Law enforcement officials have arrested three alleged fraudsters and placed them into custody on federal charges relating to mortgage fraud, credit repair and government loan fraud.

The Department of Justice said Heather Ann Campos, David Lewis Best Jr. and Stephen Laverne Crabtree had been evading law enforcement for several months, after some of their co-conspirators, including Steven Tetsuya Morizono, Melinda Moreno Munoz, Elvina Buckley, were arrested and indicted earlier in the year.

Should they be convicted, the three face sentences of up to 30 years in federal prison and a possible maximum fine of $1 million, the DOJ said in a statement.

Authorities said Campos and Best had been fugitives since January after being indicted for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to defraud mortgage lending businesses, banks, the Small Business Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

Campos and Best initially agreed to self-surrender, before opting to run from the law instead. On the other hand, Crabtree was released on bond after his arrest in January, before becoming a fugitive, the DOJ said.

Buying a home is one of the most significant purchases people can make in their lives. With homes appreciating in value over time, buying a house is a solid investment.

It’s such a solid investment that owning multiple properties can actually help increase wealth over time. Building a real estate portfolio involves more than buying and sitting on property, waiting for it to appreciate. It takes cultivating to maximize the benefits.

Here are seven perks of owning more than one home, as well as some considerations to keep in mind.

1. Long-Term Investment Value

Time is of the essence when it comes to real estate. As noted, property tends to appreciate over time, meaning a home, or even a parcel of land, bought today should increase in value 10 years, or more, from now.

When financing a home purchase with a mortgage, you can expect to pay mostly interest, rather than the principal amount, during the first few years. If you end up selling your home right away or sooner than planned, you might not get your money’s worth if the housing market holds steady or takes a dip. If you’re buying a second home for investment purposes, take care to buy one that you can own for several years to build equity.

Engel & Völkers today announced the launch of its newest yachting location in the Americas, located in Annapolis, MD, and led by license partner Paul Benson, president and managing broker Walter Johnson and chief operating officer Leeann Iacino. Serving the Eastern Seaboard, this is the brand’s second yachting location on the East Coast and the fourth in the Americas, joining existing operations in Naples, FL, Newport Beach, CA  and Tiburon, CA. 

“There is a natural synergy between luxury real estate and yachting that has benefited our clients and advisors alike,” said Anthony Hitt, president, and CEO, Engel & Völkers Americas. “Paul, Walter, and Leeann have been integral in bringing Engel & Völkers Yachting to the Americas with the ability to buy, sell, and charter boats around the globe.”

Engel & Völkers Yachting Annapolis is located above the Engel & Völkers Annapolis real estate shop on West Street in downtown Annapolis. Located on the Chesapeake Bay and home to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis is synonymous with boating and the Mid-Atlantic coastal lifestyle. Engel & Völkers Yachting launched in the Americas in 2020 and collectively boasts a seasoned team of dedicated boating professionals, with deep knowledge and expertise across all premier boat brands, both new and resale. The team also offers specialization in global yacht charters and the sale of slips and births upon request.

“Boating has exploded over the past two years, especially among a younger generation of consumers,” said Johnson. “With both coastal and luxury real estate markets remaining strong, we anticipate demand for boats will only continue on its upward trajectory. Our global presence and continued expansion across the Americas will allow us to best serve a range of clientele, from homeowners with docks to CEOs to international buyers coming from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.” 

“Engel & Völkers’ global reach and referral network between yachting and real estate have been key to our growth and success,” added Iacino. “We are the only yachting specialists in the market with a complete luxury lifestyle offering. The ability to cross-promote luxury real estate and yachts in the Engel & Völkers shops across North America has really helped us to differentiate ourselves in the minds of consumers that are looking for full service, personalized luxury expertise for all of their lifestyle needs.”

Builders fear that demand for new homes could be on the wane. As a result, they’re taking their foot off the gas in terms of production, wary that too many prospective buyers have been priced out of the market by rising costs.

In June, single-family home construction fell to its lowest level since April 2020, when the pandemic was just getting started, the Census Bureau reported this week. In addition, it said housing permits, which are a gauge of future home building activity, also declined.

The news follows an earlier report this week by John Burns Real Estate Consulting, which showed that builder sentiment had suffered its second-worst single month drop on record. Builders have raised concerns over slowing buyer traffic, that report said. As a result, around a quarter of builders are planning to reduce their prices to stir up more interest in their homes.

“Homebuilders have become extremely cautious about the prospect of single-family home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. “There have been frequent reports of contract cancellations by buyers of newly constructed homes because they had signed a contract at the early stage of construction when mortgage rates were low. But as the completion of construction has taken longer, the home now requires finances at a much higher mortgage rate.”

Adding to the industry’s woes, new-home projects are facing significant delays because of supply chain disruptions. Many homes that were started several months ago have yet to be completed, Yun notes, adding that “homebuilders are waiting to see how these homes will sell before starting new construction.”

AI-powered property risk analytics platform provider Zesty.ai has raised $33 million in a Series B round of funding led by Centana Growth Partners, it said this week.

The company said the funds will be used to scope expansion of its property and climate risk products, to scale its go-to-market motion and to build real estate solutions designed for mortgage, property and asset management.

It explained that these segments are a “natural extension” of its core mission in insurance, and can leverage its existing AI-powered climate risk assessment technology.

Zesty.ai says this funding marks ongoing momentum, claiming over 200% revenue growth in the past year, and attributed this acceleration to climate- and pandemic-fueled digital transformation in the $2.5 trillion Property & Casualty (P&C) industry. It also said the round consisted of a mix of debt and equity and included participation from existing investors and fintech player Brex.

Zesty.ai CEO and co-founder Attila Toth noted the capital will enable the company to focus on changing the real estate landscape by protecting communities with the help of AI.

Saving for a down payment was always difficult for first-time buyers, but the recent increase in home prices has made things much more challenging. Finding a sizable down payment on a house of 10% or 20% can be daunting, but there are other options.

Buyers do have a low down payment choice from federal programs, and there are assistance programs too. For some buyers, there might even be a no down payment home loan available.

You’ll be surprised to know the average down payment on a house is much lower than you think.

Maximum Real Estate Exposure shares some interesting figures when it comes to average down payment amounts. Let’s look at the options if you want to buy a home but don’t have the money for a large down payment.

FHA Loans

The Federal Housing Administration regulates and backs the FHA Loans program. These government-insured loans allow home buyers low down payments of just 3.5%.

Along with having a down payment, your credit score is probably the most important factor for a home mortgage. Just like saving a down payment, it can also take some time to repair your credit score if you need to or improve it to obtain a better interest rate that translates into a lower monthly mortgage payment.

With home prices as high as they are today and with interest rates hovering between 5.5% and 6.3%, managing your credit score is critically important for both qualifying for a mortgage and being able to afford the monthly payments.

What a Small Difference in the Interest Rate Can Mean

Not only do you need at least a minimum credit score to qualify for a mortgage, but the interest rate that you will pay is also determined in a large part by how high your credit score is. For most mortgages, the minimum credit score needed to buy a house is 620. There are a few lenders that will allow you to qualify for an FHA loan with a score below 600 but these are very few and far between. A higher score significantly improves your chances of approval. Borrowers with a score under 650 only make up a small number of homebuyers who ultimately close the purchase of a home. Every way you look at it, the higher you can raise your credit score, the better off you’ll be before locking in a mortgage.

For example, a $350,000 30-year mortgage at 6.3% will have a $2,166 monthly payment (without property taxes and insurance). That same $350,000 loan at 5.5% will have a $1,987 monthly payment. The monthly difference of $179 might not seem like much at first glance but it can make a substantial difference. From a lender’s debt-to-income perspective, that amount doubles because your monthly debt goes up by $179 and your monthly spendable income goes down by the same amount. From your personal financial perspective, it means you have $2,148 less to spend each year.

Different lenders have slightly different criteria for assigning interest rates to credit scores. Generally, the range looks something like this:

This article might be premature because across most of the country home sales continue happening rapidly. However, ATTOM (real estate data) released comprehensive foreclosure data for the first quarter of 2022 showing a total of 78,271 U.S. properties with a foreclosure filing. The trend is up 39% from the previous quarter and up 132% from a year ago.

Investors are looking at the current economic situation and anticipating that an even bigger spike in foreclosures is on the horizon. Many of these will be new investors that don’t have experience with the pre-foreclosures, short sales, and foreclosures, that occurred during the Great Recession. No one should expect foreclosure activity anywhere near the same level as during the Great Recession. Lenders have been more conservative about qualifying homebuyers and the dramatic increase in home values has created substantial homeowner equity that protects against foreclosures. However, the current economic turmoil will inevitably lead to some increase in foreclosure activity.

Pre-foreclosures are Confusing to Many People.

Pre-foreclosures are commonly confused with the foreclosure process and REOs (real estate owned by a lender). The actual foreclosure process is relatively brief. This is the auction that happens on the courthouse steps. This is seldom the best time to buy a house because you don’t have an opportunity to inspect the interior of the house and foreclosed owners often do a lot of damage including taking the kitchen sink on their way out. The buyer of a foreclosed home also has the responsibility of evicting the previous owner.

What many people think of as a foreclosure is actually REO. If the house doesn’t sell on the court steps, the lender (bank) takes possession. This becomes REO. The REO sales process is much the same as any traditional sales process. The bank lists the property with a real estate agent. Potential buyers can inspect the entire house and negotiate terms and conditions for the purchase. The pre-foreclosure process does not follow this process.

When a House Goes Into Pre-foreclosure

A house enters the pre-foreclosure process after the owner misses one or more mortgage payments and the lender sends a Notice of Default (NOD). In states requiring a judicial foreclosure, the formal paperwork is known as a Lis Pendens. Just because a lender gives formal notice of default does not mean the house will be foreclosed on. If an owner wants to and has the money to bring the loan current, the house is brought out of default and the homeowner returns to making payments according to the original loan agreement. However, the NOD is the beginning of the pre-foreclosure process.

Rising inflation is being blamed on the high commodity and energy prices triggered by supply chain problems and the war in Ukraine, but one investor argues there’s another factor at play – millennials. 

In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe, Smead Capital Management’s chief investment officer Bill Smead said one of the problems facing the U.S. economy today is that there are “too many people with too much money” who are chasing “too few goods”. 

In the U.S., Smead explained, there is an estimated 92 million millennials, most of whom are aged between 27 and 42-years old. He said the last time people in this age bracket made up the bulk of consumers, we saw something that was termed “wolverine inflation”. That was when 75 million baby boomers replaced 44 million silent generation consumers back in the 1970s, causing inflation that was extremely difficult for policymakers to put an end to. 

“So we have in the United States a whole lot of people, (aged) 27 to 42, who postponed homebuying, car buying, for about seven years later than most generations,” he said. “But in the past two years they’ve all entered the party together, and this is just the beginning of a 10-to-12-year time period where there’s about 50% more people that are wanting these things than there were in the prior group.”

Smead said that the Federal Reserve can take certain actions, like tightening credit standards, but it cannot do anything to reduce the number of people wanting to buy these necessities in comparison to the prior generation. 

Selling your home is a major decision that can affect your investments and savings for months to come. If you bought a home as an investment and spent a considerable amount of money on upgrades, you’re surely looking for ways to cash in on both your upgrades and the capital appreciation from the time you bought the property. This is why it’s crucial to choose a selling agent who can make things happen for you and find the right buyer at your price.

There are quite a number of real estate agencies in Australia that can provide with a great amount of help to list and sell your home. You can read the full info here if you’re looking for some of the best real estate agents in your place and if you need to sell fast. Here are some of the things that you should consider when you’re looking to hire a real estate agent: 

For some homeowners and sellers, one of their most important considerations when choosing a real estate agent is how much money the real estate agent will take for their commission. Real estate agents charge their professional fees in different ways. There are those who charge a straightforward commission called the broker’s fee or broker’s commission from the final sale price. But there are also those who are willing to accept a fixed rate for the services they render. 

You should clear this up from the start with the real estate agents you’re interviewing, so you’ll have an idea how they’re going to charge you. You can ask them whether their fees are still negotiable. Some real estate agents are open to accepting fixed rate fees if you’re selling a luxury home or if you’re a real estate investor with multiple potential transactions.

The first thing you ought to consider when you’re searching for a real estate agent to help you list your home is whether the agents you’ve been interviewing have experience in the local market. Experience here doesn’t mean simply that they’ve had some experience in talking to leads and prospective buyers. You should look for agents who already have some experience in closing sales for their listing clients. This means they can make things happen if you trust them to list and sell your home.

Fractional vacation rental investment platform Here Investments Inc. has announced raising $5 million in a seed funding round led by Fiat Ventures.

Liquid 2 Ventures, Mucker Capital, Basecamp Ventures, and Daffy co-founder and former Wealthfront CEO Adam Nash also participated in the round.

The company aims to use the money to expand its product offering to more than 20 top vacation rental destinations in the U.S., beyond the three existing markets it has served since launching its platform in February.

Here has hit on the idea of giving both accredited and non-accredited investors the opportunity to take part in fractional investments in vacation rentals. Through its platform, investors can peruse the available listings it has and choose to obtain partial ownership of one of those properties. Investors then choose how much they’d like to invest, review the terms of that investment, then sign electronically to fund the deal. With that, Here takes care of the day-to-day running of the property, marketing it and ensuring its upkeep, with investors earning a share of the monthly income it earns, proportional to their investment.

Through its portfolio of homes, Here said it aims to unlock the $1.8 trillion short-term rental market for everyday investors.

Kick-Out Clause vs. Home Sale Contingency

Depending on the type of real estate market you are likely to see different clauses added to a real estate contract.

When the real estate market favors sellers home sale contingencies almost become extinct. In hot markets there would never be a need for a seller to even considered a home sale clause.

The way the real estate market has performed over the last few years, sellers have been presented with multiple offers on a significant percentage of properties.

Bidding wars have been the norm not the exception. Most real estate agents would laugh at the thought of seeing an offer with a home sale contingency.

When the real estate environment shifts from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market that will change.

Renters in Manhattan are now expected to pay an average of $5,000 to rent an apartment, representing a record high for rental apartments in the city.

What’s more, brokers say demand for Manhattan rentals will increase even more this fall, most likely pushing rental prices up even more.

The average apartment rent in Manhattan was $5,058 per month in June, the highest on record according to a new report from Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman. Average rental prices in the city are up 29% from a year ago, while median rents are up 25% to $4,050, the report said.

The increased rental prices are not only pricing many renters out of the market. They could also have a knock-on effect amid broader inflationary pressure. Rent is a key component of the government’s consumer price index, which has increased 9.1% from a year ago. New York is the country’s largest rental market.

The ongoing price pressure in Manhattan rentals could lead to higher inflation in the coming months, putting yet more pressure on the Federal Reserve to increase rates to tame prices.

If you’re looking for a way to make your business stand out this year and beyond, especially if you’re planning to attend trade shows, conferences, or other events, you’ll know that there are all sorts of products to select from. 

You can choose anything from pens and notebooks to coasters, mousepads, caps, etc. However, one of the most popular options that you should consider is tote bags. Here are some reasons why.

They’re Built to Last

Tote bags are handy because they’re built to last and get used for a lot longer than many other promotional products. For instance, pens are great and inexpensive, but if you want to purchase goods that boast real longevity, they aren’t the best option since the ink runs out after a period (unless you buy those with replaceable ink). Tote bags, though, especially the stronger, well-made ones, can last for many months or even years. This means you get a lot more mileage out of your investment. 

Practical for Reuse

Similarly, you get more bang for your buck with quality tote bags because they’re such practical items that recipients can and do use over and over again. Some promotional products that businesses put money into are fun to look at or might create a quick laugh, but they don’t get utilized. As such, people don’t keep getting repeatedly reminded about the brand behind the creation of the product. This isn’t the case with bags, though.

Plus, you’ll find that you get to enjoy more marketing impact with tote bags because those who receive them often use them when out and about, whether attending meetings, shopping, sitting on public transport, walking home, or elsewhere. In turn, many more people than just the recipient and their family members see the item. The high visibility level of tote bags helps you generate more extensive brand awareness without spending more money. 

Rental listings platform Apartments.com has announced a partnership with Rently that will see it integrate self-guided tours with its listings.

Rently is a self-touring and smart home proptech startup. Thanks to the integration with Apartments.com’s listings, users will be able to tour rental listings directly at a time that’s convenient to them.

“We believe the process of finding a new apartment should be made easy for renters and efficient for real estate operators,” said Rently CEO Merrick Lackner. “With our patented self-guided touring technology, Rently streamlines rental property viewing, increases overall property touring traffic by 25%, and reduces time on market by 75%.”

The integration came as Apartments.com released data that shows a 63% increase in renters who prefer self-guided virtual tours of properties. This, it said, is due to the growing preference for viewings outside of regular business hours, as well as a desire for on-demand services.

“Renters increasingly want to tour properties independently, without a manager or agent present,” Lackner said about the results of the study.

Before listing a home on the market, staging the property is one of the first steps a seller should take. Effectively staging a home showcases its best features and helps potential buyers imagine themselves making the place their new home.

But there’s more to staging your home than putting some of your personal belongings in storage and styling furniture. It’s possible to make mistakes that can hurt rather than help your home’s chances of getting an offer. 

Here are six common blunders to avoid when staging your home so it can make a good first impression on potential buyers.

Leaving Too Many Personal Touches 

Whether it’s a large family portrait hanging over your mantle or your prized collection of spoons from all of your family travels, having too many personal touches around your home can be distracting or even off-putting to prospective buyers. It’s nothing personal against you, your family, or your collections. But when homes are overly personalized, it makes it difficult for buyers to imagine themselves living there.

Before you start clearing your home, ask your prospective real estate agents what items should be packed up and put in storage, and which ones can stay until you receive an offer. A top-notch agent will know what does, and doesn’t, appeal to buyers in your area.

Engel & Völkers today announced the opening of three new shops in Holladay, Kamas, and St. George/Snow Canyon, Utah, all under the leadership of licensed partner Paul Benson. Benson is the licensed partner of more than 30 Engel & Völkers shops, comprising approximately 780 real estate advisors and over 70 staff members. The global luxury real estate brand is already well established in the state, with existing locations in Eden, Logan, Park City, Salt Lake City, and Wasatch. The three newest shop locations further cement Engel & Völkers’ presence in the U.S. Mountain West and add more than 50 new professionals to the brand’s global network of real estate advisors. 

“Demand from our clientele remains strong in Utah,” said Anthony Hitt, president, and CEO, Engel & Völkers Americas. “Home to world-class ski resorts, national parks, large acreage, and endless opportunity for year-round outdoor recreation, consumers are continually drawn to the variety and quality of life offered here. Our expansion into Holladay, Kamas, and St. George mark an important step in our expansion throughout the Americas. Paul’s deep knowledge and experience in the region is unparalleled and I am confident that under his leadership these new shops will drive continued growth in Utah and beyond.”

Engel & Völkers Holladay will be led by Utah regional director Joe Gilmour, who brings more than 35 years of real estate experience to the role and managing broker Eric Santistevan. The shop is located southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and will service the markets of Salt Lake, Murray, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Sandy, Draper, Bountiful, Leigh, and West Jordan, specializing in luxury downtown condominiums, golf course homes, and luxury properties located on the west bend of the Wasatch Mountains.

Overseeing the day-to-day operations of Engel & Völkers Kamas are broker Aly George, an operations and management expert with more than 30 years of experience in real estate, and shop manager Austin Smoot, a Utah native and active real estate professional for 17 years with a special expertise in construction and development. The shop is located in the heart of Kamas Valley, serving home buyers and sellers in Kamas, Samak, Oakley, Peoa, Francis, Woodland, and Weber Canyon. The gateway to the Uinta Mountains, the Kamas real estate market consists of multi-million dollar ranches, equestrian properties, as well as seasonal access cabins, and is also experiencing a push toward new construction development for single-family homes.

Engel & Völkers St. George Snow Canyon will consist of two shop locations, both led by managing broker Olivia Bostwick. The Snow Canyon shop is in the center of Red Rock, while the Ancestor Square shop is located in the middle of downtown St. George. The real estate market is largely made up of second homes, luxury living, and retirement properties, and collectively the shops will cover the markets of Snow Canyon, Ivins, Entrada, Black Desert, Desert Color, Zion, Hurricane, Washington, Springdale, Pine Valley, Diamond Valley, the Ledges of St. George, Kayenta, Santa Clara, and Apple Valley.

Second home buyers remain undeterred about the risk of climate change, according to the latest data from Redfin. It found that purchases of secondary homes with increased climate risks such as floods, storms and high heat rose by 40% in 2020 and 2021, compared to 2018 and 2019.

While the numbers do tally with an overall 37% uptick in second home purchases seen during the pandemic, homes that are at an elevated risk of climate change saw even larger purchase rates compared to the pre-pandemic period.

This includes a 45% increase in purchases of homes at risk of flooding, a 40% rise in homes at risk of storms, and a 39% increase in homes at risk of high heat.

Redfin said the data shows that many Americans now own “at-risk second homes” and that it could have serious implications for the future.

“The threat of climate change isn’t the top concern for a lot of homebuyers, which means they often prioritize factors like warm weather and proximity to the beach over avoiding natural-disaster risk,” said Redfin economist Sheharyar Bokhari. “Second-home owners, in particular, have another place to live if disaster strikes — another reason climate danger may not feel like a pressing issue.”

If you’re planning to sell your apartment, it can be easy to become overwhelmed by the process and end up finding yourself with a big, costly headache that doesn’t result in the profit you were hoping for. If you aren’t careful, you can sell your property at the wrong time, with the wrong price, and to the wrong buyer. The good news is that you can use plenty of tips and tricks to sell your apartment successfully—and that’s exactly what we’re going to do right now. 

With these tips on how to sell your apartment successfully, you’ll be able to get the price you deserve and move on with your life as planned!

1) Decide What You Want

It’s a big decision to put your apartment on sale, so you’ll want to make sure it is what you want. Think about how much time and money you’re willing to put into getting your home ready for an open house, and figure out what kind of buyer would be interested in buying your place.

2) Think About Who Can Help You

Virtual tour software provider Matterport said this week it has acquired VHT Studios, a move that allows it to offer high-end photography alongside its virtual tours, drone imagery, floors plans and other marketing services.

VHT Studios is a well-known provider of visual media services, thus it seems like a great fit for Matterport’s 3D Digital Twin platform. In an announcement, Matterport said the acquisition will make it easier for real estate agents to create a comprehensive marketing package for their listings when the new features become available later this year.

Matterport Chief Executive RJ Pittman said it made sense to unite his company’s offerings with those of VHT Studios, as it will reimagine the existing fragmented process for brokers and agents to list properties, and buyers to come and view them.

“We are not only excited for how we can transform the customer experience in the real estate industry, but also how we can apply VHT Studio’s expertise to our growing enterprise business as demand for digital twin technology continues to surge,” he added.

Brian Balduf, CEO of VHT Studios, said the deal marries two complementary services in the real estate market. He pointed out that it makes sense to do so, because in today’s hot market buyers have to move very quickly. In most cases, he added, they will only have one opportunity – or less – to see a home in person before it goes under contract.