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.
Changes in Mortgage Finance Represent Opportunity for Investors
Adapting to a changing economic and legal environment is important in every industry, especially real estate. Veteran real estate investors must learn and adapt to the changing environment. The note industry and note investors are no different. This article discusses some of the changes underway in the real estate industry, ...
An Effective, Often-Overlooked Strategy for “Recession-Proof” Investing
The Great Recession officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009 and had immediate and lasting negative financial impact on households and the broader markets. The economy bottomed out, crushing the real estate and stock markets, destroying $18.9 trillion of household wealth, and wiping out more than eight million jobs ...
Find an REI Partner Who Just “Gets It”
Hello, fellow real estate investors! My name is Tom Olson from the Good Success mastermind community. Finding service providers who understand the unique challenges and risk exposure we face as real estate investors can be a point of frustration. Because of this, I started using National Real Estate Insurance Group ...
The Legal Kryptonite You Need to Fight Financial Vampires
He must have been sweating bullets when he got the news. John, a successful business man and owner of several car dealerships, got the call that his 16-year-old son had just rear-ended my car. Naturally, John’s first concern was the safety of his son. After learning that his son was ...
Alert: Credit Bureaus Decide to Remove Tax Liens from Credit Reporting
When Transunion, Equifax, and Experian PLC sent out information on credit scores in April, some risky credit applicants may have appeared more creditworthy than they really are. Thanks to a decision to remove tax liens from credit reports, potentially risky borrowers will have a better chance at getting approved for ...
3 Tips for Doing Profitable Investment Deals in a Seller’s Market
When they hear the term “hot market,” most real estate investors I know immediately assume that I, as a realtor, will love working in an area with this description. After all, properties are selling for big bucks, which means I can earn higher commissions, right? Well, yes and no. A ...
The Seattle City Council is considering a new tax law that will charge large employers about $500 per employee and dedication three-quarters of the resulting tax revenue toward building just under 2,000 affordable housing units in the city. The remainder would go toward services for the homeless. Although Amazon is ...
First-Time and Lower-Income Homebuyers to Struggle in 2018
With home values rising, inventory shrinking, and a buying population spurred on by rising interest rates, more and more housing markets are skyrocketing in value. Zillow recently warned that home shoppers have nearly 9 percent fewer homes to choose from than they did this time last year and, furthermore, that ...
Northern Nevada Housing Set Records in April
According to data released by the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors (RSAR) about March 2018, the local housing market shattered records set before the Great Depression for median home prices for single-family homes. RSAR predicted in the same report prices would keep increasing for the remainder of the year. “We have…a ...
When Dennis Cisterna, CEO of Investability Solutions, joined the Altisource Portfolio Solutions offshoot's “one-stop shop” for single-family residential (SFR) investors, he did so with a clear mission in mind. “It should not be difficult to acquire, finance, manage, and structure partnerships in real estate,” Cisterna said. “There is a place ...
3 Tips for Maximizing the Benefits of 3D Modeling
When you think of three-dimensional (3D) modeling in terms of home design, you probably think of high-end, luxury interior designers and their software. However, 3D modeling can be extremely useful for real estate investors as well as owner-occupants upgrading their homes. Think Realty Magazine talked to Mark Reginelli, director of ...
Think Realty Magazine May 2018
+ WHAT'S INSIDE Think Realty | News & Events •Credit Bureaus Decide to Remove Tax Liens from Credit Reporting Design Point | Renovation Rockstar: New Orleans Edition • Renovation Rockstar: First-Time Townhouse Success 2018 Trends | Perfect Balance •The Future is Now for Artificial Intelligence in Real Estate •Why We ...
Why We Will Live with Labor Shortages in 2018 and Beyond
Look at any major housing market in the country right now, and you will see signs of building. Inventory is short; the housing market is hot, and the cranes are all over the skyline. However, all too often, those cranes are not necessarily moving. In the wake of the housing ...
Western and Southern States Lead Job Growth So Far This Year
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment numbers are rising in just about every area of the country. However, the Midwest and Northeast showed far less job growth than the West and South over the period between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017. Job numbers are ...
Top 3 Markets for Millennial Homebuyers
Millennial buyers accounted for more than a third of all home purchases in 2017, but the most competitive housing markets in the country do not have much room for them. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), “young home shoppers are relocating to more affordable parts of the country” ...
Freddie Mac to Expand 3% Down Loans for New Homebuyers
Freddie Mac is going into competition with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) for low-down-payment borrowers, but that is not a bad thing for buyers or investors. Freddie Mac’s new HomeOne program can be applied to first-time homebuyers in any geographic location and any income bracket, putting a 3 percent down ...
Mandarin-Speaking Robots to Partner with Chinese Real Estate Website
If you always wanted to work with Chinese real estate investors but had no idea how you would start the conversation, Singou Technology of Macau (STM) and Chinese international real estate website Juwai.com may have some answers for you. Juwai.com announced this week that it will partner with STM to ...
Tumbleweed Buries Southern California Homes
We’ve all heard about the hazards and inconveniences associated with environmental factors like snow, water, and wind, but you might not be quite so familiar with the perils of tumbleweeds. These spiky balls of dried plant material break off in strong winds and blow around, dispersing seeds. Unfortunately for residents ...
Housing Demand Falls 6.5 Percent Thanks to Late Winter Blues
Fewer home sellers requested home tours and wrote offers last month than they, did in the middle of winter, an unusual break in the traditional spring housing “heat” most real estate professionals have come to expect. According to Redfin’s Housing Demand index, which measures how many customers exhibit behaviors that ...
Retail Vacancy Rates Close in on Record Highs
For the past 10 years, CoStar Group, a commercial real estate services firm, has been tracking how much retail space closes each year. Retail properties are used to sell consumer goods and services, but there is a great deal of variety among this type of real estate. Retail real estate ...
Homebuyers Making Offers Sight-Unseen in Traditionally Affordable Markets
Homebuyers are getting desperate for deals – any deals at all – and it is creating a buying frenzy the likes of which has not been seen in many markets in more than a decade, if ever. According to Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist of Veritas Urbis Economics, Spring 2018 could ...
Auction.com Partners With Think Realty Radio
Think Realty Radio has secured a partnership agreement with Auction.com, the nation’s leading online real estate marketplace focused exclusively on the sale of residential bank-owned and foreclosure properties. Auction.com sponsors the Think Realty Radio show on Thursdays. Think Realty, the industry leader in real estate investor resources, education and best ...
Foreclosure Rates Rising in Texas and Florida as Disaster Moratoria End
March 2018 foreclosure numbers were up 11.56 percent, or by 52,100 foreclosure starts, nationally over February 2018 according to a Black Knight report. Of that increase, Florida and Texas foreclosures were responsible for two-thirds. Of note: Compared to March 2017, foreclosure starts were still down 13.6 percent. Black Knight analysts ...
3 Listing Descriptions that Netted Sellers Double-Digit Advantages in 2017
Every homebuyer has a “wish list” for their future home, but certain items on that list could add nearly 30 percent to your sales price. According to a new report from Zillow, certain listing terms snagged sellers huge premiums on their homes at the closing table. Knowing which items to ...
Is that Home Inspection Worth It?
This article was originally featured in March 2018 Think Realty Magazine and written by Adam Pontier, owner of KCPE LLC. When I was young, my father bought a home that we gutted to the bare studs and put back together as our family home. This was my first taste of construction ...
