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All About Insurance

House Flippers New Tactic: Crowdfunding

crowdfunding

Now that housing prices are on the rise once more, house flippers are making their way back into the housing market in record numbers, hoping to snatch up distressed homes, renovate them swiftly and efficiently, and then put them back on the market for a quick profit.

The one problem many of them are facing, however, is that they’re unable to secure the mortgages they need.

Instead, they’ve found an innovative loophole in securing cash through crowdfunding.

“This gap has been left by banks that now crowdfunding platforms, like RealtyShares, are able to fill,” said Nav Athwal, CEO of RealtyShares. “They are able to provide quicker, more efficient capital that helps meet the needs of these investors who are looking for speed of execution and the ability to be flexible with their terms as well as with the underwriting standards. Banks just aren’t meeting that need.”

Image via flickr/401(K) 2012

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Tips & Advice

Home Still on the Market? Your Listing Could Be to Blame

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As CNBC points out, location and price aren’t everything when trying to sell your home.

If you’ve been trying to sell and haven’t had any luck, the problem could be in the words you use in your listing – especially if you use the word “unique.”

“Basically what you’re saying is, ‘I like the home, but few others will like the home,'” Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow, told CNBC.

Still, you’re better off using more words than less.

“The longer the description, the more the home sold for, up to about 250 words,” Humphries said. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”

Image via flickr/Mark Moz

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All About Insurance

Zillow Economist: Low Interest Could Pose Future Problems to Homebuyers

interest rates

Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries warned on Tuesday that the extremely low mortgage rates we’re seeing right now could pose a problem for would-be homebuyers once they’re ready to turn around and sell.

“In a lot of markets, homebuyers are looking at home prices through this artificially distorted lens of very low rates,” Humphries told CNBC, explaining that they’re willing to pay more because rates are so cheap.

Then, somewhere down the line when those same buyers are ready to sell, they could have a hard time getting the return they were expecting because the house did not appreciate much beyond their original purchase price.

“It’s important for us to get back to a bit more normal rate regime where homeowners are actually looking at the true price of housing … [without] looking at it through 3.5 percent mortgage rates,” Humphries said.

Image via flickr/Simon Cunningham

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News

Rising Home Prices Deterring Would-Be Buyers

house money

Potential homebuyers have found themselves up against a serious roadblock recently, as the median sale price of used homes soared 7.5 percent over the last year to $202,600 in February.

Meanwhile, as Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, pointed out, wages have only risen about 2 percent.

So while rising home prices are potentially good news for homeowners looking to sell, Yun warns that “for people who want to buy a home it is becoming more difficult.”

Image via flickr/American Advisors Group

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News

Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones: Wealth Inequality Is ‘Off the Charts’

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Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones spoke at a press conference late last week and warned that wealth inequality in America is “off the charts.”

“The gap between the one percent and the rest of America cannot and will not persist,” he said.

So when will we see things start to even out? According to Jones, this sort of thing usually ends in one of three ways: war, revolution or higher taxes.

Image via flickr/Tracy O

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Tips & Advice

8 Tips for Selling Your Home This Spring

for sale

CNBC released a new video on Thursday, listing the top eight tips for selling your home this spring.

As reporter Diana Olick points out, de-personalization and small improvements are key.

Up first, remove personal photos and replace them with faceless artwork. Next, a new front door typically produces a great return on investment. In the kitchen and bathrooms, small improvements go a long way. Clean and de-clutter surfaces in every room. Consider staging some of the main rooms in the home if you’ve already moved your furniture out. Keep rooms cool. Fix cracks in any major or minor structural area. And last but not least, update your curb appeal.

Image via flickr/Ian Muttoo

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All About Insurance

Lenders Predicting Increased Demand, Higher Profits in 2015

mortgage

Fannie Mae found in its most recent quarterly survey of lenders’ sentiments that there is lots of optimism surrounding the state of the mortgage industry as we continue to move further into 2015.

The report found that, compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, the lenders surveyed expect “both mortgage demand and their profit margins to grow over the next three months,” according to Mortgage News Daily.

Additionally, more than 60 percent of lenders interviewed said they expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months, at an average estimated increase of 2.4 percent.

Image via flickr/Got Credit

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News

Middle-Class Families on the Decline

picket fence

A husband and wife, 2.5 kids, a dog and a white picket fence – it’s been the middle class American dream for generations. Until now.

According to a new report by CNBC, middle class families are on the decline in the U.S., and it’s all thanks to the current state of the economy.

“The economy has not been supportive of marriage,” said Isabel Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families and the author of the book Generation Unbound. “As marriage has disappeared and other lifestyles – single and unmarried parenthood – have become more prevalent, these family structures have gained a staying power that’s not easily reversed simply by changing the economic environment.”

Image via flickr/Orin Zebest

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Report: Millions of Homeowners Still ‘Underwater’

house money

According to a new report released by CoreLogic on Tuesday, millions of homeowners in the United States remain underwater on their mortgages – a “nagging leftover” from the housing crash.

As CNBC explains, 5.4 million homes – or 10.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage – are still in a negative equity position.

“Negative equity continued to be a serious issue for the housing market and the U.S. economy,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “We expect the situation to improve over the course of 2015.”

Image via flickr/American Advisors Group

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News

U.S. Dollar Rises at Fastest Rate in 40 Years

dollar

Although the U.S. dollar has become incredibly strong once again, CNN is reporting that no one in the industry really expected its value to shoot up quite so quickly.

Still, Citibank revealed on Monday that, over the last eight months, the U.S. dollar has strengthened so drastically that it is now enjoying its fastest rise in 40 years.

And to top it off, Bank of America Merrill Lynch does not expect the value of the dollar to drop back down any time soon.

Image via flickr/ Sami Keinänen

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