February 2010

The Ten Best in RE.net This Week: Feb. 6, 2010 Edition

1) On the ethics of “strategic default”… – I understand where Scott is coming from on this post, but some parts of the country are in such a bad position you have to start questioning it. Imagine being in a home you owe $600,000 and today it is only worth $350,000. At some point a common [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Technology

Property Fraud Alert Service – Watch Your Back!

by Justin McClelland | February 6, 2010

There is a service offered in a select number of counties called, Property Fraud Alert, which, after you sign-up, runs a query against any new documents recorded within the county of your choice. The primary purpose for this service is to help stop mortgage and property fraud. If any document recorded within your county lists [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Economy

Where Have All The Houses Gone? Can we Fix the Growing Shadow Inventory Problem?

by Brian Brady | February 5, 2010

If you know who Pete Seeger is, you’ll recognize that I’m about to pirate the song he sang about the cyclical nature of war. Hang in there. I promise I’ll tie this into real estate investing. Where have all the houses gone? Gone off balance sheet, every one. When will they ever learn? When will [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Mortgages & Lending

How to Fund and Finance Your Real Estate Deals — Without Needing Tranquilizers!

by Peter Giardini | February 4, 2010

Last week I wrote about my discussions with a local loan officer for a small bank in my area. This article really touched a nerve not only with the number of comments but also with at least one of my clients. I sent a link to the article out to my clients to ensure they [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Starting Out

Your Signficant Other Hates Real Estate Investing – Now What?

by Shae Bynes | February 4, 2010

It’s pretty common for spouses or significant others to be really nervous and potentially downright unsupportive when you begin your quest as a wildly successful real estate investor. I’m blessed to have a spouse who is my partner in business and we work very well together, but this is not always the case. I’m not [...]

17 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Wholesaling

Three Pitfalls to Avoid When Getting Started as a Wholesaler

by Stephani Davis | February 4, 2010

Wholesaling houses is a great way to make quick cash in real estate with very little risk or upfront investment. Like any other money-making niche in the real estate arena, there is a learning curve that you will need to work through if you want to become a successful wholesaler. Following are three pitfalls that [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

Commentary

Walking Away From Your Upside Down Home: The 75% Solution

by Charles Feldman | February 3, 2010

There has been much debate of late about whether or not it is morally acceptable for homeowners who currently own more for their mortgages than what their homes are actually worth to just walk away from their property, using their “new found” money to pay for a cheaper rental unit, perhaps. Today’s New York Times [...]

8 comments Read the full article →

Landlord Tenant

How to Increase Occupancy in Apartment Buildings

by Ted Karsch | February 3, 2010

The financial crisis and real estate meltdown has hurt almost every sector of the real estate market, including apartment building owners. Vacancies in many apartment buildings have increased to between 30% and 40% in many areas of the country. Apartment building owners who just a few years ago had occupancy rates as high as 90% [...]

6 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Investing

Appreciation Rate Isn’t What’s Most Important

by Jeff Brown | February 2, 2010

Lost in the weekend conversation about the current state of your portfolios, beside the fact your steak just cruised past medium rare, is what’s really important. Assuming your main goal is an ever increasing net worth, obsessing on appreciation can sometimes take your eye off the ball. That ball is capital growth. But isn’t appreciation [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Investing

Be a Modern Railroad Baron – Invest in the Path of Progress

by Florence Foote | February 2, 2010

Investing in the path of progress is not a particularly novel concept. The railroad barons made an art of it back in the 1800s – locking up vast tracts of lands before the first tracks were laid, all but guarantying a huge fortune once the infrastructure was completed. Not many small investors can afford to [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Learn Real Estate

Learn by Doing, Exercise 1 for Real Estate Investors – How to Buy

by Ryan Moeller | February 2, 2010

The best way to learn is by doing. So what is better than exercises that will teach beginners the skills they need to become successful in real estate? Not only that, but they can be done fast and with very little expense. If you are a beginner real estate investor and dying to learn the [...]

11 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Marketing

REI Lead Generation System- Grabbing A Domain Name (Week 2)

by Ryan Hartman | February 1, 2010

Last week I committed myself to chronicling the creation of a personal Real Estate Investing lead generation system here at BP. A few people were kind enough to comment and mention that they weren’t quite sure what I meant by the word “system,” so first off I’ll define what I have in mind a little [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Economy

Last Week’s Ugly Economic News Reveals Bright Spots

by Ryan Hinricher | February 1, 2010

Last week, a media storm took place with the large drop in existing home sales. The drop of 16% seemed to shock everyone who was predicting only a 10% decline after the expiration of the initial home-buyer tax credit. Right after this, the numbers came out on new home sales, which painted an even bleaker [...]

7 comments Read the full article →

Real Estate Law

Real Estate Investors Fight HOAs

by Richard Warren | February 1, 2010

In the Las Vegas market it’s pretty rare to find newer real estate developments without Home Owner’s Associations. Since Las Vegas, according to Mayor Oscar Goodman, is the epicenter for the foreclosure crisis, most foreclosed homes are in areas with HOAs. Since HOAs exist to maintain the quality of neighborhoods and foreclosed homes are routinely [...]

2 comments Read the full article →

Next Entries →