Ponder Properties adds local industry veteran

A Birmingham real estate firm has added an industry veteran to its team. Ponder Properties said Stan Bussey has joined the company to handle commercial sales, development and leasing. Bussey has been in real estate since 1986, when he was named rookie of the year by the Birmingham Area Board of Realtors. He went on to a successful career in commercial real estate during which he has helped bring new hotels, restaurants, retail, offices and warehouses across Alabama. Bussey helped bring 20 different…

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2lDY685

3 new faces added to Elite 25 Austin luxury residential membership club

Elite 25 Austin — the exclusive group of local real estate agents who specialize in the luxury home market — celebrated the 2017 class at a private party March 1 at Eberly, the new restaurant and bar on South Lamar. Three new names have been added to the list this year: Maryleigh Dejernett of All Access Austin, Stephanie Nick of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty and Amy Rung of Wilson & Goldbrick Realtors. Click on the photo to see more details about the three new members. Thirty three…

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2li1ol6

Country Star Jason Aldean Selling Huge Tennessee Hunting Lodge

Rob Kim/Getty Images

Quadruple-platinum country star Jason Aldean is selling his hunting estate in Centerville, TN, for almost $4.6 million, according to Variety.

Known as Black Jack Ridge, the property comprises 1,436 secluded acres with creeks, gardens, deer stands, and feeding stations for wild turkey.

The hunting lodge on the property features six bedrooms and 5.5 baths. The front porch is ideal for watching wild animals lope through open meadows. The lodge’s rustic theme continues indoors—including a bathroom with Jack-and-Jill sinks made of what look like aluminum feed buckets.

Bathroom sink

realtor.com

Kitchen with taxidermy

realtor.com

The combination great room–kitchen features a vaulted ceiling and deer heads mounted on a wall next to a wide fireplace. Wood planks line the bedrooms and bathrooms, and the carport has a built-in barbecue and smoker.

Aldean reportedly bought the retreat, which is about an hour outside of Nashville, in 2012.

You don’t have to love huntin’ animals and smokin’ meat to have a reason to buy Black Jack Ridge. It’s “a rare opportunity to own a large, contiguous tract of land with world-class views featuring trail systems, food plots, and incredible deer and turkey hunting,” says the description offered by listing agent Andrew Day.

Aldean, winner of the 2016 Academy of Country Music Award for Entertainer of the Year, is married to former “American Idol” contestant Brittney Kerr.

• For more photos and details, check out the full listing.
• Homes for sale in Wellington, FL
• Learn more about Wellington, FL

The post Country Star Jason Aldean Selling Huge Tennessee Hunting Lodge appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2lhlYlt

Here’s a Better Way to Calculate the True Rent vs. Buy Costs

llhedgehogll/iStock

In my last commentary, I wrote about the misleading math behind the rent vs. buy calculation. My main point was that focusing on the direct, total monthly costs of renting vs. buying misses the important fact that a significant portion of every mortgage payment goes toward the principal balance, building equity for the homeowner.

That principal payment is really a forced savings program which grows over time. And that’s a key reason why homeowners on average have much more accumulated wealth than renters.

The article struck a nerve, and a boatload of internet chatter. I’ve even received some criticism that my math was itself misleading because I didn’t include property taxes, insurance, and costs for maintenance and repair, thus making homeownership look less expensive than it really is.

So, by popular demand, I’m back to take a deeper dive into the math to illustrate—clearly and simply—how owning a home produces wealth over time.

For those who want to dive into even more detail, the rent vs. buy calculator on realtor.com® factors in all the direct and indirect costs of buying versus renting over a 30-year span.

The calculator assumes that any money saved monthly from renting is invested. And just like academic research has shown, the total-cost view shows that buying costs less than renting in the long term, in most cases.

As I did before, I am keeping this illustration as simple (yet accurate!) as I can by focusing on a fictitious buyer who fits the national median. I did have to make a few key assumptions for the calculation, and here they are:

1. Property taxes and insurance costs are factored into the monthly payment of buying, using averages for the country. I also factored in expected upkeep based on a widely assumed benchmark for home maintenance and repair costs over time.
2. I am assuming that inflation is 2% per year and determines the future home value and rent. It should be noted that home appreciation over time typically outpaces inflation by about 1%. However, rather than projecting bullish gains, I am sticking to a home-value increase in line with inflation to keep this focused on the wealth-building aspects of the mortgage as opposed to how the home asset itself appreciates like an investment.
3. To compare the ledger of the renter against that of the owner, I’m using the average rent from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2016 fair market rent data as the baseline.
4. The difference between the monthly costs of buying and renting creates the savings pool available to the renter.

This more complete view does alter a few simplistic points I made in the first piece, when I said that you needed to find a place to rent for no more than the $976 mortgage payment in order to beat the value of owning. You might think that’s deceptive when you take into account the added monthly costs of property taxes, homeowners insurance, and maintenance.

With those additional costs on the owning side, a renter could spend up to $1,538 a month on housing to match an owner’s spend. But while that sounds like a huge difference, our illustration proves that owning still wins over time. (See a chart with the numbers below.)

The home buyer in our illustration will have built up a bit more than $3,400 in equity in year one. In this extended example, the renter at the average national rent will pull ahead of the buyer in year one by saving $3,870—a sweet $470 more than the owner. Remember that the illustration assumes the renter dutifully saves every penny compared with what he or she would have spent buying instead.

As you probably know by now, in most places in the country, initial monthly costs favor renting over buying. It’s not a surprise to see the renter theoretically being able to pull ahead in Year 1 as a result.

But it doesn’t take long for the owner to pull ahead in accumulated savings, because the monthly mortgage payment is fixed and a growing portion of each payment is building up more equity.

In Year 2, the renter would save $3,714, just barely beating the owner’s $3,559 in equity.

By Year 3? The tide shifts to favor the owner, thanks to the growing principal payment and the compounding impacts of higher inflation adding to the monthly rent. In this year, the owner saves $3,710 in added equity while the renter saves $3,554.

Since rent started so much lower and we’re keeping inflation assumptions low at 2%, it takes 22 years before the monthly out-of-pocket costs of renting exceed the monthly costs for our owner. But every year past Year 2 still results in the owner saving more simply by virtue of the principal portion of the payment getting larger.  And by Year 22, when renting actually costs more on a monthly basis, the principal payment amounts to $8,199.

With the renter not building equity and paying more in monthly costs from Year 22 on, the owner moves ahead rapidly in accumulated savings. Worse still for the renter, inflated rents are pushing what used to be a net savings, compared with the fixed mortgage payment, into the red.

In Year 31, the financial difference between the two households in our illustration is stark. The renter is then spending $2,202 in rent. The owner, mortgage-free, is paying only property takes, insurance, and upkeep for about $1,020 per month. The owner also has a home that is worth around $450,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars.

The 30-year mortgage works wonders in locking down today’s costs while also forcing the accumulation of savings over time through the principal payments. If your time horizon is less than a few years, renting comes out ahead. Buy beyond a few years, homeownership typically wins out. This is why owning a home, all things considered, is a path toward building wealth.

The post Here’s a Better Way to Calculate the True Rent vs. Buy Costs appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2mcJboi

Do You Live in One of the Worst States in America? Find Out

Arpad Benedek/iStock

It may be a rude awakening for New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana just the day after Mardi Gras, but according to a new report, their state is the worst. Seriously. The worst.

U.S. News & World Report has come out with its inaugural ranking of the best (and worst) states, factoring in the quality of health care, education, infrastructure, crime, affordability, economy, and government in each of the 50 states. Massachusetts was crowned the best.

“The Deep South states don’t do as well in education and health care. That really trips them up,” says Tim Smart, executive editor of U.S. News & World Report. Those categories were weighted slightly higher than the others. “Massachusetts was the No. 1 state, because it did very well in health care quality and health care access and higher education plus K-12.”

The worst states in the nation

The Southern states dominated the bottom of the list. Louisiana got the worst score for crime (which included public safety and measured the effectiveness of the state’s corrections system). Mississippi, the second worst on the list, received the lowest scores for state infrastructure (like energy, internet access, and transportation) and opportunity (which includes poverty rates, discrimination, and affordability). Arkansas, which came in third, had the worst health care in the country.

The rest of the low performers were Alabama, New Mexico, South Carolina (which got the lowest marks in the U.S. for education), Oklahoma, Alaska, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

But Louisiana shouldn’t be dismissed solely because of its low ranking, says New Orleans Realtor® Dorian Bennett. Nor is crime “rampant,” he says—it’s contained in certain neighborhoods. So it shouldn’t discourage folks from moving or visiting “one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” he adds.

The state is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the region more than a decade ago, Bennett points out. But Louisiana’s largest city, New Orleans, is back, he says, noting the opening of a medical facility along with the anticipated launch of a culinary and hospitality institute next year along with a slew of new businesses cropping up.

New Orleans is “the birthplace of jazz. … We’ve got magnificent universities here,” he says, ticking off Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans, and Louisiana State University. And “we have incredible food.”

The best states in the nation

U.S. News & World Report also ranked the best states in the nation, and three Northeastern states made the top 10.

Massachusetts, which led the pack, got the highest score for education. That wasn’t exactly a surprise for Boston Realtor P.T. Vineburgh of the Charlesgate Realty Group.

“You’ve got great vacation destinations and a lot of history,” he says. “You have Boston, but you also have the Berkshires, you have Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard.”

He also bragged about the state’s leading colleges and universities, including Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as the variety of housing options. They include Colonial homes built around the time of the American Revolution to newer subdivisions going up in the suburbs.

“We’ve got a nice mix of urban, suburban, and rural living all within a two-hour radius of each other,” Vineburgh says. “You have some of the most expensive real estate in the country now in downtown Boston. But it definitely gets more affordable once you get about half an hour outside of Boston. And it gets more affordable as you go to the western and central portions of the state.”

The next highest-ranking state was New Hampshire. It earned the top marks for opportunity, which means the state was deemed very affordable and had low poverty and discrimination rates.

“We have no sales or income tax,” says Tim Sink, president and CEO of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, based in New Hampshire’s state capital. “We have among the lowest taxes in the nation.”

The state does, however, have property taxes. But it also has lower housing costs than its next-door neighbor Massachusetts. And it has a wide array of things to do for outdoors lovers.

“You’re in close proximity to the sea coast, to the mountains, the lakes region, and we’re close to Boston,” Sink says.

Rounding out the top 10 states were Minnesota, North Dakota, Washington, Iowa, Utah, Maryland, Colorado, and Vermont.

The post Do You Live in One of the Worst States in America? Find Out appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2mMdsXY

Come Fly With Us! We Descend on 3 Luxurious Fly-In Communities

Courtesy of Red Reflet Ranch

On Friday afternoons for the past 12 summers, Greg Havemeier leaves his office in Naples, FL, for his weekend home. But unlike many vacationers who jump into an SUV for a two-day getaway, Havemeier boards his Beechcraft Bonanza G36 six-seater and makes the 3.5-hour flight to Mountain Air, perched high in the mountains of Burnsville, NC.

“From a convenience standpoint, as a private pilot, you cannot get any better than to take off from your own home, land there, turn off the engine, and simply walk across the tarmac and go have a beer. Or take a golf cart right to your property,” Havemeier says.

There’s a small but growing number of (very privileged) vacationers who appreciate owning a getaway accessible by private plane. According to the organization Living With Your Plane Association, the number of fly-in communities in the U.S. was about 450 in 2001. The association now lists 608 communities. We’re ready to go wheels up on three of these exclusive locales.

Mountain Air in North Carolina

Havemeier and his family bought property in the mountainside community in 2005 to take advantage of the locale’s cooler clime in the warmer months.The area averages 72 degrees in July, which is perfect for hitting the links, lounging poolside, hiking, or enjoying the diversions of nearby Asheville. However, it was the gated community’s private runway that clinched the deal for Havemeier.

Mountain Air runway and golf course

Mountain Air

Havemeier learned of the place from an ad in an aviation magazine. Nowadays, those with pilot licenses and a desire to find fly-in communities have an easier way of discovering these off-radar gems.

Given that “90% of real estate searches are online, you can easily search [for] a flying community in the mountains,” listing agent Gary Carter says. Presently, there are about 70 properties, both single-family homes and condos, for sale in the Mountain Air community.

Mountain Air cabin living room

realtor.com

Because Mountain Air isn’t a place where a prospective buyer can casually walk into a weekend open house, interested buyers are encouraged to do a “three-day experience package” to get a sense of the community perched on 550 acres atop a mountain. The properties, including this cabin currently for sale, are all “beautifully sited along the ridge lines,” Carter adds.

Potential buyers can stay at the clubhouse lodge and try out the golf course, tennis court, fitness center, pool, and dining room.

“This is one of those places we believe you have to see it to truly appreciate it,” Carter says.

Mountain Air stands out for another reason. According to Carter, the landing strip, located at about 4,500 feet above sea level, is “the highest private runway east of the Rockies.”

Red Reflet Ranch

Courtesy of Red Reflet Ranch

Red Reflet Ranch in Wyoming

Fold up your tray table. We’re headed to the rugged beauty of the red rocks in Ten Sleep, WY. Red Reflet Ranch is a dude ranch on over 27,000 acres in the Big Horn Mountains. Owners Laurence and Bob Kaplan are beginning a foray into real estate and are offering homesteads with a share of the airstrip.

Each parcel may contain one home, a guesthouse, a barn, and a hangar pad adjacent to the private, restricted-use airport. Depending on the parcel, some hangar pads can be located on the parcel itself. This means you park your plane right next to your home, the way you would park your car.

There’s a guest ranch so interested buyers can experience the place before plunking down cash. The getaway was described by Men’s Journal as “luxurious and gorgeous.”

Guests (not just of the equine variety) receive a lot of attention.

“As more families move onto the homesteads we will add to our ramada of 55 horses, increase the number of wranglers, and support staff,” notes Bob Kaplan.

Homestead owners also enjoy access to club facilities, which include a pool, gym, tennis court, climbing walls, a zip line, and horseback riding.

“Homestead owners also have the meeting and dining facilities of the five-star Red Reflet guest ranch at their doorstep, [and] can join ranch guests for meals prepared by our executive chef and pastry chef by reservation,” Kaplan adds.

Big Sky view from the clubhouse

Stock Farm

Stock Farm Club in Montana

We’re headed for a final descent into Big Sky Country, at the Stock Farm Club in Hamilton, MT.

The scenic locale is based in the foothills of the Sapphire Mountains, overlooking the Bitterroot Valley and the peaks of the Bitterroot Mountains, and bills itself as a private “golf, equestrian, and sporting club.”

Residents can take advantage of the nearby airfield—making it just a few minutes from your plane to your front door. The community features 125 home sites on more than 660 acres. Prices range from $675,000 to $5 million for finished homes, and $400,000 to $660,000 for home sites. Currently, 13 homes and nine home sites are available, including this million-dollar listing on the market.

The 2,600-acre community boasts some 30 miles of hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails, and 1,280 acres of preserved elk habitat.

For home buyers who possess a pilot’s license, the allure of a private airport next to your home might be worth fueling up and flying away for a true getaway.

Cabin in the woods

realtor.com

The post Come Fly With Us! We Descend on 3 Luxurious Fly-In Communities appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2m9VVfl

Study: Arizona an average state for first-time home buyers

For millennials in the market for houses, Arizona ranks in the middle of the pack in a Bankrate lineup of the easiest and hardest states to become a first-time home owner. Arizona came in at No. 24 out of 50, scoring well in credit availability, but not much else. "There are some challenges for them in that we do have a bit of a tight market," said Paula Monthofer, president of Arizona Association of Realtors. "Arizona is very diverse market. You definitely see there are more and more millennials…

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2muAPcM