1 October 2018
Question: According to MSN: Money, what are 7 costly problems a home inspection probably won’t catch?
Italy pledges debt cut despite spending rise – Pg. 2
– Italy’s government bond yields jumped last week as investors took fright at the fiscal plans of the coalition…
– Italy has the second largest debt as a percentage of GDP in the Eurozone
Fall in demand for MBAs driven by US decline – Pg. 3
– Global demand for business masters degrees has fallen for the first time since the financial crises…
– Global applications for places on courses that started last month were down just 0.02% year-on-year. But this was driven by a fall of nearly 7% in the US, birthplace of the MBA
– Demand for business school courses in the US has been falling for five years. But previously this had been offset by strong growth in the fast growing Asia Pacific region and Europe, where courses are generally shorter and less expensive
– Degree courses in Asia Pacific had an 8.9% increase in applications, demand in Europe rose 3.2% and in Canada growth was 7.7%, ..
US business schools lose their lustre as overseas applicants fall away – Pg. 10
– Nearly 60% of US programmes reported a decline in applications
– Decline in the US market is blamed by schools on a combination of an improving jobs market at home that raises the opportunity cost of returning to college, and increased competition from cheaper overseas institutions, many of which have risen in global rankings
– Many US course heads are most worried by a decline in overseas applications
– The lack of overseas students is not a problem in Asia because domestic demand is booming
ICE closes in on $15tn US mortgage market – Pg. 14
– …99% of mortgage documents are still on paper, …
– The arrival of ICE into the mortgage industry has parked intrigue as to its plans. Founded in 2000 as an energy trading platform, it is now the world’s second-most valuable exchange group
– What ICE intends to do is make it faster and easier to track who has issued home loans and who has purchased them. Improved technology could hasten the adoption of digital mortgages and facilitate the process of securitization, in which home loans are bundled for sale to big investors
Answer: (1) The previous owner was a smoker (Prof Note: Rent to smokers and charge a premium); (2) The ground beneath your home is unstable; (3) The roof is in rough shape (Prof Note: Just put a new room on a Falls Church townhome. Total Cost: $3,000); (4) The swimming pool needs repair; (5) There’s an issue with the septic system; (6) The chimney is a safety hazard (Prof Note: I just put in a new cast iron insert in my chimney. Total cost: $5,300); (7) The walls are full of toxins (Prof Note: Cat Ghaut was infested with wood lice and termites. Total home renovation!)