In 100 Days, Trump Has Found 29 Ways To Screw Regular Americans

President Donald Trump campaigned as a champion of forgotten and downtrodden Americans ― a risible but tried-and-true platform ― but the first 100 days of his presidency have been decidedly un-populist.

Amid Trump’s deluge of unsubstantiated claims and the chaos of his administration, it can be challenging to keep track of what campaign promises he has or hasn’t fulfilled.

So here’s a list of 29 things Trump has done so far that cater to big business at the expense of ordinary Americans:

1. Trump reversed a planned decrease in the cost of mortgage insurance for working- and middle-class homebuyers. Within hours of being sworn in, Trump put a hold on a reduction in the cost of Federal Housing Authority mortgage insurance. The move means 750,000 to 850,000 Americans will face higher costs in the next year alone, according to the National Association of Realtors.

2. He nominated to run the Treasury Department a second-generation Goldman Sachs partner and hedge fund manager who activists say ran a “foreclosure machine.” Steven Mnuchin misled senators by saying the bank he invested in and ran didn’t use illegal robo-signings (documents showed they did) and omitted $100 million in assets from his personal financial disclosure forms. Oh, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is investigating claims his bank engaged in the racist practice of redlining.

3. Mnuchin is painfully under-informed about automation’s potential to decimate labor. In an interview with Axios’ Mike Allen, Mnuchin said he was “not at all” concerned about the potential shocks to the labor market that advances in automation might have, insisting that the timeline for such concerns was “50 or 100 years.”

As The Verge’s Adi Robinson noted, “[a] December report from the White House cited studies that estimate automation will affect between 9 percent and 47 percent of jobs over the next 10 to 20 years.”

4. Trump tried to put a fast-food executive in charge of the Labor Department. After running a campaign focused on the economy’s forgotten workers, Trump plucked the chief executive of the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. burger chains to lead the nation’s top workplace watchdog. While Andrew Puzder ran parent company CKE Restaurants, Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. franchises around the country violated the very labor laws that Puzder would have been expected to enforce. Puzder’s nomination eventually went down in flames ― not due to his company’s labor record, but because of old domestic abuse allegations and because he’d personally employed an undocumented immigrant.

5. Goldman Sachs’ influence in the Trump White House doesn’t end with Mnuchin. Former Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn’s influence in the West Wing has grown considerably in Trump’s first 100 days. Cohn’s developed such a strong hand internally that he is currently thought to be a leading contender for Reince Priebus’ job, should any staff shakeup create the need for a new White House chief of staff. As HuffPost has noted, “Cohn’s appointment as White House chief of staff wouldn’t just be a boon for bank lobbyists seeking lucrative new loopholes. It would be a restoration of finance to the center of American politics.”

6. Goldman Sachs’ influence in the Trump White House doesn’t end with Gary Cohn, either. Trump nominated former Sullivan & Cromwell partner Jay Clayton to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is tasked with making sure the financial sector behaves itself. In the wake of Clayton’s nomination, his old firm carefully trimmed his 800-word biography ― which detailed his adventures helping Wall Street firms navigate the legal terrain in pursuit of mergers, acquisitions and capital market offerings ― down to a more concise 30.

Here’s an even more concise biography: Clayton is probably best known as Goldman Sachs’ bailout lawyer.

7. Trump named a billionaire investor as an anti-regulation czar. Trump named Carl Icahn as a special adviser on regulation, which is awkward, given the dozens and dozens of regulations that materially affect Ichan’s investments. He is particularly incensed by an EPA renewable fuel rule that applies to an oil refinery in which he owns a stake.

Only one thing can allow a business to transcend the daily brute struggle for survival: monopoly profits.
Peter Thiel, "Zero To One"

8. Trump named a huge fan of monopolies to lead the search for anti-trust regulators. Shortly after his inauguration, Trump gave billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel the go-ahead to lead the search for his administration’s “top antitrust enforcement jobs.” Thiel, who sits on the board of world-devouring platform Facebook, came out as a committed monopolist in his book Zero To One: “Only one thing can allow a business to transcend the daily brute struggle for survival: monopoly profits.”

9. Overall, Trump’s advisers live in an elitist bubble. As the Washington Post’s Philip Bump reported in April, Trump has staffed his White House with a collection of plutocrats who possess a staggering collective wealth: “Financial reports released by the Trump administration indicate that 27 staffers who work for him are worth a combined $2.3 billion thanks to real estate, investments and hefty salaries.” That’s more money than 86 counties’ worth of Trump voters make in a year.

10. Trump moved to kill a rule that forces Wall Street to act in the best interest of Americans saving for retirement. Trump signed a memo that put the fiduciary rule — which requires brokers act in the best interests of folks saving for retirement — on the path to the glue factory. His adviser Cohn likened the move to “freedom,” saying, “This is like putting only healthy food on the menu, because unhealthy food tastes good but you still shouldn’t eat it because you might die younger.”

Not exactly: The rule literally forbade brokers from guiding retirees “into expensive or poor-performing products that carry economic benefits and perks for the advisers and their firms, without disclosing such conflicts of interest.” It’s estimated that consumers lose $17 billion annually to such scams.

11. Trump took aim at post-crisis bank regulation. Trump signed an executive order in February that by itself doesn’t undo Dodd-Frank, but starts a process that could defang Wall Street oversight. Technically, the administration is still in the “just asking questions” phase of financial de-regulation, but Trump has been clear about his intentions, saying that “we expect to be cutting a lot out of Dodd-Frank.” Trump signed the order after a meeting earlier that day with big-time Wall Street executives, at one point telling JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, “There’s nobody better to tell me about Dodd-Frank than Jamie, so you’re going to tell me about it.”

Trump signed two more executive orders in April asking the Treasury Department to review governmental authority to take over failing financial companies, and to review rules that allow for the regulation of financial companies other than banks as systemically important.

12. Trump outlined a budget that’s broadly punitive to Trump’s own voters. The Washington Post’s Jenna Johnson reports Trump’s proposed budget includes cuts that “would disproportionately harm the rural areas and small towns that were key to his unexpected win.”

13. Trump has instigated a trade war that will hit Americans first. The Dallas Morning News reported that Texas cattle ranchers have emerged as the “first casualty” of Trump’s “blundering, blustering trade policy.” Per contributor Richard Parker: “By threatening a trade war with Mexico within days of inauguration, the president helped trigger a slide in cattle futures. Mexico is a major export market. By sinking the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the new administration cut off long-sought access to the Japanese market. Now banks have raised the conditions for collateral for loans for ranchers.”

14. Trump has backed health care proposals with a common theme: subsidize the wealthy while jacking up prices on the poor with shock cost increases. Both Trump-backed Obamacare replacements are broadly redistributive, but not in any discernibly populist direction. Rather, they shift wealth from poorer Americans to wealthier ones and corporations. People earning over a $1 million, in fact, would have “saved an estimated $165 billion in taxes over 10 years.” The tax benefits would be financed through draconian cuts to Medicaid and other health programs for the poor.

15. The plan also features substantial cuts in drug treatment protocols to address the nation’s opioid crisis. As CNN’s Dan Merica reported: “The current version of the Trump-backed Republican health care plan would end the Obamacare requirement that addiction services and mental health treatment be covered under Medicaid in the 31 states that expanded the health care program. The GOP plan would instead leave up to states ― and their budgets ― to decide whether to cover drug treatment and mental health services under Medicaid. That’s a decision advocates say could put the most vulnerable opiate abusers in greater risk, thanks to near-constant pressure on state budgets.”

16. Good news for employers who like stealing from their workers! Trump signed a bill, sent to him by Congress, that repeals the sensible-sounding Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces rule, put in place by Obama. The rule would have required companies to disclose labor law violations when they bid on federal contracts, so that the government doesn’t steer taxpayer dollars toward companies that cheat or endanger workers. By repealing the rule, Trump did a favor for companies that have a history of wage theft and workplace hazards.  

17. Trump delayed a life-saving protection for construction workers. Earlier this month, Trump put a halt to the most consequential workplace safety reform of the last decade. The so-called silica rule would reduce the amount of cancer-causing dust that companies can legally expose construction workers to. The tighter regulations rolled out last year were 45 years in the making and are projected to save 600 lives per year. But the Trump administration announced a three-month delay to enforcing the rule, drawing applause from the construction industry. Workplace watchdogs now worry the regulations will be watered down or scrapped altogether.

18. Trump made it harder for low-wage workers to save for retirement. The Obama administration took steps to popularize what are known as automatic IRA accounts. These are government-sponsored retirement plans set up for people who don’t have IRA’s through their jobs, i.e., much of the working class and working poor. Even though these plans once enjoyed conservative support, Trump repealed Obama’s executive order that would have made it easier for cities and counties to set up these auto-IRA’s. That surely pleased Wall Street, which doesn’t like how these IRA’s compete with its own offerings.

19. Trump made it easier for employers to hide worker injuries. Earlier this month, Trump loosened the record-keeping requirements for employers in dangerous industries. Instead of having to keep accurate injury records for six years, employers can only be held accountable for the last six months. Occupational health experts say the change will make it easier for companies to sweep injuries under the rug. “This will give license to employers to keep fraudulent records and to willfully violate the law with impunity,” a former OSHA policy adviser told HuffPost.

20. Trump weakened rules on lobbyists working in his administration. Trump signed an executive order that allows lobbyists to join his administration, provided they don’t work for two years on any issue on which they lobbied. (The Obama administration barred anyone who had been registered as a lobbyist in the prior year from joining.)

As a result, someone like Geoffrey Burr, who lobbied the Labor Department in opposition to wages rules and worker safety measures, can work in the Trump administration’s Labor Department.

21. Trump allowed coal companies to dump waste in streams. Trump signed a bill killing the Obama administration’s Stream Protection Rule, which aimed to keep toxic metals out of water supplies in coal country.

22. Trump froze Environmental Protection Agency contracts grants. The Trump team put a temporary halt to funding for routinely contracted work like drinking water testing, ProPublica reported.

23. Trump’s FCC kept the prices sky-high for families who call loved ones in prison. Prison phone calls are absurdly expensive, averaging around $3 for a 15-minute in-state call. Activists have been trying to bring the cost down for years.

In 2015, federal regulators approved a rule that capped charges at 11 cents per minute. The industry sued, and Trump’s new head of the FCC, Ajit Pai, recently announced the agency would not defend the rule in court.

24. The FCC also blocked nine internet service providers from a federal subsidy program for low-income Americans. Pai undid a move that allowed internet service providers to participate in the Lifeline program, which gives a $9.25-per-month credit to households to buy internet service.

25. Trump’s EPA killed a rule to protect people from mercury exposure. The EPA withdrew a rule requiring dentists’ offices to install equipment to dispose of fillings that contain mercury as an alternative to washing them down the drain. Mercury can hurt pregnant women and kids even at low levels.

26. Troubling signs for civil asset forfeiture reform. During a White House meeting with county sheriffs from across the country, Trump offered to help “destroy the career” of Texas state Sen. Juan Hinojosa after one of the sheriffs in attendance complained about Hinojosa’s efforts to curtail the oft-abused practice of civil asset forfeiture.

27. Big military budget build-up has little for the soldiers on the front lines. Trump has planned to funnel taxpayer dollars into the military in a bid to beef up its budget. But as of now, the principal beneficiary of this largesse will continue to be wealthy military contractors and Pentagon elites. As HuffPost’s David Wood reported, very little will trickle down to working-class service members, who typically deploy with “budget leftovers” such as “antiquated rifles, helicopters built for their grandfathers during the Vietnam War and communications gear that is overweight and unreliable.” The men and women who are training to fight in the next war have “weapons that don’t work, trucks that are broken down, [and] combat exercises canceled for lack of money.”

28. Plans are afoot to make it easier for corporations to get out of paying their taxes. Trump signed an executive order this month asking the Treasury Department to look at all Obama-era tax rules. Anything that’s too much of a burden or too complex in the eyes of Secretary Mnuchin could get axed. The main target appears to be rules put in place to cut down on tax inversions, in which an American company acquires a foreign company and relocates abroad to cut down on its U.S. taxes.

29. And now, Trump has proposed a massive tax cut for America’s elites: Just ahead of the (largely arbitrary) “100 Days” deadline, the White House issued a single-page statement of principles that outlines a massive tax cut for America’s richest citizens. In HuffPost’s analysis, the wealthy would benefit from “reducing the tax rate on stocks, bonds and real estate investments; eliminating inheritance taxes for millionaire heirs and heiresses; and bringing down the tax rate on the largest corporations to less than half of what it is now.” According to the Center for Economic Policy and Research, Trump would himself receive a tax break windfall under this plan, to the tune of $65 million.

Appropriately, the punchline of Trump’s faux-populist joke is, “The Aristocrats!”

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These New Policies Could Make it Easier for Student Loan Borrowers to Get a Mortgage

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While the jury is out on how significant a barrier student loan debt is to owning a home, Fannie Mae is looking to end the debate.

Fannie Mae the government-sponsored enterprise that buys and securitizes home loans, is introducing three new policies designed to make it easier for individuals with student loan debt to get a mortgage. The policies will provide lenders originating Fannie Mae-approved loans with more options for these borrowers, according to Jonathan Lawless, Fannie Mae’s vice president of customer solutions. “The next generation still aspires to homeownership,” Lawless said. “But they don’t know they can qualify.”

Fannie Mae is now officially offering a student loan cash-out refinance option nationwide. The housing finance giant began piloting this product, which lets homeowners pay off high-interest student debt through a home refinancing, last November with online personal finance company Social Finance.

Additionally, one of the policies Fannie Mae is instituting will exclude non-mortgage debt paid by someone else, such as credit cards, auto loans and student loans, from a borrower’s debt to income ratio. “We’ve seen historically that a lot of people have others paying their debts for them,” Lawless said, including parents or employers who will pay off student loan debt for college graduates. To qualify for this exemption, prospective borrowers must document that 12 months’ worth of those debt payments were made by that other party.

In another bid to widen the number of borrowers with student debt who can qualify for a mortgage, Fannie Mae will also now allow lenders to accept the student loan payment information that appears on credit reports. In the past, Fannie Mae required lenders to recalculate student loan payments in underwriting if they were below 1% of the loan balance (which is often the case for people taking advantage of the four income-based repayment programs.) The previous policy was very conservative, Lawless said, particularly for the millions of people with federally-insured student debt in an income-based repayment plan. “For all of those consumers, we’re making it more likely that they will be approved” for a mortgage, Lawless said.

As for concerns that student loan debt increases the risk of a mortgage, Lawless suggested that the opposite was true. Based on Fannie Mae’s historical data, cash-out refinances where borrowers had student loan debt presented less risk in the end than other cash-out refinances or standard refinances, Lawless said. And to the extent that graduation is an indicator of future income potential, student loan borrowers can be a safe bet for lenders. “Folks with student debt actually perform very, very well,” Lawless said. “They are a very safe segment of the market.”

The post These New Policies Could Make it Easier for Student Loan Borrowers to Get a Mortgage appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Former Equifax president lists Canton horse estate at $13.5M, one of top 10 in GA (SLIDESHOW)

A 40-acre horse estate in Canton listed at $13.5 million and built by the former president and chief operating officer of Equifax Inc. and his wife is one of the 10 most expensive homes on the market in Georgia. It’s listed by Cynthia Chandlee, a Realtor with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty’s Alpharetta office. Painted View Ranch at 1950 Lower Birmingham Road includes a main home with 31,000 square feet under cover, 22,000 square feet heated and cooled; a 9,000 square foot…

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Will Trump’s Tax Plan Help or Hurt the Housing Market?

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President Donald Trump‘s proposed tax plan, which his administration is touting as the “biggest tax cuts in history,” might not be a net positive for home buyers, sellers, and owners, real estate professionals say.

The National Association of Realtors® swiftly came out with a statement critiquing the first draft of the plan released on Tuesday, which the group characterized as potentially harmful to the housing market.

“For over a century, America has committed itself to homeownership with targeted tax incentives that help lower- and middle-class families purchase what is likely their largest asset,” NAR President William Brown said in a statement.

But under the Trump administration’s plan, “current homeowners could very well see their home’s value plummet and their equity evaporate if tax reform nullifies or eliminates the tax incentives they depend upon, while prospective home buyers will see that dream pushed further out of reach,” he said.

The group pointed out that homeowners already shoulder 80% to 90% of the federal income tax burden. This could rise under the proposed plan.

Details of the plan were scant. However, the current proposal calls for doubling the standard deduction that taxpayers can use to lower their tax burden. That deeply diminishes the value of the mortgage interest deduction provided to help homeowners defray costs, and may discourage people from buying homes.

State and local tax deductions are also on the chopping block. This would hurt homeowners in the nation’s most expensive states the most, as they wouldn’t be able to deduct property tax payments from their federal taxes. And that could cost them hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

“It’s not going to have an immediate impact [on residential real estate], because demand is very strong for housing,” says realtor.com® Senior Economist Joseph Kirchner. “What this will do is it will decrease affordability,” especially for the middle class.

Bigger standard deductions could overshadow mortgage interest deductions

Mortgage interest deductions are safe under the proposal. But doubling the standard deduction that Americans can take to lower their taxable income (and therefore their tax bills) could make that mortgage interest deduction much less valuable. That’s because homeowners can take it only if they forgo the standard deduction and itemize their deductions instead.

Under Trump’s proposal, the standard deduction would rise from $6,350 to about $12,700 for individuals and from $12,700 to roughly $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. This means single filers wouldn’t owe the IRS anything on the first $12,700 they earn, and the same for married couples’ first $24,000 in income.

“Doubling the standard deduction could severely marginalize the mortgage interest deduction, which would reduce housing demand and lead to lower home values,” Granger MacDonald, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement.

About 32 million homeowners took the mortgage interest deduction in 2014, according to the most recent data available from the NAR. It saved households an average $2,173. The deduction is good only on homes worth up to $1.1 million.

Writing off local and state taxes could become a thing of the past

The new tax plan might also stop letting folks write off their state, local income, and real estate taxes, which include property taxes. That’s expected to hurt West Coast and Northeastern residents the most, as they have some of the nation’s highest tax rates.

Those deductions can save folks thousands of dollars in some cases, says Roberton Williams, senior fellow at Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC.

In 2014, about 37 million households deducted a total of $178 billion in local and state real estate taxes, according to the NAR.

The deduction is popular with wealthier households. Only 10% of tax filers earning $50,000 or less claimed it in 2014, compared with 81% of those bringing home more than $100,000, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center told MarketWatch.

Sorry, freelancers, home office deductions could be in jeopardy

People who work from home could also be hurt by the new plan, as home office deductions might vanish. These include insurance, utilities (like the ever-important power and Wi-Fi), repairs, and home depreciation, according to MarketWatch. The amount folks are allowed to deduct is based on the size of the dedicated workspace relative to the entire home.

These miscellaneous itemized deductions must be higher than 2% of workers’ adjusted gross income. That’s generally a household’s taxable income before deductions and exemptions are factored in.

So getting rid of the home office deduction “will have an impact on small businesses, startups, and consultants, who are all part of the middle class,” realtor.com’s Kirchner says.

“These are all people who are potentially home buyers.”

Renters could be affected, too

It’s not just homeowners who could be affected by the tax cuts. Changes to the 1031 like-kind exchanges—what investors use to invest in commercial real estate—could affect how much money investors put into constructing new commercial real estate properties like apartment buildings.

That’s because the exchanges let investors, like hedge funds, defer the capital gains taxes on sales of investment properties (like rentals) and reinvest that money into new, similar property purchases. Changes could make the exchanges less profitable, leading folks to invest elsewhere. And that could mean fewer apartment buildings and higher rents.

“1031 like-kind exchanges help investors keep inventory on the market and money flowing to local communities,” NAR’s Brown said in a statement.

But not everyone is worried.

The cuts “wouldn’t generate enough tax revenue to be worthwhile,” says Jack Kern, director of research at Yardi Matrix, a commercial real estate data firm. Plus, he doesn’t believe too many investors would walk away from the more stable apartment development investments.

“You don’t need an office. You don’t have to have a warehouse,” Kern says. “But you do need a place to live.”

The post Will Trump’s Tax Plan Help or Hurt the Housing Market? appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Versailles-Inspired Mansion in NYC Is Most Expensive New Listing

Walk down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and you might be forgiven for overlooking this Beaux Arts mansion surrounded by newer and larger buildings. The historic manse on the Upper East Side is available for $50 million, making it this week’s most expensive new listing on realtor.com®.

Completed in the early 1900s by Grand Central Terminal architects Warren & Wetmore, the palatial home is listed in public records as being owned by the Permanent Mission of Yugoslavia to the United Nations.

Stairs with ornate skylight; sink

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The former republic, now broken up into multiple countries, is ready to let go of its New York City digs. Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the home has been used as the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Serbia to the United Nations.

The home was reportedly built for $60,000 for R. Livingston Beeckman and his wife. It was sold to George Grant Mason in 1912, and then to Cornelius Vanderbilt’s granddaughter in 1925.

After her death, Yugoslavia took possession of the building in 1946 for $300,000. There’s also a separate Park Avenue duplex that served as the ambassador’s residence, according to the New York Post.

Now, the home is on the market for the first time in 70 years. It’s notable for its “rich historic provenance, palatial proportions inspired by the Palace of Versailles and original details by master artisans of the early 20th century,” according to the listing.

New York’s Landmark Preservation Committee, which designated the address as historic in 1969, said, “Although this small town house is sandwiched between two large apartment buildings, their overpowering size cannot diminish the palatial scale nor the elegant grandeur of its architecture.”

Even today, this petite palace holds its own among its newer and taller rivals. The mansion, with 20,000 square feet of living space, has nine levels and 10 rooms with Central Park views. The 18th-century French influence includes white marble stairs, stone balconies, and an ornate skylight in the grand entrance.

Ceiling mural of cherubs

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A ceiling mural of cherubs graces the library, and paintings and decorative filigree add period flourishes on the walls and ceilings throughout.

Dining room

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The property could be converted back to its original use as a grand mansion for a high net worth individual. Tristan Harper is the listing agent.

The post Versailles-Inspired Mansion in NYC Is Most Expensive New Listing appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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121-year-old St. Paul home (with room for a rink) sells for $1 million (photos)

A historic home in the Crocus Hill neighborhood in St. Paul recently sold for $1.05 million, according to a state certificate of real estate value. The home, located at 825 Goodrich Ave., was built in 1896 and was designed by architect Louis Lockwood, though Realtor Marcy Wengler of Edina Realty, who represented the sellers, said the house may have actually been built in 1888. The house, also known as the C.A. Bettigen House, is on the Minnesota National Register of Historic Places. You can view…

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Learnin’ to Buy? Tom Petty’s Former Encino Home Has a Sordid Past

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The Encino, CA, home that once belonged to rock legend Tom Petty has been through fire, divorce, bankruptcy, foreclosure, tenants from hell, and even a SWAT team invasion. After all the drama, it recently staggered back on the market for $2.83 million.

The current homeowner is JPMorgan Chase bank, which is committed to selling the property in 90 days. However, listing agent Christian Stevens believes the place will be on the market for only a couple of weeks, even though it might be a bit overpriced and is known as a “star-crossed house.”

So what’s with this ill-fated house? The history will floor you. It started in 1987, when Petty and his family were eating breakfast and an arsonist lit the wooden staircase on fire. Almost everything burned down, except for the basement recording studio.

Because the property was in an exceptional location that was private and wooded, the family decided to rebuild, in a style Stevens calls “Big Bear cabin meets Trousdale Estates.”

Tom Petty’s former house in 2013

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Backyard pool

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The style was eclectic, with secret passageways and nooks, and ladders and lofts. And as much as the rocker enjoyed it, his ex-wife, Jane, acquired it in their 1996 divorce settlement. She converted the basement studio into an apartment, and put the five-bedroom, eight-bath house on the market in 2013 for $3.58 million.

The fireplace

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However, the home remained unsold. According to Stevens, there were a number of reasons it never changed hands. At the top of the list was the fact that Jane owed considerably more on the house than what it was listed for.

Stevens says apparently no one had advised Jane on the concept of a short sale, which might have remedied the situation. With no sale on the horizon, the bank began to foreclose on the house. Jane then declared bankruptcy, immersing the property in legal entanglements for several years.

The kitchen

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While the legal wrangling was underway, the house was rented out to a professional party person, who held wild (and often illegal) bashes on the premises, with guests invited through social media and admission charged at the door.

“We’re not quite sure what went on at those parties,” says Stevens, “but we did find photos of pole dancers in the drawers in various rooms with names like Tiffany and Cartier.”

The master bath

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Believe it or not, the story gets worse. When bank representatives went to evict the tenant, Stevens says, the guy wouldn’t allow anyone in, not even the sheriff. He posted a sign on the gate threatening violence and stating that trespassers would be prosecuted and subject to military law.

The police proceeded to storm the property with a SWAT team, helicopters, and black vans. The tenant was found hiding in one of the house’s many nooks and was hauled off to jail.

Which brings us to today. The listing pictures don’t reveal the home’s sordid past—but a full disclosure of the home’s history is available to all interested buyers. When they consider the luxurious home with canyon views and a stellar location, they might be willing to overlook the troubled history.

French doors leading to the deck

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Plus, actor Vin Diesel is reported to be living on one side and a 30,000-square-foot home is being built on the other side. All three properties are surrounded by large walls, gates, and mature foliage. That kind of privacy is rare in these parts.

Stevens predicts that if someone with a strong vision pays the asking price, overlooks the “creepy” history, and spends a million dollars on a renovation, he’ll have himself a “$5.5 million home.”

“The perception is that if it’s owned by a bank, it’s a good deal,” says Stevens.

A buyer who won’t back down could score quite a deal.

The post Learnin’ to Buy? Tom Petty’s Former Encino Home Has a Sordid Past appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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With $500K to Burn, What Homes Can You Buy?

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In some places, half a million bucks will land you—well, maybe not a palace, but definitely a four-bedroom pad with plenty of room to relax and maybe even a stunning lake view. In the priciest markets, though, $500,000 is merely starter-home money—and you’d be lucky to find one.

Ready to step up to the half-million mark? Take a look at how amenities and sizes vary by region, from a waterfront perch in Portland, OR, to a home on the shore of a 10-acre lake in Houston.

2051 N. Jantzen Ave, Portland, OR

Square footage: 1,692
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Amenities worth $500K: Nature lovers will love this home hugging the Columbia River. Budding chefs will swoon over the kitchen’s butcher block counters and thoughtful use of space. The upper deck is perfect for writers, artists, or coffee sippers. And because this 1940 beauty has been fully modernized, all that’s left is to move in.

2051 N. Jantzen Ave., Portland, OR

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3965 La Cresenta Rd, El Sobrante, CA

Square footage: 1,779
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Amenities worth $500K: Here’s our entrant from the ultrapricey San Francisco Bay Area, although you won’t find anything decent in San Francisco at this price. Across the bay and 21 miles to the northeast, El Sobrante offers more value. Despite its average-looking exterior, this East Bay home built in the late ’40s has plenty of space. There’s a sun deck with views, an attached garage, and a basement-level family room. Two more reasons to love this house: the natural lighting (thanks to high ceilings) and open-layout kitchen.

3965 La Cresenta Rd., El Sobrante, CA

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3402 Softrain, San Antonio, TX

Square footage: 3,335
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Amenities worth $500K: This 24-year-old custom home features luxe amenities, including quartz countertops and a Jenn-Air stovetop in the kitchen, and arched windows in many of the rooms. Golfers will enjoy the backyard putting green. There’s also a pool out back to help ease the hot San Antonio summers.

3402 Softrain, San Antonio, TX

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8919 Lakeshore Bend Dr, Houston, TX

Square footage: 2,700
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Amenities worth $500K: The backyard is a 10-acre lake! The new buyer will enjoy water views from most rooms and the third-story deck. A two-level patio is perfect for hosting barbecues. An open-concept kitchen, dining room, and living room are designed for entertaining, and exposed-grain wood flooring throughout evokes a beach house charm.

8919 Lakeshore Bend Dr., Houston, TX

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5416 W. Ardmore Ave, Chicago, IL

Square footage: 1,950
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3
Amenities worth $500K: This adorable 94-year-old bungalow comes with a three-car garage (a rare city perk) and a finished basement. Next door you’ll find a golf course and a forest preserve. For home cooks, it doesn’t get much better than the updated kitchen with its granite countertops.

5416 W. Ardmore Ave., Chicago, IL

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548 Woodruff Place East Dr, Indianapolis, IN

Square footage: 5,334
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Amenities worth $500K: Located in the desirable Woodruff Place, a neighborhood noted for its historic homes, this Victorian is fresh off a renovation. The recent work means the new owner will get classic craftsmanship (original woodwork, including the grand staircase and first-floor window seat, fireplaces, and stained-glass windows) and contemporary living (chef’s kitchen and huge master closet).

548 Woodruff Place East Dr., Indianapolis, IN

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444 Poplar St, Philadelphia, PA

Square footage: 1,831
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 3
Amenities worth $500K: This four-story home in Northern Liberties still has room to grow—the basement is partly finished. There’s a roof deck to take in the skyline, plus a second deck to experience the outdoors. The home’s many large windows draw in natural light, and the kitchen has been updated with quartz countertops, stainless-steel appliances, and a custom backsplash.

444 Poplar St., Philadelphia, PA

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5871 NE 21st Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Square footage: 1,695
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2
Amenities worth $500K: You can enjoy Mid-Century Modern design with this home 4 miles from the beach. Built in 1961, the home has been updated and has a new roof, bathroom, and landscaping. Two more pluses: a new kitchen and spacious closets in all the bedrooms.

5871 NE 21st Dr. Fort Lauderdale, FL

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The post With $500K to Burn, What Homes Can You Buy? appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Pending-home sales lurch lower as inventory tightens further

Home purchase contract signings declined in March as the housing market tightened further, the Realtor industry group said Thursday.

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CNN Anchor Jake Tapper Sells Washington, DC, Home for $1.4M

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CNN anchor Jake Tapper has parted ways with his four-bedroom house on a private cul-de-sac in Washington, DC, selling the clapboard home for $1.4 million, according to the Washington Post.

Tapper and his wife, Jennifer, bought the home in the Northwest neighborhood in 2007 for $1.2 million. The Post says the couple, who have two young children, are looking for more outdoor space.

The four-level, 2,930-square-foot house, which sports a hot pink front door, has a living room with fireplace, and a kitchen with breakfast room.

The master suite features a cathedral ceiling, walk-in closet, and bathroom with glass shower and soaking tub. A third-floor bedroom (or office) has built-in bookcases and a balcony overlooking Rock Creek Park.

Jake Tapper’s former home

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The front porch offers an ideal vantage for watching the tony neighborhood’s residents scurrying to and from their powerful jobs. A rear deck overlooks the park. There’s also a small backyard with a flagstone patio.

Tapper’s Northwest neighbors include a few members of the Trump administration. New area residents include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, spokesperson Kellyanne Conway, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Tapper, 48, is CNN’s chief Washington correspondent and host of the all-news network’s daily show, “The Lead With Jake Tapper.”

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Central Ohio foreclosures drop 64% in 1Q

There's been a drastic drop in the number of home foreclosures in Central Ohio as the real estate market continues to thrive. Foreclosures dropped 63.7 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago, Columbus Realtors reports. They're down more than 93 percent from peak levels in 2010, too. Related: EXCLUSIVE – Sizzling real estate market on pace for 6th straight year of growth Lender-mediated properties are defined as foreclosure, lender owned, short sale, HUD and…

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HBA lauds local homebuilders with its annual MAX Awards — and highlights some of Austin's coolest new homes

The Home Builders Association of Greater Austin honored several of its members in categories such as home construction, remodeling and marketing campaigns. The design and construction awards were divided between custom homebuilders and volume homebuilders. Click on the photo to see a sample of some of the winners. Sijo Vadakkan of Trinity Texas Realty Inc. was named as the Realtor of the Year. Here's a full list of the home construction winners. Best product design by custom builders $250,000…

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Remodeling by the Numbers: Americans Double Down on Home Improvements

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Homeowners who have long hated their grungy floors, salivated over their neighbors’ fancy outdoor patios, and wanted to give their sagging homes a general face-lift since they moved in are opening their checkbooks wide.

Americans more than doubled what they spent on home improvements in the past year, dropping about $5,157 on average, according to a recent survey from home services marketplace HomeAdvisor. That’s up almost 57% from February 2016 to February 2017.

HomeAdvisor surveyed 500 homeowners aged 25 and up who had completed home maintenance or improvement projects within the past 12 months.

Homeowners are “feeling wealthier than before because of the improvement in their homeowner equity” as the economy and the real estate market have improved, says HomeAdvisor Chief Economist Brad Hunter. “People have more access to home equity loans and lines of credit.”

The biggest generations are the biggest spenders

So who’s likely to drop the most money on these renovations? Millennials and baby boomers. Members of Generation X, who were the most badly burned by the last housing bust, spent the least.

Many younger buyers were compelled to have work done because they tend to buy older (and cheaper) properties that need more repairs. Typically, they’re taking care of the most pressing projects first—like that leaky old roof. Then, over time, they’ll get around to putting in a new backsplash. And they often try to save a few bucks by doing whatever they can themselves.

Millennials spent an average of $5,046 on home improvements, compared with the $4,771 that Gen Xers plunked down. Baby boomers, who are more likely to have the cash to add a fourth bathroom or to open up the floor plan, spent the most—an average $5,604.

Boomers aren’t getting any younger—and they know it. So in addition to remodeling their kitchens and bathrooms, they’ve begun thinking about aging in place.

“I have boomer clients who are fixing up their homes for themselves, because they see their parents [struggling] in their own homes. So they think, ‘Wow, I think I’d better get my house ready in advance,'” says Dan Bawden, remodelers chairman at the National Association of Home Builders. “They say, ‘I love my home, I love my neighborhood. I’m going to stay here till they carry me out feet first.'”

Bawden’s company, Legal Eagle Contractors, in Bellaire, TX, helps them prepare by removing tubs and replacing them with wheelchair-accessible showers outfitted with grab bars. The company also removes stairs by the entrances, adds ramps, and swaps difficult-to-turn doorknobs with levers that can be pushed with an elbow.

New and established homeowners are most likely to splurge on remodeling

It’s not just age that determines who spends the most on remodeling. Brand-new homeowners and those who have been in their homes for more than a decade are most likely to invest in home improvements, according to the survey.

“When somebody buys a new place they want to personalize it,” says Hunter. “They paint, they refinish, they refurbish, and then they also may say, ‘I want to update the appliances.'”

Meanwhile, the established homeowners are more likely to have pricey but important maintenance projects and repairs.

Those living in the West and Northeast spent the most on home improvements, at an average $6,005 and $5,381, respectively. That’s often because their homes cost more, so they have more equity that they can tap to fund that fancy new deck or those sleek kitchen appliances.

Plus, home maintenance and remodeling work often costs more in pricier areas because labor and materials are also more expensive.

Higher mortgage rates are actually good for the remodeling market

Rising mortgage rates and the dearth of abodes on the market could spur even more homeowners to remodel, according to the survey. That’s because it might cost current homeowners more to trade up to a new home than to upgrade their current residence.

“They really like their neighborhood, like their neighbors,” says longtime remodeler Bill Brackmann, president of Brackmann Construction in Belton, MO. In some cases, “it was more efficient to make the home they’re living in the home they want to be in.”

Despite demand, remodeling could slow down

While homeowners may be demanding an open floor plan, sunroom, or new hardwood floors (with those must-have distressed wide planks for a rustic look), it might become more difficult to find a remodeler going forward.

The shortage of skilled laborers is a very real problem. Just as there aren’t enough construction workers putting up new homes, there aren’t enough entering the remodeling field. And that makes it tough for remodelers to take on more jobs.

“We worry about not having enough skilled labor,” says remodeler Bawden.

The post Remodeling by the Numbers: Americans Double Down on Home Improvements appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Inside the Bel Air Mansion Jay Z and Beyonce Want to Buy for $120M

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Let’s hope the third time’s the charm for the nation’s most famous serial renters. Power couple Beyoncé and Jay Z are expecting twins this summer and are ready to put down roots in SoCal. Finally. For real.

The duo have reportedly put in a $120 million bid on a Bel Air, CA, mansion in one the nation’s most elite enclaves. Over the past couple of years, they’ve lost out on two other Los Angeles–area homes that piqued their interest.

According to The New York Post, their latest offer is for a stunning, eight-bedroom, 11-bathroom, gated estate on a hilltop. It has four pools, a recording studio, basketball court, 15-car garage, and spectacular views of downtown Los Angeles. Agents who have set foot on the exclusive property spoke with us and confirmed the mansion’s magic.

The newly remodeled 30,000-square-foot home sits on a 2-acre lot at 454 Cuesta Way in the uber-exclusive East Gate area. If the bid is accepted, Bey, Jay Z, and daughter Blue Ivy will be neighbors to Salma Hayek, Tom Jones, and former Disney boss Michael Eisner, among others.

Views from the Bel Air mansion

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“This is the best of the best when it comes to new, modern estates,” says Josh Altman, one of the agents who star on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles.”

Altman, who recently toured the home, tells us, “There [are] some houses on the market that are overpriced. This is not one of them. In my opinion, this house is worth every penny.”

The mansion, which isn’t officially listed on the market, was being shopped around for $135 million. Designed by famed Irish architect Paul McClean, it’s a showcase of his favorite concepts. McClean’s homes are known for open designs merging indoor and outdoor living, maximizing natural light, and showcasing stellar outdoor views.

The Bel Air compound has a total of six buildings, including staff quarters and a spa with a hot tub, sauna, and steam room.

“My first impression is this is a house built for royalty,” says legendary broker Dolly Lenz, who was blown away by the limestone floors, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, and circular staircase carved from a single piece of wood and lined with leather.

Circular staircase

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“It’s open and airy with indoor-outdoor living where you push a button and all the huge, heavy doors [to the home] fall into the walls seamlessly, as if they were never there, opening up to the gardens and the pools. It’s unbelievable to watch it happen,” says Lenz.

The star couple have been searching for a home in Los Angeles for at least three years. They reportedly lost out to Minecraft founder Markus Persson in 2014 on a 23,000-square-foot spec mansion in Beverly Hills, CA. Two years later, they were allegedly beat out on a different Beverly Hills mansion, by designer Tom Ford. He had bid $50 million on the 14,000-square-foot home that was once owned by actor William Powell—just a million more than Beyoncé and Jay Z’s offer.

Here’s hoping the megastars finally snag their dream home before the twins make their debut.

“It’s perfect for a young family like Beyoncé and Jay Z,” says Lenz, who touted the children’s wing, which she says is close, but not too close, to the master bedroom. “You have some privacy, but you can still hear the babies crying.”

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Browns Punter Britton Colquitt Boots His Colorado Mansion to a New Owner

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Super Bowl–winning punter Britton Colquitt is saying goodbye to his former NFL city the only way a kicker knows how—by booting his home to a new buyer. And while a football has more hang time in the Denver air, Colquitt didn’t have to wait long for a buyer to make a fair catch of his mansion in Castle Rock, CO.

The home, which the prodigious punter bought in January 2014 for $1.7 million, was sold this month after just seven days on the market.

According to the listing agent, the property is under contract and in escrow. The final sales price has yet to be disclosed, but we’re guessing it’s close to the $2.39 million listing price. Keller Williams DTC served as the property’s broker.

Aerial view

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Game room

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The four-bedroom, seven-bathroom home has over 8,000 square feet of living space and sits on a half-acre lot. It comes with a two-bedroom carriage house.

Colquitt spent his first six NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos, playing in every single game during that stretch and helping the Mile High City win a Super Bowl in 2015.

After notching 11 franchise punting records with the Broncos, he left in 2016 to punt for the Cleveland Browns. Colquitt recently signed a four-year contract extension to keep on kicking for the Browns. He booted 83 balls for them in 2016—good for sixth in the NFL.

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U.S. Home-Price Growth Climbs at Fastest Rate in Nearly Three Years

U.S. house prices continued to show no signs of slowing, hitting their highest in nearly three years as demand remains hot, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Dallas.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index rose 5.9% in the three-month period ending in February compared to the same period a year ago, an acceleration from its 5.7% yearly increase in January. This is the highest rate since July 2014.

The 20-city index was up 0.4% for the month, or a 0.7% gain when seasonally adjusted.

Economists had forecast a 0.8% monthly gain and a 5.8% yearly gain for the 20-city index.

Metro	Monthly change (%)	12-month change (%)
Atlanta	0.4	5.6
Boston	0.4	7.6
Charlotte	0.5	6.1
Chicago	0.2	6.2
Cleveland	-0.3	4.5
Dallas	1.1	8.8
Denver	0.4	8.5
Detroit	0.3	6.2
Las Vegas	0.4	6.3
Los Angeles	0.4	5.1
Miami	0	6.7
Minneapolis	0.1	5.9
New York	0	3.2
Phoenix	0.4	5.3
Portland	0.8	9.7
San Diego	1	6.5
San Francisco	1.2	6.4
Seattle	1.9	12.2
Tampa	-0.5	6.9
Washington	0.2	4.1

The national index, which just a few months ago regained the high last seen during the housing bubble of a decade ago, rose 5.8% for the year, a 32-month high.

The largest price increases are still in the Pacific Northwest, including Seattle and Portland. Dallas replaced Denver in the top three with an 8.8% increase.

Only Cleveland and Tampa saw prices fall in the February period. Prices were flat in New York and Miami.

Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency also released home-price data for February, which is based on mortgages backed or guaranteed by FHFA-regulated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It showed a seasonally adjusted 0.8% rise for February and a 6.4% year-over-year improvement.

Over 12 months, the Mountain region — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico — had the fastest growth of 9.5%.

The post U.S. Home-Price Growth Climbs at Fastest Rate in Nearly Three Years appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Builders Finally Ramp Up on New Homes, but Can Buyers Afford Them?

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A fresh infusion of new homes hit the market as the spring home buying season kicked off in March, adding a touch of relief to a housing market that’s been short on, well, homes. Still, the most cash-strapped buyers—typically first-timers—aren’t likely to be able to take advantage of the new additions.

About 621,000 newly constructed homes were sold in March—up 5.8% from February and 15.6% from the same month a year ago, according to a joint report by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Realtor.com® looked only at the seasonally adjusted numbers, which have been smoothed out over 12 months to account for seasonal fluctuations.

But the majority of those residences with that new-home smell are well out of the price range of many first-time buyers. That’s because high land, labor, materials, and regulatory costs  drive up prices on these homes.

“The good news is, new home sales are surging,” says realtor.com Senior Economist Joseph Kirchner. “But the bad news is, the percentage of affordable homes” under $200,000 isn’t going up as well.

The median price of all new homes was $315,100 in March. That’s 33.3% higher than the median price of an existing home, although the lack of supply of all types of housing has driven up prices across the board. Existing homes sold for a median $236,400 in March, according to the most recent National Association of Realtors report.

Home builders doubled the number of abodes costing $150,000 or less that hit the market in March, compared with the previous month and year. But these inexpensive homes still only make up a minuscule percentage of the new home market—just 6%.

“A lot of that [increase] is because there are more homes [going up],” Kirchner says.

But the percentage of new residences costing between $150,000 and $200,000 went down—from 13% in February to 10% in March. Only 16% of all the new homes on the market in March cost less than $200,000.

The majority of new homes cost between $200,000 and $299,999 (about 28%), and $300,000 and $399,999 (about 24%). About 13% were between $400,000 and $499,999; 14% were between $500,000 and $749,000; and 5% were luxury homes costing $750,000 and up.

The most new homes to hit the market in March, about 323,000, were in the South, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers in the report. That was an increase of 1.6% from February and 5.9% from March of 2016.

Quite a few new abodes also hit the market in the West. About 175,000 homes were for sale or sold in March, up 16.7% from the previous month and 32.6% from the same month a year ago.

About 84,000 new homes went up for sale in the Midwest, down 4.5% from February but up 23.5% from March 2016.

And the Northeast received an additional 39,000 new homes in March. That’s up 25.8% from February and 21.9% from the same month a year ago.

The post Builders Finally Ramp Up on New Homes, but Can Buyers Afford Them? appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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Pricey Pedigree? Marilyn Monroe’s Last House Goes on the Market for $6.9M

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It was her first home and her last home. Glamour goddess Marilyn Monroe purchased a hacienda-style house in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, shortly after her divorce from playwright Arthur Miller, her third husband.

It was the first house she bought on her own, and the last one she ever inhabited. She died in the master bedroom four months after she bought the home.

If you’re into scoring the ultimate Hollywood memorabilia, now’s your chance—the home is now on the market for $6.9 million. Built in 1929, it doesn’t appear to have changed much since Monroe lived there.

At $2,630 per square foot, it’s a steep price for a four-bedroom, three-bath, 2,624-square-foot house. For comparison, the average price per square foot in the swanky Brentwood area is $975.

“Anybody who likes my house, I’m sure I’ll get along with,” Marilyn Monroe said in Life magazine.

Mercer Vine

The celebrity pedigree, however, is priceless.

Monroe believed this home was an extension of herself. “Anybody who likes my house, I’m sure I’ll get along with,” she told Life magazine. Variety reports that she “threw herself into making a home for herself.” She planted an herb garden and in early 1962 traveled to Mexico “to purchase authentic furniture, art and tapestries for her new home, the only home she ever owned.”

Tile roof and flooring in the backyard

Mercer Vine

“When you walk the house and grounds, you’re immediately struck by its serenity and warmth,” Monroe told Life magazine. “Every owner who has called this property home has been drawn to the same character. … The property is romantic, intimate and private.”

The neighborhood in the 1960s

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Monroe paid somewhere between $75,000 and $90,000 for the place, and lived there with her housekeeper, Eunice Murray. She never did swim in the kidney-shaped pool, but she appreciates the home’s privacy behind tall gates at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.

The kidney-shaped pool

Mercer Vine

Original architectural details, including beamed ceilings, terra-cotta tile flooring, casement windows, and a tile fireplace, appear to have been left intact.

Original fireplace

Mercer Vine

The house has changed hands a number of times since Monroe’s death. Property records indicate that it was last sold in 2010 for $5.1 million.

But if the dress Monroe wore to sing “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy recently sold at auction for $4.8 million, then $7 million for an entire home might be considered a steal.

Lisa Optican of Mercer Vine is representing the property.

The kitchen

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The post Pricey Pedigree? Marilyn Monroe’s Last House Goes on the Market for $6.9M appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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This Is What Homeowners Did With Their Savings on Variable Mortgage Rates

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Getting an adjustable-rate mortgage can save homeowners money — but whether they actual put those funds to good use is another question.

Homeowners whose mortgage payments dropped when their adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) reset to a lower rate increased their spending, according to a report released this week from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. On average, these borrowers’ credit card spending went up 15% relative to their baseline, which equates to around $488 per month.

Though mortgage rates have faltered in recent weeks, by and large they are way higher than a year ago thanks to the election of President Trump as markets priced in his supposedly favorable economic policies. As a result, some borrowers may be regretting their choice to spend what they saved thanks to lower rates rather than set it aside.

But homeowners with adjustable-rate loans who saved money between 2010 and 2012 didn’t just spend more once their rates went down — they also did so in advance. The researchers found that homeowners spent 9% more ahead of the anticipated drop to their mortgage payments. Altogether, these homeowners total spending increases exceeded what they saved on their mortgage payments by 4%.

It wasn’t all frivolous spending, however. Homeowners upped their spending on home improvements and health care. After the rate reset, retail expenditures also increased, said Kanav Bhagat, a director of research for the JPMorgan Chase Institute and one of the report’s co-authors. “There was definitely a larger increase in discretionary spending rather than non-discretionary spending,” Bhagat said.

These findings fall in line with behavioral economists’ expectations, per George Hofheimer, chief knowledge officer at the Filene Research Institute, a credit union and consumer think-tank. Simply put, people are inclined to spend the these savings because it’s just more fun to do, he said. “They are thinking in the short-term,” Hofheimer said. “It’s very similar to the windfall during tax season. People use that windfall for things that are ‘not good’ for their financial health.”

Today’s ARM borrowers, however, may treat the windfall they receive from their mortgage-related savings differently to those who saw their rates fluctuate between 2010 and 2012, said Mat Ishbia, president and chief executive of lender United Wholesale Mortgage. “I’d be surprised if that’s what happens in today’s market,” Ishbia said. “People are more conservative.”

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Big Island luxury Realtor uses 3D technology to sell $11 million property

Eileen Lacerte, co-owner of Hawaii Beach and Golf Properties, uses 3D videos to help market and sell each of her Big Island listings, as technology continues to change the way Realtors and photographers showcase luxury residential real estate properties. Lacerte’s video recently resulted in the recent sale of an $11.5 million property in the Mauna Kea Resort on the Big Island. “I sent out the video in an email to homeowners of the surrounding properties, and it was passed along to someone who…

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Even With a $5M Price Cut, This $30M Mansion Is the Most Expensive in Utah

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Even with a significant price cut, this Springville, UT, mansion is the most expensive home in the state at $30 million.

“It does stand out,” according to the listing agent, Helina Carter-Thomas. “It’s larger than any of the other homes.”

By the numbers, everything about the residence is oversized. Built in 2010, the enormous estate has 49,568 square feet of living space and sits on 185 acres.

The mansion’s contemporary style also sets it apart from the rest of the luxury homes on the market in Utah, according to Carter-Thomas. She notes that many of the homes in the area are more rustic in design.

Let’s be honest: With six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and five half-baths, the house would be an absolute pain to clean. If you buy the place, prepare to hire help for all the upkeep.

Naturally, the house features high-end materials and craftsmanship, seen in the marble columns and intricate inlaid floors for example, which account for the price tag. It came on the market in January for $35 million, but it’s now available at a discount.

“It’s set up for a family that’s wealthy with servants to assist them,” says Carter-Thomas, adding that overseas buyers have shown interest in the home.

Grand foyer with double staircase

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Highlights of the home include a two-story great room with floor-to ceiling windows and mountain views, and an indoor swimming pool with waterfall, slides, lazy river, and hot tub.

There’s also a bowling alley, theater, indoor basketball court, and shooting range. All that is rounded out with a chef’s kitchen with butler’s pantry, an elevator, conference room, and heated driveway.

Indoor pool

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Of course, if you’re bored with the many amenities and features within, the outdoors beckon. The property’s “extraordinary location” places it beneath the Wasatch Range and just over the mountain from Sundance. The larger city of Provo is just minutes away.

Carter-Thomas describes the area as “outdoorsy-artsy.”

Two-story great room

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It’s also teeming with wildlife, including elk. The current owner maintains a stable of horses, so there’s plenty of room for equine activity.

“It really is a situation where you could never have to leave for entertainment. You can really just go there and stay there. There’s so much to do,” the agent says.

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