Author: Brad Beckett

What are the 4 reasons everyone should include real estate in their investment portfolio?  That’s a great question and one that Fortune Builders recently answered in this informative infographic.  After all, a diversified portfolio is key to financial freedom!  Happy Friday!!! Hat Tip to FortunateBuildlers.

Freddie Mac recently announced that it was suspending all foreclosures (through Dec. 31, 2017) in areas that the FEMA has declared eligible disaster areas as a result of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.  In addition, Freddie Mac is also suspending (until further notice) all eviction activities for borrowers in these same areas.  They are also working with loan servicers to ensure that no property inspection costs resulting directly from either Harvey or Irma are passed on to impacted borrowers.   An eligible disaster area is an area comprised of counties or municipalities that have been declared by the President of the United…

Citing data from the Census Bureau’s recently released 2015 Rental Housing Finance Survey, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies says that while individual investors were the biggest group in the rental housing market in 2015, accounting for 74.4%, or 16.7 million rental properties, institutional investors own a growing share of the nation’s 22.5 million rental properties and a majority of the 47.5 million units contained in those properties. “While individual investors (often called “mom-and-pop landlords”) still owned about three-quarters of all single-family rental properties in 2015, the share of those properties owned by institutional investors rose from 17.3 percent in…

Local Market Monitor (a National REIA preferred vendor) recently released their National Economic Outlook for September, 2017 where they share their thoughts on developments taking place in the U.S. economy. National Economic Outlook – September 2017 September 13, 2017 By: Ingo Winzer Why do the monthly economic statistics matter to long-term investments in real estate? It’s partly a matter of timing – you’d prefer not to make an investment just as the economy is tanking. But aside from spotting the infrequent recession, investors can dissect current performance to take advantage of the strategic changes that will affect their long-term decisions.…

In a recent RPOA podcast, Brian Hamrick interviews Whitney Nicely about the many types of deals she’s done, the techniques she’s used, and the lessons she’s learned along the way.  Whitney Nicely believes everyone should control their destiny by investing in real estate as soon and as much as possible.   Last year, she was even featured in the Real Estate Journal’s “Member Spotlight.” Whitney LOVES investing in Lease Options, and she tells some great stories of the money she’s made, and the headaches she’s encountered.  You’ll also learn the three profit points Whitney focuses on when doing a lease option:…

Earlier this week CNBC Realty Check’s Diana Olick visited The Home Depot’s disaster command center in Atlanta, GA with an update on the incredible relief operation taking place there.  As Hurricane Irma made landfall, The Home Depot began working around the clock to support coastal communities in the path of the storm. The company’s merchandising, operations and supply chain teams are working continuously to move truckloads of product to stores on the Florida coast.  They also continue to support their associates and communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Inside Home Depot’s disaster command center from CNBC. Click here for updates on Home Depot store closures…

The Most Valuable Dollar Bill The story of a cruise ship, a bad habit, and the most valuable $1 bill you will ever own By Christian Bryant My business partner Terry Lodge and I attended the recent National Real Estate Investors Association Cruise Conference. Our goal was to bring back as much of the investor education we received there to our members as possible. But surprisingly, one of the most valuable lessons we learned this year came from a random observation made while Terry was searching for a cigarette. Let me back up and say, if you are in any…

Rental information site Zumper recently released their National Rent Report for September showing that the median national rent for 1-bedroom apartment was $1,183 and $1,402 for a 2-bedroom apartment.  San Francisco continues to dominate their National Rent Index of 100 cities at $3,390/$4560 with Ft. Wayne, Indiana rounding out the bottom at $480/$580. Be sure to take look at their entire data set which analyzes rental data from over 1 million active listings across the United States. Data is aggregated on a monthly basis to calculate median asking rents for the top 100 metro areas by population, providing a comprehensive…

Late last week Equifax, one of the top 3 credit reporting bureaus in the country, announced a “cybersecurity incident” that potentially impacts over 143 million U.S. consumers.  They said that criminals gained unauthorized access to their systems from mid-May through July 2017 and may have gleaned names, social security numbers, birth dates, and much more.  They have set up a special website to determine if someone’s information was compromised and are offereing free credit-monitoring and ID theft protection or one year. The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver’s license numbers.…

Once again we’re talking about millennials…….And now we learn that a recent survey found that more millennials cite wanting a better space for their dog (when buying their first home) than they do for marriage and having children. Indeed……Happy Friday! Hat tip to the AKC.