A couple of quick items come to mind – hard surface floors – NO CARPET. Tile is better than wood or laminate because it’s tougher. These days I’d recommend LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) flooring. It’s not indestructible, but it wears well and you can replace individual pieces without replacing the whole room. Another thing […]
Real Estate Investing: What’s a pre-foreclosure and how can I buy real estate at auction?
Tom from Spanish Fort, AL asked: “How can I buy a condo that’s a pre-foreclosure or at auction?” Pre-foreclosure properties are generally defined as a property that has been served a notice of foreclosure, but the foreclosure sale has not yet taken place. You’ll see lots of these on Zillow. They are fool’s gold. I’ve […]
When is the wrong time to invest in rental property? I think that now rental properties are to expensive thus it might be too risky to invest. Should I wait for another real estate market crash?
It all depends on when you think the crash is coming and how bad you think it will be. Let’s presume you can buy a property that meets the 2% rule (not unheard of in my local market). You buy a condo for $100,000 that rents for $2000 a month. The question then becomes how […]
Where can I find fixer-upper investors?
If you’re doing the work yourself (or managing the work), what you’re looking for is called a hard money lender. If you have substantial equity in the property, a hard money lender will fund a short term (12–24 months) loan to cover the rehab costs. The interest rate is above market, but that’s ok because […]
Are foreclosed homes usually run down?
Generally speaking, most of the foreclosed homes that I’ve been involved with have a lot of “deferred maintenance” items. The financial circumstances that lead to foreclosure don’t leave a lot of money for niceties like repainting (resulting in wood rot) and roof replacement (leading to leaks and interior damage). Home owners in financial straits that […]
What does “subject to Alabama Right of Redemption” mean on a foreclosed home listing?
In Alabama, there are two types of redemption. The equitable right of redemption is the right of the homeowner to pay off the loan plus the fees that the lender tacks on for processing the foreclosure. The homeowner has the right to pay this off right up until the moment the property is sold at […]
How accurate are online real estate services (such as Zillow) for estimating a home’s value?
They *can* be remarkably accurate, in the right circumstance. In areas where the homes are homogenous, you’ll find that they can be remarkably accurate. In the real world, where I live, the homes are not very homogenous, so those services are a lot less accurate. They tend to average the price per square foot of […]
Quick Tip – Screening Tenants
After you’re done meeting with a prospective tenant, walk them out to their vehicle and eyeball the interior. If it’s relatively neat and tidy, that’s a good indicator. If it’s got fast food wrappers up to the windows, that’s probably what your rental will look like after they move in.
How do I find good contractors and subs for rehab/remodel/repair?
If you’re looking for good subs, start hanging out at HomeDepot/Lowe/Whatever drinking coffee when they open. I’m talking about 5am open, not 7:30 when it’s easy. Keep at it long enough and you’ll start to notice the same guys and companies getting an early start. While this doesn’t speak to the quality of their work, […]