By Joseph E. Seagle, Esq.

👋 Happy Friday! Today is National Weed Appreciation Day (no, not that weed). If anyone wants to celebrate, feel free to visit my lawn and revel in pulling as many as you want.

❗️Situation Awareness: From the FinCEN website: All entities created in the United States — including those previously known as “domestic reporting companies” — and their beneficial owners are now exempt from the requirement to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) to FinCEN. Existing foreign companies that must report their beneficial ownership information have at least an additional 30 days from March 26, 2025—until April 25, 2025, for most companies—to do so. For more information, see press release and alert.

1 big thing: Catastrophe Bonds: A Safety Net for Uninsurable Risks?

Catastrophe bonds—known as cat bonds—are financial instruments designed to help insurers cover rare, high-cost events like hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters. Bloomberg’s recent coverage, along with similar industry analyses, highlights a growing trend: Insurers and institutional investors are turning to cat bonds to address risks deemed too costly or unpredictable for traditional policies.

How they work: Cat bonds transfer risk from insurers to investors in exchange for a steady return. If a covered event doesn’t occur, investors get their principal and interest back. If a catastrophe hits, the bondholder forfeits their investment, which insurers then use to cover claims.

For real estate professionals, this matters because traditional insurance markets are increasingly volatile, especially in high-risk regions. Realtors, mortgage brokers, and title insurance agents often face significant challenges when properties are deemed “uninsurable” or when premiums skyrocket. Cat bonds offer a partial solution, providing capital to stabilize markets and ensure that some level of coverage remains available. This could maintain the viability of certain properties and sustain demand in regions prone to natural disasters.

The bigger picture: As climate change increases the frequency and severity of disasters, traditional insurance products are under pressure. Cat bonds provide an alternative path, pulling in global capital to fund payouts and helping stabilize regional markets. They can’t replace traditional insurance, but they can supplement it, ensuring that some form of coverage remains viable even as risks escalate.

The bottom line: For real estate entrepreneurs, understanding the dynamics of cat bonds can help anticipate shifts in property values, insurance availability, and client concerns. In an industry where insurance coverage is often a deciding factor in deals, knowing how the market is adapting to uninsurable risks can provide a competitive edge.

2. Real Estate Entrepreneurs Eye Land Banks and Market Shifts

"Land banking" refers to a strategy where developers temporarily hold land, often vacant or blighted properties, to unlock liquidity, de-risk balance sheets, and facilitate future development.

A recent Business Journals report spotlights the rise of land banks as a warning sign for real estate markets, alongside shifts in legal services and corporate real estate decisions. For real estate entrepreneurs—including realtors, mortgage brokers, and title insurance agents—these trends signal potential market shifts that require strategic adaptation.

📉 Why It Matters: Missouri’s new law enabling land banks underscores a deeper issue: declining demand for redevelopment in certain markets. In high-growth regions, such as Florida, land banks are rare due to strong real estate demand. But in areas like St. Louis County, the need for such programs suggests stagnation, raising concerns about property values, lending risks, and title transfer challenges.

🏦 How It Affects Real Estate Professionals:

• Realtors: Land banks may create opportunities by turning vacant properties into marketable inventory. However, low demand in these areas could mean longer sales cycles and price stagnation.

• Mortgage Brokers: A slowing market with distressed properties can lead to tightened lending conditions, affecting approval rates and refinancing opportunities.

• Title Agents: Properties acquired via land banks often have complex histories, requiring thorough due diligence to clear title defects.

💼 Beyond Land Banks: Legal Disruptions: The report also highlights Aprio’s expansion into legal services through non-lawyer ownership, a move reshaping the business of real estate transactions. This trend could lead to more bundled services—accounting, legal, and tax—all under one roof, influencing how real estate deals are structured.

🔮 What’s Next?

Real estate professionals should monitor:

✅ Market demand indicators—rising land banks signal potential declines in property values.

✅ Legislative changes—law firm ownership shifts could redefine real estate transactions.

✅ Alternative property opportunities—repurposing vacant properties for new uses may create new investment niches.

📌 Bottom Line: The landscape is shifting—staying ahead of these trends will be key for real estate professionals looking to thrive in evolving markets.

I get this question all the time: “Should my parents just deed their property to me now to avoid probate?” In this week’s video, I explain why that may not be the best thing to do.

 Listen in or watch on your favorite streaming platform.

3. Catch up fast

1. Move fast and break the mortgage market American Prospect

2. Five states where home prices are falling this year HousingWire

3. FHA rescinds three appraisal policies ABA Banking Journal

4. CFPB rehires most recently fired employees American Banker

5. Lower mortgage rates are driving early spring home sales. HousingWire

6. Larry Ellison buys up $450 million worth of Florida real estate Bloomberg (subscription required)

7. Commercial and multi-family delinquencies rise MPAMag

8. Existing home sales accelerated in February NAR

9. The number of days each month you must work to afford a mortgage payment in each state Realtor

10. Desantis calls to shift taxes from homesteads to tourists. Orlando Sentinel

11. Foreign tourists are snubbing the U.S. Morning Brew

4. Closing Thought: Finding Your Soul Purpose—and Aligning It With Your Business Mission

The Big Idea: Your “soul purpose” is more than a catchy phrase—it’s the deeper reason you’re here. It’s not just what you do, but why you’re driven to do it. For entrepreneurs, discovering this purpose is a game-changer. It brings clarity, direction, and energy into everything you build.

Why It Matters: When your business mission is aligned with your soul purpose, decision-making becomes easier, your messaging becomes magnetic, and your work feels meaningful—even during the hard days.

How to Find Your Soul Purpose:

1. Reflect on impact. Ask yourself: What breaks my heart? What lights me up? Your purpose often lives at the intersection of your greatest pain and deepest joy.

2. Identify your core gifts. What do people come to you for? Teaching, healing, building, connecting? Your purpose leverages your natural strengths.

3. Look at your story. Your experiences—especially the challenges—are clues. They shape your perspective and give you authority to serve others walking a similar path.

4. Test and tune. Purpose isn’t always found—it’s revealed. Start moving in the direction of meaning. Action brings clarity.

The Business Tie-In: Your mission statement is your soul purpose in action. It answers: How does this business serve the world in alignment with who I really am?

• Soul purpose: To help people reclaim their voice and worth.

• Mission: To build a platform that empowers underrepresented creators to share their stories.

Coach’s Note: You don’t need a lightning bolt moment. Start where you are. Build a business that feels good in your body—not just impressive on paper. When you lead from purpose, profits follow—because people can feel when it’s real.

The Bottom Line: You’re not just building a business. You’re building a legacy. Aligning with your soul purpose ensures it’s one worth remembering.

We hope you found this helpful — any feedback is appreciated and can be shared by hitting reply or using the feedback feature below.

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