With real estate prices so low, you might be thinking about buying that cabin on the lake you’ve been renting for the past few years. You’ll use it a little and rent it out to folks like yourself. Sounds like a plan, except being a successful vacation property owner is more work than it seems. [...]
With property prices down, many armchair investors are thinking about getting up and making an offer. Whether you’re investing in residential real estate, a small strip shopping center, a commercial office building, a warehouse property, or raw land, the first thing you need to do is figure out how to value the property. Only then [...]
I’m often asked how to find a great real estate agent. The answer couldn’t be simpler: Use the six steps I outline below and you’re sure to a great real estate agent to assist you with buying or selling your next property. But let me first explain why I think every home buyer and most [...]
There’s no question that the home buyer tax credits spurred a rejuvenation of the real estate industry: Building permits in April fell 11.5 percent from March, but that number was still nearly 16 percent higher than in April 2009. Housing starts, or when builders actually put a shovel in the earth and start building a [...]
Summer is coming, and you’re not looking forward to your electrical bills – especially after all the cash you shelled out this past winter. There are some new home tech toys that will save you money – but you’ve got to do your homework. You have to choose the right home technology, learn how to [...]
The home buyer tax credits that pumped up existing and new home sales are gone. To take advantage of either the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit or the $6,500 long-term home owner tax credit, you must have signed a valid contract by April 30, 2010. You have until June 30, 2010, to close on [...]
