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.
The Terminology of Housing Market Progression
You’ve probably heard terms like “major metro,” “primary metro area,” “secondary market,” and “tertiary market” when reading market analyses. This nomenclature is “slippery” and often relies heavily on context and speaker intent to make sense of it and apply the commentary to your specific investment goals and strategies. Here, we ...
3 Cities Paying New Residents to Relocate
While the national housing market has been officially “in recovery” from the housing crash and Great Recession for quite some time now, some cities are facing a serious population shortage that is being exacerbated as current residents age, retire from the work force, and often move elsewhere. To combat this ...
Many Property Owners Lack Sufficient Disaster Insurance
Hurricane season is underway in the United States, and a lot of homeowners who could get hit by bad weather are not adequately insured against potential damages. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the issue lies mainly in a lack of flood insurance, which usually must be purchased from ...
3 Red Flags for Airbnb Investors
Airbnb is one of the most disruptive short-term rental platforms in the world right now, and that description is both complimentary and pejorative, depending on the source. According to the company’s head of global policy, Chris Lehane, Airbnb uses “technology to create economic empowerment.” However, many city officials (not to ...
Texas Federal Court Warns FHFA Leadership Structure Could be “Unconstitutional”
The leadership structure for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which was created in 2008 to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is under fire from a Texas appeals court. The court, which is comprised of a three-judge panel, recently ruled that the FHFA “defies the Constitution because it does ...
Nearly One-Third of NAR Members Have Less Than Two Years’ Experience
Despite tight housing inventories and tough competition, more and more people are jumping into real estate as registered realtors. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)’s 2018 member Profile, just about one in three realtors has two years’ worth of experience or fewer and the realtor population has grown ...
Gary, Indiana, Puts Millions in School Buildings on the Market
For 20 years in some cases, public school buildings in Gary, Indiana, have sat vacant as a target for vandalism, looting, and arson. Now, the Gary School Community Corporation is hoping real estate investors with an eye for community development will come into the area, buy the buildings, and help ...
4 Simple Rules When Buying a Home Near Flood-Prone Areas
Houstonians get nervous every spring because frequent torrential downpours often result in serious flooding. This year, Houston is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey and must already start planning for a new hurricane season, which officially began June 1. For real estate investors, these issues are top-of-mind when considering homes in ...
10 Hard Questions to Ask Before Investing in a Commercial Partnership Deal
Real estate has always been regarded as an equal-opportunity wealth creator. However, caveat emptor: Real estate historically has been full of scams. Based on my experience managing distressed real estate funds, that fear of being deceived and losing it all is the number one reason why smaller investors don’t invest ...
Thieves Target New-Home Construction
A new construction building boom is usually a good thing these days, but new construction may lead to a booming burglary business as well. The problem is particularly serious in California cities like Roseville, where police are receiving an unusually high volume of reports of theft from new and under-construction ...
Smaller Kitchens Could Make a Comeback Thanks to Changing Dining Practices
A recent report from investment firm UBS suggested boldly that the kitchen as we currently know it, a central location in the home used for food preparation and family camaraderie, could soon be gone for good. USB analysts certainly took the speculative process to the extreme as they highlighted the ...
Southwestern Florida Housing Market Struggles with Smelly Algae Invasion
As green algae blooms in the waters of southwest Florida, local real estate professionals are preparing to take a hit. Even if the algae is not presently growing in local waters, real estate deals are falling through and, in some cases, home values are taking a hit. One Sanibel real ...
Former “Foreclosure Capital” Debuts Universal Basic Income Program
In 2012, one in every 135 homes in Stockton, California, was in foreclosure and the city was in bankruptcy protection. Although the area’s housing market is certainly now in recovery mode, local officials believe that many residents still need something extra to help them make ends meet. As a result, ...
3 Ways to Invest in Secondary Mortgage Notes
Back in 2005, it was clear to those of us who looked closely that the housing market was sitting on unstable ground. When lenders are freely lending money to borrowers with low credit scores (in the 500s) at combined loan-to-value (LTV) ratios of 103 on a stated income with no ...
3 Worst States for Foreclosure Halfway Through 2018
Although foreclosure starts are still falling midway through 2018, the rates are actually rising in 40% of local markets according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ Midyear 2018 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The report indicated a total of 362,275 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings. Those filings include default notices, scheduled auctions, and ...
Millennial Homeownership Trends Linked to Wealth Disparities
The decision to delay homeownership could have some unexpected effects on younger generations, especially Millennials. According to the Urban Institute (UI), the Millennial generation’s move from renting to homeownership has been “sluggish,” which could create problems for these individuals far into the future. In fact, UI relates lower rates of ...
Online Retail Bolsters a U.S. Industrial Building Boom
Every time you make a purchase on Amazon or using another online retailer, you contribute to a real estate boom most people may not notice. “For every $1 billion of digital retail sales, shipping requirements gobble up more than 1.2 million square feet of warehouse space,” reported CBRE head of ...
Hurricane Irma’s Effects Linger in Southwest Florida
When Hurricane Irma blew through the southeast in the early Fall of 2017, it was the strongest Atlantic basin hurricane ever recorded. The hurricane stretched 650 miles from east to west, affected nine U.S. states, and flooded Jacksonville, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina, before it dissipated. During the storm, millions ...
Freddie Mac Offers Automated Appraisals for Some Condo Buyers
Freddie Mac’s automated collateral evaluation (ACE) program is designed to help borrowers save money on appraisals and make faster purchases in certain scenarios. The ACE program was initially designed to “assess the need for a traditional appraisal by leveraging proprietary models and using data from multiple listing services and public ...
Colorado Mall Fights “Dead Mall” Syndrome with “Experiential Attractions”
As the term “dead mall” becomes increasingly common, the owners and managers of indoor malls are shifting their focus away from anchor stores toward “lifestyle hubs” and other attractions. Food courts are now only the beginning, with many malls offering an entire day’s worth of experiences to attract consumers to ...
More Homeowners Turning to Short-Term Rentals as Investment Strategy
About a quarter of all vacation and investment property owners rented those properties out as short-term rentals in 2017, and nearly a third plan to do so in 2018. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly half (45%) of investment buyers report they plan ...
Going Once, Going Twice, Sold: How To Win An Online Real Estate Auction
*Sponsored Content Online real estate auctions are growing in popularity, and not just among investors looking for distressed properties. As the flood of post-housing-crisis foreclosures slows to a trickle, online real estate auctions are gaining more traction among homebuyers looking to purchase a primary residence, too. That may mean more competition, ...
Are Smart-Bathroom Upgrades a Smart Investment Move?
The Internet of Things and the advent of smart little helpers like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home have brought the concept of smart design out of the pages of science fiction and into our daily lives. Yet for many of us, the idea of a smart home stops ...
The 5-Minute Rule for Wildly Successful Digital Lead Generation
In today's competitive real estate investing landscape, lead generation is essential for growing the bottom line. Wholesalers and fix-and-flippers cannot survive without fresh leads! Deal or No Deal? Quality leads turn into appointments and some of those appointments will turn into lucrative deals. High quality leads increase your odds of landing a good ...
Outdoor Showers Could be the Ultimate Upgrade in Certain Markets
Most investors know the value of outdoor living space these days, but many think simply adding a fire pit or a nice patio will suffice to meet picky buyers’ dreams. While this may be true in some markets (after all, Realtor.com recently reported outdoor projects boost home values by “up ...
