Author: Brad Beckett

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Ransomware attacks have spiked this year targeting users at all levels.  In fact, the FBI says that over 4k ransomware attacks have occurred since the first of the year – representing a 300% increase since 2015.  Not only is this the fastest growing malware threat but it has also become quite lucrative for would-be thieves.  Interestingly, according to the WSJ, Bitcoin has now become the preferred payment for cyber-thieves due to its anonymity and ability to send & receive form anywhere in the world. Ransomware works by infecting your computer with a virus…

Nightly Rentals, The Hottest Investment Right Now? How to earn 2-5 times the gross profit of traditional rental properties. By Christian Bryant, President of IRC Enterprises I am sure by now you have heard of the many nightly rental websites that allow property owners to advertise their homes, apartments, and even extra rooms for rent on a nightly basis. There have of course been some controversies over this new industry as it takes revenue away from the hotel industry and thus decreases the amount of taxes that local cities receive from the transient tax. One way or another, you have…

A couple weeks ago we learned that, nationally, foreclosures were trending downward.  However, looking deeper into that data (courtesy of ATTOM Data Solutions’ ReatyTrac) reveals that 13 states have actually seen year-over-year increases in the number of foreclosure starts – with Delaware leading the pack with a 113% increase.  Overall, data show that one in every 1,540 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month of July. The states showing an increase in foreclosure starts are: Delaware: foreclosure starts jumped 113% Arizona:  up 76% Utah: up 63% Connecticut: up 50% Oregon: up 20% South Carolina: up 3% Massachusetts:…

Color….it makes it all pop!  It’s what you first see, and it’s probably what you remember about a property – good or bad.  The folks over at Home Depot put together this quick & easy guide to color theory and effective use of a color wheel for those painting projects.  Who knew that red can increase muscle reaction time, raise your blood pressure and stimulate risk taking?  Or that yellow and orange stimulate the appetite.  Happy Friday…. Click here to read more on the Home Depot Blog

A couple of months ago we posted about the seller who wouldn’t move out, as strange as that was we’ve now we’ve now learned about a Florida woman that bought a house that was built on the wrong lot. According to the news report, the homeowner purchased her house in 2009 from a now-defunct builder who apparently built the house on the wrong lot instead of the adjacent one that she actually purchased! Interestingly, the survey company hired for the home’s closing failed to discover the error as well. Now, 7 years later, and to the homeowner’s complete surprise, the lot’s…

Are there a growing number of renters who choose to rent, versus buy, even though financially they would have no problem purchasing a home?  We already know that homeownership rates are at historic lows as more & more Americans are choosing to rent (for various reasons).  Recently, new research from Zillow looked at renters in America’s 35 largest housing markets to determine their distribution.  They analyzed the self-reported credit scores and incomes of renters actively searching for a home during the first half of 2016 to assess which large housing markets have the most highly qualified renters. Key takeaways: Housing…

We’ve seen that student housing can a be very lucrative investment.  However, not all markets are created equal.  The data-crunchers over at Axiometrics recently reported the top 10 highest and lowest student housing rent-growths for this fall.  Nationally, the average rent was $618 per bed per month for Fall 2016….Interestingly, the rent varies depending on the distant from campus. “The strongest university markets are not necessarily those with the most new supply, nor necessarily the largest universities. While the following schools might not have Power 5 athletic programs or the most degree offerings, their student housing is showing the strongest…

The Commerce Department reported this week that privately-owned housing starts in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,211,000. This is 2.1% above the revised June estimate of 1,186,000 and is 5.6% above the July 2015 rate of 1,147,000.  Single-family housing starts in July were at a rate of 770k – this number  is 0.5% above the revised June figure of 766k. The July rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 433k. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in July were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,152,000.  This is 0.1% below…

New research from the Pew Research Center says that a record number of Americans are living in multigenerational family households.  They report that in 2014, 60.6 million people, or 19% of the U.S. population, lived with multiple generations, all under one roof.   Multigenerational living is defined as a household that includes two or more adult generations, or one that includes grandparents and grandchildren.  The most common type of multigenerational household consists of two adult generations, such as parents and their adult children.   That group composed of 29.7 million people in 2014. Click here to read more at PewReaserch.org.

Last week we posted about the 3.3 million HELOC’s that were schedule to reset over the next few years.  Now we’re starting to see some of the data come in about those lines of credit.  According to a recent article on Realtor.com (which was also in the WSJ) the bill is coming due for many of those homeowners with payments increasing by hundreds of dollars per month due to these resets.  Interestingly, some banks have started taking additional steps to lessen risk by no longer permitting interest-only payments on new HELOC’s. “While delinquencies for Helocs are rising, charge-offs…