How do people deal with rental fees during the corona pandemic?

Back in December of 2019 an unknown virus started spreading in China. Within a few months this virus was in the United States and just about everywhere else in the world. Coronavirus or COVID-19, has been affecting everyone and everything.

Laying people off is leaving millions of people left struggling. We are at the record high of Americans filing unemployment, reaching 3.3 million people.

Compared to last years number of a little over 200,000. This high number is doing a lot to our economy, businesses are having trouble and people all around the country are getting worried about whether or not they will be able to pay their bills. Through these times, stocks have been down, and businesses are closing, leaving workers left by themselves.

Without jobs and people filing unemployment, people are struggling to pay their rent and mortgage. Businesses are being shut down across the country, making it hard for those small business owners to make their ends meet. Many people are suggesting going on a rent strike. Not paying their rent or mortgage.

This will affect the landlords as they will not be getting paid and will be among those who are struggling. Parents together, an organization is calling Congress to suspend rent and mortgages.

Doing this will help many Americans, especially those who have been laid off and forced to filing unemployment.

Although, this might seem as if it is a good plan there are downsides too. If the government puts a hold on rent paying then this could cause future problems. This could take away the motivation in Americans to save for rent and mortgages.

If people just stop saving for their bills then once things become normal again they will continue to struggle with paying things due to them not saving. We are going to see a lot of changes being done to our economy.

Things are going down right now as you can tell but, soon they will be going back up. The government just passed a $2 trillion recovery bill. This bill will send a $1200 check to all individuals who make less than $75,000 a year. On top of this there will be an additional $500 for each child. However, $1200 isn’t enough to pay your rent or mortgage. So, even with that check and people being laid off, struggling to pay bills will remain an issue.

We have seen a lot of changes so far in the last few months. People losing jobs, people not being able to pay rent or mortgages, and a lot more.

We are still fairly early on into this pandemic so we do not know what else there is to come. Our economy is changing just about every day and we just need to keep calm and help each other. America has gone through times like this before and we got through it so we will get through this one too. Although people are having financial issues, the government is doing their best to keep things stable.

Home Renovation and Interior Design Trends in 2020

Here are 9 trends in design for 2020:

The Danish word hygge is becoming mainstream internationally among designers and homeowners. It describes a feeling of well-being and cozy contentment. Besides comfort food and beverages, for the home it means indulging with throw blankets, fireplaces, reading nooks, and candles for warmth.

Green Design and Sustainable Materials: Millennials are embracing the motto of “Re-Use, Reduce, Recycle” has made it trendy to incorporate materials that are replaceable in nature like bamboo and seagrass. Reclaimed wood is popular among designers. Tiny homes are also a trend that people are trying out, as they embrace a less materialistic lifestyle and attempt to reduce their carbon footstep.

Cutting down on Possessions to Free Up Design: Society has encouraged people to spend more and more and shopping is a national past-time. As a backlash, people are increasingly discovering Marie Kondo and her KonMari approach. Living with only what truly sparks pleasure has meant new opportunities to design one’s living space and ditch the over clutter of most homes.

Creating Integrated-Use Areas in the Home: Open floor plans where living rooms merge into dining room and dining rooms are opened up to the kitchen are popular, even though it may require knocking down existing walls. In the kitchen, islands that allow for entertaining and have bar-stool seating make the cook less lonely. Hybrid homes for work and living are more common due to people working from home, which becomes more frequent as traffic gets worse in most cosmopolitan areas. Home gyms are also part of modern homes.

Available Software to Help in Designing Interiors: Designers and home design planners can turn to software that helps create digital designs. For example 2020, is a software which offers features like realistic renderings without being an architect and allows virtual reality previewing of designs layouts, including lighting, kitchen and bathroom renovation and designs, uses an online catalog of vendors for home design. https://www.2020spaces.com/solutions/kitchen-bath-designers/

The 2020 Kitchen Remodeling: Black is the new trend in appliance designs like refrigerators, dishwashers, etc. Some refrigerators are available in bold primary colors for 2020. Gold metallic surfaces like range hoods will also be in demand.

Varied and Rich Materials: Despite the trend towards intentional living and conservation, rich textures will continue to be popular in 2020. Think velvet, embroidery, cork, hand-woven carpets, and more.

Smart Homes are Becoming Increasingly Mainstream: No longer do people have to have the fortune of a Bill Gates to equip their home with responsive technology. Today you can have a refrigerator that plays Pandora, or that will listen to your voice to create grocery list.

Social Media and Ordering Decorating Elements Online: Ecommerce grows each year, with homeowners and designers turning to sites like Pinterest and Instagram for decorating inspiration and then turning to retail sites that offer pick up at the store or even increasingly are offering free delivery for larger items like sofas, entryway tables, lighting fixtures, and just about anything for any room.

Sources:

https://www.countryliving.com/life/a41187/what-is-hygge-things-to-know-about-the-danish-lifestyle-trend/
https://konmari.com/

The 5 Best Celebrity Homes on the Market Today

Are you out there wondering if you can buy yourself a beautiful celebrity home? The answer is yes you can. Over the past years, celebrities have been buying mansions and reselling them after some time. Other mansions have been sold soon after the owner passes on. Below are some of the best celebrity homes in the market now:

1.Brandon Morrows Washington Home

Brandon Morrow, a relief pitcher for the Chicago Cubs could soon assume yet another title. This time away from the pitch as a landlord. He and his partner, Lily, have currently put out their spectacular Yarrow Point home for renting out at a price of $9000 per month.

The couple bought this 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms 300.08 square meters waterfront home for $6.25 million this summer. The main focus of the house is its spacious room with an amazing wall of windows. The house also contains a fireplace its living room as well as a dining area that overlooks the amazing water view.

2.NBA’s Paul George’s Indiana Mansion

The All-Star athlete is currently in search of a buyer of his are and amazing’ Indianapolis waterfront mansion. The estate is currently on sale for $2.1 million.

Well known for his move from Indiana Pacers to Oklahoma City Thunders, the NBA professional bought the mansion in 2013 for a sum of $2.05 million. It sits on acre piece of land and is approximated at 12,605 square foot. The mansion also has a private dock, and has 7.5 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms.

3.Aretha Franklin’s Detroit Mansion

Located in one of the country’s expensive Zip code, the late Soul music singer Aretha Franklin’s home is currently on sale. Regardless of having none of her belongings, the home boast 5 bedrooms, a sauna and 6.5 bathrooms.

4.Jesse Bradford’s Immaculate Modern Home

Are you looking for a beautiful modern home in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills? Actor Jesse Bradford is the man you need to find. Built by architect Richard Dorman in 1959, the mansion is currently selling at $3 million. The actor, who is commonly known for acting films such as “Swimfan” and “Bring It On” purchased the mansion 6 years ago at a price of $1.85 million.

5.Tubby Smith’s Memphis Mansion

Tubby Smith who happens to be a former University of Memphis coach, is now selling his home. The market price for the mansion stands at $1.49 million. Smith had earlier on in the month of May listed the Memphis home at $1.69 million. The Sixty seven year old had bought the home 2 years ago from the National Basketball Association All-Star Rudy Gay, who initially started his professional career playing for Memphis Grizzlies.

The mansion was built in 1995 on a 1.6 acre piece of land, however according to Los Angeles Times magazine, over the time Rudy had greatly remodeled it. The spectacular mansion boasts 5 bathrooms, and 2 half bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. The layout has cathedral windowed and vaulted ceilinged living room.

It is crystal clear that there are quite a number of celebrity homes in the market currently. Therefore, put your finances in order and buy yourself an amazing celebrity home at the location of your choice.

Ideas To Rebuild The Middle Class in America

Fifty years ago, most American households earned a middle-class income. An average, three-person household would earn between $42,000 and $126,000 per year to be considered middle class. In 1971, 61% of households were in that range but by 2015, only 50% of households remained in that range.

Whereas previously, most Americans fell into the middle class, now American income is divided into the upper and lower classes with fewer and fewer households in the middle class. The shift in income can be partially blamed on an economy still recovering from the recession of 2008. A cultural shift has also occurred that has affected the American income curve. The middle class has shrunk considerably and is not likely to return. The middle class is a symbol of financial security and the American dream. What can be done to protect the middle class and restore it? How did it go away in the first place?

The disappearance of the middle class is not completely due to unfortunate circumstances. Since the 1980’s, more and more women have joined the workforce, bringing their families’ household incomes up considerably.

Americans have sought higher education, which can also contribute to higher salaries. However, much of the disappearance of the middle class has to with cultural changes and business practice changes. Long-term careers are practically a thing of the past. Most young adults now do not expect to keep the same job from the beginning of their career until retirement.

The business world is much faster paced than it was even twenty-five years ago, with more opportunities and industries than before. Young adults, aged 22-35 are likely to cycle through seemingly unrelated careers. This is often not a conscious choice. Jobs often have absurd requirements, personality tests, and are not intended to be long term. Many young adults today also like to dabble in different projects and fields. Young adults are more likely to be college educated than their parents but are also more likely to be expected to work low-paying or unpaid jobs longer than previous generations. When young adults leave a job, often it is because there is little to no opportunity for advancement or promotion.

Companies do not offer the same promotions or yearly bonuses that have been offered in years past. Without the incentive of promotion, there is little reason to stay with a company. There are so many college-educated adults now, that there is a gap in a skilled labor force.

Many people are overqualified for their jobs or are denied work for being overqualified. Often, people work 2-3 low paying jobs simply to stay afloat. Skilled and unskilled labor is undervalued as is, in the US. In countries such as Denmark, working as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant offers financial and job security. Workers are simply not paid enough for their labor in the US.

To bring back the middle class, the culture surrounding the idea of having a middle class will have to change. Many young adults have put off having children, buying a house, saving for retirement because of the financial struggles they have faced due to the 2008 recession’s effects.

If companies want to retain employees, they will have to work harder for their employees by providing promotions, raises, job security, and being more lenient with “qualifications.” An entry level job should not require 3-5 years’ experience. Building a future that includes a middle class will mean including the people who have been left behind right now.

Natural And Organic Food Bringing Healthy Change in Food Industry

We are what we eat and our food industry is a reflection of what we prefer to consume. After years of millennials going crazy after greasy fast food and small restaurants turning into huge franchises capitalizing on this trend. Now years after, we have started to see these food titans turning into a reverse gear with their marketing strategy and making a u-turn with capitalizing on organic food and following the healthy food phenomena.

With all the information anyone could ask for, right at their fingertips, it’s no surprise that people’s mindset has changed and grown significantly, especially regarding what they eat and consume. We have all become especially aware of the importance of food we consume and the nutrients components it adds to our diet. And whether it actually helps in making our diet the one our body will thank us for or rather punish us for.

All of this makes it feel like a new era of healthier fast food may just be on the brink as we see huge fast food franchises like Carl’s Jr. in 2014 introducing a burger marketed as all organic and made from beef obtained from grass-fed cows along with Chick-fil-A bringing in kale salad as a replacement for its coleslaw.

Another similar news came some years back when McDonald’s made a switch to largely antibiotic-free chicken produce for its food products and introduced an all organic burger.

Also, Both Subway and Papa John’s have already switched to non-artificial products in their food along with Panera phasing out artificial flavors, preservatives, and sweeteners from its products some years back.

In the past 12 or so years, people’s awareness of what they are eating and the importance of health and wellness has really increased, in-turn, changing the food industry as we see it nowadays a lot!

Companies, previously being notorious for their unhealthy and unhygienic food products, and being able to get away with it have now seen a major shift towards fresh organic products and promoting healthy food options in their menus. As Consumers want food brands to be more transparent about their process of sourcing ingredients and more precise about the nutrient information printed on the labels like making calorie counts available.

Companies are all becoming more and more aware of the fact that word “natural” on a food product helps sell it. And consumers see “organic” food products as a healthier food option with fewer calories. This is how human psychology has been observed to react to such terms and this is what marketers are trying to exploit.

So at the end of the day, who cares if the change is happening just because these companies want to market themselves and make more bucks while capitalizing on healthier food. What matters is, people will be healthier and better off eating these food products and companies will keep promoting it to keep profiting on it, which will also help in making healthy food stop sounding weird and more of a mainstream trend for everyone to divulge at their pleasure.

5 Famous Joint Ventures That Failed

A joint venture is an agreement between two or more parties, to pool resources together in a specific business or project. This is characterized by sharing the business or project ownership, profits, losses, governance and taking risks together. Joining a joint venture is a very risky affair because they have a higher percentage of failing compared to other businesses. Some of the factors that lead to failure in joint ventures include; lack of proper agreement, lack of finances, control issues between the partners, compatibility between the partners, high and unrealistic expectations, pride and greed.

Ford Edsel.

This perhaps is the biggest joint venture failure of all time. In the year 1957, ford reportedly invested $400 million into the production of the Edsel. The Americans, however, did not buy the car citing it as big and uneconomical. The Edzel was a high-end car, its failure was attributed to lack of defining its market niche before production by the executives. Three years later, Ford took the Edzel out of the market, marking it as the biggest failure in the joint venture history.

Sony Betamax.

There was a lot of stiff competition in the year 1970 between the Betamax and VHS home video formats. However, Sony started selling the Betamax in the year 1975 when the VHS machines were introduced into the market. Although Sony was the proprietor of Betamax, the market for the VHS products steadily rose outdoing the Betamax market. The ubiquitous VHS simply outdid the superior Betamax. This went into the history of books as one of the biggest joint ventures of all times.

New Coke.

In the 1980s Coca-cola created the New Coke, a product that tasted like Pepsi in a bid to counter their rise in the market. A rise that was greatly attributed to the infamous Pepsi Challenge adverts. The New Coke did well in the nationwide taste campaigns before officially launching in the year 1985. Coca-cola renamed the New coke to Coca-cola Classic a few weeks after launching it because the campaigns had not translated into a success upon launching.

Pepsi A.M and Crystal Pepsi.

Pepsi A.M a breakfast cola drinker only lasted for a few months after being launched in the year 1989. This did not deter them from trying a new product that they hoped would be a much better success than the terribly failed Pepsi A.M. In the year 1992, they introduced the Crystal Pepsi, it did not do any better than the Pepsi A.M and was taken out of the market in the year 1993. Two major joint ventures failures in a span of three years. The Crystal Pepsi was re-introduced in the year 2016 and it failed to take off yet again.

Suzuki TVS

This was a joint venture between the Japanese company Kinetic Honda and the India company. Suzuki wanted the complete control of the TVS Motors based in Chennai but the India company was hesitant. The chairman and managing director of the TVS Motors had built his company from scratch, they had launched several products that had become a success and was not willing to hand over his company to the Japanese. In the year 2001, the two companies parted ways, they realized major losses.

Recent top commercial property and business takeover

The commercial property market is seeing a tremendous surge in prices as indicated by the rising high-value deals in this area. A Huge amount of investment is being directed towards the acquisition of commercial spaces and business takeovers. The current financial scenario is an ever dynamic one with equations altering rapidly.

The buyers are no more orthodox about the price once they decide the property or the business they want to take over. Survival of the fittest is apt saying here as the quicker you are in decision making the better results ensue.

We are witnessing some of the biggest ever deals in the property market all over the world. Cross-border acquisitions are also on a rise as investors are keen to explore best investment opportunities, be it anywhere in the world. In 2016- 2017, China has surpassed the USA as the biggest cross-border investor.

Prominent commercial markets include Hong Kong, Australia, the U.K. and North America, particularly Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. One of the leading property broker firm JLL’s Green-Morgan said these are the most liquid markets and the most logical locations for new buyers. Qatar Investment Authority’s acquisition of Asia Square Tower 1 in Singapore for US$2.45 billion in July 2016 set a new and efficient benchmark in Asia Pacific, which helped in rewriting commercial real estate transaction rankings in the region.

The technology market is full of acquisition trend with few of the biggest deals happening in 2016 as well as 2017. 2016 witnessed some massive tech acquisitions, with SoftBank purchasing Cambridge-based chipmakers ARM for a whopping $32 billion (£25 billion), HP acquiring Samsung’s printer business and Oracle acquiring Netsuite. 2017 is no different, with Intel, Google and SoftBank all making interesting and expensive tech acquisitions and the deal between Verizon and Yahoo finally being complete for $4.5 billion (£3.5 billion).

The sports space went through the biggest mergers and acquisitions with the rise in value if sports brands. 2016 witnesses WME-IMG purchasing Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for a reported whopping $4 billion. These deals involve figures that the financial world hasn’t seen in the past.

The most amusing part about these deals is that they are much quicker and are doing a lot of research. The buyers are keen on expanding their reach in the particular sectors as well as new territories. Some of the businesses which were of meager value 10 years back are huge now. The biggest example of this is UFC which was valued at $2 million in 2001 and sold for $4 billion in 2016, the humongous gain in value is due to continued efforts of the operators. They innovated and experimented, some of which paid off really well.

The question that rises from such huge deals is are they profitable in long run, are these decisions right, will they pay up the way buyer envisaged, will this add to the acquiring company’s valuation and so on. The merger and takeover decisions are taken after a lot of research, but as the other transactions of the business world, no one can guarantee a high success rate. They involve risk but as it said, high risk, high gains. The deals whether will be profitable or not is an analysis which involves a lot of aspects as charted out by the analysts who make projection reports indicating the positive impact of the transaction.

The world is going through biggest financial ups and downs, these deal will reveal the future of the recent turnaround. The current impact is high, let’s hope the future is as promising.

Understanding the Housing Bubble in North America

The housing bubble in North America is part of the overall economic bubble in the United States. The housing bubble will affect not only house prices but also other areas. There are many should be taken into account when looking at the housing bubble in North America.

What a housing bubble is would be the best place to start. Any country in the world that has a real estate market will be able to have a housing bubble. When housing prices rapidly and continuously increase until they cannot be sustainable is what is known as a housing bubble. Housing bubbles in North America, the United Kingdom, and Spain coincided with the housing bubble felt in the US.

The identification of a housing bubble is thought to only be possible in hindsight. The American housing bubble is considered to have spotted as from 2004. Because the bubble coincided with bubbles in other countries, many people believed that it would have to be viewed in a global sense and not only in the United States.

The fact that there was a housing bubble and not recognized by some high powered people in America. Influential people in the financial world did receive warnings from various people about the dangers involved in over extending themselves. Analysts in 2006 predicted the fact that many companies were going to suffer from this eventually.

The housing bubble did have some side effects. One of the side effects was the increase in the building of new houses. As the market was up, more people built homes to sell at high rates. The price of houses made many people leave the high priced areas in many metropolitan areas. This saw populations in commuter towns rapidly increase.

No housing bubble was able to continue indefinitely, and the North American bubble is the same. The beginning of the end came in 2007 when the mortgage industry took a hit due to the increase in foreclosures. That was just the beginning of not only the collapse of the housing bubble but also many other areas of the global economy.

The US housing bubble was only one of the many aspects of the countries economics. Like all countries, the United States’ housing bubble was bound to break at some point even if some people did not want to acknowledge it at all.

Therefore there is yet a vast deal of disapproval in the general population. The conventional wisdom appears to be that prices will begin to recover once this recession is behind us. In a regular real estate market experiencing a downturn due to a problem in another part of the economy, this thinking might be right. House prices often stagnate when an individual industry is in contraction and resume appreciation when the industry recovers. That works in a healthy real estate market because prices correlate with incomes. When incomes drop or stagnate, so do house prices, and when income growth picks up again, house prices go along for the ride. However, this recession and the response to it are different.

The major area of denial surrounding real estate is the loss of the associated lifestyle. People seem to believe that prices will recover, and lenders will go back to supporting their lifestyles by providing home equity lines of credit for every dollar of appreciation, and the party will continue much like before. That is not going to happen. They are not going to lose a trillion dollars then go right back to the behaviors that cost them all that money.

Without significant structural changes to our lending system, the practices of the bubble might return some day, but not for 10-20 years or longer. It certainly is not going back to the way it was in the next six months or 6 years for that matter. The party is over, and people have not accepted that fact, nor have they adjusted to it. There are still difficulties ahead.

The 2017 Toronto Condo Boom Heading Sky High

Real estate Market in Toronto is booming and that is great news all round. One of the more interesting parts of this boom is the prevalence of condo towers going up in the suburbs. This year has seen a record number of building permits, showing a huge demand for this type of real estate all over Toronto.

What Has Caused The Real Estate Market Stats Boom?

The extraordinary boom for both city and suburban condos in Toronto, can only be described as amazing. Prices are currently only going up. It seems the demand for apartment living is a result of many people urgently requiring affordable housing, in a housing market that has become out of reach for many. There was a 20-50% jump in prices of downtown condos in Toronto from 2016 to 2017. This boom has led to a huge demand, which can be seen in the extensive building permits that are going to create new condo hubs in the suburbs.

There are a lot of benefits to apartment living. There is the allure of minimal maintenance, no lawn mowing, or DIY, the sheer convenience, and as many of these towers will be high rises, there is also the plus of beautiful, sweeping views – in and out of the city. Many people have been priced out of buying a freestanding house, so apartments in the suburbs are offering a solution. It seems this is a solution that many people are grabbing.

What Kind Of Towers Are Going Up?

In May it was reported that in Mississauga alone, 3700 building permits had been issued within a year. This amazing growth will see 10 towers, some of over 60 storeys appear within quite a small area. The towers will be diverse, modern, and with varying floorplans to suit all types of people and families. Many designs will incorporate restaurants and bars on ground level, and of course feature amazing facilities including a pool, a gym, and other recreational and commercial conveniences.

What Are The Predictions For The Toronto Market?

Of course when real estate jumps this fast, there are always fears that there is a bubble and that it is about to burst. Toronto is obviously in need of more housing and Downtown Condos For Sale Toronto which are offering a solution. To try and curb the chances of a crash, a new fair housing plan has been released and it is believed that the impact will be noted in the coming quarters. At the moment the prices and building permits, only seem to be going one way and that is skyward. As with anything there are differing opinions on which way the Toronto marker will go in the future.

Some experts says that the building of many condos in the Greater Toronto Area is just filling a demand and therefore will not result in a glut that will affect prices. Another opinion is that prices will continue to grow and that large condos in particular, will be of great value as families choose this style of living over traditional housing. Some say there will be a plateau.

There is no doubt that a condo boom is currently upon Toronto and the sheer number of building permits being issued this year shows that right now, this city is only moving up.