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.
Renovation Success: No Longer a Rookie
Exactly two months after we closed on our rental property, Lucas and I welcomed our renters into their new home. I felt emotional as we drove away from the house that day because (1), we had spent the morning there doing final cleaning and capturing the “after” photos of the ...
China Hits Milestone: 1,000+ LEED Certified Projects
China has achieved a major milestone in “green” building, surpassing 1,000 LEED certified building projects, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “The exponential growth of LEED in the global marketplace and in China drastically helps mitigate climate change and positively affects the health and well-being of millions of ...
Home Inventory Hits Record Low Since 2012
Trulia’s quarterly Inventory and Price Watch report—evaluating the supply of starter, trade-up and premium homes on the market nationally and in the 100 largest U.S. metros—found that markets with the biggest gains in home values since 2012 are facing the tight supply of for-sale homes. Buyers Face Tightest Inventory Levels ...
Best 2017 Single-Family Rental Markets for Investing
Solid returns on single-family rentals are expected to continue in many parts of the Southeast, Rust Belt and Midwest for investors purchasing in 2017, according to results of ATTOM Data Solutions’ Q1 2017 Single Family Rental Market report. The report, released March 23, 2017, analyzed single-family rental returns in 375 ...
Homeownership Hits 50-Year Record Low
Over the past 10 years, homeownership rates in the U.S. collapsed, wiping out more than three decades of progress toward the American Dream for millions of households. Overall, the national homeownership rate dropped from a peak of 69 percent in 2004 to an average of 63.4 percent in 2016. If ...
Why Smart Home Tech is a Smart Investment
The real estate industry is highly competitive, and it’s more important than ever for investors to keep up with the latest trends. Over the last decade or so, the demand for energy efficiency has made upgraded windows, improved insulation and more efficient roofing among the most popular - and profitable ...
If a Family of Four Becomes a Family of Eight
Some landlords misinterpret, to their own disadvantage, the housing laws created to prevent discrimination based on familial status. State and local health and safety codes often set maximum limits on the total number of occupants. It is your right as a landlord, however, to restrict the number of residents based ...
BEWARE. Fed Rate Hike Could Burst Bubbles
The Federal Reserve followed through on its latest promise to raise interest rates. Fed Chief Janet Yellen announced a quarter point hike in the federal funds rate in March. But the increase has little to do with the ripple effect on mortgages and consumer loans, and more to do with ...
Woman To Watch: Vena Jones-Cox
Woman: Vena Jones-Cox Company: You Buy Houses Place in the Industry Vena Jones-Cox has been investing in residential real estate in the greater Cincinnati area full-time since 1989, and she’s completed over 600 deals in the process. “I consider myself a generalist,” she said. “Everything I do is around single family ...
Warning: Read the Fine Print Before You Sign
I married a paramedic/firefighter, so I’m not exaggerating when I say that “safety first” is something my husband and I take seriously. When it came to purchasing our rental property, we drove through the neighborhood, got to know the neighbors, and determined our home was on a safe street. We ...
Real Estate Investing: Simple vs. Easy
The distinction between simple and easy is critical for real estate investors. I’ll admit, I didn’t understand the distinction myself until I had been investing for quite some time. Your ability to recognize and differentiate between the two could be a strong indicator of your future success. That’s why I ...
Use Digital Platforms to Collect Rent
Landlords, it’s time to embrace technology. While the U.S. Postal Service may disagree, the standard, “rent check is in the mail” approach isn’t saving your business time or money. And that’s exactly what your investment properties are –a business. So, you should be running it like one. If you intend ...
Home Price Insight Report for January 2017
CoreLogic’s Home Price Insight Report for January 2017 showed a 0.7 percent for the national single-family combined tier which included distressed sales over the prior month. The report recorded a year-over-year gain of 6.9 percent nationally for the single-family combined tier to include distressed sales. The U.S. has experienced 60 ...
Landlord and Tenant Respect: A Two-Way Street
We, as landlords, have certain expectations of the people who rent from us. These expectations include timely rent payments, prompt notifications of repair issues, and responsiveness to our attempts to contact them. It’s only fair that a tenant is entitled to their own expectations of us, as landlords. The right ...
Home Building in West L.A.: Interview with Katherine Gladkov
Building a business of taking real estate to its “highest and best use” is both an art and a science. Here, we share an interview that RealtyShares, a prominent real estate investment marketplace, had with Katherine Gladkov, an experienced realtor who has recently moved her business toward speculative home building ...
Woman: Svenja Gudell Company: Zillow Place in the Industry Svenja Gudell has a very big job. As Zillow’s chief economist, she not only leads a team of more than 10 economists, data scientists, and analysts in producing real estate research for consumers, academics, policy-makers, and the rest of the decision-makers in ...
5 Inexpensive Security Updates for Your Rental Property
Security is important for both property owner and tenant—you want to avoid burglaries and break-ins as much as the people living on your property. Luckily, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on an out-of-box or whole-home system to get the peace of mind that comes with great ...
3 Tips for Landing the Perfect Renter
One of the scariest parts of flipping a rental property is wondering whether or not you’ll find a good renter. Thankfully, I got great advice on this topic while attending the Think Realty event in San Diego in February. At the time Lucas and I were halfway through our renovation ...
Real estate investing is not a solo sport. It requires a strong support team to be successful in mastering the learning curve and to increase your productivity. Each roll on the team is significant to success, even if it is not an actual person. Your success will involve your resolution ...
Shake up Your Routine and Increase Productivity
Are you are looking to implement a new daily discipline that will motivate you to run eagerly to start the day? You might want to consider a treadmill desk, which could provide an enormous boost to your motivation, productivity and creativity. A new routine could be the best investment for ...
Pick Exterior House Paints to Get Your Property Rented!
Every day your rental property remains vacant, is potential income you’re losing. Color plays a big role in getting prospective renters to notice your property. It can attract people to your home or drive them away. Whether you choose to paint yourself or hire a professional, the right exterior hue ...
Woman: Kathy Fettke Company: Real Wealth Network Place in the Industry Kathy Fettke considers her place in the industry to be one of offering hope. “I offer people a lot of hope that they will someday be able to experience financial freedom through real estate investing thanks to a path that ...
Commercial Property Outlook for 2017
Online marketplaces like RealtyShares can allow investors to take advantage of investment opportunities across the spectrum of commercial property types. One of the primary market sectors is that of office buildings, which can range from large multi-tenant structures in city business districts to single-tenant buildings that might be built to ...
Are You Ready to Transition to Full-Time Investing?
There are many part-time real estate investors who ask this one specific question, “Am I ready to transition from part-time real estate investing to full-time?” I know from my own experience this question is an important one. I started investing in real estate 10 years ago, part-time, and five years ...
Glutton for Punishment or Naive DIY’er?
You know those things that everyone tells you not to do, but you think, “It won’t be like that for me!” and you do it anyway. Like, when your parents tell you not to get a dog. They tell you, “It’s a lot of responsibility,” “It’s like having a child,” ...
