Latest news with #Legg
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
KC house that was offered as HGTV prize sells for $725K. Here's what happened
The winner of the 2024 sweepstakes for 'HGTV Urban Oasis' will not go home to Waldo after all, despite a home there being offered as the grand prize. The reason is a secret second prize option hidden in the rules of the giveaway. Instead, a buyer closed on the Kansas City house for $725,000 on Tuesday, according to Sarah Legg, the real estate agent for the property. The house received seven offers after it was listed in late April, Legg said. In 2023, Legg said she showed the TV production staff four or five houses. HGTV chose this house because 'they wanted something that was close to amenities, kind of in the urban core. They wanted walkability.' The home design cable network bought the house to remodel and give to a lucky viewer. A Memphis-based HGTV designer planned upgrades to the inside and outside, and a camera crew surprised the lucky winner, who already lived in the Kansas City area. According to HGTV, this was the first local winner of their home giveaways, which since 2010 have taken place in cities including New York City, Chicago, Atlanta and Louisville. After the reveal, the winner had a decision: She could take the house, furnishings, fixtures and art, which were valued altogether at almost $670,000, plus a $50,000 cash bonus. Or she couldtake the cash option. This monetary option offered the winner a lump sum of $250,000 instead of the house, plus the $50,000 cash bonus. The Kansas City winner chose the latter, and the home went back on the market. Finances might be why a sweepstakes winner would choose the cash option, Legg said. 'There are tax implications when you win a prize of that nature,' Legg said. Winners must already have a lot of cash on hand to take the house in the sweepstakes, because they have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the government by the time taxes are due. This is because the house counts as income on taxes. With the Kansas City HGTV house, a single person would have to pay approximately $263,000 in income taxes on the house alone, even before income taxes on the cash prize and their own employment income, according to SmartAsset's income tax calculator. In addition, the winner would have to find money for closing fees and property taxes, according to the sweepstakes rules. For the cash option, the winner wouldn't have to front the taxes and the approximately $100,000 in income taxes would be deducted from the lump sum of $300,000, according to SmartAsset. HGTV did not respond to requests for comment or answer how many of its sweepstakes winners chose the houses, but Legg said that it's '50/50 with the network on whether or not the winner actually keeps the home.' With shuttlecock wallpaper in the laundry room and a jazz-themed music room, the house puts Kansas City in the center of the design. Designer Carmeon Hamilton said in a September interview with The Star that the home was inspired by modern and Scandinavian design, along with the metro's character. The royal blue cabinets in the kitchen were meant to echo fireplace tile, but 'once we realized how many sports teams in Kansas City were blue, we knew it would go over very well with the citizens in town,' Hamilton said. The new owners will be less than a 10-minute walk from Kansas City Bier Company, Andy's and Fareway Meat Market. The Star's Lisa Gutierrez contributed to this report.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla's Tumble Nears Its End, Benchmark Analyst Foresees Rebound Ahead
April 14 - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has lost nearly half its value since peaking in December, but Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg believes the downturn may be short-lived. Shares have dropped 47% amid a mix of political and operational setbacks. Legg attributes the slump to political blowback from CEO Elon Musk's growing involvement in U.S. politics, along with broader headwinds, including soft first-quarter sales, regulatory uncertainty, and rising competition in the electric vehicle space. He also pointed to an aging product lineup and delays in new model releases as weighing on investor sentiment. However, Legg emphasized that many of these challenges appear temporary. As the year progresses, we believe political overhang could ease, and Tesla's longer-term opportunity remains intact, he said. He added that speculation over Musk's diminishing influence in the new U.S. administration may help ease brand tensions and bring back sidelined investors. On Monday, Tesla stock was up 1.5% in pre-market trading. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Why Tesla Stock Is Soaring Today Even as Tariff Trouble Mounts
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are rebounding on Wednesday. The electric vehicle (EV) stock gained 5.2% as of 1:05 p.m. ET after gaining 6.4% earlier in the day. The bounce comes as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were green even as more retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. were announced. A Wall Street firm added Tesla to its "best ideas" list despite recent troubles, claiming the stock sell-off is overdone. Benchmark analyst Mickey Legg released a bullish research note on Wednesday, adding Tesla to the firm's "best ideas" list. The analyst acknowledged the stock's recent struggles amid declining sales but said he believes concerns "are overblown considering the near-term issues impacting the company and the scope of opportunities around the corner." Legg did lower his price target to $350 from $475, but that still represents a large upside from the stock's current price around $230. Benchmark maintained a buy rating on the stock. The analyst's optimism centers on Tesla's anticipated product launches that could reverse the company's recent sales decline. "Our focus is on the release of a new TSLA model in [the 2025 second quarter], which in our view could turn around the recent decline in vehicle sales," Legg wrote. He also thinks that Tesla's robotaxi service, scheduled to launch this summer in Austin, Texas, could be a significant catalyst. The company is promising the release of a personal robot named Optimus. Legg describes it as a possible game changer that transforms the company from a vehicle manufacturer into a broad automation provider. This aligns with CEO Elon Musk's recent statement that Tesla plans to build 5,000 Optimus robots this year. While these plans could indeed be a game changer, their success is far from guaranteed. Neither is the timeline of their release. Musk has a history of big promises that fail to materialize. It's been nearly a decade since the enigmatic CEO chief said that his cars would soon be fully autonomous, but he still has yet to deliver on that core promise. I would avoid Tesla stock for the time being. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $249,730!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $32,689!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $469,399!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of April 5, 2025 Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why Tesla Stock Is Soaring Today Even as Tariff Trouble Mounts was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Named 'Best Idea' at Benchmark, Cites Robotaxi Rollout as Major Catalyst
April 9 - Benchmark kept its upbeat stance on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and added the electric vehicle maker to its "Best Ideas" list on Wednesday, even as the stock remains sharply lower year to date. Analyst Mickey Legg acknowledged recent sales softness but called the market reaction "overdone," citing a pipeline of potential catalysts that could reverse sentiment in the coming quarters. Key among those is a new vehicle expected to debut in the second quarter. Legg also flagged Tesla's planned rollout of a limited robotaxi service in Austin, Texas this June, noting the firm is watching the speed of its expansion both locally and in other U.S. cities. Additional growth drivers include the commercialization of Tesla's full self-driving software, possible government contracts, and progress on Optimus, the company's humanoid robotics initiative. Benchmark lowered its price target on the stock to $350 from $475, but said the broader automation potential keeps Tesla attractive long-term. Shares of Tesla are down about 31% so far in 2025, underperforming major indexes amid sluggish delivery numbers and broader EV demand concerns. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pasco school district pulls plug on dedicated early learning center
The Pasco County school district's first dedicated early learning center will shut its doors after just two years of operation. Mittye P. Locke Early Learning Academy opened in 2023 in New Port Richey with anticipation high that families would flock there for prekindergarten and other programs. The district spent $2 million converting the former elementary school into a 10-classroom center aimed at providing services that were in short supply in the west Pasco community. Things did not turn out as hoped, though. Enrollment in the Voluntary Prekindergarten, Head Start and special education early learning classes started at 106 children, below expectations, shrinking to 82 this year. Only three families have applied to place their 4-year-olds in the site's Voluntary Prekindergarten program for the fall, superintendent John Legg said. The school's programs are losing about $1.5 million annually, he added. 'The model is well intended,' Legg said. 'But parents want programs at the school sites with their other children.' To that end, the district is preparing to place prekindergarten programs at some of the westside elementary schools that have available space. Among the area campuses with capacity are Deer Park, Cotee River, Sunray, Marlowe and Seven Springs elementary. Teams of teachers and administrators are reviewing the schools to determine where adding prekindergarten makes most sense, taking into account criteria such as demand and kindergarten readiness data, deputy superintendent Betsy Kuhn said. The district also plans to relocate its Head Start classes from Locke to a new Metropolitan Ministries center in Holiday. The program has had a waiting list of children, and the district did not receive a federal grant that it sought to expand the program. District teachers will continue to lead Head Start classrooms. To replace the early learning programs, the district will move its alternative Achieve Academy, currently housed at Richey Elementary, over to the Locke campus. It additionally will develop for Locke a transition program for over-age fourth and fifth graders who have had behavior problems at their home schools. That move will allow Richey, which has been among the district's lowest scoring schools on state testing, to have space for additional services in support of its improvement efforts. Because the changes are programmatic, the school board will not vote on them. On Tuesday, it will hold a workshop on the plan, and also decide whether to rename the early learning site as Mittye P. Locke Achievement Academy, reflecting its new mission. School board chairperson Cynthia Armstrong had predicted that the district would have little trouble filling the early learning center. She said she was disappointed the numbers didn't materialize, but acknowledged that families like to keep their young children together for a variety of reasons, including ease of transporting them. 'If something is not working, even if it's something we thought would work, it might be time to try something different,' Armstrong said. The dearth of other early learning services remains in parts of west Pasco, she said, and the district needs to reach more children to help them prepare before kindergarten. 'We want our kids to have early literacy exposure,' said board member Megan Harding. 'We'll still be seeing our kids.' Principal Jomary Schulz, who helped open the early learning center, took to Facebook to say what an honor it was to lead the school. 'This has been super sad for all of us at my school, but all of my staff are guaranteed positions for next year and I too will be placed somewhere,' she wrote. 'Relationships have been built and we will stay strong through this transition!'
