Top 10 Counties with Worst & Best Home Affordability
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 8, 2019
According to new research from ATTOM Data Solutions, 74% of the U.S. housing markets is unaffordable for average wage earners searching for a median-priced home. So, where are the areas that are affordable for average wage earners? Using data from their Q3 2019 Home Affordability Report, they found the best and worst places for home affordability in America. They determined affordability for average wage earners by calculating the amount of income needed to make monthly house payments (mortgage, property taxes and insurance, etc) on a median-priced home, assuming a 3% down payment and a 28% maximum “front-end” debt-to-income ratio. Indeed…
“Buying a home continues to be a rough road to navigate for the average wage earner in the United States. Prices are going up substantially faster than earnings in 2019 without any immediate end in sight, which continues to make home ownership difficult or impossible for a majority of single-income households and even for many families with two incomes,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions.
Backyard Shed in San Diego Rents for $1050 per Month
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 7, 2019
The free market is a wonderful thing but, as we’ve now seen in California, the politicians have put so many restrictions on providing affordable housing that a backyard shed in San Diego is renting for just over $1k per month. According to the listing on Zumper (as reported by FOX News) a 200 sq. foot “studio” (looks like a shed to us), located in one of San Diego’s most walkable neighborhoods, is renting for $1,050 per month! The rental comes with plumbing, bathroom & shower, kitchen (with a small refrigerator and stove), laminate flooring and even has air-conditioning….but no parking space. Be sure to check out the Zumper listing for more photos. Maybe this is what they call an “old school” tiny-house?
FOXNews.com
Demand for Vacation Homes Sees Increase
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 17, 2019
We have had several posts about owning vacation homes – whether to rent them out, use them as a 2nd home or both. With that in mind, a new report from the National Association of Realtors says that increased financial wealth and low mortgage rates have boosted the demand and price of vacation homes. In fact, they report that between 2013 & 2018 the median sales price in “vacation home counties” increased at a slightly higher pace than all new & existing homes sold. They used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to examine the 206 counties (out of 3,141 total) listed as “vacation home counties” to come up with their findings.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says the present figures are telling, especially when compared to data from 10 years prior. “As of 2018, household net worth reached an all-time high of $100.3 trillion – that’s nearly double from a decade ago when wealth declined during the recession. Some of this tremendous growth in wealth, although concentrated, increased demand for vacation homes.”
Click here to read the full report at the National Association of Realtors.
Seven Questions for Contractors
BY PETE YOUNGS ON OCTOBER 16, 2019
- How long have you been in business in this area? This is important because you want them to be established. In many cases, you may run into a company that is new and you will have trouble getting older references and such. If they have a good history in the area, you are less likely to have someone take your money and run. I like a 5 year history or more.
- How many workers will be on the job daily? I want to make sure that there are enough bodies to do the job in a timely manner as well as not have half a crew on most occasions. If the job is small, it’s ok to have a couple of workers only. On bigger jobs, I want manpower as we know time is money. Also make sure who you are dealing with will be on the job too. If they won’t, they probably hired the work out to subs and are making money off you.
- Are they licensed, bonded and insured? I do prefer that they have this in place however, I regularly hire small jobs that the individuals don’t have it. In my SWAT system (secret ways and techniques) as well as my famous Rehab 101 system I have a 225 document forms cd. In this, I require all workers to sign my Waiver Of Liability as well as my Lien Release form to protect myself against injury or property damage. Many times I will hire workers from new home construction sites to do “side work” for me. I know that if they work for a builder full time, they must have a license and insurance or they would not be hired by them.
- Have they had any complaints locally or with the B.B.B. ? I will overlook a minor complaint or two provided that they have been resolved. When you file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, they contact the party and give them the opportunity to make it right or work it out with the consumer and if worked out there is no need for alarm. If they have multiples and they are long lasting and not resolved, I will not use them.
- Will they supply you with 4 to 5 references? This is important because everyone will have 3 good references to give but sometimes these are friends or relatives and will say good things anyway. I want number 4 to be someone that they went back after being paid to fix a problem or touch up. This insures integrity in the company or contractor that they stand behind their work. Number 5 is I ask them who their material suppliers are. I can call the paint store or material supply yard and ask them if they have had complaints there. Like if Sherwin Williams was a supplier, I would call and ask them about any complaints and also if they would recommend the contractor.
- Can I use my contract or do they use their own? Once again, my 225 forms cd has all the contracts and such that it protects me as well as being fair to both sides. You want to spell out the pay schedule, such as paying as work is completed or “draws”. This way you are not paying for work that is not done yet. Do you need to pay a material deposit? Use the term Balance Paid On Completion to make sure all work is done. Hold back 10% until a punch out list is completed to your satisfaction. Otherwise you may end up with an unfinished job.
- Will you supply me a written warranty for labor and also a copy of the manufacturers warranty from the materials? All materials such as paint, carpet, roofing and so on have written warranties on the labels or description. Make sure they will give you this info in writing as part of your contractual agreement so if anything goes wrong you are covered. Remember to put any and all details even if as an addendum to the contractors paperwork no matter how petty it may sound. Your contract is your protection as well as the workers proof that they should be paid for their work. It works both ways so pay attention to detail. You will see many more articles and advice if you keep returning to PeteYoungs.com and research My new SWAT system and award winning Rehab 101.
Pete Youngs
New Start-Up Offers Guaranteed Rent
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 16, 2019
A new startup called Doorstead doesn’t want you to miss out on a month’s rent just because you can’t find a tenant. Calling themselves a “full-service property management with guaranteed rental income,” the new company will not only manage your property but guarantee rent for rent for a certain number of days – even if it can’t fill the unit. In addition TechCrunch reports that they will handle all the algorithmic pricing, advertising, tenant screening, repairs & maintenance, leases and online payments in exchange for just 8% of the rent. Caveat emptor indeed….
“Owners just sit back and receive the money, making it much easier to profit off of distant real estate. The startup claims to earn users 3% to 9% more than other property management models.”
When a Home Is Suddenly Called Historic
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 14, 2019
What happens when you try to sell a property and a 3rd party throws a wrench into the process at the last minute? That’s what happened to a couple in Florida that had a contract to sell their house (and adjacent lots) for a new development but a neighbor put in an application to have their home designated as a historic property. According to the Wall Street Journal article (as reposted by Realtor.com), everything then “stopped in its tracks.” Indeed….
“Third-party historic designation is among the most contentious tools that historic preservationists have at their disposal. It pits homeowners against local preservation enthusiasts, and some who the owners suspect have motives unrelated to historic preservation.”
“Local historic districts date to the 1930s, when states and communities gave local towns the right to create historic areas and to establish rules on what could be done to structures inside the district, or to buildings deemed historic on their own. Those rules vary widely but generally govern changes to the exterior of a home viewable from a public way.”
WSJ.com
Yardi Says Rent Growth Flattened in September
BY BRAD BECKETT ON OCTOBER 14, 2019
According to the latest Yardi Matrix, U.S. multifamily rents flattened in September, coming in at $1,471 with year-over-year growth coming in at 3.2%. Yardi says multifamily rent growth performance is still “very respectable compared to long-term historical trends.”
August's Hottest Markets are Some You've Never Heard of
BY BRAD BECKETT ON SEPTEMBER 26, 2019
As we close out another summer, Realtor.com has come in with their list of the hottest markets from August – and some of them are in places you might not be able to find on a map. They say the hottest real estate markets in America are smaller cities that might lack name recognition but make up for it in affordability and cheaper alternatives to larger & pricier cities. Indeed…
“Smaller markets with smaller price tags continue to heat up feverishly,” says Javier Vivas, realtor.com’s director of economic research. “Buyers have more success in markets that have plentiful supplies of homes below $200,000 in the Northeast and the Midwest. In the West and the Southwest, we’re seeing alternatives to the pricey, larger cities make the list.”
Their list:
| Metro | Rank (August 2019) | Rank (August 2018) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Wayne, IN | 1 | 13 | |
| Pueblo, CO | 2 | 2 | |
| Midland, TX | 3 | 1 | |
| Rochester, NY | 4 | 5 | |
| Columbus, OH | 5 | 9 | |
| Buffalo, NY | 6 | 48 | |
| Lafayette, IN | 7 | 23 | |
| Kennewick, WA | 8 | 75 | |
| Spokane, WA | 9 | 21 | |
| Manchester, NH | 10 | 29 | |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI | 11 | 2 | |
| Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 12 | 10 | |
| Akron, OH | 13 | 35 | |
| Dayton, OH | 14 | 16 | |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | 15 | 15 | |
| Burlington, NC | 16 | 53 | |
| Canton-Massillon, OH | 17 | 38 | |
| Bakersville, CA | 18 | 54 | |
| Yuba City, CA | 19 | 21 | |
| Monroe, MI | 20 | 20 |
2020 Census Could Expand Opportunity Zones
BY BRAD BECKETT ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2019
With the 2020 Census happening sooner rather than later, Bloomberg Tax is reporting that investors across the country who’ve been asking officials to expand areas designated as Opportunity Zones might get their chance when Census Tracts are redrawn. They say that officials from the U.S. Treasury will have to decide how this action will affect these census tracts. A Treasury spokesperson said that revision gains would “further the goals of the opportunity zone legislation.” In addition, current projects may need to be grandfathered if their location gets moved outside of an Opportunity Zone tract. Indeed…
“The Census Bureau is revising census tract boundaries, potentially giving state governments the ability to cover more of their states in opportunity zones, nearly two years after they requested a limited number of census tracts for the incentive in the wake of the tax law’s passage. Such expansions would provide investors with additional options for projects that take advantage of the popular tax breaks, which allow those with profits from stocks and other investments to defer and reduce their capital gains tax liabilities.”
Top 10 Affordable Tech Metros
BY BRAD BECKETT ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2019
Here’s an affordability top-ten city list we haven’t seen before. The folks over at Realtor.com crunched the numbers to find the top cities in America that tech workers can actually afford. They looked at the 500 largest metropolitan areas and used at such metrics as the number of people employed in the tech sector, number of tech companies, tech job listings, home prices (nothing over $400k) and several other criteria. Indeed…
[these areas are]“…hidden gems that have it all: tons of good gigs, affordable homes, plus plenty of things outside those doors that will keep your inner geek’s brain cells firing—at work, home, and everywhere in between.”
