Real Estate Investing in the Real World

I got some interesting emails from readers responding to my recent posts on real estate fraud. Here’s one of them (posted w/ permission from the author, with names and minor details changed):   Chris,I was approached by an acquaintance, Phil, to invest into a get rich quick scheme. I was to be th...

I've written a lot recently on real estaet fraud, to include posting a schematic of a popular investment collusion fraud that is plaguing many communities.  Unfortunately there are many variations on this theme.  Here's another scheme that real estate con men are using to bilk investors:Whether y...

Volatile markets create opportunities for entrepreneurial investors.  Today's housing market is a good example.  Subprime problems, foreclosures, sliding prices - all of these factors are generating opportunities for investors who have an eye on the long term.  On the flip side, however, the smel...

As the presidential election approaches, the issue of immigration - primarily illegal immigration - will shift further into the spotlight.   This has implications for all of us, but it may have a particular relevance for buy-and-hold real estate investors. Across the nation local municipalities a...

Generally speaking, our housing laws were designed primarily to protect individuals and to regulate powerful interests.  That sounds like a reasonable proposition, but one day most long-term investors wake up and realize "hey...in the eyes of the government I'm the powerful interest!"  So, Mr. La...

There's an element of the American psyche dictates that for any event a specific cause has to be identified – and even better if that cause can be pinned on particular actor. Accountability is a important, but unfortunately it often segues into a “who’s to blame?” attitude.Case in point: as the s...

I have previously written how there has never been a national correction in the U.S. real estate market. Well what we’re looking at now is not exactly a national correction, but it is a noteworthy occurrence nonetheless: we’re marking the first year-on-year national  decline in median home prices...

As an investor I spend a lot of time thinking about money, and I've found that my my ideas about the topic have shifted over time. Money, in my opinion, isn't the key to happiness.  However, being overwhelmed by it (or the lack of it, as the case may be) can very well be a key to unhappiness. In ...

So, what do we do now…? I've written posts on the folly of forecasting. A current case in point is the diverse buffet of predictions for the housing market, each one served up by an highly qualified expert running a complicated economic model.  Try Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital who is pred...

Well it seems like it was just yesterday that the TLC Channel was launching Flip That House while A&E TV was premiering Flip This House. Note that these were different shows – I suppose targeting unique target audiences who were interested in either that house or this house. Capitalism and free e...