Author: Brad Beckett

When celebrities, even minor washed-up ones, are involved in scams it reveals the power they have over others – especially in product endorsements and cheap publicity.  According to a recent article on HousingWire the former bass player for the band The Ataris (known for their cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer”) spearheaded a massive real estate scam that defrauded more than 100k people across the country out of more than $25 million.  According to the report, he pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail & wire fraud.  He also admmitted to owning and operating a…

According to new data from CoreLogic, mortgage fraud is on the rise as more people lie about their income in order to qualify for loans.  CNBC’s Diana Olick reports that loan applications for real estate purchases are more likely to have fraud than for refinancing because higher interest rates have slowed refinancing activity, making mortgages a larger share.  In addition, Fannie Mae says tips are on the rise from law enforcement, consumers, trade groups and lenders.  Olick points out that the internet is making it easier and that a casual search reveals many online services that, for a fee, will…

Is ecommerce giant Amazon entering the home building space?  A recent report on CNBC says they’ve recently taken a stake in Plant Prefab, a Southern California company that builds prefabricated custom single and multi-family homes that uses an automation in an attempt to keep costs low.  The investment was made by their Alexa Fund and follows Amazon’s launch of over a dozen new smart home devices powered by their Alexa platform.  By the way, these aren’t your normal run-of-the-mill prefab homes. “Voice has emerged as a delightful technology in the home, and there are now more than 20,000 Alexa-compatible smart…

According to the latest ATTOM Data Solutions Foreclosure Activity report, nearly one in every 2k U.S. properties had a foreclosure filing in August, 2018.  According to the report,there were 70,166 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings in August, up 9% from July and down 7% from one year ago.  The states with the highest foreclosure rates were New Jersey (one in every 690 housing units); Maryland (one in every 918 housing units); Nevada (one in every 984 housing units); Delaware (one in every 1,012 housing units); and Florida (one in every 1,229 housing units). Click here to read the full report…

Fire Prevention Week runs October 7-13, 2018 and the best way to celebrate is to check all your properties’ smoke alarms for functionality and age.  If you find one that’s more than 10 years old, it’s time to replace it.  And when you do, National REIA recommends both ionization and photoelectric technologies be used in all your properties.  You should also have a working & tested carbon monoxide detector and fire extinguisher in each unit as well.  In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure!  Today’s infographic also reminds us to “Look, Listen and Learn”…

What exactly are these “Opportunity Zones” that were created in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017?  A recent article in HousingWire gives readers “the skinny” about these overlays and suggests they “are probably the buzziest potential solution for the affordability crisis and local economic stimulus out there at the moment.”  They also report that the program is meant to encourage investors to reinvest their capital gains and those can come from any investment – stocks, bonds, real estate or partnership interests.  In addition, they explain how they work, who benefits and how they might revitalize struggling communities.  Indeed……

CoreLogic recently released their Market Pulse Report for September, 2018 where they provide a lagging indicator snapshot of the U.S. housing market through July, 2018.  Among their findings, how disasters & housing affect the economy, home mortgage payments up 15%, how states are seeking loopholes to counter the federal SALT deduction and understanding the risks a volcano poses. Click here to read the full report on CoreLogic.com.

National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in October dropped slightly to $1,020 (down 0.2%) with two-bedroom units coming in at $1,269 (down 2.7%).  ABODO uses over 1 million listings across the United States to calculate the median 1-bedroom rent price by city, state, and nation and then track the month-over-month percentage change. To avoid small sample sizes, they restrict their analysis to cities meeting minimum population and property count thresholds. “The economy is hot, unemployment is low, and inflation is beginning a more rapid increase. All these factors lead us…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for October showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,211 and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,443.  Year over year, both one and two bedroom prices are up 1.6% and 3%, respectively.  Zumper analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive view of the current state of the market. The report is based on all data available in the…

The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in August was estimated at $1,315.5 billion, which is 0.1% higher than July’s revised estimate and 6.5% higher than August, 2017.  Residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $548.9 billion in August, 0.7% below July’s revised estimate. Click here to read the full release on Census.gov.