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.

Hurricane Season

Hurricane Season Begins with 7 Million Homes at Risk

The official start of hurricane season was June 1 this year, and in preparation, CoreLogic released a memo on the topic. “This year, nearly 7 million homes are at risk of a hurricane storm surge,” CoreLogic analysts wrote. Their analysis was based on data from 2017 and forecasts from the ...
First-Time-Homebuyer

First-Time Homebuyers Make Up Nearly Half Q1 Freddie Mac Financing

According to Freddie Mac’s first-quarter home lending data, nearly half of all borrowers who took out home mortgages during the first three months of this year were first-time homebuyers. Those borrowers’ median age is 32, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Freddie Mac chief economist Sam Khater called ...
For Rent Sign

Changes in Rental Rates Spark Investor Interest

National rental rates increased by two percent in May 2018 over May 2017, the slowest rate of increase since 2010. However, reported RentCafé analysts, rents still rose in 79 percent of the country’s largest metro areas, were unchanged in 17 percent of those areas, and fell in only four percent ...
Bandit Signs

California Agent Fined for Use of Bandit Signs

Most real estate investors have used a bandit sign or two in their real estate investing. These signs, which tend to populate nearly every high-traffic corner over most weekends in most areas of the country,are a low-budget, high-return advertising option and also are a great source of real estate deal ...
Phishing-Scam

Fake NAR Emails Could be a Phishing Scam

If you get an email from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) this week, be sure to look for the logo before you respond. The association issued a warning yesterday that NAR members are receiving “suspicious emails” designed to appear as if they are from the NAR (they are not) ...
Keeping Housing Simple

Keeping Housing Simple

For more than 10 years, Rick Sharga has been the voice of change in the real estate industry. That is not something the now-renowned housing and foreclosure expert will ever tell you he saw coming. When Sharga, now executive vice president at Carrington Mortgage Holdings, joined the real estate space in ...
Hawaii-Volcano

Lava-Buried Hawaii Homes Built Despite Volcano Risk

One of the most affordable places to live in Hawaii is no longer the bargain it has been for nearly 80 years. According to the Wall Street Journal, multiple subdivisions built in the Lower Puna area of the Big Island are now threatened by the Kilauea volcano’s ongoing eruption, which ...
townhouses

Expert Financing: The Key to Successfully Owning 8,000 Multifamily Units

The quote "I owe. I owe. It's off to work I go!" is one of the most frequently repeated lines I hear about debt. Thankfully, an early mentor of mine told me that the real best quote about debt is, "Only borrow against income-producing assets." He said it was the ...
3 Things a Blueprint Can Tell You About Your Investment Property

3 Things a Blueprint Can Tell You About Your Investment Property

Although many real estate investors choose to leave the complicated lines, measurements, and extremely fine print of blueprints to their contractors, engineers, and architects, sometimes a quick look at a property’s inner workings can tell you a lot about how a potential project might go. At times, a blueprint can ...
residential assisted living facility

5 Success Factors for Residential Assisted Living Investments

What does it take to successfully and profitably participate in today’s largest and fastest-growing real estate sector, Residential Assisted Living? In the first portion of this report, we covered the first five of 10 pillars to successfully managing Residential Assisted Living (RAL) homes. However, management is only part of the ...
real estate buildings

A Tried-and-True Real Estate Rule for Real Success

I started investing in real estate nearly 60 years ago, and along the way I compiled a list of real estate investment principles every investor should know. One of the most important rules that many new investors today overlook is one that anyone who has been in the business for ...
find more deals

5 Simple Ways to Find More Deals

Whether you are new to real estate investing or a seasoned investor, you are always on the lookout for the next deal. Well, in a low inventory market, how do you find your next deal? With margins thinning and costs rising, you must be able to find properties with numbers ...
jennifer jo cobb family building

A Family Story: A Big Real Estate Decision with Big Results

I can recall conversations between my parents over the years about buying a building for my dad to relocate his auto-repair business. They even discussed buying the building that he was renting. There were so many worries, fears and excuses not to take that leap: Imagine the exorbitant personal property ...
AirBnB

Fannie Mae Testing Airbnb Income Based Mortgage Loans

Fannie Mae is working with three lenders to evaluate the integrity of mortgage refinance loans underwritten with consideration of a primary residence’s Airbnb income. This is the first time Airbnb income has been a factor in refinance applications. Quicken Loans conceived the program. The project is in the pilot stages ...
Amazon HQ2

ATTOM Data Ranks Amazon HQ2 Candidates by Real Estate Market

20 major metro areas are waiting for the Amazon HQ2 announcement with baited breath. Amazon told NBC News in mid-May that it had completed its tour of the “short list” of contenders for its second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. Based on this information (and little else, since Amazon required all 20 ...
Idaho Home Build

Idaho and Utah Building More Homes than Any Other State

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Idaho and Utah are building new housing at a faster pace than any other states in America. The Census data, spanning July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017, showed Idaho with an increase of 1.7 percent in new construction of single-family homes, condominiums, and ...
San Antonio TX

Home Prices Likely to Surge in the South

According to Census data, certain cities in the south and on the west coast will likely see surging home prices to accompany surging population numbers in the coming months. “Supply is at record lows and prices continue to climb,” observed one Phoenix broker, Tucker Blalock. in response to the data ...
for rent sign

California Draws Battle Lines in Rent Control Conflict

The battle lines have been drawn in the war over California rent control. Tenant advocates announced recently they have enough signatures for a ballot initiative to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Act, which could open the floodgates for extreme rent control in California and put some landlords right out of business. Why ...
Landscaping

These Outdoor Property Investments Garner Strong Returns

According to the National Association of Landscape Professionals and the National Association of Realtors, some of the strongest returns on outdoor investments come from the smallest projects. The duo’s “2018 Remodeling Report” indicated the most substantial financial payout at resale comes from a relatively inexpensive investment: standard lawn care service ...
Federal-Reserve

New Projections for Rise in Interest Rates in 2018

At the beginning of 2018, most experts agreed that the Federal Reserve would almost certainly raise interest rates four times over the course of the coming year, a move that could have taken mortgage interest rates from near-historic lows back to still-relatively historic lows, but slightly higher. After the Fed’s ...
Retail Real Estate

Consumer Preferences Continue to Drive Retail Real Estate

“The days of plug-and-play retail are gone,” said Naveen Jaggi, president of retail advisory services at Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL), during a recent presentation at the company’s RECon event in Las Vegas. Jaggi issued the clear warning during a panel on the retail industry, but he added, “We’ve spent too ...
Foreclosure sign

Zillow Predicts Next Recession to Begin in 2020

Zillow’s 2018 Home Price Expectations Survey revealed a troubling timeline for the next recession, as more than half the experts who participated in the study said they believe the next recession will begin in 2020 and a fifth of those stating it will begin early that year. About a quarter ...
Health-Focused Residential Development Gains Interest

Health-Focused Residential Development Gains Interest

For the first time in U.S. history, today’s younger generations have shorter life expectancies than that of their parents, and many architects and urban planners believe the solution lies in health-conscious development ...
Key on desk

HUD Removes Access to Fair Housing Data Tool

HUD has announced it will “withdraw” access to a crucial data-submission tool used in AFFH reporting ...
Townhome steps

New York City’s Cheapest Rental Rate at an End

This past March, an 84-year-old actress was struck and killed by a car just a few feet from her home in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City and one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. When she ...