How many times have you heard that OPM is the key to all the riches in real estate? Seriously – you can’t turn on a single late-night real estate tv infomercial without some fly-by-night “guru” with a Bentley and a bevy of blonde babes screeching at you about using OPM to make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. I should know – I’ve watched them all. (For the information only. Not the babes. Really) The…
News Flash – Everybody ELSE’S House Has Lost Value But Mine
The Majority of U.S. Homeowners Thinks Their Home is Insulated from the Housing Crisis According to Zillow Q2 Homeowner Confidence Survey 62% of homeowners believe their home’s value has increased or stayed the same in the past year yet 77% of U.S. homes actually declined in value  Short-Term Outlook: More optimism for own home vs. neighbors’ homes in next six months although 70% say they are concerned foreclosures will decrease home values in their…
Off-Topic Friday: Kid Rock PSA: Steal Everything!
Not a big fan of his music but Kid is right on point on this. Hat tip to my buddy Mark for telling me about this.
The Beginning of the End for Real Estate Contrarians
I read an interesting article this morning on Marketwatch.com. Specifically a piece by Marshall Loeb. Now as a finance guy I normally skip articles by Loeb and his cohorts at competing web sites, because their content is bland, vanilla, and always so overly general that nothing they recommend or discuss can ever be directly implemented. And after reading them I usually I feel like a cross between the AFLAC duck as he walks out of…
It’s a Budget Buster!
In this real estate market there is no good reason to buy a property that you plan to hold and rent if it needs any more than about $2500 worth of work. It’s just not necessary, because there are so many great properties on the market – and I mean listed on the MLS and STILL occupied – that will cash flow as a rental at or near full asking price. I took a quick…