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.
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 ...
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 ...
We are wrapping up the first quarter of 2017, and I continue to prepare for the remainder of the year here in Dallas, Texas. Yet after talking to other real estate investors, in various markets, I have recognized a unique theme: the residential real estate environment, right now, is an ...
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 ...
Landlord Mistakes Attract Vandals to Properties
Real estate investors and landlords trying to lease vacant properties may be making a few mistakes that could turn those properties into magnets for vandals. According to a report from SnapLandlord.com, investors who are not planning for long-term vacancies can quickly fall victim to vandalism because their properties are not ...
Warning: Your Appraiser is About to Let You Down
If you are about to have an investment property appraised, be prepared to feel a little let down. According to the National Quicken Loans Home Price Perception Index, homeowners and appraisers are in discord over their home values for the fifth month in a row, and the gap is only ...
U.S. Foreclosure Activity for April 2017 Hits Lowest Level Since November 2005
ATTOM Data Solutions, on May 12, 2017, released its April 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market data, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 77,049 U.S. properties in April, down 7 percent from the previous month and down 23 percent from a year ...
Homeownership Spikes as Compared to Rentership
It’s something we haven’t seen in 11 years. The latest report from the Census Bureau shows that homeownership rose faster than renter households during the first quarter of this year. Should real estate rental investors be worried? The Census Bureau’s Homeownership and Vacancy Survey shows a homeownership rate of 63.6 percent during ...
How Have Falling Police Arrests Affected CA Home Values?
What if you couldn’t trust the local crime report anymore? What if police officers in your area opted to turn a blind eye either as an unofficial department policy or as an unstated cultural shift? It would be really scary. You might move! Well, in the case of at least ...
Cross-Border Property Transactions Exceed $426 Billion in 2016
Real estate investing is definitely a global pastime. According to analysts from overseas real estate broker Tranio, $426.8 billion crossed international borders in the form of real-estate investments and related transactions. Of that staggering sum, $188.4 billion went into the commercial sector and the remaining $238.4 went into the residential ...
Real estate investment marketplace Sharestates is hoping to expand its reach into more geographical regions by way of strategic partnerships with private lenders. To facilitate these interactions, the lending platform, which offers rigorously-vetted debt offerings to individual and institutional investors, recently debuted a new financing capability they have titled the ...
Real estate investors will soon be able to reap the benefits of a strategic partnership between two real-estate data powerhouses. Available on nearly 120 million U.S. properties, Home Disclosure Reports provide information in more than 42 categories, including neighborhood, school, crime and environmental data. Additionally, Home Disclosure Reports are able ...
Think Realty Magazine May/June 2017
+WHAT'S INSIDE The Big Picture | Basic Training • Forcing the Economy • The Right Recipe • Market Update • Manual or Auto Pilot? Cover Feature | Know Thyself Up Close & Personal| One on One: Daren Bloomquist • Company Profile • Knowing Profitable When You Sell It • Rookie Investor • Taking ...
Gentrification’s Role in the Affordable Housing Solution
In today’s society, “gentrification” is not what it used to be. Our culture is more equipped with information and resources than any previous. As a result, creating awareness of the issue is the first step in carving out “affordable” living options in today’s urban environment. The problem plaguing “urban” communities ...
Tips for Investing in Distressed Assets
On the outside, distressed assets can seem like an investor’s dream. These properties are priced at less than market value and appear to be a real bargain. But many investors purchase a distressed property and have no idea how to turn it into a profitable investment. How do you determine ...
When You Cut Corners Are You Really Saving Money?
A mentor used to say to me, “Don’t jump over hundreds to pick up dimes.” In other words, don’t try to save a few dimes if it will cost you big bucks in the end. Unfortunately, I see many real estate investors doing just this. Yes, it is important to ...
Q&A with Zillow’s Chief Economist, Svenja Gudell
Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow, leads a team of economists, data scientists and analysts dedicated to producing real estate research for consumers, academics, policymakers and industry-wide decision-makers. “My team focuses on research spanning affordability, mortgages, negative equity, generational issues and policy issues,” she told Think Realty in a recent ...
Updates From The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Home is where the heart is, but how far would you go to keep your heart in residence at its current location? More than half of all Americans in a MacArthur Foundation study said they would give up healthcare, rack up credit-card debt and forego saving for retirement in order ...
Landlord-Rallying Effort in Maryland Gives Hope
Are there any questions for the panel? Next up is Brian Wojcik. Is Brian here?” asked the vice chair of the committee of delegates. It was a long and drawn-out meeting in an overcrowded room, on an unusually warm winter day. The air conditioning seemed limited in its capacity to ...
Social Media Provides Channels for New Investors
Locating investors can be a daunting task for many property sellers. Fortunately, social media provides a number of channels for finding new investors and connections and for revving up your database. Though each channel can be time-consuming in its execution, the rewards can be highly beneficial, resulting in a great ...
Real Estate Copycat Warning: Follow the Real Experts
My 36 years of experience in buying seller-financed notes has taught me the importance of understanding the difference between following a real, proven recipe versus just copying the recipe of someone who may not have known that much about the topic. Way back in the 1990s, I designed a seller-financed ...
7 Millennial Statistics Every REI Should Know
Millennial consumers (generally speaking, those born during the years 1982-2000) are currently in vogue, and they are here to stay. This age group is expected to have the biggest spending power of any generation by 2018. And many of them are now of age with regard to purchasing a home ...
Moving Your REI Business To A New Market
Have we lost our minds? We were asking ourselves this question for the first few weeks after we moved our business to new – and unfamiliar – territory. After living in one city for all of John’s life, we picked up our HomeVestors of America franchise not long ago and ...
The Cornerstone of Investor Success? Meticulous Due Diligence
The due diligence process is critically important in any commercial real estate transaction. Although developing a meticulous process is consistent with the best practices in the industry, it is surprising how many companies are less than thorough. Experienced investors in commercial property leave no stone unturned in order to limit ...
Turning Your Rental Into Your Primary Residence
Sometimes moving into your rental makes sense. A move could reduce your monthly mortgage payment, give you the time to finalize long-term plans or minimize your capital gains as you begin to think about selling the property. It could also allow you to downsize or provide you more space for ...
