Articles

Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

Articles

Ready to get your read on? Dive into the article archive to help you build wealth through real estate investing. We feature top subject matter experts exploring every facet of the industry.

KHarbour-HISTORICACWORTH-bedroom1-AFTER

Renovating Your Rental Home? Here Are Tips to Do It Right

You’ve made the plunge into the rental market and all has been well for the last few years. But as of late, you’ve begun to wonder if you should renovate your property. It could and probably will help draw in new tenants and you could make more money in rent ...
Marketing Toolkit Must Haves for the Real Estate Investor

Outside the Box: Marketing Different Properties

Real estate professionals in 2020 may benefit from rethinking their listing marketing strategies. Here’s the traditional flow: The agent signs a listing and enters it into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). On the appropriate date, she saves the listing as active. The agent then initiates--sometimes this is handled by an ...
Announcement: We are rescheduling our Baltimore Think Realty Conference & Expo to October 24 & 25, 2020

Announcement: We are rescheduling our Baltimore Think Realty Conference & Expo to October 24 & 25, 2020

Given the current status with Covid-19 and Maryland restrictions on how many people are allowed at gatherings, we have made the decision to again postpone the Baltimore conference until October 24-25, 2020.  We originally thought that by pushing into July we could avoid having to reschedule again, but unfortunately that ...
How to Keep Calm and Pivot Your Fix and Flip During COVID-19

How to Keep Calm and Pivot Your Fix and Flip During COVID-19

What a difference a few short months can make. Back in February of this year, mortgage applications reached an 11-year high and it’s safe to say that no one in real estate, or any industry for that matter, foresaw what was about to happen. By April, sales of existing homes ...
How to Virtually Showcase Your Rental Property

How to Virtually Showcase Your Rental Property

Now more than ever, renters are making leasing decisions virtually. According to research conducted in a partnership between Apartments.com and Kingsley Associates, virtual tour mentions in email leads increased over 140% from March to April 2020, making it that much more important that your property is equipped to handle such ...
outdoor living

Outdoor Living: Summer’s Big Value-Add in Real Estate

As summer begins and most states initiate some form of economic reopening, there are many signals indicating that outdoor living is going to be the “big boost” for real estate this summer. With slow spring sales pushing many buyers’ home-seeking activities into the summer months, this probably would have happened ...
Mitigate Risk with Build-for-Rent

Mitigate Risk with Build-for-Rent

In early April, I read a well-known real estate website and came across an article that discussed potential ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis on the real estate market. In one scenario, the article stated that potential listings will remain low, interest rates will remain low, and homes are likely to ...
Economic Zombies and the COVID-19 Crisis

Economic Zombies and the COVID-19 Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll. The deadly infection has spared no nation. Millions have contracted the disease and hundreds of thousands have died. However, in the United States a broad-based reopening of our economy is underway. States feared that remaining shutdown would rock the economy to its very ...
Realty Matters: Risk Management

Realty Matters: Risk Management

When talking to prospective clients for my property management business, I always say, “rental property management is really about Risk Management.” I often tell the story of a client, who had previously decided to self-manage. Although he always tried to do the right thing, a small, innocent error led to ...
Talking Loudly: Navigating Through Turbulence

Talking Loudly: Navigating Through Turbulence

| Nathan Trunfio | Article | Funding
Since COVID-19 has necessitated social distancing and closing non-essential businesses, it has slowed the economy and caused concern amongst Wall Street and the capital markets. Investment banks like Goldman Sachs have predicted the U.S. GDP will shrink by 34 percent in the second quarter.   Now, major housing lenders have updated ...
Passion with a Purpose

Passion with a Purpose

| Katie Bean | Article | Profiles
In his early days of real estate investing, Joe Fairless was living in an unairconditioned apartment, attending Rich Dad Poor Dad seminars and taking improv and standup classes. Each was a formative experience that led to his national success as a real estate investor, businessman, author, and famed podcaster of ...
Reducing Risk in Rental Properties

Reducing Risk in Rental Properties

There is always some risk associated with buying a property for the sole purpose of renting it out, whether on a monthly or a daily basis. But regardless of rental timelines, here is a checklist to follow that will help reduce your real estate investment risks.  Budget Rationally  The first ...
Presidents’ Circle

Presidents’ Circle

The Presidents’ Circle is a select group of top-performing executives from both the private lending and real estate investing industries who gather at exclusive events to network, learn, and tackle challenges in a confidential setting. This month, we asked Presidents’ Circle member and Think Realty podcast host Abhi Golhar: What ...
A Real Risk Assessment

A Real Risk Assessment

How many of you have heard knowledgeable real estate investors discuss risk? In sober tones they describe “risks” like loss of tenants, market risk, title claims, competition. And their “risk management” approaches are to always buy title insurance, don’t build if there are other projects in the pipeline, only buy ...
Office Depot

Is Long-term Co-working a Thing of the Past?

Commercial real estate’s co-working industry is going to feel an impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the economy on an uncertain path and social distancing requirements in place, it may take time before new leases are inked for the spaces and employees feel comfortable using shared space. Co-working allows workers ...
Landlords

More Rent Payments Made in May

The majority of single-family tenants are current with their May rent payments, according to a nationwide survey released by the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®). The survey was conducted among NARPM’s 6,500 members with 909 responses. Over 60 percent of property managers reported that 91 to 100 percent ...
Grow Your Business Webinar With Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions

Grow Your Business Webinar With Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions

Please join us for an exclusive educational webinar on Wednesday, July 22nd at 12PM (CST) to learn more about growing your business through concrete preparation, polishing and maintenance. Topics Include: • Potential new revenue streams • Concrete preparation, polishing and maintenance • Training and support • Open discussion and on-line ...
Off market deals

Preventing Tenant Fraud

Even the most seasoned property managers fall victim to tenant fraud. According to a 2020 survey conducted by ReRez Research of 100 property professionals, two-thirds of them experienced losses due to fraudulent rental applications. As for the remaining third? Just give it time: applicant fraud is on the rise and ...
Concrete 101 Webinar with Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions

Concrete 101 Webinar with Sunbelt Rentals Flooring Solutions

Please join us on Wednesday, July 15th at 12PM (CST) for an exclusive educational webinar to learn basic information about concrete properties and equipment selection. Topics Include: • Concrete properties and surface profiles • Equipment and tooling selection • Overview of polishing process • Open discussion and on-line Q&A Don't ...
2018 Redfin Report Open Houses

iBuyers Re-enter Flipping Market

| Tom Olson | Article | Market & Trends
Two iBuyer giants, Zillow and Redfin, have announced they are ready to reenter the home-flipping market. Is the return of iBuyers a negative development for investors or could this be a sign that will create positive consumer sentiment and result in a resurgence in the house-hunting market? When Zillow Offers ...
Housing-Market-Stability

10 Best Cashflow Markets in Light of COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the game in many industries and real estate is no exception. With the stock market underperforming and the economy reeling from shelter-in-place orders, investors may be wondering where to put their cash. Historically, residential real estate has proven relatively stable amidst other failing economic factors ...
Foreclosure Buyers Respond to COVID-19

Foreclosure Buyers Respond to COVID-19

Auction.com has just published its Q2 2020 Foreclosure Buyer Insights report, which sheds light on how real estate investors on the frontlines of the housing market are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing market turmoil. Here are some high-level findings: 61 percent of investors now say online auctions are ...
Perspectives: Follow Up Is Crucial Now

Perspectives: Follow Up Is Crucial Now

| Danny Johnson | Article | Operations
The full effects of COVID-19 on the real estate market are not yet known. If you are buying houses to flip or for long-term investment, do you really know what the value will be in the coming months and years? All we have are trends, and we know the real ...
Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Property Types That Will Thrive Post-Coronavirus

Commercial real estate, like many other industries, has taken a serious hit from Coronavirus shutdowns. Businesses cannot afford their lease payments because they’ve been forced to close. Tenants cannot pay rent because they’ve lost their jobs. And commercial property owners are having to deal with the fallout. While some commercial ...
The Effects of COVID-19 for Landlords

The Effects of COVID-19 for Landlords

The novel coronavirus has rocked economies across the globe. Stay-at-home orders have affected businesses and millions of Americans’ jobs, with projections that the unemployment rate could be nearing the 15% mark — the highest level since 1940. For real estate investors and landlords this has a very real impact — ...