When times change, people change too. Bob Dylan famously sang, “The times they are a’changin.’” We can certainly say they’re a’changin’ as a result of COVID-19’s business as unusual. Here are just a few. Impact of Working From Home People are becoming accustomed to working from home. This means we’re going to see a lot of open commercial spaces. Change always inspires creative entrepreneurs. We’re going to see a tremendous
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With any luck, demand will heat up the housing market this summer. Spring is a home-buying season. However, the 2020 season had a false start. 2020 started with new and existing home sales at a 12-year high. In late February to early March, mortgage applications were up, and the market looked optimistic. Then COVID-19 hit, and the U.S. sheltered in place. Open houses were canceled, and future homebuyers were suddenly
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What is your Advantage? For the past 20 years, I have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs from all career backgrounds while being an executive at HomeVestors, The We Buy Ugly Houses people. Each one had a common desire to build a profitable business buying, rehabbing and selling single-family houses. I developed an assessment for those investors to complete as part of the application process. I also met with each investor
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What that means for real estate investors? There might have been some question about whether the coronavirus would lead the U.S. into a recession. The hoarding of toilet paper makes me think it’s certain. Not because we’ll run out of toilet paper—the U.S. and Canada produce volumes of it—but because hoarding means consumers are really worried and are changing their spending behavior. That won’t just flip back in a few
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Investors, beware and be aware—constriction is coming. We are so far into the longest economic expansion in the history of the U.S. that just about everyone—no matter how bullish on their particular market—is stuck in a waiting pattern. Currently, our economy, our country and, arguably, our housing market are all subject to an array of uncertainties, including: COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus that first appeared in Wuhan, China) and its impact
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The new asset class on Wall Street is single-family homes, with a new focus on build-to-rent communities. In 1979, I purchased my first single-family investment property. It was located in Williamsville, New York, and I paid $23,200 for it at a mortgage foreclosure. After investing slightly more than $10,000 to renovate it, I sold it for $57,000, netting a profit of $20,000. That deal changed my life. I’ve been involved
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