Operations

Your operations define your long-term success in real estate investing. Fine-tune your process with: Asset Management | Asset Protection | Deal Analysis | Fundamentals | Growth | Lead Generation | Risk Management

Back To: All Topics 

Operations

Your operations define your long-term success in real estate investing. Fine-tune your process with: Asset Management | Asset Protection | Deal Analysis | Fundamentals | Growth | Lead Generation | Risk Management

Back To: All Topics 

Playing My Favorite Sport to Win

Playing My Favorite Sport to Win

| Ben Rao | Article | Operations
Many ague with me when I say that entrepreneurialism is a sport. However, when you really break it down, you’ll see that sports and running your own business are very much alike. Let’s start with a simple question: Which of these characteristics are attributes of an athlete and which are ...
The Most Painful Insurance Losses in 2016

The Most Painful Insurance Losses in 2016

Though 2016 is now water under the bridge, it’s not too late to learn a few important lessons to make 2017 your best year yet. Sadly, many of the losses we see each day can be prevented with a little planning or on-going maintenance. However, all hope is not lost ...
Putting People First in Housing

Putting People First in Housing

Although no one knows for sure what changes the new presidential administration will bring to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA)’s current CEO has opted not to wait around for direction as the new inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue find their feet ...
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 ...
5 Email Marketing Statistics and What They Mean For Your Real Estate Business

5 Email Marketing Statistics and What They Mean For Your Real Estate Business

| Leon McKenzie | Article | Operations
You probably start each work day reading your emails, right? Have you ever wondered how many people do the same thing each day all around the world? Some estimates indicate that 100 billion emails are sent, on average, each day. Did that number get your attention? The world we live ...
Saving Some Green with Green Properties

Saving Some Green with Green Properties

As a real estate investor, you make myriad choices on a daily basis from selecting paint colors to determining listing prices. You are always looking for ways to improve your return on investment and save money over the long term while offering a safe, affordable home to tenants or buyers ...
Think Realty Street Smart: Expo Edition

Think Realty Street Smart: Expo Edition

| Think Realty | Article | Operations
Think Realty members, educators, and supporters bring unique perspectives to real estate investing. Think Realty members can always submit their responses to the monthly “Street Smart” question online, but whenever a Think Realty event brings all that expertise into one room, we capitalize on it! Think Realty Magazine asked experts ...
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 ...
Market Update: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

Market Update: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota

In June 2016, Think Realty Magazine featured the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in its “Regional Investor” feature. At that time, the regional housing market was benefitting from an overall improving economy, falling jobless rate, and rising equity. Low inventory in the “starter home” sector had begun to ...
Reading Between the Lines: Streetcars and Property Values

Reading Between the Lines: Streetcars and Property Values

Real estate investors know that the key to actually living that old adage, “buy low and sell high,” is being able to read between the lines when it comes to spotting potential in local housing markets. One of the most popular “insider secrets” for this type of market forecasting lies, ...
Playing the “Blame Game” Heralds Trouble for Rental Owners

Playing the “Blame Game” Heralds Trouble for Rental Owners

As landlords, we are unknowingly conducting our business in a Perfect Storm. By dictionary definition, this occurs when a rare combination of circumstances aggravates a situation drastically. There are several rare combinations of circumstances leading to unfavorable - and significant - change for landlords. The storm is already brewing and ...
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 ...
Investor Spotlight: Keith and Shannon French

Investor Spotlight: Keith and Shannon French

When things get tough in Baltimore real estate, Keith and Shannon French, co-founders and -owners of BuyBaltimoreProperties.com, don’t even slow down. The Frenches, who have been in operation in the Baltimore area since 2005, offer sellers in any temperature market the opportunity to sell their homes at and sometimes above ...
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, ...
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 ...
One-on-One with Craig Fuhr, Flip Club Founder and Real Estate Fix-and-Flip Machine

One-on-One with Craig Fuhr, Flip Club Founder and Real Estate Fix-and-Flip Machine

Craig Fuhr is a Maryland real estate investor with a lot of power and passion for fix-and-flips. In fact, as his website states, he’s not just a “real estate rehab machine” but also an “all around good guy.” This good guy has been working in real estate since 2007, when ...
One-on-One: Tammy Phelps (Capital City REIA) - "A Real Estate Miracle"

One-on-One: Tammy Phelps (Capital City REIA) – “A Real Estate Miracle”

Why did Tammy Phelps, founder of Capital City REIA, leave her fulfilling, “dream” career as a highly-sought-after master hair colorist (one of only three in the country at the time) for full-time real estate investing? Here’s a hint: it wasn’t the money or the lifestyle; it was all about faith ...
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 ...
Real Estate Mistake

The Real Estate Mistake 99 Percent of Married Real Estate Investors Make

A certain “convention” that most married couples follow shortly after tying the knot could be a huge real estate mistake if either of those individuals happens to be a real estate investor or aspire to be such. Think Realty sat down with Sherman Ragland, the award-winning founder of DC-REIA and ...