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.
Here is the real story: Can we have an economic recovery without housing?
New data has pushed housing to the forefront of the recovery discussion. Can the economy recover without housing? What has gone wrong with it? If housing is de-emphasized as never since the Depression, what does it mean for inequality, the new darling of the Left, and the free-market pleasure of ...
American Homes 4 Rent announces another public offering
American Homes 4 Rent, the second largest owner of single-family rental homes in the country, announced another public offering of its series C preferred shares that will be made available as the company continues to buy single family rental homes across the country. The company announced in a release "investors ...
Walk softly and use your credit and background checks wisely
This is an interesting topic as more people have bad credit because they’ve gone through bankruptcy or foreclosure on a previous property. In today’s environment, credit reports must be used to see the bigger picture about a prospective tenant. In looking at a renter who has poor credit, you need ...
5 things to consider to sell your investment for top dollar
For the buy and hold strategy, I believe most real estate investors have the goal of eventually selling the property for top dollar. In order to accomplish this you must buy a property that can be sold to an end user who will pay retail pricing. This means as an ...
Poll says Americans believe real estate is the best long-term investment
Housing prices are improving in many parts of the country and a new Gallup Poll says Americans now say real estate is the best long-term investment ranking ahead of stocks and gold. The economy and personal finances poll in early April asked Americans to choose the best option for long-term ...
Mortgage rates continue to drop
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 4.43 this week, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.33 discount and origination points. To see mortgage rates in your area, go to http://www.bankrate.com/funnel/mortgages/. The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 3.48 percent, while ...
Lowest total in two years, but 9 million residential properties are still underwater
RealtyTrac reports that 17 percent of U.S. residential properties with a mortgage are still seriously "underwater" meaning the combined loan amount on the property is 25 percent or more above the current market value on nine million homes. “U.S. homeowners are continuing to recover equity lost during the Great Recession, ...
Should you consider not having a security deposit?
We have found that offering Accidental Rental Damage Insurance (ARDI) is one of the newest trends in the “by owner” community, and could be something many landlords should consider instead of the traditional security deposit. See our chart below on whether landlords charge a security deposit or not. We started ...
What is the No. 1 wealth-building principle of a real estate investment?
I always love the equity growth of the investment. In my view point I believe equity to be the number one wealth-building principle of an investment. Cash flow is paramount and indeed much needed but a great equity play can provide for greater wealth than any cash flow itself. Of ...
The secret to finding investment property with great cash flow?
Here is how the typical investor works: you search online or at investment clubs and find a property that you can buy for a decent price, which after expenses will give you a good cash flow. Often you will find two, three or maybe even four of these properties and ...
Lou Barnes weekly: Housing is close to stalling and the setup is for higher interest rates
Events this week could be mistaken for a cartoon if not so serious. And the cartoonish aspect magnified by clowns squirting lapel flowers in your eye every time something starts to make sense. The setup this week was for higher interest rates. This was an "auction week" for the Treasury, ...
Should you rent to a tenant who uses legal marijuana?
We landlords have a new headache. Legal marijuana. For those of us who lease properties in states like California, Colorado, Washington, Michigan and a growing number of others states, we now have to consider the issue that some form of medical marijuana or recreational marijuana is now legal. On top ...
Shadow housing inventory continues down hitting lowest level in three years
The number of distressed residential housing properties continues down as the value of the shadow inventory has dropped $70 billion in the past year reflecting the progress states are making on the foreclosure front, according to a new report from CoreLogic. Foreclosures are down 35% year over year. Shadow inventory ...
How to avoid the real estate “gurus”
I have a colleague, an independent investor (which I was, too, prior to becoming a HomeVestors-Dallas franchisee), and he has strong opinions about real estate investor "gurus." As do I, particularly with regard to the intense advertising these individuals run on social media, radio and TV spots, and even billboards ...
Lou Barnes weekly roundup for investors on jobs, stocks and the Fed
To the silent consternation of the markets, the March payrolls report arrived exactly as expected, a gain of 192,000. Zounds. Since this report has never before come in as forecast, no one knows what to make of it. On our son's third birthday, the young man held court in his ...
One thing real estate investors who fail have in common and how to avoid it
Most investors who fail have one thing in common. They approach their investments backwards. So what is backwards, or the wrong way? Search the Internet or newspapers for a cheap property. Search for property with numbers that will generate great cash flow. Some may not even physically look at the ...
How to keep the IRS happy and avoid appraised value issues
Question: It is tax time and we get a lot of questions about how to determine fair market value for real estate in a self-directed IRA LLC which must be done every year. Will the appraised value on the tax bill suffice? Answer: In my IRA LLC I own a ...
Lou Barnes weekly investor review: Russian crisis sends more investor money here
The action has been overseas this past week, with little new economic data, all forces -- anxiety, mostly -- pushing long-term rates lower. Domestic information was on the weak side of hopes. Orders for durable goods, net of volatile items crept up 0.2% in February. Pending sales of homes continued ...
Small investor asks: Should we move to buy larger properties?
Reader Question: Monty, my wife and I are 32 years old and have just finished restoring a big Victorian two-family home in New Jersey. We took on a bit of debt, but I just paid all of the credit cards down and completely paid off a pretty big loan. We ...
Housing shortage in key markets will boost prices
New quarterly data from Local Market Monitor identifies some key markets, including three Texas cities leading the list, that could be prime targets for investors in single family rental properties, according to a release. Topping the list are Fort Worth, Houston and Austin . “The economy has been growing quickly ...
Listhub.com to expand property listings to local MLS publishers starting in Texas
Property listings are going to get wider distribution starting in Texas as a result of an announcement that ListHub.com, a provider of property listings and performance metrics in real estate, is expanding. Move, Inc., owned by Realtor.com will expand their Real Estate Network (REN) syndication of property listings to consumer-facing ...
The largest landlords of single-family rental homes form trade group
The nation's largest group of landlords owing single-family rental homes has formed a new trade group called the National Rental Home Council. Colony American Homes, Invitation Homes, American Homes 4 Rent, and Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust are the founding members of the new group. While small real estate investors own ...
What is the No. 5 most common mistake real estate investors make?
I remember being with three Chinese buyers from Toronto two years ago and I showed them houses all day. They loved what I showed them, but at the end of the day they told me that they thought the market was going to drop more. I actually think the market ...
57% of boomers plan to move out of their current home
A new survey released today says 57 percent of boomers plan to move out of their current home and 70 percent believe the house they retire in will be the best home in which they have ever lived, according to a release from Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate by ...
Why “by owner” makes a difference for investors
An essential difference between the standard serviced corporate housing industry and the “by owner” segment is the size of property that is rented – and more specifically, the number of bedrooms. Properties rented by private owners are generally larger in both overall size and bedroom count than the typical, business-to-business ...
