I love tools. We should all love tools. Especially tools that make our work day easier. Digital Laser Rangefinders are one such tool I cannot live without. Whether I am out with a client looking through a house or checking out a house on my own that I want to buy, I always carry one of these rangefinders with me.   You can easily verify square footage in a room or throughout the whole property. [...]

Sale-Leaseback transactions are on the rise in real estate deals. So what are they. They are the simultaneous purchase of a property and a lease back to the seller. The lease portion of the transaction is generally long term. The seller-lessee in the transaction is converted from an owner to a tenant.   So what are the advantages to doing sale-leaseback transactions? Well that can be complicated, but in general it unlocks cash that you [...]

Show of hands, how many of you out there are still confused by the APR vs Mortgage Interest Rate? Come on, truthfully? Well here is a refresher in case you forgot.   THE APR: The Annual Percentage Rate is a formula that combines the mortgage loans interest costs with a whole host of other fees associated with the loan over the life of the loan. The total of the interest rates and the fees for [...]

Boy the stories I hear. Many real estate investors do whatever it takes to move fast from the close of their real estate investment, through the flip process and on to listing the property and a quick close. Get in, get out and maximize profits. Sounds good, doesn’t it. If it were only that easy.   True story, I am working with a buyer who is buying a house from experienced real estate flippers. In [...]

From CAR and the New York Times: Strategic defaulting – where the homeowner has the ability to pay the mortgage, but chooses to stop making payments – among affluent homeowners with second homes and investment properties is increasing. MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS Homeowners who strategically default are likely to find their credit will be negatively impacted and they should expect to be prevented from getting another mortgage loan for 7 to 10 [...]