Why the heck are home prices not going down more with mortgage rates so high? In many parts of the country, home prices are actually going up! The answer to this conundrum is partly due to the “life goes on” home-buying cycle. Many folks put their lives on hold for one-to-three years during the pandemic. […]
Explaining The “Life Goes On” Home-Buying Cycle Read More »
As a landlord who did a post-mortem pandemic review, I’ve come to realize renters also won big once the lockdowns began. I’m not talking about the renters who decided to stop paying rent even though they continued to be gainfully employed. Many mom-and-pop landlords got hurt by these non-paying renters since the landlord’s expenses still
Why Renters Also Won Big During The Pandemic: Higher Utilization Rates Read More »
So you’re thinking about buying a vacation property. I’ve owned a vacation property since 2007 and don’t recommend doing so. However, let me introduce a vacation property buying rule to follow so you don’t get in trouble like me. The vacation property buying rule to follow is to buy a vacation property for lifestyle first,
A Vacation Property Buying Rule To Follow: Lifestyle First, Income Second Read More »
Every landlord wants to increase rent to at least keep up with inflation. However, regularly increasing rent is hard to do. Let me show you how you can increase rent with minimum tension. Recently, I received a surprise automatic rental increase from my newest tenants in the amount of $200. They pay electronically on the
The Easiest Way Landlords Can Automatically Increase Rent (With Minimum Tension) Read More »
I currently have an opportunity of upgrading homes but am unsure whether it’s the right move. Maybe you’re going through this dilemma as well and need to talk things through. The house I wanted to buy a year ago failed to sell because it was listed too high. Then the S&P 500 corrected by 19.6%
The Risks Of Upgrading Homes Nobody Really Thinks About Read More »
Thanks to reader feedback, I realized one financial move that was not included in my top financial moves to relieve stress list, was paying off your home. Even though I thought long and hard about what to put on the list, paying off your home didn’t get a dedicated bullet point, just an add-on. For
Paying Off Your Home May Not Provide The Joy You Expect Read More »
If you’re looking at buying a house in 2024, I believe a window of opportunity is open. I had originally written this post discussing buying a house in 2023, which turns out to have been a great time to buy. But now that it’s 2024, I’ve updated it. You want to be buying before mortgage
Buying A House In 2024: A Window Of Opportunity Emerges Read More »
The higher your credit score, usually the lower your mortgage rate. Every time I went to apply for a new mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage, my mortgage lender would first ask for my credit score. If I said anything lower than a 720, they would politely tell me to look elsewhere. Before the 2008
Higher Credit Score Now Means Higher Mortgage Fees Or Rates Read More »
I have a love-hate relationship with owning real estate because something always comes up. The more physical rental properties you own, the more problems you will have as a landlord. In June 2022, I decided to rent out a fully remodeled single-family home I had purchased in 2019 to a second family. We had originally
How Landlords Can Create Teachable Moments For Their Kids Read More »
Although COVID has been bad for many of us in so many ways, the pandemic did one good thing. The pandemic helped protect American homebuyers from a resurgence in foreign real estate investors. In a big way, the pandemic has throttled the demand from foreign real estate investors to buy American homes. Before the pandemic
Foreign Real Estate Investors Are Coming To Buy American Homes Read More »
