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Storm Prep, next Meet 12/6 7-8:30pm & Weekly Update November 29, 2019
Don’t forget to Renew your Membership in MassRealEstate.net and/or NewHampshireREIA.org if you’ve Expired, otherwise you’ll lose those important Benefits, especially the 4 Home Depot programs. Thanks, Mike
- Fellow Landlords, the first thing I do in Preparation for a Storm, Like the Nor’Easter we’re having right now (8:36pm 12/2) is to make sure all our Rentals have: New Shovels. Plenty of Salt and Sand. & The understanding that I’ll have someone get to the Properties that I have taken care of (Not the Single Family Houses we rent) and if someone needs to get out before they’re Plowed ad Shoveled they now have the equipment right there!
2. Our next meeting is Movers and Shakers at Kelly’s Roast Beef, 165 Endicott Street, Danvers MA 01923 Friday, December 6, 7-8:30pm
Be careful in this storm and I look forward to see you this Friday, Mike Hurney, Director MassRealEstate.net & NewHampshireREIA.org PO Box 307, Marblehead, MA 01945
3. Weekly Update November 29, 2019
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Existing Home Sales Up 1.9% in October
The National Association of Realtors is reporting that existing home sales were up 1.9% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in October, which they characterize as a slight recovery from the declines seen last month. Click here to read more.
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Top Metros for Millennials
It has been a few weeks wince we’ve talked about Millennials so we don’t want them to feel left out. According to recent number-crunching form Realtor.com, there is a “sea change happening” among millennials s and it’s causing repercussions across U.S. housing markets. Click here to read more.
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Single-Family Rentals Rising on Low Supply
Citing data from Corelogic, CNBC’s Diana Olick reports on the supply and demand for single-family home rentals. Accordingly, U.S. single-family rents increased 3% year over year in September. Click here to read more.
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New Geographic Mobility Data Reveals Moving Trends
We have to admit, there are some pretty intense data in here that might cure for insomnia or predict your next out of state real estate investment. Indeed, the U.S. Census Bureau recently released their 2019 CPS ASEC Geographic Mobility detailed table package and updates to their historical tables and historical graphs – in other words, the movement of people from one location of residence to another. Click here to read more.
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Minority Homeownership Increases in Q3
The NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reporting that new data from the Census’ Housing Vacancies and Homeownership Survey (CPS/HVS) says minority homeownership increased in Q3 2019 to 48.3 percent, up 0.9 percentage points from the third quarter of 2018. Click here to read more.
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Cost of a Comfortable Retirement in America
Saving for retirement is on the minds of most Americans, however what that retirement looks like and how much it costs varies across the nation. The folks over at howmuch.net say that some parts of the country are “friendlier on the wallet” than others when it comes to retirement. Click here to read more.
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HUD Asks FTC to Investigate Websites Selling Assistance-Animal Docs
We have posted about the seriousness of service animals many times over the past few years. And now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is seeking action against online companies that profit from selling sham assistance animal documentation at the expense of rental housing providers and renters who have legitimate needs. Click here to read more.
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Water Heaters Save Energy One Drop at a Time
Infographic: Water heaters…they’re either a potential time-bomb in that flip you just bought or an old friend in your basement. However, if you ever need to replace one, what do you replace it with? Click here to read more.
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Weekly Update November 22, 2019 AirBnB loses? Construction spending up (no kidding!) & more…
Weekly Update November 22, 2019 AirBnB loses? Construction spending up (no kidding!) & more… from our friend Brad Becker
Airbnb Spent Millions, Loses Fight in Jersey City
We first posted about this last summer when Airbnb announced that they were fighting back against Jersey City (a NJ suburb of New York City) over new laws that severely limit short-term rentals. Now, fast forward to this past election day when the measure was soundly upheld (a defeat for Airbnb) by voters with over 69% of the vote. Click here to read more.
Construction Spending Up in September
The U.S. government is reporting that total construction spending in September was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of f $1,293.6 billion, which is 0.5% above August’s revised number. Click here to read more.
Pending Home Sales Up 1.5% in September
The National Association of Realtors is reporting that pending home sales increased 1.5% in September, which they attribute to historically low mortgage rates playing a significant role in marking two straight months of gains. Click here to read more.
Zumper’s National Rent Report for November ’19
Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for November, 2019 showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,237 (down 0.3%) and the median two-bedroom rent was $1,480 (down 0.3%). Click here to read more.
Zombie Properties less than 3% of All Foreclosures
According to the latest Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, ATTOM Data is reporting that there were over 1.5 million (1,527,142) vacant single-family homes and condos in Q4 of 2019. Click here to read more.
ABODO Says One-Bedroom Units Rebound in November
National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price for one-bedroom units in November was $1,071. Click here to read more.
Best Small Cities in America
What are the best “small cities” in America? Well, of course WalletHub put pen to paper to find out! They say “no two small cities are made equal” but which ones stand out among the rest? Click here to read more.
What $1 million Gets You in Cities Across the Country
What does $1 million get you for a home in different cities across the county? Well, Zillow says what that home looks like depends heavily on a town’s character, its building history, market pressures, legal guidelines and demographics. Click here to read more.
The History & Future of Wifi
Infographic: Wireless fidelity, aka WiFi…We practically take it for granted nowadays. Whether we’re looking up property records while sitting at a local Starbucks or crunching data at the office most of us use Wifi at some point during the day. So, what is the history & future of wifi? Click here to read more.
Contractors, here’s how you raise markups
If you’re a contractor that is looking to raise your markup, you probably fall under one of two categories. The first is the slow and steady increase of pricing over time. This is the safest option because you’re not alienating your client base, however, how do you know when to stop? It’s not a very accurate means of getting a feel for the market. The second, is the contractor who doesn’t really calculate increases and just decides on new prices. Then, when it’s time to collect money on a job, they lack confidence and are often negotiated down because they truly can’t explain where the numbers came from.
Below are the steps to calculating appropriate markups you can confidently stand behind in any transaction.
- Decide it’s time to stop guessing about how much you should charge to be profitable
- Take the time to calculate the markup you need to stay in the green, support your lifestyle and retire at a reasonable age.
- Always keep records of your direct costs to build projects and then use those figures combined with the markup you’ve already calculated to establish your selling point.
- Confidently offer your price to customers and stand by it, knowing your skills and due diligence of calculating prices has not been random.
- If every time you try to sell something your price drops, accept the fact that you may need better sales training. There are all kinds of sales courses online that can help you.
- Be open to finding a new market to work in if your current market isn’t willing to pay for the prices you’ve offered.
Check our Vendors & next meet Tuesday, February, 27, 2018 6:30pm
Good morning, (Wednesday, February 21, 2018 7:35am)
1. Arcana Insurance It’s time to get a checkup on our Home Owners (HO1 and HO3) policies. In my case it is because MetLife said I’ve left an employer where I received a discount on one of my Policies (duh, I left in 2003…). So if you’re doing your annual checking, take your “Dec” pages (1st page of your policy is the Declaration page with the coverages and costs). What is important to me are the Personal Liability and Deductibles. I redact the costs of those coverages and fax that page to a different insurer each year, for a quick Policy review – If they are less, I consider them, if not… www.ArcanaInsurance.com is a Vendor member and should be offering us a substantial discount on the cost of coverage.
Make sure you let me know how you make out with this new Vendor! Mike
2. ISC Tenant check – Who would let a stranger into a $200,000. apartment (average rental in this area) without knowing anything about them? I hear it all the time… However as the head of the Massachusetts Housing Courts, Judge Tim Sullivan tells us: Get on Mass.gov Hosing Court (no cost) and check to see if your Possible Tenant has ever been there. Needless to say you’ve already got an iPhone image of their government issued ID (Mass Drivers License) Then your final check is with another of our Vendors offering us a discount – ISCScreening.Wistia.com
3. Home Depot – Contractors don’t forget to take advantage of our Number #1 Vendor, HomeDepot.com who has paid millions to research Commercial and Residential building material trends: What’s Hot? What’s Not? and When to find Buyers with their Tax Returns, Ready to upgrade! This can be your roadmap to what your Customers are looking to do!! Check out the online or instore flyer!
4. What’s involved in taking possession of a Tenants possessions (after a Housing Court Eviction of course)??? Kirill will give us the lowdown (2/27/2018) on our responsibilities and Liabilities because his company has successfully handled many of these important moves!
5. Doug Grady will be our very important Main Speaker with Reason #10 to attend next Tuesday, February 27th which is:
How to Let Go of What Isn’t Working! Some folks find it hard to even identify which areas of their business and life are not carrying their weight but once you do and Let go, your Life is completely different!
I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday! February 27, 2018 6:30 – 9pm Early if you want info on your “new” Kitchen, Bathroom or Floor with JR the manager of DesignGroup47.com 47 Newbury Street (Route 1 North just before Sonic carhop) Peabody, MA 01960 No charge to Members of MassRealEstate.net or NewHampshire Only $25 for Guests or Only $99./year to join!
Mike Hurney, Director MassRealEstate.net & NewHampshireREIA.org PO Box 307, Marblehead, MA 01945
BBQ/Rehabbed House Tour August 29, 2017 5:30 – 8pm
Federal Court Approves Class Action on Ohio City’s Illegal Home Inspections
A lawsuit on behalf of property owners filed by Ohio’s 1851 Center for Constitutional Law has resulted in a federal court certifying a class-action lawsuit against a Northeastern Ohio city that says “all homeowners who were forced to endure government searches as a precondition to the sale of their homes are entitled to demand refunds of illegal “Point of Sale” inspection fees.”
A recent Housing Perspectives from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says that even though overall construction is down, construction of smaller homes (under 1,800 sq. feet) has actually increased 20% in 2016.
The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that total construction spending in June was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.2 trillion, which is 1.3% lower than May, but is 1.6% higher than June 2016.
National apartment listing site ABODO recently reported that the median nationwide rent price decreased in July to $1,013 for a one-bedroom apartment. Glendale, AZ saw the largest drop with a 10.7% decrease in August over July’s one-bedroom rents, to $744.
The Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader is reporting that a group called American Farm Investors is buying up tracts of farmland in central Kentucky which they lease back to tenant farmers, who in turn farm the land and pay rent from their proceeds (not sharecropping).
By now we’ve all heard of so-called “tiny houses.” But are they a passing fad or do they really have a future. Recently Curbed posed that question in an article “Tiny Houses: Big Future or Big Hype” where they looked deeper into the industry.
On August 21st, the entire continent will experience a solar eclipse – some will even see a total eclipse which hasn’t been seen in the US since 1979. During this natural phenomenon, the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun’s tenuous atmosphere (the corona) can be seen and will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Outside this path people will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon will cover part of the sun.
Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for August showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,176 and $1,399 for a 2-bedroom apartment.
84% of Americans Say Purchasing a Home is Good Financial Decision
Infographic: This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, however it is always good to see these numbers in black & white. The National Association of Realtors’ recent 2017 Housing Pulse Survey found that 84% of Americans say purchasing a home is a good financial decision – the highest since 2007!