Author: josh

Key Takeaways Lake County home prices rose about 4% year over year to $294,137 in July, slightly above the national pace of 3%. Homes sold in a median of 26 days—23 days faster than the U.S. median. Inventory fell about 7% from a year earlier to 2,220 active listings, while nationally the supply of homes barely changed. The county had just 2.6 months of supply versus 3.9 nationally. Nearly 40% of listings went under contract within two weeks, and about a quarter of homes sold above asking price. Luxury homes posted the strongest sales gains, surging nearly 30% in volume.…

Pablo Palafox likes to say his company is “getting started” even as its valuation just crossed ten figures. HappyRobot, the startup that builds AI agents to run the phone calls, emails, and scheduling that keep supply chains moving, just raised a $150 million Series C at a $1.2 billion valuation, Fortune learned exclusively. Prysm Capital and Eurazeo co-led the round, with participation from Bankinter, Kfund, Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT), Orange, and T Capital (Deutsche Telekom). The round comes less than a year after HappyRobot’s $44 million Series B, which itself followed a $15.6 million Series A led by a16z in…

James:Deals are often evaluated on what they could make, but sometimes it’s more important to question on what they could cost you and is the juice worth the squeeze? Today, Kathy and I are opening up our portfolio and we’re talking about the deals that we’re doing today and the ones that we’re letting go and passing on. I’m James Dainard. I’m stepping in the host seat for day today with my good friend Kathy Fettke, and this is Beyond the Market Podcast. All right, Kathy, so I want to know most importantly, what deal have you passed on recently…

There’s a rental property out there with your name on it—the “sweet spot” property every rookie investor wants. It’s the kind of deal that can give you cash flow, appreciation, and tax benefits and become the launching pad for your entire portfolio. In this episode, we’ll show you what these properties are and where to find them!Welcome back to the Real Estate Rookie podcast! Today, we’re breaking down why buying a small multifamily property is often the easiest and lowest-risk way for a rookie to get started. We’ll walk you through the “stack” method that could help you scale from…

From her breakout role as Eleven in Stranger Things to her growing career as an actor and producer, Millie Bobby Brown has become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable young stars. But when she’s away from the spotlight, she calls a peaceful farmhouse near Atlanta, GA, home – a world away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. If you’ve ever wondered what it really costs to live in Millie Bobby Brown’s neighborhood, you’re not alone. From home prices and property taxes to everyday expenses and the cost of maintaining a sprawling farmhouse lifestyle, living near one of the area’s…

The most important question in business isn’t always “What’s next?” Often, it’s “What won’t change?” That question sits at the heart of my colleague Kristin Stoller’s profile of Jeff Bezos at a pivotal moment for Amazon. The company, which recently bested Walmart for the No.1 spot on the Fortune 500 and Global 500, is pouring unprecedented sums into artificial intelligence as it races to establish its next engine of growth. What’s exceedingly clear in Stoller’s profile is one recurring thread running through every chapter of Amazon’s evolution: a commitment to a small set of principles that outlast every new technology…

Nathan Nicholson was the top salesperson at his company but had very little to show for it. His retirement fund? It wasn’t doing anything for him today, so he did something most would call “crazy”: he cashed it out. And it was the best move he could’ve made, as it’s helped him buy 23 rental properties and generate well over $100,000 a year in true cash flow!Nathan’s using an investing strategy that any investor can copy: buy small (and affordable) properties, fix them up, and rent them out. It’s simple, it’s boring, and it’s exactly how he’s making six figures…

Not all of the lessons in the Walker Deibel playbook fit between its covers. One of the first bolt-on acquisitions Lucas Philips tried to close was a tiny shop in rural Oregon — a guy who had spent decades fabricating custom interiors for Porsches. Philips flew to Portland, grabbed a brand-new convertible Mustang on a free upgrade from his shiny new Hertz President’s Circle card, and spent three-and-a-half hours driving south through “the most beautiful” Oregon landscape toward the seller’s property. The owner had originally quoted $40,000 for the operation. Two days later, after watching Philips pull up in a…

A finance employee at the global design firm Arup transferred $25.6 million in a deepfake fraud after joining a video call with synthetic versions of senior executives. The faces looked real. The voices sounded real. The instructions were false. That was not an isolated warning. Starbucks quietly retired an AI inventory system only nine months after deployment after baristas reported that it miscounted products and slowed their work. Deloitte’s Australian member firm agreed to partially refund the government for a $290,000 AI-assisted report that included nonexistent academic sources and a fabricated court quotation. Different industries. Different technologies. The same failure:…

Selling your home? Smart preparation leads to a smoother sale, stronger offers, and fewer surprises during closing. Preparing to sell your house involves much more than just snapping a couple of photos and listing the property. As high mortgage rates force more sellers to pull their homes off the market and keep buyers on the sidelines, being properly prepared to sell is critical. In this Redfin article, we’ll break down the 12 essential things to do before selling your house. This includes how to appeal to buyers, how to work with an agent to make your home stand out, and…