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.
Buying a property with tenants in place
We bought a short sale with a tenant in it and he quit paying Question: We bought a short sale with a tenant in it, and he has stopped paying rent. Did we make a mistake by not getting a credit check? Our real estate agent did not advise us ...
7 must-have items that make up a great real estate investment
My investors are always looking for the high performing yields which are found in the spread between the cap rate of a property and the interest rate for a financed property. The spread of the two reflects your positive leverage on the property. Today, with such low interest rates and ...
7 must-have items that make up a great real estate investment
My investors are always looking for the high performing yields which are found in the spread between the cap rate of a property and the interest rate for a financed property. The spread of the two reflects your positive leverage on the property. Today, with such low interest rates and ...
5 critical numbers real estate investors need to hit in 2015
It is the time to plan for 2015, if you have not done so already. I hope I can help you with these 5 key numbers to plan for 2015. My planning is done, and it has long been done. Don’t get discouraged if yours is not done. It’s never ...
Lou Barnes: What is the Fed up to?
Markets are already quieting in front of two holiday-shortened weeks, after two calm-shattering ones. The five things unresolved, still on the table beside the turkey: what is the Fed up to? What is the support for an apparently accelerating US recovery? Does crashing oil help or hurt? Same for China’s ...
5 reasons you may find you best investments buying from other investors
Struggling to find good real estate investments with my Realtor, I was convinced he simply did not understand what I was looking for. So I decided to take a real estate course for the sole purpose of having access to the Multiple Listing Service. By getting my real estate license, ...
5 reasons you may find you best investments buying from other investors
Struggling to find good real estate investments with my Realtor, I was convinced he simply did not understand what I was looking for. So I decided to take a real estate course for the sole purpose of having access to the Multiple Listing Service. By getting my real estate license, ...
5 key principles for running your real estate investing business in 2015
No. 1 – Painfully obvious, but frequently ignored, is goal setting If you are preparing for a successful 2015 but have not finished – or even already started – your real estate investing goal setting process, you are late. Successful investors have already set their goals and have prepared their ...
Lou Barnes’ analysis for investors: The Fed’s tightening may look like no other
Markets are moving in dramatic fashion, obscuring the improving US economy. Or vice-versa. Our 10-year T-note fell to 2.08% Friday, mortgages attempting to crack 4.00%; the German 10-year is a new all-time low 0.627% joined by Japan’s 0.398%. Stock markets are truly volatile, up-down-up-down. Oil has broken $60 and may ...
3 traits that helped me buy Australia’s cheapest house
With housing prices among the highest in the world, can you imagine acquiring Australia’s “cheapest house?” Seems a challenging feat – but that is exactly what I did! Some might say I accomplished this with pure luck. But if you know me at all, you also know that the word ...
HomeVestors reaches 60,000 home-purchase milestone
HomeVestors continued as the leader in home buying in the U.S., passing the milestone of 60,000 homes purchased since the company was founded, according to a release. The company also reported a surge in new company franchisees during 2014 passing the mark of more than 500 in 41 states. Co-Presidents ...
The 10 commandments of real estate investing
Setting goals for 2015 Every year I personally purchase or assist in the purchase of hundreds of real estate investments. Over my 35 years of real estate investing there are things I have learned that work great and have pledged to do again and again. There are, of course, things ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate
Mistake No. 2 “Never underestimate how much damage one person can do to you.” A friend of mine uttered these words at a seminar about 10 years ago and I’m here to tell you there’s a lot of wisdom in those words. Think I’m kidding? Close your eyes and sit ...
5 real estate investors indicted for bid rigging at foreclosure auctions
A federal grand jury in San Francisco has returned a nine-count indictment against five real estate investors for their role in bid rigging and fraud at real estate foreclosure auctions in the east bay area of California, according to a release from the FBI. The indictment charges northern California real ...
The 10 commandments of real estate investing
Setting goals for 2015 Every year I personally purchase or assist in the purchase of hundreds of real estate investments. Over my 35 years of real estate investing there are things I have learned that work great and have pledged to do again and again. There are, of course, things ...
A surge in jobs, but will the Fed make a move?
Surprise, surprise: November jobs data released Friday were off-the-chart strong. So strong that markets are struggling to evaluate and price the news, for the moment skeptical of the report, hence little changed. Shoot, there’s more reaction among politicians and economists. The White House is preening alongside anyone who has had ...
5 tips for renting to tenants with pets
Landlords and property managers are increasingly allowing pets on their properties. According to an Appfolio study of Millennial renters, over 76 percent are pet owners, suggesting a high demand for pet-friendly housing. The latest amenity trends are addressing the needs of pet owners with features like pet grooming stations, dog ...
8 rental property predictions for 2015
All good investors are visionaries. That is, before making an investment they make a prediction about the future – which may or may not come true. That said, and working with the humility appropriate for any investor with a healthy appreciation for risk and instinct for survival, here is a ...
The 7 avoidable mistakes investors and landlords should recognize
No. 1: Healthy cash flow is a must It’s so elementary and the foundation to your success as a landlord, yet it’s a commonly violated principle. A rental property must be set up for success, meaning the financials behind it must cash flow. So many times you see new or ...
One in seven home appraisals have been inflated, according to new research
One in seven home appraisals done between 2011 and 2014 were inflated by 20% or more, according to data collected by Digital Risk Analytics, a subsidiary of Digital Risk, LLC, and provided to the Wall Street Journal. The mortgage-analysis and consulting firm, based in Maitland, Fla., was hired by some ...
How many investors buy the kind of property they originally set out to buy?
This was an interesting question I received from a gentleman the other day and immediately I thought about an investor from Argentina with whom I had worked. He had called telling me that he represented many investors and wanted to buy as much property as he could get his hands ...
Lou Barnes: Mortgage rates moving down is real trend
Long-term interest rates have broken a narrow, month-long range... down. The lowest-fee mortgages are trying to cross below 4.00%, and the 10-year T-note, the driver of the show, now 2.23%. This is a big move, reinforcing a downtrend. However, this is also a holiday week, markets thin, and November jobs ...
7 steps to successful real estate investing
One thing I have learned over the years in business is that you must create systems that can be duplicated time and time again for successful results. When talking with investors who have challenges with their newly purchased investment properties, I can always trace those challenges back to one thing: ...
The biggest mistakes I have made in real estate: Failure No. 1
Most people don’t like to discuss the mistakes they've made in business. I’m a little different. I view every error I have ever made as part of my journey of personal growth and financial well being. The truth is, everybody in business makes mistakes, and the most important lesson to ...
Lou Barnes’ economic analysis of what the Fed minutes really say for investors
Mortgage rates have been stable near 4.00%, held there by the 10-year T-note moving hardly at all in the last month, 2.31%-2.38% since Halloween. Such stability is most unusual, best understood as a market gathering tension for a significant snap. The dominant news is central banks trying to cope with ...
