Author: Brad Beckett

New research from GOBankingRates.com has found that the median cost of homeowners insurance directly corresponds with the median home values in that particular state.  In essence, if you live in Hawaii (median value $578,400) you’ll have the highest rates averaging just over $2k, however if you live in West Virginia (median value $99,700) you’ll experience the lowest with a median rate just under  $350.  Their entire 50-state list is interesting and worth a look. “Many factors determine the cost of homeowners insurance, such as the size of the specific property, its condition, age and composition, the cost to replace it…

Sometimes it just happens….the land itself is worth more than the structure that’s on it.  We’ve all driven through neighborhoods where “tear-downs” are in full season where the value of the land has appreciated but the homes have not.  In that context, the folks over at Realtor.com took data from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to put together a list of the top 10 cities where land value exceeds property value. “In San Francisco, you see some smaller investors who buy old, poorly maintained homes simply for what can be done to the lot, not the existing homes,” says…

Bloomberg is reporting that more and more single women are “skipping the spouse and buying the house.”  Citing statistics various industry sources they report that single women account for 17% of U.S. home buyers versus only 7% for single men.   They also find that single women buy at a slightly older age then single men, pay about $17k less and had a slightly higher foreclosure rate then single men. “…there’s one area of personal finance where single women are outpacing men in the U.S., and it’s a significant one: home ownership.” Click here to read the full story on Bloomberg.com.…

Rehabbing a home can take on many iterations however they all have one thing in common – making it better (or look better) than it was before.  The folks over at Redfin.com recently came up with a list of nine fairly simple things you can do to a home to make it appear more expensive, without spending a fortune. The top 9 things are: Paint the Floor Redo Outdated Light Fixtures Add Window Dressings Put up Crown Moulding Paint Your White Fridge Metallic Paint the Garage to Create a Faux Carriage Door Frame the Television Cover Old Floors With Laminate Try…

Many find it hard to buy rental property while holding down a full-time job. Kevin Guz, who now owns a HomeVestors franchise in Dallas, tells the story of how he got started on his lunch hour. How I bought my first rental duplex on my lunch hour By Kevin Guz For many part-time investors or investors embarking on that first rental investment property purchase the easiest excuse is, “I don’t have time.” If you have the desire to purchase investment real estate, and you are already involved in your career- you have a great full time job or full time…

A “huge misunderstanding” resulted in contractors recently gutting the wrong house in Ft. Worth, TX.  According to the Star Telegram, a demolition crew arrived at what they thought was a house they were hired to gut, however instead of verifying the address on the house they were looking for (in this case 2700) they only saw a number painted on the curb – which turned out to be the block number, not the house number!  So, they proceeded to gut out #2736 (which was the number written on the house).  Adding insult to injury, the owners of the newly gutted…

The NAHB’s Eye on Housing is reporting that the size of new single-family homes continued their trend of decreasing in size during the fourth quarter of 2016.  According to the report, the median single-family square floor area was 2,453 square feet, and the average (mean) square footage for new single-family homes was 2,661 square feet.  Bottom line; over time, houses are just plain getting bigger… “The post-recession increase in single-family home size is consistent with the historical pattern coming out of recessions. Typical new home size falls prior to and during a recession as some home buyers tighten budgets, and then sizes rise as high-end homebuyers,…

Forbes recently teamed up with National REIA preferred vendor Local Market Monitor to come up with the top 20 markets where population, jobs and home prices are growing.  In her weekly podcast, Kathy Fettke breaks that list down and further discusses what these cities have to offer – as well as her take on the investment climate in these cities. “Many cities on this list are good for both rental investing and a place to call home. The states with the most hot spots are Texas and Florida but there are three cities in California, and one in the Northeast…

This week we saw another President’s Day come and go.  For some it was a day off, but for many it was just another workday.  However it’s actually a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, celebrated on the 3rd Monday of February (his actual birthday is 2/22, 1732).  The day is now known as a President’s Day and honors all presidents of the United States…..The National Association of Realtors put together this cool graphic showing the median single-family home price at the time each President was sworn in since 1969 (nearly 50 years!)….Happy Friday!

For some the word gentrification conjures up images of displacement and for most it’s what happens when rundown neighborhoods get a massive upgrade.  Either way, you cannot deny that when a neighborhood that’s in severe decay is transformed into something vibrant & dynamic it is a good thing.  To that end, Realtor.com recently put together a list of the fastest gentrifying cities in the nation. They looked at cities with populations of 50k and then zoomed in on the census tracts of lower-income areas and did a deep dive with the data using a formula based on demographics and rehab…