Following The Sunshine

After moving there himself, he started promoting his mortgage business to New Yorkers looking to transition during his frequent travels back up north.“They all complained about the same things — the traffic and the snow,” he remarked. “So I started marketing to them about lower taxes, better weather, and more affordable housing. It helped that some of my friends are in the real estate business in New York, so when they get people that are looking to sell and buy here, they pass on my information.”

Florida has seen an influx of new residents for most of the last century, according to the U.S. Census. The state’s population has grown at nearly double the rate of the nation as a whole, increasing from just over 500,000 people in the year 1900 to 22.6 million in 2023. But just two-and-a-half years after having the nation’s fastest-growing population in December 2022, Florida is now cooling down, housing market-wise.

Following the June 2021 building collapse in Surfside, Fla. that killed 98 people, Fannie and Freddie tightened eligibility standards for Fla. condominium and co-op owners, triggering HOAs to prioritize deferred maintenance and get their building reserves in order. Now, for many in communities along both coasts, the changing climate poses costly risks to housing finance.

With the Florida honeymoon soured by skyrocketing homeowners insurance and HOA fees, Cohn was inspired to pivot his business model.

Watch it on The Interest: Relocating Homebuyers Amid Florida’s Housing Crisis

Not What It Used To Be

“Buyers here in Florida are like, alright, I can’t afford a house, let me look at a condo,” he said. “But then when you pull up the condo fees, it’s $1,500 to $1,600 a month just to live in those buildings.”

More than one-fifth of homebuyers canceled their purchase agreements this June in the Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville metropolitan areas. That was the highest rate in the country, according to Redfin data.

Miami-Dade County, where 38.9% of homes face high flood risk, saw a net outflow of 47,597 people in 2023 — more than almost any other county in the nation.

Nationwide the average annual homeowners insurance rate is expected to rise 6% this year to $2,522, according to Insurify. In Fla. that rate is currently higher than any other state, averaging $10,996 a year.

For Cohn, who is now also licensed to originate in Georgia, Maryland, both Carolinas, and Virginia, the issue hits close to home, pun intended.

“My HOA fee started out at about $300 a month. It’s now touching $800 and they predict that next year it’s going to be $1,000 a month,” he said. “Besides home prices being three times what they were prior to the pandemic, it’s a crazy fee to pay just to be in Delray Beach.”

A real estate investor with properties in North Carolina, Cohn is considering crossing state lines into a new home himself.

“I am definitely strongly considering it. Matter of fact, once one of my tenants moves out of one of my properties, I’ll probably be moving into it,” he told NMP.

He found a way to double his business in 2023 by helping the very same borrowers he once moved from NY to Fla. into new homes in North Carolina and surrounding areas.

“I just want to be diversified, because right now in Florida, it’s very hard — especially in my area — for somebody getting started to buy an $800,000 home,” Cohn explained. “So that’s why I wanted to be in other markets where there’s better affordability and still be able to help those first-time buyers.”

His loan volume in 2023 was $29.93 million, per Modex data, with 113 loans — three-quarters of which were purchase transactions.

“I started mainly as somebody that worked on refinances and decided that’s not really a good business focus,” Cohn says. “Around 2013–14, I transitioned more into the purchase business.”

The Real Estate Partner

Staying in front of real estate agents is another way he stays successful, albeit on social media, the telephone, or at events.

“I’m relentless in reaching out to them and kind of showing them how we’re different from other lenders and gaining market share. Usually, within two to three weeks, we’ll get our first referral.”

Cohn works closely with Keller Williams Real Estate Agent Gesenia Alvarado on many of the same deals. Originally from Long Island, Alvarado moved to the Cary, NC area in 2007.

“When I became a real estate agent a lot of lenders started following me on social media and that’s how we connected,” Alvarado said. “Adam is now my preferred lender. I do a lot of volume with him.”

When they first met, Alvarado sent Cohn a Spanish client who wasn’t having good luck with another lender.

“They promised a good rate and at the end of the day, couldn’t get my client to the closing table,” she recalled. “I reached out to Adam and he got it done in no time. Adam is a problem solver. There are a lot of lenders out there who like the star client; Adam likes to help everybody out. He’s willing to do the bad deals most lenders don’t get excited over. When another lender says no, 99% of the time he figures it out.”

Having worked as a loan officer now for almost 20 years, Cohn is well-versed in a variety of loan products and has built a reputation for being the go-to guy for non-traditional loans.

“We specialize in down payment assistance and work with a lot of first-time buyers,” he explained. “What’s becoming even more popular, especially in the Raleigh area, is ITIN mortgages.”

Recent U.S. immigrants are issued individual tax identification numbers (ITINs) by the government in place of social security numbers. After establishing good credit and income, they can qualify for a home loan through the proper channels.

Cohn works with borrowers to secure ITIN loans, as well as other Non-QM products such as 1099 or bank statement loans.

“We do it all,” he said. “We’re a one-stop shop for an agent that wants to best serve their clients. If there’s a program out there, we got it. We’ll do the easy stuff, but we’ll do the hard stuff as well. If there’s a bank that’s offering something better, we can broker it.”

The pair tag team when it comes to relocating New Englanders and those from the Tri-State Area, cluing them in on the best locales for their lifestyle and price point.

“Because we’re from up north, we can relate to people,” Alvarado pointed out. “We know the sense of community they’re looking for, the good schools, we are able to get these people what they want.”

‘Not Just This Farmland’

While their prime relocation destination used to be Florida, seeds of interest are popping up among other southern locales that just happen to be more affordable these days.

North Carolina hot spots for northern transplants include Wilmington, Raleigh, Holly Springs, and Apex.

“The schools are good, the property taxes are good,” Alvarado said. “We have a good economy here. You can give your family a better quality of life.”

Cohn’s friends back in NY scoffed at him when he said that the Carolinas could offer them what Fla. once could — the life of their dreams.

“They’re like, what are you gonna do there? I actually went there and fell in love with it.”

Apex has ranked in recent years among Money Magazine’s Top 100 Best Places To Live in America, also placing #12 in WalletHub’s 2023 list, Best Small Cities in America.

Both Carolinas are known for their outdoor activities and good quality of life and are home to picturesque coastal areas, mountains, and golf courses. For those who need a break from Florida’s heat and Northeast winters, it’s a welcome reprieve.

“People started to go down there and say, ‘Wow yeah, you’re right, It’s not just this farmland that we thought it was.’ We started getting a lot of New Yorkers who once complained about the snow and bought in Florida, now they’re complaining about the heat. So they kind of wanted that middle ground.”

While many LOs tend to focus their business in one state, branching out has given Cohn an advantage in challenging times. Being an investor is another plus.

“Most of the loan officers that I know, they don’t have investments,” he observed. “If I was a loan officer [who] didn’t put my money where my mouth is, who am I to give investment advice? I wanted to get my feet wet, learn it, and feel like I can have a better conversation with an investor being one myself.”

2024 has been a challenging year for everyone in the business, but Cohn is confident that he has a strong future ahead of him.

“The year started out a little bit slower, but that quickly changed. We have a lot of loans in our pipeline. The next couple of months, you’ll see a big bump in our volume.”

On a potential boom in the Carolinas — similar to what Florida saw in recent years — it would not surprise Cohn.

“If you look at the inflows of people in the Raleigh or Charleston area, a lot are moving from Florida over that way, or even directly from New York,” he said.

If home mortgages continue to be in demand in these regions, he and other MLOs will be in them to win them.

“I plan to do this until I can’t do it anymore,” Cohn said. “I may move to either North or South Carolina, but I’m not going anywhere. I love this business.”