Real Estate Industry Pandemic Greed

 

Real Estate Industry Pandemic Greed

Well, it looks like another industry is about go bust, the Real Estate Industry that is.  Both homeowners and agents are pushing their homes into an above market value situation where the industry is about to bust and go nowhere. Some home owners have binge watched those million-dollar real estate shows during their lock down and now believe they can sell their home for double what they paid for it because they believe their home is worth more than what the agent is telling them its worth. Really Now? Then you have the hungry agents out there who haven’t sold a home in over a year and need to sell one soon or perish the thought of having to get a part time job to survive. This is what I call the Pandemic Greed syndrome on both homeowner and agent agenda.

Although the market looks good right now, it’s about to go bust and the value of homes is going to go down due to the way the economy is heading.  The average person cannot afford to pay out over $1500 or $2000 a month for rent or mortgage and are looking for cheaper homes, maybe even outside their local community. Others are downsizing to tiny homes, or even RV lifestyle to help cut expenses and be able to save for a rainy day.

Educated home buyers are doing their homework or due diligence in researching the markets in the area to which they want to move to and buy. If the comps over the course of a 10 year period have fluctuated and then all of a sudden jumped up higher than the average home sale, can you say red flags will be flying. Those red flags could mean a couple of things: the agents in the area are greedy bastards and don’t know what their doing to sell real estate and want to inflate the system with false prices to make more commission on the unsuspecting buyer. Can you say frauds? Or the home owner decided that they wanted to be greedy and raised the price of their home in order to pay off debt that they incurred over the years. They will spend that money, or what’s left after the sale and put themselves right back into the same situation on the next house. Can you say not living within their means? Either way, you have greedy agents and homeowners that need to be checked by serious buyers who have done their homework. Not being rude but if I was looking for a home and saw those red flags, I’d have to choose another place to move to because that usually means everyone in the area are going to be frauds or greedy bastards. Happy house hunting or selling of your home, because it’s the best time to get out from under that mortgage now before the market decides to bust and you’ll be stuck.

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.

 

Real Estate Greed

Real Estate Greed

The real estate market has been hit hard over the last few years due to the economy and the pandemic which means real estate agents are hungry to make a commission and sellers a huge profit. Unfortunately, it also means that sellers are hungry to make the type of profit margins and success that was once available ten years ago, and if they don’t get it, they’re extremely petulant in their words and actions. What I have found over the years is this, as a real estate agent, the relationship with your clients far outweighs the profit you could make on a property, instead you create long lasting relationships that reward you with plenty of referrals from previous clients and their friends wanting a reliable and honest real estate agent.  Unfortunately, in today’s market it is hard to find that honest real estate agent, instead you encounter unprofessional and unethical agents who are more interested in making that commission rather than help a person find the right home for them that they can afford.

If you buy a property with the intent to flip it, then you’re taking a gamble. Monetary gains are only a small part of investing in the real estate market. Especially if you bought the property when it was run down and you got it for a low price and you sunk a lot of money into the property to refurbish it in order to make it resalable. Then you pray you make your money back on it with a huge profit margin. It’s called an investment gamble. Unfortunately, this can also be a crap shoot as to whether or not you’ll make your money back. Sometime you do make your money back and other times you lose your shirt, depending on how you play the game.

This also goes for greedy developers who seek out patches of properties in order to build ugly structures and try to sell them at a huge profit. Doesn’t always work, but they do it anyway. Throw in the pandemic greed and you’ve got serious price gouging which artificially raise the price of properties. No matter what it’s greed with a capital “G”. We’ll talk about developers in a separate article in weeks to come, so for today we will concentrate on buyers and sellers, and their greedy real estate agents.

Now we circle back to the real estate agent and their behavior. There are many ethical agents out there, don’t get me wrong, but over the years I’ve encountered many others who are completely unethical and unprofessional, just looking to make a buck and not help their clients. Hell, just watch that show on Bravo TV, Million Dollar Listing New York or Los Angeles. Both of these shows show the agents as unethical and so very unprofessional it’s not funny. They might know the market per say, but in reality, all they want is the big buck commissions and the status as top dog in town. Meanwhile they couldn’t sell a house to the down to earth person in society if they tried. Not only do they inflate the prices to please their own wallets, they don’t know how to talk to sellers with respect or professionalism. If I was the seller of a high-priced home, I’d have don’t my homework before hiring a agent to sell it for me, which it appears many of the sellers on these shows have clearly done, however, the agent gets frustrated with them, shows their true colors and then basically sandblasts the seller for being ignorant. Not only would I walk about on that unprofessional agent, but I’d also report them to the real estate association to revoke their ability to be a real estate agent.  But I digress. Bottom line is that these agents appear to represent every hard-working professional agent across this country and make them look bad. If I were in the industry right now, I’d be staging a protest to get those shows off the air because they falsely advertise agents as so unprofessional and unethical, unlike those who are the opposite.

But getting back to the greed of the industry. When people watch those types of shows they get the “get rich quick” attitude and believe that if the housing market in their area is showing $300 or $400 a square foot, then why not jack up the price 20-40 percent and see what happens. These are unrealistic prices that damage the market far more than you would think. What will these unethical agents do when the housing market is prices so far out of reach that no one can afford to buy a home. Where will they be then, when there is no commission to be made on a property that they represent?

Buyers should request a call sheet for the homes they are about to visit and review. If the sheet says renovated kitchen, yet the kitchen is the same set up since being built, that means the homeowner or unethical agent paid to have the cabinets refaced with new doors and paint. That’s not a full renovated kitchen, that’s called a sham. What’s worse is that the county assessor has taken those two little words as fact and reassessed the home value by increasing the property taxes when they shouldn’t have been raised. This happened to a friend of mine. The kitchen was never renovated, yet the county increased the property taxes by a few grand over the course of 6 years that she had the home. Plus, there was a county easement on the property for drainage, so she couldn’t even put a shed on that portion of the property, nor build a garden on that 1/3 of her property. It wasn’t until I stepped in and met with the county taxation office for her and explained what the real estate agent had done and failed to tell the buyer that her property was reassess and she received a check for over priced taxes that never should have been charged. Renovated kitchen means, rip out the flooring, counters and cabinets, possibly the drywall and fixtures and replace with new items, not just throw on a coat of paint and make the house smell like the paint aisle of Home Depot and call it renovated. That is fraud in the building industry by the way. Most real estate agents don’t know a damn thing about construction or renovation so when they list a property as renovated and it’s not, that’s called false advertising.  Buyer beware!

 

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.

 

 

 

A Day of Remembrance - Memorial Day

Arlington National Cemetery

Many American’s believe Memorial Day is a day for family parties, or community gatherings to mark the beginning of summer vacations. To a veteran or member of our military it has nothing to do with parties or vacations, it is deeper and more personal; it is a day to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Freedom.

The history of Memorial Day is rich in tradition and ceremony. From dawn to noon the American flag is flown at half mast in memory of those who gave their lives for this country while fighting for freedom. At noon the flag is raised to signify those among the living will never allow that sacrifice to be in vain. It also signifies to the world that those who wear the uniform of the United States Armed Forces will continue to fight for liberty, justice and freedom for all throughout the world.

Unfortunately, some American’s have forgotten the true meaning of why we should remember the fallen of our nation. Instead, they think of gimmicks to use in order to promote sales for profit and gain. Then we have community leaders who feel it necessary to denounce the American Flag being flown on utility poles in a community of a fallen warrior.

Having been raised in a town built for returning heroes from the battlefields of Europe, the Pacific and Korea called Levittown I know first hand the significance of Memorial Day. Each year I’d accompany my father, a retired Army Major, to many events throughout the county. Memorial Day started with a sunrise service at the beach to remember those who died at sea, to a Parade down Hempstead Turnpike that ended with a wreath laying ceremonies before the library. Then it was a trip to Pinelawn National Cemetery for another wreath laying ceremony. The day always ended at the VFW Post 9592 on Hickory Lane where the veteran community would gather to enjoy each others families and share stories of fallen brothers. To a young impressionable child, these surviving veterans instilled the value of our military’s sacrifice to a nation.

There was a time when the citizens of our country honored those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Unfortunately, it seems those times have perished along with our fallen warriors. Today, we have greed and profit outweighing patriotic observance. Majority of our utility companies across America forgo permit fees when the citizens of a community attach the American Flag to their utility pole lining our streets.

This week, I learned New York State run utility LIPA – Long Island Power Authority, which used to be known as LILCO, Long Island Lighting Company, feels it necessary to charge $5.00 for each American Flag affixed to their utility poles. How Un-Patriotic is that? LIPA claims it’s the law in the State of New York to charge a customer for attaching anything to their poles. The American Flag isn’t a flyer for a yard sale LIPA, nor is it attached with disrespect. LIPA now a Non-profit Government entity owned and operated by the State of New York wonders why the price of a permit fee needs to be an issue. It’s an issue LIPA because before you were taken over by the state, you had a heart. When LILCO was a Private entity, the company would send out their utility workers to do the job New York Citizens have been doing before you came along LIPA, raising that American Flag upon your utility poles for free. I know this for a fact because I witnessed it personally.

Verizon Telephone Company, a company filled with Patriotic Pride and reverence for our military, veterans and our fallen never charges for the American Flag being attached to their poles. They wave all permit fees, so why can’t you LIPA? Has New York State lost what I used to refer to as NEW YORK PRIDE? After hearing how the citizens of Shelter Island were being charged a fee to display the American Flag on LIPA poles in remembrance of one of their own killed last year on the battlefield, I’m embarrassed to admit I’m originally from Long Island.

Has the director of LIPA and the Governor of New York State forgotten the sacrifices made by people willing to die for freedom? Have they forgotten what the Statue of Liberty stands for? Have they forgotten what the American Flag Stand for? I believe the Director of LIPA and the Governor have lost their pride in the heritage of being a New Yorker. The New York I grew up in would not accept such behavior.

Unless we as American’s begin to respect what Memorial Day represents and instead of sucking down a beer or two, bow your head in silence and thank those who put on the uniform of the United States Military who gave their lives for your freedom.

SEAL TEAM 6 attacked by Walt Disney Company

It has come to my attention that the United States Navy is in a battle over the ownership of one of the Navy’s elite SEAL team name and insignia (SEAL TEAM 6) as a result of corporate greediness by none other than the Walt Disney Company. The day after it was announced that members of SEAL Team 6 took down Osama Bin Laden, attorney’s representing CEO Robert Iger and the Disney Family Entertainment Corporation trading as The Disney , filed a trademark application to own the term “SEAL TEAM 6.” Their application stated to include all clothing, toys, insignia, name, gaming and entertainment venues and any other product produced by Disney Company in the future. Profiting off the backs of those brave enough to lift a gun and enter a battlefield in the name of FREEDOM is despicable!

For those who read my article entitled “Restoring America’s Cookie Jar” this week, this is a perfect example of what I was talking about when I referred to corporate America. This is clearly an infringement on intellectual property.
As a strong supporter of our military and the Navy SEAL Community, I am appalled that a company founded on FAMILY VALUES, would monopolize and attempt to profit on the backs of the brave members of SEAL Team 6 in this way. Doesn’t Mr. Iger and those who represent The Disney Company understand the history of their own company, or its founder? If not, let me give them a little bit of a history lesson.

During World War I, at the age of sixteen, the founder, Mr. Walt Disney tried to join the United States Army, but was denied entry because of his age. Young Walt Disney wasn’t discouraged, instead his determination to assist his fellow American’s who were fighting against the enemy; Disney joined the Red Cross and served in France, driving an ambulance until the war ended. Upon his return he continued his support for those in uniform by donating many of his creations for charity to help those wounded and unable to work.

Because of his devotion to those who serve in uniform, the United States Army contracted Disney to create instructional and home-front morale short films because they knew he was a patriot and wanted to help the war effort. After the war, Walt Disney employed many returning veterans to ensure they had an opportunity to support their families. His company became a success because of the blood, sweat and tears of those who worked for him – members of the military community.

In building his company from the ground, Walt Disney stressed family values together with Patriotic Values instilled in all of us by the Founding Fathers. It was these values of “taking care of your own” family values that became the cornerstone of his company. The Disney Company flourished because of their family value system and what attracted the military community to support them over the years; because the military family too is a tight knit family.

NOTICE TO THE DISNEY COMPANY AND ITS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE BOARD - Just because the Disney Entertainment company has been a strong supporter of our military community throughout the history of your company’s existence, it does not give you the right to infringe on the rights of every member past, present or future who wear the uniform of the United States Navy’s “ELITE Team’s,” that of “SEAL Team 6.” Does this mean you’ll attempt to capitalize on the term “Semper Fidelis” and strip the United States Marine Corps of their history too, or any other branch of the military service? What gives you the right to take away the history of a military branch of service, its units or the brotherhood that makes them great? How Unpatriotic that is Disney for your company was created by a patriot or have you forgotten?

Disney Company would be the first to strike at anyone who dares to infringe on their family insignia’s such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck or even my favorite, Goofy. Actually, no one would attempt such a thing because the American people have integrity and respect in the rule of law whereby never infringing on your intellectual property. So what gives you the right to infringe on SEAL Team 6 and its members to use their insignia and team name as they determine best for the United States Navy?

Under the rights of the United States Government and the US Patent Laws, the branding name of “SEAL TEAM 6” belongs to the United States Navy and the elite team members of SEAL TEAM 6. Therefore, it’s already protected under the law of the land. Disney has no rights to this brand name for their own profit because it’s already considered as intellectual property and owned by the United States Navy as stated in the Copyright Laws of this land.

If Disney doesn’t back off from their attempt to capitalize on the bravery and sacrifice the members of SEAL Team 6, then they will reap no more rewards from the military community in the future. When one corporation fails to see the public relations nightmare staring them in the corporate face, they’re blind to reality. Not only do I recommend every American Citizen show their support for our Brave Navy SEAL’s of SEAL Team 6, but I encourage everyone across the globe to show their solidarity by showing Disney the military community doesn’t accept greedy companies taking advantage of members of our community. Show them we mean business by not purchasing any Disney products, to include their movies, clothing, games, entertainment programs on television, and most importantly don’t frequent their theme parks. Maybe then they will realize the power behind the NAVY SEAL COMMUNITY AND THAT OF THE MIILITARY COMMUNITY! Their greed is not accepted by anyone who wishes to capitalize on the bravery of those who took down the most wanted man this world has ever seen before. Why don’t they trademark Osama Bin Laden’s name instead. Maybe then they can raise funds to support their CEO and Board of Directors salaries and special trips by capitalizing on someone whose very name instills greed and glory of one’s own gain. They clearly don’t comprehend their own family value system of taking care of their own, maybe when their profit margins begin to falter, they will begin to realize they must take care of their family of employees.

I stand with the Navy SEAL Community and the members of SEAL Team 6 and so should you!

Poor Walt Disney is turning over in his grave at his legacy being destroyed by greedy corporate individuals under his company name.