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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
New survey: People feeling more confident about net worth and finances
People are feeling a little more confident about their personal financial situation, net worth and job security according to the latest survey from Bankrate.com which is good news for real estate investors. The Bankrate Financial Security Index was up three points in March to 102.2, from 99.3 last month. That ...
Why an investor is better than a speculator when you need to sell
Here's some frank advice to owners of distressed properties: Work with investors, not speculators. How can you tell the difference between the two? Start by asking the prospective buyer a series of simple questions about their experience, their knowledge of your neighborhood – find out if they even live and work ...
Lou Barnes’ financial weekly perspectives for investors
We interrupt coverage of Flight 370 for brief news from the world…. Interest rates rose this week on receding worry about Ukraine, and in the aftermath of the first Fed meeting with Janet Yellen in the chair, including her first public mistake (may as well get it over with). Two ...
How do landlords find tenants?
Getting a property rented is about having the right property at the right price and being able to connect with the right tenant. There is never one, perfect place to find a renter, and as the economy and business trends change, where you find those right tenants will also change ...
5 principles for real estate wealth building
As you probably heard, over 90 percent of all millionaires made their wealth in whole or in part through real estate investing. The common denominator is that real estate is in their investment portfolio. Real estate has for years been known as the best performing vehicle to create wealth. There ...
What is the No. 4 most common mistake real estate investors make?
This ties right in with buying houses in the wrong part of the country and buying low-income houses. You should ask yourself the same questions I ask myself when I am considering a house to purchase: “Who can I sell this house to for more money than I paid for ...
Lou Barnes on Russia, Fannie and Freddie impact on investors
Watching markets this past week has been surreal. On the surface the usual tub-thumpers were at it: economy picking up, Fed's going to tighten, stocks to infinity and beyond, and well-dressed technology drunks in every upscale gutter. The ordinary media is completely preoccupied with an airliner seized by aliens. Get ...
What advice do you have for a first-time residential developer?
Reader Question: Monty, as an apartment developer, I fuel future development by regularly investing in raw land. I have owned a 40-acre parcel for 20 years. I am certain I cannot rezone it for apartments as the surrounding area has developed as single family. It is a beautiful parcel and ...
How many landlords take pets and what do they charge?
Many long-term business travelers are arriving at rental properties with pets. Pets can give landlords advantages and this week we look in more depth based on our survey "By Owner Corporate Housing Annual Report." Many renters continue to travel with pets. 43% of survey respondents say they accept pets (down ...
Foreclosures drop to lowest level in seven years but zombie properties still a problem
The foreclosure rate has fallen to the lowest level in more than seven years, but auctions are still up annually in 19 states RealtyTrac said in its latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for February 2014. The report which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — ...
The secret formula to finding an undervalued market
How do you know if you have found an under-valued market? The seasoned investor looking for appreciation, the investor looking for cash flow, and the buy-and-hold investor are all looking for the undervalued market. Makes great sense, but where or how you find these undervalued markets? Today’s undervalued market may ...
What is the No. 3 most common mistake investors make?
Buying inexpensive, low-income houses looks excellent on paper until you count the cost in terms of time and money. I’ve owned as many as 350 low-income houses at one time with 143 tenants on Section 8. These are exactly the type of properties you want to avoid as they will ...
Where landlords still offer city apartments for under $1,000 a month
Landlords are still offering studio apartments in many cities for around $1,000 a month, according to a new survey from Apartments.com. Even in some of the largest and most expensive cities, rents of around $1,000 a month can be found in nearby neighborhoods or suburbs or by tenants committing to ...
I lost money on tech and stocks and why I won’t on real estate
Let me clue you in on a little secret that took me about 30 years to figure out. I’ll share it with you in the hopes that you will avoid some of my mistakes. As I was growing up in the business world, every time my friends were making money ...
