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For Rent Listing versus For Sale Listings in the MLS

A real estate agent told me about the large number of active for rent listings in the MLS.  Typically, private owners don’t list their for rent I did some research and most of the markets have more “For Rent” listings than “For Sale” listings. Active Sales (30...
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2012 Goal Reviews and Summary

If I have any readers left, I have been busy with a handful of things and the blog has been left out. I wanted to post a review of what we did in 2012. Let’s start with the review of the goals post from last year. Landlord Goals for 2012 December 2012 gross rent collected to...
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December Tenants

Bahumbug!! December is probably the worst month of the year to try to rent a property. Finding qualified new tenants in December has always been a challenge for us.  Think about it, if someone didn’t plan ahead enough to move their family before Christmas/New Years or cannot...
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Think it’s hard? Try being a RE Agent!

Think it’s hard? Try being a RE Agent!
So I just got an email blast from a real estate agent: “I have a buyer in need of a SFR property in Moreno Valley or Perris. 3+ bedrooms and 1,400 sq.ft. or more. $140,000-$160,000 price range. Buyer is qualified w/ a Conventional Loan. Please let me know if you have anything available...
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Tweaking your Business

Tweaking your Business
Sometimes tweaking your business is more about the small things than the big things. Here are examples of some small improvements that we have recently made, that make a big difference: A. When we hired our property manager he asked my why we didn’t take rental applications...
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Help Bigger Pockets Break 100,000 Members

Help Bigger Pockets Break 100,000 Members
Welcome to September everyone.  I am hoping to have more posts this month, but I have a quick one for you today. For those real estate investors hiding under a rock who still haven’t had the time to sign up for the greatest Real Forum, Bigger Pockets, now is the time to do...
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The Joys of Insourcing Property Management

The Joys of Insourcing Property Management
If you have been following this blog for a while, you know I self manage my rental portfolio and for the “full-time” investor I am a big proponent of doing it yourself versus hiring a property management company.  You may also know that one of our goals was to hire an...
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Waypoint is Here!

Waypoint is Here!
As I was reading a real estate blog, somehow I ended up at Waypoint Homes web site.  If you have been involved in real estate or read real estate news you probably have heard of their name mentioned. The Chicago Tribune recently wrote: The strategy of the 4-year-old company, formed...
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The New Normal – Inland Empire Real Estate Margins

The New Normal – Inland Empire Real Estate Margins
A friend of mine just email me the attached graph. To complete a lenders foreclosure process the bank must go to an all cash auction at the court house.  The opening bid is typically simply the loans outstanding balance, but since 2008 the banks have been “dropping”...
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Success Takes Time… So Why Not Start Now

Success Takes Time… So Why Not Start Now
I’ll be honest I stole this title from another blog post (relating to a different industry), but I think it is very applicable to real estate investing.  Another quote I often think of is: “When is the best time to start? Five years ago, but that’s too late, so...
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