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supershanzykhan · 4 years ago

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This is how your outdoor event can be professional

An outdoor event - although more risky in many ways - can often be more atmospheric and percussive, as the on-site facilities of an enclosed space do not limit your ideas, but you can accomplish almost anything for which a budget is sufficient. The outdoor venue can provide space for freer ideas, solutions that do not belong to the usual event mass events.

Contents:

When should you think about an outdoor event?

Here are some tips to keep in mind when organizing an outdoor event.

What should you definitely pay attention to when decorating an outdoor event venue?

How to avoid costly outdoor event boots?

When should you think about an outdoor event?

· for summer events

· for large and extra large number of guests (500/1000 + people)

· if you don’t want to squeeze your ideas into the walls and style frames of a building

· if you would add a lot to the atmosphere of your event, the natural environment, the sunlight, the fresh air

· for certain types of events, such as team builders

· when you find it important to be more adventurous than a regular, impersonal hotel event

· when you want a free hand in the implementation, because this way you do not have to follow the regulations and rules of a rental property related to building decoration and transformation

· +1 reason: if only outdoor events are allowed due to coronavirus, you should reconsider your concept and keep your indoor event outdoors for the benefit of your client

Here are some tips to keep in mind when organizing an outdoor event:

· Tip 1: it is worth drawing the guests' attention to the dress code of the outdoor event , for example, to have a cardigan or straw hat in case of sunshine, and if possible, ladies should avoid stiletto shoes because they sink stepping on the grassy ground.

Honeycomb grid - Substrate suitable for ground cover and correction of soil unevenness. We recommend it for priming the base of tents, under carpets, but also outdoors. With large batteries.

· Tip 2: pay attention to the question of parking; your location should be easily accessible - if there is muddy weather, there is no need for a trailer, because guests get stuck in the mud

· Tip 3: Check the noise control information in your area to see if there are any other outdoor events at the time of your event whose sounds may be disturbing yours

Free decibel meter mobile application (Sound Meter - Decibel meter & Noise meter)

· Tip 4: At a public outdoor event , if you want to advertise your event, also think about what happens if 10x as many people accidentally storm your venue as you expected? Will they have access, won't there be mass misery? Who can serve a larger audience as well? If there is a chance that you will not, you should be more careful with the announcement

What should you definitely pay attention to when decorating an outdoor event venue?

· Event Planning List: This is the first point! To think of everything and nothing to escape your attention, make a list of things to do and the tools you need to focus on each element with equal attention.

· Tents: You will definitely need a tent, one that is suitable for rain or bright sunshine, whether in hot weather or cold weather, and where guests can feel comfortable.

Classic side tarpaulin tent with carpeted floor and heating.

Event tent with a rigid side wall, carpeted floor and heating.

· Stage: It is essential to set up a stage at a visible height, visible from all directions of the auditorium, in order to conference the program and the program itself . If a staircase leads up to it, make sure it is safe and the stage is large enough to accommodate the space requirements of the tracks.

outdoor tent event with large stage

outdoor event with decorated stage

· Planting: To ensure guest satisfaction, comfortable seating and a pleasant table company are important, so an optimal and careful planting regime is essential. Keep in mind that guests don’t necessarily eat through the event, but dance, talk, come and go, so the way tables are arranged is also a key issue. It’s also important not to sit your elderly aunt next to the DJ desk or speakers, and only have a spare row of chairs outside the edge of the tent if there’s room in the covered space because it can be uncomfortable in the rain. Prepare extra seats for late arrivals as well.

outdoor, tent event, planting solved with beer sets

· Sound equipment: Being an outdoor venue, you need to pay extra attention to creating a good sound, give it a key place in your furnishing strategy.

· Bathrooms and washbasins : Washbasins are absolutely essential for every event. It is possible to rent portable restrooms - in simple or simply elegant form, it is important that it is always clean, hygienic, equipped with disinfectants, always meeting the needs of the customer and guests, and of course the budget.

· Cooling / Heating / Electricity: If you are not originally on site but still need heating or cooling, always provide this. From mini spot refrigerators to 250 ton air conditioners, you can rent anything, and if your event takes place in the cold months, you can rent heaters. The comfort and health of our guests is always paramount.

individual attachment with heating pipe (for cooling) connection

the attachment is integrated

· Lighting: Excessive light can be annoying during the day, so be prepared with blinds, and in the evening guests may stumble due to the great darkness, so it is worth lighting the routes, such as sidewalks, exits, parking lots. We would also like to highlight that you have more opportunities to think in creative lighting outdoors . Creating the right mood requires creatively invented mood lighting , exclusive chandeliers, gobo lighting , alternating lights, tent ceiling lighting, and more.

outdoor tent event with decorative lighting

· Dance floor: If the opportunity arises, it may be important to provide guests with a perfectly stable and safe surface for dancing. If the event is organized on a grassy area or around a golf course, for example, also think about not damaging the ground while dancing, prepare with a floored dance floor.

· Protected / enclosed area: Outdoor events can clearly be endangered due to extreme weather conditions. If it’s raining, for example, it’s definitely worth providing a safe, wind-sheltered hiding place that can dampen guests ’moods even in storms and where they can warm up. A tent is not necessarily good for this purpose, as it can act as a sail in a windstorm. Either think of a very stable, more closed tent, or maybe a container solution.

· Waterproof storage: In the same way, you need to provide a venue for event equipment and catering, where they can safely survive a rain without incurring extra costs for the rented equipment to break down and soak.

· Food and Drink: If there is obviously a chance that bad weather could wreak havoc on the event, make sure your dining options are practical and, more importantly, safe. Whatever is on the menu, a constant supply of drinking water is essential - so take the necessary precautions to ensure your guests are hydrated. And if it’s not the heat that dominates, but a sudden downpour that cools the air, don’t serve iced tea to your waiters later on, but try to counteract the effects of bad weather with hot drinks by reacting immediately to the situation. It is also an emergency idea to prepare for unexpected situations with spare, locked party snacks, for example, when rain washes away the grill dishes served on the tables.

corporate outdoor event with meals in the tent, beer sets

outdoor event with a reception in a tent

· Safety: The risk assessment should be part of the repertoire of all event organizers. Health and safety provisions are extremely important when planning any event, especially one held outdoors, where it is the responsibility of the event organizer to prepare for any dangerous scenario. A minimum of a few first-aid kits on hand are needed, as well as instructions for accessing nearby hospitals - but in the event of unpredictable weather, additional on-site medical care should also be prepared.

· Basic comfort: From umbrellas, soft blankets, or just in case of heat to hand-held fans and sunscreen, make sure you have everything available for the comfort of your guests, even in extreme weather conditions. Don’t expect the guest to take care of sunglasses or a mosquito repellent. What a pleasant surprise they will have, however, if they need anything, you can pick it up from the supply store with an elegant gesture.

Let’s dissect the question of the weather a little more. After all, any outdoor event organizer knows that the success of your event, be it a sporting event, a festival or a charity fundraiser, or even a building inauguration - depends on the grace of the weather elements.

So if the event is organized outdoors, it’s also worth organizing alternative entertainment options or activities that can still keep participants there and make them feel good even when the blue sky isn’t on the agenda.

How to avoid costly outdoor event boots?

One of the most important factors when planning an outdoor event is Mother Nature; which can completely reset the event and budget if you are not careful.

Answer the following important questions during the pre-planning stage and site selection period, because if you prepare for these, you shouldn’t be in for an unpleasant surprise.

· What time of day is the event held?

· What weather is expected?

· What are you going to do if it's raining?

· What effects can strong winds have?

· What will you do if the bugs decide to join your event?

· Where can I call for help?

· Do I have a "B" plan?

Courtesy:Outdoor Event Planner in Lahore

#event corporate management photographers foodblogger Pakistani DressUPnotdown decorations style guest Lahore

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brewerlinda1995 · 4 years ago

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seriousbusinessforhumans · 4 years ago

Link

Oct. 27, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

President Trump welcomed the Japanese prime minister at Mar-a-Lago, in front of a towering arrangement of roses. The two could have met in Washington, but Trump said his private club was a more comfortable alternative. “It is, indeed, the Southern White House,” Trump said, greeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the press in April 2018.

For Trump, there was another, hidden benefit. Money. At Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s company would get paid to host his summit.

In the next two days, as Trump and Abe talked about trade and North Korea, Trump’s Palm Beach, Fla., club billed the U.S. government $13,700 for guest rooms, $16,500 for food and wine and $6,000 for the roses and other floral arrangements.

Those 2018 payments, revealed here for the first time, are part of a long-running pattern whose scope has become clear only in recent months.

Since his first month in office, Trump has used his power to direct millions from U.S. taxpayers — and from his political supporters — into his own businesses. The Washington Post has sought to compile examples of this spending through open records requests and a lawsuit.

In all, he has received at least $8.1 million from these two sources since he took office, those documents and publicly available records show.

The president brought taxpayer money to his businesses simply by bringing himself. He’s visited his hotels and clubs more than 280 times now, making them a familiar backdrop for his presidency. And in doing so, he has turned those properties into magnets for GOP events, including glitzy fundraisers for his own reelection campaign, where big donors go to see and be seen.

In the case of the government, Trump’s visits turned it into a captive customer, newly revealed documents show. What the government needed from Trump’s properties, it had to buy from Trump’s company.

So the more he went, the more he got. Since 2017, Trump’s company has charged taxpayers for hotel rooms, ballrooms, cottages, rental houses, golf carts, votive candles, floating candles, candelabras, furniture moving, resort fees, decorative palm trees, strip steak, chocolate cake, breakfast buffets, $88 bottles of wine and $1,000 worth of liquor for White House aides. And water.

Since Trump took office, his company has been paid at least $2.5 million by the U.S. government, according to documents obtained by The Post.

READ THE DOCUMENTS

Full PDF

In addition, Trump’s campaign and fundraising committee paid $5.6 million to his companies since his inauguration in January 2017. Those payments — turning campaign donations into private revenue — continued even this year, as Trump fell behind in polls and his campaign ran short of money.

The Trump Organization is not prohibited from accepting the payments. But the payments did break a key promise from 2016: Trump’s pledge that he would “completely isolate” himself from his business once in office, and put his voters�� interests above his own. “If I win, I may never see my property — I may never see these places again,” Trump said on the campaign trail then. “Because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf. Believe me.”

There is no official total of what Trump’s company has been paid by the government and Trump’s campaign since he took office. The company and the campaign have both declined to say and did not respond to questions for this story....Without an official accounting of these payments, The Post has sought to compile its own.....The result is a never-before-seen portrait of the presidency as a revenue stream.

While Trump was publicly donating his $400,000 annual presidential salary, he was privately using his power to bring his businesses far more than that.

Taxpayer payments

The payments from taxpayers to Mar-a-Lago started in Trump’s first full month on the job, February 2017. He was meeting Abe at the club. His aides would need rooms. According to federal policy, the most they could pay was $182. But Mar-a-Lago was not charging $182.

“[There’s] a five bedroom house that three of the senior staff are staying in at $2,600 per night,” State Department employee Michael Dobbs wrote his colleagues, in an email later released to the public. “The two other Senior staffers (Bannon and Walsh) are expected to be charged $546 for their rooms.”

Within the State Department, emails show, officials did not seem inclined to fight. Federal rules allowed them to pay up to three times the normal limit — $546, in this case — with authorization. And the White House had authorized it. (Months later, Mar-a-Lago lowered the rate it charged the State Department to $396.15 per night, and provided partial refunds for some of the earlier charges above that.)

Within the White House, one former official said, some officials grumbled about holding the events at Mar-a-Lago. The events required dozens of staffers and enormous logistics, which had to be shoehorned into a private club on a narrow island full of other, nosy, paying guests. And there were some ethics concerns about the president repeatedly visiting his own properties. “It’s a hell of a lot easier to do it at the White House, which is set up for it,” the former official said...

Foreign leaders also sought the prestige of visiting the president at his vacation home because they believed it showed a close bond with the United States, two former officials said.

Trump returned, two months later, with Chinese President Xi Jinping....And Mar-a-Lago’s bills only got bigger that time, according to State Department records newly obtained by The Post. Now, there were florist bills: When Trump visited with Xi Jinping of China in April 2017, the club had started charging for flowers, and $50 per palm for decorative palm trees.

That same weekend, a group of White House staffers gathered in a Mar-a-Lago bar adorned with a large portrait of Trump wearing tennis whites. They kicked out the bartender “so they could speak confidentially,” according to an email Mar-a-Lago’s catering director sent to the State Department later.

The group then helped themselves to the contents of the bar: 26 servings of Patron and Don Julio tequila, 22 Chopin vodkas, and 6 glasses of Woodford Reserve bourbon, documents show. The bill to the government: $1,005.60, including service charge. The State Department refused to pay, emails show. But ProPublica — which first revealed this bill — reported that the White House eventually did. (The White House has not responded to questions asking how much it has paid Trump’s clubs out of its own budget).

But the most expensive — and most famous — event of the weekend was the formal dinner for 30, where Trump informed Xi about U.S. missile strikes against Syria during dessert. “The most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen,” Trump later said in an interview with Fox Business Network. Taxpayers likely paid for that: Mar-a-Lago charged $7,700 for that dinner, a charge that appears to have covered Trump’s food, as well.

A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, defended Trump, saying “the President has hosted near 100 head of state/government visits since 2017” and only a fraction were at his own properties. But, last year, Trump sought to award his own company a much bigger event: the massive Group of Seven summit, which Trump gave to his Doral golf club in Miami. That event would have brought hundreds of foreign and U.S. officials to that property. Trump reversed the decision days later, retreating under public pressure — and resistance from his own aides.

His visits brought another customer: The Secret Service.

When Trump visited Mar-a-Lago for two weeks at Christmas last year, for example, the club charged the Secret Service $32,400 for guest rooms.

In addition, Trump’s adult children have brought their father’s company another $260,000 in taxpayer revenue on their own, records show, by taking solo trips to Trump properties with their own Secret Service agents in tow.

And, in some cases, Trump’s properties even got paid on days when no Trumps were present at all. In Bedminster, N.J., for instance, Trump’s club has charged the Secret Service $17,000 per month to rent a cottage from May to November — even on days when the family is absent. That’s an unusually high rate for the area, but a former Trump administration official said they had to pay it — to be ready, if Trump suddenly decided to visit.

Defense Department records recently obtained by The Post show a similar pattern of $17,000 payments to Trump’s club in Bedminster in recent years. Pentagon officials declined to answer questions about whether they have a cottage there, too.

In the past, the Trump Organization has defended its actions with two arguments. One is that — even if it wanted to — it couldn’t do all this for free.

“Legally, by law, you have to charge the federal government something, otherwise you get into all sorts of gift laws,” Eric Trump told Fox News in February. Eric Trump has not specified what laws he is referring to.

Ethics experts said they were baffled by that claim, since the agencies that the Trump Organization is known to have charged the most — the departments of Homeland Security, State and Defense — all have policies allowing them to accept gifts under some circumstances.

The Trump Organization’s second argument has been that — though it must charge the government something — it charges only enough to cover its costs. “If my father travels, they stay at our properties for free. Meaning, like, cost for housekeeping,” Eric Trump told Yahoo Finance last year. “If they were to go to a hotel across the street, they’d be charging them $500 a night, whereas, you know we charge them like 50 bucks.”

Among the hundreds of transactions reviewed by The Post, there were about two dozen payments that came close to that description: On three occasions when Trump visited his hotel in Las Vegas, for instance, the Defense Department reported paying just $74.51 per night for rooms. The Defense Department declined to comment about those payments.

But, in cases where The Post could determine what room rate was charged, the Trump Organization mostly appeared to charge the maximum allowed under federal spending rules. Or more.

At Mar-a-Lago, the government was charged rates ranging from $396.15 to $650 per room, according to documents obtained by The Post and people who have seen other, unredacted receipts. The rate for the cottage at Bedminster worked out to $566 per night. Once, when Donald Trump Jr. stopped at the Trump hotel in Vancouver, the Secret Service was charged $611 per night for his agents’ rooms. The Trump Organization has not commented on these higher charges.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime “fixer” and attorney, said he saw no sign of a discount in those rates. “That’s what anybody coming in would pay,” said Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization through the beginning of Trump’s term. This year, he was released early from federal prison, after pleading guilty to campaign-finance violations and lying to Congress.

Campaign donors

The use of campaign donations to pay Trump’s businesses is not new: During the 2016 race, his campaign paid them about $12.5 million. But that time, Trump put in far more money than he got out, contributing $66 million to his own campaign.

In the 2020 campaign, he’s done the opposite. Trump has donated a mere $8,020 to his 2020 campaign as of Oct. 14, records show. But his campaign and affiliated fundraising committees paid at least $5.6 million out to his companies. The two committees spent nearly $1 million from Sept. 1 through Oct. 14, including $97,000 for lodging at Trump hotels and nearly $800,000 for catering and ballroom rentals, records show.

RNC and campaign officials have said Trump has never ordered them to visit his clubs — but it was understood that he is more likely to attend if an event is at one of his properties.

Paul Seamus Ryan, of the nonprofit group Common Cause, said it was legal for candidates to rent things from their own business — as long as they appeared to be paying market rates and not overcharging. But, Ryan said, he had never seen anyone do it at the scale Trump has.

#2010s #2017 #2018 #2020 #doanld trump #trump's america #trump controversies #american politics #Secret Service #Trump Hotels #wasting taxpayer money #Michael Cohen #trump's shady business #trump's lies #mar a lago #washington post #state department

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grandsquaremall1 · 5 years ago

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Top 5 reasons why real estate stocks beat

Despite the benefits of real estate investment, you may be wondering if the concept really suits you. It is undoubtedly a difficult question. The strategy does not work out by itself. Someone has to analyze and coordinate purchases, manage tenants, repair toilets, etc. And that's probably YOU!

The best advice I can give you is to focus on the final. Just as you can not earn a salary without paying income tax, so you can not pursue a long-term investment property strategy without fulfilling your landlord obligations.

Would you cancel your job because you do not want to pay income tax? I would not hope. Would you ignore the benefits of real estate investment because you never want to vacate a toilet? Again, I would not hope.

I realize that investing in rentals is not for everyone, so it's not up to me to tell you what to do. My job is only to present the information you need to decide for yourself whether it makes sense to invest in rental properties for YOU.

Here are the five key benefits of real estate investments:

1. MERITABILITY FREE FEATURES:

One of the biggest benefits of having a long-term real estate investment is that your tenants pay for your mortgage on a monthly basis, plus any other rental costs. The result is a gradual decline in your mortgage balance and a gradual increase in the equity of the property over time.

When you sell a property, you essentially pay off all of your equity. That's what I mean by "free" equity. It's like an investment account that somebody deposits on your behalf every month, but does not charge for it.

2. USING THE LEVER TO MINIMIZE YOUR CUSTOM MADE:

This is also one of the main advantages of real estate investments. Leverage allows you to "own" 100% of an asset, even though you can only "pay cash" for 20% of it. This makes investment in rental properties unique compared to most other investment opportunities.

Leverage minimizes your outlay costs and makes rental properties a great start-up investment for the masses (ie people like you and me who have low disposable income). And the leverage combined with your accumulated free equity always results in excellent cash-on-cash ROI on sale. This advantage is probably why many, many self-made millionaires have earned their wealth through real estate.

3. POSSIBILITY TO REDUCE YOUR TAX LIABILITY:

A big plus is that you get a variety of rental property deductions - even funded expenses that did not even come out of your own pocket! As long as you own your rental property in a 1-person real estate company, all deductions will be taken into account as part of your regular federal tax return, which usually increases the amount of your tax refund.

This tax deductibility is the icing on the cake when investing in rental properties. You see, if you're an employee, your income is taxed, and whatever is left over can be spent. In the case of investment property (or, in this case, small business), you will essentially spend first and then be taxed on the balance.

It's certainly an oversimplified explanation, but you understand it. Reduced taxes = more money in your pocket!

4. ABILITY TO GENERATE MONTHLY CASH FLOW (ALWAYS):

I hesitate to include this as one of the top 5 benefits of real estate investments because income is not always the primary goal (for example, your goal is simply to pay off equity later). For long-term investments, it is usually best to keep the monthly cash flow in a reserve account for future use. The reserve account is especially useful when a tenant moves out or when the inevitable surprise costs are incurred - for example, when a pipe bursts or a water heater unexpectedly fails.

Your cash flow position is narrowest at the beginning, but it will improve a little from year to year as you execute your plan to increase rents on a regular basis and then increase your rental income, pay monthly mortgage premium, and pay the real estate costs manage.

Then you'll probably see a small profit in a few years - maybe a few hundred dollars a month. Depending on your position at that time, you can cash in or bring in the monthly income (pay more of your mortgage, etc.). Anyway, it's nice to have this option. Just do not expect that you have this option directly from the gate.

5. It's a pleasure to give someone a nice home:

While this is not one of the slam dunk benefits of real estate investment, it is worth mentioning.

It is good to give something back in a non-monetary way. Investing in rental properties offers the opportunity to give something back to the local community.

By improving your properties, or even just waiting, you can improve the neighborhoods they are in.

In addition, you can help a needy family by offering them a nice place to live. Please, do not be a slumlord. Consider your tenants as customers and strive to exceed their expectations. Everyone wins this way.

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christophergill8 · 6 years ago

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Pay your big tax bill if you want to travel internationally

That's me in mid-February doing my personal Groundhog Day shadow prediction that warm weather was back to stay. (The full image is on my Instagram page.) I was sooooo wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, ecstatic over the return of warm weather and sunshine to Central Texas, I celebrated the arrival of spring.

Was I ever wrong. Today is cold, wet — I swear it was sleeting when I ran to my car this morning after yoga class! — and downright dreary. And it's only supposed to get worse, with local meteorologists predicting the latest hard freeze ever for the Austin area early next week.

Yuk. Yukkety yuk yuk yuk. Or some other not-blog-friendly version of that using another consonant.

That's why I'm bundled up and surfing Caribbean resort websites.

Travel planning time: The hubby and I used to head regularly south for at least some of the winter when we lived in Maryland, either to Grapefruit League spring training games and/or the nearby tropical islands.

We got out of that habit when we moved to Florida and then back home to usually more temperate Central Texas. But we may have to start taking such trips again.

Actually, this time of year is prime vacation planning time. Folks are sick of the winter weather. Or they're realize that the school will be out soon. To get the best deals, travelers need to start firming up transportation and lodging early.

And folks who are contemplating a trip abroad also might need to start thinking about how they're going to pay their tax bills.

Passports threatened by big tax debts: In his never-ending quest for more money, Uncle Sam got the OK in 2015 via transportation bill to start denying or pulling passports of U.S. citizens who owed big tax bills.

Photo courtesy Mike via Flickr CC

When the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, or FAST, Act was enacted that December four years ago, it was projected the passport provision would bring in $398 million over 10 years.

The money comes from making certain owing passport holders, or those who want the international travel documents, pay their bills in full or set up installment plans. The initial tax-due threshold under FAST was $50,000. The law, however, provides for annual inflation adjustments.

For the 2019 tax year, taxpayers owing $52,000 or more could lose or not be issued passports.

As the date of the law's enactment indicates, this shouldn't be a surprise. And the Internal Revenue Service has repeatedly warned folks planning to go abroad of the problems they could face if they have, as the law describes them, "seriously delinquent tax debts."

The IRS this week issued another warning to U.S. tax delinquents making plans to travel abroad.

"[T]axpayers may not be able to renew a current passport or obtain a new passport if they owe federal taxes," noted the IRS, adding, "To avoid delays in travel plans, taxpayers need to take prompt action to resolve their tax issues."

How the passport tax process works: The IRS also reiterated the steps it takes, which it began implementing in January 2018, to deny or revoke (in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, which has passport authority) the affected tax debtors' travel papers.

The IRS must notify the U.S. State Department of taxpayers the tax agency has certified as owing, this year, $52,000 or more.

That amount includes not just the tax due, but also any penalties and interest for which the IRS has filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien and the period to challenge it has expired or the IRS has issued a levy.

These certified taxpayers then will receive a Notice CP508C from the IRS. The notice explains what steps a taxpayer needs to take to resolve the debt. Note, the IRS doesn't send copies of the notice to folks whom the taxpayers have given power of attorney (PoA), so if you get this notice, make sure you let your tax professional/PoA know.

If you can't pay the amount due immediately, you or your tax adviser need to contact the IRS to discuss ways resolve the debt, including the establishment of a payment plan or other payment alternatives.

Once the seriously delinquent tax debt is resolved, either by being paid it in full or being paid off via an installment arrangement, the IRS will reverse the taxpayer's certification within thirty days.

The State Department then will remove the certification from the taxpayer's record, so the passport no longer will be denied.

Special tax-related passport actions: The IRS can expedite the decertification notice to the State Department for a taxpayer who resolves their debt, has a pending passport application and has imminent travel plans or lives abroad with an urgent need for a passport.

The IRS also will not certify a taxpayer as owing a seriously delinquent tax debt or will reverse the certification in certain extraordinary situations. They include circumstances where a taxpayer:

is in bankruptcy,

is deceased,

is identified by the IRS as a victim of tax-related identity theft,

has an account the IRS has determined is currently not collectible due to hardship,

is located within a federally declared disaster area,

has a request pending with the IRS for an installment agreement,

has a pending offer in compromise with the IRS, or

has an IRS accepted adjustment that will satisfy the debt in full.

In addition, where a taxpayer is serving in a combat zone and owes a seriously delinquent tax debt, the IRS will postpones notifying the State Department of the delinquency and the taxpayer's passport is not subject to denial during the time of service in a combat zone.

How to resolve tax issues: Even if you don't have a tax bill large enough to threaten your passport, you still need to take care of it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more you'll owe due to accruing penalties and interest.

Ways to stay on the right side of the tax collector include:

Paying the tax debt in full,

Paying the tax debt under an approved installment agreement,

Paying the tax debt under an accepted offer in compromise,

Paying the tax debt under the terms of a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice,

Having requested or have a pending collection due process appeal with a levy, or

Having collection suspended because a taxpayer has made an innocent spouse election or requested innocent spouse relief.

You can seek an IRS payment plan by filing Form 9465. You can download the form and mail it along with a tax return, bill or notice to get the payment plan started. If you're Some taxpayers also may be able to use the IRS' online payment agreement to set up a monthly payment agreement.

Note that in some payment plan cases, there is a set-up fee, which could be as much as $149, and which will be added to the tax bill you want to pay off over time.

Some tax debtors also might consider making the IRS an offer in compromise (OiC). This is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS to settle the tax liability for less than the full amount owed. You can check out the IRS' online Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool to help you decide whether an OiC is the appropriate move for you.

Here's hoping you can settle your serious tax debt and still take the international trip of your dreams. But you better get to work on paying that tax bill soon, before all the good flight and hotels are booked.

You also might find these items of interest:

Summer home rentals net some owners tax-free income

Attention global shoppers: duty-free goods not always fee free

Taxpayer Advocate argues for revised tax-related passport revocation process

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from Tax News By Christopher https://www.dontmesswithtaxes.com/2019/02/passport-could-be-revoked-denied-if-you-owe-a-big-tax-bill-travel-abroad-threat.html

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thechasefiles · 6 years ago

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 1/17/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 17thJanuary 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

MILLIONS IN COVERLEY LAND DEAL – While Coverley developer Mark Maloney is set to earn millions from the relocation of Ross University School of Medicine students, Government was also a big winner. Prime Minister Mia Mottley yesterday revealed that government has sold its lands at Coverley to Maloney for $13.5 million, three times the worth. Mottley said the decision to sell the land, used to house some of the 1,500 students from the American university, was made after it was discovered that the previous administration had got practically nothing from Maloney during their time in office. “Let the record show that the Government of Barbados took a decision that the previous Government did not take, that with respect to the lands at Coverley, rather than wait and get as the last Government was doing, less than $20,000 per house when a house was sold and if it was rented they never got it . . .,” the Prime Minister said during debate on the Public Finance Management Bill 2019 in Parliament. “That land was in their possession. It could have been in their possession for another ten to 15 years. If the houses didn’t sell the Government of Barbados would get nothing. And in fact, because he is renting, we would have gotten nothing if we had just done what the last Government did because they have not sold the houses to Ross [University], they are in fact renting the houses to Ross. “Our Government decided this is not good enough and we approached the developer and told him that he would have to pay Government for the land which is going to earn you rent for the houses that you are going to complete. And that because we want to be able to keep the relationship clean and separate and apart, pay us for the land. In fact, the value given to us by the valuation was less than what we got,” Mottley added. The Prime Minister said even though the land had been valued much less than the eventual selling price, Government had been able to negotiate because of the influx of students from the Ross University. And while she said it meant Government no longer had any stake in the land, some much-needed money had been added to Government’s coffers. “We took the decision to sell the land at a price that would give us a return that was almost three times as great or more and to sell the land for $13.5 million for the houses at Coverley. “So we have no part of it, but the coffers of the Crown will be $13.5 million richer for land that has been in the possession of the same developer for almost ten years without a cent coming to the Crown for that particular set of land for which we have now received money,” Mottley said. The Prime Minister also called for the documents related to the sale of land at Coverley to be made documents of the House of Assembly. (BT)

BITTER HARVEST – Returns from the 2019 sugar harvest will not be that sweet, say some private farmers. Their projections came after Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC) general manager Leslie Parris estimated last week that 11 000 tonnes of sugar would be produced from 146 000 tonnes of cane. Last year, more than 140 000 tonnes of cane were delivered to Portvale factory, resulting in just over 11 000 tonnes of sugar. However, some private producers are lamenting that this year’s yield may not add up to last year’s, due to the late start of the 2018 harvest, and poor rainfall. “If that is the number he (Parris) came up with based on what every farmer put forward, then so be,” said Michael Gill, of Ashbury Plantation, St George. “But if you assess the facts, I don’t see how you are going to get those yields. If you drive around Barbados you will see that the majority of the canes are short and full of grass; it seems that a lot of fields have not been sprayed.” (BT)

AT LOGGERHEADS –Three months into the impasse between the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) and Innotech Equipment Inc. over community water tanks, there are now water safety concerns in some parts of St Joseph and St. John. Last Friday, Innotech raised the alarm with the state-owned water company after eight of its tanks were re-commissioned without being sanitized. The company said that to the best of its knowledge the tanks had not been removed for cleaning. Barbados TODAY understands that cleaning the tanks involves filling them with water that is heavily saturated with chlorine for a period of 48 hours. It is not safe to conduct this process in public as there is a high risk of persons mistakenly consuming the cleaning solution. In a letter to the BWA dated January 11, 2019, addressed to general manager Keithroy Halliday, chairman Leodeane Worrell, and director of engineering Charles Leslie, Innotech charged that of the 36 tanks remaining in the field, eight were still being used. “We are uncertain if the BWA cleaned and sanitized the tanks now in service prior to the reconnecting, refilling and recommissioning the eight tanks. As the residents are using the tanks, out of an abundance of caution please let us have your instruction to clean and sanitize these tanks and return them immediately to the communities. As per the attached Condition Report dated 8th January 2019 which indicates the last clean/sanitize date for all the tanks, please note the last clean/sanitize date for the eight tanks now in service was 11th September 2018,” the letter stated. However, the BWA today strongly denied refilling the Innotech tanks. The Authority also asserted that it was therefore not responsible for the water quality in the tanks. “The Authority categorically denies that its crews refilled the community tanks owned by Innotech as referenced in the letter, since the repudiation of the Innotech contract. Facts which have been confirmed by senior superintendent (Ag.) Mr. Grantley Philips, the section head who assigns staff to perform that duty and head of the Distribution Department under which that section falls, and engineer, Mrs. Shelley Parris,” the BWA emphasized in a statement from BWA marketing officer, Yvette Harris-Griffith. The statement further noted that “with regard to the query as to whether the BWA was cleaning or sanitizing the tanks, it has never been the contractual responsibility of the Authority, that always was Innotech’s.” The development presents a further complication, as one month after the BWA accused Innotech of breaching the five-year lease agreement by removing the community tanks, the equipment rental company is now claiming that the BWA is still using several of its tanks to service water-scarce communities. “We returned to work on 7th January and in accordance with our Standard Operating Procedures we carried out the routine condition survey of the community tanks that are currently in the field. In summary, there are 36 tanks in the field of which eight have now been reconnected, refilled and commissioned into service by the BWA,” stated the letter, which was signed by David Tomlinson, director of Innotech Utilities. Barbados TODAY understands that as a result of the alleged continued use of its equipment, Innotech has resumed monthly billings to the state-owned water company to the tune of $51,000 per month. Contacted Innotech’s chairman, Anthony Da Silva, who would not comment on the development but confirmed the authenticity of the letter signed by Tomlinson and that indeed eight of Innotech’s tanks were still being used. Barbados TODAY witnessed the tanks in use at Bowling Alley, St Joseph. However, a source close to the development revealed that the company had written to the BWA noting that they do not recognize “any termination” of the 2015 contract. “We don’t recognize it because we have not received any correspondence that tells us that contract is terminated from the Barbados Water Authority. We received a letter from the Minister of Energy and Water Resources [Wilfred Abrahams] saying that he has terminated the contract. The minister has no legal standing in the contract and therefore no legal authority to bring the contract to an end. They have compounded this by continuing to use the product,” the source said while hinting that the matter could be heading to the law courts. This afternoon the BWA maintained that when Innotech removed the tanks back in December for non-payment they were informed that the contract was cancelled. The revelation, If true, would represent a departure from the BWA’s position last month when the water company launched another community tank initiative with donated tanks from corporate Barbados. In a letter dated December 28, 2018, a copy of which has also been obtained by Barbados TODAY, the BWA had demanded that Innotech immediately remove the empty tanks from the field, claiming that they posed a health and safety risk to the community. “As you are aware the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) accepted your repudiation of the community tanks contract and previously requested that you remove them from their respective locations. To date, you have failed to do so. It is now a matter of health and safety and that given the importance of the enclosed bulletin which warns of high winds, that you do remove them forthwith,” stated the letter, which was written before some of the replacement tanks began to collapse. (BT)

SENATOR TO WRITE TO IMF – The leader of a local trade union is taking a case for non-payment of gratuity and pension to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Head of the Unity Trade Union (UTU) Senator Caswell Franklyn said today he will be writing the IMF shortly to get clarity on a matter in which he said the non-payment of these entitlements to a former Transport Board worker is being attributed to the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, which is supported by the fund. “I was in talks with a woman who was very distraught. She worked 33 and a third years for the Government, and now the time comes to get her pension and gratuity, they are saying at Government Headquarters that this BERT programme . . . it can’t be paid,” Franklyn told Barbados TODAY. “I am going to write the IMF on it. Cause if they are blaming the IMF for this woman not getting her gratuity and pension, I am going to write the IMF,” the union leader insisted. He argued that this is a debt to Government which is not supposed to be carrying any debt under the IMF loan arrangement. “This lady worked at the Transport Board . . . and they are saying the Transport Board doesn’t have enough money to pay. But the Transport Board belongs to the Government, so the Government has got to pay it,” he stressed. (BT)

UNIONS: LET’S TALK PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION –The Congress Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB) has called for an urgent national consultation on the island’s transportation system. CTUSAB’s General Secretary, Dennis De Peiza made this appeal today in a press release, saying the time was “right for a review” as there was a need to address issues impacting the delivery of a dedicated and efficient transport service. “It is imperative that the country has a well-managed, regulated and dedicated public transportation system, as this would ensure the members of the public have ready access to transportation to and from work, school, and to engage in social and recreational activities,” De Peiza said in the release. Pointing to the issues which led public service vehicle (PSV) operators to stage two days of strike action, De Peiza said those problems had been festering for far too long and had the potential to create “a national crisis”. On January 2, scores of drivers parked their vehicles leaving passengers stranded at the Lower Green and the Constitution River terminals while operators who ply the Speightstown joined their peers in withholding transporation services. The operators were up in arms over issues relating to the cost of the mandatory uniforms with Barbados Transport Authority’s crest and the severity of penalties for specific infractions among other matters affecting their trade. Six days later, on January 8, the first day of the second school term when thousands of students were returning to the classroom after the Christmas break, the operators again shut off their engines and converged on the compound of the NUPW after officials at the transport authority failed to meet with them as they had scheduled. The operators, who have formed the Public Service Vehicle Workers’ Assocation to represent their interests, returned to work the following day and held mid week talks with the authority’s Chairman Ian Estwick and others. The union release noted: “Over time, several issues have emerged which call into question the management, regulation, coordination, policing and efficiency of the public transport system in Barbados. “CTUSAB makes the observation that these are serious drawbacks, which have the potential to create a national crisis. The current issues being raised by the public service operators are nothing new, and it is unfortunate that these matters have not previously been thoroughly and firmly addressed by the authorities,” De Peiza said. He however made it clear that the ��indiscipline” which has characterized the public transportation sector, particularly by the PSV’s and minibus operators needed to be arrested. “There must be the exercise of the political will to treat to the growing problems within the sector,” said the union’s general secretary who also made mention of the service provided by the Transport Board. “The quality and efficiency of the service provided by the Transport Board are matters of public concern, which must also be reviewed and addressed. The subject of a scheduled bus service, which includes the service provided by the Transport Board, PSV’s and minibuses to ensure that commuters across the island have access between 6 a.m. and midnight, needs to be fully discussed,” he stated. (BT)

MORE TO THE CRIME FIGHT THAN LAWS – Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) Lynette Eastmond is charging that Government needs to do more to find the causes of gun violence in Barbados. “We have to try and look and see what the underlying causes are for the rise in crime in Barbados. I think that is what we have to do. We have to look at the causes and as a nation we have to decide how we wish to live. There are some Barbadians who would have said for decades that ‘Barbados would become a place where people would run around shooting people’ and therefore it has come to pass,” Eastmond told Barbados TODAY. Her comments come on the heels of the shooting death of 42-year-old Daryl Harris who was shot and killed yesterday morning at his Barbarees Hill, St Michael residence bringing gun-associated deaths by guns to three so far for the year. The UPP leader said that Barbados has to decide what kind of nation it wants to be. “Are we going to be a peaceful non-violent country, or are we always going to be winking at things that are making it more unsafe for people to just walk around. There is the possibility of walking into Bridgetown and getting shot. It was not like that before, we do not have to live like that,” she said, adding that gun violence in Barbados is a societal problem which cannot be solved solely by an increase in legislation. “We probably have more murders than some developed countries. So, I think we have to look at what the underlying cause is and the underlying cause is not going to be found by implementing more legislation. We are just looking at the symptoms of what is a real severe underlying problem in the country. “I think we need to do the difficult things. We have become a people who want to do the easy things. It is easy to lock up people, it is easy to hang them I guess. It is easy if you have possession of a gun you lock away that person for 25 years. But where do they get that gun from because we do not manufacture them here,” Eastmond said. The practicing attorney and former government minister said Barbadians needed to put an end to the persons who were enabling others to commit gun crimes and the government needed to go after those ‘further up the food chain’. In fact, Eastmond echoed the comments of Commissioner of Police Tyrone Griffith who last year charged that there was intelligence that indicated that guns were entering the island through ports of call. The UPP leader said there should be a shift of port workers at the ports of entry every six months to discourage corrupt practices. “When you have people working in sensitive areas as a matter of policy you should shift them around. If you implement it as a policy no one would feel as though you are attacking them. They find a way of circulating people so that they do not become entrenched and persons begin to know them,” she said. Eastmond also charged said that persons working in all areas including lawyers, doctors and the police had become “slack” and desperately needed to improve. “We are not following the highest standards anymore. In Barbados from top to bottom, from east to west, everybody needs to improve the delivery of service. We have become slack, everybody,” she charged. (BT)

NGOS NEED GREATER VOICE IN DECISION-MAKING – While Caribbean governments have done more to reach out to the private sector and civil society organizations in terms of seeking partnerships in various ventures over the past two decades, they still have not done enough to fully include all parties in their overall decision-making processes. Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Dr Kristina Hinds-Harrison, told Barbados TODAY: “I recognize Governments have a lot of responsibilities placed on them, but it would be helpful for them to employ a more participatory approach as they try to achieve their national development goals.” She acknowledged that the social partnership among Government, the private sector and trade unions in Barbados had been successful, and commended successive governments for keeping it in place over the last 27 years. However, in her opinion, other groups should ideally be involved as well. “Its perspective right now is somewhat narrow, so while it deals well with labour issues, it might not be the best mechanism to fix wider societal matters.” Dr Hinds-Harrison said sometimes governments were very selective in the groups with which they chose to interact. Too often they sought to include civil society organizations when they were on the verge of making a decision which ideally should have included them from the start. She cited the recent example of the Barbados Government’s decision to ban styrofoam packaging within the next few months, and spoke of similar situations in other islands. “In St Lucia and some of the other Eastern Caribbean islands, town hall meetings are often held, and while they are well attended and tend to get heated depending on the subject matter, most of the time they occur when problems arise just before a project is about to start. Sometimes meetings are held just to say that they invited people to give their opinions, but most of the time civil society organizations are denied access to important information which they could have had had they been invited into the decision-making process earlier in the game.” In her view, it should be easier to get civil society organizations more intimately involved in policy-making in the Caribbean since “most Caribbean countries have populations under half a million people, but one of the problems is that we tend to have a top-down approach as people in authority do not like to have their actions questioned. And we will always have this dilemma until our prevailing culture changes. The rules in CARICOM and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) do make provisions for consultation with civil society groups, but it seems as though it is not utilised on a regular basis.” Dr. Hinds-Harrison has just published her first book, entitled “Civil Society Organisations, Governance and CARICOM”, which features case studies of government and Non-Governmental Organisation partnerships in Barbados, Trinidad, St Lucia, the Bahamas, Belize and St Vincent. (BT)

LIVING BY THE GUN – Residents in the New Orleans community are paralyzed with fear as they face an ongoing spate of gunplay, which some say is being carried out by teenagers and men in their early 20’s. Some say the most recent incident – a shooting on Tuesday night which injured two men in a track near 7th Avenue, New Orleans – was just another episode in what is beginning to feel like a never-ending season of violence. According to reports from residents, over the past three weeks, they were forced to contend with “young boys” terrorizing the community in masks and hooded shirts. They say it’s the result of tension between residents of New Orleans and neighboring Chapman Lane, which has been going on for as long as they can remember. Although the violence is subdued from time to time, they added, it is usually after numerous men have been badly wounded or someone killed. Over the past few weeks, tension has risen, resulting in multiple shooting incidents. “This is three Tuesday nights that they were shooting. Last night, my nephew got shot in his legs and another fellow was shot in both legs,” said one woman. Referring to the shooters as “little boys”, she told Barbados TODAY she believed they are acting on the instruction of men much older than themselves. “It is little boys and big men are putting guns in their hands. I don’t know if they are doing it for money,” said the frustrated woman. “You can’t lie down. I was in my bed last night and I heard the shots and I thought it was galvanize shaking. When I came out, the ambulance was there with my nephew on the ground,” she added. Twenty-one-year-old Leejay Walker, of 8th Avenue who was shot in both feet and 52-year-old Henderson Hewitt of 7th Avenue who was shot in his thigh, became the latest casualties when masked men attacked them on Tuesday night. This morning, both men and another young man were seen limping in the area and they all confirmed that they had fallen victim to gunmen roaming the area at night. “I saw three fellows come up that gap walking. Two short ones and a tall one, and from the time I saw them, I knew that one of them had a gun in his crotch and I told the fellows to watch them carefully,” said the woman who revealed that she knew some of “these little fellows from the time they were small”. Hours before the most recent attack, 44-year-old Daryll Harris, of Barbarees Gardens, formerly of nearby Chapman Lane, became the country’s third murder victim for the year when he was sprayed with bullets outside his home. “I don’t know what’s happening between the men from New Orleans and Chapman Lane, but it’s always a bad vibe,” said another man who did not want to be identified. He said very trivial matters could spark violence. “The men have guns and they can’t take any talk. So there’s only one result when you’re living in the ghetto. If you see someone’s girl and you are talking to a man’s girl, all of those things create a lot of bad vibes and a lot of strife,” he said. Sometimes, he said, innocent people were caught in the crossfire. “When I went down and I saw the fellow [52-year-old shooting victim, Henderson Hewitt], I said ‘he is who they shot?’ He was just going home on his bicycle,” the man said in despair. “Don’t say my name, because they would shoot you for nothing,” warned another woman who did not want to be identified. “They’re coming out here at night and wearing hoodies and masks and just doing it [shooting].” Some angry residents accused the police of neglecting their responsibility to serve and protect, and even showing disrespect toward members of inner city communities. “My niece was out here and I don’t know what she said, but one of them [police] cursed at her,” she said, while adding “We can’t help the police, if the police aren’t helping us.” “Children are out here, I have nephews who have children out here. I’m living in fear,” she said. But when asked about a possible solution, the frustrated woman revealed “I don’t know if anything can be done about the situation, because it is just getting worse.” (BT)

150 GALLONS OF ALCOHOL GONE – One hundred and fifty thousand gallons of alcohol went up in flames yesterday at the Mount Gay Rum Distillery in St Lucy. The smell of the world-renowned and award-winning Mount Gay rum filled the air, but it was not an occasion for celebration. Instead, fire officers worked to bring the blaze in the 300 000-gallon tank, which was half full, under control. The 26 officers, from the Bridgetown and Arch Hall stations, responded at 2:18 p.m. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Henderson Patrick told the media they were working to ensure the flames remained under control. “The roof of the tank has been ruptured, allowing the flame that is burning the alcohol to escape. What we are currently engaged in is ensuring that we apply alcohol-resistant foam to the situation. (DN)

RUM SCARE – Officials from the Barbados Fire Service are still trying to determine the cause of a fire, which injured two men when it engulfed a 300,000-gallon alcohol tank at the distillery of one of Barbados’ largest producers of rum. Just after 2 o’clock this afternoon, ambulance workers, police officers, and over two dozen fire officers all rushed to the premises of Mount Gay Distillery’s Ltd. in Mount Gay, St Lucy in an attempt to minimize any injury or damage. By 5 p.m, the blaze was under control, but the threat of danger remained. “The roof of the tank has been ruptured, allowing the flames to escape,” said Deputy Chief Fire Officer Henderson Patrick, who added that fire officers were applying alcohol resistant foam to the tank, which contained approximately 150,000 gallons of alcohol at the time of the blaze. He warned that if the fire continued, the integrity of the tank could be breached, which could result in additional challenges. Nevertheless, he said given the nature of the fire, it would continue to burn for some time. “There is enough satisfaction in the operations that we are conducting because the tank itself is contained within a bund wall [intended to prevent the escape of potentially polluting substances] that is really designed to hold the contents of the tank in the event that it is ruptured.” However, he said in the case of a violent rupture, other buildings could be put at risk. Two employees of Mount Gay were injured in the blaze, but Patrick indicated that based on his understanding, those injuries were not serious. Senior manager at the St Lucy-based distillery, Moya Lambert, told Barbados TODAY the company would not be issuing a statement just yet. As it related to the cause of the fire, the Deputy Fire Chief said it would take time to gather all of the pertinent information. He, however, indicated that two people were working near the tank at the time, “and that may have contributed to the incident.” (BT)

JONES FACING EXTRADITION – A Barbadian man wanted by the Canadian authorities will know on Friday if he will be extradited. Errol Vivian Jones, 64, of Bridgefield, St Thomas, will have his time in the District ‘D’ Magistrates’ Court on January 18, after Magistrate Douglas Frederick offered him bail in the sum of $15 000 and adjourned the matter when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today. Acting Deputy Director of Prosecution Anthony Blackman who appeared on behalf of the Crown revealed that Jones was residing in Canada when he was convicted of drug-related offences on November 11, 1993 and August 31, 1994. As a result, he was ordered to serve a term of imprisonment of six years, four months and seven days, or 2319 days. However, after serving 1430 days in prison Jones was released on full parole. As part of his conditions he was required to periodically report to his probation officer. But on October 10, 1997, Jones failed to report, leading to warrants of suspension and apprehension being issued by the Correctional Services of Canada. By breaching the conditions of his parole it meant he was automatically required to complete the remaining 889 days of his sentence. Jones was able to evade Canadian authorities and travelled back to Barbados. Through the diplomatic channels, Canadian authorities made a request for Jones to be extradited. After hearing the details of the case, Frederick adjourned the matter until Friday, where Jones is scheduled to reappear in the St Thomas court. (BT)

DEACON’S RESIDENT FINED, THEN JAILED – A 33-year-old St. Michael man who today pleaded guilty to five charges involving a motor car was fined $1 500 forthwith or he must spend 75 days in jail. As the fine was not paid, Jabari Michael Hurley, of Deacons Farm, St. Michael was led off to start his prison sentence and advised that if he acquired the money while in jail, he can speak to the prison authorities. He was convicted, reprimanded and discharged on two of the charges involving licence plates. The charges against Hurley were that on January 14, 2019, he drove a car on Waterford Road, St. Michael which contravened the Road Traffic Act; he had no driver’s licence, no insurance, no front plates, no rear plates and failed to register the vehicle. Prosecuting Sgt. Vernon Waithe told the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court presided over by Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson, that police officers travelling along Waterford Road saw Hurley and others with a vehicle. When asked about the vehicle, Hurley admitted that it was his and it was not registered nor insured and he was not the holder of a driver’s licence. Hurley was taken to the police station. When asked if he had anything to say, Hurley said the vehicle was being towed when he was stopped because it had no gas. He also said that he had appeared in court at other times for similar offences and admitted that he never had a driver’s licence. (BT)

MAN JAILED FOR STEALING TOENAIL CLIP – At 62, he’s finding it hard. His children live overseas and he cannot find a job. That’s what Farley Nigel Smith of Hothersal Turning, St. Michael, told Acting Magistrate Anika Jackson today when he appeared before her in the District ‘A Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to stealing one toenail clip valued $6.99 belonging to Massy Stores on January 15, 2019. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail. According to prosecutor PC Kenmore Phillips, the midddle-aged father went to the Health and Beauty section of the store, picked up the item, placed it in his right pants pocket, took up a drink and paid for it, but not for the toenail clip. He was kept under observation and after a search was requested the item was found and the police summoned. The court was further informed that Smith has another matter in which he was granted personal bail last September or October, but never returned to court. When asked about it, he said that he went to court the following day but later because of a knee injury was unable to attend court, even though he admitted that he can get around, adding, “I can’t really get around for long, because of my knee injury.” In handing down sentence, the acting Magistrate told Smith “I don’t believe in giving a fine for stealing. It runs counter to common sense.” Asked if he had a problem with drugs, alcohol or anything, he said “I would say I have a problem with being able to financially take care of myself.” Stating that he grew up in the Bahamas, Smith said he is a mechanic and would do odd jobs, but could find none. (BT)

ADDICT PLEADS GUILTY – Last November she came out of prison and today she returns on a 12-month sentence after pleading guilty to stealing last Tuesday. Keisha Melissa Clarke admitted to acting Magistrate Anika Jackson that she has a drug problem and was willing to return to Marina House (Women’s Addiction Treatment Centre) for further help. Clarke, 31, of Military Road, Bush Hall, was charged with stealing two purses valued $57; one cosmetic bag valued 40; and $53.45 in cash total value – $150.35 belonging to Natalie White of Highland, St Thomas, on January 15, 2019. According to Prosecutor, PC Kenmore Phillips, the complainant and her boyfriend parked their van in an area at the Dome Mall, Green Hill, St. Michael, wound up the windows and went into the mall. He noted that the window to the driver’s side had a problem. When the couple returned to the vehicle, White noticed the window was down and the items missing. On opening the door, she saw one of her bags. A male gave the description and name of a woman to the couple and when they reached One Accord Plaza in Warrens, they saw Clarke and called her name and she responded. The couple asked her about the purse and asked to see what was inside the bag she was carrying. They saw some of White’s items and when asked about them, Clarke replied that a man had given them to her. The matter was reported to the police. The District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court also heard that there was a warrant for the unemployed woman in another court on a similar matter. Asked why she stole the items, Clarke said she was hungry and when she got by the vehicle, she pulled down the window, opened the vehicle and took up the items. Stating that it was not okay to take other people’s property, the acting magistrate noted that Clarke had appeared in court in 2013 and also last July and had come out in November . It was then that Clarke admitted she had a problem with cocaine. She explained that she had been to all the institutions for treatment. (BT)

CANADIAN VISITORS ADMIT TO IMPORTING DRUGS –Two Canadian visitors who pleaded guilty to importing marijuana into Barbados have been remanded to HMP Dodds. Eighteen-year-old Janella Christy Milord Ashford and 20-year-old Marc Dawins Cimeus, both of Ottawa, also pleaded guilty to possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of the illicit substance. The duo was caught on January 13 when they arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport. The two will reappear before Magistrate Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court on January 29. (BT)

LAW’S WARNING – Just days before West Indies take on England in the first Test at Kensington Oval the team’s former coach Stuart Law has sounded a warning to the visitors. Though conceding that England would be “red-hot favourites” going into next week’s first Test, Law said his former charges were fully capable of springing another surprise, just as they produced at Headingley two years ago in one of the most sensational run-chases in West Indies’ history. Law, who oversaw West Indies’ Test fortunes during a two-year spell in the Caribbean, stepped down from his role in September to take up the vacancy as Middlesex’s head coach. While being realistic about West Indies’ hopes of resisting an England team that secured an impressive 3-0 win in Sri Lanka before Christmas, Law was adamant that the players he left behind had sufficient skill, experience and determination to rise to their latest challenge. “Don’t underestimate the home team,” Law said. “There’s a core group of senior players who’ve been there for a while and proved that they can do it. If England aren’t on their game, West Indies have the team to make an upset. “England are going in as red-hot favourites but as the underdogs, West Indies have nothing to lose. They aren’t supposed to win, and the Caribbean crowd will tell them they are not supposed to win, and they like proving people wrong as well,” he said today at his Middlesex unveiling. Despite being the stronger team on paper for the best part of two decades, England’s recent record against West Indies leaves plenty to be desired, not least in the Caribbean, where they have not won a series since 2004 and where they lost their most recent Test – coincidentally in Barbados – back in 2015. However, for sheer chutzpah, few results in recent times compare with West Indies’ incredible Headingley upset on the 2017 tour, when Shai Hope – with two hundreds in the match – and Kraigg Brathwaite – with 134 and 95 – helped square the series with one to play after a daunting run-chase of 322. “I think the euphoria of that first Test win in England in 17 years was something that is still being celebrated in the Caribbean,” Law said. “They don’t need much to have a party out there. “Some of the kids who stuck their hand up in that match are still involved now… Hope, Brathwaite, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, those guys played their hearts out. Gabriel bowled fast every time he bowled the ball, and the two batters had a dream Test match. “They can do it, that’s the thing. It comes down to self-belief. If they’ve got self-belief they can achieve anything.” West Indies’ hopes in the coming series have been boosted by the recall of Darren Bravo, a proven Test-match batsman who played a crucial hand in that Barbados win in 2015. He had been unavailable for most of Law’s spell in the Caribbean after becoming embroiled in the stand-off with CWI over player availability for T20 leagues. However, his return to the fray, said Law, was a sign of progress. “I think there’s been massive improvements,” he said. “Johnny Grave, the CEO, and Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket, have made massive strides to raise the professionalism. “But you can’t rush these disputes. I didn’t really understand the depths, but at times you have to side with the players. I had brief conversations with Darren and he made some very good points. “He’s a high-class player, West Indies could do with his experience, and you’d like to see commitment from other players as well. But the T20 riches are big, and the West Indies boys are high in demand, so you can’t blame them, even if playing for West Indies is a shop window for these tournaments. “I didn’t blame one player once for choosing T20 cricket over Test cricket. Sure, I was disappointed, as I’d have loved to have them playing for West Indies, but they had other issues to keep to, and supporting their families was one of them.” In fact, supporting his own family was Law’s primary reason for calling an early end to his time with West Indies, and instead seeking out the security that comes with a four-year deal at Middlesex. (BT)

BATS FAIL TO SHOW-203 FOR 19. It is not fake news. That was the score for the President’s XI team in two combined innings yesterday with the young contenders in West Indies’ cricket folding miserably against the touring England side at the 3Ws Oval. Batting has been difficult for both teams in the two-day tour match but the truth is, the pitch was not a minefield and this was more a case of bad batting than anything else. Given two opportunities to bat, no one made 40 and with the exception of Vishaul Singh and to a lesser extent Raymon Reifer and captain Jahmar Hamilton, the young guns in Caribbean cricket did not show the technique and temperament to make one feel that any of them are close to Test selection. Jermaine Blackwood and Sunil Ambris batted twice and on both occasions failed to get into double figures. In contrast, it was a good workout for the England side, whose batsmen had made 284 all out on Tuesday before extending the score to 317 after batting on before the close of play. (DN)

BLUE LEADING ST. GEORGE PACK – Blue House athletes are leading the charge at St George Primary School’s Inter-House Athletic Championships but the official winner will be pending until the field events are concluded at the school. At the National Stadium yesterday, Blue amassed 374 points followed by Yellow with 266, Red with 354 and Green, 328. Blue’s Jymarian Mallet powered his way to the finish to secure wins in the 100, 200 and 400 metres to total 30 points for his House in the Under-13 Boys’ division. Blue House also took the top titles in the Under-9 division with brilliant on track performances from Maria Mounter-Clarke and Daquante Austin. The two together tallied 60 points for their House’s fight to the top when they won the 80, 100 and 150 metres races. Yellow’s Maliqua Cherubim was the top performer in the girls segment of the Under-13 competition. She also contributed 30 points for her House when she was first to cross the line in the 100, 200 and 400 metres. In the Under-11 division, Zachary Wall of Green secured the boy’s title after he won the 100, 200 and 300 events. Red’s Shonica Small was the top Under-11 girl, gaining 30 points with gold medal performances in the 100, 200 and 300 metres. (DN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 348 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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mcdouglecompany-blog · 5 years ago

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John Stossel, Rand Paul, CW2?, Leaving the Left, White South Africa Arms and the Falling Walrus Deception.

Stossel: Rand Paul on The Case Against Socialism

Jason Mcmanus CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

Activists vs. One Man’s Skee-Ball Arcade

Thousands Leaving Democrat Party in #WalkawayMovement

White South Africans Take Up Arms

Falling Walrus: Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception

John Mulaney

Stossel: Rand Paul on The Case Against Socialism.

https://youtu.be/EP_YoMURElA

ReasonTV

Sen. Rand Paul takes on socialist arguments about Venezuela, Scandinavia, and fairness. Even as Venezuelans starve, Senator Rand Paul (R–Ky.) notes that socialism has gained ground in the United States. That's why he wrote "The Case Against Socialism." The chapter on Venezuelan socialism is titled, "Because Eating Your Pets is Overrated." "You would think that…when your economy gets to the point where people are eating their pets, people might have second thoughts about what economic system they've chosen," Paul tells John Stossel. But Stossel notes that today American socialists say, "We won't be like that." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) says, "when I talk about Democratic socialism, I'm not looking at Venezuela. I'm not looking at Cuba. I'm looking at countries like Denmark and Sweden." But Paul debunks that myth in his book. "It's not true that the Scandinavian countries are socialist," Paul tells Stossel. Stossel points out that while Scandinavia tried socialist policies years ago, they then turned away from socialism, privatizing industries and repealing regulations. In fact, when experts rank economic freedom, Scandinavian countries rank near the top. Denmark's prime minister even responded to Sanders, saying: "Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy." Scandinavia did keep socialist policies like government-run health care. Media outlets suggest that's why Scandinavians live longer. But Paul says: "This is the trick of statistics…it started way before socialized medicine." His book has the stats to back that up. In the 1960s, before Sweden's healthcare was totally nationalized, Swedish men already lived five years longer than American men. Now, they…still live five years longer. Stossel says Paul's book is different from other politicians' platitude-filled books. Paul did actual research. He cites sources that back up his point about health care, comparing the life expectancy of Swedish men and American men in 1960s. Regarding Sweden's ability to pull people out of poverty, Paul credits Swedish culture, not government programs. He tells Stossel of a story about Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman: "This Swedish economist comes up to him and he says, 'You know in Sweden we have no poverty.' And Friedman responds, 'Well, yeah, in America we have no poverty among Swedish Americans.'" Paul confirms that with data from Swedish researcher Nima Sanandaji, who writes: "Danish Americans today have fully 55 percent higher living standard than Danes. Similarly, Swedish Americans have a 53 percent higher living standard than Swedes." Stossel says it's good that Paul debunks these myths and warns against repeating the tragic history of socialism. Paul gives a partial list of failures: "Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, Chavez, Maduro. It doesn't work." The views expressed in this video are solely those of John Stossel; his independent production company, Stossel Productions; and the people he interviews. The claims and opinions set forth in the video and accompanying text are not necessarily those of Reason.

------- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub_... Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines. ---------

CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

TikTok’s Jason Mcmanus CW2? Virginia will be ground zero.

https://www.tiktok.com/@jsinnmusic/video/6769988507189497094

@jsinnmusic

#2a #nra #virginia #tyranny #wakeup #3percenter #unconstitutional #laws #fyp #foryoupage #trump2020

Activists vs. One Man’s Skee-Ball Arcade: How Red Tape Is Ruining San Francisco

https://youtu.be/SQo6UZzyR3Y

ReasonTV

Joey Mucha wanted to convert his warehouse into a restaurant, bar, and arcade. Then community activists intervened. Joey Mucha is a three-time Skee-Ball national champion and the owner of Joey the Cat, an arcade rental, repair, and events company that he started in 2010 from his one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. After winning some prize money, Mucha was able to purchase his own fleet of Skee-Ball machines and other arcade games. In 2014, he purchased a former car repair shop and turned it a private event space and a place for fixing broken arcade games. In April of 2019, he decided to convert his space into a restaurant, bar, and arcade. His property was already zoned for this use, but despite following all applicable codes and regulations, Mucha still had to argue his case at a public Planning Commission hearing in November. His project was jeopardized by a process known as discretionary review, in which any member of the public, in exchange for a $600 fee, can ask San Francisco's Planning Commission to hold a hearing to review building permits. So far in 2019, the commission has publicly heard 91 requests for discretionary review. Since every building permit in the city is subject to this process, it can add significantly to the construction costs. "Commissioners are empowered to reject most any permit, regardless of whether it satisfies the underlying zoning code," wrote Reason's Christian Britschgi in a piece about Mucha's fight. While Mucha did end up getting permission to move forward with his renovations, the story of how the project was nearly stopped, and what Mucha endured in order to prevail, underscores how even the most benign land-use changes in San Francisco can be hampered by red tape.

------------------ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV?sub_... Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magaz... Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason Subscribe to our podcast at Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/az3a7a Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines. ----------------

Thousands Leaving Democrat Party in #Walkaway Movement

https://youtu.be/IAhzp2zoL5c

One America News Network

For months now a growing movement on social media is highlighting the thousands of people leaving the Democrat Party as leftist leaders continue to embrace more progressive ideologies. Its called the #WalkAway movement and it could spell good news for Republicans come November. Jack Posobiec sits down with their founder to learn more about the group. Visit us at: Website: http://www.oann.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneAmericaNe... Twitter: https://twitter.com/OANN

White South Africans Take Up Arms -- Afrikaners Aim to Counter Gov't Land Grabs, White Genocide.

https://youtu.be/1NyVYaI_V6w

One America News Network

Controversial land reforms in South Africa are raising tensions as the nation's white minority arm themselves to defend their farms against government seizures. One America's Kristian Rouz has the story.

Falling Walrus: Attenborough Tacitly Admits Netflix Deception

https://youtu.be/U5Ji6ME3Vlo

GWPF

New footage reveals the truth about the notorious falling 'climate-change' walruses.

John Mulaney

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ronnykblair · 5 years ago

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Real Estate Market Analysis: What It Is, and How to Use It

When I was researching topics to write about earlier this year, “real estate market analysis” came up repeatedly.

I went down the rabbit hole of repeatedly searching for this topic and quickly concluded that peoples’ ideas of “market analysis” are wildly different.

In real life, you could debate the exact meaning, especially if you consider companies and assets across all industries.

But if we limit the industry to commercial real estate and the purpose to financial modeling and valuation, then it’s easier to explain:

The Purpose(s) of Real Estate Market Analysis

The purpose of real estate market analysis is to generate reasonable assumptions for use in financial models and to ensure that the qualitative aspects of the market and property meet your requirements.

For example, if you are building a real estate pro-forma for a multifamily property acquisition, you’ll have to make assumptions for items such as:

Average Rents per Unit or Square Foot

Annual Growth in Rents

Occupancy Rate

Expenses and Net Operating Income (NOI) Margins

Required Capital Expenditures

The Going-In Cap Rate and Exit Cap Rate

You use market analysis to determine these numbers or to decide if someone else’s numbers are reasonable.

If rents for similar properties in the same area have been growing at 3% per year, on average, then it will be difficult to justify a 10% growth rate in your model.

But a 4-5% growth rate might be easier to justify, especially if something specific explains the difference – such as a renovation, population gains in the area despite a limited housing supply, or a company like Amazon moving in.

Nearly all real estate markets are cyclical, so you pay the most attention to the values of these items in the low points and high points of previous cycles.

This is especially true if you’re doing a credit analysis of a property deal – with limited upside, lenders focus on the numbers in the pessimistic scenarios and the chances of losing money if they transpire.

A few years ago, I helped a client win a job at a real estate credit fund, and then I interviewed him about the experience. Here’s a direct quote from him about market analysis:

“When we see the marketing documents for a new deal, we gloss over most of the ‘Market’ section except for the peak-to-trough rent, which we immediately plug into our models.”

How to Conduct Real Estate Market Analysis

In real life, you’ll do a combination of online research and offline work to analyze the market.

Major components of this analysis might include:

Comparable Property Sales – What have similar properties in the area sold for on a per-unit and per-square-foot basis in the past few years? What about the Cap Rates?

Comparable Properties – What are the average rents at similar nearby properties? What about the occupancy rates and concessions given to tenants?

Historical Rent, Expense, and Other Trends – How have rents changed over the past 5-10 years? What about expenses, such as property taxes and maintenance? How have Cap Rates changed over the past few cycles?

Lease Terms and Renewal Probabilities – What’s the average term of a lease? How many free months of rent do tenants receive? On average, what percentage of tenants renew their leases upon expiration?

Absorption Data – What is the total amount of space that becomes occupied in a given period, minus the amount that becomes vacant? How many new units, properties, or square feet are constructed each year, and how many are leased out?

Demographic Trends – Is the population in the area rising or falling? What’s the average family income, and what is the unemployment rate? Is the population relatively young, or is it aging rapidly?

In-Person Assessment of Property and Neighborhood – There are some things you can only figure out in-person.

Many online sources recommend using sites like Zillow to look up recent sales and new listings, and trying to find properties with “similar numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms.”

That might work for single-family homes (i.e., places that families purchase, live in, and do not rent out to others), but the process differs quite a bit for commercial real estate.

For example, you might pull information from paid databases like Real Capital Analytics, CoStar, or LoopNet, and you might look at market reports issued by the big commercial real estate brokerage firms, such as JLL and CBRE.

The paid databases help, but the free reports from brokerage firms contain a surprising amount of information.

To see for yourself, try Googling “CBRE market update multifamily [Major City Name]” and you’ll find PDFs with graphs, summaries, and a lot of data.

In-Person Assessments: Say, What?

With real estate market analysis, online research can only take you so far.

If your firm is serious about a deal, and it’s a significant transaction for them, you’ll almost certainly go for an in-person visit at some point.

In-person visits give you information that you’d never be able to find online.

For example, if the area has an epidemic of homeless people and trash on the street, you’ll quickly realize that by using your own eyes.

And if the area is diverse or not diverse in terms of ethnicity, income, and profession, you’ll learn that from an in-person visit.

You’ll also learn a lot about the property itself – everything from the “vibe” to the direction the windows face to the quality of the furnishings.

In-person visits can quickly reveal whether or not the sponsor is spinning a too-good-to-be-true story as well.

For example, many real estate investment groups plan to buy a property, improve it, and then raise rents from, say, $800 per unit to $1,000 per unit, arguing that $800 is well below market rates for the area.

If you look at online reports from the brokerage firms, you might initially agree with them: it seems like $1,000 is closer to the average rate.

But then you go in-person, and you quickly realize that average rents are lower in this one specific 10-block radius of the city because it has a crime problem.

Gang members live there, and local police tell you that this one part of town keeps them busy most of the time.

You wouldn’t necessarily reject the deal based on this finding, but you would become far more skeptical of the sponsor’s plan.

Real Estate Market Analysis: In Practice

Here’s an example of how you can find market information and use it to check your assumptions in a financial model for a real estate deal, taken from the office development case study in our Real Estate Financial Modeling Course.

This deal corresponds to 100 Bishopsgate, a 36-story office development in London.

Many assumptions go into this model, including the land price per square meter, the construction costs, the number of tenants and their lease types, the annual change in office rents in London, the annual rental escalations, and the expense growth rate.

Then there are also “concessions” for the tenants, such as a certain number of free months of rent, and tenant improvements, which give the tenants money to customize their space.

I found all the reports required for this real estate market analysis with simple Google searches for terms like “London office market rent trends” and “London office prime yield.”

You can get two of the reports, with the key sections highlighted, below:

JLL – London Market Rents and Prime Yield Data

Carter Jonas – London Market Data

Comparable Property Sales, Comparable Properties, and Rent, Expense, and Other Trends

We used the JLL report here to check/confirm potential trends for the change in rent and Cap Rates, called “Yields” here:

(Click to view larger version)

With the “Prime Rents” graph, it’s important to focus on the percentage change and, specifically, how much rents fell in the last recession.

The nominal rent figures have increased since then, so rents would not necessarily decline to £45 or £40 per square foot if another recession struck.

However, they could fall by the same percentage as they did in the last downturn (~25%).

That makes our assumed decline rates of 7%, 3%, and 1% in the Downside Case here a bit too optimistic.

Therefore, we might want to reconsider the Downside Case numbers for both Prime Yields and the Change in Prime Rents if we believe another 2009-style recession is plausible.

Moving on, we found information on current rents in the City of London from another source (the Carter Jonas report):

And then we found information on current expenses and rent-free periods in the same report:

(Click to view larger version)

There wasn’t much information on expense trends, but looking at past reports, expenses tended to move in the same direction as rents, but by lower percentages.

So, if rents increase by 6%, we might assume only a 3-4% expense increase.

We did not create explicit sections for Comparable Properties or Comparable Property Sales here because we relied on the market-wide data instead.

Also, since this is a new development, lists of individual properties are arguably less relevant than data for the entire region.

Lease Terms and Renewal Probabilities

Renewal probabilities are a big part of any office, industrial, or retail model because these properties tend to have fewer tenants with more customized leases.

It also takes significant time to find a new tenant if an existing one vacates, so lease expiration is a huge risk factor that you try to assess in any real estate market analysis.

Fortunately, other sources (MSCI) track the percentage of tenants that renew or vacate across these three property types in the U.K. – even going back ~20 years:

We’re assuming renewal probabilities of 40%, 50%, and 60% in the Downside, Base, and Upside cases here, which are probably too optimistic based on this data.

On the other hand, this data is for the U.K. as a whole, not just London – and, presumably, it’s easier to find tenants in the City of London than it is in Random-City-in-the-Middle-of-Nowhere.

This same document has information on the average lease terms and rent-free periods, but they confirm the numbers in the Carter Jonas report, so I’m not pasting them in again.

Absorption Data

A lower absorption rate means more “downtime” spent searching for new tenants, a lower renewal probability, and lower rents.

So, in theory, we should be able to reflect all of those in the assumptions for this model.

But we did not do that here because we could only find partial information on absorption in the JLL report.

They list the “take-up,” or the square feet of space leased out each year in different parts of London, but they don’t have information on the space that becomes vacant each year.

Also, it might be double-counting if we tried to increase or reduce the renewal probabilities and rents based on the absorption data when we’ve already made assumptions based on possible market cycles.

Demographic Trends

We did not look up or use demographic trends at all because this property development is in a prime area of a large financial center.

Information on the population, average income, and the unemployment rate would be more useful in a smaller city or town that’s dependent on a few key employers.

For example, Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing account for a huge percentage of total employment in the Seattle region in the northwestern U.S.

At one point, Amazon alone occupied ~20% of all prime office space in the city.

If we were looking at a property there, we would pay more attention to these demographic trends and even points like company announcements and news.

In-Person and Qualitative Assessments

Finally, we did not complete any in-person visits or assessments here because this is a case study, and it’s very difficult to “show” that type of assessment in an online course.

For development deals, in-person visits may be a bit less useful unless you’re familiar with the construction process and what to look for.

For example, does construction activity seem lower or higher than expected, given the project’s time frame? Is one part of the building lagging? What are the workers saying?

You might try to answer those types of questions with an in-person visit, but you’d need to bring along someone who has experience with the construction process.

The Truth About Real Estate Market Analysis

In this case, the conclusions are simple: we’re probably too optimistic with most of our assumptions, ranging from rent and expenses to renewal probabilities to likely changes in average rents.

But that’s also because we’re looking at this from an equity perspective (think: real estate private equity), which means that we need some amount of optimism to “sell” the deal and get others to buy into it.

A lender analyzing this deal would use much lower numbers and find ways to justify below-market rates for many of these assumptions.

Market analysis is also one area where the on-the-job requirements differ significantly from the requirements in case studies and modeling tests.

In tests and case studies, you don’t need to do much more than what we did here: review the provided data and make sure your numbers aren’t too far off.

But in real life, you might go far beyond this with on-the-ground research, interviews, and more.

Different firms and groups have different standards for this process, so maybe it’s not so surprising that articles about “real estate market analysis” present wildly different views.

The post Real Estate Market Analysis: What It Is, and How to Use It appeared first on Mergers & Inquisitions.

from ronnykblair digest https://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/real-estate-market-analysis/

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elizabethcariasa · 6 years ago

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Pay your big tax bill if you want to travel internationally

That's me in mid-February doing my personal Groundhog Day shadow prediction that warm weather was back to stay. (The full image is on my Instagram page.) I was sooooo wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, ecstatic over the return of warm weather and sunshine to Central Texas, I celebrated the arrival of spring.

Yuk. Yukkety yuk yuk yuk. Or some other not-blog-friendly version of that using another consonant.

That's why I'm bundled up and surfing Caribbean resort websites.

We got out of that habit when we moved to Florida and then back home to usually more temperate Central Texas. But we may have to start taking such trips again.

And folks who are contemplating a trip abroad also might need to start thinking about how they're going to pay their tax bills.

Photo courtesy Mike via Flickr CC

When the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, or FAST, Act was enacted that December four years ago, it was projected the passport provision would bring in $398 million over 10 years.

For the 2019 tax year, taxpayers owing $52,000 or more could lose or not be issued passports.

The IRS this week issued another warning to U.S. tax delinquents making plans to travel abroad.

The IRS must notify the U.S. State Department of taxpayers the tax agency has certified as owing, this year, $52,000 or more.

The State Department then will remove the certification from the taxpayer's record, so the passport no longer will be denied.

The IRS also will not certify a taxpayer as owing a seriously delinquent tax debt or will reverse the certification in certain extraordinary situations. They include circumstances where a taxpayer:

is in bankruptcy,

is deceased,

is identified by the IRS as a victim of tax-related identity theft,

has an account the IRS has determined is currently not collectible due to hardship,

is located within a federally declared disaster area,

has a request pending with the IRS for an installment agreement,

has a pending offer in compromise with the IRS, or

has an IRS accepted adjustment that will satisfy the debt in full.

Ways to stay on the right side of the tax collector include:

Paying the tax debt in full,

Paying the tax debt under an approved installment agreement,

Paying the tax debt under an accepted offer in compromise,

Paying the tax debt under the terms of a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice,

Having requested or have a pending collection due process appeal with a levy, or

Having collection suspended because a taxpayer has made an innocent spouse election or requested innocent spouse relief.

Note that in some payment plan cases, there is a set-up fee, which could be as much as $149, and which will be added to the tax bill you want to pay off over time.

You also might find these items of interest:

Summer home rentals net some owners tax-free income

Attention global shoppers: duty-free goods not always fee free

Taxpayer Advocate argues for revised tax-related passport revocation process

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roccopete-blog1 · 6 years ago

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Investing Instantly Estate Must Risky, If You Have A Plan

The land, as such, to them was available, and if the Europeans wanted to claim it, it was no matter to them; but when the Europeans attempted to settle it and “own” it and even defend it, conflicts arose.

This leaves many very prime investment properties available. The money is mostly made on the equity that is built from property values rising and cashing in when the house sells. If they look a lot better or a lot worse than the house that you want to buy, then you should disregard them.

There could also soon be many more Tesla lovers in the world: the automaker expects to launch it Model 3 mass-market vehicle in late 2017. It will sell for $35,000 - and there are 373,000 preorders.

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I bet dollars to doughnuts that I would have been at least 2x more skilled and scholarly than I am today, had I not cared about impressing others.

The beauty of private lenders is they typically don't require credit checks or other typical due diligence that banks and mortgage companies require. In many cases, you'll be able to make the mortgage payments entirely with the money you receive in rent. This is where Rehab hard money lenders Lenders come into play. As you are trying to find good private lenders, I think it is important to realize and asked them if they sell their paper, if they service their own paper, if they are recapitalizing or if they are taking care of everything on their own in house.

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They have a substantial portfolio of properties and it is only growing from here. This is the real nature of real estate investment in Miami and anywhere else. Moreover, there is typically little to no help available from analysts and research agencies (like when dealing with stocks) in this respect. Most of the lenders I have used, are the people referred to me by my friends or I have found them via internet. They sell the various loans and their documents to individuals or firms in the Wall Street. There are various sources of funding you can tap to be able to start in this business. Knowing your limitations will save you the shirt on your back, as well as the roof over your head. These loans are therefore also known as loan to value or LTV. The first and most important point to keep in mind is to thoroughly know the houses that you buy. Seventy five percent of the rental income can be counted towards and investors income. Then choose wisely, there are lots of properties that you could put up more than you expected. But it's a choice that the borrower has to face up to, and accept their current situation for what it is - and make the best decision for them based on their current options.

For more information about Joe Toner visit the website.

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iratogold81-blog · 6 years ago

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real estate spreadsheet: 10 Things I Wish I'd Known Earlier

A amount of individuals expend in genuine estate domestic Homes to provide a great deal more lbs. You must comprehend regarding it before beginning out This suggests you never drop economical bank loan on account of blunders. The information said under was assembled as a method to enable anybody trying to get to achieve achievement at dependable estate investing. Development learning to learn supplied that feasible about property investing.

At enough time you select to obtain property, Acquire an LLC or other this sort of entity. Shielding oneself Together with your investments is the best way to carry on. Also, you can attain to capitalize on tax breaks from methods troubles.

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It really is doable to amass agreements Released up Totally cost-free. Frequently watch out of executing this. Individuals wholly free of charge agreements might not stand up in court docket docket docket. Reasonably, find a tremendous lawful consultant and spend back again out a little bit to amass primarily the contracts carried out The perfect generally typically signifies to suit your needs. You won't regret it.

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Repeatedly get a great feeling with the Neighborhood values. Residence financial monetary loans and use service fees will certainly provide you with a Excellent imagined your house well worth. Your choices are an excellent deal much more experienced if you realize it inside the highway amount of money.

Stick with a specific place of desire that you really significantly come to truly feel relaxed handling. If you truly take into consideration a specific sector It is a substantial amount of cash a lot much easier to achieve achievement with investing. In spite of for many who flip dwelling or have households with inexpensive down payments, use just just what you figure out to achieve achievement.

Getting retail in addition to Experienced family members Traits requires that you simply concentrate on two troubles. Will not invest out an abnormal degree of for that earth. You don't intend to pay out back again again noticeably far excessive for The actual domestic. Estimate the residential or industrial house level and company separately to perspective if it Completely is an excellent price cut. If these portions are certainly not satisfactory, you ought to stroll absent.

Whenever you get realty, you might maybe decide to make chosen you keep on remaining in only an area that you choose to undoubtedly can reside in. You don't commitment to amass residence just to find out that you don't like Your situation as currently being a consequence of The fact that Then you really definately're mosting genuinely susceptible to have to accumulate that household and In addition is unlikely to amass Significantly utilization from it right right up until you could possibly endorse it.

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Keep obvious of receiving residence which is indisputably inexpensive. Although the fee could tempt you, it's possible you'll get trapped With many of the extended-Extended-lasting when no purchasers are for keeping Positioned. Take into account having to spend out actually pretty a long time to obtain some issue Increased that could assist you to get hold of your refund.

Deliver your legitimate estate fiscal investment decision purchasers listing with on-line adverts. For instance, you might most likely use social networking Web sites, on the web ad Net-websites As an example CraigsList and/or simply the regional paper to accentuate the domestic or organization Characteristics you'll have on present you with. Ensure that you retain simply connect with details For every and every one that demonstrates and standard of fascination which indicates you will definitely Have a very superbly-shaped Get in touch with listing whenever you accrue producer recognize-new Characteristics.

When buying housing, you are able to count on to redeem your preliminary affordable money economic financial commitment, Also a money circulation. In the event you mainly set funds into household residence along with only Obtain your refund, after that you'll be gonna be out The instant you invested all over the setting up. Make the modifications you'll want to make to remodel your house, and Frequently checklist it for much bigger than you invested for it.

Are inclined not to Permit your inner thoughts be your manual in residence investing. That which you inspiration immediately Unquestionably performs into home attaining all yourself, However not for shelling out out your home loan personal loan. Adhere to what precisely could lead on to you personally to economic property finance loan, That could be it. Persistently Evaluation a spouse and children dwelling's get amount versus what exactly you could make from it with regards to rental or sprucing up as well as promoting.

Analysis the marketplace for repossessions, as these can gross you One of the most gains towards the duration of the investing. These structures will definitely be demonstrated beneath the Market really nicely properly truly worth of your house, as you can get some prime-high quality specials to crank out a earnings with. There will certainly be referred to as a bidding struggle, However in case you obtain you could potentially possibly be resting employing a golden goose.

The only realty Value odds are you'll make is receiving as well as leasing just one Mattress spot condos. Almost all individuals that continue to be in the marketplace for a rental home or business residence are a single specific may well maybe they be youthful singles, divorced Heart-agers or a lot more mature widowed people. It isn't just probably by far the most helpful home to lease out, continue to also pretty quite possibly probably the most uncomplicated to handle.

Insure Each one of your respective assets or little business, even Really must they be now vacant. When coverage procedure may get costly, it may at some point safeguard your fiscal expenditure. If a bit one thing ended up to tumble temporary over the land or within a developing you might have, you will certainly be coated. Have a regular protection and balance evaluation performed when shortly also, just for becoming to the Threat-totally absolutely free aspect.

Start with the acquisition of just one dwelling. It might be alluring to accumulate amplified than any individual inside the In the meantime, but it might be A significant blunder just just in case you are new genuine estate capitalist. Alternatively, begin with any individual home and In addition take the time very important to find the procedure. Lasting, you will certainly be Extraordinary off.

Ask for Properties that could continue becoming in demand. Genuinely Avoid and take into consideration what a good deal of men and women at the moment will probably be looking out for. Endeavor to learn reasonably priced Houses on silent streets. Would appear for houses with garages In combination with two or 3 rooms. It might be normally crucial to think about just what the conventional distinct human being will probably be searching for inside a residence.

Remaining a capitalist, be very significantly choosy with regard to the Qualities you will definitely receive. This means that prior to you even pick out into account producing a give, you set in ample time and Strength to wholly inspect your home. To generally be considered a fantastic give Considerably more about the Safe and sound facet, request the companies of the authority inspector to execute a stroll-because of and make sure the home is structurally audio.

While you look into an unbelievable non permanent publishing on genuine estate investing, obtaining Superb outcomes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUw6qyS3rBg all over should be a great deal more quite simple. If you aren't watchful, you can swiftly do away with a large sum of money. Deal with looking for new usually means of information on ways to rework your property investing acumen. With any form of fantastic luck, your adhering to provide You will likely be incredibly handy.

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stylesgrimshaw-blog · 7 years ago

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Things you need to know about Netflix

The Netflix free trial coupon lets you enjoy Netflix motion pictures free of charge for 2 weeks one full month. At this point I'm only a couple weeks into the free trial, however I can tell I'm already going to maintain it and 90 days down the road they are very welcome to cost me. But in the meantime three months of free usage has been a very whole lot.

Simply cancel the account once it is about to expire, use fake credit card and private details once more, use your misspelled Gmail address (see how I defined the advantages of using Gmail above) and that is going to be all you'd need to do. In case you had used your credit card, the renewal would be put in force instantly as soon as your membership expires, and perhaps you would not even understand when your free trial would expire.

So all along the best way I did find a really good 30 day free Netflix Coupon, that additionally provide some pretty massive prizes. As soon as the trial expires, Sling TV will cost you $20 for the month; so you should definitely cancel ASAP for those who plan on not subscribing. Cyberogism is among the prime-ranked sources on how one can get Netflix without spending a dime without end.

However, you can get a free 60-day trial of Australia's personal streaming service, Presto, here Be quick, although, the free 60-day trial supply closes tonight at 11:00 pm. This shall be billed on your bank card and will come with its invoice each month. But what I do know is that when Netflix first came out I assumed it was one of the best thing on the earth.

Plans may be custom-made by selecting a streaming or DVD plan or elect to have both. You can even go halfsies with your friends who agree to share their Netflix account with you.

Hello Rajesh, as gestured in article above; to get Netflix free trial you simply need to use faux bank card for signing up on Netflix web site, and use an email that you must create (ideally a Google e-mail) to make use of with Netflix particularly.

You possibly can't go incorrect paying for it in the event you use it and actually get pleasure from it. My spouse and I didn't watch sufficient TV to justify the price of cable, and for us, spending less than $10 a month for Netflix is a good deal, and saves us about $forty or more every month - which adds up rapidly!

Note: Netflix allows first one-month free trial, but for that it's essential to present your credit card details. In case you had been questioning, the promotional period begins as soon as you create your account, so hurry and choose your motion pictures to begin having fun with the free trial interval as a result of after all, it expires.

How is this free you ask nicely identical to most service contracts (cellular phone, cable and so forth) your monthly bill for service is actually pay as you go not postpaid.

Should you're doing an Amazon Prime 30-day free trial, make sure you go into your preferences and switch off the automatic renew characteristic in case you do not want to be charged.

As a matter of truth, in many circumstances, you will even have the ability to watch Netflix totally free till the top of the month even though you may have cancelled the account before the ending period.

Having used this code before, there are some frequent questions that come up concerning the Netflix free trial offer. Create a brand new account on Gmail or Hotmail (or Reside) each time you want a new Netflix trial. Before you're billed this quantity, nonetheless, you get full month of free trial, no coupons required!

The free trial begins the moment you click on the ‘start membership' button on their web site in the course of the registration process. Hopefully, you will not do this since you want to know find out how to get Netflix free of charge ceaselessly. Remember to immediately cancel your plan or else you will be charged the month-to-month payment.

After I'm not using it a lot, I put it on maintain for a month or two and have just a few extra bucks to spend on e-books. Appears like I want to provide Netflix some more of my time before making a final decision.

In fact, PayPal is not going to like this technique of how one can get Netflix totally free forever. I wish the readers of this article all the most effective, so now it is time to go get your free Netflix account and take a look at what's required for the bigger prizes.

However using the same trick as earlier than I used to be ready to join another 1-month trial. You need to know methods to get Netflix free of charge eternally as if you are a US resident. We're on the 1-DVD at a time plan, so we watch the film and get it back to Netflix as quickly as we can.

You possibly can always use paypal, however I feel they take away the trial in the event that they detect the same IP. So I think you'd have to search out away around that.

However for those who study to use them correctly, and repay your bill in full every month, they can truly do some good within the form of rewards and free airline miles. Whether or not you stream movies on-line, or desire to have the DVDs or BluRay movies delivered to your door, nobody can do it as efficiently as Netflix.

Because of the distinctive providers supplied by Netflix; they are turning into number one in on demand rental world. Chances are that your Visa card may be expired, but if you already checked for that, then chances are you'll be mistyping some information. The primary reason being you can solely lease one movie at a time, and postage to your door and again to the Netflix warehouse will eat up a good bit of time.

From the enterprise side of issues, an extended, free-and stress-free-trial would seem just like the simpler strategy to get a customer hooked on the product for the lengthy haul, as opposed to making the client really feel like a sucker and charging his bank card because he forgets to cancel.

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Check out the entertainment news, new releases together with all the flicks and exhibits which can be obtainable on Netflix in the USA, Canada, and United Kingdom. The activation of the tactic begins proper after buyer's e mail deal with and credit card digit is verified.

This way, you will be able to access Netflix with none costs and without revealing any bank card info. That is the only means for us to ensure that you be taught learn how to get Netflix free of charge forever.

My bank card has expired, and for the reason that free trial mechanically renews at the end of the trial period, they want my new bank card information before I can sign up for the trial. Netflix can also be accessible by way of gaming systems, like the PS3, Wii and Xbox 360.

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#netflix #hulu #entertainment banter

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juditmiltz · 7 years ago

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Can Thor Equities survive a retail apocalypse?

(Illustration by Kagan McLeod)

From TRD New York: It took Joe Sitt [TRDataCustom] less than 30 minutes to agree to pay Aby Rosen $132 million for a trio of buildings at 516-520 Fifth Avenue in 2011. It was a rapid-fire deal even for the Thor Equities CEO — who one friend described as New York real estate’s version of the Tasmanian Devil.

“He’s really fast, and I love fast people who can be decisive in the moment,” Rosen, co-founder of RFR Holding, told The Real Deal. “He called me up, and I gave him the price. He said, ‘I’ll call you back in 20 minutes.’ That same day, we signed the contract.”

Rosen described Sitt as one of the gutsiest players in the business: Someone who knows what he wants and who goes after it relentlessly.

“What motivates him? He wants to make money, and he wants to be famous for making money. I like that,” Rosen quipped.

The property was among more than 20 retail-driven assets that Sitt’s firm, Thor Equities, scooped up on Fifth Avenue and in Soho over the past six years — several at record-breaking prices. The spree led some in the industry to say that Sitt was overpaying to secure deals and setting a new benchmark for the market, thereby forcing himself and his competitors to lock in unprecedented rents to make transactions pencil out. While he wasn’t the only one paying such hefty amounts for luxury mixed-use buildings in prime Manhattan neighborhoods, Sitt has become the de facto poster boy of the retail bubble.

In the case of 516-520 Fifth, however, his bullishness paid off. Even though Sitt scrapped plans to redevelop the site into a residential and retail tower, he demolished the three adjacent buildings and resold the dirt for a whopping $275 million at the top of the market in 2015. That sale netted him and his investors — who had bought into the property through a private fund raised by Thor — a hefty profit.

But fast-forward to 2017, and with retail rents taking a very public nosedive, industry insiders wonder whether Sitt indeed took a larger bite out of retail than he could chew. Some also question whether he’s been ensnared by the inflated values he worked so hard to push up. Meanwhile, his firm has been hampered by a number of senior-level departures in recent months.

“Joe had a theory for a while,” said one major retail investor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He said, ‘I’ll buy something, keep it vacant and sell the dream to a new buyer.’ When the market’s going up, that works great. But people are not buying into the dream anymore.”

Thor has seen the number of high-profile vacancies on its books steadily grow since Manhattan’s luxury retail market started to take a turn last year. Among those vacancies are retail spaces at 530 Fifth and 680 Madison Avenue — in the city’s priciest submarket. The firm also has a handful of empty storefronts elsewhere in Manhattan, including 11 Greene Street in Soho and 212 Fifth in NoMad.

Thor recently inked a one year lease with Lululemon Athletica at 597 Fifth Avenue for an undisclosed price.

Moves by Sitt over the past two years to try to sell some of those properties in favor of moving into new markets have led to speculation that Thor is under pressure to lease the spaces or find some other way to liquidate its investments. Plans to pivot into the high-end rental market also appear to have floundered after two key residential executives left the firm to go it alone.

“There was a real frothy investment strategy from a lot of companies buying retail real estate, and that turned into overpaying,” said seasoned retail broker Robert Futterman, chairman and CEO of RKF. “Now an adjustment is happening, and the rents they needed to accomplish their goals have changed.”

What will that mean for Sitt?

“If he doesn’t produce, people should be a little more forgiving because he made money for them in the past,” Rosen said. “You can be the greatest operator, but if the timing isn’t there, the timing isn’t there. You may need time to fix things.”

Though Sitt declined to talk on the record for this story, Melissa Gliatta, Thor’s chief operating officer, told TRD that the vacancy narrative was slightly overstated.

“We’ve had a lot of success on Fifth Avenue, but certainly we still have some spaces we’re leasing,” she said. “But it’s become a story that’s bigger than it’s necessarily worthy of. Sometimes to get a space leased, you have to give up the rents a little. It’s a little disappointing when that happens.”

The debt game

In a bid to relieve some of the pressure, Thor recently inked a one-year lease with Lululemon Athletica at 597 Fifth for an undisclosed price. That deal would buy Sitt some time to find a longer-term solution, without putting a $105 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan attached to the property in jeopardy.

Edward Dittmer, a senior vice president at ratings agency Morningstar, said his firm recently flagged the loan, issued by UBS, after cosmetics giant Sephora decided not to renew its lease for the 12,000 square feet of retail space — making the building a potential credit risk. While Sephora was paying a relatively low $613 per square foot, its lease accounted for a significant chunk of the 80,000-square-foot building’s rent, he said.

“Because that was such a large percentage of rent, they’ve been put in a position where the cash flow will not cover the debt service,” Dittmer noted.

That situation could repeat itself across Thor’s portfolio.

A mezzanine loan held by real estate investment trust SL Green Realty on 590 Fifth is also said to be under scrutiny, since Thor has been unable to find a tenant that could take the whole retail component as a flagship since it purchased the building in 2007. Representatives for SL Green declined to comment.

And at 680 Madison, the occupancy rate for the retail space as of December was 53 percent, including a recent 15-year lease signed with Tom Ford for 12,300 square feet. Sources said Thor has been trying to refinance a $185 million loan on the property originated by Morgan Stanley. That loan is also on Morningstar’s watch list.

The ratings agency has broader concerns about leasing prospects on Fifth Avenue, since asking rents appear to be so significantly out of sync with what tenants are willing to pay, Dittmer explained.

At the same time, the gap between face rents and net effective rents — which factor in the total amount of concessions — is widening. While a recent report by the Real Estate Board of New York showed that Fifth Avenue rents were down by just 2 percent to an average of $3,324 a square foot over the past year, sources told TRD that the real reduction is much more pronounced.

“The face rent hasn’t come down by a drastic percentage, but landlords’ contribution to construction is much greater,” Futterman said.

Susan Kurland, co-head of Savills Studley’s global retail services group, echoed that point. “In order for landlords to keep their lenders happy, many will be giving additional free rent,” she said. “The landlords need to get a certain [amount from tenants] because they’re financed at a certain rate and still need to have those numbers in the lease. They’ll be offering packages with additional free rents and money toward construction.”

In some cases, insiders say, Thor and its contemporaries were instrumental in pushing up rents on the thoroughfare — and thereby the value of their properties — by making side deals to fund construction for tenants or inking deals with retailers that they actually have ownership stakes in.

Sitt, for instance, is said to own a stake in Brioni, a high-end fashion house that inked a deal at his retail condominium at 680 Madison in 2015 — setting a near-record rent of $3,000 a foot. A spokesperson for Thor declined to comment on the Brioni lease deal or any potential investment in the Italian menswear designer.

And when Sitt secured Valentino as the anchor tenant at 693 Fifth for an all-time high $3,000 a foot for the area, skeptics argued that the rent price was offset by the fact that he had subsidized the fashion label’s buildout. Sources close to Thor refuted that.

Some believe Sitt is reluctant to blink and sign leases below the advertised rent for fear of resetting the market at too low a price. According to several people familiar with the company’s strategy, the Thor CEO is also wary of falling short of the numbers he projected to investors.

Still, Futterman said he doesn’t expect many lenders to try to move in and foreclose on properties. “Lenders don’t really want the keys back, but I do see owners looking to shed or refinance some properties [early],” he noted.

Others said that Thor’s investors will stay patient for the time being, since Fifth Avenue will remain a trophy retail strip even if there’s a dip in rents.

“He has good fundamentals in his favor,” said Faith Hope Consolo, who heads Douglas Elliman’s retail division. “The number may not be where they were when he bought, but nothing retains value long-term like Fifth or Madison or Soho.”

Many of the industry players interviewed for this story argued that Sitt would not be defeated even in the worst of circumstances. The Brooklyn-born entrepreneur started Thor in his New York University dorm room in 1986 and grew it into an $18 billion company. He later launched Ashley Stewart — a plus-size women’s clothing company — in 1991, and the company went on to open more than 380 stores across the country. Sitt reportedly came up with the idea after having trouble bringing retailers to inner cities.

“He resents failure,” said Sitt’s friend Morris Moinian of Fortuna Realty Group.

Cashing out

While industry observers continue to debate the state of the city’s retail market and whether the bubble has burst or is still collecting hot air, Sitt appears to be slipping through the back door. Over the past 18 months, he has quietly made it known that he’s willing to sell many of his company’s prized retail assets, as well as a slew of residential properties.

Several buyers said they have received for-sale notices on more than 10 Thor properties, including its global headquarters at 25 West 39th Street and several buildings the firm co-owns with General Growth Properties.

Sitt has already disposed of a handful of his firm’s assets —some at a great premium.

When he sold 693 Fifth for $525 million last year to French billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, the price was nearly four times what Thor paid to buy the 20-story building from the Japanese department store Takashimaya in 2010. And his firm got $38.5 million for a retail condo at 38 Greene Street, more than double what it paid in July 2014.

Thor’s spokesperson said the profits from those sales were invested in assets in emerging markets in the Midwest and on the West Coast, including several in Chicago’s Fulton Market and in tech-driven assets in San Francisco. Gliatta attributed some of the sales push to Thor’s fund-based model — in which the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Michigan, among other institutions, invest for set periods. Much like a private equity firm, Thor is contractually obligated to sell the assets purchased with fund dollars, including 520 and 693 Fifth, when the fund’s term ends.

Joe Sitt has dealt with a number of senior level departures in recent months.

On Thor’s private deals, investors have included White House chief economic adviser and former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn and Etienne Paris of Innovo Property Group. Sitt regularly entertains his financial backers and other partners in his sleek penthouse office on West 39th Street, where he shows them his tequila collection, according to several people with intimate knowledge of the matter. The office is decorated in thick patterned rugs and spotted with art books, horse saddles and press clippings.

“It comes off like an old-money, old-guard institution,” one source said on the condition of anonymity.

Nonetheless, some of Sitt’s attempts to sell assets have fallen short.

Thor reportedly came close to selling a mixed-use building at 875 Washington Street to San Francisco-based investment firm Shorenstein Properties this year, but the deal fell through. The firm is now in contract to sell its stake in the building to its partner, ASB Real Estate Investments’ Allegiance Real Estate Fund, TRD reported in late May.

And the New York real estate development arm of the Turkish jewelry company Gulaylar Group sued to get out of buying 685 Fifth for $150 million, claiming that Thor’s partner GGP had promised to finance the deal but hadn’t delivered.

Sitt recently hinted that his selling spree may be slowing.

“We, for the last few years, have probably been net short on New York City,” he said during a television interview on Bloomberg News in March. “But now we’re probably reversing back, as there’s a little more value in the market.”

Gliatta said Thor is likely to focus more on emerging New York retail markets in the near future. “When some of the pricier areas get very pricey and we’re a value-add player, we might step out of those markets and into Brooklyn and Long Island City, where we can execute on the value-add strategy,” she said.

The company has also been aggressively moving into foreign markets and has acquired assets in London, Paris and Madrid. Meanwhile, Thor is trying to raise between $350 million and $400 million from retirement funds and international investors to plow into retail centers and mixed-use projects in Mexico.

Resi dreams deferred

For the past year and a half, it seemed that Sitt and his associates were moving deeper into the residential sector, but industry observers say that push has lost steam in recent months.

Those rumblings began when Sitt sold his stake in Town Residential to the Manhattan brokerage’s founder and CEO, Andrew Heiberger, in July 2016.

Then just last month, the investment firm GreenOak Real Estate bought Thor out of its interest in three Upper West Side multifamily properties — at 120 and 125 Riverside Drive and 150 West 82nd Street — in a deal valuing the buildings at a combined $190 million. Thor paid $80 million for its stake in the properties in 2014.

Similarly, the firm exited a deal for a 280,000-square-foot Bronx rental building at 975 Walton Avenue after entering contract in September to buy it from Brooklyn investor Benzion Kohn for $42.5 million. Sources at Thor said the change of heart had to do with the condition of the building rather than the company’s overall strategy.

However, both purchases were led by Thor’s former top residential executives Alan Klein and Jonathan Fishman, who left the company this year to launch Weaver Street Partners, a multifamily investment firm backed by Silverpeak Real Estate Partners.

They’re not the only ones to have departed Thor in 2017. Bert Dweck — who led business development at Thor Retail Advisors and partnered on several Thor investments— recently left for Premier Equities, a company headed by Sitt’s occasional business partner Yaron Jacobi, though he remains as an investor in some of Thor’s deals. Meanwhile, retail leasing specialist Michael Worthman, whose name was famously plastered all over vacant storefronts, jumped to Vornado Realty Trust this spring.

And Michael Schurer, Thor’s longtime chief financial officer, resigned from his post this year to work primarily on investments in Mexico under the umbrella of Thor Urbana Capital. He was replaced by Fess Wofse, who previously served as CFO for Apollo Global Real Estate.

Several sources told TRD that the exodus had set off alarm bells in the New York real estate market that all was not well at Thor. But Gliatta downplayed the defections.

“A couple of people leave and you’d think it was Armageddon or something, which is absolutely not the case,” she said. “We’re a growing business.”

And not everyone in the industry thinks Sitt is down for the count.

“We’re not taking up a collection for Joe,” Consolo quipped about the recent challenges the Thor chief has faced. “He always has something up his sleeve.”

(To view commercial sales transactions from Thor Equities, click here)

from The Real Deal Miami https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/thor-battles-choppy-waters/#new_tab

#The Real Deal Miami

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touristguidebuzz · 8 years ago

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Future of Hotel Fitness: More On Demand, Tech-Driven and Branded

Westin partnered with FitBit to enable guests to have special access to on-demand workouts via the FitBit FitStar mobile app. Evi Abeler Photography / Westin Hotels & Resorts

Skift Take: New year, new you — at least that's what a lot of us are telling ourselves this week now that the holidays are over, and so are our days of gluttony (or so we believe). And since we're all collectively tackling that perennial New Year's resolution to get healthier, now is as good a time as any to take a closer look at how hotel fitness and wellness is evolving.

— Deanna Ting

Hotel fitness centers and wellness offerings have come a long way.

Once occupying dingy, windowless basement spaces some now take up entire floors and, in some cases, some hotel companies have even built entire brands around them, like InterContinental Hotels Group, EVEN Hotels, for example. Or other established fitness brands such as Equinox, have decided to test their mettle by stepping into the hotel business.

Fitness, and the larger interest in overall wellness, is a big business these days. In 2015, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the global health club industry alone generated $81 billion in revenue, with 151.5 million members and nearly 187,000 clubs. Fitness and wellness have become a true lifestyle, as evidenced by the popularity of athleisure in retail and fashion, as well as the incredible growth of popular boutique fitness studios like SoulCycle, Physique 57, CorePower Yoga, and many others. SoulCycle estimated it would bring in revenues of more than $150 million in 2016 alone.

Good health, in many ways, has become a new sort of status symbol, too, and luxury hotel brands, in particular, have also taken note, as noted by Six Senses’ example.

But hospitality fitness and wellness innovations aren’t limited to just luxury brands, as we’ve seen before. The Westin Hotels brand is a prime example of a more mainstream brand that’s used wellness as a crucial part of its brand identity, and those efforts continue today.

Brian Povinelli, SVP and Global Brand Leader for Westin, Le Meridien, Renaissance, Autograph, Tribute & Design Hotels, said, “The hotel gym has evolved long way over the last 20 years. Westin puts an emphasis on big bright spaces and 24-hour access so people can work out when they want and how they want with the right equipment. And everything has to take a holistic view of our six pillars of wellbeing.”

“Five or 10 years ago that fitness center was one of those things you had to have but it was underutilized,” said Kate Ashton, SVP of brand operations for Wyndham, TRYP and Dolce Hotels. “The trend we see is that not only is it being used, but we have to be very cognizant of the number of people that are using it. We need to make the fitness centers larger, more spacious, and more inviting. They need to have windows as opposed to being in a dark basement. You could call [the hotel fitness center] an amenity but it’s almost like Wi-Fi. I think that it will only grow. Healthful alternatives on the food-and-beverage side also need to be reflective of that healthful lifestyle, as people become more knowledgeable about how nutrition and exercise, when combined, can lengthen our lifetimes. Hotel fitness will become less of an amenity and more of a must have.”

Povinelli also noted, “Seventy-five percent of Millennials say health and fitness is one of the most important things their lives.”

In the past few years, many brands, Westin included, have begun investing heavily into their hotel fitness facilities and programming too, whether adding CrossFit-type equipment, offering free running maps and bicycle rentals, establishing gear lending programs, holding group yoga classes, offering on-demand meditation exercises, partnering with fitness tracking devices like FitBit, or hiring running concierges, for example.

Some hotels, like select Marriott properties and the MGM Grand Las Vegas, have also partnered with Delos to offer a number of Stay Well guest rooms that have such features as specially filtered water, advanced air purification systems, and even Vitamin C-infused showers.

This year, expect those aforementioned trends to continue as well as a few more overarching ones, including more on-demand fitness offerings, more group opportunities, and more partnerships with established fitness brands.

Skift spoke to Westin’s Povinelli and Wyndham’s Ashton, to learn more about some of the innovations in hotel fitness they are working on for their respective brands.

On-Demand Fitness

The ability to work out anywhere and everywhere on demand is increasingly becoming more of a reality at a number of hotel properties.

At the Charlotte City Marriott, also known as the Marriott M Beta Hotel, the hotel not only offers a number of Stay Well rooms but also has a state-of-the-art Flex fitness center that makes it easy for guests to select their workout regimens of choice from nearly 1,000 different digital training classes (yoga, spin, cardio, etc.). Guests can choose to work out alone in one of two enclaves within the gym, or have other guests join them, too.

Ashton said Wyndham’s Wyndham Grand, Wyndham, and Wyndham Garden brands are looking into developing on-demand video screens in their hotels’ fitness centers and guest rooms and that the company is working with a streaming Wi-Fi provider to see how it can provide on-demand stationary bike workouts to guests.

“It has yet to be determined how it will branded but we would like it to be a selection of workouts and to work like Chromecast so that whatever is on your device or your iPad or phone you will be able to cast onto the TV,” Ashton explained. “We’re still in the very early stages of that, to create that personalization of your workout.

Some of the equipment inside the Charlotte City Marriott Flex center can also be synced to various fitness apps, which is a feature you can find at Westin and Element hotels now, too.

Element partnered with the Your Trainer app to offer exclusive 10- to 12-minute workouts — a circuit training course, a yoga session, and a strength routine — for guests. When a guest checks in to the hotel, she is given a three-digit code to set up a profile with the My Trainer app and have access to the workouts.

Westin’s FitStar by FitBit partnership also gives guests access to different workouts through the FitStar personal trainer app, like travel-specific ones designed to combat jetlag or exercise in between meetings.

“Whether you do the workouts in the hotel or want to do them before, during, or after your stay we give access to guests in that platform, so we’re broadening opportunities from just the gym to the guest room and both pre- and post- stay,” said Povinelli.

The Tribe Mentality

And as hotels continue capitalizing on the “co-everything” trend, it’s also no surprise that they are upping the variety of group workout activities available for guests.

Povinelli said that Westin’s more than 200 running concierges worldwide are now doing evening runs in addition to morning group runs because they noticed more travelers, especially business travelers, wanting another opportunity for networking that wasn’t just limited to hitting the bar. “More people are getting together in a social way but to conduct more loose business meetings in a workout type of environment — we call it sweatworking,” he said.

And at some hotels, the concierge program isn’t just limited to running but also applies to surfing, skiing, and any kind of activity that gets guests outside of the hotel and into a more social fitness environment.

More Brand Partnerships Are on the Way

While many hotel brands have partnerships with specific brands for fitness equipment or gear lending, expect even more partnerships to flourish among hotels and boutique fitness brands like, perhaps, Peloton, which just debuted a new commercial-grade stationary bike that can be used in hotels.

“With this proliferation of technology and more unique ways for people to work out, like the November Project or SoulCycle, we’re able to redefine the hotel workout even more than ever before,” said Povinelli.

And with all of these new features and opportunities becoming more readily available, expect there to be less opportunity for any excuses getting in the way of guests’ workouts.

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