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The Least Amount Of $$$ Needed To Buy A House... ...could very well be zero It's pretty well know that a Veteran can use a VA Loan to buy a home with no down payment a home seller can also contribute 4% of the purchase price to help pay for the closing costs which means that there would be little if any $$$ out of pocket to close the deal there is also a thing called a USDA Loan also known as a rural housing loan - look it up no down payment required if you qualify for the program and sellers can help pay for closing costs as well an FHA Loan is widely used by 1st time home buyers it does require a 3.5% down payment and once again sellers can help with the closing costs check out todays show for a variety of $$$ saving strategies

Boomsday Market Ahead... ... Robert Palmer, the Founder of LPT Realty has been talking about this a lot lately He feels that the market is due for an uptick in homes sales annual home sales have been in the 4 million range for the last 4 years and the typical number of homes sold prior to that is 5 million annually we are at a 30 year low for home sales that probably isn't sustainable people have chosen to stay out of the market for many reasons   waiting for prices to drop waiting for interest rates to drop waiting for the economy to improve waiting for inflation to go down   lets keep in mind that if there is a dramatic increase in home sales it doesn't mean that prices will go up, or down, for that matter and it certainly doesn't make it a buyers market or a seller market it just means that more people decided that they didn't want to wait any longer todays show talks more about the Boomsday effect

Buying Vacation Homes That Also Make You $$$...  ...its not that far fetched if you understand how to choose wisely one of the most commonly selected properties is a condotel if you aren't familiar with them think of a condo that looks like a hotel room it can be a studio room with a few creature comforts it can also have 1 or 2 bedrooms and a mini kitchen they are typically found in buildings that allow short term rentals and many of them have amenities such as pools, games, and fitness areas these work very well for investors that want to vacation throughout the year and also want income when they are not in town the rental income can help pay the association dues as well as the property taxes the vast majority of condotels are cash purchases quite often this type of property is a great entry position into this type of investment you can certainly do the same thing with condos and homes if you have a larger budget and the cash reserves to furnish and maintain bigger properties tune into todays show for a deep dive on how the experts are getting it done

The Exact Right Price For Your New Listing... ...or a Re-Price for one that has been lingering on the market what I have been noticing lately is that the majority of unsuccesful sales have some ready made excuses   the market sucks the economy sucks gas prices suck the Iran crisis sucks my agent sucks the mid term elections   the last one in particular in really funny when you say it out loud "my home isn't selling because a senate/governor election 6 weeks from now chased all the buyers away" so now that you know how I really feel about it a home that is priced well based on its location and condition will sell quickly in pretty much any market to get the rest of my super candid take on this tune in today's show for the down and dirty details

Look At These Things For AirBnb Properties... ...I have been on every side of short term rentals   owned them sold them worked with investors managed them stayed in them   and there a few key differentiators that are missed quite often that lead to less bookings and less profits for owners and veteran short renters with less options to get everything that they are willing to pay for bedroom and bathroom configurations are super important bunk rooms for kids are a big part of the focus so are game rooms and stand alone video games pools in warm weather areas attract attention hot tubs with a view in the mountains can be the clincher for many renters owners should place a heavy emphasis on this when they are making investment decisions a detailed floor plan should be part of your online marketing I notice that many ads do not have them and its a big mistake check out todays show as I share many lessons learned over the years

Welcome To 7% Interest Rates... ...The Fed did what everyone expected at todays meeting they raised interest rates by .25% in an effort to tame inflation  let's face it - everything costs more these days this is the 1st increase by the Fed Rates in about 3 years so while its not the end of the world it does affect purchasing power for most buyers and it remains to be seen if it has an effect on home prices listen in to today's show for all the nitty gritty details

The Accidental Landlord Conundrum... ...is a situation facing far more homeowners than most people realize and if you are in this situation there is a very good chance that someone you know is facing the same thing    you cannot sell your home for a price that makes sense  you have a compelling reason to move  you never intended to be in the property rental business  you don't have the time or resources to manage a rental property  you have no desire to be a landlord    and yet many people will end up choosing to rent out their home the vast majority will end up hiring a property management company and they end up getting 4 benefits that they may not have known upfront monthly cashflow  someone else paying down their mortgage balance  property appreciation to build equity and wealth  tax write offs to reduce what they pay to the IRS    listen in for all the details

Maybe It's Time To Get Your 1st Investment Property...    ...it has been the #1 way to make money for more than 100 years it has even outperformed the stock market during that time There are so many ways to get in the rental game I think everyone knows that you will need a way to pay for it cash is king  if you choose to finance, then you should plan for a 20% down payment you will need to decide if you want to do long term or short term rentals you can absolutely manage it on your own although many people to choose to hire a management company you may very well need a rental license so be sure to check into any restrictions before making any offers if you choose to purchase without the help of an agent  you will need to do your own due diligence in many areas the majority of investors choose an agent that specializes in rentals so definitely do your research before hiring an agent so that you get the level of expertise that is just right for you listen in for my thoughts on how to get started

DSCR Loans For Investment Properties...   ...is something that many landlords aren't familiar with Debt Service Coverage Ratio  helps investors that run out of traditional methods to obtain financing for real estate purchases most investors start of with home loans from a bank where they use their personal income and credit to qualify for the loan DSCR uses the uses income from the property which is very useful for an investor with a large number of properties

2 Years Later - Buyer Broker Agreements... ...some buyers are not aware that they even exist let alone that they are required for an agent to provide real estate services for those that work in the industry this can seem to be almost unbelievable but lets face it most people move every 7-10 years and if you aren't looking to move you really don't have much reason to learn about it the short story is that an agent cannot work with a buyer without having a signed agreement in place which makes it crystal clear that the agent:   will be earning a commission the amount of compensation who pays for it how long the agreement will last   keep in mind that no one is required to use an agent and that commissions are negotiable an agent can provide you with a copy of the agreement for you to review and ask questions today's show gives you the details

Is The Open House Dead... ...as a real estate strategy In the current real estate market an Open House may be actually be very ineffective now stay with me I am not saying that they will never work but its become more of an impulse item most people going to open houses these days are actually on the way to do something else and happen to become browsers after seeing a sign with all of the information available on line most buyers that are ready to purchase now prefer to book private showings for the homes that they want to see in person listen in to todays show to get the scoop on whats changed

Is the Price Of A Home Really Out Of Reach... ...quite often its actually within reach when you do the real math We live in a time where many people are very accustomed to   the daily coffee purchase lunch and dinner deliveries subscriptions for all kinds of things amazon daily deliveries new expensive cars each year   I am not telling anyone to give up those things but they do end up being a large and often unnecessary variable expense in the majority of family budgets which leaves less money each month to pay for a home interestingly - many people are renting the place they live in and nothing wrong with that either but a $2,000 per month rental is $24,000 per year that is not building your wealth   its not earning any interest its not an appreciating asset it does not provide any tax benefits its not a way to save for the next home   today's show breaks down the math that might just make a difference for you

If Your Home Sale Isn't Going Too Well...     ...You really only Have 2 Levers To Pull to change things Price And Time - thats it Many homes are lingering on the market unsold and sellers are having a hard time facing the real reasons that their homes aren't selling this year its easy to blame   the market the economy the war in Iran their agent   but the real reason is very likely to be something different its the home seller is refusing to accept the current market conditions so these sellers will use the time lever and wait it out provided that they have enough time available for the market to increase   they have to get "their price" they refuse to "lose money" on their home they have always made money selling a home they have "way too much money into it"   other sellers will have more urgent situations and take a pricing action step a bit downward or invest a significant amount of $$$ to upgrade the home to meet the price they need it to be the most effective strategy though is to simply price it where homes are actually selling and get on to where you really need to be today's podcast gives the inconvenient truth on how the market is playing out

The US Treasury Just Made A Move... ...That Might Help Home Buyers They are back to buying bonds again which typically lowers the yields that bond holders receive and in turn may very well lead to downward pressure on interest rates keep in mind that it was only last week where it was widely predicted that the Fed would increase rates at their meeting next month due to inflation so we have a situation where things are changing rapidly now this doesn't mean that rates will plummet to 5% but it does mean that rates might have a better chance of going down instead of up in the next 30 days which is good news for home buyers and sellers alike and we may just see a little increase in market sales  during the months of September and October before the news headlines zero in on the mid term elections listen in for my take on what happens next

FSBO Sellers Biggest Mistake... is definitely allowing their ego to dominate their sales strategy most people that choose to sell on thier own want to avoid paying a real estate brokers commission and feel confident that they can get their home sold on their own they also tend to overprice their homes and its the worst combination possible  buyers realize that when no agents are involved that there should be a discount on the price so when the list price is actually higher there is a massive disconnect and its a big reason why 85% + of FSBO sellers are not able to sell their home making matters worse is a cavalier attitude towards a buyers showing experience buyers frequently struggle to freely view the home as the seller follows them all over like an unwanted tour guide to the point of discomfort that the buyers just choose to leave quite often sellers get defensive when a buyer makes comments on the property condition and get upset when they ask tough questions it makes for an awkward showing to say the least today's show goes super deep into why a sellers ego can kill most deals