Real Estate Investing Insights

We are certainly living in interesting times. If you need to sell your house, there are more than a few ways you can help make sure your  Boston home sells for the top dollar  possible. Below are a few of them. 1. The Price Is Right -No, you won't be playing Plinko. But you may be spinning a big wheel if you overpriced your home compared to related comparable houses in your area. The general rule is "the same type of house and sold in your area within the past 6 months." Make sure you're about 10% under what those went for. Why? You'll show up well in places like Zillow and MLS and very likely get a bunch of offers, driving the price back up, and selling quicker. Sounds backward, until like ZZ Top, you just got paid and you got a pocket full of change. 2. Light It Up. - LED bulbs from places like Home Depo t allow you to select the "color temperature" of your light, making your home brighter and less yellow. And they are cheap too. I bought some...

With the  housing industry  allegedly set to help things get started after this quarantine is over, there are some things you should know if you're selling your house. Housing markets in areas like Florida tend to be quite volatile while  selling your house in Milwaukee  is a more stable affair. Here are some tips that make selling your house easier, and sell for the full cash value. 1. Paint your kitchen cabinets. -Tired dingy kitchen cabinets don't help folks feel at home in a new place. Buy quality paint, and give your cabinets a refresh. Yellowed and aging hardware is a thing on guitars, not in your kitchen. -The Roling Stones want to Paint It Black, but that's a terrible idea for your kitchen. Paint it white if you're in doubt about which color to use. 2. Lighting - LED Bulbs -Replace old incandescent bulbs if you still have some. Use newer LED bulbs with selectable "color temperature." They have them at places like  Home Depot in 4 packs for...

Selling your house in the Minneapolis area, and want to make it easier? Below are a few ways you can sell your house for the max amount of cash. 1. Offer To Cover Closing Costs -One of the cool things about real estate is you can get creative with offers and counteroffers. There is no real standard contract. Throw in a grill....throw in a boat. Throw in your  Kirby Puckett  rookie card. It's all possible. If you have a decent offer from a decent buyer, and you're not too far apart, offer to cover closing costs. The can help seal the deal, and make things smoother for the buyer. 2. Do A Quick Interior Rehab - Stainless steel appliances from Sears.  This is a great trick taught to me by a real estate investor with a lot of rental units. They are durable, come with a warranty, and the delivery/install options are cheap. If you have tired appliances on their last legs, replace them with some of these. -Replace worn-out carpet & chipped tiles. Some of the first ...

Looking to buy or  sell a house in Ft Worth ? Below are some tips to make things smoother for you. 1. Know The Top Neighborhoods. -Southlake. While not in Ft. Worth proper, it's a tony suburb NE of downtown Ft. Worth. They have great schools and are a perirenal high school football powerhouse. -Keller. One of "America's Best Small Towns" several times over the past decade. -Downtown. I personally prefer downtown Ft. Worth to downtown Dallas. They redid Sundance Square a few years back and did a great job. It's very walkable and a great place to hang out. -Also of note are Southside, Village Creek, West Morningside, and Hillside Morningside, -If you are looking for typical middle-class family homes then Fort Worth proper, Mansfield, Keller, Bedford, Euless, and Hurst are all nearby areas as well. -The  median home price  across all areas is $265,000. 2. Dallas & Ft. Worth are not close. -It may sound silly, but they are roughly 40 miles apart...

If you're thinking of selling your house, there are some important repairs you should consider doing to get the maximum value out of your home. If you don't want to do the repairs or need to seek your house quickly, consider calling the  We Buy Ugly Houses  folks. Below are five of the most important repairs you can do to your home to improve the value for sale and reduce the days on the market before the transaction closed. 1. Fix Your Floors -Replace worn out carpets or hardwood flooring. This is one of the top things that makes a home look tired and in need of a refresh. Also, one of the first things a buyer will fix during rehab are the floors, especially worn-out carpeting. Why not get it done, and reap the rewards yourself? -Choose neutral colors. I'm sure that green shag carpet leftover from 1975 made a statement then. It makes a statement now too. Just not the one you want when selling a house. 2. Fix Leaks & Water Stains -The last thing a new home ...

Since Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry  ordered all nonessential businesses to close , you may be wondering, what do I do now? Here are a few tips if you fall into one of these categories. 1. Small Business -Get on  this local list  if you're a restaurant or locally-owned business. -Apply for related  SBA loans or relief programs.  I'm hearing things from friends that are business owners and have done the process. The paperwork is extensive and it's an overall pain in the behind. That said, it beats the alternative. Grin, bear it and jump through the hoops. -Pay what you can. In most cases, it's better off to pay what you can on the lease, rather than zero until a later date. In most cases, your landlord would much rather have 50% now, than nothing and possibly little in the future. Talk to them and do what you can. Unless they are from another planet, most will appreciate the communication and cashflow. 2. Landlord -If you have renewals, consider not...

I'm sure you've heard the well-worn tropes: Past performance does not indicate future results, and the past is prelude. The last big market crash in 2008 has certain signatures that may or may not be present this time around. Below are a few reasons why this time may rhyme instead of being a carbon copy of the last big recession. 1. The Housing Market is Different I personally got a front-row seat to the last run up and collapse to 2008. I lived in Southwest Florida and was in  college  back then. I was working on my undergrad degree and working at a high-end hotel. This was 2005. I first remember one of my co-workers getting a loan on a condo. I didn't know much, but I looked over some of the terms. It was an "adjustable-rate mortgage" instead of a  fixed-rate mortgage.  Overall interest rates were pretty low, and maybe going higher. I asked if they know what the reset rate would be if the interest rate adjusted up. They didn't know what it meant and w...

With COVID causing problems, lockdowns, and Denver area homeowners  pulling down hundreds of listings , not a lot may seem to make sense right now in real estate. An update to the stay at home order has allowed Colorado real estate services to  continue as essential . Gov. Polis announced the stay at home order which goes through April 11th and can be extended. With all the turmoil, many folks are looking to suspend mortgage and rent payments if possible. This even applies to folks in the trendy Capitol Hill neighborhood. If you do pursue this path, there are  very  important details you need to know. There is a difference between mortgage deferral and mortgage forbearance.  Mortgage deferment  is when a lender or mortgage company suspends your payments for a period and tacks them on to the end of the loan, Or you can have "catch up payment" over your normal payments to get caught back up to the amount you should be on schedule for. This can help fol...