| |
rental: Adding Summer Sizzle to Attract Buyers & Tenants - 05/24/09 11:22 AM
Trying to add some sizzle to your real estate or rental listings? There are a lot of desperate sellers and landlords out there at the moment, so here are a few tips to add that extra spice and secure a signature on that sales contract or lease agreement!
Beach Party!
Remember in college when those wild men down the street threw a beach party in their house by filling it with sand? Well that's probably not a good idea for your open house, unfortunately, but what IS a good idea is making your open house more of a party atmosphere. A … (3 comments)
|
rental: The Absentee Landlord Part I - How to Retire Within 18 Months to the Destination of Your Choice - 04/26/09 02:23 PM
Part I: Introduction, Defining Destination & Budget Goals, and Becoming an Absentee Landlord
Whether you're a landlord, a real estate investor, or just a regular wage slave looking to escape the drone-like existence of 9-5, most of us have daydreamed about living on a tropical island somewhere sipping pina coladas and having income wander its way into our checking accounts.
What if you could live off your lease income alone? What would that take? What would it look like? No, it's not a get rich quick scheme, or some kind of snake oil I'm trying to sell, but merely a … (5 comments)
|
rental: Demography, Geography, and a Long Term Real Estate Perspective - 04/03/09 11:05 AM
If you're one of the four people in the world considering investing in real estate right now (five including me), you're probably looking to make the safest bet you can. While short term investment returns are pretty basic to predict, as the market won't shift much over the course of a few months, it's a different story if you're looking to sign a lease agreement and settle in for the long haul. What would a safe bet look like, over a long investment period?
This being an age of bu11$hit litigation and nervous legal disclaimers, let's start with this: there ARE … (3 comments)
|
rental: Spotting Problem Tenants BEFORE They Worm Into Your Rental Property - 03/18/09 10:35 PM
Some tenants just plain suck. I'm looking at you, Mr. I-Can't-Pay-Rent-This-Month-Because-My-Pet-Pigeon-Died, and you Ms. I'm-Going-To-Call-You-Every-3-Days-And-Whine. You and all of your friends are a pain in my a$$, and this post goes out to you.
As the years of being a landlord go by, I've found that gut instincts regarding tenants are almost 100% accurate. We justify putting a tenant that we don't feel great about into our rental properties, saying "Oh he had a couple problems in the past, but now he's got a job, and he seems to really like the property…" etc. NO MORE. Here's what to look for … (7 comments)
|
rental: Run, Do Not Walk, to Exit Real Estate - 02/13/09 03:22 PM
It's an interesting time in the real estate business. Ok, "interesting" is something of a euphemism, but regardless, these are not normal times. The national real estate market has never fallen this far, this fast, in the history of America, which has lead many experienced and intelligent real estate professionals to flee the industry, while others have respecialized, while some crazed individuals are actually trying to LAUNCH a career in real estate.
Unsolicited Advice Point 1
If you're considering real estate as a career, the only area where it makes sense to enter right now is as a long term … (5 comments)
|
rental: Bad Tenants - Take Out the Trash - 02/03/09 06:14 PM
Bad tenants suck. They trash your rental property, leave you with months of unpaid rent (and mortgage, insurance, tax & utility bills), cook crack in the basement, invite a rat infestation by leaving their kids' half-eaten pizza lying around, and leave turds in the closet as a going away present for you to find. Not cool.
So what do you do, if you're a landlord, to protect yourself against such savages?
1. Strong Lease Agreement
That crappy lease agreement you bought at Office Depot for $3.99 ain't gonna cut it. Get a lease agreement that's customized for your state, first … (8 comments)
|
rental: Fun, Novel, and Totally Impractical Real Estate Ideas - 01/06/09 10:13 PM
Cold weather, cold worldwide economies, cold real estate markets... baby it's cold outside!!!!
Well, when all else fails, have some fun, right? Here are a few ideas to help heat up your real estate properties that are just sitting on the market for sale or rent, and who knows? Maybe one of them would even work.
Heat It Up Idea 1:
Install a sex swing in the master bedroom. (If you really have a dark sense of humor, put it in the second largest bedroom for some teenage daughter's dad to flip out over).
Alternative: leave it in the closet and … (4 comments)
|
rental: Suriving in a SLOWWW Real Estate Market - 11/16/08 12:12 PM
Smart investors can earn a living in ANY real estate market, and being a smart investor is not as difficult as it might seem. Here are a few practices for bringing home the bacon as a real estate investor, even if your real estate buddies shout that the sky is falling.
Practice 1: Foreclosure Auctions
You know why the media yells and screams about foreclosures? Because they sell for less than their MLS-listed counterparts, so when there are too many they can drag down the market. But they’ll ALWAYS sell for less, because there are so fewer buyers. See … (7 comments)
|
rental: Real Estate Investment Strategies – Part III - Cash Flow - 10/02/08 11:30 AM
Some real estate investors are interested, not in a one time payout (now or in ten years), but in earning a consistent, monthly income from their properties. Who hasn’t daydreamed about living solely off of their investments, off of passive income? It’s a tantalizing dream, and one I intend to make a reality. So where does one start, on this journey from working for a lousy wage to earning income while tanning on a beach? Start from the following concept: maximizing cash flow, specifically maximizing the cash flow from each specific property. Because, as we’ve seen, landlords are targets … (0 comments)
|
rental: Long Term Real Estate Investment Strategies – Part II - 09/18/08 04:37 PM
In some ways, long term real estate investment is easier than short term investment, because landlords remain somewhat immune to periodic spikes and dips in the real estate market. They also have a longer period to recover costs and allow the property to appreciate, if their expenses goes over budget.
That all being said, there are certainly plenty of pitfalls for landlords and other kinds of long term investors. Lawsuits are constant threat, since the ownership exposure is so much longer, and tenants love to sue landlords (see here for Landlord Legal - How to Protect Your Real Estate Assets). … (3 comments)
|
rental: Real Estate Investing Strategies - Part I - Short Term Investments - 09/02/08 04:12 PM
Real Estate Investing Strategies
People who invest in anything, whether it’s real estate, commodities, futures, etc., all have different financial goals. Some investors look for long-term profits, others look for short-term gains, still others try to create cash flow. Here’s a brief look at the investing strategies associated with each, in several installments, starting with short term real estate investing.
Short Term Real Estate Investments: Contract Flipping or Renovation Resales
So, you want to invest in real estate and get paid within, say, six months. There are really two avenues available to you: flipping real estate purchase contracts and … (5 comments)
|
rental: Real Estate Legal Protection - A Must-Read for Landlords - 08/20/08 07:19 PM
Introduction
The market is soft, so you might be thinking now’s the right time to buy a rental property and hold it. And you’d be right, it IS a good time to buy and hold, but there are a few things you should know before writing any big checks and diving in headfirst. Here are few ways to protect yourself from litigation and other legal issues related to real estate and being a landlord.
Legal Protection Strategy 1: Real Estate Ownership Type
All too many smart people make an easy mistake when they first start buying real estate as an investment: … (1 comments)
|
rental: Landlording 101: Real Estate Investment and Property Management - 08/10/08 06:29 PM
Introduction
So! You're ready to progress beyond home ownership, and build your real estate empire. Where to start? Well, here, not to put too fine a point on it. This tutorial will be basic, but will get you started with some fundamental concepts.
Step 1: The Property
Ready to start playing hardball? Then you need to start by answering a tough question: How much can you afford? Keep in mind that there will be some months when you have to carry the property while it's vacant, so make sure you’re playing with extra monthly income as well as money … (3 comments)
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. B. Davis
Towson,
MD
More about me…
Hyperopia Investments
Email Me
Real estate investment is scary. Ok, not really, but that's where the blog comes in. An inside look at investing, property management, being a landlord, and avoiding the not-so-fun stuff like, say, getting sued.
 Listings
Links
Archives
|
;)
;)
;)
