Home Builders are Trying to Woo Millennnials in More Ways Than One

The National Association of REALTORS report "Real Estate in a Digital Age" underscores the important roll people between the ages of 25 and 35 have in the future health of the housing market. Sixty-eight percent of all first-time home buyers are part of this vital demographic. Millennials are responsible for 32 percent of all home purchases. These home buyers have a median annual income  of $84,500 and do not have the stigma of a home foreclosure in their history like many older home buyers. Banks, real estate agents, title insurance companies, and home builders target millennials as customers and clients to maintain a balanced business and remain competitive going forward in 2016. Bloomberg reports that construction companies must add more millennials as employees to handle increased demand and have a stable future.

Companies must develop new talent

Mike Lancaster is president of Frank L. Blum Construction that is headquartered in Winston-Salem, NC. Lancaster says home builders must do more than they have in the past to attract young workers. There was a time that builders would just hire young people and place them on the job site to learn the trade own their own. According to Lancaster, construction firms must attract, appreciate, and develop young talent. Blum Construction is trying to do this by starting a mentoring program. They also put more focus on training new hires. The Winston-Salem area is among the most affordable housing markets in the United States. To be ready for the increased demand for middle-class housing, Blum Construction is improving its employee benefits package to attract and keep young workers.

Builders previously preferred experienced workers

People often take things for granted. They think if they want a new home there will always be plenty to choose from. They also think that title insurance is less important when buying a new home. But, title insurance is needed on any home, and new home construction is a good indicator of the overall health of the economy. When the housing market collapsed, over 2.3  million construction workers became unemployed. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 900,000 of those people returned to work in the same industry between 2007 and 2010. Very few of those returning workers were under the age of 35. Companies were picky about hiring and found it less costly to choose experienced workers who would not require the added effort of training. People who have worked in construction for many years are less likely to look for employment in some other sector. But, analysts suggest that another reason for the lack of young construction workers is that recent high school and college graduates with more employment options to choose from simply opt for some job that does not involve manual labor.

Fewer young people want to learn a trade

The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) conducted a survey in September of 2015. Their research found that 79 percent of companies are having a difficult time finding hourly workers. This is especially true for jobs like welder, carpenter, mason, and other positions that require some amount of manual labor. Additionally, 55 percent of the responding companies said they are having some difficulty filling salaried positions like project manager and supervisor. Young people are Millennials prefer to communicate, work, shop, browse homes, and do as much as possible via their tablet or smartphone. Technology often allows young people to complete required tasks from any location. If they can work remotely, they will. A skilled trade requires on-site training, hands-on experience, and that the artisan be present to get the job done. The youngest generation of the work force does not see the importance of learning a skilled trade or has not yet been adequately incentivized to seek employment that requires they use their hands for something other than manipulating a keyboard.

Just as title insurance is a vital part of purchasing a home, skilled workers are, and will continue being, a vital component of the housing market and overall economy. It is a bad idea to skip purchasing title insurance to try to save a few dollars. Perhaps home builders will need to incorporate a more direct approach to attracting young workers to construction. Just pay them more.
accustomed to using technology in their everyday lives and business practices.

What is Title Insurance? Fundamental Facts Every Home Buyer Must Know

Have you ever thought you lost something important?

Maybe it was your car keys, a precious photo or an important document.
Remember the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realized it wasn't where it was supposed to be and you couldn't immediately find it.

Remember the sweaty hands and racing pulse as you tore the house apart, searching anxiously for the missing item?

What if the object you lost was your house?

Consider the following scenario:  You found your dream home in the neighborhood you have been wanting to move into.  The home is being sold For Sale by Owner and the owner is willing to give you a great deal for a speedy closing.  Hurriedly you put together a closing and forgo getting title insurance and other documents.  Shortly after you move in, the real owners of the home (who had been traveling through Europe for the past month) show up and demand you move out of their house.
If this scenario were real, all of the money that you had spent on the transaction would be lost unless you were able to catch the crooks who impersonated the real homeowners.  The thing that could have prevented this terrible crime would have been title insurance.
What is title insurance? Simply put, Title Insurance is insurance put on a piece of property during the sale of the property to protect the buyer of the property in the event there is a defect in the title.  Defects include fraud, erroneous boundaries and possibly forgotten easements that suddenly come into play. It is estimated by the American Land Title Association that one out of every three titles has some type of defect.

Types of Title Insurance
There are three main types of title insurance, Lender’s policy, Owners Policy and Enhanced Policies.
Lenders Policies are typically required by lenders when there is a mortgage on the property.  These policies typically only cover the lender and their investment should any type of claim be issued against the property.
Owners Policies cover the new owner of the property and their heirs for as long as they own the property.  While the lenders policy only covers the lender for the amount of the loan on the property, the owners policy covers the purchaser for purchase price of the property.  The owners policy covers title defects that occurred and are in place pre-closing.
Enhanced Policies protect the new owner of the property against all of the things that the basic owners policy does, but it often adds post closing elements to the coverage.  Post closing elements may include: building permit violations, restrictive covenant violations, mineral extraction coverage and easements.  For a complete list of possible coverages, make sure to check with the title company in the area you are purchasing the property.

Basic Facts about Title Insurance
While each state may require different types or coverages based on their needs, there are basic elements that are consistent in every state.
The first consideration is that paying for title insurance is a one time event. Rates for title insurance may vary from state to state, but it only needs to be purchased once and the policy will last as long as the owned by the policy holder.  The cost for the policy can be paid for by the buyer or seller of a property and is often a negotiation item during the transaction.
The second item that is consistent in all transactions is that the buyer has the right to select the company to purchase the title insurance from.  The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act gives home buyer the right to choose whom they want to provide their settlement services. This can be a negotiation item during the transaction as well.

Protecting Your Investment
For many people their home is their biggest investment and it makes sense to do everything they can to protect it.  Title insurance of one of the best low cost purchases that can be made that provides years of protection.
Choosing the right policy is as simple as speaking with your local title company representative about what is common in your area and getting either their basic or enhanced policy.  Often the difference between the two policies is minimal and worth considering the additional expense.
Like other types of insurance, Title Insurance gives you the piece of mind to keep that sick feeling out of the pit of your stomach should something turn up and challenge your ownership.