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WORD OF THE DAY: Derring-Do

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[DER-ing-DO] Part of speech: Noun Origin: Middle English, late 16th century Definition: Action displaying heroic courage. Examples of Derring-Do in a sentence “The spy novel was filled with instances of derring-do.” “Elizabeth dreamed of being swept off her feet by a a suitor’s derring-do.” About Derring-Do In the late 14th century, the term was “dorrying don,” literally translated to “daring (to) do, stemming from “durring,” meaning “daring.” This term is the present participle of the Middle English “durren,” meaning “to dare” — a combination of the verb “dare” + “don,” the infinitive of “do.” Did you Know? “Derring-do” came about through a chain of mistakes and misinterpretations. Its Middle English root, “dorrying don,” means “daring to do.” But it was misprinted as “derrynge do” in 16th-century writings by poet John Lydgate. From there, it was mistaken as a noun by Edmund Spenser, who defined it as “manhood and chevalrie.” Author Sir Walter Scott and several Romantic poets used it in their work and brought “derring-do” into (somewhat) modern language.

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Zeus Living Releases Inaugural Future of FlexLiving Report

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New data report reveals surge in demand for extended trips in 2022, ranks top destinations to live and work remotely Zeus Living, a leading property management and hospitality platform, released its first-ever Future of FlexLiving Report based on proprietary data and a new study conducted among more than 1,700 U.S. residents who work remotely. Findings suggest that many Americans are pausing their house hunt in light of high prices and mortgage rates. Instead, a significant number of people with the opportunity to work from anywhere are living in a new location this year. Trips for 30 days or longer are on the rise, and cities are the top in-demand destinations for extended stays on Zeus Living’s website. “The data tells us clearly that it’s about to be an incredible summer for FlexLiving as a category,” said Kulveer Taggar, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeus Living. “Since the pandemic began, people have commanded greater flexibility from their jobs, housing providers, and travel companies. The expectation for ease and flexibility is here to stay, and it’s why we’re working hard to offer increased options to our residents. Simultaneously, people are placing greater value on spending quality time with loved ones, and exploring new destinations. Looking at our own bookings this summer, length of stay is up 43% year-over-year. For these reasons and more, it’s clear to me that travel and living have become synonymous with each other — and I believe FlexLiving is the future.” Takeaways from the report include: 1. Americans are more likely to live and work from a new city than they were prior to the pandemic. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents would consider living and working from a new city in 2022, and one in two (48%) are more likely to book an extended stay now compared to pre-pandemic times. Meanwhile, nearly half (44%) report they’re less likely to buy a house now than they were before COVID-19 in light of current low inventory and high prices. 2. People are investing in experiences over material items. Eighty-four percent would budget up to $2,500 per month for an extended stay. Respondents would give up — or drastically cut back on — personal costs such as monthly subscriptions, alcohol, and shopping to afford an extended stay. 3. Length of trip is increasing. Looking at bookings on Zeus Living from June through September 2022, length of stay is up 43% compared to last year, totaling in 110 days on average. Searches for 30+ night stays on Zeus Living’s website are up 38% since the start of 2022. 4. Cities are back. Earlier on in the pandemic, Zeus Living experienced the greatest demand for less populated markets and cities with access to outdoor activities. Now, the top U.S. destinations based on searches through Zeus Living’s website for 30+ night stays are San Francisco, Seattle, L.A., Washington, D.C., and New York City. 5. Most FlexLiving residents are millennials who work remotely. In surveying its own residents, Zeus Living found that 78% work remotely and over half (52%) are millennials. Forty-one percent of respondents who stayed in a home managed by Zeus Living for 30 days or more were accompanied by a significant other, while a quarter brought their kids. The full report can be found here, containing more data and insights about FlexLiving. About Zeus Living Zeus Living designs and manages modern homes that can be rented for 30 days or longer across more than 100 destinations in the U.S. Through its leading technology platform and the expertise of dedicated hospitality professionals around the country, Zeus Living strives to help people live well, and on their own terms. Zeus Living drives revenue for owners while taking care of their properties, and delivers unparalleled support to residents, ensuring memorable experiences wherever they choose to stay. Organizations trust Zeus Living to serve as an end-to-end corporate travel partner, with flexible options based on personalized needs. To date, Zeus Living has raised over $150 million in capital from leading investors and hosted more than 40,000 residents for 1.6 million nights. For more information, visit zeusliving.com or follow @zeusliving on Twitter.

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TASTE TESTER INVESTOR

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REI INK at IMN East Co-Hosted by REI INK and RCN Capital Sponsored by National Real Estate Insurance Group

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Homeowner Equity Grows

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Ratio of Equity Rich to Seriously Underwater Properties Now at 14 to 1 By ATTOM Staff ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, released its first-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which shows that 44.9% of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than 50% of their homes estimated market values. The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich in the first quarter of 2022 inched close to half, up from 41.9% in the fourth quarter of 2021 and from 31.9% in the first quarter of 2021. “Homeowners continue to benefit from rising home prices,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM. “Record levels of home equity provide financial security for millions of families and minimize the chance of another housing market crash like the one we saw in 2008. But these higher home prices and rising interest rates make it extremely challenging for first time buyers to enter the market.” The report shows that just 3.2% of mortgaged homes, or one in 31, were considered seriously underwater in the first quarter of 2022, with a combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property of at least 25% more than the property’s estimated market value. That was virtually the same as the 3.1% level of all U.S. homes with a mortgage in the prior quarter, but still well down from 4.7%, or one in 21 properties, a year earlier. Across the country, 45 states saw equity-rich levels increase from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 while seriously underwater percentages increased in 28 states, albeit by less than 1% in most cases. Year over year, equity-rich levels rose in 48 states and seriously underwater portions dropped in 46 states. “It’s likely that equity will continue to grow through the rest of 2022, although home price increases should moderate as the year goes on,” Sharga said. “Rising interest rates, the highest inflation in 40 years, and the ongoing supply chain disruptions due to the war in Ukraine are likely to weaken demand and slow down home price appreciation.” Biggest improvements in equity-rich share of mortgages in West and South The 15 states where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes rose most from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 were all in the western and southern regions of the U.S. States, with the biggest increases in: »          New Mexico, where the portion of mortgaged homes considered equity-rich rose from 35.3% in the fourth quarter to 43.4% in the first quarter of 2022 »          Florida (up from 46.6% to 53.6%) »          California (up from 53.7% to 60.5%) »          South Carolina (up from 35% to 41.2%) »          Montana (up from 40.5% to 45.7%) States where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes decreased from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year were: »          South Dakota (down from 36% to 32.3%) »          Mississippi (down from 26.3% to 23.5%) »          Louisiana (down from 22.5% to 21.6%) »          North Dakota (down from 29.3% to 28.6%) »          Pennsylvania (down from 35.49% to 35.46%). Largest increases in seriously underwater properties across South and Midwest Twelve of the 15 states with the biggest increases in the percentage of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 were spread across the South and Midwest. They were led by: »          Mississippi (share of mortgaged homes seriously underwater up from 12.2% to 17%) »          Missouri (up from 5.1% to 6.6%) »          Louisiana (up from 10% to 11.3%) »          Pennsylvania (up from 4.2% to 5.2%) »          Delaware (up from 3.7% to 4.5%). States where the percentage of seriously underwater homes declined the most from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year were: »          Wyoming (down from 14.3% to 10%) »          Maine (down from 4.4% to 3.1%) »          Oklahoma (down from 5.5% to 4.8%) »          Alabama (down from 5.1% to 4.6%) »          Montana (down from 3.4% to 3%)

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Following a Calling

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When A New Business Opportunity Called, Ross Herman Went All In Ross Herman, the proud owner of a HomeVestors® franchise based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, started out in business as a public accountant. However, he always knew he would use that expertise to chase bigger dreams. “I went the CPA route in order to see different businesses, operations, and management styles,” Herman said. “I always wanted to do my own thing, and used the accounting skills to watch for my next opportunity.” Herman’s first opportunity came in the form of a startup food-service business that he successfully founded and later sold to a partner before heading back into accounting. He did not remain there long; HomeVestors appeared and was far too perfect a fit to resist. The Beginning Herman had a background in and affinity for real estate, albeit not residential property, thanks to his family’s ownership and management of commercial assets. “I had grown up seeing my grandfather and father invest in and manage neighborhood retail shopping centers, so I always knew I would be intrigued by an opportunity to build an investment portfolio,” Herman said. He opted to build an investment portfolio of single-family homes when he joined up with HomeVestors in 2002. “I had always wanted to invest in single-family, and I immediately enjoyed spending time building, improving properties, providing opportunities for myself and my family, and providing opportunities for other families — whether they were buying or renting — to have a good place to call home,” Herman said. Although the early 2000s were tough for many real estate investors due to the heat of the pre-2008 market, Herman benefitted from HomeVestors systems, which began generating leads for his new business and enabled him to use HomeVestors financing for acquisitions. “That was absolutely critical at that time, and new franchisees should always follow the systems that are laid out because they work,” Herman said. “When the markets change in unexpected ways [as they did in 2008 and again in 2020], following the system is what will ensure you survive those changes.” Building Stability for Family & Community When Herman first started out with HomeVestors, he focused mainly on buying, rehabbing, and reselling homes. “Business was good,” he recalled. He also began acquiring rental properties and began to build up his own real estate portfolio. “When the market crashed, it was extremely challenging,” he said, adding that joining up with his present-day investment partner and mentor helped him refine his strategy and increase focus on improving systems and processes while acquiring more single-family rentals.  Herman said the best advice he could give new HomeVestors franchise owners is to stick with the systems in place for their success. “Do not deviate. Focus on buying homes, and be consistent,” he said. “Be conscious of cash flow. Remember, if you turn your marketing on and off, you will miss opportunities to generate cash flow.” He concluded, “There will always be real estate cycles and there will always be changes in real estate, but housing is housing, and everyone needs a place to call home. I see a strong future in this franchise, and I am excited to continue to follow the systems, revitalize houses, and create homes.” Homevestors What exactly does it mean to be aHomeVestors® business owner? Owning a real estate business is life changing and naturally comes with risks! When you become a HomeVestors business owner, you get immediate access to motivated seller leads, financing resources for qualifying purchases and repairs, one-on-one coaching with your local Development Agent, proprietary software for analyzing properties and deals, and access to a nationwide network of coaches and peers. Your house-buying business is yours and you run it as your own venture with a focus toward your individual business goals. If you are interested in a franchise, call 855-454-4578. Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.

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How to Automate SFRs

Quit Wasting Valuable Time and Resources By Kori Covrigaru Could you be wasting 2-4 hours a day on manual marketing processes? We recently conducted research on the time spent on manual processes during a rental turnover and found that marketing departments are losing days of their time on processes that could be automated. For example, let’s say a company has a marketing coordinator who is managing these processes, and they get paid $60 an hour. You are spending up to $480 a day on manual frontend and backend tasks that could be automated through a simple integration. Instead of wasting eight hours on manual processes, you could re-allocate those hours toward more strategic initiatives. From acquisition to tenant turnover, we will inspect each part of the process, enabling you to streamline your steps and save you thousands of dollars each quarter. Single-Family Rental Workflows Single-family rentals (SFR) go through the same cycles repeatedly: acquisition, renovation, tenant acquisition, and tenant turnover. So, you have workflows for every stage of that SFR cycle, but are those workflows fully optimized? Acquisition Acquiring new properties is time-consuming when done in the traditional way. There might be travel time, showings, inspections, and contract negotiations involved that could take months. But with a good system in place, you could acquire new properties 100% virtually. PlanOmatic’s Property Insights does the legwork for you. We collect property data for due diligence, renovations, and leasing decisions and provide you with reports to help make property acquisition decisions. Not only do you get the property condition report, but you also get a Matterport 3D tour. You get accurate property details that you would not otherwise know, and you will better understand the layout, condition, and measurements of the property you are considering. Renovation You have found the right property. It is in the perfect location but needs a little beautification. So, it’s time to start the renovation process. How do you keep proper oversight while you are managing your properties from a distance? Try Matterport 3D tours. Schedule a virtual walk-through during different periods of the renovation so you can oversee the construction without having to be there. Tenant Acquisition Tenant acquisition is the single most important piece of your workflow: without tenants, you have no income. There is a lot of work involved in marketing your rental property – and photography, virtual tours, and listings take time – but you can streamline these processes. You can schedule your photography through PlanOmatic and use an API integration to manage the process easily. The API integration works like this: PlanOmatic’s system tells your system the photos and virtual tour are ready, then it will automatically syndicate it across your different distribution channels. In a recent study, PlanOmatic found this process saved time equivalent to three full-time employees. Tenant Turnover When a tenant leaves, the entire process begins again. Often, property managers need to renovate, acquire new tenants, and onboard new tenants – all of which take a sizable chunk of time. But let’s look at this process holistically with automation in place. Manual Process •          The construction team or property manager sends a communication (by email or spreadsheet), letting the marketing team know the renovation is complete. Marketing gathers the communication daily, spending about 2-4 hours on this process. •          Then, your system automatically orders photography and 3D tours. PlanOmatic automatically emails to communicate that the photography is finished and ready to download. The marketing team downloads the assets and uploads them to Dropbox. This process takes an additional 2-4 hours per day. Automation •          The construction team or property manager simply sends an alert through the client’s system to PlanOmatic, informing them that the house is ready for photography. This will automatically schedule photography. •          When the photography is ready, PlanOmatic’s system will automatically tell the client’s system that the order is ready and then it will automatically syndicate it. One client confirmed that after implementing PlanOmatic’s integration, they could reallocate three full-time employees’ time to new, more exciting marketing activities. PlanOmatic Automates SFR Management PlanOmatic is obsessed with helping property managers and real estate investors be more efficient. Our latest API integration makes it easy to streamline your workflows to save time and money. Learn more about how PlanOmatic integrates with your internal systems by visiting www.planomatic.com/our-services/api-integrations/.

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