Monthly Archives: May 2015

Renting as an Investment Strategy

We discussed using rentals as a way of getting out of a changing market when you find yourself upside down. Much more pleasant is renting because that is your strategy. You want to build up a portfolio of properties so that you can retire on the income from the rents. Even better is if you… Read More »

Renting as an Upside Down Solution

There are several situations where you might want to rent. Hopefully you will never need to use one of them. Upside Down We will get the bad one out of the way first, but it can be a lifesaver if you need it.  In 2007 and 2008 when the market turned down fairly quickly it… Read More »

Contractors

So if you are going to rehab a house, you need contractors. First you might want to read the segment on rehabbing. Paint and Carpet For a simple job, that people call paint and carpet, you would just go in and paint the house and either clean or replace the carpet and refinish any hardwood… Read More »

Rehab

Have you ever rehabbed a house before? It can be a way to make a lot of money because you are increasing the value of the house and should get a premium for this. But beware about your choice of what to buy depending on what you have done before. Experienced If you are a… Read More »

Subject To Purchase

What is Subject To? It means buying subject to the existing mortgage. You write a contract with the owner but the original agreement between the bank and the seller stay in place. The terms can be whatever are agreed to. For example, you agree to pay the mortgage for 2 years and then pay off… Read More »

Finding Properties

One of the biggest problems is not financing, it is finding good deals. Financing was somewhat of a problem at the worst of the recent recession because banks had pulled back so much of their activity, but there were still private funds available. As we have heard many times and seen it proved, if you… Read More »

Acquiring Properties cont’d

Another way you can acquire property is with lease options . Once again, check with your lawyer to make sure you are doing this correctly. You may need some money for this. Here is what you are looking for. Find someone who wants to sell their house but is upside down. In other words, they… Read More »

Acquiring Properties

Acquiring properties depends on whether you have money or not. If you have money it can make things easier, but it is also easier to make big mistakes as you are learning. Act as a Finder / Bird Dog If you have little money, one way to get started in real estate investing is to find property… Read More »