The first commandment of fix and flip success: Not all repairs are created equal. There are some repairs that homeowners might do because it improves their quality of life but those repairs have no bearing on the value of the home. Because repairs are expensive and can add up quickly in a fix and flip, you need to make sure you are only making repairs that add both quality of life and monetary value to your property. So what repairs will get you the biggest bang for your repair buck? Here are the top 5: 1)    Repairs that are necessary Read more…

Real Estate investing is a complicated business—sometimes more so than other businesses because of the large amounts of money involved. Because of this, it may be worth your time to hire someone to handle your accounting.  However, finding a good accountant can be tricky. Try these tips to help you find an accountant that will work for you: Organization. A good organization system for receipts and contracts is vital to the success of your real estate ventures. A good accountant will help you find a way to manage those papers. Great referrals. Just like a good realtor gets lots of Read more…

As a real estate investor and property owner you’ve probably come across scenarios where it is difficult or impossible to manage your own properties. No matter how much you might hope to keep an eye on your investment, some circumstances just preclude that option. In those cases you need to hire a high-quality property management company to keep track of your property. Unfortunately, not all property management companies are created equal. There are more stories than we care to admit about property management gone wrong. You don’t have to get swindled, though. You can make smart moves now to find Read more…

Property management may sometimes feel more like babysitting than managing a business. More often than not, your time as a property manager gets taken up with repairs that shouldn’t have to be made and complaints that seem outright ridiculous. Don’t worry, though. You can improve your property management experience. Try one of these tips you may not have heard before: 1)    Give your tenants the opportunity to complain. You may be thinking they complain enough already but if you give them the opportunity to tell you how to improve and give them a channel to go through with complaints you Read more…

What is the number one thing that makes being a property owner a satisfying and rewarding job? If you were to ask any room full of property owners that question they would all give you the same answer: high-quality tenants. Filling your rental properties with high-quality tenants—tenants who pay on time, are quiet, don’t ask for unnecessary repairs, and take care of the property—is the single best way to make good on your real estate investment. In fact, for your investment and business to be truly profitable you need to have high-quality tenants.  Having high-quality tenants doesn’t just happen by Read more…

Buying bank-owned REOs, like buying foreclosures or short sales, is a great way to get into the real estate market and make a profit. However, like foreclosures and short sales, bank-owned REOs come with their own set of risks and common mistakes. Here are the three biggest mistakes investors make when buying bank-owned REOs: #1 Have an inadequate understanding of the property’s condition.  This cannot be overstated: these kinds of properties are nowhere near move-in ready. They take a lot of work to turn around. Do your research, get an independent appraisal and inspection, and have a contractor take a Read more…

Finding great tenants for your rentals properties can be like panning for gold. You have to sift through a lot of dirt to find the one that’s worth your time and energy.  However, you can optimize your tenant-finding process by using these three tools: Online screening packages.  One of the most common tools is online packages that will screen your prospective tenants to varying degrees. Services like tenantscreening.com come at a price but can be well worth the money if they save you an eviction process.  Comprehensive renter applications. Put together a detailed rental application. It’s a fairly common tool Read more…

Did you know that most real estate and property management experts recommend that you save up (keep in reserve) between 1% and 3% of the value of your rental property each year for real estate repairs? That’s a lot of money and, sometimes, for big repairs it may not be enough. Replacing carpets and pads or flooring, updating appliances, or cleaning out mold or plumbing problems can easily run thousands and thousands of dollars.  How can you get the best deal on repairs? Don’t worry, we have some ideas. . . One way to score deals is to make friends Read more…

Real estate auctions are some of the best places to score great deals on investment opportunities—if you know what you are doing. Going in as a novice, however, is sure to get you in trouble.  Here’s what you should NEVER do when buying at a real estate auction: Come ready to buy ONE property. When buying a home to live in you have to be very selective, but when you are at an auction being interested in only one property guarantees frustration. Come prepared to bid on several properties and you’re likely to go home happy. Inadequately inspect the properties.  Read more…