Investment Strategy

Learn about asset classes and investment methods that dial into strategies to meet your REI goals: Alternative Investing | Commercial | Funds | IRAs | Multifamily | Single Family | Syndication

Back To: All Topics 

Investment Strategy

Learn about asset classes and investment methods that dial into strategies to meet your REI goals: Alternative Investing | Commercial | Funds | IRAs | Multifamily | Single Family | Syndication

Back To: All Topics 

Marvin Holmes

Maryland Delegate Marvin E. Holmes Kicks Off 2017 Think Realty National Conference & Expo with His “Demands” for Local Investors

“If you are silent, something may happen that you don’t want to see,” Marvin E. Holmes, Jr., Maryland Delegate to the Maryland General Assembly House of Delegates for District 23 B, warned real estate investors today during his opening remarks at the 2017 Think Realty National Conference & Expo in ...
Insight Matters: When Lenders Provide More than Just Capital

Insight Matters: When Lenders Provide More than Just Capital

When real estate investors are looking for capital to fund their deals, the only thing as important as speed is creativity. Most real estate investments don’t fit into the neat credit boxes of traditional lenders.  By their nature, real estate investment, development, and fix-and-flip projects require loans that are tailored ...
The Lead-Generation Mistake that is Costing You Business

The Lead-Generation Mistake that is Costing You Business

Would you rather have tons of motivated sellers nearly knocking down your door or tons of tire-kickers waffling around and tying up your phones because they found your number on a postcard or letter that, by the way, took forever to print, stuff the envelopes, stick the stamps and send ...
Control Your Service Providers or See Your IRA Destroyed

Control Your Service Providers or See Your IRA Destroyed

Recently, I have started to notice a disturbing pattern: Service providers are destroying their clients’ individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Since nothing speaks so loudly as an example, I shall provide two that I have seen in the last year. I have edited the facts for the sake of privacy. Example ...
Finishing Touches

Finishing Touches

When it comes to design in an investment property, investors have been taught that “less is more.” While this can be true in some markets, a well-designed home with the right “finishing touches” will nearly always pull in better returns regardless of your investing strategy. Nicely-finished rentals will net higher ...
Secrets in the Walls

Secrets in the Walls

It’s going to get messy, and walls hide a lot of secrets.” That’s the note of caution Erin Shipps, creator, executive producer and host of Kansas City-based web series “ShowMe Renovation”, gives to investors looking to rehab old homes. “Any renovation project has the potential to make a mess, but ...
Is Your IRA-Owned Business Entity a “Sitting Duck” for Lawsuits?

Is Your IRA-Owned Business Entity a “Sitting Duck” for Lawsuits?

If you have real estate in a self-directed individual retirement account (IRA), then you likely have at least considered setting up an LLC, called an IRA LLC, within that self-directed IRA in order to further insulate those investments. It’s a common form of asset protection, and a lot of providers ...
3 Think Realty Resident Experts Attending Baltimore Conference

3 Think Realty Resident Experts Attending Baltimore Conference

Three of Think Realty’s Resident Experts will attend the Think Realty National Conference & Expo in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 24, 2017. Sonia Booker (“The Wealth Builder”), Abhi Golhar (“The Connector”), and Eddie Wilson (“The Deal Maker” and president of Think Realty parent company, Affinity Worldwide) will be in attendance ...
Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: A Market Closeup

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: A Market Closeup

Baltimore, Maryland’s “Inner Harbor” is far more than just a body of water. The name is used to describe the seaport that has existed since the 18th century and the land surrounding it, which includes a number of historic attractions, cultural and entertainment venues, and a number of development projects ...
Miami "Underwater"

The “New” Underwater Threat for Miami

Being “underwater” is what a lot of homeowners experienced during the housing meltdown, but for people in Miami, that term is gaining a whole new meaning - one that is perhaps, more fitting. There are about 2.5 million people in Miami-Dade County, and if the latest scientific analysis is right, ...
Performance Rental Report

High Retention Rates Reported in Morningstar SFR Research

As we move into the second quarter of 2017, Morningstar Credit Ratings LLC released their first quarter Performance Summary of Single-Family Rental Research showing a slight rise of single-borrower, single-family securitizations. The Performance Summary showed a rise to 4.3 percent from just the previous month at 4.2 percent. However, higher ...
Speed-Networking

3 Tips for Successful Speed Networking

If the mere thought of “speed dating” gives you the creepy-crawlies, then you’ve probably never considered “speed networking.” While the former might land you in front of two dozen potential (or not-so-potential) mates, however, the latter has much higher rates of success. Tammy Phelps, founder of Capital City REIA and ...
ROI

4 Tips for Increasing Your ROI in Today’s Real Estate Market

Why do people invest? The answer is simple – to make money. That is why many people are turning to real estate investing. It is a good way to earn income while diversifying their investment portfolio. Of course, real estate investment is not a get rich quick scheme and takes ...
One Renovation Complete

One Renovation Complete

Last you heard from me, I was flying high—like, serious cloud-nine status. My husband Lucas and I had just finished flipping our very first investment property; we had our renters moved in (with rent checks clearing on time), and we had run the final numbers on our renovation and found ...
Highest Taxes

Where High Property Taxes Kill Cash Flow

This is a transcript of a previously-aired “Real Estate News” podcast broadcast by Kathy Fettke, co-CEO and founder of the Real Wealth Network. Property tax is one of the costs that can vary a lot in the United States. It can run from an extreme high to an extreme low ...
Rental

Rental Properties, Like Money in the Bank

I have been a real estate investor in Dallas, Texas for over 10 years, and just like many of you, I started part-time. Now I'm a full-time investor. Many investors start as part-time with the intention of going full-time. Let me explain how I was able to go full-time with ...
Shaker

Are You Looking for Your Lost Shaker of Salt?

You won’t have to worry about blowing out your flip-flop on a pop top in Jimmy Buffett’s retirement community, appropriately dubbed “Latitude Maragaritaville.” Sure, residents might still be searching for their lost shaker of salt, but that seems about normal when you’re discussing Parrot Heads – the old-school equivalent of ...
Renovations

Renovations to Boost Value for Your Rental Property

As a real estate investor, it’s important to continuously look for ways to increase the potential value of your rental property. Whether they are complex renovations or smaller DIY projects, there are a multitude of options you can choose from to upgrade your house in order to appeal to potential ...
Bicyclists

Why Bicyclists Pay Higher Rents

DIY landlords looking to compete with the latest trends should consider implementing amenities for the bicyclist community.  Understanding the changing cycles of the urban communities can play a strong role in your marketing and appeal to new residents.  These past few years we have seen more bicycle amenity trends popping ...
5 Actionable Tips for Buying in a Tough Market

5 Actionable Tips for Buying in a Tough Market

Real estate investing isn’t always a bed of roses, especially in a tough market. However, given that the vast majority of real estate investors say that at the end of the day, they prefer to invest in their “own backyard,” it is vitally important for every investor to understand how ...
8 Reasons to Invest in Commercial Real Estate in 2017

8 Reasons to Invest in Commercial Real Estate in 2017

We are well into 2017, but some people are still on the fence about investing in real estate. They don't know what the new administration is doing with rule and regulations. They aren't sure how the economy is going to react. They are still scared from many years of bad ...
Which is Best: SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)?

Which is Best: SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)?

This is a transcript of a previously-aired segment of “Self-Directed Investor Talk,” a radio show dealing with self-directed IRA strategy hosted by Bryan Ellis. Listen up, you self-employed people.  If you’ve ever wondered:  What’s right for me:  A SEP IRA or a Solo 401(k)… I’ve got the crystal-clear answer for ...
"Hack"

Hack Simultaneously Transforms Investors to Homeowners and Landlords

National statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate home ownership rates at 63.7 percent as of April 2017 and rental vacancy rates at seven percent for the same time period.  National trends indicate rentals will remain a strong market for the next 10 years. Whether you’re a millennial who has ...
Tiny Homes, BIG Movement

Tiny Homes, BIG Movement

As the millennials generation continues to find traditional homeownership less attractive than previous generations, they are embracing a new home craze that appeals to all ages of homeowner: tiny homes. There are many reasons to consider creating tiny home developments for your own use or even just building them for ...
Lifestyle

Learning from Rich and Famous Real Estate: Johnny Depp Purchases 14 Properties, Accused of “Extravagant and Extreme” Lifestyle

Actor Johnny Depp usually makes headlines for blockbuster pirate movies or, occasionally, domestic strife, but lately he’s been in the news for some “extreme” real estate purchases. According to public record, the star recently filed a $25-million lawsuit in which he accused his former business managers of unsavory conduct, including ...