Knowledgebase
All of Think Realty's extensive content archive is at your fingertips. Filter by media type and keyword to hone in on exactly what you need.
Knowledgebase
All of Think Realty's extensive content archive is at your fingertips. Filter by media type and keyword to hone in on exactly what you need.
Design Your Property Outside the Box
These days, so many investors are using the exact same materials over and over again in their flips. For my husband, Ken, and I, we find that when we go outside the box and do things in our investment properties that nobody else is doing in terms of creativity, we ...
4 Tips to Perfect Your YouTube Video Marketing
When most people think about YouTube, they think of music videos, how-to trainings, or maybe video marketing. However, YouTube can be used for so much more than that, especially in real estate. Whether you are using YouTube to promote your properties for sale or rent or to help stay Fair ...
Rehab Regrets: Four Common Rookie Mistakes to Avoid
Newbie real estate investors and homebuyers often are attracted to affordable homes that need repairs with the intention of revamping it to become their dream home. Rehab projects, however, can quickly grow nasty — and expensive — if you’re not realistic and prepared before you buy. Here are four things to consider before ...
Our Responsibility to Speak Up for Real Estate [Industry Opinion]
The opinions stated in this article are solely those of the author. Make your voice heard on this topic on the Think Realty forums. Our own federal government has no idea who we are. That may sound like absolute heaven to a lot of you reading this, but the fact ...
Prevent a Holiday Cooking Fire Disaster in Your Investment Properties
Cooking is the leading cause of home structure fires according to research conducted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the number of cooking fires increases significantly around Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Cooking fires are also one of the most preventable losses in real estate. With regular maintenance and ...
Institutional Class-Action Lawsuits Spell Trouble for Individual Landlords
Recently, industrial single-family home companies are getting some very bad press and facing some pretty nasty class-action accusations. For example, Invitation Homes, a Blackstone vehicle that began buying distressed single-family properties and rehabbing them for rent in 2012, faces a potential class-action suit in California that claims the company’s late ...
Did You Thank Your Government Today? [Industry Opinion]
The opinions stated in this article are solely those of the author. Make your voice heard on this topic on the Think Realty forums. I think few real estate investors would advocate for anarchy, but most find, at least from time to time, that governments can make things a little ...
Insight and Assistance on All Things Rental-Related
Real estate investors working in the rental housing industry know there are a plethora of things to keep track of. While tenants probably take up the biggest portion of your bandwidth, it’s important to stay informed. It’s vital that you monitor changes in policies affecting your portfolio and practices, stay ...
How Housing Will Change Now that Millennial Buyers Dominate the Market
The millennials are about to arrive in force on the national housing market, and, as usual, they are about to change everything. The first “fully digital” generation (although not all were raised on electronic devices like Gen Z) is emerging, finally, as a force to be recognized in housing. 10 ...
Think Realty Announces Partnership with ATTOM Data Solutions
In a move to further bolster their position as a leading resource provider for real estate investors, Think Realty is announcing a new partnership agreement with Irvine, California-based ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation’s premier property database. The agreement, which was finalized in October, transitions publishing and distribution of ...
How to Get Your Real Estate Website to Actually Rank on Google
Let’s go ahead and burst a bubble for those wanting a quick, easy avenue to a top ranking on Google: There isn’t one. Improving your site’s ranking and SEO, or search engine optimization, entails hard work and time. Furthermore, your website is but one approach — albeit an important one ...
Investors Eyeing Amazon HQ2 Opportunities Could Benefit from New Tax Provision
Real estate investors eyeing opportunities in the two cities Amazon selected for its massive HQ2 project might have an added incentive. Thanks to a provision in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017, investors evaluating deals near Crystal City, Va., and Long Island City, N.Y. could avoid taxes on ...
5 Details that Will Make or Break Your Postcard Marketing Campaign
Although an increasing number of real estate investors are relying on digital marketing to generate leads for their deals, postcard mailings stand the test of time. Jamie Wooley, founder of W Streets and one of the largest-volume individual wholesalers in the country, still mails them out every month. Wooley made ...
The Amazon Effect: Interest in Crystal City, Long Island Properties Skyrockets
Only five days after reports that Amazon would split its highly-publicized HQ2 project into two cities, interest in Crystal City, Va., and Long Island City, N.Y. properties has surged. The online retail giant — which confirmed Tuesday that it actually will be building offices in the two locations — plans to ...
As Equity-Rich Properties Flourish, Rates of Seriously Underwater Homes Sink
Increasing home prices are making many homeowners a wealthier bunch. So-called “equity-rich” properties comprised about one in four, or 25.7 percent, of U.S. properties in the third quarter, according to real estate research firm ATTOM Data Solutions. The roughly 14.5 million equity-rich homes is a record high for the U.S., ...
Top Markets for Movers in Q3 2018
Homeowners are most likely to be moving in the third quarter of 2018 in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg and Atlanta, according to the latest ATTOM Data Solutions Pre-Mover Housing Index. Using data collected from purchase loan applications on residential real estate transactions, the ATTOM Data Solutions Pre-Mover Housing ...
They’re Not Dead, But Zombie Foreclosures Are in Decline
It seems a flourishing housing market is snuffing out one of its persistent horrors: The “zombie foreclosure.” A “zombie foreclosure” — sometimes called a zombie title — occurs when homeowners incorrectly believe they must immediately move out after receiving a foreclosure notice, thus leaving the property in limbo. It not ...
Are Uber, Lyft and Driverless Cars Parking Demand for Garages?
As the use of ride-hailing apps and automated cars expands, more builders and real estate investors are questioning if garages are a necessity. About one in three Americans — or 35 percent of the 1,028 adults surveyed — use ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft, according to data from the ...
Cue Rent Hikes? Amazon Selects Two Cities for HQ2
After months of a media-enthralling search that drew dozens of applicants across North America, online retail giant Amazon has determined it will split its HQ2 project into two East Coast cities. Amazon has selected Crystal City, Va., and Long Island City, N.Y. as the new homes for some 50,000 employees ...
Startup Zego Partners with S2 Capital, Amazon for Tech Overhaul of 30,000 Apartments
A Kansas City-based startup has partnered with the real estate investment firm S2 Capital and tech behemoth Amazon to revamp 30,000 apartments with its tech platform. Zego — which created a smart home app that connects residents with management, maintenance and a marketplace for local services — will integrate its ...
Millennials Boost a Hot Summer for U.S. Homeownership Rates
Millennials this summer helped drive an increase in national homeownership rates, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. homeownership rate bumped up to 64.4 percent in the third quarter, which is a half percentage point increase from the same period in 2017, the bureau reported. First-time ...
Three Proptech Tools to Maximize Landlords, Property Managers Time and Money
Proptech — otherwise known as property technology that aims to improve the real estate market — is rapidly expanding throughout the U.S. And as more startups develop tech for a market that’s traditionally lacked innovation, real estate investors, landlords, and property managers have more powerful tools at their disposal than ever ...
AI and Deep Learning Help Solve the Big Data Puzzle for Real Estate
Real estate is an industry that is undergoing drastic changes. A big data revolution is on the horizon. This massive industry that boasts an annual revenue of $235 billion with over 200,000 residential brokerage companies and over 1 million loan officers has been overdue for a major shift. But while ...
Renovation Spotlight: Full-Speed Flipping
Jamie Wooley’s most recent deal is a 2,000-square-foot Texas home that she made over from the foundation up in just over two months. “We had to do basically everything to this one: foundation, new roof, new windows, all new flooring, opened up a wall in the galley kitchen, the works!” ...
3 Real Estate-Related Factors Emerging in the 2018 Midterm Elections
The 2018 midterm elections promise to be contentious. In the midst of the furor over alleged bad behavior on all sides, social media sparring, deep-seated partisan squabbling, and a visceral reaction to many of the major players in American politics today, housing policy may seem like a relatively calm port ...
