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Higher Chicago Foreclosure Activity Not A Problem

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Image from Pixabay

By Gary Lucido

I’m going to stay out on this limb that I crawled out on but apparently I’m not alone out there. According to ATTOM Data Solutions February Foreclosure Market Report the nation saw a 129% increase in foreclosure activity from a year ago. However, that percentage is kinda meaningless given that foreclosures were basically shut down last year. The graph below puts this dynamic in perspective for Chicago where there was a 328% increase over last year and a 29% increase over January. As you can see activity is probably no higher than it would have been had the pandemic never happened. As Rick Sharga, executive vice president at RealtyTrac which is owned by ATTOM, said:

This isn’t an indication of economic turmoil, or of weakness in the housing market; it’s simply the gradual return to normal levels of foreclosure activity after two years of artificially low numbers due to government and industry efforts to protect financially-impacted homeowners from defaulting.

In this foreclosure report both the Chicago metro area and Illinois got honorable mention for being among the top 5 metro areas and states respectively with high foreclosure rates. Of course, that’s because the rest of the country’s housing markets are so damn strong right now.

After a dramatic plunge following the pandemic foreclosure moratorium Chicago foreclosure activity has just now begun to resurge now that the moratorium has ended.[/caption] One of the reasons for our optimism is that delinquencies have dropped down to pre-pandemic lows as shown in this graph from Black Knight’s January Mortgage Monitor Report. That shouldn’t be much of a surprise given the strength of the job and housing market.

The nation’s mortgage delinquency rate continues to improve and seems to have recovered from the pandemic.

Chicago Shadow Inventory

The number of homes that are in the foreclosure process is holding pretty steady with only a 71 unit increase over last month. This pipeline of homes that might find themselves on the market sometime soon is ever so slowly trending up but it remains extremely low by historical standards.

The number of homes in foreclosure in Chicago declined with the moratorium during the pandemic and doesn’t seem to be rising since.

Gary Lucido is the President of Lucid Realty, the Chicago area’s full service real estate brokerage that offers home buyer rebates and discount commissions. If you want to keep up to date on the Chicago real estate market or get an insider’s view of the seamy underbelly of the real estate industry you can Subscribe to Getting Real by Email using the form below. Please be sure to verify your email address when you receive the verification notice.

Tokyo’s Urban to Suburban Migration

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Image from Pixabay

By Priti Donnelly

For years, Japan has tried to prevent its population from being overly concentrated in Tokyo, a city sprawling with nightlife, work life, and a tourist hotspot. Economic and social shifts of the pandemic developed into the start of a natural progression of migration out of the capital. Although the greater Tokyo area grew in 2021 by 26,323 for a gain of 0.07%, that figure was down roughly 110,000 from a year ago. In 2020 net migration by locals into Tokyo shrank by 27,000, or roughly one-third from previous years as people embraced telework and crowd distancing.

Initially, at the start of the pandemic, to avoid commuting, Japan adopted the work-from-home concept already popular in many parts of the world. As employers learned to adapt to matters of productivity and controlling hours of work, employees discovered the concept value in work and family balance plus the benefits of saving time from hours of commuting. Then, ongoing lockdowns turned flexibility into a lifestyle leading to the realization of the potential to settle outside urban centres. And, so began the urban to suburban or even rural movement.

Image from Pixabay

One Tokyoite, Kanamori sought to leave his luxurious life and job of the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo’s Minato ward for solace in the city of Yamagata. A place familiar to him as the place of business of his parents’ long established sake store. Initially he moved to Tokyo to attend university, then joined an IT company in 2017 selling computer tablets with an application that helped retail operators keep track of sales. But, after three years, the business took a couple of hits. First, the consumption tax was raised to 10% in October 2019. Then profits were hit harder after Covid. This, in addition to the long working hours and overtime deeply rooted in Japan’s industrial ethics. It is not unusual for employees to work more than 80 hours of overtime a month, according to a 2016 government survey and those extra hours are often unpaid. Kanamori’s lifestyle became all about work and he didn’t like who he was turning into.

Recognizing that those long work hours translated less into productivity and more into exhaustion, he left his job for a change in lifestyle and moved to Yamagata. There he became a member of the city’s community development team that aims to make better use of vacant homes, working four days a week, no overtime. On his days off, yes, he has days off, he goes camping with his friends. Peaceful living.

Image from Pixabay

Kanamori is not alone. The mountain resort town of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture added 595 people via migration, the largest increase of any town. For the first time since July 2013, the number of people moving out of Tokyo outnumbered the number of people moving in by 1,069. In June 2020, inbound migration topped outbound migration once again, but from July 2020 through February 2021, more people moved out of Tokyo than people moved in and the trend has continued, with the exception of the months of March and April when more people generally move into Tokyo because of starting new jobs or enrolling at university, at the beginning or end of the fiscal year.  

Should I stay or should I go? Although Tokyo is attractive for its job opportunities, thriving business hub, and growth-focused initiatives for start-ups, people are discouraged by the high cost of living. The nationwide average monthly rent, not including utilities, for a one-room apartment (20 to 40 sqm) is between 50,000 and 70,000 yen. Rent for similarly sized apartments in central Tokyo and popular neighbourhoods nearby usually start from around 100,000 yen.

Image from Pixabay

But, the high cost of living is just one deterrent from permanent settlement. Where people once enjoyed the ease of fast food to satisfy the palate and the belly, they are now finding solace in places surrounded by greenery with access to fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables. For the sole purpose of slowing down to take care of oneself, the concept of growing and preparing foods for its freshness, nutritional value including low sodium and carbohydrates by comparison to fast-food, has been revived.

The attraction to the suburbs or rural areas is real, but it is hard to tell if it is more of a sabbatical, or a trend as we strive to stay safe. Either way, Tokyo is not entirely out of the picture. Even Kanamori still thinks he might return to Tokyo in the future for business opportunities. The city is after all a thriving international hub and continuously evolving for entrepreneurs to launch and be successful. As the old adage goes, “You can take the person out of Tokyo but you can’t take Tokyo out of the person.” But, this time on healthier terms.

Sources: The Japan Times, Nikkei Asia, Japan Guide

Priti Donnelly

Priti Donnelly is the sales and marketing manager at Nippon Tradings International, a Japanese proxy helping foreigners access the second largest real estate economy in the world. As a Canadian with a background in mortgages and marketing, Priti keeps foreigners informed of the latest trends, business news and featured properties in the Japanese real estate market. Her articles have been featured in REtalk Asia, REthink Tokyo, REI Wealth, and Asian Property Review.

BEWARE: Social Media Fakes Make Poor Tenants

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By Stewart Levine

Image from Pixabay

Are unprecedented legal changes and scam tenants making it time to rethink rentals as investments?

Even for long-time real estate investors with decades of experience, things have changed.

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram seem to be spawning an increasing number of phonies and scams from cryptocurrencies to NFTs, tech startups and real estate gurus.

Image from Pixabay

For the average investor, becoming entangled with just one of these scammers can bankrupt them and rob them of their life’s work.

So, how are they operating? Who do investors and property owners, in general, need to watch out for? How have recent policy changes negatively impacted things?

NOT “As Seen On TikTok”: Scam Tenants Will Cost You Huge

One of the new catchy fads has been things being advertised “As Seen On TikTok.” It has replaced the old “As Seen On TV” infomercial controversies. For better or worse, the highly controversial TikTok platform surpassed Google as the most popular website in 2021.

One retired doctor and long-time investor recently found out just how dangerous it can be.

This is a medical professional who has been investing in real estate for decades. It enabled him to retire at just 51 years old after running a successful dental practice.

He bucked common advice and the tradition of investing in public stocks with stockbrokers that don’t have their customers’ best interests in mind.

Image from Pixabay

During a recent interview he shared some of his early lessons in real estate. He did well, and it enabled him to take control of his own future, along with gaining many tax breaks. Yet, he ran into early issues when actively investing in rentals. He discovered the headaches of vetting deals, the costs of management, and both cash and Section 8 tenants that didn’t perform.

Eventually, he graduated to the point where he had built up enough capital that he wanted to spend more time actually relaxing and enjoying life, and began investing through private funds, private money lending, and other passive real estate strategies.

Still, when it recently came time to move from the Northeast to Florida, he ran into a combination of new and old problems.

Like many others he decided to put his home in the Northeast up for sale right during COVID.

It was a great home in Colts Neck, NJ. Boasting 7,000 square feet, and which this doctor had enjoyed living in for many years himself. However, it was September 2020. Lockdowns meant that real estate agents were hardly working, and most buyers couldn’t get to viewings or were too scared.

An agent representing the tenants brought them a prospective renter as an alternative. The agent sold their clients hard. They included a ‘wealthy DJ’. An online ‘influencer’ and entertainer, who supposedly has 3M followers on TikTok, where he recently bragged about being put in jail by his ex-girlfriend, and 275k on Instagram where he likes to show off fake money, and even promote NFTs.

Image from Pixabay

He was presented under his real name as Anwar Gavilanes, aka DJ Diddy. Along with Adam Zakaria under his business name Pizza Crave, and Frank Baldassare. They were supposedly rich and successful and had a nice car.

After signing the lease, this landlord told us that he never received any rent, after the first payment. On which was supposed to be a two-year lease for $7,300 per month.

Normally, that wouldn’t be a huge issue. Tenants don’t pay, you get an attorney and have them kicked out.

Unfortunately, the government went to the extreme of issuing an eviction moratorium, and shutting down the courts. His attorney simply couldn’t process the paperwork to get them removed. While the president went to extreme lengths to protect rogue occupants like this, landlords paid the price. He says he felt they ruined his life’s work on this property and jeopardized his finances. Those moratoriums were eventually overturned by judges who found them unconstitutional, but many may be asking where the compensation is for landlords.

These tenants continued to occupy the property, without paying any rent for a whole year!

It wasn’t until late 2021, when he was finally granted a Zoom court meeting to get the tenants evicted.

When the landlord was finally able to access the property again, it was a disaster.

Image from Pexels

There was a soccer goal set up in the living room. No basic maintenance had been taken care of on the property in a year. The garage door was busted. Plus, broken fencing, damaged landscaping, and scratched and broken wood flooring which had to be completely replaced. The destruction ended up costing Levine $80k in repairs to restore the property to prepare it for sale. They found fake $100 bills in the property and all types of other craziness leftover from parties.

They even found out the occupants had been renting out the house to others on Airbnb, with no permission to sublease the property in their contract, taking their money, and still not paying the rent. They had even been advertising parties on the home on Eventbrite, at which they had been found serving alcohol to the underaged, and possibly drugs, which resulted in a summons from the police. It is unknown whether they have disclosed the income they illegally made from this operation to the IRS or not.

To make it worse, the utility companies started coming after him as the property owner. The occupants had never paid any utilities, and the utility companies had never bothered to cut them off or bill them, because of ‘COVID’.

WANTED: Social Media Con Artists & Real Estate Fraudsters

Thankfully this property owner’s attorneys have been able to track down two of the perpetrators, and have served them legal papers. He estimates they owe $125k in back rent and legal fees. Not including the actual damages, and utilities. He says he doubts the courts will accept those phony $100 bills as payment.

Image from Pixabay

Anwar, aka DJ Diddy, who turned out to just be a fraud, is still at large, and “hiding out like a rat.” He is still posting on social media, promoting a virtual party online each week on Sundays. The attorneys are very interested in any information that can be provided to track him down, and ensure he is served and brought to justice.

They are also looking for the renters’ real estate agent involved for their role in misrepresenting and failing to vet the tenant. They have been served, but have since been hiding out, without a response.

The Big Takeaway: Things Are Different Now

Most of all this landlord agreed to share his story with us as a warning to all other real estate investors, landlords and homeowners out there.

Be on the lookout for these fraudsters. Don’t become their next victim.

Image from Pixabay

Be sure you are on the alert for other social media phonies as well. In addition to questioning some of those promoting scams like these, and encouraging others to Airbnb out homes they don’t own, or to try and pull scams to take over people’s properties.

He says he is not excited about renting out his personal homes again.

There is just too much risk. Too much fraud. With the new dictatorship we appear to be living in, there is no more security, and very little private property rights and protections.

If you are going to rent out a property, we strongly suggest using a well-vetted, third-party property management company, and having a great real estate attorney on retainer.

However, he is not giving up on real estate as an investment at all. Though he is certainly doing it differently, and more carefully vetting those he works with.

If you spot these fraudsters, let someone know, and share your stories, and alert others in the business to scammers, so they aren’t the next victims.

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LLC for Real Estate Investing

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Image from Pixabay

By Stephanie Mojica

A critical step for new and existing real estate investors is to form an LLC or Limited Liability Company. In the simplest of terms, an LLC protects an investor’s personal assets — whether those are cash, bank accounts, or personal property.

Whether the investor is into flipping houses or being a landlord, an LLC ensures that the person himself or herself does not actually owe any debt. The company is responsible for any contracts, debts, lawsuits, leases, and liabilities.

If business goes bad, the people and companies that believe they are owed money can only pursue the LLC — not the individual(s) behind the company unless fraud or another crime was involved, according to Yahoo! Finance.

However, there are some critical steps to take even after a real estate investor forms an LLC. Any properties must be purchased in the company’s name, not an individual’s name. This ensures the ultimate protection.

If someone buys a home to flip or rent out and ends up owing more on the mortgage than the property is worth, the bank cannot come after the individual if the home is officially owned by the LLC.

Image from Pixabay

A caveat is that many banks do not want to issue mortgage notes to a new LLC, because it’s risky for them. That’s why a business plan is so important. (See our past article “House Flippers Need a Business Plan” for a more in-depth discussion on this topic.)

Other potential drawbacks to an LLC come at tax time and when an individual transfers assets to it, so an attorney is probably a necessary resource, according to LegalZoom.com. Also, each state has different laws regarding an LLC.

However, done properly, an LLC seems to have more benefits than downsides. Other good news is that the costs are usually minimal. As always, before making any major decisions in such areas speak to a qualified real estate attorney.

Sources for this article:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/form-llc-real-estate-investing-194323289.html

https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/forming-an-llc-for-real-estate-investments-pros-cons

http://reiwealthmag.com/house-flippers-need-a-business-plan/

Why Should Physicians Invest in Real Estate?

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By Blue Ocean Capital LLC

Since the news emerged regarding doctors investing in real estate, more physicians are looking into this option. Not just because they want to get passive income but also because they want to further decrease their overall tax exposure. They want to slow down and avoid burnout. You would agree that we all enjoy practicing medicine but we want to have some degree of control over our lives and future. We can add that by including passive income for physicians. Would you agree?

Why should physicians invest in real estate? With a number of benefits, it’s a great line of work to delve into if you’re looking for a way to earn some passive income for doctors and physicians or add security to your retirement portfolio with the least amount of volatility.

The number of physicians investing in real estate is on the rise. According to recent data from the Urban Institute, a research organization based in Washington, D.C., nearly 41% of doctors have reported that they have invested in some form of real estate. The attractiveness of real estate, when compared to other investments, becomes more apparent as one takes a closer look at how a real estate investment can play an important role in the financial portfolio by increasing its overall returns.

Image from Pixabay

Real estate investing can give you a huge financial advantage as a physician, but many of you don’t even know where to start or how this investment tool could help your retirement. Today we’re going to tackle what you should know about real estate investing so that you can start taking steps towards realizing your financial potential today.

Tangible Rewards One reason physicians may want to consider investing in real estate is that they can see the rewards they reap. If you own your own practice, you probably work long hours and deal with the stress of running a business. The nice thing about passive investing in real estate is that you don’t have to deal with the day-to-day operations. Instead, you can hire someone to handle things and concentrate on growing your business and making more money. The main perk of being a physician is having the status, financial stability, and respect that come along with the job title. Investing in real estate allows you to achieve those same benefits without putting in 80-hour weeks. Your money is working as hard as you are while it grows in the background.

Image from Pixabay

Here are a few reasons that every Physician should strongly consider:

Investing in real estate is a great way to earn some passive income for Physicians and add security to your retirement portfolio. But why should physicians invest in real estate?

  1. Real estate has consistently outperformed all other investments, including the stock market.
  2. Many doctors lack the time needed to actively manage their own real estate investments.
  3. Diversification is key in any investment portfolio, and real estate can provide an excellent hedge against the volatility of the stock market.
  4. With the right guidance, doctors can get started in real estate with very little money down, allowing them to diversify their portfolios quickly while minimizing risk. Yes, you can start investing passively by investing 50k if you do it each year and compound it over 10 years at a 15% return you will end up above 1.3 million in your bank. Does it sound like an interesting way to grow your wealth while you are working at your primary job?
  5. Selling your primary residence is considered tax-free under current law, providing much-needed capital for future purchases.

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Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a way to help grow your retirement portfolio without worrying about price fluctuations, investing in real estate may be right for you. In addition, if you plan on spending money on retirement travel or other expenses, investing in property can help ease the financial burden associated with those expenses. Please join our exclusive investor group for Professionals like you. www.bluoceancap.com

Exclusive Hotel Price Drop: Miami

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