An unwelcome package in the mail, another retailer declaring bankruptcy, and an unlikely new officer at a tenants’ right nonprofit. From the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for the week of Aug. 4-8.
Miss: A Message from a Kook. The weirdest story of the week – perhaps the year – involved Blake J. Owens, CEO of Agrippa, a Las Vegas-based company that promotes itself as “an AI-powered, broker-free platform that strategically connects commercial real estate capital seekers with capital providers.” It seems that someone who passionately hates artificial intelligence saw Owens’ interview and mailed him a box containing a bloodied pig’s head and a letter that insisted “AI is not going to replace brokers. Clearly, you don’t understand real estate was built by developer or investors.” But why a pig’s head? The letter warned Owens not to “get greedy because pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.” While Owens tried to make light of the situation by quipping, “Perhaps this person watched too much of ‘The Godfather,’” this is not a funny occurrence, and the only positive aspect of the story was that the kook targeting Owens didn’t follow the Luigi Mangione example of expressing his hatred with the corporate world.
Hit: The Right Approach. Today’s Wall Street Journal includes coverage culled from unnamed sources that claims the Trump administration is preparing to sell stock in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac later this year. The administration has been quietly seeking a wide array of opinions on what to do with the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Earlier this week, President Trump met with a pair of high-profile bankers – Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser – to get their opinions on how to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In July, Trump met with other bankers including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon to discuss ways of ending the federal conservatorship of the GSEs; the White House did not announce the meetings were taking place, and the secrecy surrounding its plans is unusually strong. It is encouraging that the administration is taking GSE reform very seriously and is not rushing into the matter.
Miss: Another Sad Chapter in Retail. The mall-focused jewelry chain Claire’s became the latest retailer to file for bankruptcy. In Claire’s case, this marks the second time in seven years that the company took this path. While the Aug. 6 bankruptcy announcement vaguely reported the company “continues to explore all strategic alternatives,” USA Today reports the 1,326-unit chain will be closing 13 Claire’s locations plus another five which it operates under the Icing brand. Hopefully, the company can regain its footing and not have to pursue additional store closure.
Hit: A Proper Thank You to Heroes. A big thumbs up goes the Board of Commissioners in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, who approved an updated ordinance to give eligible volunteer firefighters a 100% tax credit, enabling them to be fully reimbursed for local real estate taxes on their homes, provided their property taxes are paid on time. For those who are late with their tax payment, the credit covers the base tax but not the late fees. Volunteer firefighters in the township previously enjoyed a 20% real estate tax credit and the new ordinance goes into effect on Aug. 9. This is a wonderful way of saying thanks to volunteers who risk their lives so others can enjoy safety and security, and hopefully other localities around the country with volunteer fire departments will consider following this example.
Miss: Caught on a Phishing Hook. A prominent luxury property management firm in New York City was scammed out of nearly $19 million because of a phishing email. The New York Post reports Milford Entities/Management Company received a “spoofing’’ email from an entity pretending to be the Battery Park City Authority, a state agency that maintains and develops a lower Manhattan neighborhood along the Hudson River. The company thought it was sending the agency the July collection of Payment in Lieu of Taxes fees from the condo owners in the buildings it owns and manages, but instead the money went into a TD Bank account of a mysterious and still-unidentified entity. The Department of Homeland Security is leading a multiagency task force investigating this case.
Hit or Miss: Here He Comes Again. A Los Angeles-based tenants’ rights nonprofit called BASTA Universal Inc. has a highly unlikely new director of development – Hunter Biden. Yes, that Hunter Biden, who announced his job in an interview this week with the “Channel 5” podcaster Andrew Callaghan. BASTA primarily focuses on undocumented migrants who are facing eviction, and the former First Son explained his new role by declaring, “I just think there is such an opportunity to be of service right now – and not in, you know, some kind of melodramatic way – but I just, a lot of people that are, you know, getting the s*** beat out of them out there, right here in LA. And there is enormous opportunity for just normal people to do kind of heroic things.” Whether Biden falls into the category of “normal people” and whether offering legal counsel to illegals can be defined as “heroic things” can be debated. Does Biden deserve a Hit or a Miss? Leave your comments below – I am curious to know what you think.
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
Photo by shaunl / Getty Images
