A brand’s ability to create “positive, emotional experiences that drive customer loyalty” has a direct correlation to repeat business, according to a recent report from NewVoiceMedia. And bad service resulted in the loss of an estimated $75 billion for U.S. companies last year. “Customers want and expect more than ever before – because that’s what we have we taught them,” says customer service expert and business coach Shep Hyken.R
Homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity rise 13.3 percent year over year, according to CoreLogic’s Home Equity Report for the first quarter of 2018, released Thursday. The average homeowner gained $16,300 in home equity between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018. That is the highest growth in home equity in four years.“Home-price growth has accelerated in recent months, helping to build home-equity wealth and lift und
Fannie Mae is seeking to bridge the gap in affordable housing by making manufactured housing a more acceptable alternative to traditional built-on-site housing. It hopes to do that with its MH Advantage program, which is lowering down payment requirements and lender fees on manufactured housing loans.The new MH Advantage loans require a 3 percent down payment, which is down from 5 percent in Fannie’s existing manufactured housing loan. Also, F
Tenant screening is more than a credit or background check. But many landlords are failing to gather critical documentation that could help avoid approving tenants who later default on their rent, need to be evicted, or have other problems that cut into a landlord’s profitability, according to a new survey by the American Apartment Owners Association of more than 1,100 of its members.Thirty-seven percent of landlords fail to collect paycheck st
When your client asks you to communicate via email, you can be tempted to plunge immediately into lengthy detail with an update. To get your client to react faster, use a technique common to top companies and even the military: Start with a summary, tell the client what you need to know, and then provide the details.According to Lifehacker writer Alicia Adamczyk, business calls the technique "TLDR" for "too long, didn't read," while the military
Home prices are near record highs in many markets, and a booming economy and low unemployment are offering promises that the housing market will continue to roar. Sixty-four percent of American adults say they believe home prices will continue to rise in their market this year, which is the highest percentage since prior to the Great Recession, according to a recent Gallup survey.Experian, a consumer credit reporting agency, recently identified t
Safeguard your home network, particularly if you ever use it for your work. A new report from the security firm Cisco Talos warns that the Russian malware VPNFilter malware threat is growing worse and the list of potentially affected wireless routers is also growing. The list of vulnerable models now has grown to include Asus, D-Link, Huawei, Ubiquiti, Upvel, and ZTE. Routers from TP-Link, Netgear, Mikrotik, Qnap, and Linksys are also known to
The tally of homes blanketed with volcanic lava in Hawaii continues to grow. Janet Snyder, a spokesperson for Hawaii County, told the Associated Press that hundreds more homes had been lost. The latest destruction was in the Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland subdivisions located on the Big Island.The count is now more than double the 117 homes that had previously been confirmed destroyed since Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano began erupting May 3, USA
Mortgage applications reversed course and posted an increase last week, as homeowners and home purchasers sought to take advantage of the lowest rates in six weeks. Mortgage application volume—for home purchases and refinance applications—rose 4.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted week-over-week basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. Volume, however, is still 2 percent lower than a year ago.Broken out, applicatio
Many markets are being saturated with new apartment buildings, and developers in some of the most popular markets are now finding they need to offer incentives to tenants in order to fill growing vacancies.After years of rental hikes, tenants are now finding themselves in the driver’s seat as more landlords look to aggressively court them. Some developers reportedly are offering new residents a month or two of free rent or free parking, accordi
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