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.
Should You Invest in Areas Hit by Natural Disasters?
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, signs of the storm damage are everywhere. Not all those signs are related to property damage, though. While there are plenty of homes devastated by flood waters and mold, mildew, and other water-related damage, there are also a number of bandit signs on the ...
2017 Think Realty Honors Winners
Each year, Think Realty honors the leaders and change-makers of real estate who represent the best the industry has to offer. These individuals are nominated by their peers, and the finalists are determined by an independent panel of judges who are former Think Realty Honors recipients themselves. Their stories range ...
11-Year Low in Foreclosure Activity Rounds Out Q3
ATTOM Data Solutions released its Q3 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, showing a total of 191,824 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions — in the third quarter, down 13 percent from the previous quarter and down 35 percent from a year ago to ...
Crowdfunding for a Down Payment?
Although there are certainly plenty of programs out there designed to help homeowners avoid the dreaded 10% or 20% down payment, years of buyer surveys from the National Association of Realtors, lenders, and consumer advocates show that buyers still believe they will need a huge chunk of money in order ...
Foreclosures Up from Reverse Mortgages
The federal government is raising the premiums and lowering the loan limits on its reverse-mortgage program. It may sound like a take-away for seniors, but according to the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the changes are needed to protect the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) entire insurance fund. The HUD says ...
Pricey Seattle Market Also “Most Affordable”
When you think of Seattle, Washington, you probably do not immediately think “affordability” in terms of its housing. After all, a metro area with a median home price of $610,000 is not necessarily accessible to the average home buyer. However, when that average buyer is, more than likely, an IT ...
Amazon’s New HQ Could be the Key to Buying your Next Property Investment
When Amazon announced it would be accepting proposals from cities around the country wishing to host the internet behemoth’s second headquarters, savvy real estate investors took notice as things got pretty wild pretty fast. It seemed like every major metro area in the country tweeted, Facebooked, and even turned to ...
Think Realty Event Prep Checklist
Attending an event is not only exhilarating but also a bit intimidating. Get the most out of our events or other events you decide to attend by using this prepared checklist provided by Think Realty. The checklist gives you pointers on how to make the most out of the events ...
How Tax Reform Could Affect U.S. Homeownership
Will President Trump’s tax reform proposal put a major dent in the housing market? Some experts say by doubling the standard deduction, the mortgage interest deduction will lose relevance because taxpayers won’t bother to itemize, and that will, in turn, discourage people from buying homes. But are tax savings the ...
Is There Hope for Housing Affordability?
According to a recent report from ATTOM Data Solutions, one in every four housing markets in the United States are becoming less affordable all the time. ATTOM’s Q1 2017 U.S. Home Affordability Index indicates that nationally, consumers are finding they must spend just about a third of their income in ...
7 Truths about Networking in Real Estate
We’ve heard the old adage hundreds of times: “Your network is your net worth.” If you’re active on social media, you have probably seen it in memes, tweeted out accompanying images of various friends and acquaintances hanging out with self-titled industry “influencers,” and hashtagged to infinity. While you might be ...
3 Ways to Prepare for the Next Real Estate Correction
It is common knowledge that the housing market is cyclical, but while most investors agree this is the case, they do not have firm plans in place to help them adjust their investment strategies when downturns occur. Certainly, some investors thrive in down markets, snapping up great deals and setting ...
Home Affordability Increases in Q3
ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q3 2017 U.S. Home Affordability Index, released October 5, indicated that home affordability in the third quarter improved compared to the previous quarter in 60 percent of 406 U.S. counties analyzed in the report — although affordability was still worse than a year ago in 79 percent ...
Think Realty Welcomes Julie Ziglar Norman as a New Contributor to Magazine
The Think Realty Team would like to warmly welcome Julie Ziglar Norman as a monthly contributor to Think Realty Magazine. Every month Julie will be sharing her motivation and inspiration through her column on varying subjects related to the entrepreneurial spirit and real estate investing, in hopes of sparking drive, ...
Labor & Material Shortages Equals Slow Rebuilds
With the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Irma, came images depicting streets filled with personal property; the guts of beloved homes and business lay in heaps of trash. Many individuals have had to turn to friends and neighbors to help with clean up instead of turning to contractors who coordinate ...
Think Realty Resident Expert Ben Rao, “The Entrepreneur”
Title and Affiliations: Executive Vice President of Think Realty Benefits, Think Realty Resident Expert, Founder of Community Buying Group (CBG), Founder of RentFast, President of Direct Data Consulting, Inc., Senior Partner at the Summit Holding Group, former Senior Consultant & IBM eServer Solution Specialist, host of E2 Hustle podcast for ...
A Closer Look at Industrial Real Estate
Industrial real estate, which includes warehouses and distribution centers, is among the most profitable categories of investment properties. These types of properties offer yields as high as 7.5 percent, compared to between four and five percent for office space and five and six percent for retail space. Furthermore, long-term agreements, ...
Shining Bright with ENERGY STAR
You’ve seen the sticker thousands of times on your own appliances and on those for sale in retail stores. Among the aisles and aisles of appliances there is one universal name, ENERGY STAR. You probably already know that the ENERGY STAR sticker displayed on appliances shows you how much you ...
Thinking Big from the Very Start
Real estate investors buy their first property for many reasons. For most, it boils down to independence, self-reliance, and control of their future. While most investors start out relatively small with single-family wholesale deals, residential fix and flips, or buy-and-hold rentals that they manage themselves, some opt to go big ...
A Hidden Gem: The Kansas City Land Bank
As other real estate investing markets are reaching their plateaus, the Kansas City, Missouri, market is just getting started. Thousands of potential real estate investments, residential and commercial, are waiting to be put back into productive use in Kansas City. That is great news for real estate investors aware of ...
Mortgage rates are slowly and steadily rising. These current market conditions make buying a home particularly attractive in today’s market. Homeownership has always been viewed as one of the central pillars of the American dream and, because your home is often your largest asset, it can be an incredible means ...
One-on-One with the Atlanta Housing Authority
Real estate investors often cringe at the words “local housing authority.” While the term has a long, storied, and often strongly negative connotation, most of that negativity is due to decades of miscommunication between real estate investors and these organizations which are, in truth, dedicated to providing affordable housing resources ...
Breathing Life into Communities
When Tammy Phelps looks at a possible future investment, she also looks back. The leader of Capital City Real Estate Investors Alliance (ccREIA) and multifamily investor recalled her own struggles when she evaluated and eventually purchased her first multiunit community in 2007 after a terrible accident left her unable to ...
The 401(k) Mistake that Can Easily Cost You $30,000
As an individual retirement account (IRA) custodian, I often encounter investors who have been using their IRA or 401(k) accounts to buy and sell real estate in ways that are costing them serious capital. These sticky situations do not always lead to the so-called “implosion” of a retirement portfolio that ...
I was so hungry for success,” Jordan Dooley started off as he began describing his first foray into real estate investing. “I remember when I realized that real estate investing was actually a possibility, that I could really do it. It lit a fire under me.” Dooley sounds like a ...
