One House I Wish I Hadn't Sold
Friday, January 16
In the fall of 2010, I was looking for a house to flip. I viewed several different options and settled on a cottage in East Nashville. It was a bank owned foreclosure that needed cosmetic updates on every surface and a re-imagined floor plan. But it had a lot of profit potential, so I closed the ...
Is Home Staging Worth the Cost?
Thursday, January 15
Real estate agents say that potential buyers make a decision of whether to buy or not within the first few seconds of seeing a house for sale. With such a small opportunity to make an impact, it is imperative for sellers to make the best first impression possible. In recent years there has been a...
The Psychology of Price Anchoring
Wednesday, January 14
Price anchoring is a concept that arises frequently in real estate investing whether the involved parties are aware of it or not. The anchor is a number, a starting place of sorts, commonly used in pricing that has a tendency to pull the negotiations toward it. The effects it has can be dramatic....
Why I've Had No Vacancies in Over Ten Years
Tuesday, January 13
When calculating returns and “crunching the numbers” for potential investment properties, conventional wisdom suggests that one figures in a loss of income due to vacancy. This figure is typically in the range of 7-10%, but differs depending on the local economy. It is wise to be prepared for une...
Live at the Foreclosure Auction
Monday, January 12
The single digit temperatures didn’t keep potential buyers away from the foreclosure auction last Thursday, January 8, 2015. There were three properties I was interested in and one I was planning on buying, so I wasn’t going to miss it. Here is my account of the events as they unfolded.Over fifty...
Why I haven't been buying MLS listings
Wednesday, December 10
Of the past six investment properties that I have purchased, only one was listed on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The recent upturn in home sales and appreciation have increased competition between buyers in Nashville, TN. Any new listings that appear to be priced below their value quickly ...