Podcasts about Redfin

In this episode of the Real Estate Education and Investing Podcast, Erin Spradlin and James Carlson, seasoned real estate agents and investors, reveal a crucial pre-listing strategy most homeowners never consider. Erin explains how sellers can contact Redfin directly to remove their property's estimate when it's lower than their intended listing price, preventing buyers from seeing unfavorable discrepancies that could hurt negotiations. Automated valuations like Redfin estimates and Zillow's Zestimate have major limitations since they can't account for aesthetic improvements or updated features that add real value to properties. The conversation then examines two Colorado neighbors' contrasting insurance experiences after the 2021 Louisville Fire. While Safeco paid $311,000 within seven weeks after a simple interview, State Farm initially paid only $131,000 after requiring extensive documentation and a year-long process, though they eventually reached $850,000. Critical protection strategies emerge from this analysis, including understanding depreciated versus replacement value coverage, filming property contents, and asking specific questions about claims processes before disasters strike. This episode combines practical listing advice with essential insurance knowledge for today's challenging real estate market. Contact James: james@jamescarlsonRE.com Contact Erin: Erin@erinspradlin.com For more information visit: https://www.jamescarlsonre.com/ https://www.erinandjamesrealestate.com/

Home prices are finally starting to shift—and not in the direction most sellers were hoping for. In this episode, we break down Redfin's latest housing market forecast for the second half of 2025, including why the national median sale price is expected to drop 1% by year's end and what's keeping mortgage rates stuck near 7%. We'll explain how rising inventory, fewer buyers, and sticky inflation are reshaping the market—and what it means for both investors and homebuyers. Read the report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-price-forecast-decline-2025/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andrew, Ben, and Tom discuss Trump's delay of the 50% tariff on the EU, Japanese bond issuance, and Redfin's home data. For information on how to join the Zoom calls live each morning at 8:30 EST, visit:https://www.narwhal.com/blog/daily-market-briefingsPlease see disclosures:https://www.narwhal.com/disclosure

Discover powerful strategies to maximize your rental property returns and minimize costly vacancies. Learn how top investors are transforming their approach to property management, from tenant retention techniques to smart staffing solutions. Key Insights: Master the art of keeping great tenants and reducing turnover Understand when to scale your property management approach Explore innovative investment opportunities beyond traditional real estate Market Trends Spotlight: Rental demand is on the rise Emerging investment options offer unique wealth-building potential Strategic diversification is key to long-term financial success Explore alternative investment opportunities like sustainable teak forestry - a generational wealth strategy that offers: Low entry point Long-term growth potential International diversification Whether you're a seasoned investor or just starting out, these insights will help you make more informed, profitable real estate decisions. Resources: Learn more about the teak tree investment opportunity at Gremarketplace.com/teak Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/555 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Automatically Transcribed With Otter.ai    Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, learn how to reduce a giant operational expense that you'll have over time your tenant vacancy and turnover, including how many units you must own before you hire your own on site property manager as your employee. Whatever happened to agent commissions in light of last year's NAR settlement, then a timely update on teak tree investing today on Get Rich Education.   Mid South home buyers. I mean, they're total pros, with over two decades as the nation's highest rated turnkey provider. Their empathetic property managers use your ROI as their North Star. So it's no wonder that smart investors just keep lining up to get their completely renovated income properties like it's the newest iPhone. They're headquartered in Memphis and have globally attractive cash flows and A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and now over 5000 houses renovated their zero markup on maintenance. Let that sink in, and they average a 98.9% occupancy rate, while their average renter stays more than three and a half years. Every home they offer has brand new components, a bumper to bumper, one year warranty, new 30 year roofs. And wait for it, a high quality renter. Remember that part and in an astounding price range, 100 to 180k I've personally toured their office and their properties in person in Memphis. Get to know Mid South. Enjoy cash flow from day one. Start yourself right now at mid southhomebuyers.com that's mid south homebuyers.com   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Welcome to GRE from Manchester, New Hampshire to Manchester, England and across 188 nations worldwide, I'm Keith Weinhold, and you are back inside one of America's longest running and most listened to shows on real estate investing. This is get rich education. What's all that stuff really mean? I'm just another slack jawed and snaggletooth podcaster, a shaved mammal with a microphone. I'm joining you from here in London, England this week for the first time ever on the show. More on that later. Let's talk about reducing the biggest operational expense that you're ever going to have as a real estate investor, at least the one that you can exert a good measure of control over. That is reducing your tenant vacancy and turnover, that constant menace. Now, I suppose you might say that property tax is your biggest ongoing ops expense, but you've got less control over your property tax rate. So yeah, we're talking about increasing your net income by lowering your VIMTUM operating expenses. Vacancy is the V in that acronym. This is big because this can make or break your ability to have your property create positive cash flow and getting tenant turnover right both increases your income and reduces your expenses. It is springtime currently, and it's soon going to be summer, so it is the right time to talk about this. It's when there is more tenant turnover. The goal here is for you to really move the dial in increase the likelihood that your tenant is going to renew their lease. Now, sure if your tenant gets a new job out of town, they're going to move out. But if they're moving because of too many maintenance issues, well then that's something that you could have fixed. The average tenancy duration in the US over time is two to three years. And of course, that's going to be longer in single family rentals and shorter in apartments. And how long your tenant stays is driven by three factors, the price of your unit, the quality of your maintenance and the quality of your management. Let's say that your tenant moves out. To be conservative, that your vacancy period is two months between tenants. Okay, that's the turnover and the time to lease. It two months is a somewhat longish vacancy period. But come on, it happens sometimes, especially if you're going to make upgrades between tenancies and you're busy with other things in your life, if you have a move out every year at that rate, well, that is too often. That would amount. To a vacancy percentage of 14% you might think it's 17% but it isn't, because it's a 12 month vacancy plus two vacant months, all right, but if instead that tenant moves out every two years, that's just 8% vacancy, and every three years that's just 5% vacancy. Of course, if you keep your vacancy period to only one month rather than two, you can have all those numbers. You can really see how you are increasing your income by retaining the tenant. The most vital thing for you to keep in mind is that fast quality maintenance and good communication are by far the best forms of customer service that a property manager can provide, so prompt, quality maintenance. That's a retention strategy. Being a proactive helps. One strategy you can engage in is to reach out to the tenants two months before their lease is set to renew, and that's the time to give them the new lease price and ask them if they intend to stay. If they say, No, they're not, ask them why. And occasionally, you can sway them if there's been a misunderstanding in your relationship, for example, a lingering maintenance issue that hasn't been addressed, and perhaps they didn't bother to contact you about that, if nothing else, I think I mentioned this to you one time before offering a small reward, like a gift card helps. I mean, creating this sense of reciprocation is really one of the best retention tactics out there, even if the items being reciprocated aren't anywhere near equal value, like the value of a 12 month lease versus you giving them, say, a $50 gift card now, say you've tried those strategies, and none of that works, and your tenant does decide to leave, perhaps 45 days from now, but you know that you've got time in your life to turn over the unit now, and You know that you're going to be really busy with other things in 45 days. One thing that you can do then is shift your strategy to pay the tenant. Say you can pay them as little as 10 or 20 bucks a day to leave early. This way they'll vacate during a period where you've got the time to devote to the vacancy and the turnover and the showings to prospective new tenants, and that way, it's not going to linger vacant as long now, a technique like this is a little similar to an eviction, where if a tenant has violated their lease or becomes non paying, without you having to go through the length of Your court driven formal eviction process, you can pay them a lump sum to leave early. Hopefully that's not your situation, but that can come up. And I think you've heard of it before. This is known as the Cash for Keys strategy. That means to get a tenant that's made some violation against their lease, and you want to have them vacate the unit sooner. This means that you get the keys in your hand and the right to enter when you pay them to leave, rather than having to go through the not so fun eviction process and see a tenant wants to avoid a formal eviction as well, because that goes on their record, and then it can make it tough for that tenant to get rental housing elsewhere. But I dislike the Cash for Keys strategy in order to hold off from a formal eviction, because what that does is that rewards a person that violated a lease, although we know that that might also shorten your economic vacancy period, and it could actually be economically beneficial to you, Cash for Keys. It's just not ethical, though. I know it might be tempting for you, the landlord, the cash for key strategy. It rewards societally immoral behavior. Now, of course, you might be using a professional property manager that does all of this stuff for you, like I do today, but still, these are often the best practices for your manager. And I started out self managing, just like a lot of real estate investors do in the beginning, and that's where I learned strategies and techniques like this for reducing your tenant vacancy and turnover. Now, here's a really interesting question that you may not have had to ask yourself yet, but you may down the road, if you've grown your portfolio to a certain size and you're serious about reducing your vacancy and turnover expense, it might be time to ask yourself one big question, and that is for your management and maintenance. Should you use contractors, or should you start to hire your own employees? Now, if you have a small portfolio, it won't be enough work for you to keep an employee busy, so you should go with contract. Contractors. On the other hand, if you have an apartment complex with on site property management, I would definitely recommend having a make ready crew on site, because it's just so easy for them to get to and from a job site. Now, you should still maintain relationships with contractors as a backup, of course, and you should also have specialists like plumbers, electricians and HVAC people ready to call now, most investors are small and they use off site management, but if you grow big enough someday, or maybe it's two day, the important point about employees is that you really need to stay on them, because every extra hour costs you. You don't want anyone out there who's thinking that speed isn't essential, because they're like, ah, you know, I get paid by the hour. Contractors, on the other hand, they quote you or your manager a job up front. So while an extra day hurts because it's one more day you can't lease the unit, it hurts less than it does if you have your own employees. One problem with contractors is they often can't start right away, and this tends to be more true if you're self managing. See if you use a professional manager. They might have their own in house people so you can leverage their employees without having to manage employees yourself, even if your manager brings in an off site contractor, like an electrician or a plumber. Well, that contractor probably gets a lot of business from your property manager, and they have some sense of loyalty to your property manager, therefore, they're incentivized to show up on time faster than if you're trying to self manage, say, your small portfolio of five properties, and you or your tenant are the ones that call the electrician or the plumber. Well, those contractors are going to be less likely to prioritize you and your infrequent requests, and this is just another reason that I like to employ professional management and not self manage. Now, virtually no new real estate investor is going to hire their own employees, and most are never going to at all. All right, but how do you know? How would you know when it's time to hire your own property manager or your own contractor, and have them on your own payroll and you are their boss, if you've got under 20 to 30 units, all right, typically third party property management or self management with contractors, that's going to make more sense, because having a full time, dedicated employee, it's just not financially justifiable. Below 20 or 30 units, you're not going to be able to keep that employee busy. And I'm generally talking about if you have one apartment building here, or a bunch of single family rentals, only if they're in small, close proximity to each other. What about if you grow up to 30 to 60 units? All right now you're in a gray area. If the property is something that's pretty management intensive, like high turnover, or you own an older building, or you generate a lot of work orders, or you're in a challenging area. Well, at 30 to 60 units, you might justify a part time on site person. So how that could practically work in this 30 to 60 unit gray area, what you can do is have a resident manager that gets free rent, plus perhaps a small stipend from you. Okay, so that's a strategy that you can play in this gray area zone. That way they can be responsive to tenant requests, and you can keep your vacancy and turnover costs down. All right, how about when you're going even bigger and you reach 60 to 100 units. Now you're in the range where a full time on site manager or a maintenance person, starts to make financial and operational sense, because here it's 60 to 100 units. Your staffing model, it might be that you have one full time manager, they do the leasing, the tenant relations, in the admin stuff, and you'll also have a second person, a full time maintenance tech if they're needed, all right? And the final tier here, if you reach more than 100 units, oh, okay, now it is standard for you to have a full on site team. You could be in the hundreds of units. So we're talking about a property manager, a leasing agent, a maintenance lead, a groundskeeper and sometimes also a part time assistant manager. So that's it. That's the hierarchy of how, based on your portfolio size and where they're located, how you can serve tenants well and reduce your vacancy and turnover expense. Yes. All right now, what are some things that can shift those thresholds, those unit counts? Well, high rent or luxury buildings, they often need on site staff at a smaller unit count, very low rent or section eight properties, they may need more intensive oversight, buildings that have amenities, like some of these newer apartment buildings that have a pool and a gym, okay, that can trigger some more staffing needs. And if you own multiple properties that are nearby to each other, well, then you can share employees across those properties. And you've got to look at local labor costs in places like New York City, northeastern New Jersey, parts of New England, Miami or LA, those high cost places. Then breaking even on staffing. That probably takes a bigger property than those numbers that I talked about. But here, we tend to invest in those investor advantage areas, the inland northeast, the South, in the southeast, in the Midwest. Now, if you've got, say, even 50 smaller properties, but they're scattered all over the place, in multiple states, well then of course, you're not going to hire employees. A good general metric to leave you with here is that one on site employee for every 50 to 80 units that you own in the same area, that is common, that is a common industry practice in market rate multifamily apartments right now, these are pretty timeless strategies I've been talking about with you here.    As for what's happening in The market lately, I continue to slowly get more optimistic about the long beleaguered apartment market. A few weeks ago, I talked about how there's finally been greater apartment rent increases, although those rent increases are still historically low. What recently we learned that apartments are seeing a longer duration of tenancy and today, per real page, every single one of the 50 largest apartment markets has posted month over month occupancy gains, and then that's somewhat commensurate with what we're seeing on the one to four unit side, because the home ownership rate has fallen. It just fell from 65.7% down to 65.1 quarter over quarter. Now that doesn't sound like much, but that's actually a substantial drop in the home ownership rate in just one quarter. And fewer homeowners means more renters. So this basically means that the percent of Americans, renting has gone up because you just take the flip side of those numbers. So the rentership rate has essentially risen from 34.3 up to 34.9 in just one quarter. Something that completely makes sense, because we all know that home ownership affordability, especially for that first time, home buyer is lower, more renters. Is good for rental property owners. It's bringing more rental demand, more occupancy and more future pressure on rising rents. Now I want to follow up with you on a story from last year that made a lot of waves in the larger real estate world, but not so much for real estate investors. You surely remember this. That is the NAR settlement that a lot of people thought would result in lower real estate agent fees. Lowered commissions were coming. That's what everybody thought last year. Stories about that were all over the place that realtor fees are about to shrink. What's happened since then? Well, not much realtor fees, they still haven't fallen in any significant way, although the settlement was more than a year ago and this went into effect nine months ago. So to back up for a moment, in case you missed it, what happened is that a group of sellers accused the NAR, the National Association of Realtors, of inflating home costs by letting buyer side and seller side agents communicate about commission rates on the MLS home database, which only agents can see. And a jury agreed, so the NAR settled the lawsuit for over $400 million in damages, and it barred agents from sharing commission rates on those MLS databases. So that was a huge change that was expected to extinguish the globally high five to 6% realtor fee in the United States, because global averages are between one and 3% so as a result, the US real estate industry, they were bracing themselves for up to a 30% drop in the commissions that Americans pay annually in fees. But the new rules. Things have been nothing other than a big nothing burger. It only took a matter of weeks, really, for most agents to realize, you know, what did the agents do? They just simply moved their conversations off the NAR website and over to phone, text and email. That's it. Yes, that's all they did. So since that time, the average commission for buyers agents has barely budged. It ticked down less than 110 of 1% so for example, it ticked down less than 500 bucks on a 500k home that's per Redfin. So agents still expect sellers to pay five to 6% now I'm not against agents. Not only can an agent guide you through the process, what they can do is get you a higher sale price than they could have otherwise, because they really know how to market and advertise your property and reach a greater pool of buyers, but their commission rates have hardly budged. And of course, here at GRE marketplace, we typically use a direct model where agent compensation isn't priced into your properties anyway.    To review what you've learned so far today, being proactive can help reduce your tenant vacancy and turnover expense and increase your income. Prompt, quality maintenance, that is a retention strategy in itself, as can having one on site employee for every 50 to 80 apartment units. And one year later, changes at the NIR really haven't reduced aging commissions appreciably. I'm coming to you from London, England today, taking in all the top sites, Buckingham Palace and watching the changing of the guard over there, Big Ben a Thames river cruise and the London Bridge, which is actually called Tower Bridge. The real estate transaction that I'm currently involved in here is paying $550 a night to stay here at a nice hotel in the center of the city. It's right near the Thames, kind of a steep rate, and I sure didn't have to stay right in the city center, where everything is more pricey. But that's the experience that I want to have. Next week, I'll bring you the show from Edinburgh, Scotland, where I'll be paying even more for a well located hotel right on the Royal Mile, and I'll tell you how much more then I am here to boost their economies, I suppose more next, including a really timely update. I'm Keith Weinhold. You're listening to Episode 555, of get rich education.    The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours Ridge lending group NMLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com. That's Ridge lendinggroup.com.    You know what's crazy? Your bank is getting rich off of you. The average savings account pays less than 1% it's like laughable. Meanwhile, if your money isn't making at least 4% you're losing to inflation. That's why I started putting my own money into the FFI liquidity fund. It's super simple. Your cash can pull in up to 8% returns and it compounds. It's not some high risk gamble like digital or AI stock trading. It's pretty low risk because they've got a 10 plus year track record of paying investors on time in full every time. I mean, I wouldn't be talking about it if I wasn't invested myself. You can invest as little as 25k and you keep earning until you decide you want your money back. No weird lockups or anything like that. So if you're like me and tired of your liquid funds just sitting there doing nothing. Check it out. Text family to 66866, to learn about freedom. Family investments, liquidity fund again. Text family to 66866.   Tom Wheelwright  24:21   this is Rich Dad advisor, Tom wheelwright. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  24:37   Welcome back to Episode 555, of get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold, with an episode number like 555, you would expect me to go deep with you on real estate pays five ways, but we did that five weeks ago on episode 550 with your audio masterclass right here on the show today, we're talking about something with less upside. Than say that or the inflation triple crown, and instead on reducing your downside, vacancy and turnover expense, next week here on the show, I expect to sit down with a guest that's a highly regarded financier and author of a fairly hot new finance book, Christopher Whelan, and next week's show could get really interesting, because I've heard Chris say something about how real estate prices could fall back to 2020 levels. In my opinion, that is so many levels of unlikely that happening is about as likely as your grocery bills falling back to 2020 levels. So we'll see it could turn into a debate next week with Christopher Whelan and I. He is a sharp, well informed guy that also used to work at the New York Fed. That's next week down the road, longtime and former co host of the real estate guys radio show, Russell gray will join us again here, and we'll see what he's been up to in his post real estate guys, radio life that's coming up in a few weeks. Lots of great future content here, monologs, yes, those slack jawed monologs For me, repeat guests and new guests joining in as well. Back to this week now, there's an intriguing and potentially lucrative investment that we've discussed on the show here before, and I do have a timely and crucial update about it. A little while back, I sat down with the teak operations principle when we were in New Orleans together. These are yes, those Panama teak tree plantations that so many of you have already invested in. Yes. So as it is here. I am an American in London today talking about teak trees in Panama and I interviewed our upcoming guest here when we were in New Orleans together, the teak investment has a long time horizon, because trees have to grow. There's also a low cost of entry and no loans available. This is a real estate investment. You can own the land with the title to it and the trees that grow on top of them. Historically, teak returns have been five and a half percent, which doesn't sound like much, but see it grows in board foot volume at the same time that the unit price grows. And if inflation runs high over the next 25 years, your return might be higher. But the reason that we're discussing this now is because the principal, Mike Cobb here meeting with me, he is going to mention a price, and this is key two weeks from today, on June 9, the price for the teak parcels increases substantially. I'll tell you about that shortly. So for GRE followers, you can get locked into the lower price for just two more weeks. Here's my chat from a little while back with the teak tree investment principle, and then I'll return to bring you more.    Hey, did you know that you can own a quarter acre parcel of a producing teak plantation, you own the title to the land, and you get the growth in the trees. On top of that, this is something that you can do as an investor. And teak trees are a valuable hardwood that you own, typically in Central America. So there's a very low cost of entry to this investment, and that's what attracts a lot of people to it. And I am with Mike Cobb, the CEO. He's also the author of the new book how to buy your home overseas and get it right the first time. But Mike, a lot of people are interested in the teak investment because it is so approachable. Tell us about it. Give us a general overview.   Mike Cobb  28:42   absolutely, you know, thanks for having me on. It's always nice to be with you. We're, we're having some fun here in New Orleans, which is terrific, you know, yeah, the teak plantation is something that I envisioned back in 1998 so what's that like 26 years ago? Right? And in 1999 we planted our very first 100 Acre teak plantation. Because what we thought about at the time, which has now proven true 25 years later, is that, you know, I was either going to need the money in 25 years and be really glad I did this, or I wasn't going to need the money in 25 years and I was going to be really glad I did this. You know what? I don't really need the money now, but I'm really glad I did this. And 25 years comes. And I think that's been really the challenge for a lot of people looking at teak. They're just like, ah, 25 years. It's too long, but 25 years comes. 25 years will come, and you can either have planted the trees and be ready to take this huge windfall of return, or you won't be getting a windfall return. So I think that's the challenge, the mental challenge, I think maybe an average investor has, but I know you work with superior investors because they're paying attention to what you're writing, they're watching your podcast, they're reading your newsletter. You have far superior investors than I would say, the average investor. So I think this is a great thing for folks to check out.   Keith Weinhold  30:00   All right, so you're talking about the investment timeline, from the time a tea tree seed is planted until the harvest time that can feel like quite a while. You have been doing this over 25 years, and that is key when you as an investor go offshore or go overseas to have trust in a stable company that's been around for a long time. That's why, really, you're one of the few people that I work with who are outside of the United States real estate like the teak trees.   Mike Cobb  30:25   Thank you. Yeah, we've been around for 31 years. I've been working in the region. 31 our development company is 28 years old. Our plantation is now 26 years old. 25 with the trees, but we bought the land 26 years ago. But the bottom line, you're right and and the other thing that we should care about. And you brought this up earlier, when we're kind of chatting, is country, what country are you planting trees in that you got to wait 25 years for them to mature and harvest? By the way, the Panama. By the way, Panama, and of all the countries in the region where I feel the most comfortable as an investor, Panama's yet, because Panama's got the canal. And I know people say, oh, yeah, that's right. It's a vital strategic US interest. It's a vital world interest. The Chinese care about it as much as we do. The Europeans care about it. Anybody who wants commerce to happen cares about that canal being open. And so you've got this country, Panama, that has the canal stable, economically stable, politically stable. And when starting to talk about 2550 7500, year time frames, because you own the land, you get the harvest in 25 years, you replant, and then your children get the next harvest, and your grandchildren get the next harvest. It is truly generational wealth. Stewardship   Keith Weinhold  31:41   Panama is a little bit like investing overseas with training wheels on their well developed, first Central American nation. They even use the United States dollars. They do is that familiar? Absolutely well. But as the investors thinking about investing in teak plantations, just tell us about the properties of teak wood, of all wood types. Why teak? Tell us about the value there.    Mike Cobb  32:00   Yeah, teak has been grown in plantations, starting with the British back about 400 years ago. And so you've got centuries of plantation growing of teak as a crop, right? And so you've got this incredible longevity of information and things like that. And I know some of the stats off the top of my head, since 1972 the average price of teak lumber has has risen about five and a half percent a year over a 52 year period. Talk about track record, centuries of growing as a crop, right? 52 years as a lumber commodity. Look, people been using it to make ships. Its hardness is its most valuable characteristic is an extremely hard wood. It's resistant to rot fungus, so it's used in outdoor furniture, for example, right? Some of the stuff on the Titanic they pulled up from the bottom of the ocean, you know, chairs made a teak, right? Teak. But ship builders fine furniture, outdoor furniture and and they're cutting teak down. This is so important, they are cutting teak down eight to 10 times faster than anybody in the world is replanting it. So just imagine what that does to supply and demand and prices based on just basic economics, right?   Keith Weinhold  33:13   Yeah, that is some scarcity. That is a really good point. Tell us about what you're surely interested in. What do the investor returns look like.   Mike Cobb  33:21   Yeah. So you know, to own one of these quarter acre parcels, by the way, you said it before you own the land, you get title to the land you own the trees. $6,880 that's your that's your entry. Gosh. So for less than $7,000 you own a quarter acre of teeth trees that in 25 years projected returns. We all projections right about $94,000 a little over $94,000 so 7000 turns into $90,000 over 25 years, harvest, plant the trees again, and in 25 years, your kids or your grandkids will get the next harvest, and so on and so on. It is a powerful generational wealth stewardship. In fact, right now we have what we call give the gift of teak because look, you know, you got kids, you got grandkids. What are you gonna get them? Right? I mean, they got everything they want, presumably, right? You buy them a teak parcel, right? Buy that kid, buy that grandkid, a teak parcel. What a cool idea. Oh my gosh, in 25 years, you might be gone, right, but they're gonna get this big windfall, and they're gonna thank grandma or grandpa, right for for thinking of them 25 years into the future?   Keith Weinhold  34:27   Yeah? Oh, I love that. And you're so proud about what you do. You regularly offer investor tour so that they come and see the teak. But maybe you know, for you, the investor, you're wondering, okay, if you're used to investing in us real estate, you might be making two leaps here. You'd be going from residential real estate to agricultural, and you'd also be investing in a nation outside your home country. And when it comes to those sort of questions, I think any savvy investor asks, okay, what are the risks involved with this investment? Can you tell us about that?   Mike Cobb  34:59   Yeah, sure. Look, you've got political risk, country risk, political risk, which, I think again, of all the countries in the region, Panama, dollar, economy, canal, safe, stable. So the political risk is minimal. It's there. It's real. You know, fire risk is an issue, right? Trees burn. The good thing about teak is that after about year three, they're up. And you keep them trimmed, trim all the low branches off. So fire risk really drops incredibly low after about year three or four. But ultimately, it's about professional management. We have a company called Heyo Forrestal that we hired 25 years ago, 26 years ago, actually, to help us find the land, do the analysis of the land, make sure it was good for teak. And when you hire professionals, you get professional results. I mean, we stayed with this company for 26 years now, and the guy that we met early on, a little forestry engineer, is now General Manager and partner in the business. So we've watched that business grow up alongside ours at the same time. Those relationships, you know, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers have a song you can't make old friends. So here we are with Jacobo and some of the Luis that we've worked with for, you know, 26 years, and the relationships matter, especially in that part of the world, but professionalism and professional management is the key, and you have that alongside the relationships. Both are important.   Keith Weinhold  36:20   yes. So we're talking about how the property manager is such an important part of your team, and you think about your single family homes or your apartment buildings. And Mike here is talking about the importance of professional management, because teak trees need a little management and pruning, and sometimes there are thinnings which can give you some income so that you don't have to wait 25 years. Correct another way in which you might not have to wait 25 years for the full harvest cycle is at times you can buy trees that are, say, already seven years old, so you can only be waiting 18 years, or that are teens, so you might only be waiting 10 years, or some things about that, those are some of the options. But Mike, before I ask you if you have any last word, if you want to learn more about this, get some information, learn more about it, and learn how to connect with Mike's team. He is one of our GRE marketplace providers, and he's the owner of that company. You can do that at gre marketplace.com/teak, any last thing someone should know about teak before they consider investing? Mike?    Mike Cobb  37:16   Yeah, well, two things you mentioned the tour. So we do run discovery tours. We have one coming up in January, end of January, two days, we go out to the plantation, the teenage teat plantation, by the way, oak, which is eight or nine more years to harvest. Then we're going to the sawmill, because all of our logs go through a sawmill to convert to lumber, which enhances the return to the investor.    Keith Weinhold  37:36   Do the teens sleep until noon? Or can we visit them   Mike Cobb  37:38   and then they're on their phones all day If we're gonna go visit them. We'll wake them up and, like, get on their phones. But here's, here's the last parting word. I think it's scary for a lot of people. It is scary. You're going overseas, you're outside of, you know, residential you're going into a new industry. You're going to a new country. The reason this works for so many people, over 1000 now, have done this, is it's such a small bite, $7,000 and if that's maybe one or 2% of your portfolio, what I hate to say, put it on the table and roll the dice, but you'll be happy you did. I'm happy I did. It's a small bite, but that international diversification is so important. And then you put it in something that's absolutely not correlated to the market. It's not correlated to us real estate. I mean, in 2008 to 2012 when real estate was dying in the US, our trees just kept growing. So non correlated, non US, right? And non residential. I think that's the reason you want to take a little tiny piece of your portfolio and put it overseas in something like teak.    Keith Weinhold  38:42   We know over the long term that it has grown in value 5.5% a year, but at the same time, it grows in volume, in the amount of board fees you're getting a crease, an increase in both unit value and volume. It's really growing a couple ways. At the same time, you've had over 1000 different individual investors invest in the teak now, several dozen, maybe even more than 100 of those have been you the get rich education follower. So again, thanks for joining me, Mike. If you want to learn more, start at gre marketplace.com/teak. I'm Keith Weinhold. I'll see you next time.    Yeah, good information from Mike there again for GRE followers, that 6880 price deadline is Monday, June 9, and then it goes to 8680, that is a 26% price increase, and this is because land and planting costs have skyrocketed. And you know, I have long wondered about when they were going to change that same lower price that they've had for a lot of years. The provider recently added a sawmill to convert logs to lumber, and that enhances investment returns. So when you inquire for more info, you can ask about that, and that could very well put them above the 94k per part. Possible projected payout. Teak, hardwood, it just has some amazing physical properties. It's not your run of the mill. Backyard. Maple, it is a real asset. Think of it as a forest that fights back against Fiat and the provider reputation and continuity are almost impeccable. They've even had the same forestry manager, yeah, sort of like a property manager for trees, because trees take things like prunings and thinnings, the same manager for all 26 years of the teak operation. In the future, I might join one of their teak investor tours in Panama, and if I do, I'll be sure to let you know so that we can meet up that might even be a GRE exclusive tour. What you really need to know now is that, again, the lower price is good until Monday, June 9, to get started or simply learn more, visit gre marketplace.com/teak, that's t, e, a, k, until next week, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Unknown Speaker  41:10   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  41:34   You know, whenever you want the best written real estate and finance info, oh, geez, today's experience limits your free articles access and it's got pay walls and pop ups and push notifications and cookies disclaimers. It's not so great. So then it's vital to place nice, clean, free content into your hands that adds no hype value to your life. That's why this is the golden age of quality newsletters. And I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor, and it's to the point because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter usually takes less than three minutes to read, and when you start the letter. You also get my one hour fast real estate video. Of course, it's all completely free. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream letter. It wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be easier for you to get it right now. Just text gre 266, 866, while it's on your mind, take a moment to do it right now. Text, GRE to 66866.   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, getricheducation.com  

Home-purchase cancellations are on the rise, with 14.3% of U.S. pending home sales falling through in April—the highest rate for any April since 2017, aside from the pandemic shock in 2020. In this episode, we explore why so many deals are collapsing, from economic uncertainty and high mortgage rates to an oversupplied housing market that gives buyers more options—and more reasons to walk away. We also spotlight the metros with the highest fallout rates, including several in Florida and Texas, and explain how savvy investors can turn these failed deals into opportunities. Read the Redfin report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-purchase-cancellations-april-2025/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠Check out our recommended tool: ⁠Prop Stream⁠Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, follow, and review our podcast. Don't forget to share it with friends who might find it valuable. Stay connected for more insights in our next episode!

The President's social posts hit the broader market as he threatens a 50% tariff on the EU. Apple also in the spotlight as Trump calls out its production plans. Then new home sales jump nearly 11% month over month. The CEO of Redfin gives his outlook for the housing market, while interest rates sit at over 7%. And then tech's quarterly cliff hanger. A look ahead to Nvidia results and how its outlook could impact the entire sector.

In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg explore the idea of the elusive “end-to-end platform” in real estate. Prompted by Lower's acquisition of Movoto, they revisit decades of efforts by portals and brokerages to deliver a seamless transaction experience—from search to closing. They examine why this model has struggled to take hold in residential real estate, compare it to consumer experiences like Amazon and Tesla, and consider whether the real estate agent has always been the true end-to-end solution.   Key Takeaways   Lower Acquires Movoto – Discussion of the strategic rationale behind a mortgage company acquiring a real estate portal. Why End-to-End Platforms Struggle – Analysis of why Zillow, Redfin, and others have failed to deliver a fully integrated homebuying experience. The Agent as Platform – Debate over whether real estate agents already fulfill the role of a true end-to-end solution for consumers. Lessons from Other Industries – Examples from Amazon, Tesla, and travel that highlight the differences in consumer expectations and loyalty. Professional End-to-End Platforms – Exploration of whether a consolidated platform for agents—covering lead gen through payment—could be built, and what it would require. Tech Stack Attempts – Review of efforts by companies like Lone Wolf, Inside Real Estate, and MoxiWorks to build comprehensive agent-facing platforms.   Connect with Rob and Greg Rob's Website https://notoriousrob.substack.com/ Greg's Website https://www.vendoralley.com/about-2/ Our Sponsors: Cotality https://www.cotality.com/ Notorious VIP https://notoriousrob.substack.com The Giant Steps Job Board https://vendoralley.jobboard.io/   Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios

Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠Check out our recommended tool: ⁠Prop Stream⁠Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, follow, and review our podcast. Don't forget to share it with friends who might find it valuable. Stay connected for more insights in our next episode!

Episode 149 – Why Tenants Are Staying Put: Rental Trends & OKC Market Deep Dive (2025) In this episode of OKCREAL News, hosts Landon Whitt and Mia explore the rising trend of reduced tenant mobility across the U.S. and what it means for landlords, renters, and real estate investors. With fresh 2025 data, we break down national vacancy rates, tenant tenure statistics, and deep-dive into the Oklahoma City rental and sales market. ✅ U.S. rental vacancy rate hits 7.1% ✅ Tenant stay length increases to 3.9 years ✅ Oklahoma rental vacancy down to 7.9% ✅ OKC average rent now $1,012 with 89.3% occupancy ✅ Zillow and Redfin reveal contrasting home value trends in OKC Whether you're managing affordable housing, investing in multifamily units, or renting in Oklahoma City, this episode gives you actionable insights backed by current stats.

In this episode, we break down the latest data from Redfin's Home Price Index, which shows U.S. home prices slipped 0.1% in April—the first monthly decline since September 2022. Host Matt Myre unpacks what's behind this shift, from cautious buyers and recession fears to rising inventory and stalled sales. While annual price growth is still up 4.1%, it's the slowest increase in nearly a year. We also explore which metro areas saw the biggest drops—and the surprising markets where prices are still rising. Tune in for a sharp look at what this softening means heading into peak season. Read the Redfin report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-price-index-april-2025/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keith discusses the mortgage landscape, emphasizing the benefits of cash-out refinances with Ridge Lending Group President, Caeli Ridge. They unpack the Trump administration's plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which could impact the mortgage market. Investors are discovering powerful strategies to leverage property equity and optimize their financial portfolios. By understanding innovative borrowing techniques, savvy real estate investors can access tax-efficient capital and create sustainable wealth-building opportunities. Consider working with a lender that specializes in investor-focused loan products and provides comprehensive education on the options available.  Resources: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Show Notes: GetRichEducation.com/554 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  You get paid first: Text FAMILY to 66866 Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search “how to leave an Apple Podcasts review”  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— text ‘GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Automatically Transcribed With Otter.ai    Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, we're talking about the mortgage loan landscape in this era. Is title insurance a rip off today? Is it worth it for you to pay discount points at the closing table to get a lower interest rate? Learn about how a cash out refinance. Is your ability to borrow tax free, much like a billionaire does, and what are the dramatic changes that the current administration could take to alter the mortgage environment for years, all today on get rich education.    Speaker 1  0:34   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, who delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki, get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:20   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:36   Welcome to GRE from Liverpool, England to Livermore, California and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and you are listening to get rich education, the voice of real estate. Since 2014 it's been estimated that there are about 800 billionaires in USA, and hey, you might be one of them, but there's a pretty good chance that you aren't well. When it comes to lending and mortgages, you can actually take a page out of a billionaires playbook and do something very much like what they do whenever you perform a cash out refinance if you've got dead equity in a property, and you can borrow against your own home to a greater extent than you can against your rental properties, even either one of those is a tax free event, you've now got tax free cash, and you can use that money on anything from investing it in the stock market To using your proceeds for a down payment on more real estate or buying a boat or going to Disneyland, and you didn't have to relinquish your asset at all. You continue to hold on to the asset. Now, the mechanics are somewhat different, sure, but when you do a cash out refinance like this, it's a bit like billionaires borrowing against their stock. Instead, you're borrowing against the value of your real estate. In fact, listening to this short clip, it's Trevor Noah talking about how billionaires do exactly this, and you'll notice that the crowd laughs because it actually sounds funny that you can really do this,    Speaker 2  3:22   the shares that they hold in a company, because it is an unrealized gain, right? So they go like, yeah, you're worth 300 billion, but we can't tax you on those stocks because you haven't sold the shares, so you don't, like, have the money. And I understand the argument. They go like, No, you don't have it. It's just what it's worth, because it will also crash, and then you have nothing, so we can't tax you on it. Then I'm like, Okay, I understand that. Then Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter, all right? He offers to buy it. And then he says in his offer, he goes, I'm putting up my Tesla stock as collateral. Then I'm like, so you do have it? Then he's like, no, no, no, no, I don't have it. I don't have it. I'm just gonna say so then they accept the offer. He now buys Twitter. Now that they've accepted his offer, he now goes to private equity and banks and like other rich people and whatever. He goes like, can you guys borrow me the money to buy Twitter? And then he's like, I'm I want to buy Twitter because I don't want to sell any of my Tesla shares, so I want to use your money to buy Twitter. And then it's like, but then they're like, What are we loaning it against? And he's like, Well, my Tesla shares. Then I'm going, like, Wait, so, so you, you can, you can buy a thing based on what you have, yes, but when we want to tax you, you can say, I don't have it. Do you hear what I'm saying here?   Keith Weinhold  4:46   Yeah, you can borrow against your real estate if you have substantial equity in it. We'll talk about just how much now billionaires borrow against their stock holdings using financial products like portfolio lines of credit or. For securities based loans. These are the names for how they do it, essentially taking out loans and using their stock as collateral. And this allows them to access cash without selling their assets and without incurring capital gains taxes, much like you can so you can say that you don't want to sell your property in you don't have to go through some capital raising round either, like a billionaire might have to when they're borrowing against their stock. You can just have a more standard mortgage application for your cash out refinance, and you don't even have to have a huge portfolio. I mean, even if you just own one 500k property with 50% equity in it, you can do this so it's available to most any credit worthy person, again, tax free. But of course, this doesn't mean that you always should take this windfall, because it often creates a higher monthly payment. You've got to be the one that makes that decision in controlling your cash flows, that is key. I'll talk about that some more with today's terrific guests. Also the Trump administration's desire to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac we're going to talk about that and what that would do to the mortgage landscape. I am in the USA today, next week, I'll be bringing you the show from London, England for the first time, the following week, from Edinburgh, Scotland. Yes, the mobile GRE Studio will be in effect. I typically set it up myself, and I usually don't need the help of the hotel staff for an appropriate Sound Studio either. And then shortly after that, I will be in Anchorage, Alaska, where I'm competing in these fantastic mountain running races. And then by next month, that's where I hope to meet up with you in person for nine days of learning and fun, as I'll be in Miami as part of the faculty for the terrific real estate guys invest or summon at sea, where we're all going to disembark from Miami and go to St Thomas, St Martin and the Bahamas, and then after that great event, it is a long flight from Miami back to Anchorage again. And that's got to be one of the longer domestic flights, not just in the nation, but in the world, Miami to Anchorage, and then shortly after that, I will be in the Great Northeast early this summer, New York and Pennsylvania, including for my high school reunion. So I'll really be putting the miles on these next couple months. One interesting thing that I've noticed for next week's show, where I'll be joining you from London, is how much I'm paying per night at both my hotel in England and then later my hotel in Scotland. That's obviously a short term real estate transaction. These are some of the more expensive places in the world, really. So next week and then the week after, I just think you'll find it interesting. I'll tell you how much I'm spending per night in both London and then Edinburgh. And they're both prime locations, where the hotels are the center of London and then right on Edinburgh's Royal Mile. That is in future weeks as for today, let's talk about the mortgage landscape with this week's familiar and terrific guest.   I'd like to welcome in one of the more recurrent guests in our history, so she needs little introduction. She's the longtime president of the mortgage company that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any lender in the nation because they specialize in income property loans. It's where I get my own loans for my own rental properties. Ridge lending group. Hey, welcome back to GRE Caeli ridge.    Caeli Ridge  8:57   Thank you, Keith. You know I love being here with you and your listeners. I appreciate you having me.   Keith Weinhold  9:01   You've helped us for so long. For example, who can forget way back in episode 56 Yeah, that's a deep scroll back when Chaley broke down each line of a good faith estimate for us, that's basically a closing statement sheet. She told us exactly what we pay for at the closing table, line by line like origination fee, recording costs and title insurance so helpful. It's just the sort of transparency that you get over there. Buyers pay for title insurance at the closing table. It is title insurance a rip off. A few years ago, a lot of people speculated that title insurance would fade away because the property's ownership could be transparent and accessible to everybody on the blockchain, but we don't really see that happening. So tell us about title insurance, and really, are we getting value in what we pay for there at the closing table?   Caeli Ridge  9:54   Well, I think the first thing I would say is that it really isn't going to be an option as far as I. Know, as long as the individual is going to source institutional funding leverage use of other people's money, they're going to require the lender, aka Ridge lending, or whoever you're working with, they're going to require that title insurance that ensures their first lien position. Doing that title search, first and foremost, is going to make it clear that there isn't some cloud on title, that there isn't some mechanic lien that had been sitting out there for however many years it may have just been around. And those types of things never go away. So for a lending perspective, it's going to be real important that that title insurance is paid for and in place to protect their interests, things like judgments, tax liens, like I said, a mechanic's lien, those will automatically take a first lien position in front of a mortgage. So obviously we're not going to risk that and find ourselves in second lien position in the event of default and somebody else is getting paid before we are. So not really an option. Is it a rip off? I don't know enough about how often it's paid out, and not to speak to that, but I will tell you that it isn't a choice.   Keith Weinhold  11:07   Title Insurance, like Shaylee was talking about. It protects against fraud related to the property's ownership, someone else claiming rights to the property, and this title search that an insurer does it also, yeah, it looks for those liens and encumbrances, including unpaid taxes, maybe unpaid HOA dues, but yeah, mortgage lenders typically require title insurance, and if you the borrower, you might think that's annoying. Well, it does make sense, because the bank needs to protect their collateral. If a bank ever has to foreclose, they need to have access to you, the borrower, to be able to do that without any liens or ownership claims from somebody else. Caeli, how often do title insurance companies mess up or have to pay out a claim? Does that ever happen?   Caeli Ridge  11:50   I mean, if I have been involved in a circumstances where that was the case, it's been so many years ago, they're pretty fastidious. I don't know that I could recall a circumstance where something had happened and the title insurance was liable. They go through the paces, man, they've got to make sure that, and they're doing deep dives and searches across nationwide to make sure that there isn't any unnecessary issue that's been placed on title Not that I'm aware of. No.    Keith Weinhold  11:50   Are there any of those other items that we tend to see on a good faith estimate that have had any interesting trends or changes to them in the past few years?    Caeli Ridge  12:27   Yeah, I've got a good one, and this is actually timely credit reports. So over the last couple of years, something has been happening with credit reports where, you know, maybe three, four years ago, a credit report, let's say a joint credit report, a husband and wife went and applied that credit report might cost 25 bucks. Well, now it's in excess of 100 plus. Some of what we're going to be talking about today, it kind of gets into the wish list of Jim neighbors, who is the president of the mortgage brokers Association. He's been talking to the administration about some of his wishes, and credit report fees is actually one of the things that they're wanting to attack and bringing those costs down for the consumer. So when we look at a standard Closing Disclosure today, credit report costs have increased significantly. I don't have the percentages, but by a large margin over the last couple of years,    Keith Weinhold  13:21   typically not one of your bigger costs, but a little noteworthy. There one thing that people might opt and choose to have on their good faith estimates, so that borrower therefore would actually pay more out of pocket with today's higher mortgage rates. And I'm sure not to say high, because historically, they are not high. Do we see more people opting to pay discount points at the closing table to get a lower rate and talk to us about the trade offs there   Caeli Ridge  13:46   right now, first and foremost, that there isn't a lot of option for investment property transactions, whether it be a purchase or refinance. There's not going to be that option where the consumer gets to choose to say, Okay, I want to pay points for a lower rate or not pay points for a higher rate the not paying points is the key here. There isn't going to be a zero point option for investment property transactions. And this gets a little bit convoluted, and then I'll circle back and answer the question of, when does it make sense to pay the points, more points versus less points? We have been in a higher rate environment that I think a lot of people have become accustomed to as a result secondary markets, where mortgage backed securities are bought and sold, they keep very close tabs on the trends and where they think things are headed. Well, something called YSP, that stands for yield, spread, premium, under normal market circumstances, a consumer can say, okay, Caeli, I don't want to pay any points. Okay, I'll take this higher interest rate, and I don't want to pay any points, because that higher interest rate is going to have YSP, yield, spread, premium to pay compensation to a lender, and you know, the other third parties that may be involved in that mortgage backed security. But. Sold and traded, etc, okay? They have that choice under normal market circumstances. Not the case right now, because when this loan sells the servicing rights, whoever is going to pick up the servicing rights, so when Mr. Jones goes to make his mortgage payment, he's going to cut a check to Mr. Cooper. That's a big one, right? Or Rocket Mortgage, or Wells Fargo, whoever the servicer is, the servicing rights are purchased at a cost. They have to pay for the servicing rights, and let's say that's 1% of this bundle of mortgage backed securities that they're purchasing. Well, they know the math is, is that that servicer is going to take about 36 months before that upfront cost is now in the black or profitable. This all will land together. Everybody, I promise you stick with me, so knowing that we've got about a 36 month window before a servicer that picked up the rights to service this mortgage is going to be profitable in a higher rate environment, as interest rates start coming down, what happens to the mortgage that they paid for the rights to service 12 months ago, 18 months ago, that thing is probably going to refinance right prior to the 36 month anniversary of profitability. So that YSP seesaw there is not going to be available for especially a non owner occupied transaction. So said another way, zero point rates are not going to be valid on a non owner occupied transaction in a higher rate environment when secondary markets understand that the loans that are secured today will very likely be refinanced prior to profitability on the servicing side of that mortgage backed security that is a risk to the lender, yes. So we know that right now you're not going to find a zero point option. Now that may be kind of a blanket statement. If you were getting a 30% loan to value owner occupied mortgage with 800 credit scores, you know that's going to be a different animal. And of course, you're going to have the option to not pay points. The risk for that is nothing. Okay, y SP is going to be available for you, the consumer, to be able to choose points at a lower rate, no points higher rate. When does it make sense to pay additional points? Let's say to reduce an interest rate, the break even math. And you know, I'm always talking about the math, the break even math is actually the formula is very simple. All you need to do is figure out the cost of the points. Dollar amount of the points, let's say it's $1,000 and that's what it's going to cost you to, say, get an eighth or a quarter or whatever the denomination is, in the interest rate reduction. But you aren't worried about the interest rate necessarily. You're looking at the monthly payment difference. So it's going to cost you $1,000 in extra points, but it's only going to save you $30 a month in payment when you divide those two numbers, what's that going to take you 33 months? 30 well, okay, and does that make sense? Am I going to refinance in 33 months? If the answer is no, then sure pay the extra 1000 bucks. But that's the math, the cost versus the monthly payment difference divide that that gives you the number of months it takes to recapture cost versus cash flow or savings, and then you be the determining factor on when that makes sense.    Keith Weinhold  18:10   It's pretty simple math. Of course, you can also factor in some inflation over time, and if you would invest that $1,000 in a different vehicle, what pace would that grow at as well? So we've been talking about the pros and cons of buying down your mortgage rate with discount points before we get into the administration changes. Cheley talk about that math in is it worth it to refinance or not? It's a difficult decision for some people to refinance today with higher mortgage rates than we had just a few years ago, and at the same time, we've got a lot of dead equity that's locked up.   Caeli Ridge  18:40   I would start first by saying, Are we looking to harvest equity? Are we pulling cash out, or are we simply doing a rate and term refinance where we're replacing one loan with another loan, if it's for rate and term, if we're simply replacing the loan that we have today with a new loan, that math is going to be pretty simple. Why would you replace 6% interest rate with a 7% interest rate? If all other things were equal, you wouldn't unless there was a balloon feature, or maybe an adjustable rate mortgage or something of that nature involved there that you have to make the refinance. So taking that aside, focusing on a cash out refinance, and when does it make sense? So there's a little extra layered math here. The cash that you're harvesting, the equity that you're harvesting, first of all, borrowed funds are non taxable. What are we going to do with that pile of cash? Are we going to redeploy it for investing more often than not talking to investors? The answer is yes. What is that return going to look like? So you've got to factor that in as well, and then we'll get to the tax benefit in a moment. But generally speaking, I like to as long as the cash flow is still there, okay, you've got to have someone else covering that payment. Normally, there's exceptions to every rule. I don't normally advise going negative on a cash out refi. There are exceptions. Okay, please hear me. But otherwise, as long as the existing rents are covering and that thing is still being paid for by somebody else, then what you want to do is look at that monthly payment. Difference again, versus what you're getting out of it. And then you divide those two numbers pretty simply, and it'll take you how long. And then you've got a layer in the cash flow that you're going to get from the new acquisitions, and whether that be real estate or some other type of investment, whatever the return is, you're going to be using that to offset. And then finally, I would say, make sure that you're doing adding in the tax benefit. These are rental properties guys, right? So closing costs can be deducted now that may end up hurting debt to income ratio down the road. So don't forget, Ridge lending is going to be looking at your draft tax returns. Very, very important to ensure that we're setting you up for success and optimizing things like debt to income ratio on an annual basis.   Keith Weinhold  20:40   Now, some investors, or even primary residence owners might look at their first and only mortgage on a property, see that it's 4% and really not want to touch that. What is the environment and the appetite like today for having a refinance in the form of a second mortgage? That way you can keep your first mortgage in place and, say, 4% get a second mortgage at 7% or more. How does that look for both owner occupied and non owner occupied properties today?   Caeli Ridge  21:07   you're going to be looking at prime, plus, in many cases, if you don't want to mess with a first lien, a second lien mortgage is typically going to be tied to an index called prime. Those of you that are familiar with this have probably heard of that. Indicee. There's lots of them. The fed fund rate, by the way, is an index. There's lots of them. The Treasury is also another index. Prime is sitting, I think, at seven and a half percent. So you're probably going to be looking at rate wise, depending on occupancy and credit score and all of those llpas that we always talk about, loan level, price adjustment. You know, it could be prime plus zero, it could be prime plus four. So interest rates could range between, say, seven and a half, on average, up to 11 even 12% depending on those other variables. More often than not, those are going to be interest only. So make sure that you're doing that simple math there. And I would prefer if I'm giving advice the second liens, the he loan, which is closed ended, very much like your first mortgage, it's just in second lien position. It's amortized over a certain period of time, closed ended. Not as big a fan of that. If you can find the second liens, especially for non owner occupied, I would encourage it to be that open ended HELOC type.    Keith Weinhold  22:15   What are we looking at for combined loan to value ratios with second mortgages    Caeli Ridge  22:19   on an owner occupied I think you'd be happy to get 90. I think I've heard that in some cases, they can go up to 95% in my opinion, that would go as high as they'll let you go right on a non owner occupied, I think you'd be real lucky to find 80, and probably closer to 70.    Keith Weinhold  22:34   That really helps a lot with our planning. Well, the administration that came in this year has made some changes that can create some upheaval, some things to pay attention to in the mortgage market. We're going to talk about that when we come back. You're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Caeli Ridge I'm your host, Keith Weinhold.    The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group  NMLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President Chaeli Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lendinggroup.com. That's Ridge lendinggroup.com.    You know what's crazy? Your bank is getting rich off of you. The average savings account pays less than 1% it's like laughable. Meanwhile, if your money isn't making at least 4% you're losing to inflation. That's why I started putting my own money into the FFI liquidity fund. It's super simple. Your cash can pull in up to 8% returns, and it compounds. It's not some high risk gamble like digital or AI stock trading. It's pretty low risk because they've got a 10 plus year track record of paying investors on time in full every time. I mean, I wouldn't be talking about it if I wasn't invested myself. You can invest as little as 25k and you keep earning until you decide you want your money back. No weird lockups or anything like that. So if you're like me and tired of your liquid funds just sitting there doing nothing. Check it out. Text family to 66866, to learn about freedom. Family investments, liquidity fund again. Text family to 66866   Hal Elrod  24:38   this is Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning and listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't put your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  24:55   Welcome back to get rich education. We're talking about mortgages again, because this is one. Where leverage comes from. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, we're sitting down with the president of ridge lending group, Caeli Ridge, and I know that she has some knowledge and some updates on new administration leadership and some potential changes for the market there. What can you tell us? Caeli   Caeli Ridge  25:16   I'm pretty excited about this one, and I'm watching very diligently to see how it unfolds. So the new director of the FHFA Federal Housing Finance Agency, all is Bill Pulte. This is the grandson of Pulte Homes. Okay, smart guy. I'm excited to see what he's going to come in and do. Well. He had recently, I think in the last couple of weeks, he put out in the news wires asking for feedback from the powers that be, related to Fannie and Freddie, what improvements they would like to see. So first up was Jim neighbors. He is the president of the mortgage brokers Association. He had a few very specific wish list items, if you will. And the first one on his list was the elimination of LLP, as for non owner occupied and second home. So let me just kind of paint a picture here, because there's some backstory I think is important. So an LLPA, for those of you that have never heard that term before, stands for a loan level price adjustment. And a loan level price adjustment is a positive number or a negative number that associates with the individual loan characteristics. So things like loan to value or loan size, occupancy is a big ll PA, the difference between an owner occupied where you live and one that you're going to use as a rental property, that's a big one. Credit score, property type, is it a single family? Is it a two to four? Is this a purchase? Is it a refi? Anyway, all of those different characteristics are ll pas. Well, if we take a step back in time, gosh, about three years ago now, Mark Calabria, at the time, was the director of the FHFA, and he had imposed increases, specific increases. This was middle of 22 I want to say specific increases to the LL pas for non owner occupied property. So if anybody kind of remembers that time, we started to really see points and interest rates take that jump sometime in 2022 more than just the traditional interest rate market and the fluctuations. This was very material to investment property and second home, but we'll focus on the investment property. So Mr. Jim neighbors came in and said, first and foremost, I'd like to see those removed, and I want to read something to the listeners here, because I thought it was very interesting. This is something I've been kind of preaching from the the rooftops, if you will, for many, many years. Yeah, we've got neighbors sticking up for investors here. He really is. And I Yeah, well, yes, he is. And more often than not, they're focused on the owner occupied so I'm just going to kind of read. I've got my cheat sheet here. I want to make sure I get it all right for everybody. So removal of the loan level price adjustments on investment properties and second homes, he noted that these risk based fees charged by Fannie and Freddie discourage responsible buyers from purchasing second homes and investment properties, with that insignificant increase to cost. And here's the important part, originally introduced to account for additional credit risk, many of the pandemic era llpa increases were not based on updated risk metric. In fact, data has shown that loans secured by investment properties often have strong credit profiles and lower than expected default rates. I mean, anybody that has been around long enough to see what we've come from, like, 08,09, and when we had the calamity of right, the barrier for entry for us to get any conventional financing as investors has been harsh. I mean, I make that stupid joke of vials of blend DNA samples. But aside from it being an icebreaker, it kind of feels true. We really get the short end of the stick. And I feel like as investors especially, post 08,09, our credit profiles, our qualifications, the bar is so high for us, the default risk there has largely been removed. We've got so much skin in the game. With 20 25% down, credit score is much higher, debt to income ratios more scrutinized, etc, etc. So I think that this is, if it passes muster. I think this is going to be a real big win for the non owner occupied side of agency, Fannie, Mae, Freddie, Mac lending.   Keith Weinhold  29:13    The conventional wisdom is, is that if you the borrower, get into financial trouble, you're more likely to walk away from your rental properties than you are your own home and neighbors, sort of like a good neighbor here sticking up for us and stating that, hey, us, the investors, we're actually highly credit worthy people.   Caeli Ridge  29:29   Yeah, absolutely. So fingers crossed. Everybody say your prayers to the llpa and mortgage investor rates gods.   Keith Weinhold  29:37   we'll be attentive to that. What other sorts of changes do we have with the administration? For example, I know that Trump and some others in the administration have talked about privatizing the GSEs, those government sponsored enterprises, Fannie, Mae, Freddie Mac and what kind of disruption that would create for the industry. Is it really any credence to that?   Caeli Ridge  29:58   They've been talking about it for. For quite a while. I mean, as long as Trump has been kind of on the scene, that's been maybe a wish list for him. I don't see that happening over the next years. That is an absolute behemoth to unpack and make a reality. Speaking of Mark Calabria, he was really hot and heavy on the trails of doing that. So what this is, you guys so fatty Freddy, are in conservatorship that happened back post 08,09, and privatizing them and making them where it is not funded, or conservatorship within the United States government. Now it still has those guarantees against default. It's a very complicated, complex, nuanced dynamic of mortgage backed securities, but if we were to privatize them at some point now, am I saying that that's a bad thing? No, not necessarily, but I think it has to be very carefully executed, and because there are so many moving parts, I do not think that just one term of presidency is going to make that happen. If we do it, it's going to be years down the road from now. Is my crystal ball. I don't think we're going to see that anytime soon.    Keith Weinhold  30:58   That's interesting to know. Are there any other industry changes that are important, especially for investors, whether that has to do with the change in administration or anything else?   Caeli Ridge  31:08    Well, specific to that wish list from Mr. Neighbors, one of the other things that he had asked, and there were quite a few, for owner occupied changes as well, he wants to reduce the seasoning for cash out refinances of investment properties, which would be huge good. Yeah, right now it's 12 months on a cash out refinance given very specific acquisition details. Okay, I won't go down that rabbit hole, but currently, if you haven't met exactly these certain benchmarks, you may have to wait 12 months to pull cash out of a property from the day that you acquire it, he's asking that that be pulled back to about six months, which would be nice   Keith Weinhold  31:46   reducing the seasoning period from 12 months to six months, meaning that an investor a borrower, would only need to own that property for that shorter duration of time prior to performing a refinance.   Caeli Ridge  31:58    Cash out refinance, no seasoning required on a rate and term. This is specific for cash out. But again, for cash out, but exactly right   Keith Weinhold  32:04   now, one trend that I think about sometimes, especially when I think back to 2008 2009 days since I was an investor through that time, is, are there any signs in the reduction of the appetite or the propensity to lend, to make loans. So how freely is credit flowing?    Caeli Ridge  32:25   I think pretty freely. I'm not seeing that they're tightening the purse strings. That's not the lens that I'm looking at it from, and I try to keep that brush stroke broad. There have been, I think that on the post, close side, there's been a little extra from Fannie Freddie, and I think that has to do with profitability markers. But overall, I'm not seeing that products are disappearing necessarily, or that guidelines are really becoming even more cumbersome. If anything, I would say it's maybe the reverse of that, and I do believe that probably is part and parcel to this administration and the real estate background that comes with it.   Keith Weinhold  32:59   One other thing I pay attention to, but it just really hasn't been much of a story lately. Are delinquencies in foreclosures. It seems like they've ticked up a little bit, but they're still both really historically low and basically a delinquency being defined as when a borrower makes one late payment, and foreclosures being the more severe thing, typically a 120 days late or more. Any trends there? I'm not   Caeli Ridge  33:24   seeing any now. And in fact, I would tell you that, because we focus so much on investor needs, first payment default is I can count on less than one hand, if I had to, how many times I've seen that happen with our clients over 25 years. So nothing noteworthy there for me.    Keith Weinhold  33:40   Yes. I mean, today's borrowers are just flush with equity. Nationally, there's a loan to value ratio of 47% which is healthy, in a sense. On average, borrowers have a 53% equity position. Of course, the next thing, I think, is like, I don't really know if that's a smart strategy. They're not really getting that much leverage out there. But I think a lot of people just have the old mentality of get it paid off.    Caeli Ridge  34:06   And I think that depending on where you are in your journey, I mean, if you're in phase three, right, where you're just really looking at these investments, these nest eggs to carry you into your retirement and or for legacy reasons, fine, but otherwise, I may argue the point in that I don't care that you have a 3% interest rate on an investment property, or whatever it may be, if it's sitting there idle and as long as it can cash flow, the true chances of those individuals of keeping that mortgage that they got in 2020, 2021, etc, at those ridiculously low interest rates and stroking 360 payments later to pay it to zero is a fraction of a percent right now, whether they're on the sidelines for something else, I don't know, but that debt, equity, I think, is hurting them more than a 3% interest rate is helping them.   Keith Weinhold  34:52    And a lot of times, the mindset of someone is, if they don't need to build wealth anymore, and they're older and they already built wealth, they don't care if they're loaned to value. Was down to zero, and they have it paid off, whereas someone that's in the wealth building phase probably wants to get more leverage. Yeah, Chaley at risk lending group, there you see so many applications come in, and especially since you're an investor centric lender, I like to ask you what trends you're seeing. What are people buying? What are people doing? Are they refinancing? Are they paying loans off? Are they trying to take out more credit? Are there any overall trends with investors that you see in there    Caeli Ridge  35:29   right now? I think the all in one is a clear winner there. The all in one, that first lien, HELOC, that you and I talked about, we broke my little corner of the internet with that one, that one is a front runner for sure, on the refinance side, specifically, we are seeing quite a bit more on the refi side of things, that equity is kind of just sitting there. So even though, if the on one isn't a good fit for them, I'm seeing investors that are willing to tap into that equity instead of just sitting around and waiting for them to potentially lose some equity if the housing market does start to take some decline. And then I would say, on the purchase transaction side, something that's kind of piqued my interest is the pad split. I'm looking at that more often where, for those that are not familiar, you can probably speak more to this, Keith, they're buying single family resident properties, even two to four unit properties, and a per bedroom basis, turning those into rental properties. And they're looking to be quite profitable. So I've got my eyes on that too.   Keith Weinhold  36:23   before we ask how we can learn more about you and what you do in there at Ridge Kayle. Is there any last thing that you'd like to share? Maybe a question I did not think about asking you, but should have.    Caeli Ridge  36:35   I would like to share with your listeners that if they are not working with a lender that focuses on their education and has that diversity of loan product that we have, that they're probably in the wrong support group. You need to be working with a lender that has a nationwide footprint and that has diversity of loan product to cover whatever methodology of real estate investing that you're looking for, and really puts a fine touch on the education of your qualifications and your goals as they relate to underwriters guidelines   Keith Weinhold  37:10   what we're talking about, and I know this through my own experience in dealing with Ridge, since I use them for my own loans myself, is sometimes Ridge might inform You that, hey, you can go and do this and make this deal now, but that's going to mess up this bigger thing 12 months down the road, whereas if you talk with an everyday sort of owner occupant mortgage company, oh, they're just not going to talk like that, because owner occupants, they might only buy every seven years, or something like that. And investors are different, and you need to have that foresight and look ahead. Caeli, this has been great, a really informative conversation about the pulse of the market. Tell us what products that you offer in there.   Caeli Ridge  37:50   Our menu is very, very diverse. I would say what. It's probably easier to describe what we don't offer. We do not have bear lot loans or land loans. We're not offering those right now. We do not have second lien HELOCs currently. We suspended that two years ago. But otherwise, guys, we're going to have everything that you're going to need. So just very quickly, I'll rattle off Fannie Freddie, okay, those golden tickets that we talk about, we've got DSCR loans, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, ground up construction, short term bridge loans for fix and flip or fix and hold. We have our All In One that's my favorite first lien. HELOC, we have commercial loan products for commercial property and residential on a cross collateralization basis. So very, very robust in the loan product space.   Keith Weinhold  38:33   Caeli Ridge, it's been valuable as always. And then Ridge lending group.com, or your phone number   Caeli Ridge  38:39   855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE, , and then to reach us an email, if that's your better mechanism to contact us info@ridgelendinggroup.com   Keith Weinhold  38:50   that's been valuable as always. Thanks so much for coming back onto the show.    Caeli Ridge  38:53   Appreciate it. Keith,   Keith Weinhold  39:00   Yeah, terrific information from Chaley. As always, if you're enamored of borrowing tax free, like a billionaire, against your real estate, they sure can help you out with that and determine whether that's right. It doesn't mean that you always should, but if you have investment ideas for debt equity, and you're attentive to cash flows, run the numbers with them and see if it's worthwhile. As far as new purchases, we all know that soured affordability has made it especially tough for first time homebuyers, and there's more data out there that shows that tenant durations are historically long, longer than they usually are. Tenants are staying in places longer because they have to. Investor purchases have stayed strong, though investors have been buying about the same proportion of single family homes and making them rentals that they have historically and Redfin tells us that. The value of properties that investors have purchased is up more than 6% year over year, so investors are still buying and that makes sense. We're in this era where there's more uncertainty than usual, there's higher stock volatility than usual, and more people are sort of asking themselves, where would I get a better return than on income property, and where would my return be more stable today than in income property as well? If you work with Ridge lending group for a time, you're probably going to understand why I personally use them for my own loans. You'll notice that they really understand what investors need. Thanks to Caeli Ridge today and thank you for being here too. But as always, you weren't here for me. You were here for you until next week. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 3  40:56   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  41:20   You know, whenever you want the best written real estate and finance info, oh, geez, today's experience limits your free articles access, and it's got paywalls and pop ups and push notifications and cookies disclaimers. It's not so great. So then it's vital to place nice, clean, free content into your hands that adds no hype value to your life. That's why this is the golden age of quality newsletters. And I write every word of ours myself. It's got a dash of humor, and it's to the point because even the word abbreviation is too long, my letter usually takes less than three minutes to read, and when you start the letter, you also get my one hour fast real estate video. Course, it's all completely free. It's called the Don't quit your Daydream letter. It wires your mind for wealth, and it couldn't be easier for you to get it right now. Just text. GRE to 66866, while it's on your mind, take a moment to do it right now. Text GRE to 66866   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get rich education.com.    

Fritz Folts, chief investment strategist at 3Edge Asset Management. says the uncertainty about tariff policy — which has pushed uncertainty over interest-rate and monetary policies nearly out of sight — has made it particularly hard for investors to decide where to go with their money now. While the hard economic data is good, Folts notes that the concern is how quickly it may change once tariff chaos hits consumer prices; the result is that he's splitting his equity assets 50-50 between domestic and international stocks, and is looking at short-duration bonds and gold  to hedge the stock exposure. Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, discusses the latest National Association for Business Economics Business Conditions Survey, released today, which shows that economists' share Folts' concern about the coming months, with 75 percent of the survey respondents putting the probability of a recession in the next year at 25 percent. Just 15 percent of economists were that strong on recession chances in January. Plus David Trainer, president of New Constructs, puts a digital payment technology company in the Danger Zone for the third time, and Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, discusses her new book, “Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love and Work.”

The Fed is reconsidering how it defines inflation and employment goals, while homebuyers are turning to the oldest housing stock on record. In this episode, we break down Jerome Powell's latest comments on the Fed's framework review—and explore why the typical home bought in 2024 is now 36 years old, highlighting the long-term impact of America's construction slowdown. Read the Redfin report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/aging-housing-inventory/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode of Power House, Diego sits down with two big names in housing: Varun Krishna, the CEO of Rocket Companies, and Jay Bray, the CEO of Mr. Cooper. They discuss combining powerful brands and redefining what it means to own a home in the U.S. Varun shares how the “Own the Dream” campaign has been a complete marketing revolution for Rocket. He also breaks down the strategy behind acquiring both Redfin and Mr. Cooper, and how they're building a fully integrated experience across the entire homeownership journey. Jay dives into the shared vision that drove the Mr. Cooper deal and discusses how Rocket's AI-driven platforms will transform mortgage servicing and broker partnerships.  Varun and Jay will be joining us on stage this year at The Gathering, alongside Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. Dont miss out — register here! Here's what you'll learn: Own the Dream is a revolutionary marketing strategy for Rocket. Mergers and acquisitions are key to achieving growth. Homeownership is the core focus of Rocket's strategy. AI will play a significant role in optimizing the mortgage process. The future of servicing is about growth and integration. Related to this episode:⁠ Agenda | 2025 HousingWire: The Gathering BREAKING: Rocket CEO Varun Krishna Returns to The Gathering for Keynote Fireside Chat | HousingWire Rocket Companies to acquire Mr. Cooper in bombshell $9.4B deal | HousingWire Rocket's 'Apple of homeownership' flywheel is getting more complex | HousingWire Varun Krishna shares Rocket's plan to “become the Apple of homeownership” | HousingWire Rocket Companies announces deal to acquire Redfin for $1.75 billion | HousingWire Rocket Companies Mr. Cooper Jay Bray | LinkedIn Varun Krishna| LinkedIn ⁠⁠⁠⁠HousingWire | YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ Enjoy the episode! The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire president Diego Sanchez every Thursday morning for candid conversations with industry leaders to learn how they're differentiating themselves from the competition. Hosted and produced by the HousingWire Content Studio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is how to find investment properties that make real money in 2025. No “off-market” deals, no mailing letters, no cold calling—we'll walk you through how to find profitable, on-market rental properties that anyone can spot in any market across the country. Plus, how to separate “upside” potential from money pits that aren't worth the price. Dave has been buying rentals for 15 years, and he's showing you his exact method. If you're used to browsing listing sites like Zillow, Realtor, or Redfin, prepare to get your mind blown. We just released a brand new tool, BiggerDeals (100% free, by the way), that allows you to quickly search on-market properties and instantly get their cash flow, cash-on-cash return, cap rate, and rent-to-value ratios. This trims down your search time for properties by a massive margin. Now that you've used BiggerDeals to find your next potential rental, Dave will show you how to run the numbers in-depth to ensure you're buying a deal, not a dud. If the numbers work, and it fits your buy box, it's time to make an offer! The deal-finding and analysis can all be done in minutes, which means you're WAY closer to your first (or next) rental property than you thought!  In This Episode We Cover How to find profitable rental properties in any market in just minutes with BiggerDeals Why you DON'T need to find “off-market deals” to invest in real estate The “funnel” approach to finding rentals and how to trim down your search time by 90%+ Using the rental property calculator to easily run your numbers  How to estimate variable expenses on your next investment property The one thing you should always do before you offer on a property  And So Much More! Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-1121 Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠advertise@biggerpockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If cooking for your family every night is truly daunting, or the thought of feeding the kids all summer sends you into a panic, this episode is for you!I'll be the first to admit—I can't cook. That's why I was so excited to chat with Madison Wetherill, the inspiring mom behind Cook at Home Mom. Based in sunny Arizona, Madison balances life as a wife and mom of three energetic boys with her passion for creating simple, wholesome meals that nourish both body and soul.Madison's journey from cooking out of necessity to becoming a trusted source for flavor-packed, approachable recipes is seriously inspiring. Her recipes and tips have been featured in publications like Redfin, and she's cultivated a community of over 65,000 followers on Instagram. From slow cooker and air fryer guides to healthy meal plans and grocery tips, Madison's blog is like a virtual dining room where families can find inspiration for everyday cooking. You may have heard Madison's expertise on shows like The Food Blogger Pro Podcast, The BizChix Podcast, Eat Blog Talk, and The Blogger Genius Podcast. She's also the host of The Vine Podcast and runs a second blog, Joyfully Mad, sharing her insights on food blogging and content creation.Madison's mission? Make cooking at home easy, enjoyable, and always full of flavor. Bonus: She's curated a special collection of recipes just for the Mom Who Works community. Check them out here: https://cookathomemom.com/show .Follow Madison on Instagram:@joyfullymad @graceandvine  @cookathomemom

What are the ways to use economic tools to win at the “real” “game of life? Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin and author of Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. She joins us to talk about these tools and what she covers in her book. Find all of Daryl's links on Linktree.

How to navigate the ‘no buy challenge'. Decluttering expert Rebecca Rowe tells us what it's all about and shares her tips for getting started. A partnership between iFinance and Circle K that lets you access personal loans from the convenience store. William Breton, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of iFinance, takes us through how it works.  Then, a Canadian financial planning app called Optiml. Zac Davies, co-founder and CEO, tells us about its main features. Plus, we speak with Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin, about her new book called Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. To find out more about the guests check out: William Breton: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | TikTok Daryl Fairweather: Linktree Zac Davies: optiml.ca | Instagram | Facebook | Reddit | LinkedIn Rebecca Rowe: rebeccarowe.ca | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube Bruce Sellery is a personal finance expert and best-selling author. As the founder of Moolala and the CEO of Credit Canada, Bruce is on a mission to help you get a better handle on your money so you can live the life you want. High energy & low B.S., this is Moolala: Money Made Simple. Find Bruce Sellery at Moolala.ca | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

Before Google Maps. Before smartphones. Before Silicon Valley gave mobile a second thought — the Blumberg brothers were strapping GPS units to PalmPilots and piping real estate data through them. In this episode, Nick Smoot sits down with Brad and Eric Blumberg, the underdog inventors who quietly pioneered location-based real estate search and filed the first patents that would later shape the mobile experience we take for granted.From living a few blocks apart in Jersey to battling billion-dollar giants over the definition of “proximate,” the brothers share their wild ride through invention, patent wars, early startup life, and building trust with major partners before “startup” was even a cultural word.This one's about grit, timing, vision — and being early enough that people thought you were crazy.They were the first to hack GPS and mobile devices to make real estate location-aware.At a time when telecom was obsessed with “minutes,” they were shouting: “It's about data.”Selling a vision is often harder than building the tech.They faced deep skepticism from insiders who couldn't see the future — yet.Real innovation demands a shift in perception — and persistence when no one's clapping yet.They proved you could shop for homes on a tiny screen long before Zillow or Redfin.Innovation often starts by refusing to follow the rules everyone else takes for granted.They stuck to their vision even through lawsuits, economic downturns, and tech shifts.Progress doesn't happen in a straight line — it's messy, hard, and worth it.At the center of it all: understanding real user needs, not just market trends.Check out AstorKey, their newest innovation using encrypted, decentralized data to rethink how mortgages are done — without giving up your identity to the internet forever.

Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠Check out our recommended tool: ⁠Prop Stream⁠Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, follow, and review our podcast. Don't forget to share it with friends who might find it valuable. Stay connected for more insights in our next episode!

Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠Check out our recommended tool: ⁠Prop Stream⁠Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, follow, and review our podcast. Don't forget to share it with friends who might find it valuable. Stay connected for more insights in our next episode!

The U.S. housing market is flashing new signs of slowdown—multifamily construction is plummeting, and the spring homebuying season is off to one of its weakest starts in years. In today's episode, we break down Redfin's latest analysis showing a 27% drop in new multifamily permits compared to the pandemic boom, with many metros like Stockton, CA and Colorado Springs seeing construction nearly grind to a halt. At the same time, sky-high monthly payments and economic jitters are keeping buyers on the sidelines, even as inventory ticks up. We'll explore which metros are still building, where demand is drying up, and what it all means for the future of housing supply and pricing power. Read the multifamily report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/multifamily-construction-permits-2025/ Read the spring market report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-update-record-high-housing-costs-economic-uncertainty/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, shares some big ideas from her new book, Hate the Game.

Is the housing market finally tipping in clear favor of home buyers In a new Redfin analysis, the average home price is nearly $39,000 more than the typical sales price. We speak to Thomas Wright, CEO of Summit Sotheby's International Realty, about how sellers may be pricing too high and the advantage that gives to buyers.

Home sellers are stuck in the past—and buyers aren't having it. In today's episode, we break down the growing gap between what sellers are asking and what buyers are actually paying, with the typical home now listed 9% higher than its final sale price. We'll explain why the disconnect is widening, where the biggest gaps are happening, and what it means for negotiations in today's market. Plus, we'll cover the Trump administration's new push to open up federal land for housing development—a move that could reshape inventory in key western states but faces major infrastructure and environmental hurdles. Read the Redfin report here: https://www.redfin.com/news/home-sale-price-vs-list-price-2025/ Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why did Zillow just drop a bombshell listing ban? Zillow's Chief Industry Officer, Errol Samuelson, breaks the silence exclusively with us to address their new listing ban.   We dissect Zillow's stance on office exclusives and delayed marketing, exploring the fairness principle driving their decision. We talk about how Zillow arrived at this decision, the internal debates, and whether they're bracing for DOJ backlash.    Get the unfiltered truth on why Zillow is banning certain listings and what it means for the future of inventory visibility.   Was this a bold move for consumers or a power play? Hear Zillow's side of the story now.   For Errol's previous appearance on the show follow this link.   Links to articles and forms mentioned in the show: Compass Exclusive Almost Became a $100K Mistake   EXP's Seller Advisory Disclosure Zillow and Redfin listing ban FAQ: What you need to know now   Follow Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast on Instagram - YouTube - Facebook - TikTok. Visit us online at realestateinsidersunfiltered.com.   Link to Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/realestateinsiderspod/ Link to YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@RealEstateInsidersUnfiltered Link to TikTok Page: https://www.tiktok.com/@realestateinsiderspod This podcast is produced by Two Brothers Creative.

The housing market is bending under pressure—and buyers are finally gaining the upper hand. In today's episode, we break down the surge in seller concessions, why nearly 1 in 5 homes are selling below asking price, and what the latest Redfin data says about price growth and buyer demand. Plus, with 13% of pending sales falling through in March, we explore what's driving this uptick in last-minute cancellations. Whether you're buying, selling, or investing, this is one of the most important episodes to help you navigate the shifting real estate landscape. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Channel for the best real estate investing education online! Become a member of the BiggerPockets community of real estate investors - https://www.biggerpockets.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Industry Relations, Rob and Greg examine how changes to MLS rules, especially around delayed marketing and the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP), are impacting portals, broker strategies, vendors, and the broader real estate ecosystem. They also explore the implications of the Rocket-Redfin merger, challenges for MLS public-facing websites, and what the new data policy landscape means for technology providers.   Key Takeaways • Portal Impact of CCP Changes – Rob and Greg analyze how platforms like Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, and Homes.com are adapting to rule changes. • Delayed Marketing and Public Portals – Discussion of how CCP affects MLS public-facing websites, particularly HAR and UtahRealEstate.com. • Vendor Challenges with VOW Feeds – Vendors may need to shift from IDX to VOW feeds, which are more costly and complex to implement. • Rocket-Redfin Merger – Examination of how Rocket's acquisition of Redfin could reshape brokerage models and mortgage integration. • Enforcement Variability – Insights into how different MLSs may interpret and enforce delayed marketing and cooperation rules. • Broker Website Tech – Consideration of how IDX and VOW data will influence broker sites and lead generation strategies moving forward. Connect with Rob and Greg Rob's Website https://notoriousrob.substack.com/ Greg's Website https://www.vendoralley.com/about-2/ Our Sponsors: Cotality https://www.cotality.com/ Notorious VIP https://notoriousrob.substack.com The Giant Steps Job Board https://vendoralley.jobboard.io/   Production and Editing Services by Sunbound Studios sunboundstudios.com

In this conversation, Dave Jones discusses the competitive housing market in Tacoma, highlighting its ranking by Redfin as one of the top five most competitive markets in the U.S. Does it ring true? Dave looks at some real time NWMLS data.

This week on tWiRE – This Week in Real Estate, we're diving into a storm of high-stakes decisions and shifting market dynamics:

When's the right time to downsize your home? Dave and Debbie walk through signs listed on Redfin that may mean it is time to downsize your living space.

What happens when the immovable force meets the unstoppable object? We're about to find out. In this episode, Ryan Hills unpacks the mounting tension between the Fed and Trump—two massive forces now colliding over rate policy and economic pressure. With jobless claims rising, Americans pulling back on major purchases, and no emergency savings for many, pressure is building FAST. Redfin's latest data reveals just how shaky Main Street really is—and it could force the Fed to act sooner than expected. Will rates drop? Is a recession already here? And what does it all mean for housing?

Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠Check out our recommended tool: ⁠Prop Stream⁠Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, follow, and review our podcast. Don't forget to share it with friends who might find it valuable. Stay connected for more insights in our next episode!

Discover how to navigate the complexities of personal and professional decisions through the lens of behavioral economics. Kevin Coldiron speaks with Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin and author of the book "Hate the Game," who shares insights on using economic principles to tackle everyday challenges, from negotiating salaries to understanding workplace dynamics. They explore the importance of empathy and perspective-taking in decision-making, emphasizing that understanding the rules of the economic game can empower individuals to succeed despite systemic inequalities. Fairweather discusses her own journey in economics and the lessons learned from her experiences, including the value of strategic thinking in competitive environments. This conversation is not only enlightening but also serves as a practical guide for anyone looking to improve their decision-making skills and career trajectory.-----50 YEARS OF TREND FOLLOWING BOOK AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES VIDEO FOR ACCREDITED INVESTORS - CLICK HERE-----Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.IT's TRUE ? – most CIO's read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.And you can get a free copy of my latest book “Ten Reasons to Add Trend Following to Your Portfolio” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.Follow Kevin on SubStack & read his Book.Follow Daryl on X and read her book.Episode TimeStamps: 02:26 - Introduction to Daryl Fairweather07:30 - Choosing games and assessing probabilities13:14 - How do you know if your boss is a jerk?14:03 - Why it is important to be aware of how you present...

Zillow Just Dropped a Bombshell on Private Listings

Welcome to the Real Estate Rundown! This week, Kala and the guys break down the latest drama in the real estate world with Zillow and Redfin banning delayed listings.

Many prospective homebuyers may find themselves locked out of the market again this year. What key signs should buyers watch for in the coming months? In the final episode of our special series, “Buying a Home in 2025: Navigating the Crunch,” host Ariana Aspuru takes a closer look at the ongoing challenges facing the housing market, with Wall Street Journal reporters Veronica Dagher and Nicole Friedman, and Redfin's chief economist, Daryl Fairweather. We'll explore the challenges facing builders, from President Trump's tariffs and the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates to the impact of potential deportation-induced labor shortages. We'll break down how these factors will affect the construction of new homes and could shape the housing landscape in the future. Catch up on previous episodes here.  Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It might not exactly look like a game, but the economy has winners and losers and there are ways to beat the system. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what she calls the game of economics and why it's set up for those who are already financially well off to continue winning – and how using game theory can help level the playing field. Her book is “Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Private listings, broker lawsuits, and mortgage mayhem — Episode 312 is packed with the headlines shaping the future of real estate. This week on tWiRE (This Week in Real Estate), we're diving headfirst into the chaos, clarity, and controversy rocking the housing industry.

#596: Yesterday, the White House rolled out the biggest tariffs in a century, sending markets into their worst decline since the pandemic. While headlines focus on supply chains and inflation, there are important economic stories you're not hearing about. During the first half of this month's First Friday episode, we dig into what nobody's talking about. And in the second half, we grapple with the headlines. Student loan rules just changed again. The government added new limits to Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Right now, 9.2 million people — one in five borrowers — can't keep up with payments. Many folks don't even know payments started again after that four-and-a-half-year break. S&P just dropped a new report that backs what smart money already knows: index funds crush actively managed funds 90 percent of the time. Even with all those tech stocks dominating the market, you still come out ahead with simple indexing. You know who's gobbling up the mortgage market? Rocket Companies. They just bought both Redfin and Mr. Cooper. They'll handle one of every six mortgages in America. They've positioned themselves at every step of the homebuying journey — from when you search for homes on Redfin to financing and monthly payments for the next 30 years. The White House just made a surprising move with Bitcoin. They're setting up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to hold coins long-term. They're also creating a separate stockpile for crypto they seize in legal cases. Pretty clear signal that Bitcoin stands apart from other cryptocurrencies. In the second half, we dive into those significant new tariffs making headlines.  The S&P 500 dropped 4.8 percent on Thursday — we haven't seen a drop like that since the pandemic. The new rules put at least a 10 percent tariff on everything coming into the country. Then come the "reciprocal" rates: 20 percent for European goods, 27 percent for items from India, and a combined 65 percent for Chinese imports. We bring in Bob Elliott to make sense of this situation. His credentials are impressive — he spent 13 years at Bridgewater Associates (the world's largest hedge fund), served as head of Ray Dalio's investment team, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard.  During the 2008 crisis, he directly advised the Treasury, Federal Reserve, and White House.  Bob offers a reality check about bringing back manufacturing jobs: you can't build factories overnight. These investments take years, and companies hesitate to make 30-year commitments when policies change every few months. Bob breaks down four economic forces all hitting at once: tariffs jacking up prices, government cutting spending, tax policies on hold, and the Fed moving like molasses. Put them together? Yikes. He doesn't sugarcoat it — the short-term outlook looks "pretty negative." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Episode 239 of The Only Real Estate Podcast Worth Listening To, hosts Nick Good and Matt Kelderman break down a massive shift in the real estate landscape — and why agents like you need to be paying attention.Rocket Mortgage is no longer just a lender. With its recent acquisitions of Redfin and Mr. Cooper, it's becoming a vertically integrated powerhouse that could dramatically impact how clients buy, sell, and finance homes — without ever talking to a traditional real estate agent.In this episode, Nick and Matt cover:✅ What Rocket's acquisition of Mr. Cooper really means✅ Why their 83% client recapture rate should scare every lender and agent✅ The real threat of data-driven platforms that offer one-click mortgage and real estate solutions✅ How to future-proof your real estate business with branding, better systems, and client experience✅ What “platformification” means and how it's shaping the industry's next waveWhether you're an agent, lender, team leader, or broker, this is one episode you can't afford to miss.

Send us a textMortgage payments have hit an unprecedented milestone in the housing market, reaching an all-time high of $2,807 during March 2025. This record surge arrives alongside a 3% year-over-year increase in median home sales prices, while mortgage rates hover around 6.67%. Yet amid these challenging affordability conditions, a ray of hope emerges – new home listings have increased by 7.5% compared to last year, offering the most significant inventory expansion we've seen in 2025.The numbers tell a fascinating story of market psychology. Despite more homes becoming available, pending sales have actually decreased by 4.6% year-over-year. This disconnect reveals how economic uncertainty is reshaping buyer behavior across different regions. Washington DC buyers are approaching purchases with heightened caution, many citing concerns about potential layoffs and job stability. Meanwhile, Los Angeles demonstrates an opposite trend, with pending sales rising after five consecutive weeks of decline as affluent buyers re-enter the market.These regional variations highlight why local expertise remains invaluable in today's real estate landscape. Several Midwest neighborhoods are currently experiencing exceptional activity, ranked among Redfin's hottest markets. For sellers, increased inventory means more competition and the need for strategic pricing, while buyers face the paradox of more options coupled with persistent affordability challenges. Join us for our upcoming event "How to Be Financially Free in Under Three Years" on April 23rd at Tampa's Grand Cathedral Cigar Lounge, where we'll explore wealth-building strategies to help you navigate this complex market landscape. Reserve your seat today at www.wealthyaf.ai/events – your financial future can't afford to wait!Support the showIntroducing the 60-Day Deal Finder!Visit: www.wealthyAF.aiUse the Coupon Code: WEALTHYAF for 20% off!

Rocket — the company behind Rocket Mortgage — has struck a $9.5 billion deal to buy Mr. Cooper, a company that focuses mainly on collecting mortgage payments. That comes less than a month after Rocket bought online real estate brokerage Redfin. What’s behind the buying binge? Then, as part of our ongoing Tricks to the Trade series, we hear tips and reflections from flower purveyors at London’s New Covent Garden Market.

Rocket — the company behind Rocket Mortgage — has struck a $9.5 billion deal to buy Mr. Cooper, a company that focuses mainly on collecting mortgage payments. That comes less than a month after Rocket bought online real estate brokerage Redfin. What’s behind the buying binge? Then, as part of our ongoing Tricks to the Trade series, we hear tips and reflections from flower purveyors at London’s New Covent Garden Market.

Welcome to Loan Officer Freedom, the #1 podcast in the country for loan officers, hosted by Carl White. In this episode, your hosts, Carl White and Owen Lee take a closer look at the significant news of Rocket Mortgage's recent acquisition of Redfin for $1.75 billion, exploring the implications of this merger for the mortgage industry. They discuss how this purchase is not just about financial gain but a strategic move to leverage Redfin's vast data on homebuyers, allowing Rocket to proactively reach potential clients before traditional loan officers even have a chance. With insights on the importance of adopting technology in the mortgage business, they emphasize the opportunities available for loan officers to enhance their practices and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Tune in to discover how you can harness these advancements to boost your success! For more information on how to leverage technology in your mortgage business, visit GetMoreLoans.com. Schedule a one-on-one free coaching call, click here or visit LoanOfficerStrategyCall.com.

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found Click On Picture To See Larger Picture Germany is moving forward with the climate hoax, the people around the world will see the difference between a country that has energy and one that does not. Everything the President puts into place must be made permanent. The [DS] is fighting back and what you are witnessing is the insurgency, this is their final battle. Trump has created a counterinsurgency to battle and counter everything the [DS] is trying to do. Trump is building the narrative that Biden's EO and pardons are null and void because the [DS] used an autopen. In the end fraud vitiates everything.   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Economy https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1900873094148796675 https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1900630258845708750  sales fell -9.2% in the South, the biggest home-selling region in the US, marking the largest decline since 2020. Meanwhile, 1 in 7 contract signings were canceled in January, the highest share on record for this time of year, according to Redfin. Extremely high housing costs and economic uncertainty are behind recent market weakness. Home-buying conditions have rarely been worse. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1900991208505369030  secondary part-time job spiked 395,000 in February, to a record 5.37 million. This reflects 3.3% of total employment, the highest percentage since 1999. All while part-time workers for economic reasons jumped 460,000 last month, to 4.94 million, the highest since May 2021. Millions of Americans are working multiple jobs to afford basic necessities. BREAKING: Government Funding Bill Passes Key Senate Vote – Nine Dems Vote Yes The continuing resolution to keep the government funded and avert a government shutdown tonight at midnight has passed a key procedural vote in the Senate, and it will now see a final Senate floor vote.  Now that the Senate has taken this procedural vote, the chamber will vote on four amendments to the government funding bill and then take a final passage vote on the measure. These are the members of the Democratic caucus who voted to advance the measure: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin Senate Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Brian Schatz Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) Sen. Maggie Hassan Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto Sen. John Fetterman Sen. Gary Peters Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Sen. Angus King (an independent who caucuses with Democrats) Source: thegatewaypundit.com Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act must be made permanent  Congress must put everything into law. Federal reserve act must be removed 16th amendment must be removed. Source: wnd.com Political/Rights AOC Responds to Kyrsten Sinema Calling Out Her Hypocrisy, and She Really Shouldn't Have  After spending four years calling the Senate filibuster a "Jim Crow relic" and a "tool of segregationists," Democrats lined up on Friday to demand its use to stop a Trump-backed continuing resolution. As RedState reported, that incredible hypocrisy caught the eye of former Senator Kyrsten Sinema. https://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1900835811660362044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1900835811660362044%7Ctwgr%5Ea638b7a2847bf0faa2c9949962ee0f9a8b731747%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fbonchie%2F2025%2F03%2F15%2Faoc-responds-to-kyrsten-sinema-calling-out-her-hypocrisy-and-she-really-shouldnt-have-n2186708