Hiring the right property management company can make a huge difference in your real estate investment experience. Hiring a mediocre company can mean, at best, work gets done with significant headaches on your part or, at worst, you get swindled. Make sure you ask these three questions to get a great property management company. 1)    “Can I see your contract?” This seems like a ridiculous question to ask but you’d be surprised how many investors set up agreements with property managers without putting anything down on paper. Getting a good look at their contract will give you a good idea Read more…

Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” His quip is useful in many scenarios but especially when it comes to investing in fix and flip real estate properties. You have to know what you are getting into before you actually dive in or you risk losing money. The best way to evaluate whether a given fix and flip property is right for you is to determine three numbers: your investment capital, your budget, and your profit margin. Let’s look at each one individually. Investment Capital. Your investment capital is the amount of money you have Read more…

They say the most stressful events in life are deaths in the family, divorces, selling a home, and remodeling. Well, if you have ever had to fix and flip a real estate project you know that it combines at least two of those things. In other words, fixing and flipping properties is highly stressful and sometimes you might wonder if it’s worth the money.  You can actually lower that stress level by effectively managing your fix and flip. Successful management of a fix and flip starts with financial clarity. What does that mean? It means that before you buy a Read more…

In a hard economy you have to watch all your bills to make sure your money is being spent correctly. One set of expenses to keep an eye on is your property manager and their repair prices. Many property managers are seasoned professionals who work hard and charge fair prices, but some of them are sharks. Don’t get burned; take a good look at what they are billing you for. Making repairs instead of replacements and replacements instead of repairs. This kind of thing is often a judgment call but if you see a lot of expensive items being replaced Read more…

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…