Login
Sign Up

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.

Lou Barnes investors financial weekly column on the economy for real estate investors

Lou Barnes’ weekly economic advice for real estate investors

| Danny Johnson | Article, Topics
The financial world is back on a familiar precipice: a giant global-regional economy is on a cusp, all waiting to see if its government will intervene. This time it ain’t us -- it’s Europe, again -- the shockwaves for the moment beneficial to the U.S. Mortgages are on their 2014 ...
Dear Monty answers your real estate investing questions and tenant and landlord questions

What makes a good landlord? 10 tips to avoid complaints from your tenants

| Dear Monty | Article, Topics
Reader Question: Monty, My husband and I own about 75 units in 25 plus buildings. He has a good day job and I manage the apartments. We have been expanding slowly for over 20 years. This is not easy work. Over the years we have had tenants occasionally complain about ...
Student loan debt may prevent young people from getting mortgages or investing in real estate

High student loan debt stopping some young people from real estate purchases

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
A new study shows that high student loan debt is stopping many young people from buying houses or investing in real estate as more than 50% of those ages 20 to 29 have student loan debt averaging more than $25,000,  indicating they may continue to have to rent housing for ...
Larry Arth's investor insights- 5 things the real estate gurus never tell you

5 things real estate “gurus” never tell you

| Larry Arth | Article, Topics
I remember sitting at my desk catching up on some paperwork on a rainy summer afternoon when a gentleman named Patrick walked into my office and said he wanted to learn everything I could share with him about buying real estate investment property. We had a chuckle as we both ...
RJ Palano buying real estate investment houses at auction in atlanta

Buying houses at auction: This is exactly what I do

| R J Palano | Article, Topics
 There is nothing like the adrenaline rush of buying houses at auction. It’s comparable to sky diving and spear fishing, with one exception: You can make a nice living and make a lot of money with a well-conceived plan of acquiring houses to flip and to hold. As promised, I ...
Larry Arth's real estate investor advice- moving from single-family to multi-family real estate investing

5 things to remember in moving from single-family to multifamily real estate investing

| Larry Arth | Article, Topics
I was recently at a real estate investors club meeting (REIA) where the proverbial debate- single-family versus multifamily investing-once again-underway. Investors have strong opinions about this topic. It sometimes gets downright brutal. It is a debate I heard many times early in my investing career and I was also perplexed ...
Lou Barnes investors financial weekly column on the economy for real estate investors

Lou Barnes’ weekly blog: Deflation and helping real estate investors understand trends

| Danny Johnson | Article, Topics
At the end of a strange week last week with lots of fresh data, two things stand out: mortgage and long-term rates stayed low, and market movements were magnified by mass escape from wrong-side trades. On the surface the U.S. data is strong. September payrolls jumped 248,000 jobs, plus another ...
Engelo Rumora blog on 3 top Facebook groups for real estate investors

3 top Facebook groups for real estate investors

| Engelo Rumora | Article, Topics
When Gary Vaynerchuk, author and CEO of Vaynermedia, a social media marketing agency, started his journey as an entrepreneur he found a very successful way of building his brand and establishing genuine business relationships. His secret was keeping very active across all social media platforms. He would literally spend day ...
RJ Palano buying real estate investment houses at auction

Two tips to follow if you are buying investment property at auction

| R J Palano | Article, Topics
Some of the best real estate opportunities come by way of auction.  These can be mortgage foreclosure auctions, government auctions or in general online auctions like Auction.com or RealtyBid.com. However, you must exercise care before entering into any agreements or signing anything and have your price points determined prior to ...
Lou Barnes investors financial weekly column on the economy for real estate investors

Lou Barnes’ weekly blog: Helping real estate investors understand mortgage and economic trends

| Danny Johnson | Article, Topics
Long-term mortgage rates have stabilized, mortgages just under 4.50%, but markets are rattled and it’s hard to tell exactly who or what is doing the shaking. The Fed has everybody uneasy, simultaneously saying it may raise the cost of money faster than markets think, but is not in a hurry, ...
Home equity from Corelogic showing fewer underwater homes

Almost two million homes gained equity and emerged from “underwater” in the last year

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
 A new analysis shows nearly 950,000 homes returned to positive equity in the second quarter of 2014, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity in the U.S. to more than 44 million, according to a release from CoreLogic on PRNewswire.Nationwide, borrower equity increased year over year by ...
Dear Monty answers your real estate investing questions

3 things investors should look for in converting an old commercial building to a new use

| Dear Monty | Article, Topics
Reader Question: Monty, my partners and I have been in commercial real estate for 15 years. We own a variety of income producing properties. We have been toying with the idea of converting an old, vacant building. It is pretty, under the dust, but in rough shape. One of the ...
Kevin Guz how I went from a corporate executive to a real estate investment business owner

How I went from a corporate executive to a real estate investment business owner

| Kevin Guz | Article, Topics
I have been a residential real estate investor, in some capacity, for quite some time. I was investing in residential real estate for 10 years while I was a corporate executive. I was buying houses on my lunch hour. I was fixing and repairing and leasing houses on the weekends ...
Larry Arth's real estate investor advice

5 triggers that influence tenant decision making for your rental properties

| Larry Arth | Article, Topics
How great would it be if you knew what your tenants or future tenants are thinking about rental properties? It has been my experience that landlords tend to put all their energy into what they as landlords want without getting in tune with what the tenant wants. The nice thing ...
Lou Barnes investors financial weekly column on the economy for real estate investors

The Fed’s “mouse” causes long-term mortgage interest rates to jump

| Danny Johnson | Article, Topics
Long-term mortgage rates have risen sharply, mortgages pressing 4.50% as the credit markets jumped on kitchen chairs at the sight of a Fed mouse. EEEK!! The Fed met last week and made only this material change: reduced its forecast for 2015 GDP growth from 3.0-3.2% to 2.6-3.0%. It has of ...
Teresa Bitler 10 ways a property manager can save you money

10 ways a professional property manager can save you money

| Teresa Bitler | Article, Topics
Landlording — if you choose to do it yourself — is a lot like Donald Rumsfeld’s definition of war: What you do not know can hurt, or even kill your investment plans. New landlords often try to maximize their profits by managing their own properties, but the do-it-yourself approach can ...
Larry Arth's real estate investor advice

3 top search habits renters are using to find properties

| Larry Arth | Article, Topics
Many people changed their buying and spending habits during the recent recession. It is imperative to understand how these habits have changed, in order to run an effective real estate investment business, especially when you are providing housing. First, understand your target market’s rental preferences in order to connect with ...
Lou Barnes investors financial weekly column on the economy for real estate investors

Good news pushes up long-term rates

| Danny Johnson | Article, Topics
In the backwards world of bonds and mortgages, in which good news is bad, good news pushed up long-term rates last week. U.S.  data may encourage the Fed to accelerate the end of ZIRP (zero interest rate policy), at its meeting this week, possibly, maybe, perhaps, tentatively pre-hinting a rate ...
5 Tips On Communicating With Your Contractor On Your Rental Property Renovation

5 Tips On Communicating With Your Contractor On Your Rental Property Renovation

| Engelo Rumora | Article | Funding, Operations
At any given time, I have multiple projects running that place me at the service of someone else. It puts me in both a vulnerable and sometimes frustrating position because I know that I can’t do everything and they know that I really need them. So, for this blog I ...
Is your rental fetching top dollar? All Property Management

Is your rental fetching top dollar?

| Jason Van Steenwyk | Article, Topics
When an obscure upstate New York dairy farmer named Max Yasgur rented out his alfalfa field to some concert promoters in 1968 for $10,000, he unexpectedly welcomed 400,000+ hippies who attended the legendary Woodstock concert (400,001 if you count Joan Baez's unborn child). They all but destroyed his farm. Yasgur ...
5 tips for communicating with your contractor on your rental property renovations

5 important tips on communicating with your contractor on your rental property renovation

| Engelo Rumora | Article, Topics
At any given time, I have multiple projects running that place me at the service of someone else. It puts me in both a vulnerable and sometimes frustrating position because I know that I can’t do everything and they know that I really need them. So, for this blog I ...
Michael Stoll, UCLA, on moving trends in U.S, in summer 2014

New moving trends study may help investors know where jobs and top rental markets will be

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Moving trends studies can help show real estate investors where rental property and jobs may be in more demand, and a new one just released shows Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta  and Dallas were the most popular moving destinations this summer, according to a release from PRNewswire of a study of ...
Larry Arth's real estate investor advice

4 things tenants are looking for in rentals these days

| Larry Arth | Article, Topics
As landlords and property owners we tend to want many things from our tenants. We want them to be great tenants who mind their own business and take great care of our properties. The only time we want to hear from them is the first of the month when we ...
Dear Monty answers your real estate investing questions

8 tips to add sparkle to old apartment buildings

| Dear Monty | Article, Topics
Q: Monty, we inherited two 16-unit apartment buildings from my father. They have been in the family for over 30 years. I never took an interest in real estate until now, but as a kid I did mow the lawns. They are free and clear, and we intend to keep ...
Americans see owning a home as a safe investment

A majority of Americans see owning a home as a safe investment new poll says

| Editorial Staff | Article, Market & Trends
Despite periods of volatility in the real estate market over the past few years, over seven in ten Americans (72%) see owning a home as a safe investment, according to a new Harris Poll released by PRNewswire. Majorities agree on this point across generations, albeit with considerable shifts from one ...
All Courses