August 2011

The Importance of Having a Capital Expense Budget when Buying a Property

by Spencer Cullor | August 31, 2011

One of the biggest mistakes I see investors make when financially evaluating an investment property is that they fail to include a capital expense budget for the property. When acquiring an investment property, it is critical that you have a capital expense budget as well as a recurring replacement reserve factored into the equity you [...]

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Real Estate Interviews

Interview with Commercial Real Estate Investor, Joel Owens on Multifamily & Retail Investments

by Joshua Dorkin | August 30, 2011

Joel Owens is a commercial real estate investor, CRE broker, and a long time BiggerPockets member. In our interview with Joel (34:59 minutes), we discuss land development for commercial projects, owner financing multi-families, how to get started in commercial, triple net lease deals, wealth creation vs. wealth preservation, how to look out for retail deals [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Retirement Income – Great Results? Compared To What?

by Jeff Brown | August 30, 2011

Some of the conversations I’ve had recently with those nearing or already retired, have been eye openers for some very surprised folk. The reason? They learned the income derived from their free and clear income properties was anywhere from half to a quarter of what they very easily coulda — actually, shoulda been. The cool [...]

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Foreclosures

Short Sale Approval Letters and the Issue of Deficiency

by Melissa Zavala | August 29, 2011

When I was in college, I took a sociology class that was taught by a professor who specialized in studying the impact of the media and its presentation of the news on the public. For example, he would study the number of copycat killers there might be after a murder was featured on the news. [...]

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Commentary

Real Estate Preparedness Lessons from the Recent Earthquake

by Jason Hanson | August 28, 2011

Earlier this week we had a 5.8 earthquake in my home state of Virginia. I realize to someone in California that may be nothing, but where I live we’re not used to that sort of thing. The building I was in at the time shook pretty good, but other than that, no big deal. However, [...]

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Real Estate

Real Estate News by the Numbers: Week of August 20 – August 26

by Douglas Lazovick | August 27, 2011

A quick rundown of the important real estate news from the week of August 20 – August 26, by the numbers: 72% – Percentage of major cities where buying is more affordable than renting according to Trulia. The only major cities where it is more affordable to rent than buy are New York, NY, Fort Worth, [...]

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Real Estate Investing

The Real Estate Investor’s Realtor: What Should You Expect?

by Marty Boardman | August 26, 2011

I’m a worried Dad. My beautiful little girls are growing up too fast. They’ll be dating soon and I pray they make wise choices. I certainly don’t want them hanging around the wrong crowd. So rather than leave this up to chance or divine intervention I decided to start establishing some criteria for them. Their [...]

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Commentary

Government Intervention — and We Landlords are The Targets!

by Peter Giardini | August 25, 2011

I love reading the various articles here on the BiggerPockets Blog, and when I am moved by a topic I always try to add constructive comments. In May of last year Florence Foote wrote a great article regarding Rent Controls and their negative impact on both the quantity and quality of rental units where ever [...]

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Real Estate Investing

3 Important Factors When Considering A Market for Real Estate Investment

by Ken Corsini | August 24, 2011

Between the rise of the internet and the availability of inexpensive airline travel, real estate investors are increasingly investing in markets outside of their own. This is especially true when it comes to markets like Southern California where the price to rent ratios simply don’t make sense for real estate investors interested in cash flow. [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Turning a Non-Performing Note into a Rental Property and a Good Deed

by Kevin Kaczmarek | August 24, 2011

The mortgage meltdown has put many hard-working good people in tough situations where foreclosure is their only option. Even though this market has created the best buying opportunities in decades, there are more people just like a homeowner I recently ran into. I thought this case study might inspire you as you purchase mortgage notes. [...]

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Commentary

Real Estate Investors: Learn To Take What The Market Is Giving You

by Jeff Brown | August 23, 2011

One of the most valuable lessons ever taught me was to be happy with whatever the market was givin’ me. In San Diego I’ve never sold a home or attached residence as a rental. Why? Since I made the transition from the traditional home market to investments, homes here have made no sense whatever. Yet [...]

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Real Estate

Short Sales – Pre-Qualifying the Seller

by Melissa Zavala | August 23, 2011

Even though you have probably heard or experienced many short sale nightmares, not all short sales involve drama. When all of the facets of the short sale process are handled properly, the result can be a successful short sale closing. There are many steps involved in this process. However, the first step is the most important. [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Scuba Diving Principles for Real Estate Investors – Part 2: The Plan

by Andrew C. MacDonald | August 22, 2011

In my first post I discussed the parallel between the most important rule in scuba diving and real estate. The most important rule is to breathe continuously and never stop breathing. In real estate, cash flow is like oxygen – it is what keeps us going. In this article I will explore another parallel between [...]

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Landlord Tenant

Using Your Rental Property Neighbors to Protect Your Interests

by Jason Hanson | August 21, 2011

Not too long ago I was looking at a property in a neighborhood that I wasn’t very familiar with. The numbers on the house seemed decent, but the neighborhood itself looked marginal at first glance. So, as soon as I finished meeting with the seller and checking out the house, I went around to all [...]

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Real Estate Interviews

Real Estate Investing in College Towns: Top 10 List Revealed

by Ronald Sklar | August 20, 2011

Jennifer DuBois, the director of public relations and social media for Move, Inc., reveals their recent survey regarding one of the rare, sure things in real estate these days: property investing in college towns. Results from one of Move’s earlier studies indicate that in the next two years, real estate investors are expected to outnumber [...]

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