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One-on-One with Shawn Woedl: Busting Real Estate Investing Myths
Shawn Woedl is the Vice President of the National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG), industry-recognized speaker and educator, and an expert on all lines of commercial property insurance. He will be presenting a study on “The 13 Insurance Myths for Real Estate Investors” at Think Realty’s San Diego Group Event ...
When it Gets Real: 4 “Must-haves” Before Buying your First Investment Property
Growing up, my mom and I spent our Sundays at open houses around our Midwestern hometown. We were never actually looking to buy a home; we honestly just loved walking around and dreaming (and yes, Dad, being a little bit nosy). We’d walk through a home and talk about which ...
Can Pension Fund Troubles be Mitigated by Real Estate?
A number of pension funds, both public and private, have recently had difficulties – some have gone insolvent, or are otherwise are on the brink. Most of these funds hold more than half of their assets in equities – even though the famous (and successful) Yale Endowment model stresses the ...
One-to-One with Sonia Booker: Sharing the Vision
Sonia Booker is a powerhouse on the real estate scene. With a strong voice and a powerful message, Booker has one of the most positive and confident networking skill sets in the business. She is now in demand all over the country, as she works to spread her “wealth-building movement.” ...
Are Your Goals and Expectations Realistic?
In a blog post, earlier this year, we talked a lot about goals—and specifically, goals for 2017. Veteran and beginning real estate investors alike will set their goals based on what they want to accomplish in a given year. But are your goals realistic? New and part-time real estate investors ...
UNDERWATER U.S. PROPERTIES DOWN FROM YEAR AGO
ATTOM Data Solutions’ Year-End 2016 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, shows that as of the end of 2016 there were 5.4 million (5,408,323) U.S. properties seriously underwater — where the combined loan amount secured by the property was at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value ...
The long-term forecast from Ten-X’s U.S. Office Market Outlook, released on February 8, 2017, reveals the sector's fundamentals appear to be stalling after years of slow recovery, as vacancy rates have plateaued despite a healthy labor market and growing national economy. The Top Five Buy Markets forecast indicates Portland, Oregon; ...
Trump Suspends “Fiduciary Rule” for Financial Planners
Another swipe of the pen by President Trump will delay - indefinitely - a new rule that was intended to protect consumers from bad financial advice. President Trump signed a "Memorandum on the Fiduciary Duty Rule" the same day he signed an executive order to re-examine Dodd-Frank regulations. This rule would ...
Single-Family Home Vacancy Rates Down
Strong retention rates and fewer lease expirations helped lower the vacancy rates among single-borrower, single-family rental transactions in December 2016, and Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC expects the vacancy rate to improve further in the coming months. The average vacancy rate among single-borrower, single-family rental transactions declined to 5.1 percent in ...
We've been investing in Detroit since 2009. Although we picked Detroit eight years ago, I believe that now is a better time to invest in the city than ever before. Here are six reasons why. Low Purchase Price Home prices in the Detroit area are quite low. Homes that need ...
Make More Money, Get Out of Your REI Comfort Zone
Raise your hand if you are reluctant to move beyond your comfort zone. If you raised your hand, you are not alone. People like being in their comfort zone because it is familiar. We know what to expect. Amazingly, people will stay in their comfort zone even if it isn't ...
Sellers Boasting Biggest Profits Since 2007
If you sold your home in 2016, then the odds are you saw a pretty hefty profit when you checked out that cashier’s check at the closing table. According to ATTOM Data Solutions, homeowners who sold their homes last year saw an average home price gain since purchase of $38,206 ...
3 Risky Moves Most are Willing to Take to Own Real Estate
The “American Dream” of homeownership still has a powerful siren song for many would-be homeowners and it can lead people to do some risky things in order to be able to jingle that special set of door keys in their pocket. According to the Owners.com Home Buyer Study 2017, which ...
New York City’s Housing Trend, Frankenmansions
New York City’s richest homeowners just can’t get enough square footage but they’re willing to go to some pretty great lengths in order to try. The result of the city’s wealthiest real estate buyers’ hard work and extensive renovations conducted with an eye toward wider, more open spaces in their ...
A Good Contractor is as Essential as Salt
“Mr. Plumber, have I told you lately you are the salt of the earth?” Salt, necessary for human life, was once a highly prized commodity that could not be easily accessed in many parts of the world. However, most of us associate salt as nothing more than the inexpensive stuff ...
I still remember the night I made the list. I was babysitting for Tyler and Charlie while their parents went out for dinner and a movie, and after putting the boys to bed, I got to do every middle-school babysitter’s favorite thing: get paid $7/hour to watch TV. I quickly ...
U.S. Cities Dominate Most-Affordable Global List
A recent report from the Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey (DIHA) shows once again that everything is relative and that real estate is first and foremost, always a local issue. The DIHA 2017 measured affordability in 406 metro markets in nine countries around the world and despite nationwide concerns about ...
Next Housing Crunch Could Hit Seniors Where it Hurts
As the 65-and-up population surges over the next 20 years thanks to health innovations, medical progress, and constantly lengthening American lifespans, one thing that is not progressing is the availability of senior housing. According to a recent report published by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS), fewer than ...
2016 Distressed Sale Share Drops to Nine-Year Low
ATTOM Data Solutions’ Year-End 2016 Home Sales report shows 16.2 percent of single-family home and condo sales in 2016 were distressed sales — bank-owned sales, short sales or foreclosure auctions sold to third-party buyers — down from 18.8 percent of all sales in 2015 to the lowest level since 2007, ...
Home Sales off to Slow Start in 2017
Ten-X Residential Real Estate Nowcast indicates a slight year-over-year increase in January existing home sales. According to the Nowcast, January sales will fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 5.32 and 5.67 million, with a targeted number of 5.49 million – the same number of homes sold in December of ...
One-to-One: Eddie Wilson Discusses China, Investing Outlook
Recently, Eddie Wilson, president of Affinity Enterprise Group (AEG), returned from a trip to China to visit AEG’s Chinese division, Affinity Investments Asia (AIA). AIA has a physical office in Shanghai with the sole designated purpose of helping Chinese investors find credible investment opportunities in the United States. The office ...
How to Find the Best Mentor for You
Many people who consider real estate investing can find themselves at a loss, not knowing how to move forward. Then, they quit before they ever get started despite this being a wonderful time to begin real estate investing. Did you know that the No. 1 reason people don't begin investing ...
Changing Dynamics for Retail Centers
Retail properties are recently experiencing a few different trends – some, seemingly contradictory. The sector is doing well, but there are changing dynamics with retail centers that should be examined as part of any investment decision. Department Stores Have Lost Importance Big American department stores like Macy’s are being outmaneuvered ...
I’m a big—no, huge!—anti-guru person. They are a real danger, especially to real estate investors who are just starting out and desperately trying to learn this business. Let me tell you a story to illustrate why I am so emphatic about this. I had a speaking engagement in Chicago recently, ...
US Remains No. 1 Choice for Foreign Real Estate Investors
It's a yearly ritual to find out where international investors will put their money. And, the latest AFIRE survey shows that 95 percent plan to maintain or increase their investments in the United States. But investor "caution" is also rising. The survey by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real ...
