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.
Tenants prefer online ratings more than referrals in seeking rental housing
Prospective renters place higher importance on online reviews than referrals from friends and family, according to a Kingsley Associates' study June 19 at the National Apartment Association Education Conference & Exposition in Denver, and reported by PRNewswire. The first-ever multifamily study on ratings and reviews entitled Highly Recommended: The Influence ...
Inflation up but rates holding steady
There are times to suspend analysis and just listen to markets. Have to be careful even with that. First, pick the right markets. The stock market is not worth the trouble, thousands of different stocks at once sounding like a symphony performed by 5th-graders. Pick bullet markets: the 10-year US ...
3 things to get people to watch your investment videos– and stop boasting please!
I am a strong supporter of investors who use videos to market their services and emphasize their expertise. The numbers prove this point. A YouTube search for "real estate investing" reveals approximately 347,000 results related to this subject. The issue is not whether investors should create their own series of ...
What I learned the hard way about property managers
When I moved my real estate investing business from Minnesota to Florida I found myself in need of a property manager. Up until this point I had been managing my own properties, a mistake I will never make again, but more on that later. I set out to find a ...
Crowdfunding: The good, the bad and the ugly
I believe the investment world will look completely different within the next five years. We’re at a perfect storm between technology and changes in government regulation. In April of 2012, the JOBS Act went into effect. Title II of the JOBS Act allows for public solicitation of private equity funds ...
How does a corporate rental differ from a vacation 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. This week we look at corporate rentals vs vacation rentals. Vacation rentals are typically offered for nightly or ...
Two real estate investment schemes shut down
Two real estate investment companies in Missouri have been shut down after investigations by the secretary of state’s office showed schemes where investor money was converted for personal use. Investment Midwest, operated by Renee Goodman, and Herman Beck and Ozark Investor’s Group, LLC, were both told to stop doing business ...
Mortgage rates inched up this week, but still remain low
Bankrate reports that mortgage rates inched up this week, but they remain attractive as more homebuyers and refinancers jump at the opportunity to grab a low rate. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.34 percent from 4.32 percent the previous week, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large ...
Foreclosures down 5 percent in May, but some states still buck the trend
Foreclosure rates dropped 5 percent in May, the lowest monthly total since December 2006, but 21 states still posted monthly increases in foreclosure activity according to RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com). In a release from Marketwired, the company said that foreclosure filings -- default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions- were reported on ...
Overall interest rates will stay low with small bumps here and there
Markets have paused, warily studying new plumes of smoke on the horizon. Not enough hazard to run to Treasurys or to scramble for oil, but not business as usual. Bergdahl, Brat, Baghdad, and Barak… but the important happening was Uber. US data do not support the acceleration camp: May retail ...
It’s not location, location, location
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Real estate is all about three things: location, location, location.” I think we should throw that one right out the window because is entirely wrong. In fact it’s wrong to the point that people who invest primarily on “location, location, location” often take significant losses. In ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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, ...
