What exactly do you do? I have to confess that I’m guilty of something. I don’t do a lot of self promotion. Here is a case in point: This particular column marks the beginning of my sixth year writing this weekly article about real estate investing and then posting it to my blog. Yet I have friends and family who have no idea that I do it. I just…
A great reason to have assets I was talking with a friend recently who was going through a tough time. You see, my friend had had some medical complications that had caused her to have multiple surgeries over the past few years. (By multiple I mean 10 plus.) To make a long story short, every time the surgeon would go in to fix the problem, it weakened the adjacent…
Deeds tell a story I was talking to an investor recently that was having a hard time telling the difference between a warranty deed and a security deed. This confusion is not uncommon for investors that mainly buy houses using cash or traditional financing because the attorneys handle all the deed and paperwork. But this investor was in the middle of buying a subject-to deal. And with that…
Buying out-of-state property We are selling a house right now, and it’s not a normal situation for us. It’s not a flip or a rental property. Instead, it’s the house my Grandmother owned until she passed in 2013. There are some people who are cool with buying and owning property all over the world and back. But that idea is scary to me. I like having properties I…
Steady wins the race During a recent walk with my kids, my first-born was showing out on his roller blades and my daughter was rolling around on a three-wheeled scooter. As we were walking and talking, the story of the tortoise and the hare got brought up. Now I don’t know about you, but when I think about that story I don’t see a book of Aesop’s Fables….
Controlled chaos Sometimes, things are just hectic. In the real estate world, however, I think you have to accept that things are constantly going to come up and alter your plans. You’ll have to succumb to the fact that you will be living a life of controlled chaos at work. Take this morning for instance. I got through with my workout and went to go see V…
Is this the new normal? I was talking with a buddy of mine this week about how to evaluate the returns on rental property using the financial calculator. I’d like to share with you what we did. Before we get started, if you haven’t had your morning cup of coffee, put me down and go get. This column is going to be numbers-heavy and will require an acute…
Why do we fall? Two people fell this week at the gym where I work out. They were both middle-aged women, and both falls were centered around some sort of running. As I reflected on what happened in each instance, I saw some very good learning lessons I’d like to share. But first, let me tell you about what happened. The first incident took place on the treadmill. …
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should I was talking to an investor friend, recently, who was facing a conundrum. You see, he had become very specialized in one area of real estate. And the strategy he’d been using to buy on auction platforms, do minimum rehabs and resell was no longer working. Referencing the book by Spencer Johnson M.D., my friend said, “My cheese moved.” …
Comfort can kill you On a recent morning, I was heading back from a new acquire we have out in the Ranger area of Gordon County. The house is currently being rehabbed to get it rent ready. I was at the house after leaving the gym before 7 a.m. to drop off some materials for the guys. We got them unloaded, and I headed home to take…