1 big thing: Taking the Long View on Florida’s Building Codes
Building codes increase the upfront costs of new construction. Over the long term, they also end up saving money — and lives — and can reduce a structure’s carbon footprint.
Why it matters: Florida endures more than its share of hurricanes and floods, hazards we’re likely to see intensify as the effects of climate change ramp up. Rebuilding after a disaster is expensive — and so, therefore, is insurance.
Building codes that harden structures against natural disasters can preserve them better, reducing the risk for insurers and saving property owners’ money.
Yes, but: More resilient buildings also help save lives.
Energy efficient buildings reduce emissions, a significant intensifier of wildfires and catastrophic storms.
By the numbers: Good on you, Florida: A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) finds that in 2018-2023, the state ranked first among the 18 hurricane-prone states along the coastline from Texas to Maine for:
Building code adoption
Building code enforcement
Contractor licensing requirements
In 2024, the state fell into second place, behind Virginia.
What’s at stake: A growing population and soaring home prices. The third largest state in the U.S. in terms of population, Florida’s now home to four of the five fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country.
Home prices throughout the state have been on the rise, thanks to the need for more housing and rising insurance rates — though there are some indications these could finally be leveling off.
FEMA calculates that adherence to the I-Codes (International Codes) could save communities at least $600 billion (with a “B”) in disaster losses by 2060.
One surprising finding: It makes sense that more resilient buildings would result in insurance savings. It turns out they can also decrease the risk of mortgage default.
Homes built after 2010, when communities started taking a harder look at their building codes, had substantially lower mortgage default rates than previously.
The bottom line: Florida’s allure for families stuck in less balmy climes elsewhere isn’t going to abate any time soon. And no one’s predicting the state’s hurricanes might become less frequent or intense.
Strict building codes are good for everyone’s bottom line.
2. Suspicious Minds: Catching the Graceland Scammers
Scammers plotting to steal Elvis’ legendary estate said they were in Nigeria when the scheme was found out. Instead, investigators found it belonged to a tangled web of grift originating much closer to home.
Stealing Graceland: Last summer, an outfit called Naussany Investments & Private Lending, LLC, claimed Lisa Marie Presley (who died in 2023) had borrowed $3.8 million in 2018, using Graceland for collateral.
Kurt Naussany said the company would force a foreclosure sale of the historic mansion to collect .
The scam unraveled when Naussany’s supporting documents, including Presley’s signature, were shown to be forgeries.
What they’re saying: The scammers quickly admitted they belonged to a Nigerian identity theft collective and boasted they’d never be caught:
“We sit back and laugh at you idiots and watch you make fools of yourselves,” they wrote. “Come find us in Nigeria.”
Case closed, then. Ha! Hardly.
The name “Kurt Naussany” kept turning up in business reviews on Facebook, investigators noticed, as did “Carolyn Naussany” — an echo of the “Carolyn Williams” who’d claimed to be part of the Naussany scam.
“Carolyn” and a slew of other accounts were conducting a campaign of harassment against a Branson, Missouri, nail salon that included multiple personas, including a U.S. Marshal and state authorities.
One of these personas managed to get the salon owner to share her Social Security number. Shortly thereafter, someone started applying for loans under her name.
Yes, but: Long, complicated story short: The paper trail in the nail salon case kept dovetailing with that of the Graceland scam: the same names and their variations kept turning up, as did the same phone numbers and street addresses.
The trail in both cases ended at the Branson trailer home of Lisa Holden (aka Howell, Findley, and Sullins).
The bottom line: Holden’s rap sheet is a rich and varied tapestry. Name a grift: she’s been a practitioner. She even faked cancer to get out of a bogus check passing charge.
But Lisa’s small-time compared to her sister, Linda, whose sophisticated hedge fund scams landed her in jail for a few years. Linda’s fingerprints, as it were, have not yet been found on the Graceland case.
What’s next: As of this writing, the Graceland investigation continues. No charges have yet been filed.
Recommended reading: Who Tried to Steal Graceland?
Go deeper: Recommended watching: Catch Me if You Can
3. Catch up fast
43-year-old NC Realtor goes viral after letting his GenZ marketing guru edit his Tik Tok post. WRE News
White House proposes legislation to withdraw tax credits from landlords with 50 or more units who raise rent by more than 5% a year over the next two years. It would cover more than 20 million U.S. rental units, but not new construction or units being substantially renovated. CNN
US mortgage rates hit lowest levels since early March with an average of 6.87% on a 30-year fixed mortgage. MPAMag
Industry leaders discuss the SCOTUS Chevron case and its effects on the future of federal regulations. Dodd-Frank Update
The inventory of new single-family homes available for sale is at its highest level since 2008. HousingWire
The Salary Needed To Afford a Home Has More Than Doubled Since Before the Pandemic—See How Your City Is Faring. Realtor.com
4. Closing Thought
It’s been a productive week focused on working on the business rather than in the business, so I haven’t had much time to think about a topic for this week’s Closing Thought. So, I’ll share some maxims that serve as touchstones for me when thinking about what direction to go:
Revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity.
It’s always a process problem or a people problem.
Expect what you inspect.
Don’t decide yourself into a dead end. Always choose the option that opens more options.
Spot and remove the leadership lids to unleash the organization’s power.
Sock, Sock; Shoe, Shoe (visit my LinkedIN profile for more on this).
No one pays for information. They pay for its application.
Clients buy results, not features.
Meditation brings clarity; Observation brings ingenuity. Perspiration brings inspiration.
Wounds are temporary, but scars are forever.
Constraints make us better.
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