Real Estate

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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Even at 3.25%, Refinancing Makes NO SENSE! Here’s Why

October 16, 2011

There’s an old rule of thumb that if you can refinance at an interest rate 1% or more below your current rate, it’s a good deal.  That advice is too broad and may not be true in many circumstances.  It doesn’t take into account so many factors like how far into the current loan you […]

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My Foray into College Real Estate – Animal House 2011

August 28, 2011

I’ve mentioned a pending real estate deal a partner and I have been working on for a while.  I thought I’d give a quick update on how we came upon this opportunity, what we’ve done to date, what’s left to do to close the deal and all the lessons learned along the way.  To recap, […]

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