Author: Brad Beckett

What the kitchen faucet taught me about how to keep great tenants By John Triplett, NationalREIA As a small investor focused primarily on single-family home investing, I stay very close to my business and the issues that come up with the tenants. From time to time in this blog, I will share a story or two from my business and tenant relationships that I hope might help you in your real estate investing business. So here is one that just came up. That late-night maintenance call I got a call last night from Jake – We will call him Jake…

A recent analysis from John Burns Real Estate Consulting says that secondary apartment markets are outperforming what they call “surban” locations (desirable suburban locations with urban amenities) and that these secondary markets account for the largest current year-over-year rent growth, which they forecast to outperform through 2020.   Interestingly, the article also contains an analysis of U-Haul truck rental pricing, which is always useful in identifying in & out migration patterns nationwide – especially in regards to their hypothesis. Click here to read more.

According to the latest Mortgage Monitor Report from the Data and Analytics Division of Black Knight Financial Services, the average borrower of a HELOC (home equity line of credit) resetting in 2017 will face an average increase of $250 per month over their current HELOC payment – in some cases doubling their current payment.  The loans typically have a 10-year period with interest only payments before fully amortizing.  According to Black Knight, 19% of active HELOC’s are facing a reset in 2017.  Valued at just under $100 billion, they represent the largest share of active HELOC loans facing reset on…

There are currently five U.S. states without a statewide sales tax;  Alaska, Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire and Delaware.  Using data from the Tax Foundation, the folks over at GOBankingRates put together a quick list of those states along with a caveat for each about the taxes they do in fact collect.  They warn that while shopping might be easier in these states just watch out for their other taxes. “Some of the five tax-free states impose a local tax, and others rely on property taxes that are higher than average. In addition, some even levy hotel and motel bed taxes…

The U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting that total construction spending in March was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,21 trillion, which is 3% higher than March 2016.  Private residential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $503.4 billion in March, 1.2% higher than February’s number.  Nonresidential construction was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $436.8 billion in March, 1.3% below February’s number.  Public construction spending was $278.1 billion in February. Click here to read the full release.

A new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America shows that between March 2016 and March 2017 thirty-nine states added construction jobs.  Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, the AGC noted that while contractors are worried about being able to find enough workers in the future.  California added the most construction jobs (42,200 jobs) over the past year, followed by Florida (36,500 jobs), Texas (18,900 jobs), and Washington (12,200 jobs).  Ten states and the District of Columbia shed construction jobs between March 2016 and March 2017. Employment was unchanged in West Virginia. Illinois lost the highest number…

The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that at the end of Q1 2017 The U.S. homeownership rate stood at 63.6% (virtually unchanged from last quarter) and the national vacancy rate for rental housing was 7% and 1.7% for homeowner housing – both virtually unchanged since last quarter.  Approximately 87.3% of the housing units in the United States in Q1 were occupied and 12.7% were vacant.  Owner-occupied housing units made up 55.5% of total housing units, while renter-occupied units made up 31.8% of the inventory.  Vacant year-round units comprised 9.4% of total housing units, while 3.3% were for seasonal use. Click…

Data powerhouse Attom Data Solutions (parent company of RealtyTrac) recently released their Q1 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report which showed that homeowners who sold in their homes in the first quarter realized an average price gain of $44k, which represented an average of a 24% return on the purchase price.  This is the highest average price gain for sellers since the third quarter of 2007.  Metro areas with the highest percent return on the previous purchase price were San Jose, California (71% average ROI); San Francisco, California (65%); Seattle, Washington (56%); Portland, Oregon (52%); and Modesto, California (51%).  In addition,…

According to a recent Gallup poll, once again, for the 4th year in a row, real estate remains the top choice of Americans best long-term investment.  The results found that 34% chose real estate, 26% chose stocks, 18% chose gold, 13% chose savings accounts/CD’s, and 5% chose bonds as the best place to out money for the long-haul.  Want to learn more about how to get started in real estate investing? click here. Click here to read the full story on Gallup.com

We’ve had several posts about property taxes this year (rates, amounts, high/low etc).  With those in mind (of course) the folks over Howmuch.net said it best in a recent post about property taxes, and it’s one that is often overlooked (or ignored) by policymakers – especially when they look for additional sources of revenue: “Even if you rent instead of own, property tax still is an important component of your housing cost. Your landlord will take the tax on his house – your home – into account to calculate your rent. So either way, real-estate tax is a factor in…