Real Estate News: Real Estate Investing Podcast

Don’t get caught off guard by market crashes that can take all your money down with them. And don’t miss out on markets where you can build wealth practically overnight. Real Estate News for Investors with Kathy Fettke is the premiere source for savvy real estate investors who want to stay up-to-date on new laws, regulations, and economic events that affect real estate. Topics include: market trends, economic analysis that affects housing prices, updates on the best rental markets for investing in single-family rentals or multi-unit rentals, turn-key housing standards, the fate of the highly revered 1031 exchange and other tax law affecting investors, self-directed IRA investing and 401k changes, where rents and property values are rising or falling, flipping risks, new Dodd-Frank rules regarding private lending and financing standards, areas with job losses vs job growth, areas that are overbuilt or over-supplied versus areas with low supply and high demand, and how to avoid real estate scams. We'll bring you the latest reports from organizations like the National Association of Realtors, Realty Trac, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Rent Range, Property Radar, the Norris Group, Peter Schiff, Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Suse Orman, Bigger Pockets, Dave Ramsey and more. And we'll help you interpret the data in terms that make sense for your real estate goals, and portfolio. Grow and protect your wealth by staying on the forefront of economic data analysis, expert opinions, innovative investing strategies and profitable investment opportunities. We'll share all the top real estate news stories and the best trade secrets investors should know, so you can stay ahead of the curve and make fully informed real estate decisions. Host Kathy Fettke is Co-CEO of the Real Wealth Network, author of Retire Rich with Rentals and host of the Real Wealth Show on iTunes. She brings decades of media and real estate investing experience, offers her own viewpoints on particular topics, and taps into her network of real estate experts for real world news updates created just for investors like you. Get the real news on real estate on Real Estate News For Investors podcast! Like what you hear? Don't forget to subscribe! Love what you hear? Please leave us a review! Thanks for listening!

Housing Activists Hope to Beat Investors with Cash Offers! 12/06/2022

Housing Activists Hope to Beat Investors with Cash Offers! Investors often use this strategy and now some housing activists are doing the same, hoping to beat investors with cash offers. It’s the cash offer on a home that often gives investors an edge, and one activist group in Milwaukee is hoping to level the playing field with funds to buy homes in cash that it will then sell to low-income families. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, and leave us a review. Act Housing is a nonprofit organization that wants to give low-income families an opportunity to buy homes that are often scooped up by investors with cash offers. The Wall Street Journal is calling them “activist house flippers.” In this case, the group would flip the homes for a minimal profit because it would sell them to families for close to the cost of the homes. (1) Housing Acts In Fundraising Mode The group hopes to raise $10 million by next year from the government and other groups that provide philanthropic funding. The activists spearheading this project say they are “leveling the playing field” because many sellers prefer cash offers and this provides a way for investors and future homeowners to compete at the same level. The group’s president, Michael Gosman, explained the situation with a question: “If a family is willing to pay the same amount for a property as an investor, how do we make sure that family actually gets that opportunity.” Acting on behalf of a homebuyer, the group would make a competitive all-cash offer. Targeting Bungalow-Style Homes The group is targeting smaller bungalow-style homes that might cost about $75,000 to purchase, and another $25,000 to renovate. It already has more than 100 families signed up as potential buyers. More than 80% of them are people of color. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is more of a nationwide trend, with activist groups in other places using a similar strategy. It reports that a neighborhood activist in Jackson, Mississippi, is flipping homes to first-time buyers. A nonprofit in Memphis is also doing this. In the Cincinnati area, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority recently beat Wall Street investors in the purchase of almost 200 rental homes. And in California, lawmakers set aside half a billion dollars to help subsidize the purchase of homes and rentals by nonprofits that help families with affordable housing. Investors Bought 1-in-5 Homes in Q1 Investors have been busy expanding their portfolios of single-family rentals. During the first quarter of this year, investors bought more than 20% of the homes that were sold. And many of those homes were converted into rentals. Investors have pulled back on their purchases since then, because of market conditions, but a pullback is also typical for this time of year. Despite the outcry over the investor purchase of homes that are turned into rentals, there’s a huge need for rentals. Families given the opportunity to buy these homes may still be unable to qualify for a loan, so they will still need to rent. Some families also prefer to rent. For those that hope to buy in the Milwaukee area, they may get help from this new Housing Acts group. Gosman is hoping to find homes to flip using the same techniques that investors use, like fliers on phone poles and mailers. He told The Wall Street Journal: “I think in a lot of cases we’ll copy (the investors.)” There will be no lack of competition however. Real estate is a hot deal for everyone whether you are a future homeowner or an investor trying to build generational wealth. In addition to the purchase of existing homes, many big landlords are funding huge build-to-rent projects. JPMorgan is one of them. It has entered into a joint venture with Haven Realty Capital to spend $1 billion on hundreds of new build-to-rent homes starting with three projects in the Atlanta area. (2) You’ll find links to the Wall Street Journal article in the for this episode. You can also find out how to find deals as an investor by . It’s free to join and gives you access to our market data, our experienced investment counselors, and our curated list of real estate professionals. And please remember to if you haven’t already, and leave us a review! Thanks for listening. I’m Kathy Fettke. Links: 1 - 2 - /episode/index/show/4f81dee6-e57b-48d5-94b4-33ff3032a868/id/25232394

Portuguese Citizenship In Exchange for Minimal Real Estate Investment 11/29/2022

Portuguese Citizenship In Exchange for Minimal Real Estate Investment There’s still time to get in on an affordable real estate deal that also gives you Portuguese citizenship, access to affordable, state of the art healthcare, university education in Europe, and easy access to Europe. Portugal’s Golden Visa program encourages foreign real estate investment in exchange for citizenship, and the minimum investment is just €280,000 which is about $280,000. But the opportunity might not last forever. The Portuguese government is in the process of making a decision on whether to end the program but anyone already signed up will be grandfathered in! Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, and leave us a review. Portugal’s Golden Visa Program Portugal’s Golden Visa program has been around since 2012. It was created to help Portugal recover from the worldwide economic downturn during the Great Recession. It encourages foreign investment and because the Euro is currently on par with the dollar, U.S. investors are getting a big discount from prices that are much lower over there. Because the program has attracted heavy investment into residential properties in the most popular areas, the government is now limiting the program to commercial properties in those areas. But these properties consist of rooms, suites, and even apartments in luxury hotels and resorts that provide passive income, and a place that investors can use when they are in Portugal. I went to Portugal this year to find out more about the Golden Visa program, and met with a team of experts, including attorneys, CPA's and developers who have properties that meet the Golden Visa requirements. You can find out more about the teams we met with at . (1) What You Can Buy With Gateway Portugal Some qualifying properties offer apartments in luxurious resorts with old world surroundings and five-star service. They range in price, returns, and the amount of time that owners get to use them. Some of the properties offer buybacks after five years. Investors will get five years of passive income, a set amount of time to use and enjoy the property, and the big prize – Portuguese citizenship. The Golden Visa program does come with a few additional fees, but the returns that the investor makes will easily cover those fees. One of the least expensive investments being offered by Gateway Portugal is a hotel suite for €220,000. It’s located along the beach in the very popular town of Lagos. Investors would earn a 7 to 10% return per year depending on occupancy levels. The owner would get to use the suite for two weeks every two years. However, to qualify for the Golden Visa, a minimum of $280,000 would have to be invested in Portugal, which means investors would need to buy two of these suites to qualify. Minimum Investment Only About $280,000 One thing to keep in mind is the amount of the investment that qualifies you for the Golden Visa program. There are three tiers with minimum investment amounts of €280,000, €350,000, and €500,000. Those correspond to the locations and types of investments that qualify. The first bracket of 280k to 350k investments get you a renovation project in a less densely populated area. The buildings that qualify as renovation projects must be a building that is at least 30 years old. 350k to 500k gets you a renovation project in a more densely populated area such as Lisbon, Porto, or the Algarve. 500k and up gets you a new build in a more densely populated area. Once you invest, you get immediate residency. To maintain your residency, you will have to spend some amount of time in Portugal, but that requirement is minimal. The first year, you have to spend at least a week in Portugal. After that, you can spend two weeks every two years. When you hit the five year mark, you are eligible for citizenship, so long as you have kept your investment during that time. Immediate family members are also eligible for citizenship if they were included on the application. Children must be younger than 18 at the time of the application or attending school with the support of their parents. Grandparents are also eligible. Beautiful Country, Low Cost of Living, High Quality Lifestyle What a great way to experience Europe, as a citizen in a beautiful country with a low cost of living and a high quality of life! Portugal’s health care system is considered world class. In 2019, the World Health Organization published an extensive ranking of healthcare systems around the world. Portugal ranked 12th on the list. That’s way ahead of the U.S. which was 37th on that same list. Health care isn’t totally free but it’s free for kids under 18 and adults over 65 and is extremely affordable for the rest. For example, hip replacement surgery might cost about $40,000 in the U.S. but will only set you back with a minimal co-pay in Portugal. Housing is also a lot cheaper in Portugal. The globalcitizensolutions.com website says it’s about 50% less expensive in Portugal than it is in the U.S. And you’ll save a bundle on property taxes. They are typically less than 1% of the property value. So a $300,000 home might cost you around $300 a year in property taxes. (2) The website lists several other ways you’ll save money, for things like groceries, restaurants, transportation, education, and utilities. And you can put your worries to rest about Russian energy dependence in Portugal. The portugal.com website claims that only 5% of Portugal’s non-renewable energy comes from Russia. (3) You’ll also feel safer in terms of crime. According to nationmaster.com, there are about twice as many police officers in Portugal than there are in the U.S. and about half as much overall crime. The Global Peace Index ranked Portugal as the 6th safest country in the world. In comparison, the US ranked 129th out of 163 countries. (4) Portugal Tops Most Lists for Expats & Retirees In a Forbes article about Portugal’s Golden Visa program, it says: “Portugal appears at the top of most of the lists of places recommended for expats and retired people to enjoy a good life and its Golden Visa program is one of the most popular in the world. The number of Americans living in Portugal rose 45% in 2021 from the previous year, according to government data.” (5) But the program may not be around forever. It’s not clear when the government will make a decision on whether to keep it going and it probably won’t end overnight, but it could end soon. You can find out more at . Krista and Alec recently joined me on the Real Wealth Show to talk about what they are doing with the program. If you’d like to hear that, . If you’re interested in other kinds of real estate investing, please check out the RealWealth website at . . And please remember to and leave a review! Thank you! And thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke. Links: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - /episode/index/show/4f81dee6-e57b-48d5-94b4-33ff3032a868/id/25157745

The Real Estate News Brief: Fed’s Next Move, Investor Q3 Pullback, Rent Growth Slowdown 11/28/2022

The Real Estate News Brief: Fed’s Next Move, Investor Q3 Pullback, Rent Growth Slowdown In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending November 26th, 2022... what the Fed is expected to do next, what investors did not do in the third quarter, and a new rent growth report. Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, and leave us a review. Economic News We begin with a light week for economic news as most of us enjoyed a day with family and friends for Thanksgiving. But there are a few things to report. The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its last meeting which shows that most of the voting members feel it’s appropriate to reduce the size of the rate hikes. They feel that aggressive measures are still needed, but that smaller hikes will give them an opportunity to evaluate the economic impact. They are hoping to avoid what they call a “hard landing” as they tighten the reigns on the money supply. Economists are now expecting a half point rate hike at the meeting in December. That’s after four consecutive three-quarter point hikes. (1) The Fed is hoping to control inflation without hurting the job market and causing layoffs. This last week, jobless applications jumped up a little, to 240,000 initial claims, but that’s still near a low point. Continuing claims were also up by 48,000 to 1.55 million. Economists do see this slow creep higher as a result of Fed policy. Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics told MarketWatch: “We are increasingly inclined to think that the trend in claims is now rising gently, as firms come under increasing pressure from the Fed’s aggressive tightening.” (2) The Commerce Department released the latest report on new home sales. It shows a 7.5% increase to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 632,000 in October. And that’s with a record-high median price of $493,000. It was $455,000 in September. Some analysts say that home buyers may be rushing to close a sale before homes get any more expensive. As reported by MarketWatch, they also say the report doesn’t include data on a high number of cancellations. They expect the housing market will continue to be a drag on the economy for several more quarters. (3) Consumer sentiment sank a bit more in November. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey shows a drop to 56.8 because consumers are worried about inflation and the risk of recession. It was 59.9 in October and 73.6 in October of last year. When asked about inflation, participants said they expect inflation to run at an average of 4.9% next year, and drop down to 3% over the long run. The Fed pays attention to consumer expectations because it can influence future price trends. (4) Mortgage Rates Mortgage rates deflated a bit more last week. Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was down 3 basis points to 6.58%. The 15-year was down 8 points to 5.9%. (5) In other news making headlines... Investor Buying Activity Falls 30% There’s really never a bad time to buy real estate, so long as you find the right deal. And right now, it’s a bit more difficult to find those deals. So much so, that the investor purchase of residential property dropped a whopping 30% in the third quarter. The Redfin study tracks 40 markets, and the results show that investors purchased around 66,000 homes in Q3 compared to 94,000 in Q3 of last year. But the report also shows that nationally, investors accounted for 17.5% of all home sales in the third quarter. That’s a higher percentage than at any time before the pandemic. (6) While investors are facing the same economic headwinds as any home buyer, they are also waiting on the sidelines to jump back in. JPMorgan Chase recently announced that it plans to spend $1 billion on build-to-rent homes. The plan will launch with the purchase of 250 new rental homes in three communities in Atlanta. Rent Growth Slow to 18-Month Low One of the headwinds that investors are facing is a slowdown in rent growth, but it’s also important to note that it’s a slowdown. Although some rents in expensive areas may be experiencing a small amount of negative rent growth, rents are still rising in most parts of the country. But the slowdown is real.l (7) The Realtor.com October Rental Report shows that nationally multifamily rent growth has dropped to about 4.7% year-over-year. It also found that most landlords are planning to raise rents in the next year by smaller amounts. What’s really happening is that rent growth is returning to normal after a period of astronomical rent growth that is no longer sustainable. Single-Family Homes Shrinking in Size The size of new single-family homes could shrink in the coming months, despite a trend for larger homes that began during the pandemic. The National Association of Homebuilders says it’s a tug-of-war between demand for more space and a demand for less expensive homes. (8) The average size of a home grew 5.6% since the Great Recession while the median size is 9.7% higher. The NAHB expects that trend to reverse, as homebuyer budgets will probably take priority in the coming months. That’s it for today. Check the . And please remember to , and leave a review! You can also join RealWealth for free at . As a member, you have access to the Investor Portal where you can view sample property pro-formas and connect with our network of resources, including experienced investment counselors, property teams, lenders, 1031 exchange facilitators, attorneys, CPAs and more. Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke. Links: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - /episode/index/show/4f81dee6-e57b-48d5-94b4-33ff3032a868/id/25155558