7 Truths About Real Estate Investing

Posted by Don on August 16, 2016

Back in the early 2000s investing in real estate was the sure path to wealth. Then the bubble burst. A few years later, you started to see books and hear infomercials telling you how real estate was the path to wealth. While investing in real estate is a path to wealth, it is not the […]

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6 Things to Consider Before Buying a Second Home

Posted by Don on April 22, 2015

My wife and I are dreaming. We would love to own a second home. Not for rental income purposes, but for a place to get away. While the idea sounds simple enough, it really isn’t. There are many other things to think about before jumping in and buying a second home. Below are a few […]

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When I bought my first home, I was excited to take part in the American Dream. Unfortunately for me, this occurred at the peak of the housing bubble. When I purchased my house, I put 10% as a down payment and financed the rest. I thought I was doing a good thing by at least […]

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Alternative to Becoming a Landlord

Posted by Don on February 26, 2013

There is a lot of talk about buying investment properties with housing prices still recovering from the housing bust. Buying an investment property can be an exciting and fun challenge (and more work than you think!). While most will focus on how much money they will make each month from the renter, you have to […]

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The Basics of Home Ownership

Posted by Jarrod on July 10, 2012

I recently got on Twitter to ask my followers what they would like me to talk about next. One friend told me they wanted to know about home ownership. That is a very broad subject so I’ll start with the basics of owning a home.  Here are the basics on home ownership for the first time home […]

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How to Calculate Real Estate Investment Returns

Posted by Madison on February 6, 2012

What was the return on our real estate investments? As I update all of our investments for year end (it takes me until April, because many of our accounts don’t send year end statements until then), I like to compare our investment returns. The stocks and index funds are easy, as Quicken computes the IRR. […]

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Making an Offer on a Vacation Home

Posted by Madison on March 24, 2011

We’re back from our Vacation Home Shopping Trip! And I can’t thank you, my wonderful readers, enough! I took with me all of the data points that readers shared tips for making lowball offers. We finally found a vacation home, that will also double as a rental when we aren’t using it. But it’s not […]

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Readers Share Tips for Making Lowball Offers on Homes

Posted by Madison on March 8, 2011

I asked you to share your successes and failures with low ball offers. And like always, you came through with incredible stories, tips, and strategies that are very helpful for anyone considering lowball offers on homes, now or in the future. Here’s what readers shared when I asked Have You Made A Low Ball Offer? […]

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An Auction Experience to Remember

Posted by Madison on May 4, 2009

I went to my first auction! If you were following my updates on Twitter, you could probably sense some of the excitement! It was amazing that we landed another property, just days after Closing on Our First Rental Property. Auction Atmosphere The auction took place in a conference room at a hotel. We grabbed seats […]

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Closing on Our First Rental Property

Posted by Madison on April 27, 2009

We’re closing later this week on a 3 unit, 100 year old rental house. It’s in a prime location, close to the university and hospitals. It’s currently rented until summer of 2010. (In the area, leases are usually signed for the following school year in the spring.) It’s our first real estate investment and our […]

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