From the category archives:

Starting Out

Learn Real Estate

First Time Real Estate Investing – The Contract Phase

by Mike Farmer | February 19, 2008

If you are averse to paper work, formal agreements and legalese, get over it. You can’t avoid it and it’s vitally important. Think of your contract as a big safe to protect your huge amount of valuables. The subject here will be the contract – I’ll circle back in later posts to cover the [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Due Diligence and Real Estate

by Mike Farmer | February 12, 2008

In my last post I talked about how to prepare psychologically for that first plunge into investment. Okay, so now you’re ready, somewhat calm and almost fearless. In this post I’ll drill down from there to one aspect of investing that touches every other aspect and allows you to sleep better at night – DUE [...]

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Real Estate Investing

First Time Real Estate Investors’ Excitement and Fear

by Mike Farmer | February 5, 2008

When the decision is made to start looking for that first investment property it can be exciting and frightening. Both excitement and fear are good teachers if we do a little analysis to discover how they affect decisions. When you arrive at the level of investing it‚s wise to understand emotions. I could give [...]

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Real Estate Tips

Earning Your Keep: What Makes a Good Real Estate Agent

by Michael Creel | January 18, 2008

In the last few years I’ve noticed much of the public has lost respect for Realtors and view them as overpaid “salespeople” that get a lot of money for simply showing a house or two and writing up a simple contract. For some, that perception will never change simply because they see it as a [...]

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Rehabbing

Rehab Pros: DIY or Hire it Out?

by Connie Brzowski | January 13, 2008

You don’t need the construction skills of Bob Vila to be a rehab professional, yet it’s no secret you can save if you do some of the work yourself. As a general rule, estimates from contractors in our area run 1/3 for materials and 2/3’s for labor. So theoretically, we save 66% by doing the [...]

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Commentary

“Dumb Luck”

by Jim Watkins | January 10, 2008

I sat at a poker table and saw a Straight Flush be beaten by a Royal Flush. One of my friends told me of a convenience store clerk that refused to break a $20 bill without a purchase being made. To comply, my friend bought a lottery ticket and won $100,000. I jumped for [...]

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Rehabbing

Carpet or Tile? Rehab Decision Making for Nervous Newbies

by Connie Brzowski | December 29, 2007

Rehabbing a house can be a nail-biting experience, particularly the first time around. Sometimes, nice readers over at my blog email asking advice about their latest rehab project. Generally, the questions involve finishing issues such as whether to paint or replace kitchen cabinets, or if carpet or wood floors work better in a rental. I [...]

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Learn Real Estate

That’s Too Risky! Overcoming a Poverty-Mindset

by Connie Brzowski | December 22, 2007

Danger Will Robinson!
The mister and I married in 1980. We were 19, freshly spit-out by the public school system and totally clueless about the real-life world of household finance. Our parents were lower middle class, Depression-era survivors with a ton of fear about anything deemed risky…and pretty much everything was considered risky.
For the first [...]

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Learn Real Estate

Loose Lips Sink Ships (or The Strategy of Silence in REI)

by Connie Brzowski | December 8, 2007

Recently, during a relatively calm and drama-free conversation, daughter #3 (the cheeky one running around the kitchen at this very moment with a doily on her head) asked, “Mom? Now that you’ve plastered your name all over the internet, I guess its okay to tell people we’re landlords, right?
Ignoring for a moment the habit [...]

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Landlord Tenant

Targeting Terrific Tenants

by Connie Brzowski | December 1, 2007

The mister and I waited years before buying our first rent house. Of all the various and sundry reasons for staying out of the game, our biggest obstacle was a severe case of Tenant-phobia– the crippling fear of Landlording. To make matters worse, anytime the subject came up, helpful friends and relatives regurgitated the [...]

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Foreclosures

Pre-Foreclosures: You have 3 shots

by Jim Watkins | September 10, 2007

First off, let me clear up one thing that continues to confuse the masses…
There is a difference between “Pre-Foreclosure” and “Foreclosure.”
I am sure all of you have seen the advertising on various sites. “See a list of foreclosures in your area!” Over 90% of the time, they are technically a foreclosure but really they are [...]

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Commentary

Income Real Estate Investors: Learn How to Analyze a Property before you Get Burned!

by Joshua Dorkin | July 27, 2007

I noticed a property listing on Craigslist, titled “$150000 THIS IS THE BEST DEAL IN TOWN” and decided to take a look. Since I was about to find out about the best deal in town, I was really anticipating what was to come. Sadly, what I found was just another loser property. [...]

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Commentary

A Rental Property Management SNAFU Story – Part II

by Joshua Dorkin | July 17, 2007

In the first version of A Rental Property Management SNAFU Story, I shared with you how my property management company in St. Louis decided to close their doors without any notice to anyone. Some things have happened since then that I thought worth sharing.
The Property Management Search:
First, after interviewing almost every company in the [...]

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Foreclosures

Making Offers on REO – Real Estate Owned – Foreclosure Properties

by Joshua Dorkin | July 14, 2007

A new member to our real estate forums recently inquired about putting offers in on REO (Real Estate Owned) Properties. The property he was looking at was listed with an agent for 388,000. Upon doing some research, he found that the home had a 83,000 balance on the original mortgage. In making an [...]

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Commentary

Be Careful Having Trust In The Real Estate Business

by Joshua Dorkin | June 2, 2007

We’ve all seen it before . . . a clean, polished smile uttering the words “trust me.” Sadly, these two words are some of the most dangerous out there. I want to talk a little about trust and the real estate business.
As a person with too much faith in humanity, I tend [...]

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