“We’ve accepted that a certain percentage of loans, no matter how hard we work, will cancel,” Germanides said. “For example, we tied up a very complex type of deal a couple of weeks ago. It was very attractive bridge financing, extracting the cash out of the home that the borrower wanted to sell, and apply that as a down payment to the new loan. The guy was expecting much higher rates given his situation. He was overjoyed with the loan structure.
“What happened? The inspection came back, lousy. The price was high, and much more work was needed than he had thought on the property inspection. He’s like, ‘It doesn’t make sense to get out of this house for that house.’ A lot of work was done on that, but nothing came from it.”
Single-close construction loans may be the key to easing housing shortages & boosting brokers’ earnings—no second closing, lower risk & FHA/VA/USDA options.https://t.co/Vre1JrtRCx
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) August 26, 2025
Bridge loans are something Germanides has been working on more. As more banks withdrew from the bridge lending business, he founded a boutique bridge lending company called Insignia Capital Corp.
“It’s our direct capital and we’re helping brokers put their clients into attractive bridge financing through a bond fund that we work with on these loans,” he said. “So we’re really excited about that business. It’s a nice complement to our mortgage business, because in the event on our direct brokering something comes up short, you can find cash in another property for those clients, depending on the kind of transaction. So it’s been very good.”
Stay updated with the freshest mortgage news. Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox, and always be the first to know by subscribing to our FREE daily newsletter.
Update 8/28/25: you can also get the extra 5,000 points bonus (105,000 total) with the same spend requirement by applying by phone at 800-392-2775 with priority code GAATB2. (ht MEAB)
The Offer
Direct link to offer
Bank of America has launched the Atmos Rewards Summit Visa Infinite Card with a 100,000 point bonus after $6,000 in spend within 90 days of account opening. Also includes a 25,000-point Global Companion Award
Card Details
Receive a Global 100K Companion Award every year you spend 60,000 or more on purchases in that anniversary year
8 Alaska Lounge passes (a $500+ value) and 8 Wi-Fi passes (a $60+ value) every year (2 of each per calendar quarter). Each pass is valid for your entire travel day and includes entry for up to two accompanying children.
A free checked bag and preferred boarding for you and up to six guests on the same reservation when you pay for your flight with your card
Receive an exclusive signature cocktail or elevated bar offering every time you visit an Alaska Lounge location (through 2026)
Up to a $120 Airport Security Statement Credit every four years in connection with the TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry trusted traveler programs
Partner award booking fee waiver — Save up to $25 per person on every roundtrip flight. For a family of four, that’s $100 in savings
Travel delay protection — receive a $50 voucher for a same-day cancellation or delays of 2+ hours good for a meal or drink on us at the airport
Card earns at the following rates:
3x points on Alaska/Hawaiian purchases
3x points on dining
3x points on foreign transaction purchases
1x points on all other purchases
10% rewards bonus on all points earned from card purchases if you have an eligible Bank of America® account
20% back on all Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines inflight purchases when you pay with your qualifying card
1 status point per $2 spent, and beginning with your first card anniversary, 10,000 status points awarded annually
Our Verdict
We’ve known about this card launching for some time, if you signed up for the 500 free miles last year you can also get another 5,000 free miles by applying through a link they will send you. Overall I don’t think this card is a keeper for most people due to the high annual fee, but could be attractive for the initial sign up bonus. The other Alaska cards also have a 80,000 point bonus currently as well. We will add this to our best credit card bonus page. Read these things everybody should know about Bank of America before applying.
Chip-design giant Nvidia is seeing high demand for its graphics processing units amid rising adoption of agentic AI. The demand is adding to Nvidia’s data center revenue, which increased 56% year over year to $46 billion, according to Nvidia’s fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings results, announced Aug. 27. Financial institutions are prioritizing deployment of agentic AI […]
Let’s be honest: Most real estate investors didn’t get into this game because they love spreadsheets, CRM data entry, or chasing down follow-up texts with leads who ghosted them two weeks ago.
We got into this for the deals. The thrill of the find. The negotiation chess match. The equity upside makes all the headaches almost worth it.
But here’s the problem: The average investor is spending more time managing their business than growing it.
And that’s where the early adopters are quietly pulling ahead, thanks to a not-so-secret weapon: artificial intelligence (AI)-powered systems.
Picture This…
You wake up on a Tuesday. Instead of being greeted by 47 unread emails, a Google Sheet that’s screaming for an update, and a CRM that looks like it was built in 2003, you check your REsimpli dashboard. A motivated seller lead that came in at midnight has already received a follow-up text and been added to your pipeline.
By noon, Lead Score AI has already helped you pinpoint the hottest leads based on follow-up history, score, and deal stage. You close one deal that’s been stuck in limbo, hand off a task to your VA that was automatically assigned, and make it to your kid’s soccer game before kickoff.
It’s not magic. It’s automation.
A Quick Story
I once spent three hours driving across town to meet with a seller who “sounded serious” on the phone. I arrived, knocked on the door, and she informed me that she had sold the house the previous week. “I meant to call you back,” she said, holding a chihuahua that barked the entire time I stood on the porch.
That was the day I swore off doing things the hard way. My follow-up system was a yellow legal pad and a calendar reminder. It was only working just enough to make me think it wasn’t broken.
But it was broken.
If that seller had received a follow-up email, a text, or even a voicemail drop after our first chat, maybe I would’ve closed that deal.
AI Isn’t the Future. It’s the Present.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI is no longer some futuristic buzzword reserved for Silicon Valley nerds or people trying to write screenplays with ChatGPT. It’s quietly powering the most efficient real estate investing operations in the country.
Lead scoring? Automated.
Follow-up calls? Scheduled, personalized, and tracked.
Incoming calls? Let AI Call Answering handle the first ring — capturing details, qualifying leads, and ensuring you never miss an opportunity, even when you can’t pick up.
Call grading? Done by AI while you’re having lunch – reviewing your team’s calls, scoring performance, and highlighting areas for improvement.
And the best part? You don’t have to hire a developer or build custom systems. REsimpli has it all built in and ready to go out of the box.
Why Early Adopters Are Winning
Let’s break it down.
1. Time wins deals
The faster you follow up, the more likely you are to win. According to a study from MIT, leads are 100 times more likely to be contacted if you respond within five minutes. Are you responding that fast? Or are you manually checking your CRM every few hours (if at all)?
With REsimpli’s automations, your follow-up can be instant: text, email, or call, even while you sleep.
2. Systems don’t forget
You might remember to follow up in a week. Or you might forget.
REsimpli doesn’t. With built-in task reminders, Lead Score AI, and automated follow-ups, you’ll know exactly who needs attention and when — so no lead slips through the cracks.
3. Better data = better decisions
REsimpli gives you a full picture of your KPIs: cost per lead, close rate, marketing ROI, and more. AI helps you actually use that data. If you’re spending $5,000 a month on direct mail and your conversions are dipping, you’ll know before your bank account starts crying.
4. Less human error
Let’s face it: We’re all human. We get tired and forget to follow up on leads. We write down phone numbers wrong. We lose sticky notes.
AI doesn’t. Automations keep everything clean and consistent, from first contact to closing table.
“But I’m Old School…”
Cool. But let’s not confuse “old school” with “inefficient.”
Nobody’s asking you to give up the core fundamentals: building relationships, negotiating deals, trusting your gut. Those are your competitive edge.
AI doesn’t replace that. It removes everything that gets in the way.
Imagine cutting your admin time in half. What would you do with those extra hours? Drive more for dollars? Close more follow-ups? Spend time with your family instead of in a spreadsheet?
Why Now Is the Time to Pivot
We’re entering a market where margins are becoming increasingly tight. Lead costs are rising. Motivated sellers aren’t falling out of the sky like they did in 2020.
That means your operation must become leaner, smarter, and faster. The investors who survive and thrive in the next 12 to 24 months won’t be the ones who grind harder; they’ll be the ones who systemize better.
And guess what? Every month you wait to adapt, your competition is closing more deals with less work.
Final Thoughts
The most dangerous phrase in real estate? “This is how I’ve always done it.”
You don’t have to become a tech wizard to level up your business. You just need to start using tools that were built for investors like you.
REsimpli is packed with AI-powered features that do the heavy lifting, so you can focus on what you do best: finding deals, solving problems, and building wealth.
If you’re tired of being buried in admin tasks, missing follow-ups, or wondering why your pipeline dried up, stop doing it all manually. The AI advantage is here. And the early adopters are already cashing the checks.
Ready to join them? Check out REsimpli and see what happens when your systems start working for you.
Often, people move abroad at the request of their employer, and, just as often, the opportunity to be placed overseas for work is given to younger folks, those in the middle of their careers. But for many, that is not the situation. You might be in retirement and looking at moving to far-flung shores … maybe you’re single. If you’d like to supplement your funds—whatever your situation—there…
BMG saw its revenue decline by 7.8% YoY to EUR €424 million (USD $507m) in the first half of 2025, down from €459 million in H1 2024.
That’s according to new interim figures from BMG and its parent Bertelsmann, published today (August 28).
However, the music firm says its “underlying music streaming revenue demonstrated high single-digit growth“.
In its mid-year report, Bertelsmann attributed BMG’s revenue fall to “declining revenues in the publishing and label business and portfolio changes resulting from the sale of [BMG’s] live business”.
In its own press release, BMG added: “The [revenue] decline primarily reflects the disposal of non-core businesses, including the divestment of live.”
On an organic basis – excluding the impact of acquisitions, disposals and currency effects – BMG’s revenue fell by 4.4% YoY in H1 2025.
Bertelsmann commented that this dip in organic revenues “partly reflects BMG’s strategic scaling back of lower-margin activities to focus more on digital revenue sources and long-term profitability“.
Despite the revenue decline, BMG’s operating EBITDA adjusted remained stable at €122 million ($146m), matching the €122 million recorded in H1 2024.
Significantly, that meant BMG recorded a strong EBITDA margin of 28.7% in the first half of 2025, up from 26.5% in H1 2024.
BMG CEO Thomas Coesfeld said: “Our results for the first half of 2025 demonstrate the effectiveness and strength of ourBMG Next business model: disciplined, digital-first, and built for long-term value for all stakeholders.
“Our strategy is rooted in what we do best – music publishing and recorded music – while continuously building new capabilities to enhance our service.
“Our results for the first half of 2025 demonstrate the effectiveness and strength of ourBMG Next business model: disciplined, digital-first, and built for long-term value for all stakeholders.”
Thomas Coesfeld, BMG
“Innovation and technology are the engines driving how we work and how we support our artists and songwriters. We’re building a future-forward music company, uniquely positioned at the intersection of creativity and technology.”
In the full year of 2024, BMG generated EUR €963 million (USD $1.04bn) in annual revenues, up 6.4% YoY or up 8.1% YoY on an organic basis.
Just over 51% of BMG’s €424 million revenues in the H1 2025 period were generated in the United States, with an additional 10.9% in the United Kingdom.
Revenues from Germany contributed 8.0% of the firm’s global total.
BMG generated EUR €31 million in nations outside of Europe/UK and the United States (including LATAM, MENA, and APAC), representing 7.3% of its worldwide turnover in the period.
Source: Bertelsmann interim 2025 report
Catalog acquisitions and artist signings
BMG completed 17 catalog acquisitions during the first six months of 2025, which it said were carried out in line with Bertelsmann’s “Bertelsmann Boost” strategy.
Bertlesmann said those 17 deals brought BMG’s total investment in music rights catalogs since 2021 to around EUR €1.2 billion.
Judging by figures released by the German company earlier this year, this implies that BMG spent around €100 million on catalog buys in H1 2025.
The company also made significant new signings and contract extensions in the first half of the year.
In recorded music, these included OneRepublic, Olly Murs, Evanescence, (G)i-dle, Joyce Wrice, Fredrik, and Jessi.
In BMG’s music publishing business, new signings and extensions included Gareth,James Arthur, Tom Walker, Steven Wilson, Juicy Bae, Sabotage, Robert Harvey, Alok, and Michael Schulte.
Label and publishing standouts
In its label business, BMG enjoyed success in H1 2025 with new releases from Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Wiz Khalifa, Billy Idol and Fantasy.
BMG artist Lainey Wilson won four Country Music Awards and secured the title of “Entertainer of the Year” for the second year in a row.
Three BMG catalog tracks achieved significant streaming milestones during the period. Haddaway’s “What Is Love,” LP’s “Lost on You” and Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” were each streamed over a billion times on Spotify, earning them induction into the Billions Club.
In the publishing business, successful releases included music by Ghost, Pashanim, CMAT, Lewis Capaldi, FKA twigs, and Pulp.
BMG songwriters also contributed significantly to major global hit singles. The company’s writers co-wrote “Die With A Smile” (co-written by Bruno Mars and D’Mile), “APT.” (co-written by Bruno Mars) and “luther” (co-written by roselilah and Kamasi Washington).
At the Grammy Awards, BMG songwriter The-Dream won a Grammy for “Album of the Year” for his co-production of Beyoncé’s global chart-topping album Cowboy Carter, while BMG songwriter Bruno Mars won the award for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” alongside Lady Gaga for “Die With a Smile.”
structural changes and brand refresh
During the first half of the year, BMG combined its sync and production music teams into a unified “Sync+” structure that provides what Bertelsmann calls “a comprehensive solution for repertoire licensing”.
This move was made in line with the firm’s BMG Next strategy.
BMG also expanded its direct licensing agreements with DSPs in H1. The firm says it additionally “advanced [our] direct-to-digital efforts to deliver measurable benefits such as improved access to listening data and audience insights, and enhanced on-platform marketing capabilities”.
Also under the BMG Next banner, the firm says it’s now leaning on GenAI to support marketing content creation, streamline workflows, and enable “more consistent” marketing across its catalog.
BMG has struck strategic partnerships with Google Cloud and OpenAI, among others, to enhance its internal tech stack.
Also in H1, BMG unveiled what it described as “a comprehensive brand refresh, marking a significant milestone in its evolution as a modern music company”.
EUR to USD conversions in this report have been made at the average rate for the period according to the European Central Bank
Frontier Airlines has announced an exclusive offer for members of select loyalty programs with other airlines. For a limited time, if you have any level of loyalty program membership with Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Spirit Airlines or Alaska Airlines, you can upgrade to Frontier Elite Gold status through December 2026 for just $69.
You must be an existing loyalty member prior to August 18, 2025 of one Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines or Spirit Airlines to apply for this offer.
To take advantage of this offer, existing members of qualifying loyalty programs need to provide their membership information along with the $69 application fee by September 9, 2025.
Frontier Gold Benefits
Elite Gold members enjoy some valuable perks such as”
A free carry-on bag
Zone 1 priority boarding
Priority customer care
Free preferred seat selection
Complimentary upgrades to premium seating at check-in and UpFront Plus seating four hours before departure
Elite Gold members also earn miles faster – 14X per $1 spent on eligible Frontier purchases – making it easier to reach Elite Platinum or Elite Diamond status. Platinum and Diamond members now enjoy unlimited companion travel, and in late 2025 Frontier will debut First Class seating across its network, offering unmatched comfort and space at ultra-low fares.
Important Terms
All applicants must be current members of the FRONTIER Miles program. If you’re not currently enrolled, you may do so here.
Eligible members must hold a valid Rapid Rewards®, TrueBlue®, Free Spirit®, or Mileage Plan™ membership (joined before August 19th, 2025) and provide details.
The FRONTIER Miles Elite Gold status offer is valid for purchase for a limited time. The offer may change or be withdrawn at any time, including but not limited to the fees and validity period.
All fees, which are subject to change at any time without notice, will be marked and shown before any payments are collected.
The Instant FRONTIER Miles Elite status offer provides eligible and approved members Frontier Elite Gold status through December 31, 2026.
Once your Frontier Miles account has been upgraded to Gold status, no refunds are permitted under this offer.
Any refunds provided will result in immediate revocation of Gold status and loss of any associated benefits.
The upgrade to the member account will be processed within 24-48 hours.
Members must use the same email address in their FRONTIER Miles account on the status offer.
Members may be asked to provide additional identification before activating purchased services or products.
Purchasing this offer will not extend any existing Frontier status.
Members who have previously done a Status Match are eligible for this offer if they meet the criteria.
FRONTIER Miles Elite Status benefits cannot be applied to existing bookings to replace ancillary selections already paid for. Only where ancillary items such as seat selection or bags are not already paid for can the new status benefits be applied. No refund of these ancillary selections is allowed.
If you qualified for the status match campaign for Southwest Rapid Rewards® members earlier this year, you are not eligible for this promotion.
