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.
Five Homeowners Accused of Fraudulently Paying Mortgages
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has accused five of the state’s residents of fraudulently paying mortgages. They used fake money orders, fake cashier’s checks, and other fraudulent documents and then purchased luxury cars. One individual is accused of sending a fake money order for $432,000 ...
What’s Next for the Original “Brady Bunch” House?
After a fierce bidding war, HGTV walked away with the deed to the old 'Brady Bunch' house used in the 1970s sitcom. The property, located in Studio City, California, was last sold in 1973 for $61,000. “The Brady Bunch” had ended the year before. The property is reportedly the second-most ...
Think Realty’s 2018 Mid-Year List of Notable Turnkey Rental Real Estate Markets
Turnkey real estate investing, the strategy of purchasing real estate investments that will be managed, ideally A-to-Z, by another party, is one of the most popular ways for capital-rich investors to place assets in a real estate investment vehicle, such as a cash-flowing turnkey rental property. These properties may be: ...
Vegas Shooting Victims to Share Proceeds from Gunman’s Homes
Nevada laws do not require real estate professionals to disclose if a property was owned by a notorious person. Still, Stephen Paddock’s two former residences will not fly under the radar. Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds more in October 2017 when he opened fire on concertgoers from the window ...
$1 Million Cities on the Rise in the U.S.
The United States has 197 $1 million cities according to Zillow’s $1 Million City List, which identifies cities with median home values of $1 million or more. 33 of those cities are new additions within the past 12 months, and Zillow analysts predict another 23 cities will join the rankings ...
3 of 4 Home Buyers Will Pass on Homes “Not Right” for Pets
Three-quarters of today's home-buyers who own pets said they would pass up their dream home if the property did not meet their pet’s needs. These numbers make up a portion of the results from a recent survey conducted in July by Harris Research. They interviewed more than 1,000 homeowners who ...
Renovation Rockstar: Historic Home Yields Hidden Treasures
Featured investors: Kathryn Harbour, Realtor with Keller Williams and Steve & Denise Nunley, Steeden Preferred Properties Deal Notes & Numbers: 1935 historic home in Acworth, Georgia. Within walking distance of Lake Acworth, multiple public parks, and the historic downtown Acworth area, home to local dining, boutique retail, an arts district, ...
Announcing the 2018 Think Realty Honors Finalists
Think Realty is proud to announce its 2018 Think Realty Honors finalists today. The finalists are peer-nominated investors who excel within their industry niches. The winners will be recognized at an award banquet on September 21st at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta, preceding Think Realty's Conference and Expo on September ...
High-Volume Lender Making Escrow Optional
One of the country’s highest-volume lenders announced it will allow borrowers to opt into an escrow-free loan structure. United Wholesale Mortgage reports it will waive escrow accounts and fees for all borrowers, regardless of their downpayment size or credit score. The lender predicted borrowers might save as much as $3,625 on ...
Evite Debuts Real Estate Invitations
Electronic invitation website Evite.com recently introduced real estate invitations with themes intended to promote open houses and other industry-related events. The designs, which feature headlines like “Open House,” and “Just Listed,” invite recipients to attend showings for homes. Although most of the designs fall under the website’s “premium” designation, there ...
Zillow Expands Direct-Buyer Program for Second Time This Summer
Zillow announced last week it would expand its direct-buyer program, Zillow Offers, into a fourth market: Denver, Colo. This is just one month after announcing it would expand its direct-buyer program to Atlanta, Ga. By the end of 2018, the program will be operational in four markets, including the two ...
Inventory Climbing in One-Third of Largest U.S. Cities
According to new data from Realtor.com, high-priced local markets around the United States are showing signs of inventory climbing for the first time in months. Since the inventory “turnaround” is concentrated in high-priced markets, the effects of wider availability of housing may not become immediately obvious. This is true for the ...
Fannie Mae Warning: Generational Housing Bubble Forming
Fannie Mae’s Economic and Strategic Research Group recently published a new report in conjunction with University of Southern California researchers in regards to generational housing. According to the report, as baby boomers exit their owner-occupied homes there could be a “void” looming in housing too big for younger generations to ...
Capital One Lays Off More Lending & Mortgage Sector Employees
Capital One announced last week it will lay off nearly 300 employees from its Plano, Texas campus as part of its ongoing termination of the company’s mortgage lending and home equity operations. These employees are part of a larger population of 950 employees laid off last November, although a small ...
Home Renovation Returns are Falling
As a real estate investor, to take on a home renovation there is an art to “forcing appreciation” or, as it is more commonly described, “adding value” to a property. The process usually involves a series of upgrades and home renovations to an existing property in order to bring the ...
The Truth About “Totally Passive” Income from Syndications
Back in 2010, a long-time developer asked if I could raise $3 million to acquire a foreclosed subdivision worth about $15 million. At the time, I had been helping California investors find foreclosures nationwide. Pooling funds to buy a foreclosed subdivision was something completely new to my network and to ...
Think Realty’s Newest Resident Expert: Shawn Woedl
Title and affiliations: Senior Vice President of National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG), former Vice President of CORE Insurance Group, former Vice President of the National Condo and Apartment Insurance Group Courses: • Intro to Risk Management • Protecting Yourself and Your Properties • Insuring Your Fix-and-Flips Experience: Shawn Woedl ...
Sourcing True Success in Housing
Today’s first order of business for Stephen Rosenberg, CEO of commercial real estate lending, investment, and advisory firm Greystone & Co., is simple, but it may catch the uninitiated by surprise. It is not, for example, allocating the approximately $30 billion in assets that his company manages, nor is it ...
Investment Company Faces Negative Press After Investigative Report
The investment company holding the most single-family homes in the United States, Invitations Homes Inc., has received negative press and is now being accused of improper maintenance with its rentals. The fallout could include a class action lawsuit and according to Reuters, issues include plumbing problems, leaks, and spider infestations. While ...
Smoking Can Decrease Resale Value by Nearly a Third
Most real estate investors know that a “smoking home” can be a bear to clean up. However, the issue may go far beyond the cost of smoke and stain removal. According to a new report from Realtor.com, smoking in a home can reduce property value by up to 29 percent ...
Funding Options for Fix and Flips
This content is sponsored by Sunset Equity. Learn more about Sunset Equity here. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget] Are you interested in beginning to fix-and-flip houses for profit? If you are, in fact, interested in entering the growing marketplace for flippers, you must have a lot of questions. Unless you have caches of ...
National Flood Insurance Program Extended
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through November. The program is the only option for many homeowners who live in areas threatened by flooding during hurricane season. It has come under attack for charging premiums much lower than the ...
Buyers’ Kitchen Preferences are Changing
Current homeowners who are planning to buy a new residence within the next decade say their kitchen preferences are changing. According to southeastern homebuilder Ashton Woods’ research, buyer preferences are shifting away from the dominant all-white kitchen motif. The all-white theme still places second, but buyers are looking for more ...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Shawn Woedl, Senior Vice President of National Real Estate Insurance Group (NREIG) and a sought-after industry speaker and educator, has been named Think Realty’s newest Resident Expert. His first three courses are “Intro to Risk Management,” “Protecting Yourself and Your Properties,” and “Insuring Your Fix and ...
Rising Home Values Hitting Pre-Recession Peaks
New research from Zillow indicates that seven out of 35 of the largest U.S. housing markets have regained all value lost during the recession, and that could signal a looming turning point in those markets. Zillow considers a market to have recovered to pre-recession values when more than 95% of ...
