Real Estate

Here’s How Homebuyers Get Screwed By Getting Emotionally Attached to a Desired Property

April 23, 2013

Real estate transactions are incredibly frustrating.  In most transactions, someone gets really screwed – either the buyer or seller.  And often times, both parties feel they got screwed regardless.  There are any number of reasons this happens, not the least of which being the misaligned incentives of real estate agents, who tend to strike much [...]

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Investing in Tax Liens for Substantial Returns

September 30, 2012

What if you could turn $1,000 into a $100,000 home? Controversial as it might be, thousands of real estate investors are doing this every day of the week. It’s become a common topic in the media, which frequently runs stories like this one from CNN that profiles one person who lost her $85,000 home to [...]

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No-Cost Refi Complete: 5 REALLY Annoying Things I Had to Deal With

July 25, 2012

You may have read recently about how I was undertaking a no-cost refi so I could realize the best of both worlds (3 worlds really) – Lower monthly payment, no costs out of pocket and a shorter term on the loan.  After all, mortgage rates just broker new records again (see rate table for your [...]

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How to Structure the PERFECT Refinance in a Sea of Options

June 5, 2012

With the 10 Year Treasury yield (why this is important) crashing through 2% and hovering around 1.5% for weeks now, it’s an optimal time to exploit the lowest rates we’ve seen EVER (Rate Table).  However, there are so many dozens of different options to choose from ranging to terms to rates to closing fees, it’s [...]

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10-Year Treasury Yields Under 2% – What to Do?

May 13, 2012

A quick look at the market shows something fascinating: stocks continue higher while the 10-year Treasury yield creeps back to below 2%. Last week, yields on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.84%. We seem poised to return to 10-year yields consistent with yields during the worst of Greek debt crisis fears. So what’s up with [...]

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Real Estate Update: Tenants Breaking a Lease – Lawyer Says We’re Screwed

March 14, 2012

A few months ago, I highlighted the college real estate deal I did with a partner whereby I borrowed from my 401(k) to finance a decent-sized deal on 5 houses on a college campus.  At the time we bought, we had assurances (and signed leases) that the houses were all booked for the upcoming 2012-13 [...]

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Mortgage Activity Gone Wild Due Record Low Rates – Are You Taking Advantage?

January 19, 2012

Last week, there was a 20% surge in mortgage activity driven primarily by refinancing activity from record low rates.  The mortgage banker’s association said seasonally adjust refinances were up 26% while home purchase loan activity was up 10%.   Something’s Working   While I tend to be skeptical of reports indicating the economy is improving/growing [...]

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No Cost Refinance – A No-Lose Financial Move?

January 8, 2012

A no-cost refi is starting to make more sense to me now that I’ve read more about it, and I was especially surprised to see the number of no-cost refinance companies out there.  I’ve been contemplating a refi for some time now and had initially put it off due to the exorbitant fees involved in [...]

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Here’s What Happens When You Rent to College Kids

December 21, 2011

This picture pretty much says it all. Recently, I highlighted how AFTER we closed, the insurance company for our college rental properties came out and whipped up a bunch of costly repairs we would have to undertake or else we’d lose our coverage – which in turn would have the bank revoke our loan.  So, [...]

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Surprise! Here’s how the ROI on Your Real Estate Investment Can Crumble AFTER You Buy It

November 30, 2011

A few months back, I’d shared the details on a real estate investment I made with a partner where the overall deal seemed quite favorable.  The cash on cash return was estimated at ~15-20% conservatively, we had a good property manager staying on from the prior seller, the prospects in the area looked good for [...]

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