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.
Six steps to building your passive real estate investment portfolio
Do what we were all taught not to do in school – copy your neighbor’s work. That’s right. To be an effective passive investor you need to simply research and duplicate. The passive investment model is easy duplicated once you understand it. Here are the six steps seasoned investors copy ...
Who are the prospective tenants and where is the best place to buy a corporate rental?
We are continuing our question and answer guide to help real estate agents and their investor clients understand the ins and outs of corporate housing as an investment opportunity for their portfolios. Corporate housing has been traditionally used by traveling business professionals who are staying in a city for one ...
We are gradually creeping ahead, interest rates still low, but recovery very, very slow
"Silly season" for newsies is high summer, when there so little news that "Man Bites Dog!" migrates to page one. In this late-spring week news is plentiful, but a lot of it is silly. Keep sense of humor close by. The straight news aspects for real estate investors are brief, ...
Mortgage rates reversed course this week, with the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumping to 4.32 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey released by PR Newswire. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.34 discount and origination points. To see mortgage rates in your area, go to ...
Housing crisis still real for many, as appeal for renting grows new research shows
A new research study shows that 70% of the public continues to believe we are still in the midst of the housing crisis. Also, of interest to real estate investors, is that people believe the country’s housing environment is changing and home ownership is not viewed as a vehicle to ...
What I learned the hard way in build-to-rent: Lesson No. 2
When equity funds like Blackstone rushed into Atlanta and other cities in 2012, I knew I could not compete head-to-head with them in bidding for foreclosures, so I decided to head down the path of build-to-rent. In the last column (Lesson No. 1), I mentioned the importance of knowing your ...
Can I expect more income from a corporate rental than a traditional rental?
This week Kimberly Smith continues her series on guiding real estate agents who want to help investors buy properties for the purpose of high cash flow vs. fixing and flipping. Corporate housing may be right for investors who are interested in alternative investment opportunities beyond traditional rentals or labor intensive ...
Can hard money loans help real estate investors?
If I were a first-time investor, and if I had a chance to buy and sell a property for a sizable profit, I would try to get the necessary capital, at the best terms, to make this deal possible. Here's the problem, though: It's unlikely that a bank, in this ...
Good news for investors: Long-term interest rates may fall a long way
Many threads, much confusion. Most important for investors, a simultaneous event and indicator: the 10-year T-note broke below 2.47%, mortgages to low-fours. The chart could not be more dramatic; if not a temporary head-fake, long-term rates can fall a long way. We will know next week real estate investors. Next ...
Home prices continue slowing, but up year over year topped by Dallas and Denver
Dallas and Denver home prices reached new highs in the latest data through March, released by by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller[1] Home Price Indices, according to a release from PRNewswire. The report shows the 10-City and 20-City Composite Indices gained 0.8% and 0.9% month-over-month. In the first ...
Can headlines like ‘Top 10 rental markets’ mislead investors?
We see articles every day that tease us and get us thinking. 10 Housing Markets Poised to Rebound Soon! 15 Under-priced College Towns! 10 Best Rental Markets! Should we invest in a market because the headlines are good? While these headlines are fun to think about, and may offer great ...
How do landlords manage corporate rentals?
Realtors, many investors will buy investment properties for the purpose of high cash flow vs. fixing and flipping. If cash flow is the preference, a corporate rental may be the investment your client has been searching for; after all, corporate housing is for investors looking to make more money and ...
Remodeling in a less desirable area – how to know when it’s right for investment
Q: A friend and I are going to buy an old home and remodel it to rent out. We have a limited budget, so we are looking in areas where prices are lower. Are there any strategies or tips for buying and renovating houses in “less than desirable” areas? How ...
How do we find our way back to economic progress and growing investments?
A holiday week, thin for new economic reports, markets quiet... one subject rises in importance above all for investors. Politics!! We are in a political transition unprecedented in our national history. From the Civil War until recently our two political parties were ideologically mixed. Republicans were the Party of Lincoln, ...
Why did I shift from Minnesota real estate investing to Florida investing?
Like most real estate investors, I started investing in my own backyard. I started in an era when late night infomercials were dictating investment strategies. Years ago that is what all the gurus suggested. To be able to sell their information to a broad audience, they drove the point home ...
How agents can help clients buy investment property
If you’re a real estate agent with an established real estate practice, chances are you have or will have a client who wants to buy an investment property. Helping these clients identify the right investment property is now in your hands. You don’t want to mess it up. What are ...
Mel Watt is focused on helping the mortgage credit situation
Big changes this week, surprising and confusing -- mostly good news here, trouble overseas, and an astounding political turn for the better for mortgage credit. On Wednesday the 10-year T-note broke out the bottom of a well-defined four-month trading range 2.60%-2.80% to 2.50%. That's the lowest since last November, and ...
Build to rent lesson No. 1 – Know your builder
The idea of build to rent hit me back in 2012 as Equity Funds like Blackstone rushed into Atlanta and other cities, and embarked on a campaign to buy thousands of houses for residential rentals. Unless you were at the mortgage foreclosure auctions yourself like I was, you would never ...
Interest rates could come down if the economy does not accelerate
Bond and mortgage yields have frozen. The 10-year Treasury note in the last three months traded in a slushy harbor 2.60%-2.80%, but you could skate on this week's 2.58%-2.63%. When a glacier like this breaks up, expect the shattering onset of true up-down volatility and change in trend. No, I ...
Mortgage rates drop for second week in a row
The benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to 4.37 percent in Bankrate's weekly national survey, the company said in a release. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.30 discount and origination points. SURVEY RESULTS 30-year fixed: 4.37% -- down from 4.44% last week (avg. points: 0.30) 15-year ...
Who should you draft for your real estate investing team?
Question: Monty, I am saving and looking to buy my first rental this year. What kind of infrastructure do I need to have in place to support this kind of business? Thanks, Rob P. Monty’s Answer: Hello Rob, and thanks for your question. Owning investment real estate can be a ...
How long did your last tenant stay?
We asked the tenant “length of stay” question in multiple ways to ensure we received accurate data for our annual survey of corporate housing by owners. To better understand the length of stay trends, we asked: “How long did your last tenant stay?” and “On average, how long do your ...
Lou Barnes weekly financial review for investors: jobs up, yields down and more
A bizarre sequence of events and data has taken bond and mortgage yields to their lows of the year, the 10-year T-note 2.58% and mortgages near 4.50%. Ukraine is the largest immediate force pushing down on rates, but we'll review that after trying to make sense of the most contradictory ...
Do you know the 5 keys to success in real estate investing?
When I invest I like to capture all five of the key wealth building principles. It is why I invest in real estate. Are you capturing all 5 keys? Real estate is a trendy investment today. Prices are low, interest rates are low and opportunity is everywhere. But why is ...
Do you know the one secret asset to successful negotiation?
When I am negotiating deals, there is one secret asset I use above all others. Information. As I tell my colleagues, information is our greatest asset. When you have extremely detailed background about a potential investment, you can negotiate with confidence and strength. Get the neighborhood-by-neighborhood, street-by-street pricing history of ...
