Understanding how rental income, financing, and long-term ownership can help investors build wealth, one property at a time. For nearly 44 years, I’ve been involved in financing income-producing real estate. From large apartment communities and commercial properties to smaller residential investments, I’ve learned one fundamental lesson: real estate investment begins with understanding the income a…

This week’s biggest veterans story is pretty straightforward: The VA expects more veterans to file benefit claims, and it says it is hiring more than 2,000 people to handle them. That announcement came after a year in which VA received a record number of claims, expanded its electronic medical-record system into two more major health-care…

Mortgage Minute | Friday, October 30, 2026 For the last several weeks, we have been watching the bond market work through some pretty violent moves. The 10-year Treasury tested the 5.35% area earlier this month. It backed away. Last week it broke below 5%. And as of Thursday, October 29, the official Treasury close was…

This week’s Give and Take isn’t about what Congress failed to do. With Washington largely in campaign mode, the more useful question is what is actually happening inside the Department of Veterans Affairs while lawmakers are occupied elsewhere. And there is real news this week. More than 300,000 new veterans have enrolled in VA health…

Oil Went Up. Stocks Fell. Treasury Yields Dropped. What Happened? Thursday gave us a very good example of why mortgage rates cannot be explained by looking at one economic number. Oil prices jumped. Technology stocks sold off sharply. Investors moved money into U.S. Treasury securities. The 10-year Treasury yield fell from 5.13% on Wednesday to…

Congress remains largely on pause during the pre-election period. The Senate is holding only brief pro forma sessions, with no legislative business expected, and is scheduled to return to regular business on November 9. Senate Democrats So once again, there was no breakthrough this week on the major veterans legislation we have been following. No…

Mortgage Minute | Friday, October 16, 2026 This week gave us one of the more interesting moves we have seen in the mortgage and bond markets for a while. Inflation came in hot. Wholesale inflation came in even hotter. Consumer spending remained strong. Oil prices remained elevated. By almost any conventional reading, you would expect…

Friday, October 16, 2026 | South Florida • Orlando • Tampa Bay • Statewide The Opportunities Others May Be Missing After seven consecutive weeks of rising mortgage rates, we finally saw some encouraging movement Thursday. According to Mortgage News Daily, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined to approximately 7.33%, compared with 7.45% Wednesday and…

If you are waiting for Congress to do something significant for veterans this week, you can stop waiting. The House is away from regular legislative business during the pre-election period, and the Senate is also recessed. The Senate held a brief pro forma session Friday, October 9, but its official schedule says no business was…

It’s the Economy. But the Transaction Still Has to Work. Back in 1992, political strategist James Carville kept the Clinton campaign focused with a simple reminder: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Strip away the politics, and there is still something useful in that thought when we talk about mortgage rates today. The Washington Post It’s the…