USA Today - 21.10.2019

2B z MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 z USA TODAY MONEY

Mark Hurd, the co-chief executive
of tech giant Oracle, died one month
after taking a leave of absence from
the company. He was 62.
Oracle confirmed his passing Fri-
day. In a statement posted on Hurd’s
personal website, Oracle founder Lar-
ry Ellison called Hurd a “close and irre-
placeable friend.”
“Oracle has lost a brilliant and be-
loved leader who personally touched
the lives of so many of us during his
decade at Oracle,” Ellison wrote.
“All of us will miss Mark’s keen
mind and rare ability to analyze, sim-
plify and solve problems quickly.
Some of us will miss his friendship
and mentorship. I will miss his kind-
ness and sense of humor.”
Last month, Hurd revealed he
would take a leave of absence from the
company for health-related reasons.
“Though we all worked hard togeth-
er to close the first quarter, I’ve decided
that I need to spend time focused on
my health,” Hurd said.
Safra Catz and Hurd were named
co-CEOs in 2014.
Hurd joined Oracle in 2010.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter:
@brettmolina23.

Oracle co-CEO

Hurd has died

Brett Molina
USA TODAY

Oracle’s Mark Hurd took a leave of
absence last month. AFP/GETTY IMAGES

find a way to get into a home they can

afford.

“It may not be the mansion you want

but it would be a place for you to start,”

Barkley said.

Other efforts include Chase Bank’s

DreaMaker Mortgage Program where

qualified buyers can buy a home with as

little as 3% down. The program has flex-

ible credit score requirements and re-

duced costs for mortgage insurance.

Someone who takes a home buyer edu-

cation course under the program can re-

ceive $500 toward closing costs and a

down payment.

In addition, a grant of $2,500 is avail-

able toward closing costs and a down

payment for home buyers in low- to

moderate-income communities.

Mortgage interest: New tax rules

apply

Based on the most recent data, 10.

million federal income tax returns for

the 2018 tax year claimed the mortgage

interest deduction.

That’s down 62% from 2017 when

28.6 million returns claimed the mort-

gage interest deduction before the new

tax rules went into place.

Based on 2018 tax returns, roughly

8% of all federal income tax returns

claimed the mortgage interest deduc-

tion.

President Donald Trump’s tax over-

haul nearly doubled the standard de-

duction – to $24,000 for a couple filing

jointly – and put limits on some earlier

deductions, so it can be more attractive

for some to take the standard deduction

instead of itemizing.

Currently, for example, taxpayers

cannot deduct more than $10,000 of to-

tal state and local taxes.

In addition, taxpayers can only de-

duct mortgage interest on up to

$750,000in new qualifying debt.

That’s down from a $1 million cap

earlier.

The $1 million cap would still apply if

you are deducting mortgage interest

from debt taken out before Dec.16, 2017.

Affordable homes: Keep looking

We are seeing some unusual signs of

a softening market that could help po-

tential buyers.

Drive around metro Detroit’s popular

Woodward Avenue corridor and you

may spot lawn signs that say “Buy this

home and we’ll buy yours!”

Some of these signs showed up on at-

tractive homes in the $350,000 and up

range that are being marketed by Jim

buyers say the biggest barrier to owning
a home is actually saving enough money
for a down payment and closing costs,
according to the Bank of America In-
sights Report.
How can you overcome some hur-
dles?
Some major banks have programs
that offer help with a down payment or
closing costs to qualified borrowers.
“Sometimes, people think they can’t
get in a home when they can get in a
home,” said AJ Barkley, national neigh-
borhood lending executive for the Bank
of America.
Bank of America is offering qualified
buyers in metro Detroit and elsewhere a
new Community Homeownership Com-
mitment program.
The $5 billion commitment is de-
signed to help more than 20,000 home
buyers across the country. Details in-
clude:
zThrough the bank’s Down Payment
Grant program, Bank of America will
give — no repayment necessary — eligi-
ble buyers 3% of the home purchase
price (up to $10,000) to be used for a
down payment. While not available ev-
erywhere, the grant is available in near-
ly 50 markets, including major metros
around the country such as Detroit, New
York, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington,
D.C., Miami, Las Vegas and Dallas.
zAlso qualified buyers may be eligi-
ble receive up to $7,500 toward non-re-
curring closing costs or, in some in-
stances, to buy down their interest rate.
The $7,500 closing cost grant is avail-
able in markets where Bank of America
has branches and offices, which is most
of the country.
zThrough Oct. 31, Bank of America is
waiving the lender origination fee on
Freddie Mac Home Possible, FHA, VA or
Affordable Loan Solution loans, which
could mean a savings of approximately
$1,000.
Some eligible buyers could receive as
much as $17,500 to help them purchase
a home. Restrictions do apply, including
income limits.
Some assistance may be available in
certain communities and not others.
Barkley said it’s important the pros-
pective home buyers not believe some
of the urban myths out there — such as
if you have student loans, you can’t buy
a home, or that you must have a 20%
down payment to buy a home.
Many times, she said, someone can

Shaffer and Associates, a Royal

Oak-basedRealtor group.

Shaffer, the lead agent of the group,

said he began using the “Buy this home

and we’ll buy yours!” slogan in the

spring and the group has since bought

10 homes in such deals – nine in Oak-

land County and one in Detroit.

Shaffer copied the idea from another

Realtor who tried it some time ago in the

Washington, D.C., area.

Many times, he said, “home owners

are afraid to sell their current home be-

cause they don’t want to be homeless.”

If they sell too quickly, they’re afraid

they won’t be able to find an attractive

home immediately in the same area.

Some sellers want a bigger home; others

are downsizing.

“They’re just buying the right size

house for where they are in their life,”

Shaffer said.

Opting for an instant sale, of course,

means you’re likely taking 10% or so less

than you might get otherwise with a

more traditional sale.

And you’re giving up the possibility

of a bidding war. Shaffer said he ex-

plains the trade-offs upfront.

“It’s not one-size fits all,” Shaffer

said. “Some people do want the tradi-

tional sale. And other people want the

instant sale.”

While buyers are in some position of

power, the market for affordable, entry-

level homes remains ultra-competitive

across much of the country.

In metro Detroit, 17.4% more homes

were for sale than a year ago based on

July data, according to Zillow.

Yet the bulk of the new For Sale signs

are popping up on lawns of much more

expensive homes.

Zillow’s Mikhitarian noted that there

are nearly 26% more higher-end homes

• defined as homes in the top third of
  the market – up for sale in metro Detroit
  relative to this time last year. Top-tier
  homes are $241,250 and above in the
  Detroitarea.
  Inventory of middle-tier homes in
  Detroit is up 19% relative to last year.
  That’s one reason why house hunters
  may be spotting some unusual types of
  offers. The idea is to stand out in a
  crowded field – and maybe find a way to
  get lower-cost homes on the market.
  House hunters in metro Detroit are
  only seeing 12% more entry-level homes
  up for sale – defined as homes in the
  bottom third of the market – relative to
  this time last year. Lower-tier homes in
  the Detroit metro area are $103,750 and
  below.

Home values: Still going up

Nationally, home value growth is

strong but slowing steadily in many ma-

jor markets, Mikhitarian said.

Only three out of 50 of the largest

markets in the United States – New Or-

leans; Birmingham, Alabama; and Okla-

homa City – are seeing home values

growing at a faster rate now than this

time last year.

Home values are growing the fastest

in Salt Lake City, up 9.4% since July

2018, according to Zillow. Other strong

markets include Indianapolis, up 8.1%,

and Charlotte, North Carolina, up 7.3%.

Home values in metro Detroit have

gone up 4.6% over the past year and Zil-

low predicts they will rise 2% within the

next year.

What is considered a bargain, of

course, depends on many factors and

someone’s perception. A deal in San

Francisco would look overpriced in

much of the Midwest.

“Looking ahead, we predict home

values in the Detroit metro will continue

to rise, albeit at a much slower pace than

over the past several years.

“This is similar to the pattern we are

seeing nationally,” Mikhitarian said.

Home buyers

Continued from Page 1B

One real estate agent in Oakland

County, Mich., has tried to stand out

by promoting the idea of buying your

home, if you buy a new one.

SUSAN TOMPOR

“It may not be the mansion you want

but it would be a place for you to

start.”

AJ Barkley,national neighborhood lending

executive for the Bank of America

place new strategies to permit a more

flexible schedule. In fact, that’s their

chief way of coping with unemploy-

ment that’s at a 50-year low of 3.5%

and spells fewer available workers.

Thirty-eight percent of hiring man-

agers are raising pay and 26% allow re-

mote work.

While the 44% share is noteworthy,

it’s lower than the other measures be-

cause it’s likely capturing only em-

ployers that have adopted formal

strategies to make flexible schedules

work over the long term and are confi-

dent enough to tout the policy to job

seekers, Yost says.

Some companies don’t formalize

flexible work arrangements because

they want to offer them quietly to cer-

tain employees rather than across the

board, says Sara Sutton, CEO of Flex-

Jobs, which posts jobs for remote,

part-time and freelance work and pro-

vides related consulting services.

That, she says, causes jealousy.

Millennials started it all

The shift to more flexible work set-

ups has been driven by millennials,

who could complete and submit their

college assignments anytime, any-

where as a result of the prevalence of

Wi-Fi, smartphones and email, Sutton

says. They also yearn for a healthy

work-life balance.

“They grew up with this,” she says.

Seventy-seven percent of employ-

ees consider flexible work a major con-

sideration in their job searches, ac-

cording to Zenefits, which provides

human resource software.

Businesses are responding, largely

because they have little choice in the

hypercompetitive labor market, Yost

says.

Technology such as smartphones,

cloud computing and work collabora-

tion tools such as Slack also have

paved the way. So has a work culture

that often requires employees to an-

swer emails late at night. Companies

can hardly ask workers to make such

sacrifices without providing them more

leeway to adjust their hours or location

during the workday, Yost says.

Yet increased flexibility also boosts

productivity, Yost says. Sixty percent of

employees with workplace flexibility

said they feel more productive and en-

gaged and 45% say it increases their

ability to work effectively with their

team, according to the Flex + Strategy

survey.

Why? The ability to shift hours to

avoid rush-hour traffic, for example, in-

creases efficiency. Some people are

more productive late at night than mid-

morning. And employees granted flexi-

ble hours are more loyal and motivated.

“When you give people flexibility,

they will give you more,” Yost says.

Last year, Sara Martlage, 31, left a

sales job where she felt chained to a

desk for a similar role at Scottsdale, Ari-

zona-based Trainual, which provides

employee training software. While the

official hours are 8 to 5, Martlage can

come in later to attend a workout or yoga

class, run errands midday and work

from home as much as half the time.

“It’s empowering to have authority

over your schedule,” she says. “It makes

me want to work harder, be available to

take calls and answer email some nights

and weekends.”

Flex hours as a recruitment tool

Chris Ronzio, CEO of Trainual, says

he adopted flexible hours about two

years ago, chiefly to attract workers.

Four recent hires, he says, accepted job

offers because of the policy. And it has

freed him from keeping a detailed ledger

of employees’ time.

“We’re putting more trust into our

team, and measuring them more by the

results they produce than by the hours

they log,” Ronzio says.

The 19-employee firm has begun

tracking monthly and quarterly sales

figures more closely to ensure workers

are meeting targets.

Other companies have hit some

bumps along the way. GoBrandgo, a St.

Louis marketing company, began letting

employees set their own hours and work

from anywhere about 10 years ago, says

partner Brandon Dempsey.

At first, he said, it bred resentment

because each division had a different

standard for flexible hours.

Several years ago, he says, the com-

pany started an online calendar that

employees fill out at the start of the

week, letting colleagues know when

they’re working and when they’re out,

as well as project management software

that tracks the status of every job.

“Everybody knows the rules of the

game now,” Dempsey says.

Nicole Turner, 33, the creative direc-

tor, routinely has put in five or six hours

during the day at the office and then

toiled at home from 7 p.m. to as late as 2

a.m.

“I’m more creative late at night,” she

says.

“No one’s looking over me and micro-

managing me,” she says.

Flexible

Continued from Page 1B

Flexible hours aim to help balance work and life.BRIANAJACKSON/GETTY IMAGES