The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Real Estate Financing Does this sound familiar to you?You’ve found the perfect house. It meets all your criteria, in a terrific location, and makes your heart skip a beat just thinking of it. So you whip out your checkbook and write the check for the full purchase price, remembering of course to record the purchase in your check register.Of course not.Financing real estate is not usually as simple as that. Finding the funds to buy a piece of real estate is … [Read more...]
8 Traits of Successful Real Estate Investors
October 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
8 Traits of Successful Real Estate Investors Take a few minutes to think about the successful people around you, not only financially, but also those who embody personal success. Consider the characteristics each of them possess and how these characteristics have fueled their achievements in their given field. Over the past several years I have come in contact with quite a few real estate investors, both directly and indirectly, and have recognized many I consider to be very successful. These … [Read more...]
Private Lending: Pros and Cons
October 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Private Lending: Pros and Cons One of my investors called me up today and told me he had decided he was ready to get into the lending business. He had already purchased a number of properties over the last year or so and was ready to diversify his real estate investing strategy. Part of his decision making process had to do with the tedious financing process he had experienced when buying a property a few months prior, but I think most of the decision had to do with a desire to branch out … [Read more...]
Don’t Create A Retirement With Great Biceps But Girlie Legs
October 2, 2012 By 1 Comment
Don’t Create A Retirement With Great Biceps But Girlie Legs Many years ago one of my mentors asked me how I stayed in such good physical condition. He’d let himself go a bit, and didn’t want it to get, as he put it, outa hand. I gave him a beginning program which startled him. It included cardio work, resistance training, and consistent participation in a sport he happened to like. “Why all these things? Why can’t I just do some pushups and walk every day?” In fact, he probably … [Read more...]
The Five Financial Benefits of Real Estate Investments
October 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Five Financial Benefits of Real Estate Investments Financial advisors will tell you that there are five ways that you can earn a return on any investment. In no particular order, these are:Cash Flow or Rate of ReturnFederal Tax BenefitsLeverage of OPM (Other People’s Money)Principal PaydownAppreciation.One of the wonderful things about real estate is that you can get all five! Real estate is the only investment that I know of that potentially gives you all of these advantages!Think … [Read more...]
Why Real Estate Returns Are Higher than Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds
September 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Why Real Estate Returns Are Higher than Stocks, Bonds and Mutual Funds Investing in rental property is like eating a hot fudge sundae. Buying stocks, bonds and mutual funds is like eating hot fudge with the occasional spoonful of ice cream.With real estate rentals, your returns include:1. Cash Flow from Monthly Rental Income – A Huge Scoop of Your Favorite Ice Cream 2. Buying Money – A Second Scoop 3. Tax Free Refinancing – A Third Scoop 4. Appreciation – Hot Fudge on Top 5. Write … [Read more...]
The Power of Appreciation and Leverage: Boost Your Real Estate Returns
September 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Power of Appreciation and Leverage: Boost Your Real Estate Returns If you’ve read any of my blogs on BiggerPockets, http://www.biggerpockets.com, you’ve probably noticed that I am a believer in real estate appreciation. Yes, real estate can and has lost value in recent years; but over time, real estate generally increases in value. This is especially true if you happen to time the market effectively. I have not been shy about the fact that I believe now is a very good time to buy … [Read more...]
Real Estate Investing for the Next 10 Years: If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Do It!
September 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Real Estate Investing for the Next 10 Years: If It Were Easy, Everyone Would Do It! Real Estate seems so simple; all you do is buy low and sell high, right?Wrong!!!Well, what about buy and hold investing or land lording? That’s simple, right? All you do is buy a property and sit on it for 10 years or so and magic happens, no?Wrong!!!Okay, but setting up a long term financial plan and retiring from your day job has to be easy, because all you do is buy one additional property a year for … [Read more...]
Welcome to the Big Leagues of Borrowing
September 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Welcome to the Big Leagues of Borrowing If any doubts remain that real estate investors and single family rentals have hit the big time, check out a bulletin issued last week by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the agency that regulates all federally chartered banks and thrifts.Just to make sure that lenders get the message, the OCC served an official notice that the financing of single family rentals (which it calls Investor Owned Residential Rentals, or IORRs) is to be managed … [Read more...]
Avoid Mortgage Fraud: Don’t Let Your Buyers Request Land You in Trouble
September 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Avoid Mortgage Fraud: Don’t Let Your Buyers Request Land You in Trouble It still amazes me how many people think it’s okay to skirt the “rules” when it comes to selling real estate. I am in the process of selling a property I bought and rehabbed over the last few months. Most of my properties are sold directly to investors as turn-key rentals, but this particular one was at a higher price point and made more sense as a retail sale. As such, I am having the pleasure of working with … [Read more...]
Cash Reserves For The Long Term Real Estate Investor — Things Change
September 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Cash Reserves For The Long Term Real Estate Investor — Things Change As happens often in conversations with ongoing clients, I bring up the subject of cash reserves. It usually surfaces naturally when they make known their desire to explore the acquisition of more investment property. Since we all live in the universe of reality, we understand the status quo is but a measurement of the here and now. Assuming your financial status has remained static the last 1-5 years is a mistake we simply … [Read more...]
The Six Pillars of Real Estate Investing Success
September 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Six Pillars of Real Estate Investing Success I’ve been thinking a lot about ”success” recently.Not only about success in real estate investing, but also success and just plain happiness in general.No doubt, there’s been a ton written about “the steps to success” in real estate investing. Reading what’s here on BiggerPockets is a tremendous way to learning so many of the skills needed to achieve success in real estate.There’s been a lot less written about the mindset or … [Read more...]
How Does The Recent QE3 FED Announcement Affect Mortgage Rates?
September 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment
How Does The Recent QE3 FED Announcement Affect Mortgage Rates? The Federal Reserve made an announcement on September 13, 2012 about their plans to support a stronger economic recovery. This was a much anticipated announcement, because of what the actions will do to mortgage rates and the overall economy in the future.The two major actions the FED plans on doing as part of this QE3 are:Purchase additional mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month.Extend the target range … [Read more...]
What’s That Underperforming Property REALLY Costing You?
September 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What’s That Underperforming Property REALLY Costing You? I was out of town last week and had an opportunity to meet a number of different investors on my trip. One conversation in particular stuck with me because I believe the scenario is common to a lot of people. Many investors that are in the market today for investment properties were the same ones that were buying properties either during the real estate frenzy of the mid-2000’s or on the front end of the recession (before prices had … [Read more...]
How To Earn Infinite Returns in Real Estate
September 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
How To Earn Infinite Returns in Real Estate Earning infinite returns on your investment is one of the most exciting accomplishments of a great real estate invest. It doesn’t happen on every deal, but when it does, it’s awesome. Infinite returns are achieved when you no longer have any of your money invested in a property, but you still own it and the property is still generating income. You can earn infinite returns in real estate through two strategies. One you’ve probably … [Read more...]
Real Estate Investing Without Cash: Leasing Your Credit
September 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Real Estate Investing Without Cash: Leasing Your Credit Rather than re-hash the same “getting started in real estate without cash” article, I thought I would take my post in a different direction.Let me explain. . .A few weeks ago, Todd, a former co-worker, and I went out to dinner. During our meal, the topic of real estate investing came up. Todd shared that he had wanted to invest in real estate, but just never had enough capital to get started. I asked him why he let money stand … [Read more...]
Best Real Estate Investing Book Ever Written
September 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Perhaps I am a bit bias when I claim that my new book, "How to be a Real Estate Investor," is the best real estate investing book ever written. This is the book I wish I would have read (I wish it would have been written) when I first got started investing in real estate. It provides a complete picture of how to become a successful real estate investor in today's market and covers all aspects of investing, from the more traditional techniques all the way to the most advanced creative strategies. … [Read more...]
Can You Really Flip Houses With No Money?
September 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Can You Really Flip Houses With No Money? To many, it seems like there’s no way you can get started flipping houses without at least a little money of your own.True, whether it’s buy and hold real estate investing, flipping houses or any other kind of real estate investing, it is a lot easier to do it with money than without…no doubt.However, flipping houses with no money is not only possible to do, but it’s not as hard as you might think. In fact, there’s no “hidden secret” to … [Read more...]
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Why Investors Were the Real Heroes of 2011
Why Investors Were the Real Heroes of 2011 A single survey, even if conducted to meet the highest professional standards of opinion research, can only include a limited number of questions, and thus, it can address a finite number of issues.That was the case with the Joint BiggerPockets.com/Memphis Invest survey released last week. I had the pleasure to participate in its design and execution, and we focused to three vital issue investors face: their purchasing plans for the near future … [Read more...]