🏠 Does Taylor Swift have more Grammys or houses?

Speaking of, would you move to Europe to live the American dream? (The irony is not lost on us. 😅)

More and more, Americans who can't afford to buy property in the U.S. are relocating to European cities. But consequently, foreign investors are creating a bit of an accessibility issue for Europeans.

Take the average Greek's salary, which is less than $22,000. As people from the States swoop in on some "amazing deals," they're driving up property costs (home prices in Greece went up 13% in 2022) — and the locals are therefore struggling to compete in the same housing market.

SPILLING THE (REAL)TEA

What's a bank run? It's when all of a bank's customers panic and withdraw their money at the same time. So then the bank doesn't have enough cash to hand out and closes its doors, creating a ripple effect throughout the economy. Last week, a bank run caused Silicon Valley Bank to close. It was the second-largest bank collapse of all time.

What this banking debacle mean for the real estate world: According to Zillow, the aftershock may lead to lower mortgage rates.

Does Taylor Swift have more Grammys or houses? The pop star has grown an impressive real estate portfolio totaling more than $150 million, with properties in New York City to Rhode Island to Los Angeles.

OpenAI's GPT-4 is here (but now you have to pay to play). If you want access to the newest model, you'll have to cough up $20/month. What makes GPT-4 better? We asked ChatGPT what it knows about its competition:

TIP OF THE WEEK

No matter if you're an investor, an agent, a small business owner, or none of the above, you're probably feeling a little unsettled about the security of your money right now. SVB's collapse last week was a bit of a wakeup call for us all — whether you have $1 or $1 million in the bank. Here are some tips:

01 — Make sure your bank is FDIC insured: If your account is with an FDIC-insured bank, then even if the bank fails, up to $250,000 is insured and you are guaranteed to get your money back.

02 — Separate your accounts: If you're sitting on more than $250,000, having accounts with different institutions will help you make sure you are insured.

03 — Bank with a spouse: For joint accounts, you each will have $250,000 of coverage, which means you could have up to $500,000 in the shared account and still be insured.

WHAT'S BREWING

📚 What we're reading: "Arranging Things" by stylist Colin King and Sam Cochran, a tenured contributor to Architectural Digest.

👀 What we're watching: The first episode of "Ted Lasso" season 3 premiered on Apple TV+ this past Wednesday.

🎧 What we're listening to: Why the Banking Crisis Isn't Over on The New York Times' The Daily podcast.

🛒 What we're adding to our shopping cart: Tomorrow is the official first day of spring! As you tackle your spring cleaning to-do list, swap in some non-toxic alternatives:

Dishwasher Detergent PodsHardwood Floor CleanerToilet Bowl CleanerAll Purpose CleanerDish SoapLaundry Detergent 

PROPERTY CRUSH

For a shark, Robert Herjavec sure is far from the shore.🦈 In a record-breaking sale for Hidden Hills, California, the Shark Tank star bought a $26 million mansion about 10 miles east from the coast. Have a look around 👀

FESTIVAL SEASON IS UPON US

Short-term rental owners in destinations like Palm Springs, Chicago or the outskirts of Nashville know that there’s a lot of money to be made during annual festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and so many others that take place across the country — and the globe — during spring and summer months.

When a city is inundated by attendees, the influx of people creates a need for accommodations — and hosts can take advantage of the demand by increasing their nightly rates. But, while festival goers are willing to pay a premium to stay somewhere close to their event, they can also be known to exhibit…how should we put this?…bad behavior.

Therefore, you can’t simply set it and forget it. In addition to upping your nightly fees, you’ll also need to prepare your property for worst-case scenarios and research city ordinances for short-term renting during such events. Make sure you avoid any nightmare situations using the following guide to everything from pricing to parties.

Pricing Your Property During a Festival

First, the fun part: Upping your nightly rate! Airbnbs in the desert near Palm Springs or Joshua Tree up their rates by anywhere from double to sextuple their average nightly rate during the two weekends of April when more than 250,000 people attend Coachella. So, there’s the potential to make a lot of money from just a handful of nights.

When you’re deciding how to alter the price of your accommodations in advance of an event that will draw a crowd and increase the demand for your property, you’ll want to start out by doing market research to see what neighboring rentals are charging. You’ll also want to consider what your property offers that might give it an advantage over others. Do you have a pool? Enough beds to fit a large group? A unique design guests would be willing to pay extra for? Does your home appeal to the demographic that will be going to the festival? Make sure you know when tickets will go on sale (usually a full year in advance), and set your rate as high as you think it could go. As the day of the event draws closer, consider lowering your price if it hasn’t already been booked.

Setting Boundaries With Guests

Plenty of properties don’t allow parties, but what exactly does that mean? Don’t leave it up for interpretation. Include in both your listing and check-in instructions what isn’t allowed. Some hosts prohibit music from being played loudly or outdoors. Some hosts ask for photos of each guests’ license who will be staying at the property. Some simply ask how many people will be staying in total and request that no other outside guests be invited in.

Additionally, you’ll need to make sure you abide by any local laws surrounding short-term rentals in tandem with the festival. For example, the City of Palm Springs has a strict ordinance that requires every adult guest review neighborhood guidelines and sign an acknowledgement form before their stay.

Prepping Your Property for Festival Season

Once you’ve laid out your expectations, you’ll need a way to make sure guests are respecting your requests (and to gather the receipts should you need to prove any violations). A Ring video doorbell will help you confirm who’s coming and who’s going. The video recording could come in handy should you need to provide evidence of a party or other wrongdoings. Minut’s NoiseAware monitoring device can also be installed inside the property in order to alert you when noise exceeds a reasonable level.

If you’re using Airbnb, AirCover provides $1 million in damage protection and $1 million in liability coverage — even adding coverage for expenses like deep cleaning. However, you will only have 14 days to file any claims and provide photo/video documentation with proof of damages or parties. You may want to go to the guest first to settle things (ideally after they’ve reviewed their stay to avoid a vengeful rating!). If the guest refuses to pay, AirCover should take care of the costs. However, seasoned hosts will tell you not to just rely on Airbnb for coverage and to make sure you also have short-term rental property insurance.