investment property

Increase Cash Flow by Appealing Your Property Taxes

by Ken Corsini | November 17, 2011

For most of the last decade, property tax assessments increased year over year with the rate of appreciation. Local municipalities structured their annual budgets around projected increases in revenue from gradual hikes in property assessments. Much like real estate appreciation, you could bank on property taxes increasing to keep pace. However, in 2008 as the [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Investment Property Location: Don’t Dismiss the #1 Rule in Real Estate

by Joey Wang | October 26, 2011

“Location, location, location!” You understand the importance. It’s the number one rule in Real Estate. Yet when it comes time to choose between a high cash flow property in a less desirable neighborhood versus one with a lower cash return but in a great location, you naturally start questioning the age old adage. Why does [...]

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Commentary

Should You Buy Your Own House or An Investment Property First?

by Jason Hanson | September 11, 2011

My brother just graduated from college, got a job, and is getting out into the “real” world. The other day he called me up and told me he was going to start looking to buy a house, and since I know a thing or two about real estate, he asked me if this was a [...]

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Real Estate

My Accountant and Retirement Secrets

by Jason Hanson | February 28, 2010

On Friday I met with my accountant to take care of my taxes. Luckily, it’s never that bad of an experience because I use Quickbooks and Quicken rental so I’m pretty organized. Basically, I print off all of the forms, put them in a folder, hand them to my accountant and have him do his [...]

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Real Estate Investing

The Needle in a Haystack: Shifting Through Income Property Listings

by Kyle Koller | October 19, 2009

Many investors have a favorite strategy for weeding through the numerous income properties on the market in their search of a solid investment. Some use the “price-per-door” as a benchmark. Others consider the “gross rent multiplier (GRM)”. Yet others are convinced that capitalization (cap) rates are the way to go.

Which evaluation tool is best?

Investors have asked me the above question numerous times. A more profound question would be, “Is there really a BEST way? Let alone a right or wrong way?” Let’s explore some of the common comparison strategies.

Price-per-square foot

This technique is extremely easy to apply. Simply take the building price and divide by the number of total square footage of improvements. Thus, a 12,000 square-foot property with a list price of $1 million has a price-per-square foot of $83.33/sq. ft. This can be a useful tool when comparing different properties in a demographic area. It is not, however, without its limitations. For example, this method does not take income or expenses into account. Evaluating a property exclusively with this method and you could find yourself money pit and you wouldn’t even know it.

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Real Estate Investing

Selecting A Qualified Intermediary for a 1031 Exchange

by Grant Conness | December 19, 2008

A Qualified Intermediary (QI) is essential for the completion of a successful 1031 Exchange and care should be taken in the selection of your QI. Sometimes referred to as the Exchange Accommodator, the QI performs several important functions in the exchange process including: Coordination of the structure, process, and documentation of the 1031 Exchange Controls [...]

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BiggerPockets News

BiggerPockets.com Undergoes a Major Facelift Complete with New Property Directory!

by Joshua Dorkin | June 21, 2008

It has been a long time coming . . . We just launched a MAJOR FACELIFT to BiggerPockets! For years, people have been using our site to do everything from finding tools and resources, to discussing real estate, to making deals, to selling property, etc. We’ve just made it easier to do several of these [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Why Buy a FourPlex?

by Troy Schuricht | May 22, 2008

New investors have a wide variety of options available to them when it comes to what kind of property they are going to focus on. In fact, one of the top questions I hear from investors is, “What would you do?” If I could start my investing life all over again I would buy a [...]

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Learn Real Estate

Five Additional Steps of Due Diligence When Buying a Rental Property

by Troy Schuricht | April 18, 2008

Due diligence is a term used for a number of concepts involving either the performance of an investigation of a business or person, or the performance of an act with a certain standard of care. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations. A common example of [...]

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Flipping Houses

Why Chain of Title is important to your investment property purchase

by Troy Schuricht | March 20, 2008

Banks require a preliminary title report on all real estate transactions. The preliminary title report serves many functions, but one that could cause you to loose a great deal on your next investment is the Chain of Title. Most lenders require a title company to give them a 24 month chain of title. This simply [...]

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Interest Rates

Financing a Fourplex Real Estate Investment Property

by Troy Schuricht | March 13, 2008

I am asked for advice all the time about financing, and particularly financing for multi-unit investment properties. As I give advice, I outline specific goals of the individual investor and the intent of the property. The multi-unit properties I would like to address are fourplexes, triplexes, and duplexes. These multi-unit properties can be financed as [...]

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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 same [...]

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Learn Real Estate

Is Investing in Real Estate in Other States a Good Idea?

by Joshua Dorkin | October 10, 2007

A question that has been coming up a lot lately is, “Should I Invest in real estate in other states?” This is actually a great idea for those people that are living in overpriced markets where cash-flow is virtually non-existent, but there is a price you’ll pay for going out of state. Investing in properties [...]

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