If you’re a fan of television shows about houses, you already know that “staging a house” means decorating it in ways that will appeal to buyers. The question is, what does that mean in practical terms? Here are some basic strategies to apply when staging houses to help them sell faster . . . Get [...]
Looking at properties can be exhausting and frustrating, especially if you are looking for that “perfect” first property to purchase. As one young investor sums it up, “I have now spent day after day riding around in the car of a real estate agent who drives me from home to home, and none of them [...]
“Do the right thing” is the ethical philosophy that most people apply as they navigate their personal and professional lives. It’s a good starting point. But as a real estate investor or agent, how will you handle situations like these? You want to purchase a four-unit apartment house. The seller tells you that only one [...]
If you are a real estate investor with vision, you have already identified some cities or regions that will recover strongly as the economy continues to rebound. The question is, how can you invest money now and not lose it while you are waiting for things to improve? Here are four investing options that can [...]
If you are looking at older homes that you would like to renovate and resell for healthy profits, here’s a piece of advice . . . Add a master suite A master suite – an area of a home that contains a large bedroom, a master bath, as well as closets and possibly a dressing [...]
Whether you are advertising a house in a newspaper or online, it is important to decide which property features you will describe in the headline and ad copy. One good strategy is to make a list of your property’s most appealing features, then decide which of them to trumpet in your ad. Depending on the [...]
This is a common question that you will have to answer early in your real estate investing career. There are positives and negatives for either approach. Friends will tell you that you should sell your house yourself because . . . There is no reason to pay a realtor’s commission of six percent. Realtors might [...]
If you’re considering whether or not to buy properties in a particular town or region, chances are you have already investigated the local fire department and police force to be sure that they can protect your properties and your tenants from fire and crime. You should investigate hospitals too. Not many real estate investors bother [...]
Asbestos is a natural mineral. For many years, it was routinely added to bonding materials to create an easily applied paste that could be used for insulation or fire resistance. You are most likely to find it covering the pipes located near steam boilers or hot water furnaces in older buildings. It is now known [...]
If you are planning to invest in a particular country, city or town, investigate whether other developers have plans for the area too. You should be asking questions like these . . . Are there large undeveloped tracts of land in the area that could interest developers later on? Is a big homebuilder planning to [...]