Owning a rental is similar to owning a pet. While you don’t need to house train your rental property, there are several hidden costs with owning a pet and with owning real estate. Here are 6 main fees associated with owning real estate: mortgage payments, property management fees, homeowner’s association dues, property insurance, property taxes […]
I seem to attract the real estate inquisitive. Perhaps the most common question I am asked is this: Is real estate investing a smart idea?
“It depends,” I say, as a million questions stream into my mind. Where are you looking to invest? What property type? Fixer upper? Long hold or short? Is the seller motivated? […]
Investors want the highest possible return on their investment; this is the goal and mark of a successful endeavor. After all, low monthly payments equate to a higher cash flow. And the higher cash flow, the higher the return on your investment. But then delightful little fees and payments begin to sneak into the equation, […]
Banks have got to protect themselves, and I understand that–our market depends on it. But wouldn’t it be nice, just daydreaming a bit, if there were no such things as transaction fees, closing fees, or interest rates. Especially interest rates.
“Here you go Mr. Jones. You can just have this loan without any of those unnecessary […]
Healthy competition has a way of pushing us to excel. For example, I always run faster if I’m with a friend versus running along. Well, healthy competition in the market has the same sort of effect. One place this is clearly visible is in the real estate market. Consider a bidding war and what this […]
Life can be a lot like the real estate market; one minute everything’s going right, and the next, things seem to stall and sputter.
Many who invested in real estate properties during the nationwide boom (2001-2005, give or take a year for varying markets) were successful–for a time. We all heard the success stories or got […]
In the third grade I was assigned my first research paper. After a few minutes of thorough thought, I picked my topic–kangaroos; they could jump, they were exotic, and they had a pocket. My mom took me to the downtown library and pretty soon there were four books about the delightful animal in my bag. […]
I was having lunch with a friend the other day (eating some delicious bow-tie pasta) when he asked me, “Do you consider yourself a dreamer or doer?” Interesting question, right? I responded with some sort of non-committal answer, the kind that avoids having to choose between two options.
“Well, I’m a doer who likes to dream.” […]
Real estate agents are a valuable resource to any real estate investor wishing to build a team of professionals. Just like a property manager provides you with sound understanding of the rental market, a real estate agent provides info on the local sales market from both the seller and buyer’s perspective. They tell you which […]
I cannot water ski. I’ve tried it countless times–one day an entire afternoon was spent attempting this impossibility. I can, however, tube. Probably because this requires no skill other than hanging on for dear life, the kind of hanging that leaves your hands throbbing for a bit afterwards.
But I don’t tube alone. I fall off […]