Best purchase markets for millennials buyers

Posted on June 15, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Do you ever wonder where are the best markets to buy a home for the millennial crowd? A flurry of financial obstacles and lifestyle choices are stalling the journey to homeownership for many young adults, but becoming a homeowner is currently more feasible in some less expensive metro areas with steady job growth and lower qualifying incomes needed to buy, according to new research by the National Association of Realtors®.

NAR analyzed employment gains, population trends, income levels and housing conditions in the largest 100 metropolitan statistical areas1 across the country to identify the best purchase markets for millennial2 homebuyers.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says although millennials have made up the largest share of buyers for three consecutive years3, sales to first-time buyers and the homeownership rate for young adults under the age of 35 remain depressed at levels not seen in decades4. This is despite historically low mortgage rates, escalating rental costs and low unemployment levels among those with a college education.

“Even with potentially higher incomes, prospective millennial homebuyers residing in some of the most expensive cities in the country face the onerous task of paying steep rents while trying to save for an adequate down payment,” he said. “However, for those currently living in or looking to move to a more affordable part of the country, there are metro areas right now with solid job growth and that offer a smoother path to homeownership.”

The top 10 metro areas NAR identified were chosen for their above-average share of current millennial residents and recent movers, favorable employment opportunities and relatively low qualifying incomes needed to purchase a home5.

NAR’s study found that the best purchase markets for millennials buyers currently are (listed alphabetically):

  • Austin, Texas
  • Charleston, South Carolina
  • Denver
  • Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Ogden, Utah
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Salt Lake City
  • Seattle
  • Washington, D.C.

Other markets NAR identified for having promising potential for millennial homebuyers include:

  • Boston
  • Dallas
  • Des Moines, Iowa
  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Nashville, Tennessee

According to Yun, during the early stages of the economic recovery some of the largest metro areas – such as New York and parts of California – were attractive to millennials for their strong job markets, but their higher costs of living made it difficult to buy. Now that many more affordable, middle-tier cities have mostly recovered from the downturn and are once again experiencing robust job growth, millennials moving to some of these cities will likely realize they’re earning enough to purchase their first home.

“An overwhelming majority of young renters recently said they eventually want to buy a home5,” adds Yun. “As long as new and existing-home supply keeps up to meet demand and holds prices from rising too quickly, these identified areas are poised to lead the way in helping millennials realize their American Dream of becoming a .”homeowner

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

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Disability claims and overweight people

Posted on June 14, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

How to successfully manage disability claims when claims based on joint and musculoskeletal disorders are beginning to rival cancer as a top disabilities driver?

This information comes from Unum, a leading provider of disability insurance. Unum reviewed claims data generated during the past decade, and spotted the trend toward weight and age-related claims.

Cancer continues to be the leading claims generator, the company said. But here’s what’s happening due to boomer’s continued presence in the workforce:

  • Over the decade, Unum found a 33 percent increase in long-term disability claims and 14 percent increase in short-term disability claims for musculoskeletal issues.

    Morbidly obese workers cost employers more than $4,000 a year more than normal-weight employees, according to a study published in…

  • It also noted a 22 percent increase in long-term disability claims and 26 increase increase in short-term disability claims for joint disorders.

“Two particular trends are driving this experience,” said Greg Breter, senior vice president of benefits at Unum. “Aging baby boomers are staying in the workforce longer, and more than a third of U.S. adults are classified as overweight or obese. Research is showing that obesity is contributing to a dramatic increase in knee replacement surgery and exacerbates other conditions like arthritis, back injuries and joint pain. In addition, we also see obesity contributing to other issues, like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and certain types of cancer.”

Unum said these trends are likely to continue as an increasing number of workers are expected to decide to keep working past the traditional retirement age of 65.

Based on its research, Unum released the following lists of top five causes of claims for 2015:

Long-term disability:

  1. Cancer: 16.5 percent
  2. Back disorders: 14 percent
  3. Injury: 10.4 percent
  4. Cardiovascular: 9.6 percent
  5. Joint disorders: 9.2 percent

Short-term disability:

  1. Pregnancy: 27.4 percent
  2. Injury (non back): 11.3 percent
  3. Joint disorders: 7.2 percent
  4. Back disorders: 6.7 percent
  5. Digestive system: 6.6 percent
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New home sales reach pre-recession high

Posted on June 13, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

New home sales reach pre-recession high
Sales of newly-built single-family homes have reached levels not seen since before the financial crisis.

Data from the HUD and US Census Bureau show a 16.6 per cent rise in sales in April, reaching a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units; the highest sales pace since January 2008.

The National Association of Home Builders greeted the figures with optimism: “This month’s jump in new home sales is a positive sign that growing demand will keep the housing sector on an upward trajectory through the spring buying season,” said NAHB Chairman Ed Brady, a home builder and developer from Bloomington, Ill.

Inventory was at 4.7 months’ supply in April, based on current sales levels, with 243,000 new homes for sale. The median sales price was $321,100.

Low inventory is having a sharper effect than expected
The price of homes is rising faster than expected as low inventory has a greater impact. Data from Zillow shows that prices nationally rose 5 per cent in the 12 months to April, surpassing the 2 per cent that the firm’s analysts had predicted.

Inventory is down 3.7 per cent overall but in the entry-level sector there has been an 8 per cent drop in the past year. Some areas are more severely impacted; Portland for example has seen inventory slump 40 per cent.

Zillow’s chief economist Dr Svenja Gudell says things aren’t about to get any easier: “New construction has been sluggish over the past year; we’re building about half as many homes as we should be in a normal market. There still aren’t enough homes on the market to keep up with the high demand from every type of home buyer.”

Sales may slow following strong April says Barclays
The surge in home sales seen in many markets in April may mean future sales are lower. Barclays believes that the strong start to the spring buying season with national sales up 16.6 per cent on an annual basis, could be reversed in data for May and June.

The global bank says that the US housing market is strong despite recent volatility but that the surge in sales in April will have pressured already-tight inventories nationally and is likely to impact sales volume.

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How well do you know your brain?

Posted on June 12, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Missing Images!

Your brain doesn’t really do several tasks at once when you multi-task. It switches very quickly from one task to another. Because switching takes time, multi-tasking isn’t a very effective or efficient way to work.

Scientists are still puzzled about why people have déjà vu — the feeling that you’ve been somewhere or done something before even when you haven’t. But new research suggests that déjà vu occurs when people are somewhere new that’s similar to a place they’ve been or do something similar to something they did before. For a moment, they mistakenly think they were there or did it in the past.

A bigger brain doesn’t always mean bigger thoughts. In fact, human brains were larger back when we were living in caves, but our bodies were also larger then. As we evolved, more of the space in our brains became used for complex processes such as language, thinking, and memory.

A 1999 study of Einstein’s brain, based on photographs taken of it after he died in 1955, showed that the parietal lobes, which are linked to math ability, appear 15% wider than normal. But the size of his brain was a little smaller than average

We may be the smartest creatures on the planet, but others have bigger brains. Larger brains are needed partly to control larger muscles. A sperm whale’s brain weighs about 17 pounds and an elephant’s weighs a little more than 10 pounds. An owl’s brain weighs 0.005 pounds and a bullfrog’s about one-tenth of that.

When researchers looked at brain scans of Buddhist monks meditating, they found that the parts of the brain that help people concentrate and make decisions became more active. The burst of activity was very strong in young monks learning to meditate. But it was smaller in monks who had meditated more. This could mean the older monks’ brains had learned to focus more easily.

The right side of your brain controls movements on the left side of your body whether you’re right or left handed. The left side of your brain controls movements on the right side. That’s why damage on one side of your brain affects the other side of your body. So if you have a stroke in the left part of your brain, your right arm or leg could be paralyzed.

The two sides of your brain, called hemispheres, look almost identical. But they handle different tasks. When you form words or do math, you use mostly the left side. Face recognition, spatial abilities, and music are tied to the right side.

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Las Casitas – Caymen Islands

Posted on June 11, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies
Could you live here?
Las Casitas, Palm Heights Drive
 
Las Casitas, Palm Heights Drive Grand Cayman Islands #HouseForRentals  by Most Popular #CaymanRealEstate  Rental Property Management Company REM Services.
Great location, bright and airy, 2nd floor,corner unit available on Palm Heights drive, off Seven Mile Beach, walking distance to Camana Bay. Large screened in patio, overlooking the canal. Newly furnished with all new appliances.
Price just #Reduced  to $2,700. Available now!

 

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Caffeine and Headaches

Posted on June 10, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Everyone gets headaches from time to time. And most of us have caffeine in what we drink and eat every day. Have you considered whether there’s a connection? It’s possible for caffeine to both cause and cure a headache.

How Caffeine Helps

When your head hurts, you want relief fast. Whether it’s a run-of-the-mill tension headache or a migraine, caffeine can help. That’s why it’s an ingredient in a lot of popular pain relievers. It can make them as much as 40% more effective. Sometimes you can stop the pain in its tracks just by having caffeine alone.

Caffeine helps reduce inflammation, and that can bring relief. It also gives a boost to common headache remedies. Whether you use aspirin, ibuprofen, or acetaminophen, they work faster and better and keep the pain away for longer when combined with caffeine.

A very rare condition called hypnic headaches responds especially well to caffeine. These strike older people, waking them in the middle of the night with severe pain. Doctors tell people who get these to have a cup of coffee before bed, or as soon as the headache wakes them.

How Caffeine Hurts

Oddly enough, what makes caffeine effective in pain relief can also cause headaches.

Since caffeine narrows the blood vessels that surround your brain, when you stop taking it they expand again, and that can cause pain.

Withdrawal: It’s easy for your body to get so used to the effects of caffeine that when you don’t have it in your system, you have withdrawal. A headache is one of the symptoms. This can happen when you have caffeine regularly, even as little as a cup of coffee a day.

Too Much Medication: Caffeine is also a factor in what’s known as a medication overuse, or rebound headache. This can happen when you take too much of any kind of pain reliever or take it too often. When the medicine wears off, the pain comes back worse than before. When you combine caffeine with pain relievers this condition is more likely. This type of headache is rare and can be avoided by following instructions on the medication’s label.

What You Can Do

Be aware of how caffeine affects you, and pay attention to how much of it you drink and eat. If you get migraines, or if you find yourself having headaches frequently, you may want to try to cut down on caffeine or avoid it completely. It’s best to do that gradually. For example, if you normally have 2 cups of coffee in the morning, start by cutting back to one. If you quit suddenly, it can take up to a week to get past the withdrawal symptoms.

Keep track of your headaches and what seems to help. Get good sleep, and drink plenty of water. A nutritious diet and daily exercise can also help. Try to manage stress. You might be able to beat a headache with relaxation techniques, meditation, or massage instead of using medicine or caffeine.

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Justice Department sues leading mortgage company

Posted on June 9, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

The Department of Justice is suing a San Diego-based lender for alleged violations of the False Claims Act. Guild vehemently denies the merit of the government’s complaint, and intends to fight it, according to the company’s CEO.

A complaint has been filed against Guild Mortgage, alleging that the lender improperly originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, according to a DOJ release.

“This case is another example of the Justice Department’s continued efforts to ensure that lenders that participate in the FHA mortgage insurance program act in good faith and conduct appropriate due diligence when committing the United States to insure home loans,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, who heads up the DOJ’s Civil Division. “To protect the housing market and the FHA fund, we will continue to hold responsible lenders that knowingly violate the rules.”

The DOJ alleges that between 2006 and 2012, Guild, a direct endorsement lender for the FHA insurance program, knowingly submitted or caused the submission of claims for “hundreds of improperly underwritten FHA-insured loans.” The DOJ also maintains that Guild ignored FHA rules to falsely certify compliance with underwriting requirements.

The government claims that as a result of the company’s “knowingly deficient mortgage underwriting practices,” HUD has paid “tens of millions of dollars” in insurance claims on improperly underwritten loans.

Guild intends to fight the complaint, according to CEO Mary Ann McGarry.

“The government’s action is unwarranted and without merit,” McGarry said in a statement provided to MPA. “The implication that any default on an FHA loan by a borrower represents wrongdoing by the lender is not justified. For more than five decades Guild has responsibly underwritten fixed rate and fully documented loans in accordance with FHA requirements.

“This enforcement environment that lenders face today threatens to limit opportunities for home ownership and hurts the housing market,” McGarry added. “It is contrary to the mission of HUD and the FHA program to help the underserved – a Guild tradition since its founding in 1960.”

McGarry said that if the current “punitive environment” continued, the cost of lending would continue to increase for FHA borrowers until “only the wealthy” would be able to buy homes.

However, she said that Guild would continue to make FHA loans while fighting the complaint.

“Although we disagree with the allegations and intend to defend ourselves vigorously, we will continue to serve the FHA and first-time homebuyers, which we have served for more than 50 years,” McGarry said.

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But I have life insurance through work…..

Posted on June 8, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Most professionals who work at a private company, nonprofit or governmental entity have some level of free life insurance. It’s a nice perk to have, but you may wonder: Should I purchase more life insurance through work?

Most employer-provided life insurance benefits are so-called term life insurance policies. Term policies do not have an investment component in the form of a cash value. If the insured dies when the policy is in force, then the beneficiaries on file with the insurance company will receive the death benefit.

The beneficiaries of the policy are not necessarily people mentioned in the will, so it’s important that they are up to date and accurate.

As life insurance agents often recite, term policies are not good solutions for permanent life insurance needs. If you require a policy that will pay off upon your death no matter your age, then a guaranteed cash value policy may be the best option for you.

Most don’t require life insurance for the rest of their lives. If you are married in your 30s with kids, then it may be appropriate to have coverage until they are through college and your retirement savings are complete.

Term life insurance is the least costly option for a temporary life insurance need. Work policies have the advantage of offering a basic level of coverage for free in most cases. But if you have a spouse, children, or other dependents that would suffer financially if you were no longer around, then basic work term policies are generally not sufficient.

Determining an appropriate death benefit for life insurance is not a simple proposition, but there are rough guidelines that we can use so we can get an idea of your life insurance need.

Ten times your current income is a good starting point, which would mean someone earning $100,000 annually should purchase insurance with a death benefit of $1 million.

Even with this rough estimate, know that almost all employer life insurance plans fall short of the true need.

In most cases, you can opt to purchase more life insurance from your current employer, but that only makes sense in the rare case you have an adverse health condition or family history, and are able to purchase additional employer life insurance without going through underwriting.

Buying your own term policy means it can be kept in force even once you leave your employer. After all, just because you leave a job doesn’t mean that your need for life insurance has ended.

Also keep in mind that employer life insurance generally goes up in cost as you get older. Level term life insurance purchased privately will keep the same premiums during the length of the term.

Term life insurance is also priced at a rate that most can afford a death benefit sufficient to meet their needs.

Take a 35-year-old male who wants 20-year level term insurance with a $1 million death benefit. We’ll assume he’s in the second healthiest underwriting class for this exercise.

The monthly bill for this coverage could be in the $50 to $60 range, would not increase during the life of the term, and could be converted to permanent insurance in case it were needed.

Independent insurance agencies can supply quotes from many different companies and are a good resource. Employees of some “captive” insurance companies will offer good products as well.

For the quotes in this column, we used the website of InsuranceQuoting. There you can run anonymous term life insurance quotes to your heart’s content.

Taking the step of covering the needs of the ones you would leave behind is not easy. But your efforts to secure a life insurance policy outside of work should pay off in better peace of mind for you and your family.

 

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Recommendations for the best buys in Northern Nicaragua

Posted on June 7, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Right now, I see one last frontier market in Central America where you could buy a piece of land or property that’s set to rise in value. That frontier market is Northern Nicaragua.

This stunning part of the world has stayed off the radar of most real estate buyers thanks to an outdated reputation. Many still see Nicaragua as a war-torn, basket-case country. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Nicaragua of today is peaceful, developing, and one of the friendliest places I’ve ever visited.

And its northern region is bursting with opportunity—if you know the right locations and type of property to buy.

Northern Nicaragua managed to stay off even my radar for a long time. When I first started scouting out opportunity in Nicaragua, I looked to the south of the country—in places like the beach town of San Juan del Sur and the colonial city of Granada.

But the more I visited the country—and the more I dug into the macro story—the more I realized that the biggest opportunity was in the north. Yet few real estate investors are taking the time to uncover the opportunity in Northern Nicaragua…even though property prices are set to take off in the coming years.

When I first started scouting Northern Nicaragua, I was humbled by the sheer beauty of the region. Miles of untouched stunning coastline face the Pacific Ocean. Dramatic lakes and volcanoes dot the landscape. And its colonial city, Leon, is on a par with the historic aesthetic of Granada.

The investment story is compelling. The agricultural sector here is tried and tested…and strong. It’s been a mainstay of Northern Nicaragua’s economy for decades. But new industry has arrived in the past decade—including new state-of-the-art energy plants. The middle class is growing…and they’re looking to buy shiny new houses and condos.

Tourism is on a tear, too. Northern Nicaragua has as much—if not more—to offer vacationers as the south of the country. In the past decades, much of the country’s tourism efforts have focused on the south. But that’s changing. The Nicaraguan government has recognized the potential of the north. It’s working to increase tourism numbers to the north—to bring them to the beaches, the volcanoes, and the cities. Infrastructure is improving—smooth highways make the drive from Managua’s international airport easier than ever before.

This is what I term a classic ”Path of Progress” story. When progress like this comes, an increase in real estate values is never far behind.

But right now, Northern Nicaragua is still overlooked by most real estate investors. For savvy real estate investors, that’s good news. We can get in ahead of the pack to pick up bargains.

Now is the time to strike in Northern Nicaragua—and reap the benefits of capital appreciation and the potential for rental income as more vacationers come.

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Insurance Question of the Day

Posted on June 6, 2016 by robertjrussellcompanies

Question: When Should I Save for Retirement?

Answer: You should start saving for retirement as soon as you start working.

With longer life expectancies we are now living 20, 30 even 40 years into retirement. Allowing the power of compound interest to work for you means the sooner you start the bigger your Nest Egg will be.

Within 10 to 15 years of retirement, positioning for growth and protection is even more important. Since you would have less time to recover from a drop.

If you would like to work with a local Retirement Planner, you could start with a Google search. For example if you search for: retirement planner Halifax or retirement planning Halifax, my name along with several others will come up. You can use the same method to find Retirement Planners in your community.

If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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