PolicyMap Offers Tons Of Info For Investors And Developers

PolicyMap is a new online service that was created by The Reinvestment Fund, a non-profit organization that funds neighborhood redevelopment. I read about PolicyMap on Future of Real Estate Marketing blog and thought it sounded like an interesting service. When I went to check it out, I was astonished by the amount of information and customization they offered.

Real estate investors or developers who need to do extensive demographic research should definitely check this site out. They offer more than 4,000 different demographic variables for which you can customize maps and reports. They cover the standard ones such as crime, income and so on, but they also have powerful ones you can’t find anywhere else, such as an estimation of a neighborhood's population in the year 2012 and many others I just don’t have space to mention.

All of this information does not come cheap, however.

They offer limited data and customization for free upon registration, but for the real goodies you have to be prepared to ante up. Their standard subscription starts at $200 a month, and they don’t even publish their premium subscription price. If you are a developer or real estate investor who does a significant amount of deals, though, I think their service is well worth the price. This is especially true if you have to put together presentations for money partners or others as part of your investments. PolicyMap offers data that would make your presentation much better, in addition to tools that should make gathering the data and putting into presentable format much easier.

Invest In Movies: What’s A Ticket To The Big Picture Really Worth?

Investors from Village Roadshow, Ltd., Lambert Entertainment, Act III and the Retirement Systems of Alabama pension fund in Texas are committing to partner in investing a whopping $200 million into 50 luxury movie theatres that will sell tickets for $35 apiece, according to a post made today on PerezHilton.com via Variety.

The first two theatres will open outside of Seattle and Chicago, and will sell high-end luxury concessions, including pricey gourmet but theatre-friendly foods created by an on-site chef. Oxymoron, anyone?

I’d think twice before putting $35 down on a movie ticket, but each theatre will boast 40 reclining chairs with footrests (score), a full bar and concierge services including valet.

NuWire published an article not too long ago about both the benefits and implications of investing in indie films discussing its viability as an investment for the right type of investor. Entertainment execs have always claimed that the film industry is insulated from recessions, and if they are right, then this investment could actually take off. But this old-fashioned girl still prefers some homemade popcorn (extra butter, please), slippers and her own couch.

Real Estate Investors And First-Time Buyers Climb Aboard The Foreclosure Bus

As final legislation on foreclosure rescues near, real estate agents are pulling out the (bus) stops to sell pre-foreclosure and bank-owned homes. Brokers are offering bus and limousine rides to groups as a unique way for investor clients and first-time buyers to view several properties in one meeting.

Agents with The Gold Rush Group in Auburn, California, a suburb outside of Sacramento, have rented a stretch-SUV limousine to cruise clients around properties in style (and efficiency). Other companies are organizing bus tours, complete with slide shows and presentations to educate buyers about the purchase process. One brokerage, RE/MAX Central in Las Vegas has even offered agents on the tour for the purpose of drafting purchase and sale agreements on the spot. Often, guide packages with area details and comps are included in the tours—a great deal for first-time or out-of town-buyers.

These tours, while fun and convenient, feature advertisements and free-with-purchase deals. In the case of RE/MAX CENTRAL, the bus itself is an advertisement on wheels. The benefit to buyers is the ease with which they can view and tour properties, and many first-time buyers and investors are getting into properties they otherwise would have been priced out of or avoided because of these tours.

Cesar Dias, an agent operating out of Stockton, Calif., was covered on a segment of “60 Minutes” to talk about his tour. He said that foreclosure tours accomplish the two goals of finding buyers in down markets and selling properties—all in one fell swoop.

A simple Google search brought up several tours all over the country. This gets me thinking—and cringing—about the term ‘foreclosure tour bus.’ As the foreclosure market looks to be bottoming out, is this a last ditch (and expensive) attempt to sell a few extra homes? Inspectors are on hand at the homes, as are lenders, in an attempt to unload these properties from the banks. Depending on how you look at it, this could either be a sales trap or a great opportunity to buy a quick property. I’m not so sure I’ll be hopping on this ‘buswagon’.

Move Inc., Realtor.com Investors Upset Over Failed Investment In Federally Backed Student Loan Auction-Rate Securities

The D3 Family Funds (Camas, Wash.), a shareholder group of Realtor.com operator Move Inc. is seeking for the dismissal of Move’s CEO Mike Long and CFO Lewis R. Belote III over a $129.9 million securities investment from student loan financing groups that has not performed as anticipated.

The auction-rate securities market features investments in municipal or corporate bonds which have long-term maturity and interest rates established through an auction. Because of recent failures in the market, Move’s investment in federally supported student loan auction-rate securities has not performed as anticipated.

While D3 Family Funds are not concerned about the financial status of Move Inc. or their current business plans with Realtor.com, they are concerned with the company’s choice to invest about 74 percent of the company’s liquid assets in a riskier short term investment like auction-rate cash, because they claim that money could have been used to more safely build the company with long-term investments. Even after reporting over $5 million in revenue increases from 2007-2008, the company still reported a $4 million loss for all of 2007, and a $5.3 million fourth-quarter loss that same year.

In November of 2005, private equity group Elevation Partners (including team members Fred Anderson, former EVP and CFO for Apple and U2 front man, Bono) announced a stock investment of $100 million in Move Inc. As of this announcement in early March, Elevation Partners had no comment.

Dubai World: Developing The Modern World In The Image Of Dubai

Just over a couple of decades ago, Dubai was a proverbial ghost-town with an economy almost solely reliant on a tiny supply of oil. But today, with a 20% GDP increase in 2006 and significant economic development thanks to its ports, Dubai is now considered one of the world’s busiest marketplaces for development and international commerce.

This article from CNN money, claims that Dubai World, a holding company with over 100 billion dollars in assets including retail, port operators and real estate developers, is seeking to develop ports and cities on par with Dubai throughout the world.

What does this mean for investors?

There is big investment potential in underdeveloped coastal and port cities. What may have once been small shipping, import and export ports may now become prime building ground for luxury hotels, resorts and commercial real estate.

Considering the rags to riches story that Dubai has to tell, investors should keep a close eye on Dubai World, and the places that they are considering for real estate development.

Condo Conversions: Cousin Mikey And The Development Cap

I just received a call from my friends’ cousin Mikey, who was planning to move into my basement in the wake of a condo conversion in his apartment building.

Cousin Mikey, I just found out, isn’t moving in after all. His landlord informed him and the other 100 tenants in his downtown pre-war apartment complex that they could, in fact, keep their homes. The developer changed their mind, deciding that condo conversions are just too saturated in this market.

Apparently Mikey isn’t the only one living with the tug of war between tenants and developers.

Seattle’s real estate market has seen condo conversions drop sharply since a peak in 2006 because of changes in our housing market, including demand for rentals, housing costs and developers’ ROI.

This week, the House is considering a bill that proposes three things for Washington state:

• Developers must give tenants 180 days notice prior to development and are not allowed to start construction during the notice period.

• Monetary assistance would be granted to qualified tenants--qualifications would be determined by the tenants' earnings. Developers would have to pay tenants up to three times the monthly rent to cushion moving out and into a new building.

• Local governments would be given the faculty to put a cap on the number of apartment/condo conversions in the city.The city of Seattle is supporting this legislation.

I’d like to make one point clear before discussing this any further. I agree with the first two proposals. It’s the last that I take issue with, and it’s the last that deserves serious discussion.

Seattle is notorious for being one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. in which to buy real estate. It’s also one of the best cities in which to live, in my humble opinion, but still one of the most expensive.

Why, then, would our local government seek to put a cap on how many condominiums the city can build/convert? Because, in their minds, the city needs to stabilize the increase in development and give the market back to renting tenants who cannot afford to buy.

I suppose I see both sides of the argument, but as a single girl living in the city, if the condo shoe fits, I’ll wear it--just as soon as I find that right shoe. Er, condo.

What happens to the person who enjoys the benefit of home ownership but doesn’t want to move to the suburbs? Or can’t afford to buy in the suburbs? They are stuck renting.

There is a huge and stable market here for (semi) affordable homes among gen x and gen y-ers alike– and those (semi) affordable homes? They are condominiums, not single family suburban residences.

Investors should keep a close eye on this legislation because if the local government adopts this cap, it will not only affect landlord/tenant state laws, but limit the amount of properties available to purchase.

But, good for Cousin Mikey. And, good for me. I mean, I’m a Led Zeppelin fan, but...c’mon.