Operations Archives

I Want to Invest in Real Estate, But Now What?

14 Apr 2016 | Kevin Guz | Article | Fundamentals, Operations

“OK, I know I want to invest in real estate—but now what?” That’s a question that every real estate investor—whether full-time, part-time or just thinking about it—has asked himself or herself at some point. And that leads to a whole bunch of other questions, including: What do you do? Where ...

Homeownership No Longer Has Tax Savings

14 Apr 2016 | John Burns | Article | Market & Trends, Operations

We believe we have found one of the primary reasons why entry-level home buying has not recovered—and why homeownership has been plunging. For decades, homeowners benefitted from both the financial and psychological benefits of paying less taxes. Homeownership came with income tax savings because mortgage interest plus property taxes easily exceeded ...

7 Common Landlording Mistakes to Avoid

11 Apr 2016 | Larry Arth | Article | Operations

In the landlording business, we make lots of mistakes. Indeed, there would be no successes if we did not encounter some mistakes along the way. It is these mistakes that cultivate our systems for success. The idea, of course, is to run a profitable, stress-free business. We take what works ...

The Essential Commercial Property Checklist

11 Apr 2016 | Harmel Rayat | Article | Fundamentals

When it comes to successfully investing in real estate, due diligence and proper research are strongly required and an investing checklist is invaluable. No. 1 – Population Growth and Diverse Economic Activity My goal is to invest in areas of strong growth. We never want to invest in unstable or ...

Create Your Own Lifestyle and Succeed On Your Own

26 Mar 2016 | Kevin Guz | Article, Fundamentals

In my experience as a real estate investor – first starting out part-time while pursuing a corporate career, and now as a full-time investor and HomeVestors franchise owner in Dallas – I have observed one underlying trait in those who succeed and stick with real estate investing. And this applies ...

Big Rocks or Small Stones: Where to Focus Your Real Estate Investments

19 Mar 2016 | Kevin Guz | Article | Investment Strategy, Operations

Should you focus your attention on big deals or smaller ones? This is a question that applies not only to part-time real estate investors, but full-time investors as well. Let’s take a look at how you can determine which one is best for your circumstances. To provide some perspective, I’d ...

The 20% of Investors Who Succeed Do So by Learning From Those Who Went Before

14 Mar 2016 | Larry Arth | Article | Operations

Did you know that 20 percent of investors succeed while 80 percent do not? So says the Pareto Principle, commonly known as the 80-20 rule, and it applies to everything we do in life. For example, do you know that you wear 20 percent of the clothes in your closet ...

Think Realty Magazine March/April 2016

1 Mar 2016 | Think Realty | Magazine | Investment Strategy, Market & Trends, Operations

+ WHAT'S INSIDE The Big Picture | More Choice, More Control • Riches in Niches • A Strategy for All Seasons • Buying By the Numbers • More Foreigners Investing in U.S. • Senior Housing is an Emerging Asset Cover Feature | Quest to be the Best Up Close & ...

3 Reasons Why You May Want to Buy Property from a Passive Investor

22 Feb 2016 | Larry Arth | Article | Operations

Over the years I have been involved in hundreds of investment property purchases, which prompts a lot of how-to questions. Perhaps the most highly sought-after answer is to the question of where to find the best properties. Wow, that question has lots of different answers, but there is one that ...

Real Estate Investing is a Business, Not a Hobby

12 Feb 2016 | Kevin Guz | Article | Operations

As you hear so often—and you’ve heard it from me, too—in order to be successful in real estate investing, you have to treat it as a business. But what exactly does that mean? From my experience as a real estate investor and a HomeVestors franchisee in Dallas, I’ll share some ...

Street Smart: Why Use Professional Property Managers?

13 Jan 2016 | Think Realty | Article | Operations

Thoughts from pros in an age where a disgruntled tenant and a premises liability lawyer could cost you more to prove your case than your property is worth! Kimberly Smith CEO/Founder, AvenueWest Corporate Housing 800-928-1592 Yes, we can all manage our own rentals, but will this make us the most ...

Street Smart: Why is Integrity an Issue in Personal Real Estate Investing?

11 Jan 2016 | Think Realty | Article, Operations

Nate Armstrong Founder, Calhoun Ventures 651-789-5386 The truth is, there is plenty of room in my business for unscrupulous people to make a quick buck. I must emphasize, though, that a quick buck can only be made once. We live in a world where people know what Kim Kardashian ordered at ...

Remodeling spending expected to increase in 2016, Harvard study says

16 Nov 2015 | Think Realty | Article | Market & Trends, Operations, Products & Services

Spending on remodeling and home improvement show more optimism going into next year and are projected to more than double in 2016, according to a study from the Joint Center for Housing at Harvard. After several quarters of slackening growth, home improvement spending is projected to pick up its pace ...

Foreclosure starts jump 12% in October, largest month-over-month increase since August 2011

12 Nov 2015 | Think Realty | Article | Market & Trends, Operations

Foreclosures were started for the first time on 48,605 properties in October and there were 36,582 properties repossessed by lenders in October, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. The report shows: U.S. foreclosure starts increased 12 percent from the previous month – the largest monthly increase since August 2011 ...

The 7 Best Renovations for Rental Properties

2 Oct 2015 | Teresa Bitler | Article | Fundamentals

Here are a number of renovation suggestions designed to help ensure that a prospective tenant will choose your rental. When dealing with rental-property ownership, two of the biggest variables are dealing with vacancies and the length of time it takes you or your property manager to re-rent the property. Marketing ...

5 ways to find the value of investment property

24 Aug 2015 | Richard Montgomery | Article | Funding, Operations

Reader Question: We want to make our first real estate investment purchase. We have decided on investing in older two- to four-family apartments. It appears there are different ways to decide what a property is worth. How do you evaluate an old three-family property? — Julie and Rob P. Monty’s ...

Create your own full-time benefits from part-time real estate investing

21 Aug 2015 | Kevin Guz | Article | Fundamentals, Operations

In writing this blog post, I am going to draw on my own experience as a part-time real estate investor who was employed full-time in corporate America. Hindsight is 20-20. I will admit I did not see the full-time benefits I was building with my part-time real estate investing at ...

How a beginning investor became an investment company owner in five years

17 Aug 2015 | Larry Arth | Article | Investment Strategy, Operations

“I want to know everything you can teach me about real estate investing,” were the first words spoken by a gentleman who walked into my office. He said he had seen the words “investment property” underneath my office picture and wanted me to help him get underway. He said he ...

4 Reasons Investors use Debt to Finance Real Estate

31 Jul 2015 | Lawrence Fassler | Article | Funding, Operations, Topics

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be…” How could Shakespeare be wrong? Why should anyone take out debt, or other financing, on their real estate investments? Well, the quote from Hamlet is that of a father warning his son about the dangers of lending to friends, since hitching debt onto personal ...

3 reasons to quit your day job and invest in real estate

6 Jul 2015 | Engelo Rumora | Article | Investment Strategy, Operations

Many people seek real estate investing for various reasons. Here are the three major reasons that I’ve come to find why most people quit (or decide to replace) their day jobs with real estate investing: Reason No 1: Because working for someone else... STINKS “If you don’t build your dream, ...

Home prices are up and days on the market are dropping

3 market trends in 2015 for the residential real estate investor: a mid-year analysis

29 Jun 2015 | Kevin Guz | Article | Market & Trends, Operations

I write today from my perspective as a HomeVestor franchisee in Dallas, but I will write in broad enough terms that my observations here in Dallas, as an active real estate investor, are consistent with what investors are seeing nationwide. As I explain my observations from personal experience, I will ...

Buying a house “subject to the mortgage” could be a home run deal

22 Jun 2015 | Think Realty | Article | Investment Strategy, Operations

How would you like to come up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs and with the go-ahead run on third? Every young baseball player imagines being in that position, or in a position to win the World Series. It’s like that in the real ...

How one couple chose to invest $1 million in cash

22 Jun 2015 | Larry Arth | Article | Funding, Operations

The couple was a farming family from just outside the city limits and had received an offer to purchase their land from a single-family-home developer. They had called ahead and wanted to sit down with me to discuss how to best invest their million-dollar windfall. As a real estate investment ...

Is a condo a good purchase for a first-time real estate investment property - The weekend real estate investor

Is a condo a good first rental property investment?

19 Jun 2015 | Kevin Guz | Article | Investment Strategy, Operations

There are many, many condos out there. As an investor here in Dallas with HomeVestors, I believe they are a viable option for any investor to consider, not only here in Dallas, but across the U.S., but they do have some unique aspects that the investor must consider and understand ...

3 ways to build your real estate investing portfolio

7 May 2015 | Larry Arth | Article | Operations

What excites me is watching new investors build up ta real estate investing portfolio—the self-discovery, if you will—that comes with them finally taking that first big step into buying their initial investment property. With such fast changes in the real estate industry it is easy to get confused as to ...