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.
Does Your Property Have a Ghost of a Chance of Selling?
It’s that time of year when the veil between worlds is at its thinnest—or so “they” say. Superstition is steeped in most everyone’s bones, but the daily hocus pocus of real estate investing can unearth oddities in homes, especially ones that were foreclosed or have been vacant for a long ...
Single-Family Rental Returns Down, But Investor Activity is Up
ATTOM Data Solutions’ just-released Q3 2016 Single Family Rental Market Report found that average single-family rental returns dropped to a nine-year low for homes purchased so far in 2016 among 473 U.S. counties analyzed for the report. At the same time, purchase activity by institutional investors is on the upswing ...
3 Tips for Identifying a Good Long-Term Tenant
Anyone landlord knows it's essential to find the right tenant for your rental. Sure, it’s important to get somebody into your property so you can start generating rent. But if you don’t choose carefully, you could end up with someone who is habitually late on paying – if they pay ...
Goldilocks Period for Housing Market?
The recent announcement that an earlier housing skeptic is now bullish on the U.S. housing market was stunning. The move was based on fundamentals, though—and is thus worth close review. Ex-Goldman Exec Makes a Big Bet on Housing Market Donald Mullen Jr., who a decade ago helped oversee the lucrative ...
How to Avoid Regrets in Your Real Estate Investing
As real estate investors, we look back and all have regrets. I draw upon my own experience of investing here in the Dallas market for more than 10 years, and as I look back at my business, in retrospect there are definitely things I regret. My mistakes include things I ...
5 Insights into the Growing Single-Family Rental Market
Real estate investors always are looking for insights into the growing single-family rental market. For example: What areas of the country are experiencing the best conditions for investing in rentals? And, what areas are showing a stagnating ability to make money from renting? Among the companies that analyze the data ...
Do You Know Your Investment Personality?
In a special five-part video mini-series, I am excited to provide you with steps to help you dominate your deals. And this isn’t just talk. These are steps that we are using every day, so I can attest that they work. You can access the introduction to the five-part series ...
September Foreclosure Activity at Lowest Level Since December 2005
A new report from AATOM Data Solutions shows home foreclosure activity in September 2016 was down 13 percent from the prior month and down 24 percent from one year ago, displaying the lowest level since December 2005. The September and Q3 2016 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report shows 82,972 properties with ...
Are You an Investor or a Speculator in Real Estate Investing?
As a real estate investor, are you an investor, or are you a speculator? There is a significant difference. Speculating is when you form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence—for example, investing in the stock market. You’re buying shares of a certain stock in the hopes ...
Risk is an accepted part of real estate investing, but that doesn’t mean an investor isn’t always looking for ways to lessen it—and there’s no shortage of vendors promising solutions. The people behind Kansas City-based RentFax think they have an answer that outperforms the competition and could revolutionize the way ...
Any real estate investor who has been in the game for a while knows the benefits of direct property investment. Among the major asset classes, real estate enjoys many unique positive tax advantages, particularly when compared with traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. However unrealistic in today’s market, consider ...
Get a Marketing Boost with Think Realty
An advertorial supplement in Think Realty Magazine can give your real estate business an effective marketing boost. Just ask Greystone Residential, one of three clients (along with Platinum Investment Properties Group and Fast Home Solutions) to take advantage of this advertising resource in the upcoming November-December 2016 issue of Think ...
Oklahoma Foreclosures Mirror Earthquake Spike
Home sales volume and prices in Oklahoma continued to trend higher during the two-year period ending in Q1 2016, according to a newly released analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions and Greenfield Advisors. But the period also saw a dramatic rise in the number of earthquakes as well as an increase ...
All-Cash Investment Home Prices Skyrocket
Median sales prices for all types of residential real estate are soaring, according to the just-released monthly HomeUnion Home Sales Report that examines August 2016 data. The report shows that the median sales prices for investment houses and owner-occupied homes increased 12.6 percent from one year ago to $266,500. The ...
3 Red Flags in Evaluating Investment Property
A common question from many beginning investors is “How can I tell by looking at a property whether that is going to be a good investment or not?” First, let me say this: Most beginning investors should never ever, ever purchase a property that needs major renovations. Never purchase a ...
3 ‘Unknowns’ that are Critical to a Real Estate Investor’s Success
Looking back to when I started as a part-time real estate investor 10 years ago, I remember feeling some concern or even worry about whether I was prepared enough. Regardless of the amount of due diligence and effort I put into my business plan or even the general preparation I ...
You don't have to add another property to your portfolio to increase your monthly net. Here are seven ways to make your current properties more profitable. 1. Minimize vacancies Vacancy is the “biggest profit-killer for rental properties,” according to Brian Davis, co-founder of Spark Rental, an online educational resource and rental ...
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is not just the primary international airport serving the state of Texas and the largest hub for American Airlines, which also has its headquarters nearby. DFW is also a perfect example of the flexibility and creativity that makes the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex an interesting ...
Dallas-Fort Worth: The Heat is (Still) On
When a city starts making regular appearances on multiple “overheated housing market” lists, real estate investors start to get a little antsy about their holdings in the area. Those who were considering putting money into those markets grasp their checkbooks a little more tightly. In the case of the Dallas-Fort Worth ...
Just last week, John (not his real name) lost nearly 60 percent of the value of his self-directed IRA in a single day. There wasn’t a horrible crash in the stock market or an act of fraud that caused this calamity. Instead, John’s misfortune was the result of an esoteric ...
Hurricane Prep and Reaction for Real Estate Investors
We are officially in the thick of hurricane season — a worrisome time not just for residents of storm-prone areas but also investors who own property there. Here are some hurricane prep and reaction tips that can help if you own investment properties. Hurricanes are unpredictable. Their projected paths, wind speeds and ...
Contributing Columnist, Owner-Financing Expert Launches Podcast
Real estate investing mentor and owner-financing expert Mitch Stephen, a regular contributor to Think Realty Magazine, has launched a new podcast, “Real Estate Investor Summit.” The podcast can be accessed at www.REInvestorSummit.com or via iTunes or Stitcher. “Real Estate Investor Summit is dedicated to delivering insightful interviews that teach listeners how to ...
Does the Math Add Up for Build-to-Rent Single-Family Homes?
Building single-family rental home neighborhoods seems like a great idea—until you run the math. Almost 12 percent of all households in the country now rent a single-family home. Certainly, a portion of these renters will pay a rental premium for a new home. However, there is a snag. While the ...
Best and Worst Cities in Which to Own Investment Property
Three Florida cities—Orlando, Tampa and Miami—rank among the Top 10 Cities in Which to Own Investment Property, according to results of an analysis published recently by GOBankingRates.com. The personal finance news and features website also ranked the Worst Cities in Which to Own Investment Property, with Anchorage, Alaska, taking that ...
Do the Numbers Square With the Hype in Real Estate Investing?
There’s a lot of excitement, interest and energy around residential real estate investing. But at the end of the day, the prudent investor—or the individual who is considering real estate investing, if he or she is smart—needs to look at the numbers. Make sure the numbers are aligned with and ...
