Happy Labor Day Weekend! It feels great to be back after a superb vacation in England and Sweden.
I'm pleased to announce Tess and I got engaged - at the same restaurant we had our first date in Stockholm 4 years ago :)
The trip wasn't all pleasure -- couldn't help myself and dug into real estate in Sweden. Their housing crisis makes the US lack of afforable housing seem downright quaint. The growth in Sweden is astounding, and their laws make it very difficult to build.
I broke bread with the chairman of a publicly traded real estate firm that is building 10% of Sweden's housing. If you're interested in how real estate looks on the Baltic Sea, I'm happy to tell tale tales over a coffee.
On to the news you can use...
1. Thinking about selling your home? A recent academic study reveals some interesting facts about the psychology of pricing.
In a nutshell, there is a significant difference between a home priced at $199k versus $200k. It pays to be mindful of that last digit.
2. Are you renting your home on AirBNB or a similar service? Be careful: it can mess with your mortgage. The banks don't know how to deal with this type of income, and it's leaving many homeowners in the lurch.
The long and short of it is that people who think that additional income (from renting) should strengthen their loan application are being proven wrong by the banks. What's happening is their loans are being re-classified from residential owner occupied to investment loans, which have less favorable rates and terms. So even though the home is their primary residence, it's being classified as investment property.
In other words, the peculiar math of the banks is making people with more income less qualified for a loan!
So if you've been renting out a guest house or doing vacation rentals, read this article before you refinance your home.
Also, another even uglier problem has surfaced, but it mainly affects people who live in co-ops. A poor fellow lost his home even though he violated no laws. So if you happen to own a co-op in NYC or somewhere else and are using AirBNB to rent it, you'll want to read this article.
3. Do you feel guilty about owning too many homes? This ought to make you feel better: couple owns 13 homes -- and none are rented out. They just like collecting homes.
***
Attention Car Collectors: Off Market Private Sale
7 car garage: a 5 car air-conditioned garage, plus a separate 2 car garage. Also, there's an option to build another 3 car garage.
If you're a car collector looking for a home that can house numerous cars, you know that prices routinely run to many millions of dollars.
This exceptional 5 bedroom house on a quiet street in Paradise Valley also boasts a guest house, office, and gym. Offered at just under $1.6 million.
Excellent value here, please reply to this email if you'd like pictures when they are available. | 