The other day, I flabbergasted a friend of mine. (I’ve always wanted to use that word in a blog post. Score!) I explained to him my simple funnel for getting real estate deals: I get leads coming in ( direct mail , MLS, driving for dollars , etc.). I qualify the leads to see if they deserve a deeper…

In the era of Everything Is Online, more and more parents are benefitting from the ability to work from home. The schedule is more flexible, you can get things done at odd hours, but how do you create an office space that is both an effective workspace and kid-friendly? There will inevitably be the…

When that customer is on the books, it’s time to celebrate. Right? Most of the time, yes — but if your company is like most others, 7-12% of confirmed customers will cancel before moving day. What can you do to increase customer retention? Make your customer invested in their move with you, and…

Buildium Free Trial Buy now Blog Accounting & Bookkeeping Buildium Software News Growing Your Business Industry News & Events Legal Concerns Maintaining Your Properties Resident Retention Tech & Sustainability This week in property management news: May 22, 2017 Industry News & Events Pet amenities…

Today, I’m talking to you about how I negotiated and bought over 400 properties. That’s right, 400 properties. This is one of the first strategies that I ever learned when I started my journey as a real estate investor and entrepreneur. It was taught to me by my mentor who now owns a $150 million…

There is no doubt that Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki is likely one of the most well-known believers of the philosophy that purchasing a property isn’t actually an investment unless you very carefully buy one with the sole intention of purchasing a property that is worth the investment.…

Once you have your maximum allowable offer (MAO), you must present it to the sellers. This can be done in person or over the phone (or even via email/fax/snail mail)—whichever you feel will make the seller the most comfortable. Personally, I believe an in-person offer is best, but in time, you’ll…

When you think about moving out on your own you’re probably thinking about the privacy, independence and freedom that come with having your own place. You may be fantasizing about the parties you’ll throw or the color you’ll paint your living room, but what should be on your mind is how you are…

Decorating your home is a fun, creative, and expressive process of putting yourself into your living space — but what about the furry members of your family? When laying out and decorating your home, there are some key elements that you can slightly alter or improve to make your home more pet-safe,…

Tax season is done, which means I have more time on my hands to get back into writing. Today’s article offers a different perspective on investing in real estate. I’ve noticed an interesting trend among real estate investors, and I hope today’s article makes you think a bit differently—much like the…

Buildium Free Trial Buy now Blog Accounting & Bookkeeping Buildium Software News Growing Your Business Industry News & Events Legal Concerns Maintaining Your Properties Resident Retention Tech & Sustainability This week in property management news: May 15, 2017 Industry News & Events Down payments…

[Note: This article co-authored by Ben Leybovich and Darren Sager .] Do you have any idea what it’s like when two middle-aged men are in a car together for seven hours?! Yes, the fact that the car is a Tesla Model S helped a lot. But as magical as Tesla is in so many ways, even the Tesla was unable…

Washington, D.C., the capital of the U.S., has lots of great educational attractions, and it’s easy to get quality seafood in the area. There are a number of parks and recreational centers, and of course, if you’re a political junkie, you’ll get all the local coverage you need when you want to know…

I’m bringing you fire today. Grab the fire extinguisher because this is going to be hot. Today, I’m talking to you about why you should invest in turnkey real estate. For those of you who don’t know who I am, I am proud to say I am the biggest anti-guru there is. I’ve even spoken about why you…

It’s that time of year again. Winter is fading away. The birds are chirping, the flowers are blossoming—and the stress level of college students across the country, many of whom will be throwing their caps in celebration after a laborious four years, is reaching its peak. Congratulations to the…

Over the course of my real estate investing career, I’ve had some great tenants. One of my best tenants is a woman who has lived in one of my properties for almost 20 years. She gets along great with my property management team, and I rarely hear from her. Unfortunately, I’ve also experienced my…

If you are serious about buy and hold real estate investing, you will experience an eviction sometime within your career. It’s not a matter of if but when you will need to legally remove a tenant from your property. The process is not pretty. Below is the story of my first official eviction. I don’t…

Have some money set aside and wondering how to best use it to start investing in real estate? Maybe you’ve been scrimping and saving, or maybe you inherited some cash. Or perhaps you’re a rare lottery winner who didn’t go broke within a few years. You know that if it just languishes in a savings…

Imagine that you have $100,000 in wealth that you are ready to invest in real estate. You have accumulated this $100,000 over the course of about 10 years, and it amounts to the sum total of your worldly wealth outside of your home equity and/or retirement accounts. Ready for a bad plan? Invest all…

Dave Ramsey has become a very visible media pundit, author, and speaker. Some of his events are so expensive to attend that you have to go through a phone sales pitch in order to be able to get the pricing (you just can’t book or buy tickets online). There is no question that he has commissioned…

May 09, 2017 SHARE Best Practices Training: Part 1 of 3 By now, you've launched Updater and you know that Updater runs completely behind the scenes. You know that there's nothing else you need to do to make it work and run beautifully. However, there are a number of optimizations you can run to make…

Buildium Free Trial Buy now Blog Accounting & Bookkeeping Buildium Software News Growing Your Business Industry News & Events Legal Concerns Maintaining Your Properties Resident Retention Tech & Sustainability This week in property management news: May 8, 2017 Uncategorized Where to buy properties…

Whether you’re a city dweller or you’re renting and don’t have permission to tear up the yard, your lack of fertile ground doesn’t have to mean the end of your gardening dreams. If you have a balcony, patio, or even some nice windowsills, you can turn small spaces into beautiful gardens quite…

We’re excited to announce that rental owners can now make contribution payments online. Owners are able to immediately send money for repairs and capital expenses through their online portal. Here’s a closer look at how owner contributions work: 1. To request a contribution from an owner, head to…

As a physician, podcasts have been an absolutely critical component in my journey in learning about alternative assets, with BiggerPockets leading the way when it comes to real estate. I had the honor to be a guest on episode 219 where Brandon, Josh, and I focused on some of the more passive…

Real estate investors help shape local housing markets, contribute significantly to home sale numbers, change lives (ideally for the better), improve neighborhoods, and much more. However, for every positive attribute a real estate investor may bring to a deal, an equally negative experience may be…

Metro Detroit is in a fairly legendary place in terms of its housing market. Tens of thousands of empty houses sit decomposing in some areas, while other areas are blossoming. You can find houses worth $80k that are selling for $150k—and some that are selling for $80. In terms of real estate…

Maybe you had a nightmare roommate situation. Maybe you moved to a new city, solo. Maybe you just decided it was time to Adult and have a place of your own! Whatever the circumstances, living alone for the first time can be a wonderful and equally challenging transition if you’ve been sharing your…

Thirteen years ago I was a brand new real estate investor . I had just graduated from college with a biology degree, and I decided to jump into the world of real estate entrepreneurship full-time. Looking back, it was sort of a crazy move. But I wanted a challenge and freedom more than I wanted the…

Although the United States has made significant progress in becoming more inclusive and welcoming in recent years, there are a handful of cities that are decidedly more LGBTQ friendly. Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ community or are seeking a home city with an inclusive and diverse vibe, start…

Over the last year, rents nationwide grew at a pace of 0.7% . By contrast, inflation last year was 2.4% . That’s a far cry from the double-digit rent ascent we were seeing just a few years ago. In fact, it’s the slowest pace we’ve seen in over five years. Home values rose a solid 6.8% over the last…

Turnover is when one tenant of a rental property moves out and the next one moves in, sometimes with time in between. Whether you own one rental or a thousand, A-class or D-class properties, one thing that all rental real estate has in common is turnover. Most, if not all, rental owners will agree…

In the investing world, your financial success will be determined by your ability to make decisions. What you choose to invest in and when you choose to invest in it can have a massive impact on your eventual profitability. There are many potential approaches to making an investment decision, but…

After you have the results from your background and credit check, you need to decide what exactly to do with that information. 6 Things You Should Do With Tenant Background & Credit Checks 1. Confirm they are who they say. If they are listed as deceased or the Social Security number pulls up another…

This particular method has really helped me over the years. I present it at speaking presentations, I believe I’ve written blog articles about it in the past, and today, I’m giving you a video post about this question that I ask everyone before we look at doing business together. Why is This…

I am not much different than you. I am a 24-year-old college graduate. I have a normal W-2 job that pays me a slightly above average wage. I have over $85,000 in student loans. I love spending time with friends, watching sports (go Pats!), and traveling as much as I can. In the past few years, I…

Located on Florida’s Space Coast, the city of Melbourne is an action packed paradise for outdoorsy types who like to make the most of the sunny weather. With a population of just under 80,000, the city boasts over 230 acres of city parks featuring, ball fields, swimming pools, tennis courts, fishing…

Lately, when traveling out of state, I inevitably get the question of where I’m from. When I say Colorado, the questions come. They’re not usually about our 14,000 mountains or legendary ski resorts. Instead, they usually boil down to something marijuana-related. It’s kind of what we are known for…

Virtual reality (VR) will revolutionize the real estate industry. It may take a little time to become the norm, but for those that want to be leaders, there is no time to waste in embracing the latest technology. Imagine walking through a property from your own home. This saves so much time and…