WEBVTT - Friday Flight - Rusty Realtors, Insurance Issues, & Home Equity Expenditures #708 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.200 Welcome to Hod of Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt, 0:00:03.240 --> 0:00:08.160 and today we're talking rusty realtors, insurance issues, and equity expenditures. 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.760 That's right, man, these are the stories that we think 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:31.920 you need to be paying attention to this week because 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:34.720 they're the stories that are going to most directly impact 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:38.200 our finances. To pay attention to them during this episode. 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:40.199 You need to pay attention to these things because these 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:42.560 are the things that impact your bank account, you're spending, 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:44.080 how much it is that you're able to save and 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.360 invest and real quick. For some folks out there, this 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:51.360 actually might be a repeat of information anybody who actually 0:00:51.400 --> 0:00:53.400 follows us on Instagram. But we wanted to mention that 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:56.840 we won an award. Joel, you have I'm not used 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:00.280 to this trophy, this award, this plaque that's now sits 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:02.920 here on a record, actual hardware. And so this is 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.840 this is the Fleck Media Award. It's for financial Literacy 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:08.400 and Education and communities given to the Hod of Money 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.360 podcast from the good folks over at Money Management International, 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.960 which is a service we talk about a lot, actually 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:17.680 a nonprofit that helps people in debt, credit card debt 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:20.760 and who need credit counseling. But yeah, they gave us 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:22.160 this sole thing. Man, it's kind of I don't know, 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:23.880 it felt it felt really sweet to get that it's 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.520 earned its place here on a recording table, the Soul 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:31.200 so the Soule Award. Also it sits there by itself. Yeah, 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.280 it's very lonely. So someone almost give us like an 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.200 oscar or something like that in addition to it. That 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.120 would fit. Well. So this isn't like a real Friday 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.119 flight story. But did you see this is a total 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:44.760 departure from awards or anything like that. But did you 0:01:44.800 --> 0:01:47.280 see the promotion that Subway was running that if you 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.760 legally change your name to Subway. Yes, that which brought me, 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.640 you have the chance of letting free Subway for the 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:55.080 rest of. 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:56.640 Your life, which made me think about one of my 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.600 favorite TV shows, Community where Subway comes on campus and 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.480 there's actual a dude name Subway and it's it's hilarious. 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.200 But I remember that episode well, it was like multiple episodes. 0:02:05.240 --> 0:02:06.800 They it was a character season. 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:10.280 Yeh, shut up, a character name Subway. So but yeah, 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.239 who played the character this? Okay, it was just a 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:14.799 guy who's there for a few Such a great show, 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.760 such a great show, but I don't remember that that series. 0:02:17.760 --> 0:02:21.400 Though apparently ten thousand people or at least were down 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:23.920 for getting paid ten grand to legally change their name 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:24.440 to subway. 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:26.440 I guess did they get paid ten grand? Or was 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:28.440 subway for? Like? Oh, was it subway for? I thought 0:02:28.480 --> 0:02:31.720 I get paid too, like free sandwiches. Maybe that's even 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.000 more valuable. I don't know. I mean, yeah, depending bepends 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:35.560 on how old you are and how many times you eat. 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:38.320 But nineteen year old me would have totally done that 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.320 because I loved Subway when I was a kid, like 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:44.880 specifically late high school, early college. You couldn't keep me 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:45.760 away from the way. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:48.160 The question is, would forty year old Matt changed his 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:49.440 name legally for free sez. 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:53.240 I don't eat subway as much as I did in 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.720 my younger years specifically. But here's the thing. Though you 0:02:57.800 --> 0:02:59.520 might have to legally change your name, that doesn't mean 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:00.919 that your friend have to call you subway. 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:04.520 That's just because it says says it on your subways 0:03:05.120 --> 0:03:08.240 on your doesn't mean that you have to refer to 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:08.760 me a subway. 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:10.679 Yes, right, So I feel like there's a there's a 0:03:10.680 --> 0:03:11.200 way around it. 0:03:11.240 --> 0:03:13.320 I feel like if it was a contest where you 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.239 had to name yourself brisket for a free barbecue. I 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.200 would totally do that, but I just am not Subway. 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.639 You never know what's gonna happen. You never know what's happened, 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:23.400 what's gonna happen with the brand. Well, like I just 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:25.800 think BacT So I was a big fan of a subway. 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:29.200 Subway back before the whole Jared like that dude, right, 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:30.680 I watched like he kind of ruined it for me. 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.440 I watched the beginning of that documentary and it was devastating. 0:03:33.440 --> 0:03:36.200 I can't I couldn't get Yeah, devastating. So I don't 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:37.640 know if I've ever shared this on the show before. 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:39.400 Have I talked about how I used to jump behind 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:42.200 the counter at subways? You you you've never talked about 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.240 this on the show, but you have mentioned sure really quickly. 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:46.520 But I did this a couple of times. But we 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:48.800 would show up at a subway, there's like a bunch 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:50.760 of us. There's like say one person working, and they're 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:52.880 just overwhelmed. All of a sudden, they've got a ton 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.520 of foot longs that they got that they gotta make. 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:58.360 And on more than one occasion, I was like hey, 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:01.360 do you want some help. I may have lived and 0:04:01.440 --> 0:04:03.640 said that I used to work out a subway, but 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:05.920 in both instances, they're like, oh, yeah, sure, And so 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.120 I put the gloves on, jump back behind the bar, 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.280 and start making sandwiches for my friends. They're cracking up 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:12.960 because I think it's hilarious. It's because I was such 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.000 a fan of subway. I knew how to make all 0:04:15.000 --> 0:04:17.160 the sandwiches. I knew what went out all the sandwiches, 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.840 and I think in both instances they let me walk 0:04:20.880 --> 0:04:22.680 out of there with a free sandwich. They're like, hey, 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:24.719 don't worry about paying For years, I appreciate the help. 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:26.640 Now you and somewhere are going to be in legal 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:29.600 troubles for that, But that is it feels like something 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:31.880 from a bygone era. I feel like that would not 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:32.320 be allowed. 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.240 I think I think it was highlights is that both 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:35.640 you and I are willing to go to kind of 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:38.040 ridiculous links just to save money. Sometimes it makes me 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:40.880 think of, or for a laugh, of wrapping my car 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:43.880 and how that people thought it was the goofiest thing, 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:44.480 and for. 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:46.680 You do that not when you were eighteen, but when 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:47.400 you were thirty. 0:04:47.279 --> 0:04:49.400 Exactly, And people are like, what do you really are 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:50.760 you that hard up? And I'm like no, I'm just 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:53.039 willing to do like a lot of things to save 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:54.599 or make it a little bit of money, which I 0:04:54.600 --> 0:04:56.880 think is a good way to go through life, Like 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.440 don't don't be too proud to do something silly. 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:01.359 Should make that all things considered. 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:03.320 Yeah, okay, but let's move on to the Friday flight 0:05:03.360 --> 0:05:05.240 mat the real stories, the real stories that we found 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:07.599 interesting this week on the personal finance front, and let's 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.240 talk about jobs for a second. The job market is 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:14.200 it's still great for basically almost everyone, right. Unemployment levels 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.280 remain near all time lows. There are apparently still one 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:19.760 point six jobs for everyone who's hunting for one, which 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:22.240 is good news for the economy and for workers across 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:24.520 the country for wages and for the ability to go 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.000 get a better job or a different job if that's 0:05:27.040 --> 0:05:29.560 what they're going forth, that's what they're interested in. And 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:32.680 it's it's not blazing like it was a year ago, 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:33.520 but workers still have. 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:35.040 A lot of laboratory it's not Yeah, it's not two 0:05:35.120 --> 0:05:38.440 job openings for every applicant, right, everybody that's looking for 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:38.800 a job. 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:41.640 Yes, so it's died down a little bit, but still 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:45.200 workers are in control right now in the job market. 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:47.560 But there's one exception, and I found this interesting matter. 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.880 It's a really bad time to be a realtor. In particular, 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:52.840 stats show that there are something like two and a 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.800 half reeltors for every house that's currently on the market. 0:05:56.040 --> 0:05:59.320 Yeah, the complete opposite Yeah of when the job market 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:00.159 was boom and Lene. 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:01.960 Right, it's like the ratio you normally want. It's probably 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.839 the exact opposite, like multiple homes for every realtor. But 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.400 this is just not great news if you're a realtor currently, 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:09.159 and it's even worse, by the way, if you're trying 0:06:09.160 --> 0:06:10.400 to break into the business. If you're like, you know 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:12.720 what that's going to be my tickets to riches or 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:16.680 my new job is going into real estate. Well, realtors 0:06:16.800 --> 0:06:19.480 are hard up right now. And familters how many tough 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.960 time and programmers software well just with AI and now 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.680 that's putting the kabash on hiring at least in that sectors. 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.839 Lenders to think about all the people that are doing 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:30.479 home refinances and now they're not really doing it not 0:06:30.560 --> 0:06:30.880 so much. 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:33.960 Yeah, I saw that there are six hundred thousand more 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:38.000 realtors than there are actual homes listed. I was just insane, 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.120 But this is happening for a few reasons. One, there 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.320 aren't many houses for sale, and you know, with higher 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:45.919 interest rates, folks are less likely they don't have a 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:47.279 desire to move because they don't want to give up 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:49.680 that sweet rate. We've talked about that. But secondly, a 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.240 lot of realtors they only dabble, right that they work 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:55.240 part time, and some industries like this there are more 0:06:55.360 --> 0:06:57.600 cyclical than others. It makes me think back to when 0:06:57.640 --> 0:07:00.640 I was a photographer. There are a lot of photographers 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.680 that just dabbled because the barrier to entry. Yeah, to 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:05.920 get yourself a digital camera and take some pictures, that's 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:08.080 that's fairly easy. It's a lot harder to make that 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:10.600 a full time gig like we did. But there's a 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:12.080 lot of folks that would pick up the camera and 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:15.560 shoot some say during the fall when family sessions are booming, 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:18.080 because folks are wanting to get those pictures taken for 0:07:18.160 --> 0:07:22.320 their Christmas card. Yeah, the holidays coming up. But what 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:24.120 this means for you as a consumer is that you 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.640 need to be careful who it is that you choose 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:30.120 to represent you within a real estate transaction. If you 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.400 actually are buying a home because a bad or a 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:36.280 rusty realtor, there you go. That could end up costing 0:07:36.400 --> 0:07:39.920 you money. A recent piece in Insider It details how 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.080 easy it is to become a realtor in many states. Again, 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:45.040 the bar to entry is fairly low. It's like a 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:48.400 multiple choice question. Tests that you take it two plus two, 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:51.840 you could be a realtor. It's not that easy to 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:54.800 all of our real realtor friends out there. But if 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:56.760 you offer an agent who isn't at the top of 0:07:56.800 --> 0:08:00.640 their game, you could be getting subpard i, which is 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.320 going to cost you serious money in the home buying process. 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.240 The ideal choice is to find an agent who has 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.560 been working in your neighborhood regularly for years. They know 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.960 the ends and the now, they know individuals, and they've 0:08:12.960 --> 0:08:15.520 obviously got rave reviews from friends and neighbors. That's the 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:17.080 kind of agent that you want to be looking for, 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:19.960 not somebody that you just whose name you just happen 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.320 to see on a single sign. You see a name 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.280 on a bunch of signs, that's good. But if you 0:08:24.440 --> 0:08:27.280 just happen to choose a name because it sounds cool, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:29.760 that's not how you know about it. 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.440 That person goes to your church or you. If they 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.000 don't do much business, then you probably want to go 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.320 with a realtor who does more business. Not necessarily the 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.520 person on the billboard. I wouldn't necessarily she's that person either, 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:42.520 But yeah, I think you want to choose someone. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.440 You avoid the extremes. Yes, yeah, exactly. 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.640 Well and just makes me think of Matt someone buying 0:08:47.679 --> 0:08:49.640 a home in your neighborhood. Right now, this was a 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.040 it was an off market listing, like it never actually 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.000 made it to MLS. And so the people who know 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:56.440 about that stuff are the realtors who do a lot 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.880 of business, and they might have a lead on deals 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:02.560 that other realtors might not know about. And so who 0:09:02.640 --> 0:09:05.200 you choose to represent you matters. And by the way, 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:07.880 speaking of realtors, there have been a bunch of lawsuits 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:09.679 through the years that have been filed against the National 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:13.240 Association of Realtors for essentially being a monopoly right, and 0:09:13.320 --> 0:09:15.600 those are still working their way through the court system. 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:19.000 But if the plaintiffs win, there's likely to be a 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:21.240 massive shift in the way agents get paid, which we 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:24.000 think would be a good thing. There are some estimates 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.840 that actually predict that consumers would save like twenty to 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:30.760 thirty billion dollars every single year if this stranglehold the 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:34.640 three percent fee sort of payment system times to get 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:37.640 struck down. Yeah, yeah, six percent exactly. And it's not 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:40.200 that agents shouldn't get paid. Like Matt, you and I, 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:41.920 we use agents when we buy and sell homes, and 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.880 we've had great experiences. We've got great agents that are 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:47.400 you know, they're worth a lot. It's just that almost 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:49.800 nothing else in the world works on a flat percentage 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:52.679 feed like that, right, and this this system deserves a shakeup. 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:55.559 So I would love I'm kind of waiting with baited 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:57.480 breath to see what happens with some of these lawsuits 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.880 because it's going to be good for consumers if this 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:01.680 model gets kind of torn us under. 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:04.720 Yeah. One of the like the NRA, right, So the 0:10:04.800 --> 0:10:08.680 National Association Realtors the argument that they're in RA. I'm sorry, 0:10:08.720 --> 0:10:12.000 and those are two very very different groups of people, 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.240 but their argument is that it's the best model because 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:18.559 some of the folks are advocating for like a flat fee, right, 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:20.280 just like okay, just say it's going to cost us 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.040 much and this is how much that you get paid. 0:10:23.440 --> 0:10:26.000 The argument against that is that, well, there's a lot 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:29.360 of folks who are have less money, right, Like, if 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:31.360 you have a smaller, smaller home or a home that's 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:33.520 not going to sell for very much, they're not necessarily 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:35.720 in a position to pay an upfront fee. And so 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:40.079 I mean, I think the percentage framework, I think that 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:41.880 that can still work, but it's just it's got to 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.080 come down. Yeah, Like that's the biggest issue is that 0:10:44.120 --> 0:10:46.120 it is such it's like six you're paying six percent 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:48.040 if you're selling your house, and that is so much money. 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.160 It makes me think back to like financial advisors who 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:54.720 have portfolios that they over like the assets under management 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:58.400 style or whatever, and like that's even that you're looking 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:02.440 at one percent, And with like ETFs and neutral funds, 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:04.840 you've seen the expense ratios on those things come down 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:09.800 over the years as technology has allowed individuals access directly 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:12.440 to be able to invest. I'm actually kind of surprised 0:11:12.440 --> 0:11:15.520 that different platforms like Zilo, where folks are very comfortable 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:19.439 going on there and searching themselves, that they haven't introduced 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:22.960 some sort of marketplace that is able to eliminate so 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:25.880 much of the mentalmen when it comes to the ability 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.160 to purchase a home or in this case, selling a 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:29.880 home without having to pay gigantic fees. 0:11:29.960 --> 0:11:31.720 I mean redfinn is trying to do that. They've been 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:33.760 trying to break that three percent. Few model take it 0:11:33.760 --> 0:11:35.280 down to like one and a half and one percent 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.240 in some cases. But it's just hard when there's things 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.040 more folks with m less monopoly. Yeah, yeah, it's true. 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:43.560 Yeah, And again I don't want to short change realtors 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:46.760 because there's a lot of folks. This is the largest 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:48.559 purchase that you ever make in your entire life, and 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:49.880 so there are a lot of folks who are really 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:51.959 nervous about that. I understand that. And so the ability 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:55.400 to have somebody who has done many, many of these 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:58.320 transactions to walk alongside you, to hold your hand, to 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:01.400 provide that negotiating experience. There's so much value that they 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:04.480 do bring. It's just that is at worth six percent, 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:06.319 and when you're talking about more expensive homes, that is 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.760 a ton a ton of money for sure. 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.440 Well, the other upside to reducing realtor fees, I think 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:14.600 it would help lubricate the real estate market. Like if 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.199 the price the transaction costs go way down, people are 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:19.600 going to be much more likely to sell their home, 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.640 even if it means giving up a sweet interest. 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:23.240 Right, and then does that all of a sudden cause 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:27.440 prices to go up even more? Who knows? Yeah or yeah? 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:28.160 Yeah either way? 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:30.080 Yeah, all right, let's talk about something else on the 0:12:30.120 --> 0:12:34.640 homeowner front, homeowners insurance and listener Anastasia she sent us 0:12:34.640 --> 0:12:38.880 an interesting article last week about insurance specifically in the 0:12:38.920 --> 0:12:41.400 state of Florida. But I think there's something that we 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:44.720 can all take away from the article that she sent over. First, 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:47.480 Florida and California are two of the biggest states in 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.160 the nation, and these are the two that are both 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.840 losing insurance companies, which is going to drive up costs 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:56.480 in both of those states on insurance, and the reasons 0:12:56.480 --> 0:12:59.760 why are completely different though. Right, this might be the 0:12:59.800 --> 0:13:03.719 most simplistic explanation ever, But insurance companies are bowing out 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.520 of doing business in Florida because of the increased risk 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.440 they endure, largely because of hurricanes. 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:11.520 Yeah, And honestly, I don't think that's oversimplifying. Like literally, 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:14.200 it's what is it a peninsula like sticks out there, sure, 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.880 out in the ocean, a big finger out in the ocean. Yeah, 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.640 right in the eye of the ocean. Hurricanes love to 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:21.040 just cut that corner. They do. 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:23.640 It's what happens, It's true. And yeah, and so Florida homeowners, 0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:25.960 they already pay some of the highest home insurance prices 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.400 in the nation, and they're likely to get even higher 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:32.440 as companies reduce their presence, issue fewer policies, cancel some 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.360 of the policies that they currently have with consumers, or 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:37.280 maybe they just like leave completely, they skid out all 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:37.800 they're out of there. 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:39.840 Yeah, they have the insurance companies, they've been losing money 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:42.280 for years in Florida. It's kind of been like a 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.360 lost leader in a sense for those businesses. Peron's not 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.800 really leaving anything but more losses. But California it's another story. 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:54.080 Insurers are leaving there because they're also dealing with large payouts, 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:56.960 mainly due to the risk that wildfire's pose. I saw 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:00.080 that in the past five years, something like thirty nine 0:14:00.080 --> 0:14:02.959 thousand homes have been destroyed due to fires. Wow, that 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.280 is so I had a hard time understand, like, Okay, 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:06.679 is that a lot of homes or maybe this not 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.720 that many. There are eighty thousand single family homes in 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:12.719 the city of Atlanta, so it's almost as if half 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:16.560 marched through and just like burned up half of the city. 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:19.560 But as many insurance companies are looking for for reasons 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.480 to cancel policies, they're like, so they're even using drones 0:14:23.000 --> 0:14:26.920 to identify trouble spots on different properties to degenerate reasons 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:30.160 for cancelation. That's a bit extreme, it's a bit ridiculous, 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.880 of course, but it's true. Insurance companies are doing that. 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.040 But a big problem is that the state, they are 0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:41.920 refusing to let these insurers increase premiums on homeowners, which 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.800 will of course, it's going to decrease competition because these 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:47.160 insurers are pulling out altogether, and it's going to lead 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:50.320 to a more strained insurance market within the state of California. 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:54.800 That's a perfect example of government policy completely backfiring and 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:57.720 instead of helping those that they're seeking to protect, like, 0:14:57.760 --> 0:14:59.680 it's literally causing them more harm. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.200 Church companies are saying, no, no, look look at the numbers. 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:05.240 We are losing money. I think All State just had 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:07.160 their credit rating down graded, kind of like the United 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.600 States just had their credit rating downgraded last week as 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:11.920 a country, like All State just did, and so insurance 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:15.200 are insurance companies are facing tough times. They're trying to 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.680 increase premiums to make up for the losses they're experiencing 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:19.040 and win. 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:20.800 But if you can't do that, right, what do you say? 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.080 You say, all right, well then we're gonna pull yeah, 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.840 providing coverage within the state, right, more policies in Idaho, 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:27.520 I guess, or something like that. I don't know, but yeah, 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:31.840 like that. The number of insurance companies in Florida that left, 0:15:31.960 --> 0:15:34.400 it's staggered. I couldn't believe it. Like in the past 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.560 eighteen months, I think it's like fifteen stopped writing new 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:40.560 policies in Florida. Three of them just said, yeah, we're 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:42.840 out of here altogether, and like a bunch of others 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:44.560 just went bankrupt. 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.480 Like yeah, they were insolvent. So I guess, first off, 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:50.960 just don't an emoji tier face. For people in California 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.280 and in Florida, it is difficult to own. 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:53.880 It's tough. 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:56.680 It's really really tough, and there's no easy solution. But 0:15:56.920 --> 0:16:00.000 in general, right, even not in those two states, prices 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:01.920 for insurance have gone up quite a bit, right. The 0:16:02.000 --> 0:16:04.440 cost of supplies and labor have risen a whole lot 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:06.600 over the past few years, and that means that repair 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:08.800 bills right when a claim gets filed are more substantial. 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.840 I think about at the tree growing through our house. 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:15.120 We're finally just about the dumpster gets taken away today, Like, yeah, 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:15.680 very nice. 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:17.360 I know our neighbors are gonna be able to get 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:20.120 your garage back. I know. That's honestly the biggest downside 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:20.800 of that on that dumpster. 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:22.840 That's true, our neighbors are gonna be thankful to like, well, 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:24.960 they'll like us more now that we don't have dumps around, 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.600 Like glad, we don't have a rat problem anymore. But 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:30.480 to add to the pricing problem, right, home values have 0:16:30.520 --> 0:16:34.200 increased substantially too. It's been a perfect storm that's led 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:38.040 to these increasing insurance rates and coverage is getting more sparse. 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:40.680 Right These insurers are saying, well, okay, well, if I 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:42.600 have to write the policy, well then I'm just not 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:46.000 I'm going to write less favorable terms for the consumer. 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:49.440 The coverage is going to be smaller, and that's the 0:16:49.480 --> 0:16:51.520 only way you're going to be able to maybe not 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:54.720 see a massive increase in your premiums. It's just not 0:16:54.800 --> 0:16:57.600 easy right now, right, And so it's regardless of where 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:00.480 you live, shop around. If you're looking to hit the button, 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.080 just enter your information over at policygenius dot com, get 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.560 some quotes from insurance companies they work with, or you 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:08.160 can always reach out to an independent broker or agent 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.919 over at Trusted Choice dot com as well. That can 0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:14.119 be easy, but don't take it lying down. It's not 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:16.840 easy to fight back against these price increases. They're happening 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.600 no matter what. But you still have a role. There's 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:20.960 still something you can do to be able to save 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:21.879 money while it's happening. 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:24.560 That's all right. Well, we've got additional stories to get to, 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:26.600 including Joel whether or not we will be able to 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:29.919 continue watching our favorite Disney Plus content. We'll get to 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:31.719 that story plus others right after this. 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:43.480 All right, Matt, The Friday flight continues, and it looks 0:17:43.520 --> 0:17:45.040 like you might not be able to watch in Conto 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:45.840 anymore soon. 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:52.200