Author: Brad Beckett

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a package of incentives to encourage multi-family property owners to invest in thousands of neighborhoods located in Opportunity Zones across the nation.  According to the release (reprinted below) the FHA is introducing reduced application fees paid by property owners applying for certain multifamily mortgage insurance programs for the development or rehabilitation of apartment units located, or proposed to be located, in Opportunity Zones.  We will continue to closely cover this issue and post news and updates. WASHINGTON – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced a package of incentives to…

A recent report from Redfin says that home prices saw their first year-over-year price decrease since 2012.  According to their research, the median price of a home (in the metros Redfin tracks) was $295,100, down 0.1% from 2018.  They say that while this barely registers as a decline, it’s the first year-over-year price decrease on record since early 2012 when the median home sale price bottomed out at $171,600.  Interestingly they point out double-digit declines in areas of the west coast – California in particular – while several markets on the east coast saw big annual gains.  Indeed…actions have consequences:…

Have you ever considered taking on a business partner or maybe regretted that decision at some point down the road?  The folks over at FortuneBuilders say there are a variety of questions to ask a potential business partner before working together.  Today’s infographic tells us the 10 most important questions to ask that potential partner before heading down that path.  After all, the best business partner will complement your strengths and weaknesses, and match your overall vision for the company.   Happy Friday!!! “Acquiring a business partner can be beneficial for a number of reasons. Partners have the ability to reduce…

What are the best cities for America’s dog lovers?  Redfin and Rover (the pet-sitter & dog-walking site) recently put pen to paper to figure it out.  Redfin used data from Rover’s 14k+ cities to compile a list with the highest counts of walks, dog walkers and sitters, along with total hours, minutes and distance per walk by each dog walker or sitter on Rover.  Then,they cross-referenced that data with Redfin’s listings of homes for sale that had points such as proximity to dog parks, being dog-friendly, etc.  The list is fun and a reminder that America loves her dogs. “Despite…

Department of Housing & Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson recently penned an insightful op-ed about how Opportunity Zones present a new dawn for economic opportunity by offering tax relief to those who invest in designated low-income communities across the country. He emphasized that Opportunity Zones are estimated to attract over $100 billion in private capital to some of the most economically neglected communities in the U.S.  Indeed… “It is one of our Nation’s bedrock beliefs that America is the Land of Opportunity. Every street in every city, every stretch along every country road, should indeed be a zone where opportunity…

We can’t make this stuff up and, quite frankly, it was too humorous not to share… According to a recent report on FOX News, recently divorced “Flip or Flop” TV-star Tarek El Moussa is looking for a girlfriend.  Yes, ladies, the home-flipper-extraordinaire is finally putting some distance between himself and ex-wife Christina and is searching for that special someone.  Might we suggest Match.com??? El Moussa doesn’t have any specific traits or dealbreakers in mind for his next love, and admits that he doesn’t want to jump into anything too quickly. That said what he’s looking for is “my best friend,”…

With tax season over more many of us, the visualization website Engaging Data recently took a look at US household spending using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The interactive chart (click on it) breaks down spending and income data into many categories that are aggregated and plotted into a Sankey graph. One of the key factors in financial health of an individual or household is making sure that household spending is equal to or below household income. If your spending is higher than income, you will be drawing down your savings (if you have any) or borrowing…

With income tax season  now over for most of us (hopefully) we can turn our attention to that other inevitable form of taxation – property taxes.  According to a recent report from ATTOM Data, property taxes levied on single family homes totaled $304.6 billion in 2018, up 4% from 2017.  Their analysis says this averages $3,498 per home (up 3% from 2017) and is an effective tax rate of 1.16%.  To get their data, ATTOM analyzed property tax data collected from county tax assessor offices nationwide at the state, metro and county levels along with estimated market values of single…

We see a lot of these “is it better to rent or buy” stories from time to time and we have covered them. However, the bottom line is that it’s all about the local market conditions.   To that end, the folks over at howmuch.net crunched the numbers to provide an intuitive look at the geography of renting vs. owning.  They looked at factors such as student loan debt, financial insecurity, and high housing prices which they say disincentivizes some would-be homeowners.  In fact, howmuch.net concludes it is cheaper to rent than to buy in most states.  Indeed…be sure to…

A recent Wall Street Journal article (posted on Realtor.com) discussed the Trump administration’s plans to overhaul Fannie and Freddie – the two giants that back almost half of all U.S. mortgages. They report that the administration wants to put them on the road toward returning them to private hands.  Currently there is intense debate in Washington about the future of these two behemoths.  Indeed… “Fannie and Freddie make mortgages more readily available and more affordable. The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage essentially owes its existence to them. But some argue that the private market could fill this role more efficiently. Right now,…