividends, which makes them a good investment in retirement. Investors who don't need or want the regular income can automatically reinvest those dividends to grow their investment further.
REITs can be varied and complex. Some trade on an exchange like a stock; others aren't publicly traded. The type of REIT you purchase can be a big factor in the amount of risk you're taking on, as non-traded REITs aren't easily sold and might be hard to value. New investors should generally stick to publicly traded REITs, which you can purchase through an online broker.
5. Rent out a room
Finally, to dip the very edge of your toe in the real estate waters, you could rent part of your home via a site like Airbnb. It's house hacking for the commitment-phobe: You don't have to take on a long-term tenant, potential renters are at least somewhat prescreened by Airbnb, and the company's host guarantee provides protection against damages.


Copyright © 2017 Cherokee County News-Advocate, Arielle O'Shea. All rights reserved. Arielle O'Shea is a writer at NerdWallet.
5 ways to invest in real estate

Why do people want tiny homes so much?

Why do people want tiny homes so much?

 
ST. LOUIS – Aug. 22, 2017 – Samantha Roberts knows exactly how crazy her plan sounds, so hold your comments.
Telling people that she voluntarily wants to live in a 336-square-foot house with her spouse, kindergartner, 7-year-old, teenager, a Shih Tzu mixed breed, and another aging dog that is blind and diabetic elicits the same gut response from nearly everyone.
"I'm tired of people telling me I'm crazy. We've thought about this more than any of them. Trust me, I know it's not going to be all unicorns and rainbows," said Roberts, who currently lives in a custom-built 2,300-square-foot home in O'Fallon, Mo. They put the four-bedroom house at 159 Fox Creek Drive on the market for $225,000.
If all goes well, as soon as it's sold, construction will begin on their 28-foot-long tiny home with two loft bedrooms and a modest ground floor master bedroom that will cost about $50,000.
Instead of eight rooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, they'll live together in a space smaller than her current kitchen.
The biggest reason for the major shift is economics. They'll be able to pay for their tiny home outright and live mortgage-free.
"We can afford the house where we live, but we can't afford to take our kids on trips," she said. The family of five hasn't gone on vacation in seven years. At the time, it was simply a drive to a neighboring state to visit family with her newborn.
The only people who aren't skeptical of her plan are the homebuilders, a company run by a couple in St. Peters who aren't just selling homes, but presenting a philosophical challenge.
What's really important? Creature comforts at the expense of your free time, your financial security and your familial bonds?
Mark Mitchell and his wife, Emily, were living in a 2,000-square-foot home in Wentzville when he became obsessed with tiny homes. It took three long years to sell the Wentzville house once they put it on the market.
He was a building project manager at the time working on large-scale projects that were very lucrative. It was a "good job," Emily said, but Mark says it just wasn't satisfying.
When he proposed the idea of quitting his job to start a company making tiny houses, Emily wasn't sold. She works as a real estate appraiser for St. Louis County and said she had no idea what the market for tiny homes would be. The trend hasn't really hit Missouri, she said.
Mark kept his day job as he designed his first prototype, a 288-square-foot home on wheels. He built it with the same materials that traditional homebuilders use, including double-pane windows. He employed many of the same downsized design elements and incorporated full-size items, such as sinks, when he could.
This couldn't be a dollhouse, he said.
The stairs to the loft had to be navigable by an adult, and so did the bathroom. He worked on unexpected storage options and included a ceiling fan.
The first house sold to a guy moving to Kansas City, and it sold before the open house. He saw the photos online and told the Mitchells that he had to have it.
Where to live
Interest in tiny homes is big, but the most persistent obstacle to customers is siting regulations. Mitchell's homes can be operated off the grid, if people want to invest in land, composting toilets, rainwater capture and solar panels. But most of his sales have gone into RV or mobile home parks, although one is being used as a backyard mobile hair salon.
Some RV parks don't welcome tiny homes; because of their relative novelty, many sites don't know how to classify them.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development hasn't decided if tiny homes are actually homes. The department sets federal housing policy and also decides building standards for a variety of movable homes to ensure safety standards are met. It hasn't yet weighed in definitively on the construction of tiny homes, which means that RV parks can exclude them at their discretion.
It also means that it's hard for anyone to quantify how many tiny homes are in existence because many are operated under the radar. A "PBS NewsHour" story called them "trendy, minimalist and often illegal."
Eventually, Mark Mitchell dreams of starting his very own tiny house community, but in the meantime, he quit his day job, and Mini Mansions Tiny Home Builders became his full-time endeavor.
In the spirit of tiny home enthusiasts, Mark and Emily downsized before the company launched.
They now live in an 800-square-foot home (small but not tiny) in St. Peters and bought the vacant lot next door for Mark's workshop. Ironically, he builds the tiny homes in a space that is twice the size of his home – 1,600 square feet.
"When I realized that just to move into 800 square feet that I'd have to get rid of three-fourths of my stuff, I was not sold at all," Emily said. "Then one day it snapped and I was like, I get it. We could definitely go even smaller."
She said that there were boxes in the basement that they had moved from the basement of their previous home. The containers hadn't been opened in at least six years.
If you think living in a tiny house is crazy but you're clinging to items that you can't even remember, who's crazy? Emily Mitchell asked rhetorically.
She said downsizing was a relief.
Mark Mitchell said he prayed a lot about it and prayed about the business venture. After the first few sales, he said that he's convinced that he's found his calling in life. Customers speak of his work in glowing, reverential terms.
Their business has been featured on HGTV's "Tiny House Hunters," and Mark is currently near completion on his 10th tiny home. All but two of them were sold online before they could host an open house, and the other two were gone within a week.
Learning to adjust
Roberts said that her family had been watching tiny house television shows and documentaries for more than a year as they considered the move. Everyone is on board, and she's sure it's the right decision, but she does have one reservation.
"I think about it every day, and I'm worried. I really am," she said. "The thing I'll miss the most is the privacy of the master bathroom."
Mitchell is reconfiguring his design to give Roberts a bathtub, at least. They'll have to give up a little living space to accommodate one instead of the standard shower stall, but Roberts said that she'll need the comfort of a hot bath more than ever. It will be one of only two rooms with a real door.
"I think about it every day. Every. Day," she said. Even in the span of a 40-minute phone conversation she was interrupted three times, once by each of her children – she excused herself to listen to a poem, answered a query and went to find a Band-Aid.
But Roberts has her eyes on the prize – financial independence and family bonding.
"Right now we have so much room that we have to call out forced family time," she said. But in a tiny home, for better or for worse, it will be family time, all the time.
Roberts, a stay-at-home mom about to launch a bridal event planning business called St. Louis Popup Weddings and Rentals, isn't delusional about what could go wrong.
Hillary Sanford, 32, lives in Davenport, Fla., with her mom and three dogs in one of Mitchell's tiny homes and offered some advice to Roberts and her family.
The Sanfords' home was delivered in April, and she's totally smitten. She said that she smiles just thinking about it and eventually says she'll retire in a tiny home.
Sanford works as a firefighter, and her mom is a retail manager at Disney World. They spend five days a week in the tiny home on the outskirts of Orlando and drive 92 miles to the small community of Brooksville, where they each live separately on weekends. Her parents live together in a traditional sized single-family home, and Sanford with her boyfriend and his son live in another.
The daily commute was awful, so Sanford had been researching tiny homes for years before her mother agreed. It cost about $39,000 including delivery and a fancy $2,000 built-in combined washer-dryer unit.
When they have a full house, her boyfriend and his son spend the night. So that's four humans and three dogs, if you're keeping track.
"My advice to is to practice first. You'll need to learn the give and take of really sharing space with people," Sanford said. "Get a cabin or small space to live in for a month or so."
Almost everything you do in a tiny home affects someone else, she said.
Sanford and her mother lived in a 104-square-foot home that she bought secondhand on Craigslist for six months. They cooked in a microwave and showered at the campground facility, and the place rocked when anyone would enter or exit. When the Mitchells delivered their sturdy 278-square-foot Mini Mansion with a full bath, they walked inside and were awestruck – "It's so big."
"It's not just a new home," Sanford said. "It's a new mindset."
Copyright © 2017 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Debra D. Bass. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.  

Why do people want tiny homes so much?

Water leak? Insurance will reimburse no more than $10K

Water leak? Insurance will reimburse no more than $10K

 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Aug. 18, 2017 – A water pipe breaks inside a wall of your house while you are at work, and you return home hours later and find water everywhere – warping your cabinetry, soaking your drywall, and destroying a large section of your wood floor.
If you're a customer of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., you will soon face two choices:
  • Find your own repair contractor and figure out a way to stretch a reimbursement payment capped at $10,000.
  • Or get the cap waived if you agree to use Citizens' new Managed Repair Contractor Network Program – provided Citizens makes the program available to you.
Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort, this week secured approval from insurance regulators to impose those choices upon new and renewing policyholders effective Feb. 1.
State Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier informed the Florida Cabinet on Wednesday that he expects private-market insurers will want to copy the $10,000 limit as well as newly approved requirements for water-damage repair contractors working under an "assignment of benefits" (AOB).
The coverage cap affects losses from accidental discharges or overflows of water from plumbing, heating, air conditioning, fire suppression sprinklers or household appliances for about 150,000 multiperil and dwelling fire residential policies in South Florida.
The other approved change holds contractors working under an assignment responsible for the same "duties after loss" as policyholders, including submitting damage reports and detailed repair estimates, participating in appraisals by Citizens' adjusters and answering questions under oath.
The changes are intended to cut insurers' costs by reducing incentives for water damage repair contractors to convince policyholders to sign over benefits of their claims, then "stand in their shoes" to pursue reimbursement for repairs.
The changes, along with others under consideration by the state Office of Insurance Regulation, "will be helpful in my opinion in curbing some of these losses," Altmaier said. He added, "I don't believe that they would be as effective as a legislative change would be."
Citizens and other insurers have complained for several years about increased use of assignments by contractors who submit inflated claims and quickly file suit if insurers underpay or deny the claims.
Water repair contractors and about a dozen law firms, mostly in South Florida, have created a cottage industry out of filing AOB lawsuits, insurers say, because they have little to lose. That's because contractors are protected by a so-called "one-way attorney's fee" law originally intended to enable policyholders to sue their insurance companies without the risk of having to pay their insurers' legal fees if the policyholders lose a case.
Working under assignments, contractors can file suit with no risk of having to cough up legal fees if they don't win, Citizens and other insurers say.
Citizens blamed increased litigation for a net operating loss of $27 million in 2016, and for pursuing rate increases for 2018 averaging between 9.3 and 10.4 percent in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. President and CEO Barry Gilway has warned that Citizens customers face increases of 10 percent – the maximum under state law – for years to come if abuses don't stop.
Several private market insurers, not restricted to 10-percent hikes, have raised their rates in South Florida by higher averages so far this year.
Citizens unveiled its managed repair contractor network on July 1, nearly two years after Gilway first endorsed the concept in 2015. Intended to provide Citizens with the ability to immediately take control of claims, the program also provides emergency water removal services at no cost to policyholders – an incentive that gets Citizens' adjusters early access to inspect damages.
Critics of managed repair programs say they deprive homeowners of the right to choose their contractors, and can result in subpar work by companies motivated to save money for insurance companies.
The latest coverage changes follow limitations pioneered by Citizens in 2016, then copied by nearly all private-market insurers serving Florida. Those changes capped emergency repairs at $3,000 or 1 percent of overall coverage without the insurer's prior approval, and gave insurers the right to deny reimbursement for permanent repairs started within 72 hours after a claim is reported unless the company first inspects the property or approves permanent work.
The Florida Justice Association, which was critical of the 2016 changes, called the new $10,000 water damage cap "anti-consumer and anti-homeowner."
"If Citizens is cutting the benefit, they should cut the premium and abandon the rate increase," Paul Jess, interim executive director said by email. "Without that, this deal is a rip-off."


Copyright © 2017 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Ron Hurtibise. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Water leak? Insurance will reimburse no more than $10K

‘Agrihoods’ a possible use for dying Fla. golf courses?

‘Agrihoods’ a possible use for dying Fla. golf courses?

 
CHICAGO – Aug. 11, 2017 – More people want to experience farm life without buying an entire farm. As a result, an emerging type of community catching on from coast to coast is centered around food production and called an "agrihood."
Suburban agrihoods began appearing in the U.S. in the 1990s. At first, developers offered them as an alternative to golf-centered communities.
"What we learned over time was the majority of buyers in golf course developments did not play golf," says Ed McMahon, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute.
At first, developers started putting farms at the centers of communities because it was a lower-cost form of green space that also helped differentiate neighborhoods, but they then discovered that homebuyers were drawn to the tranquility of farming and the fresh organic food produced by a backyard farm.
Many agrihoods also offer other benefits for community residents, such as farm stands and community-supported agriculture programs where residents can pay up front for weekly shares of the produce. Adults and children can also volunteer to work on the farm and get a hands-on education about food.
"People are interested in living with like-minded people who are interested in knowing where their food comes from," says Bill Maines, director of sustainability and leadership at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. "This provides a way for people to connect to nature without having to pull up roots and buy a farm."
Living in an agrihood doesn't come cheap, however. In Willowsford, Va., a 4,000-acre agrihood about 45 minutes outside of Washington, D.C., has single-family homes starting at $599,000 and stretching up to $1.3 million or more. As comparison, in the D.C. metro area, the median home price is lower at $463,300.
Agrihoods are also developing within cities, and one is credited for revitalizing a struggling neighborhood in Detroit's Lower North End. The three-acre farm known as the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative is volunteer-staffed. It's housed on a vacant site where an apartment complex burned down a long time ago and had never been replaced. Skyscrapers are just a few blocks away, and the farm is surrounded by older single-family rental homes.
"It started as a simple initiative to increase access to healthy food options for residents," says Tyson Gersh, who founded the initiative. About 20,000 pounds of produce are donated to community members each year.
Soon after he started the farm, he discovered a big demand from people who wanted to live next to it. "People were buying homes [in the neighborhood] because we were here," he says. "We've seen property values increase very fast, and a lot of that is driven by our farm."
The neighborhood has become a mix of seniors and millennials. Eventually, Gersh's group plans to purchase surrounding homes, rehab them and sell them to locals at cost using interest-free loans.
"We're redefining what life in the urban environment looks like, and that involves some sort of integrated agriculture," says Gersh, who lives a block away from the farm. "People love to be around plants, growing food."
Source: "Seeds of a New Community: Farm Living Takes Root in the Suburbs," realtor.com® (Aug. 9, 2017)
© Copyright 2017 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688  

‘Agrihoods’ a possible use for dying Fla. golf courses?

Who pays for damage caused by condo building leak?

Who pays for damage caused by condo building leak?

 
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Aug. 10, 2017 – Question: After heavy rainfall, there was a leak in the walls of our condo building that damaged our home and several others. It seems that the leak just happened and was not any particular unit's fault. Our home was severely damaged. Who pays for this mess? – Jaime
Answer: To sort this out, the cause of the leak will need to be determined. If the leak was caused by an insurable event such as a fire, burst pipe or hurricane, your association will be responsible for fixing the common areas up to the border of your drywall. You would be responsible for everything inside your home.
Most associations have the appropriate insurance to cover the cost of their repairs, but this insurance will not cover your property, flooring, fixtures, appliances or basically anything inside your unit – even if you were just an innocent bystander.
If the damage is caused by anything other than an insurable event, you will need to look to your condominium documents to determine who is responsible for the repairs. If the leak is determined to be your fault – either due to your or your guests' intentional acts or just your failure to properly maintain the unit – you may be held responsible for the complete repair. The same applies if the damage is caused by renovations done inside your unit, or if the problem happened because you failed to follow your community's rules.
The lesson here: Maintain proper insurance and follow your community's rules and you will be covered if something unfortunate happens.
About the writer: Gary M. Singer is a Florida attorney and board-certified as an expert in real estate law by the Florida Bar. He practices real estate, business litigation and contract law from his office in Sunrise, Fla. He is the chairman of the Real Estate Section of the Broward County Bar Association and is a co-host of the weekly radio show Legal News and Review. He frequently consults on general real estate matters and trends in Florida with various companies across the nation.
Copyright © 2017 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Gary M. Singer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.  

Who pays for damage caused by condo building leak?

Millennials: Live with Mom and save for downpayment

Millennials: Live with Mom and save for downpayment

 
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Aug. 8, 2017 – The road to Meagan Walsh's dream house wound through the room she grew up in. Like many Millennials, Walsh graduated from college without a job and burdened by student debt. But the 25-year-old's fortunes took a positive turn when she moved back in with her parents in Bethlehem, Pa., and found work.
"Originally, it was their idea, and I kind of rolled with it," she says, later admitting she "didn't have another option."
Walsh parlayed her two-year stay with her parents into a home of her own. With no rent to pay and minimal expenses such as car insurance and cellphone bills, she began saving most of the money she made, initially at her first gig at a social media start-up and then at her current job as a leasing agent for a property management company.
"I was banking 75 percent to 80 percent of my paycheck," she says, even after paying $250 each month for student loans amassed at the University of Delaware. She was able to save a 20 percent downpayment of $28,000 to buy a four-bedroom, Cape Cod-style home in July 2016 for $140,000.
"It's cute," says Walsh, who also had enough cash to restore the hardwood floors and "splurge" on a quartz kitchen countertop.
Walsh's personal finance success story shows that while returning home to mom and dad might not be "Plan A" for most young Americans – and can sometimes be perceived negatively and as a short-term setback – it can also be an effective way for cash-strapped Millennials to boost savings quickly. Not to mention a viable way to speed up the process of buying a house, building equity in that home and living independently.
It's also part of a larger trend of Millennials finally starting to get active in the real estate market. After the 2008 financial crisis, many Millennials returned home to live with their parents or shared expenses with roommates. Now, Millennials 36 and younger represent the nation's largest share of home buyers at 34 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Saving a 20 percent downpayment is "a major hurdle for young adults trying to buy their first home," according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.
It is even more challenging for Millennials given their high student debt loads. Outstanding student debt has reached $1.3 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve.
More than four out of 10 (43 percent) Millennials who have completed college said student debt caused them to "delay buying a home," a TD Ameritrade survey found. And 27 percent of Millennials between ages 20 to 26 said education loans delayed them from "moving out of (their) parents' home."
Walsh's boomerang living arrangement after college is not uncommon.
Nearly four of 10 (37 percent) Millennials moved back in with their parents after graduation, according to the TD Ameritrade survey. A boomerang kid is a young adult that goes back to live with a parent after a period of independence.
"Does it make financial sense? Absolutely," says Tony Ogorek, chief investment officer at Ogorek Wealth Management in Williamsville, N.Y. "It is very challenging for people starting out. Any strategy they can employ to reduce debt and allow them to save is great."
But there's a caveat, he says. In today's "gig" economy, where many people work on short-term contracts and their lifestyles become more "nomadic," it can be risky to invest in a home unless you plan on living there for many years.
In Walsh's case, she says buying her own home was a better investment than paying rent, especially since she found renting where she lives more expensive than buying.
Tim Manni, 34, a mortgage expert at NerdWallet, took advantage of moving in with his in-laws in spring 2015 after his wife sold her condo in Montclair, N.J., where they were living. Manni stayed about six months as the newly married couple shopped for and bought a three-bedroom home in West Caldwell, N.J., and then did renovations before moving in.
During that time, the couple was able to save the $1,200 they had been paying each month on the condo's mortgage.
"It really worked out for us," says Manni, adding that his gracious in-laws let them stay free of charge, while he and his wife reciprocated by chipping in for groceries and picking up the bill for the occasional dinner out.
Returning home is a viable money-saving strategy, assuming there's ample space in the home you're returning to and there's a specified savings goal, Manni says.
"It can be a motivator," he says. "No one wants to live at home forever or come back home after being out on your own. But if there is a goal in mind, such as a home you are aiming to buy, it is a whole different ballgame."
In another sign of Millennials' newfound appetite for housing, 44 percent of Google searches in the mortgage category so far this year were first-time buyers, up from 11 percent in 2016, according to Chase Home Lending.
Kate Powers, 23, is one of those young Millennials searching for a home and saving for a downpayment while also living rent-free with her parents. After graduating in 2016 from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., her hopes of working and living in New York City flamed out after she realized an entry-level salary wouldn't provide enough income to afford an apartment without roommates, a living arrangement she wanted to avoid. "My original plan didn't work out," Powers says.
She opted to return to Severna Park, Md., to live with her folks and shop for less-expensive real estate closer to home.
"My parents were 100 percent behind it," she says. "They didn't want me struggling to pay my bills."
While working a full-time job as an assistant acquisitions editor at a publishing company, where she earns $32,000 per year – as well as a part-time job – she's been able to sock away $25,000. She plans to stay put for another year or so to save enough for a downpayment for a home in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.
"Right now, it is definitely the best option financially," Powers says. "My savings target is $50,000."
Powers enjoys her parents and her sister, who is seven years younger and who she never has had a chance to connect with until now. Her advice is to give living with mom and dad again a try.
"It is not the end of the world to go home," she says.
Copyright © 2017, USATODAY.com, USA TODAY, Adam Shell  

Millennials: Live with Mom and save for downpayment

Your buyers need flood insurance? Close before Sept. 30

Your buyers need flood insurance? Close before Sept. 30

 
WASHINGTON – Aug. 4, 2017 – It looks less likely that Congress will finalize a flood-insurance bill (the "21st Century Flood Reform Act" or H.R. 2874) before the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is scheduled to expire.
"NFIP is due to expire on Sept. 30, 2017," says Florida Realtors President Maria Wells, broker-owner with Lifestyle Realty Group in Stuart. "This is of great concern for Floridians since we represent 40 percent of all NFIP policies in the U.S."
Congress must pass the bill and President Trump must sign it before Sept. 30 to avoid a disruption in flood insurance coverage. However, lawmakers won't return to Washington until Sept. 5, Wells says, and both chambers "have many issues to deal with." While bill passage is still possible, she considers it unlikely before the deadline.
Impact on Oct. real estate sales
While the flood insurance bill's passage remains a concern, homebuyers face a more immediate problem after Oct. 1: Mortgage lenders require proof of property insurance before they will lend money at closing, and they require proof of flood insurance if a property is located within a FEMA-designated flood zone. If homebuyers can't secure proof of flood coverage, their closing could be cancelled or delayed.
"Take precautions if you have pending listings in September that are located in mandatory flood zones," advises Wells. "Try to close before Sept. 30."
Wells has been active in the NFIP reauthorization effort working with the National Association of Realtors®(NAR) and directly with lawmakers. Should Congress fail to pass H.R. 2874 before the deadline, she says NAR is hoping Congress will pass a short-term extension of the current program to avoid coverage interruption.
However, "there is nothing pending in the House or Senate so far to extend flood coverage through re-authorization," Wells warns. "NAR is hopeful all the hard work they have done to work with Congress to get a bill passed will still happen – however, there is nothing yet."
The bottom line for Realtors selling homes in flood zones: Assume flood coverage will expire after Sept. 30 and plan accordingly.
"Be on the lookout for a Call To Action around Aug. 22, 2017, to urge the reauthorization," adds Wells.
A Call to Action is one of the strongest tools in Realtors' arsenal. Once issued, it asks all members to email their lawmakers, a move that takes only a few minutes through NAR's automated system.
"This is a volatile issue for our state and Florida's voice needs to be strong," says Wells. "We will count on all members making their voice heard."


© 2017 Florida Realtors
Your buyers need flood insurance? Close before Sept. 30

Sustainable energy will soon be the new normal

Sustainable energy will soon be the new normal

 
WASHINGTON – July 31, 2017 – The United States is going through an energy revolution, experts said at the National Association of Realtors®' (NAR) 2017 Sustainability Summit in Washington, D.C., last week. Within 20 years, this revolution will reshape people's homes and communities.
However, most people aren't aware of the revolution yet, but it will become more obvious as the cost of alternative sources of energy – such as solar panels, plummets and the use of smart technologies, particularly LED lighting – goes mainstream.
"Smart cities are already here, but they're unevenly distributed right now," said Geoffrey Kasselman, executive managing director of commercial real estate advisory firm Newmark Knight Frank. Kasselman and other experts attended the summit to give real estate professionals a better understanding of the ways sweeping changes in energy use and technology will impact what people want in their homes and communities.
"Consumers are already telling us they want sustainable features in their home," NAR President-elect Elizabeth Mendenhall said at the meeting. "What consumers don't know is how to make their home more energy-efficient and what to ask for– and that's where Realtors can help."
Among developments speakers talked about at the summit:
  • Innovation districts. These are already in place in some parts of the country. They use alternative energy sources and digital technologies to manage energy use in homes, commercial properties and infrastructure to create sustainable live, work and play clusters.
  • Micro homes. These are typically between 250 and 450 square feet, and help make housing affordable in high-cost urban areas so people in modest-paying jobs can live where they work.
  • LED street lighting. These are more than lights. They double as digital sensors so cities can manage traffic, parking and infrastructure needs more efficiently.
"We're transitioning from a petroleum- to a solar-based global economy," Kasselman said. "We might never see a barrel of oil over $50 again. A new world order is emerging."
Source: Robert Freedman, Realtor® Magazine


© Copyright 2017 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Sustainable energy will soon be the new normal

Home prices hit record high for sixth time in 6 months

Home prices hit record high for sixth time in 6 months

 
WASHINGTON (AP) – July 25, 2017 – U.S. home prices reached a new high in May for the sixth straight month, which may raise fears of another housing bubble roughly a decade after a previous one burst.
The Standard & Poor's CoreLogic national home price index, released Tuesday, increased 5.6 percent in May, the latest data available. It is now 3.2 percent higher than its July 2006 peak.
Some analysts downplay the notion of a new bubble, and the unrelenting price increases may already be cooling sales. Other aspects of the last decade's housing boom and bust, such as rapid sales increases and surging home building, aren't happening now.
"Price increases vary across the country, unlike the earlier period when rising prices were almost universal," David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P, said.
A separate price index maintained by the National Association of Realtors is also rising steadily, though it remains about 9 percent below its 2006 peak. The S&P CoreLogic index tracks the same houses over time and is generally considered a better gauge of price changes, while the NAR's measure is affected by the proportion of higher-priced or lower-priced homes on the market.
Much of the price gain is being driven by Seattle; Portland, Oregon; and San Francisco. All three cities have strong population growth and more rental properties than other U.S. cities, S&P says.
In San Francisco, just 36 percent of homes are owner-occupied, while in Seattle the figure is 46 percent and in Portland, 52 percent. All are below the national average of 64 percent.
From 2010 through 2016, the U.S. population has grown 4.7 percent, S&P says. In San Francisco it has grown 8.2 percent, in Portland by 9.6 percent and Seattle, 15.7 percent.
Nationwide, the number of homes for sale has fallen on an annual basis for the past 25 months. There were 1.96 million homes for sale in June, down 7.1 percent from a year earlier.
Rising prices and a limited supply are starting to thwart would-be buyers. Existing home sales slipped 1.8 percent in June, the Realtors' group said Monday, and are nearly flat from a year earlier.
Even with the decline in sales, there are plenty of interested buyers. The drop in total listings mostly reflects soaring demand, according to real estate data provider Zillow.
The number of homes listed each month has been stable for most of the past five years. About 560,000 homes were put on the market in June, about the same as were listed in June 2016 and June 2015.
But would-be buyers are snapping up homes much faster. According to the Realtors, the typical home is sold in just 28 days, down from 34 days a year ago.
"Sooner or later something will have to give," Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, said. "Demand will fade, builders will begin delivering more new homes and/or more sellers will start coming out of the woodwork. But for the time being, expect this strong sellers' market to continue."
AP Logo Copyright 2017 The Associated Press, Christopher S. Rugaber. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  

Home prices hit record high for sixth time in 6 months

NAR says it supports latest national flood ins. proposal

NAR says it supports latest national flood ins. proposal

 
WASHINGTON – July 21, 2017 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) says that it now endorses the "21st Century Flood Reform Act" (H.R.2874) working its way through Congress.
NAR says that "significant improvements" in the legislation aimed at strengthening and reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) cleared the way for its endorsement.
Among the changes Realtors support is a commitment by the House Financial Services Committee to retain "grandfathering" – a policy that would protect homeowners from significant rate increases if flood maps change.
The latest draft of the bill also limits proposed increases to fees and rate hikes that policyholders faced under earlier versions of the legislation that included more dramatic cost increases for homeowners and eliminated grandfathering protections beginning in 2021.
NAR President William E. Brown thanked the House committee for working with Realtors to strengthen the bill and he announced NAR's support for it
"House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), as well as Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chairman Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), deserve high praise for working with Realtors to improve this legislation," Brown says. "The changes to the 21st Century Flood Reform Act will help give certainty to homeowners who have brought their property to code and have done their part to protect it against flood risk."
Brown called it a "fair and reasonable approach" that takes us one step closer towards reauthorization.
"This legislation protects taxpayers, as well as homeowners, which is no easy task," Brown adds. "The Sept. 30 reauthorization deadline still looms in front of us, and Realtors are eager to see this legislation progress quickly. Leaders on both sides of the aisle are well aware that this issue touches 22,000 communities – in every state, both coastal and inland. We're grateful for the committee's support and look forward to their continued efforts on behalf of homeowners."


© 2017 Florida Realtors
NAR says it supports latest national flood ins. proposal

Condo law changes went into effect July 1

Condo law changes went into effect July 1

By Meredith Caruso
 
July 17, 2017 – There were several changes made to Chapter 718, the Florida Statute governing condominiums, and all went into effect on July 1, 2017.
While not exhaustive, below is a list of July 1 changes that you may come across in real estate deals:
  1. 718.111(12)(c)(1) – A unit renter has a right to inspect and copy the association's bylaws and rules.
  2. 718.111(12)(c)(3)(g)(1) – by July 1, 2018, an association with 150 or more units (which does not manage timeshare units) must post digital copies of the required documents on its website.
  3. 718.116(8) – The association must issue an estoppel certificate within 10 business days of receipt of a written or electronic request for said certificate.
  4. 718.116(8)(a) – Any condominium estoppel certificate must contain specific assessment information, such as the regular periodic assessment and frequency; an itemized list of all assessments, special assessments and other moneys scheduled to become due; if there is a capital contribution fee, resale fee or other fee due and what the amount is; if there is a right of first refusal provided to the association or the members; and contact information for all insurance maintained by the association, amongst other things.
  5. 718.116(8)(b) – The estoppel certificate (sent via hand delivery or electronically) has a 30-day effective period (35-days if sent by regular mail).
  6. 718.116(8)(d) – If a requested estoppel certificate is not delivered within 10 business days, a fee may not be charged for the preparation and delivery of that estoppel letter.
  7. 718.116(8)(f) – The association may charge a reasonable fee for preparation and delivery of an estoppel certificate that may not exceed $250.00; if the certificate is requested on an expedited basis and delivered within 3 business days after the request, however, the association may charge an additional $150.00; an additional fee of up to $150.00 may also be charged for an estoppel certificate on a unit if a delinquent amount is owed.
The Florida Legislature also added other new condominium association rules this year. If a unit owner is denied docs and fraud can be proved, for example, it could be a felony; and board director terms are now limited to eight years with a few exceptions.
For complete info on July 1 condo law changes, refer to the bill, HB 1237, which Gov. Scott signed on June 26.
Meredith Caruso is Manager of Member Legal Communications for Florida Realtors


© 2017 Florida Realtors
Condo law changes went into effect July 1

Fla. home to 43% of top metros for second-home bargains



Fla. home to 43% of top metros for second-home bargains

 
IRVING, Calif. – July 12, 2017 – ATTOM Data Solutions analyzed the U.S. cities where at least one in every 12 buyers is looking for a second home, and it ranked them based on air quality, comfortable summer temperatures, low crime, appreciating home values and reasonable home prices. 
Of the top 100 U.S. cities listed as "top summer home vacation markets," 43 metro areas (43 percent) are located in Florida. The state also had five metro areas in the top 10, 10 in the top 20, and 27 in the top 50.
Overall, the top bargain markets for summer vacation homes were found in four states: Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland. Crossville, Tenn., led the list of metro areas, followed by Waynesville, N.C., and, in the third spot, Florida's Port Charlotte.
"Top summer home vacation markets" in Florida, U.S. ranking
3. Port Charlotte
6. Deerfield Beach
7. Delray Beach
9. Beverly Hills
10. Cape Coral
11. Satellite Beach
12. Fort Pierce
13. North Port
18. Lake Placid
19. Palm Coast
21. North Fort Myers
22. Kissimmee
23. Santa Rosa Beach
24. Sun City Center
25. Venice
27. Englewood
28. Davenport
30. Dunedin
31. Sebastian
33. Naples
34. Crystal River
36. Leesburg
38. Bonita Springs
41. Fort Myers
42. Vero Beach
49. Punta Gorda
50. Marco Island
51. Homosassa
52. Bradenton
54. Ormond Beach
57. Cocoa Beach
61. New Smyrna Beach
62. Lady Lake
63. Fernandina Beach
65. Palm Beach Gardens
66. Hernando
68. Jupiter
73. Destin
75. Panama City
76. Ponte Vedra Beach
79. Panama City Beach
83. Miami Beach
A complete list of all cities in the top 100 is posted on the National Association of Realtors®' website.
© 2017 Florida RealtorsFla. home to 43% of top metros for second-home bargains

Childcare costs undermine middle-class housing aspirations

Childcare costs undermine middle-class housing aspirations

 
NEW YORK – July 5, 2017 – According to the Zillow Housing Aspirations Report, 40 percent of upper-middle class parents surveyed rely on extended family for childcare, compared to only 29 percent of low-income parents and 33 percent of high-income parents.
As a result, commercial childcare costs make it difficult for some families to achieve homeownership, especially given that incomes rose only 2.6 percent over the past year and home values climbed more than 7 percent.
Commercial childcare costs up to $21,000 annually, but some families may not earn enough at a full- or part-time job to cover the costs of childcare, and it makes financial sense to have a stay-at-home parent. However, families in the middle – often with two working parents making moderate incomes – can can't afford to send their kids to childcare and can't afford to have one parent to stay home.
"Housing costs and child care are among the two largest budget items for working families, costing as much $43,000 a year in urban areas and over $34,000 a year in the suburbs," says Zillow chief economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "While many Americans are tied to the places they live for a variety of personal and financial reasons, it's necessary for some households to live near family in order to make ends meet. Sometimes extended family might move together to provide childcare, or grandparents might even follow their children when they move to a new city to help care for their grandkids."
According to the survey, around 26 percent of those polled said proximity to family drives their decision about where to live.
Source: RealtyBizNews (06/19/17) Wheatley, Mike


© Copyright 2017 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
Childcare costs undermine middle-class housing aspirations

New Fla. laws go into effect July 1

New Fla. laws go into effect July 1

 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – June 28, 2017 – Seven real estate laws drafted by the 2017 Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott go into effect Saturday, including a Florida Realtors priority: estoppel fee caps.
Laws effective July 1
  • Cap on estoppel certificate fees – Sellers of properties who live in an HOA, condo association or co-op will have a limit on the amount they'll pay for an estoppel certificate, a document that informs a buyer if the seller is current with their dues and assessments. SB 398 (Sen. Passidomo, R-Naples) caps estoppel certificate fees at $250 for unit owners who are current in their assessments. Associations may charge an additional $100 for expedited estoppel certificates (delivered within three business days) and another $150 to owners who are delinquent in their assessments. The bill sets the price of estoppel certificates for multiple units owned by the same person and establishes a uniform, statewide format that ensures buyers and closing agents receive the appropriate information needed to close the real estate transaction. This bill also requires certificates to be valid for 30 days if delivered electronically or 35 days if delivered by mail.
  • Florida's natural resources – More than $500 million is earmarked for Everglades restoration, beach renourishment and springs restoration. During the session, SB 10 (Sen. Bradley, R-Orange Park) served as the primary piece of policy legislation for Everglades restoration and establishes how the funding will be used for these projects. A key provision of SB 10 is the construction of a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee that is designed to curb nutrient and salinity levels that are harmful to Florida's valuable natural resources.
  • Condominium termination law – Legislation passed in 2015 to protect condo owners from being forced to sell – possibly at a loss – has several loopholes that real estate investors and bulk buyers exploited. SB 1520(Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater) fine-tunes the rules and modifies the process by reducing the percentage of owners required to reject the termination – from 10 percent to 5 percent.
  • Condominium oversight – A South Florida news report of fraud in condo board elections, misappropriation of funds and rigged bids resulted in a Miami-Dade grand jury recommending changes to Florida's Condominium Act. HB 1237 (Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami) provides several new condo oversight rules: (1) a condo association with more than 150 units must publish its financial reports and other documents (bylaws, articles of incorporation, condo rules) on a password-protected web page; (2) if an owner is denied documents and fraud is proven, persons responsible for fraudulent activity could face felony charges; (3) the term of a condo board director is limited to eight years, with some exceptions.
  • Private flood insurance – As Realtors petition Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), Florida lawmakers continue to work to attract private flood insurance capital to Florida. HB 813 (Rep. Larry Lee Jr., D-Fort Pierce) accomplishes two primary goals: (1) Rating flexibility for flood insurers is extended from 2019 until 2025 before they must follow guidelines similar to other lines of coverage – a way to encourage private insurers to enter the Florida market; (2) insurance agents can place flood policies with surplus lines insurers for two more years – until 2019 – before they must make a "diligent effort" to place the coverage with carriers regulated by the state. Diligent effort requires an agent to seek coverage and be rejected by at least three regulated carriers writing the same type of coverage.
  • Drone regulation – HB 1027 (Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville) preempts the regulation of unmanned aircraft systems (drones) by local governments and grants oversight to the state of Florida. This will prevent drone operators from having to potentially comply with ordinances adopted by 400+ local governments.
  • Pollution notification – SB 1018 (Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Lake Placid) sets a threshold for when an operator is required to notify the Division of Emergency Management and the Department of Environmental Protection about a pollution event. It also provides a timeframe for the notification and defines what a reportable event means. This legislation is the result of pollution from a sinkhole at the Mosaic fertilizer facility in Mulberry, Fla., last summer. The Scott administration created an emergency rule that shifted the burden of pollution notification from the state to the owner of the property where the spill occurred. Florida Realtors was part of a coalition that successfully challenged the legal authority for this rule, creating an opportunity for the passage of this friendly legislation.


© 2017 Florida Realtors
New Fla. laws go into effect July 1

Self-driving cars will influence real estate demand

Self-driving cars will influence real estate demand

 
NEW YORK – June 26, 2017 – The development of self-driving cars has pitched a handful of cities into a new gold rush, a chance to be at the forefront of a new technology that will give rise to billion-dollar companies and thousands of new jobs.
The stakes are enormous. Last year, Goldman Sachs projected the market for advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles would grow from about $3 billion in 2015 to $96 billion in 2025 and $290 billion in 2035.
In some cities, automakers, suppliers and technology companies are clustering to test their self-driving vehicles. In others, governors and mayors are beckoning the industry by changing laws or touting other inducements.
Here are the nation's hot spots that have emerged as leaders in the race to self-driving cars:
Austin
Mayor Steve Adler likes to refer to Texas' capital city as "the Kitty Hawk of driverless cars," referencing the site of the Wright brothers' first flight in 1903. That's because Google's self-driving-car unit, Waymo, quietly chose Austin for the first fully autonomous test drive in 2015. Now Austin officials want more.
"We are trying to do everything we can to help promote and advance the future of this technology," Adler said. "We think it's the wave of the future. We think it is going to help our city."
The city and the state have put political differences aside to embrace partnerships and legislation designed to attract testing and investment. Austin is part of a statewide consortium that includes the University of Texas and Texas A&M University to create a network of proving grounds and testing areas. – Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press
Boston
In October, Mayor Marty Walsh and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced policies intended to put the city at the forefront.
Area technology companies are already at work. NuTonomy, a company that emerged from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013, is working with French automaker PSA Groupe on a self-driving car. – Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus leaders are tickled their city was chosen for $50 million in federal and private funding over seven other finalists. Key to Columbus' win was the buy-in of the city's major employers, who have come to view their home city's preparation for autonomous vehicles as part of the companies' preparation for profits in the next century.
It combined investments from top local companies, the state of Ohio and Ohio State University to pool more than $400million for autonomous and electric vehicles.
"There are a select group of cities that are going to be a part of the race. And Columbus is in the race, and it always will be," said Alex Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership. – Chrissie Thompson, Cincinnati Enquirer
Detroit
A former industrial site 30 miles southwest of downtown Detroit where Rosie the Riveter worked during World War II is where the Motor City is planting one of its most significant flags in the battle to capture a significant role in the future of self-driving cars. It is slated to become Michigan's newest testing ground for autonomous and connected vehicles.
"What we're going to create is … a lifelike proving ground so we can really exercise these (driverless) vehicles," said John Maddox, CEO of The American Center for Mobility, which is expected to open late this year. "No one will have the full scope of what we will have." – Brent Snavely and Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press
Nashville
Nashville was chosen as one of 10 global cities for an autonomous-vehicles initiative launched last year by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute. It certainly doesn't hurt that Nissan's U.S. headquarters is just outside the city and that the Japanese automaker was among the first to predict when it would field self-driving cars for sale – 2020.
The city's newly appointed transportation director, Erin Hafkenschiel, wants to see shared electric autonomous vehicles in Nashville that would operate similarly to Uber or Lyft. That would help alleviate congestion problems in tandem with major investments in mass transit, she said. The city has been upgrading its traffic signals to be compatible with autonomous vehicles. – Lizzy Alfs, The Tennessean
Reno
Northern Nevada has been at the forefront of self-driving-car testing since 2011, when it became the first state to adopt legislation authorizing the testing.
Google was lured to Nevada by the state's dry weather and its wide-open spaces when it ran into early resistance from California. Plus, Tesla's Gigafactory, a 5 million-square-foot factory that began pumping out batteries for its electric cars, is on Reno's outskirts.
Tesla has been aggressive in developing self-driving vehicles.
"Six years ago, we envisioned people buying self-driving cars," said Bruce Breslow, director of the Nevada Department of Business & Industry. "Now it looks like the first major push is going to be in fleets for self-driving cars, whether it be a taxicab fleet, a transportation network company like Uber or Lyft or even self-driving trucks." – Jason Hildalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal
Phoenix
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey touts a hands-off regulatory environment in an effort to lure autonomous vehicle testing to his state, and the tactic has led to some high-profile wins. In December, Uber joined companies such as Waymo and Ford, which were already testing self-driving cars in the state. Uber promptly trucked its self-driving cars to Arizona in December following a registration dispute in California over not having the correct permits.
In April, Waymo announced it would begin taking applications from Phoenix-area residents who want to be among the hundreds of riders testing an expanded fleet of Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivans outfitted with Waymo's myriad autonomous car sensors. – Ryan Randazzo, The Arizona Republic
Pittsburgh
With talented professionals in the autonomous-vehicle space at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania's second-largest city emerged as an attractive base for the world's leading self-driving-car companies. Uber, which recruited many of CMU's self-driving-car experts, has located a major R&D facility in Pittsburgh.
In addition, Uber made a splash in September when it became the first major American company to offer urban rides to consumers in partially self-driving vehicles, choosing the confusing, pedestrian-filled, bridge-laden streets of Pittsburgh for the pilot program.
But Uber's relationship with the city has soured. Mayor Bill Peduto has publicly assailed Uber for refusing to back the city's application for a federal cities innovation grant and for making a stingy contribution to a philanthropic initiative.
That spat aside, Uber has shown no signs of easing off the accelerator in Pennsylvania. As a result, competitors are fast on its heels. In February, Ford announced it would invest $1 billion over five years in Pittsburgh-based autonomous-car start-up Argo AI. – Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY
Silicon Valley
With Silicon Valley at the heart of developing self-driving cars, California has become a top testing ground. Google has been letting its high-tech, self-driving cars wheel around the area south of San Francisco for several years. Now, about 30 companies – from traditional automakers to upstart tech companies – have taken out the paperwork to test self-driving cars in the Golden State.
"Silicon Valley is the right place to be doing a lot of this work," says Greg Larson, chief of the Office of Traffic Operation Research for the California DOT. Instead of building a car with a computer, "this is building a computer and putting a car around it." – Marco della Cava, USA TODAY


Copyright 2017, USATODAY.com, USA TODAY
Self-driving cars will influence real estate demand

12M consumers may get July credit-score boost

12M consumers may get July credit-score boost

 
WASHINGTON – June 22, 2017 – The three largest credit-reporting agencies will begin cleaning up credit reports in July, which could help lift the credit scores of about 12 million consumers.
In a survey by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), one in four people say they spot errors in their credit reports, most commonly concerning tax liens and civil judgments.
Up to half of tax lien data on a credit report is inaccurate or incomplete, says Eric J. Ellman, senior vice president for public policy and legal affairs at the Consumer Data Industry Association. Civil judgments – which means a court has ruled a person owes money – also tend to be ripe with errors or omissions on a credit report, experts say. Consumers can dispute the errors, but the process can be cumbersome.
Beginning July 1, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion will automatically exclude tax lien and civil judgment records from credit reports if they are missing a person's name, address, Social Security number or date of birth. Claims that do contain this key information, however, will remain on credit reports.
Six percent of Americans with a credit score – or 12 million – likely will see their score go up once the new policy takes effect. About 11 million could see an increase of about 20 points.
"A lot of people who have liens or judgments against them already have crummy credit to begin with," says Keith Gumbinger, vice president at HSH.com, a mortgage resource website. "A 10- or 20-point increase isn't going to make a difference for a lot of borrowers."
But borrowers who are on the cusp of qualifying for a home loan may stand to benefit the most. For example, Gumbinger says, a would-be buyer with a credit score of 570 who receives a 10-point uptick may be able to qualify for an FHA loan. FHA loans require a minimum 580 credit score.
Source: "Have a Bad Credit Score? It Could Soon Get Better – But Is It Enough to Buy a Home?" realtor.com® (June 22, 2017)


© Copyright 2017 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688
12M consumers may get July credit-score boost

Citizens customers could be paying more in 2018

Citizens customers could be paying more in 2018

 
MAITLAND, Fla. (AP) – June 20, 2017 – Florida's state-created property insurer is probably going to raise its rates again.
The board that oversees Citizens Property Insurance will vote Tuesday on a proposal to raise homeowner rates an average 5.3 percent and commercial accounts by an 8.4 percent average. State regulators must approve the hike before it can take effect in February.
Citizens has more than 451,000 customers, many of them living near the coast or in south Florida.
Florida has been spared from major hurricanes in recent years, but Citizens officials contend rate hikes are needed to deal with claims associated with water losses not associated with storms.
The proposed hikes vary by the type of policy purchased and location. South Florida homeowners could be paying more next year, while residents in other coastal counties could be paying less.
AP Logo Copyright © 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  

Citizens customers could be paying more in 2018

Gov. Scott signs renewable energy bill

Gov. Scott signs renewable energy bill

 
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – June 19, 2017 – Gov. Rick Scott signed 13 bills late Friday, including a measure supported by Florida Realtors that will carry out a constitutional amendment aimed at boosting the use of solar energy in the state.
Lawmakers passed the renewable-energy bill (SB 90) after nearly 73 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment during last August's primary elections.
The amendment called for extending a renewable-energy tax break to commercial and industrial properties and making renewable-energy equipment exempt from state tangible personal property taxes. The amendment, which had widespread support from business and environmental groups, needed lawmakers to approve a bill to carry it out.
Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who sponsored the bill during this spring's legislative session, said in a prepared statement that Scott "answered the will of the voters" in signing the measure Friday.
"I look forward to continuing our work to diversify Florida's energy economy, so we can live up to our title as the Sunshine State and lead in renewable energy," Brandes said.
Source: News Service of Florida, Jim Saunders  

Gov. Scott signs renewable energy bill

The zero-down loan? It’s making a comeback

The zero-down loan? It’s making a comeback

 
NEW YORK – June 16, 2017 – Buyers may soon be able to bring less to closing. They were blamed for precipitating the housing crisis years ago, but major lenders are giving no- and low-downpayment loans another shot.
Several major lenders are reportedly offering loans with just 1 percent down. Navy Federal, the nation's largest credit union, offers its members zero-down mortgages in amounts up to $1 million. NASA Federal Credit Union markets zero-down mortgages as well.
Quicken Loans, the third highest volume lender, offers 1 percent downpayment options, as does United Wholesale Mortgage. And the Department of Veterans Affairs has offered zero-down loans to eligible borrowers for many years.
Also, Movement Mortgage, a large national lender, has introduced a financing option that provides eligible first-time buyers with a non-repayable grant of up to 3 percent. As such, applicants can qualify for a 97 percent loan-to-value ratio conventional mortgage, which is basically zero from the buyers and 3 percent from Movement. For example, on a $300,000 home purchase, a borrower could invest zero personal funds with Movement providing $9,000 down. The loan also allows sellers to contribute toward the buyer's closing costs.
So far, the delinquency rates on these low- to zero-down payment loans have been minimal, according to lenders. Quicken Loans says its 1 percent down loans have a delinquency rate of less than one-quarter of 1 percent. United Wholesale Mortgages told The Washington Post that it has had zero delinquencies from the borrowers on its 1-percent down loan since debuting it last summer.
For Movement's new loan product, the lender will originate the loans and then sell them to Fannie Mae, which remains under federal conservatorship. Fannie officials released the following a statement:
"(We're) committed to working with our customers to increase affordable, sustainable lending to creditworthy borrowers. We continue to work with a number of lenders to launch (test programs) that require 97 percent loan-to-value ratios for all loans we acquire." They add that there "is no commitment beyond the pilots," which are "focused on reaching more low- to-moderate income borrowers through responsible yet creative solutions."
During the housing crisis, zero-down loans were among the biggest losses for lenders, investors and borrowers. However, housing experts say the latest versions are different from years ago. Applicants must now demonstrate an ability to repay what's owed. They also must have stellar credit histories and scores, and lenders require a lot more documentation to prove borrowers are in good standing.
Also, many of the programs are charging higher interest rates. For example, Movement's rate for its zero-down payment option in mid-June was 4.5 percent to 4.625 percent, compared with 4 percent for its standard fixed-rate mortgages.
Some critics say that the borrowers who really could benefit from such options aren't able to qualify for them. Paul Skeens, president of Colonial Mortgage Corp. in Waldorf, Md., told The Washington Post that "it seems like people without excellent credit scores and three months of [bank] reserves don't qualify."
Source: "No Down Payment? No Problem, Say Lenders Eager to Finance Home Purchases," The Washington Post (June 14, 2017)
© Copyright 2017 INFORMATION INC., Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688  

The zero-down loan? It’s making a comeback

The Craigslist scam: Still around, still a problem

The Craigslist scam: Still around, still a problem

 
How to use Craigslist
Advertise listings on Craigslist? It’s useful tool when used legally and ethically, providing you follow IDX rules per MLS guidelines and abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics. For more, watch Florida Realtors VP Margy Grant’s Take 5 video: Legal Do’s and Don’ts on Craigslist.
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – June 15, 2017 – An apparent scam that has been making the rounds on Craigslist recently could catch people who are looking for a cheap place to rent, but officials and industry professionals say there are plenty of red flags that should warn them off.
"It's just this crazy scam where people take our listings from online and use our photos," Endless Summer Realty broker Robin Arnold said.
A property he has listed was a subject in one of two email conversations provided to the St. Augustine Record in which a potential renter responded to an ad on Craigslist and got a suspicious response. In both cases, the homes advertised on the popular listing site turned out to be for sale and the emailed answer to the initial inquiry was written by someone posing as the legal owner with a story about why he or she was out of town and would have to conduct any transaction over email.
The ads, though, contained pictures and well-written descriptions of the homes.
Noah Bailey, an agent with RE/MAX who was the listing agent on the other house, said those things are pretty easy to get from online listings.
"They basically just take your verbiage, take your pictures," he said. "It's something that's pretty common."
Both men said they were aware that their listings had become subjects of the scam and had either reported it to the owner of the property or to Craigslist.
"Typically, we are the first person to get the heads up," Bailey said.
Arnold said this is the only one of his properties that has been used in the scam recently, though he recalled a rash of them a couple of years back. Bailey said his listings seem to get used about two to three times a year.
This month, Arnold had received about 25 calls on his current listing from people interested in renting the home.
"They'll pull it up and go do a drive-by and see my sign in the yard," he said, adding that he lets the callers know the ad was a potential scam and tries to educate them about what to watch for.
Though the email chains provided to The Record never progressed to discussion about an exchange of money, Bailey said the scammer will likely promise to mail keys in exchange for a wired deposit.
The emailed answers both contained the legal property owners' names, though they appeared to be copied and pasted from online tax records because they were inserted into the email, by way of introduction, in all capital letters with the last names appearing first.
Both men said things like that are among the many warning signs on the path to an exchange of money that should scare people off.
The to-good-to-to-be-true, advertised rates are too, they said. In both cases, the homes listed had three bedrooms and were in desirable neighborhoods and carried advertised rates of under $1,000, with one as low as $750.
Bailey said he wasn't aware of anyone actually falling for the scam and that the people he interacts with typically catch on once they realize the house is actually for sale when they see his sign.
"Most people, I think, kind of wise up when they see something like that," he said.
But St. Johns County Sheriff's Office spokesman Cmdr. Chuck Mulligan said some people have fallen for similar ads. Though he had no recent example of long-term rental scams, he said he could recall about three or four instances in the past two years where someone lost money after paying a deposit or advance rent when responding to a fake vacation rental ad. Those homes are typically advertised for shorter stays for people coming from out of town.
"And then they get here and find out that the homeowners are there and the homeowners are not the ones that advertised the property," Mulligan said.
Another variation that was common, he said, were scams involving foreclosed-on properties during the recession.
Mulligan said people that are looking for rentals on Craigslist or any e-commerce site should always look for warning signs and take steps to protect themselves. First, he said, Florida has very open public records laws, and it is easy for people to determine who the legal property owner is.
"They should do some of that research," he said, and suggested they search for the address online and see if it is listed for sale.
Mulligan also warned that any transaction in which the person asks that money be wired via Western Union or any other service, or asks for payments in an unusual form, like a gift card, should also raise suspicions.
Another warning sign can be the tone of the email.
Most of the scams, Mulligan said, originate from outside the country and the person composing the response is usually not a native English speaker, and they often give themselves away with awkward word usage.
If any of those things pop up throughout the course of a transaction, Mulligan said, people should think twice before they part with their money. "They should pause and then do some more research to ensure they are actually dealing with the homeowner," he said.
Though Craigslist does provide a way for users to flag ads as spam or "prohibited" no one at the organization responded to an email requesting information about how that process works and how ads get taken down.
Copyright © 2017, The St. Augustine Record, Jared Keever. All rights reserved.  

The Craigslist scam: Still around, still a problem

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