BiggerPockets Daily

Closing costs are a crucial aspect of any real estate transaction, but they can vary widely, build up quickly, and be confusing to understand. Buyers tend to focus on the upfront expenses like the purchase price and down payment. Sellers often consider the repairs and renovations needed to make the home presentable for showing. But before the real estate deal’s done, buyers and sellers must pay closing costs. You can avoid unwanted surprises during the home buying or selling process by understanding the common closing costs and what you can expect to pay as a buyer and seller. Educating yourself about who pays closing costs can pave the way for a smoother buying experience or property sale. This will help you confidently navigate the process and make informed decisions that work best for your financial situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2023 has presented tremendous challenges for investors looking to get started. Financing is expensive compared to the historically low interest rates during the COVID boom. And, although they’re stabilizing, home prices have seen massive appreciation. Throw low inventory into the mix, and you’ve got an investor’s worst nightmare. In short, it’s tough to cash flow right now, but luckily, it’s still possible. Take, for example, Jessica Later, a real estate broker and investor who’s crushing it in one of the most expensive markets in the country: Boston. In many ways, her story is contrarian. The lessons she shares in this article show you how to think outside the box to win big in any market condition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State income taxes are often a complex topic with major implications for real estate investors. Placing your money in states without income tax may be a smart idea and allow you to keep more money in your pocket each year. Which states with no income tax does it make sense to invest in? How should you consider structuring your home rental business to optimize results? Understanding your potential tax liability in the nine states without an income tax allows you to make the best decision for your next purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A fourplex may be a good place to start if you’re considering testing the waters as a residential real estate investor. It’s also a sound investment for the first-time homebuyer, as you can live in one of the fourplex units and rent the others—your tenants pay the mortgage. If you want it strictly as an investment property, that’s not a problem, although it may limit some attractive financing options. What Is a Fourplex? A fourplex is a multifamily home with four separate units under one roof. You may also hear it referred to as a quadplex. Each unit has its own entrance. Some fourplexes include a common building entrance with separate interior entrances for each unit. The units are either side-by-side or stacked on top of each other. From the street, a common entrance quadplex may resemble a large, single-family home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Medium-term rentals are more profitable than long-term rentals and less stressful than their short-term counterparts. While they used to be mainly for traveling nurses and business professionals, they’ve become more popular than ever due to the rise in digital nomadism and the stricter regulations enforced on short-term rentals. In this post, we’ll explore how to invest in medium-term rentals so you can decide if they’re right for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remote work, rapidly rising rents in some cities, and a desire for more amenities are all factors driving Americans to relocate—but the areas drawing the most new renters are shifting, according to the new Rent.com migration report for the first quarter of 2023. Back in January, we reported that renters were showing interest in the South and Midwest regions due to relatively affordable housing available in many cities in these regions when compared to the West and Northeast. But as more people flocked to these regions to escape higher-priced areas, rents went up. For example, while Miami is still cheaper than New York, rising housing costs in Florida from an influx of new residents are causing the Sunshine State to experience the highest inflation rate in the nation. As a result, some residents may be pushed out of the state, even as more people from New York and California move in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re planning on buying or selling an investment property, having a handle on market conditions is critical. Can you expect a bidding war? Do you need to pay in all cash to win? What concessions might you need to make for buyers? There’s no way to answer all these questions with certainty, but a new survey from Opendoor does offer some insights. Here’s what to keep in mind as you prepare for buying or selling a property in the current market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Home prices across the U.S. had the highest quarter-to-quarter gain since 2015, as potential homebuyers are getting pushed out of an increasingly expensive market. The median single-family home value rose 10.2% from the first to the second quarter of 2023 to $350,000, a report from real estate data firm ATTOM found. It’s the biggest quarterly increase in almost the past decade. Median home prices in 565 of the 574 counties analyzed in the report (98%) were less affordable than in prior quarters, more than double the number of counties that were unaffordable two years ago before mortgage rates went up. This means only 2% of counties examined were more affordable than their historic averages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no doubt that occupancy rates are declining for Airbnb properties amid a supply increase, but whether we’re entering an Airbnb apocalypse or just seeing a heated market moderate depends on who you ask. Nick Gerli, CEO of Reventure Consulting, began a viral debate over the future of Airbnb revenue when he tweeted a chart based on data from short-term rental analytics firm Alltherooms, which depicted average revenue per listing falling up to 47.6% in some cities. Gerli suggested the trend would impact the housing market, inducing a “wave of forced selling from Airbnb owners” in the affected cities. But data from AirDNA, a competing short-term rental analytics firm, tells a different story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hearing pundits talk about real estate over the last year, you’d think the sky had fallen several times over. Don’t get me wrong. The real estate sector has seen its share of challenges over the last year. Home prices in some markets have fallen after years of skyrocketing at unsustainable rates. Rapid interest rate increases left many would-be sellers feeling “stuck” in their homes, pinching supply, and left some investors with variable rate loans with thin or even negative cash flow. But I still invest in real estate, month in and month out. Just as I still invest in stocks month in and month out, regardless of the market’s latest gyration. Here’s why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The leader of the bank for central banks—the Bank for International Settlements (BIS)—is sounding the alarm. Just this week, BIS general manager Agustín Carstens told reporters that “The global economy is at a critical juncture.” And according to the bank’s just-released annual report, if inflation isn’t tamed and consumer prices remain high for much longer, banks could see credit losses of a “similar order of magnitude” to those of the 2008 financial crisis. The comments are jarring, particularly on the backs of three bank failures earlier this year. BIS’s typical stances—which are usually more reserved—also lend gravitas to the statements. “The resilience of the financial system will be tested again,” the report reads. “Pockets of vulnerability remain. Recent events have shown how the failure of even comparatively small institutions can shake confidence in the overall system.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buying a home hasn’t been easy for the past few years. Besides increasing interest rates, a decrease in purchasing power, and a housing shortage, cash buyers have also put a squeeze on some would-be buyers. Nearly a third of U.S. home purchases were made with cash in April, a nine-year high, according to data from Redfin that looked at the 40 biggest metropolitan areas in the U.S. That’s in line with data from February, which saw cash purchases reach 33.5% and continuing a trend that started during the pandemic. The share of homes being bought with cash is at levels not seen since 2014, when the housing market rebounded from the Great Recession. But the housing market today looks very different. So what’s driving this drive of cash buyers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent report published by the National Association of Realtors reveals that the housing shortage and affordability crisis in the U.S. would be alleviated if there were sufficient homes available for buyers at all income levels. Currently, 51% of American households have an income of $75,000 or less, meaning they can only afford houses that are priced at $250,000 or lower. Data shows that of the 1.1 million homes listed for sale, only 25% are listed within that price range. To balance the market, the report indicates that there needs to be an additional 319,460 listings priced under $250,000. The top five cities that have large supply shortages of affordable homes include El Paso, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Spokane, Washington; Cape Coral, Florida; and Lakeland, Florida. Conversely, Youngstown, Ohio-Pennsylvania is a region where buyers with an income of $75,000 can purchase 72% of the listings, exceeding the balanced market target rate of 66%. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where have all the cash flowing properties gone? With high interest rates, low inventory, and purchase prices not budging, it’s becoming harder and harder to find your margins. It’s even harder to find a cash flowing property when your investment budget is modest. That’s why we loved Dave Meyer’s recent Instagram post covering his top five cash flowing market picks with average purchase prices under 200k. Sometimes all you need is someone to help you stop boiling the ocean when you’re looking for your next deal. Meyer looked at average purchase prices but also reviewed a few other positive financial indicators in each area to support his recommendations. We pulled those together along with a few more reasons these markets are worthy of further investigation. Of course, nothing is all roses, but there are sure to be diamonds in the rough here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For high-earners raking in between $150,000 and $650,000 annually, a move from New York City to Miami provides the opportunity to save thousands through a reduced effective tax rate and a decrease in the cost of living, according to a SmartAsset study. San Francisco residents can realize similar savings by relocating to Miami. It’s not that Miami is cheap—the cost of living is 22.8% higher than the national average, and the median sale price for homes in Miami is about 34% higher than the national median, according to data from Redfin. But it’s still cheaper to buy a home, rent an apartment, or even go to a restaurant or grocery store in Miami than in notoriously expensive cities like NYC. But that could all change as more New Yorkers migrate to Miami in hopes of getting more out of their income. Miami residents began taking notice of their new neighbors from New York last year, blaming the skyrocketing rents in the city on heightened demand created by movers. The savings potential is likely to shrink as Miami home values and rents increase amid constricted supply. Furthermore, homeowners insurance rates in Florida are increasing dramatically due to climate change, with premium hikes outpacing every other state. And a surge in property taxes for newly acquired homes is taking new residents by surprise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been generally accepted in real estate that a “balanced market” has about six months of inventory. In other words, the sales for that month equal one-sixth of the number of listed properties, so, all things being equal, it will take six months to clear that inventory. As Norada Real Estate Investments puts it, “As a general rule, 5 to 6 months of inventory is considered to be a normal or balanced market. Over 6 months of inventory and we have a buyer’s market. If it is less than 5 months and we have a seller’s market.” Even the National Association of Realtors states that “Historically, six months of supply is associated with moderate price appreciation.” What’s immediately odd about this is that housing prices have fallen since last year despite what should be a seller’s market. In May 2023, prices were down 2.2% nationally from their peak in June 2022. At the same time, inventory was only half that of a “balanced market,” sitting at 3.0 months in May of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big news to come out of last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting was the group’s choice to forgo another rate hike. Previously, the central bank had increased interest rates at every meeting since March 2022 (with 10 rate hikes in total). The June decision marks the Fed’s first rate pause in over a year. Fed. Chair Jerome Powell revealed as much in his post-meeting briefing with reporters. He also delved into key real estate topics—including the impacts of a potential commercial real estate crash and a housing market “bottom.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Understanding and applying these three sentences could make you wealthy: “In bad times, securities can often be bought for prices that understate their merits. And in good times, securities can be sold at prices that overstate their potential. And yet, most people are impelled to buy euphorically when the cycle drives prices up and to sell in panic when it drives prices down.” – Howard Marks (2013 Memo “Ditto”) I’m excited to share some thoughts about fear and greed. But I’ll start by sharing a few comments on the current economy to set the stage. Not long ago, I opened my computer to a startling CRE email subject line: “Prices Plummet to 2010 Levels” It was a great attention-grabber but was inaccurate. The publication went on to say that the sharpness of the decline in CRE values (not the prices) had not been seen since the Great Recession, which is still disconcerting. (Note that the headline was changed at some point since the original publication.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the heck is going on with the 2023 real estate market? From high interest rates and high purchase prices to elusive cash flow, this market includes enough uncertainty to spook new and beginner investors into thinking the best course of action might be to sit this cycle out. Pro tip: Don’t sit out. You know the old adage: When’s the best time to plant a tree? “20 years ago.” When’s the second-best time to plant a tree? “Today.” Many expert investors will call this truth in 2023 in regard to real estate. For sure, this year has forced us to be more conservative and strategic than we’ve been in the past, but most say you’re still better off “in” than “out”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve officially entered hurricane season. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s a good chance it will be a “near-normal” one for both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, that’s not exactly comforting for property owners, especially given recent numbers. In the last three years, 13 hurricanes have made landfall in the U.S. One of those was Hurricane Ida—the second-most damaging storm the country’s ever seen. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Ida racked up an estimated $36 billion in insured losses, behind only Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It’s storms like these—and the risk of more of them down the road—that has spurred an uptick in property insurance premiums nationwide. Will 2023 bring more of that costly risk? Here’s what CoreLogic’s recent hurricane report tells us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Offices across the country are still sitting empty. The nationwide office vacancy rate reached a high of about 20% in the first quarter of 2023, according to JLL, and while big tech companies are pressuring workers to return to the office, the hybrid work model has led to an increase in commercial office delinquencies. According to Trepp, a real estate analytics firm, the office delinquency rate surged 125 basis points in May to over 4%. This spells trouble for the commercial real estate market and the broader economy, according to some experts. Analysts at Morgan Stanley are predicting a decline in commercial property values of up to 40%, a crash akin to the 2008 financial crisis. Fred Cordova, CEO of Corion Enterprises, believes the crash is already underway. But while most firms agree the office sector is under stress, some are more optimistic than others about the outcome for commercial real estate. For example, UBS Global Wealth Management asserts the problem is manageable, and a crash resembling 2008 isn’t likely. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all hate market meltdowns, and this one was bound to happen. We just didn’t know when, exactly how, or how bad things would get. But we now know the answer to the first two of these three questions. When? Currently underway. How? See below. How bad? No one knows. The purpose of this article is to explore what led up to the unfolding meltdown of what is happening now. Then, based on the 10 items I consider below, investors can draw conclusions about what may happen next and how bad this could get. Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that thousands of investors lost millions of dollars in a series of multifamily deals. The article highlights a mid-level Dallas IT worker who built a 7,000-unit multifamily portfolio in just four years. Unfortunately, he lost 3,200 units to his lender in Q1, defaulting on $229 million in debt and losing a boatload of syndicated investor capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another famous name is weighing in on the housing market. A few weeks ago, it was Elon Musk claiming that home values would plummet as commercial real estate faced headwinds. Now, it’s Barbara Corcoran—albeit a more experienced source when it comes to real estate—touting the opposite. The statements came in a recent interview Corcoran did with Fox Business’s Liz Claman. “There’s no relationship between the commercial and the residential,” Corcoran told her. “The residential is starting to rebound, but the commercial is in trouble.” “So Elon’s wrong?” Claman asked. “Of course he’s wrong,” Corcoran said. “Yet again.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The record-breaking rent growth of the last several years is showing signs of fading. Earlier this month, Redfin reported that rent growth slid 0.6% on a year-over-year basis for the first time since the pandemic. This is, of course, a modest decline in rents, but it begs the question: will there be a bigger correction or even a crash in rents? Or is it possible that rent growth will pick back up in the coming years? Let’s dig in. Where Rent Growth Stands When we talk about rent growth in the U.S., the normal situation is for rent growth to be around or slightly higher than the pace of inflation. During the 2010s, most markets had an average annual rent growth of 3-5%. But during the pandemic, as we all know, this changed, and rent growth peaked at around 17.5% on a national basis, with some individual markets seeing annual rent growth top 30%. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real estate investors want to avoid unnecessary taxation, and while there are many clever ways to reduce your effective tax rate, it can be difficult to simultaneously achieve robust asset protection. That’s because accountants and attorneys each have knowledge gaps that prevent them from seeing the full picture, according to Riley Neilson, real estate investment manager and founder of Flying ‘N’ Group. His business brings together lawyers and CPAs to help his clients achieve the delicate balance between minimal taxation and maximum asset protection. Liability lawsuits against businesses are increasing in number and severity year-over-year, with businesses now spending an average of $1.2 million each year to counter litigation. Mom-and-pop real estate businesses are not immune, even those that do everything by the book, work to reduce risks and never cause intentional harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commercial real estate is melting down fast. Home values next.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2023 That’s what Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted last week in response to a stream of tweets from venture capitalist David Sacks. In that series, Sacks claimed that Fed rate hikes and the increased borrowing costs they led to are causing a slew of problems in the financial world, including a soon-to-be crash in commercial real estate. That latter part could certainly be possible. In fact, JPMorgan estimates that nearly $450 billion in commercial real estate debt could go into default this year. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management forecasts a 40% peak-to-trough decline in CRE prices, increasing the risk of default even further. Does that mean a similar drop in home values is coming, too? Let’s take a look. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is it still possible to find undervalued commercial real estate investments? I believe it is, and I’ll prove it by telling you a remarkable story about a recent investment we made in a Nevada self-storage opportunity. We’re in a Transitioning Market We are in a time of transition. From a booming market to a shaky market. From historically low interest rates to the highest we’ve seen in years. From eager buyers, sometimes willing to overpay, to sidelined buyers, waiting to see where the falling knife lands. Great cash-flowing deals have gotten hard to find. And with higher interest and cap rates, even harder to pencil. Times like this require more due diligence than usual and a dedicated acquisition team turning over every stone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to a recent report by Fannie Mae, there are concerns about the housing market. The U.S. housing market has experienced some ebbs and flows this year, but it’s undoubtedly been in correction mode. With elevated interest rates and tightening lending practices, Fannie Mae is forecasting a “modest” recession with a soft landing starting in the second half of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal eviction moratoriums lasted nearly 18 months, from early 2020 through late August 2021. Even after the federal eviction moratorium ended, many cities and states continued preventing landlords from enforcing their lease contracts. Some cities went so far as to use federal tax dollars to give free legal aid to tenants to fight lawful evictions long after moratoriums ended. And that’s even after taxpayers paid for nearly 10 million rent assistance payments, albeit months after it did many landlords any good. But that’s behind us, right? Never to happen again? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Commercial real estate is facing a lot of stress. Many analysts and investors, including myself, expect to see significant value declines across much of the sector in the coming year. But one particular type of commercial real estate is facing the biggest crash potential of all: office space. And even if you don’t currently invest in office space, the future of this huge asset class will have large implications for the broader real estate market and the economy as a whole. The idea that the office market may crash makes sense on a logical level, as more people are working from home, but from a data perspective—it looks even worse. Since 2019, net absorption, a crucial indicator that measures the balance of supply and demand for office space, has turned starkly negative. In this time frame, tenants have given up a whopping 140 million square feet. 25 million of that lost square footage has come in 2023, so there’s no sign of slowing down. In fact, evidence points to this horror show continuing, with another 67M square feet of new supply projected to come online this year—that’s the most new office space coming online since 2009. So there is a huge glut of supply flooding the market, and it’s happening at the worst possible time—when demand is declining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By most accounts, the Fed will hold steady after raising the federal funds rate by a quarter point to 5.25% at the beginning of May. A Reuters poll found that 102 of 116 economists thought the Fed was done raising rates this year, and 30 believed they would lower it. With inflation down from its high of over 9% last year to 4.9% in April of this year, it might seem like the Fed should reverse course now. But as Michael Gapen, chief economist at Bank of America, noted, “Inflation is more than double the Fed’s target rate, and the unemployment rate is below every FOMC participant’s estimate of the natural rate.” Still, with inflation halving over the last nine months, several recent bank failures, and warning signs of a recession—that many, including myself, have been predicting for a year—still being present, there are a lot of reasons to think the Fed will begin reversing course on rates. If not at the end of 2023, then probably in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Houston. Those are the only four remaining cities where it costs less to buy a typical home than to rent, according to a new report from Redfin. The analysis compared March home values and rental estimates assuming a 5% downpayment and a 6.5% mortgage rate for the 50 most populous metro areas in the United States. Back in January 2022, an analysis from Realtor.com showed that buying a home was more affordable than renting in more than half of the largest metros. But mortgage rates have increased since then while rent prices have flattened nationally. Naturally, the question for investors is whether buying a home can yield cash flow now that housing payments (including insurance and property taxes) exceed fair market rent in most markets. Spoiler: The long-term rental strategy is still viable—but investors face more challenges. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your offer was just accepted on a beautiful property in Central Florida just a few miles from the coast. The income you will make from this short-term rental will fund your early retirement plans. Everything is humming along relatively smoothly—until you get your quote back for the insurance. Now, you feel like you just got punched in the gut. The cost of the insurance will certainly take a chunk out of your profits, but after talking to an agent, you count yourself lucky because had you been located just a few miles south, you wouldn’t even be able to find a carrier to cover you. What’s going on in Florida? What about California and Texas? If it seems like finding affordable insurance in some areas is getting harder and harder, your thoughts are correct. Capacity is limited, and prices are going up. Many carriers are pulling out of markets entirely. But why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Atlanta, colloquially referred to as the “capital of the South,” is a large and growing market with interesting investment opportunities. The metropolitan area, officially defined as Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, has a population of over six million and hosts the headquarters of many well-known companies such as Coca-Cola, CNN, and Chick-Fil-A (all of which oddly start with the letter “C”), and has an excellent sports scene anchored by the Hawks (NBA), Braves (MLB), and Falcons (NFL). In this article, we’ll cover Atlanta’s housing market and economy and offer investing tips by an expert in the city. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Passive activity loss rules are complex. These rules prevent you from using tax losses from your rentals to offset your active income. A foundational understanding of the rules will save you thousands of tax dollars over your investing career. And knowing how to review your tax return to ensure these rules were successfully applied is an investor superpower. For instance, if you opened your tax returns, can you find the amount of suspended passive losses carried forward to next year? And can you easily determine if the losses from one rental offset the income from another passive activity you own? Knowing the amount of suspended passive losses you are carrying forward is critical to decision-making around buying and selling rentals. Unfortunately, few investors know how to monitor this information. In this article, I will tell you about the passive activity rules and how to track suspended tax losses from your rentals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Managing your real estate investment portfolio gives you more control over your assets and risk exposure. You can monitor the growth strategy of your real estate business so that it always aligns with your goals, which can change as you add alternative investments to your portfolio. While successful property management can vary among investors, there are key strategies that can enhance your skills as a real estate portfolio manager. These strategies can help you effectively manage your investments, mitigate risks, and optimize your portfolio’s performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting a real estate business can be a lucrative venture. Real estate investment provides various avenues for building wealth and achieving financial freedom, such as generating passive income through rental properties or earning profits through property sales. However, there is much to learn about real estate investing before closing deals. Real estate investing (REI) offers endless opportunities for growth and success. But, starting a real estate business requires planning, preparation, building a real estate team, networking, and business knowledge. Although starting up in real estate sounds challenging, the rewards can be great. This article explores the key steps for starting a successful real estate business. From creating a business plan to building a strong personal network, you will learn about the tools and resources you need to become a successful real estate investor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting a real estate business can be a lucrative venture. Real estate investment provides various avenues for building wealth and achieving financial freedom, such as generating passive income through rental properties or earning profits through property sales. However, there is much to learn about real estate investing before closing deals. Real estate investing (REI) offers endless opportunities for growth and success. But, starting a real estate business requires planning, preparation, building a real estate team, networking, and business knowledge. Although starting up in real estate sounds challenging, the rewards can be great. This article explores the key steps for starting a successful real estate business. From creating a business plan to building a strong personal network, you will learn about the tools and resources you need to become a successful real estate investor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The real estate industry is dynamic and ever-evolving. Market conditions are constantly influenced by factors like supply and demand, interest rates, and economic cycles, to name a few. Any of these factors can cause your property values, rental income, and investment opportunities to fluctuate. Before real estate investment trusts (REITs) were established in 1960, only ultra-wealthy investors could invest in high-income-producing properties like commercial real estate and apartment buildings. Now thanks to the internet, everyday investors can join real estate investment groups (REIGs), invest in real estate debt, and easily access different strategies for house hacking, house flipping, and real estate wholesaling. In addition, with sites like Airbnb growing in popularity, many investors have made whole careers out of investing and managing short-term rental properties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A sound understanding of how to calculate debt-to-income ratio is critical to your overall financial health. Rather than guess and hope for the best, this blog post breaks down everything you need to know about the debt-to-income ratio. What is a Debt-to-Income Ratio? Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is a financial metric that shows how well you manage debt repayment in relation to your total income. In short, it’s the percentage of your gross monthly income that goes towards paying your monthly debts. Lenders use this to gauge your creditworthiness and risk level, influencing whether you get approved for loans and the interest rates you’re offered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you considering selling a rental property? If so, using the right strategies can help you profit from the sale of an investment property and reduce your tax liability. Marketing the rental property, deferring capital gains taxes, and having a robust sales strategy are a few ways to sell an investment property for the best price. Investment properties can be a reliable source of income to build personal wealth and enjoy recurring cash flow. However, circumstances change, and you may need to sell a rental property. But many variables affect your success in the selling process. Therefore, selling an investment property requires careful planning and execution. This article examines the top strategies and tips to help maximize your profits and make selling a rental property as smooth as possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every journey begins with a single step, and real estate investing is no different. Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet and learned a few lessons from your first investment, it’s time to grow your mindset andportfolio. Whether you’re an active investor looking to achieve financial independence or a passive investor wanting to earn extra income, expanding your business requires changing your goals. If you just want to earn a little money and call it a day, that’s fine. However, if you’re interested in long-term success, you’ve got to think a little bigger. Congratulations on your early success! Now it’s time to scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just because you own real estate doesn’t mean you have a real estate portfolio. It takes time, and you must be intentional about your real estate investing. A solid strategy guiding your buying and selling habits can help you build your portfolio and track your results. Once you have a strategy for buying an investment property and have created a real estate portfolio demonstrating your ability, you can scale your real estate business and achieve your financial goal. Your real estate portfolio proves to other real estate investors and lenders that you have a record for success. Use this guide to build a real estate portfolio to help you scale your investments and grow your business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deciding when to sell an investment property can be one of your most challenging decisions. The problem is that real estate markets are constantly changing. Selling a rental property too soon could mean missing out on a property boom. However, holding on to a dud property may result in significant financial losses. When is the best time to sell an investment property? It all comes down to timing. Market conditions, tax breaks, property appreciation, investment goals, and personal circumstances can affect your decision. And sometimes, a combination of factors can dictate the right time to sell a rental property. Whatever the reason, deciding when to sell a rental property or other real estate investment can be tricky. Even smart real estate investors cannot predict local housing markets with accuracy. This article presents 15 compelling reasons why it may be the right time to sell your investment property. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 1% rule is a real estate investment guideline indicating the minimum monthly rent you must charge to break even on a rental property. The rule states that your rent should be at least 1% of your property’s sale price. While the 1% rule can be a helpful metric for investment properties, it’s meant to be more of a filter than anything. You should take it with a grain of salt, especially when accounting for current home prices. This post will detail the 1% rule, what it doesn’t account for, and other metrics you should consider. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

News of a potential housing market correction often causes many Americans to be concerned about the global economy, but this concern may be unfounded. A correction isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It may help to improve housing demand and inventory when property values increase faster and higher than the norm. Housing market corrections impact people differently, and there are both pros and cons to consider depending on whether you are buying or selling. For the real estate investor, a market correction may represent a great opportunity to purchase a property at a discount and grow your investment portfolio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are plenty of platforms that short-term rental real estate investors can use to market their space, but two of them make up the lion’s share of the industry: Airbnb and VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). While their primary functions are similar, Airbnb and VRBO have many key differences in the types of properties available, target audiences, fees and commissions, and much more. Let’s match Airbnb vs. VRBO to determine which platform best suits your investment strategy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re wondering how to grow your real estate business, you must learn about some of the most successful strategies for scaling your investment portfolio. Taking the time to educate yourself on the real estate world and what others have done to achieve success is a good first step. But to take your real estate portfolio to the next level, you must implement scalable techniques with proven results. When you create a well-defined plan and take action, you’ll witness substantial growth and progress in your real estate business. This article will explain key concepts and proven strategies successful business owners use across industries. By implementing these techniques, you can scale up your real estate portfolio and achieve remarkable growth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know you can add a layer of privacy to your entire portfolio through anonymous ownership on public filing for your assets? Holding property in your name makes it easy for anyone to find you through a simple public record search, exposing you to potential frivolous claims from upset tenants. However, by adopting anonymous ownership strategies, you can make it more difficult for them to identify and target you, providing a level of protection against such lawsuits. In this post, we’ll talk about asset protection strategies you should do, the many reasons why asset protection is vital for real estate investors, how to set up asset protection for your rental properties, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you looking at a real estate purchase agreement and trying to decipher its essential elements and terms? If so, that is understandable. A purchase agreement for buying or selling property involves complex legal expressions and procedures. So, it’s easy to get confused with terms like disclosures, sale inclusions, contingencies, and earnest money deposits when talking about real estate transactions. Understanding the key elements and terms in a real estate purchase agreement is crucial for buyers and sellers. After all, signing the purchase agreement makes it a legally binding document. And trying to terminate a sales contract because you misunderstood key terms will not cut it with the other party. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices