Three years ago, I opened the doors of my guest room to travelers on Airbnb to offset my mortgage. What started as a way to supplement my living expenses evolved into a passion for creating 5-star guest experiences and led me to start Stay Peachy Homes, a short-term rental (STR) property management company that helps homeowners and investors maximize their property’s performance and remove the management hassle. However, like many first-time hosts, I made my fair share of mistakes in that first ...
Jul 09, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1364
Do you enjoy filing your taxes? Of course you don’t. But there’s a silver lining. Doing your taxes can be fun (or at least tolerable) when you understand how to make the best of your circumstances. Savvy investors know the power of taking advantage of every last deduction—within the limits of the law. This leads to an important question: How much mortgage interest can I deduct on my taxes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 08, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1363
As most house flippers or BRRRR landlords will tell you, paying for hard money—with high interest rates and points tacked on top—can take huge chunks of profit out of a project. For landlords, extra expenses are involved in making monthly payments and paying to refinance into a regular mortgage, further eroding the bottom line. It’s generally a big pain and a reason many would-be-flippers and landlords stay on the sidelines or prefer to find private lenders, content to get paid once a deal sells...
Jul 07, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1362
Many investors assume that ownership is inherently safer than debt. I currently own equity in thousands of units and have invested six figures in real estate debts. I can tell you firsthand that it’s not—at least not always. Still, real estate equity and debt investments serve different purposes in your portfolio. Before parsing the risks of equity versus debt investments in 2024, it’s worth reviewing the roles each plays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 06, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1361
Real estate investors are usually most concerned about rental income and property taxes. They seldom discuss home insurance. Many assume that home insurance is a standard fixed price in most parts of the country and give it scant regard, but you could be making a big mistake if you are one of those people. According to insurance.com, the average cost of home insurance nationwide hovers around $2,800 per year, which equates to $231 monthly for $300,000 in dwelling coverage and liability and a $1,...
Jul 05, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1360
If you’ve been reading our stuff for the past year or so, you know we’re bullish on preferred equity. And we believe there is a short window of opportunity to achieve this asymmetric risk/return opportunity. Investors are asking a lot of questions about preferred equity, so we thought you might be interested in some details on the most recent preferred equity opportunity our fund invested in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 04, 2024•8 min•Ep. 1359
Insurance premiums are skyrocketing across the U.S., with no end in sight to annual increases that may just make you rethink investing in real estate in several parts of the country. At the very least, anyone investing in 2024 needs to be aware of the states where insurance premiums are rising the fastest—and factor these changes into their costs. According to a recent report by the insurance comparison platform Insurify, home insurance premiums are set to rise by 6% in 2024 after already jumpin...
Jul 03, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1358
Whenever I hop on a conference call, someone asks, “Where are you located?” And then their eyes widen when I respond, “Lima, Peru.” But back when I invested in rental properties, I did so in my hometown of Baltimore. It was only after I moved abroad that I discovered just how much I had subsidized those properties with my own labor. When people ask me today what I would do differently if I were to start investing in real estate all over again, I have an answer ready—because I did start over agai...
Jul 02, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1357
Five years ago, on the BiggerPockets forums, the name Western Wealth Capital (WWC) started to appear. With offices in North Vancouver, Canada, and Phoenix, they were well-known syndicators with a solid reputation, doing deals nationwide. A competitor, Sam Grooms of White Haven Capital, stated: “They’re solid underwriters and performers. Janet [LePage] (Western Wealth Capital CEO) is known to not budge on her criteria and price. I doubt she’d overpay for a property. We’ve competed against them on...
Jul 01, 2024•20 min•Ep. 1356
Growing old is a fact of life—even for Keith Richards—and while it’s doubtful you’ll see world-famous rock stars or aging screen stars in a residential assisted living (RAL) facility, for the rest of the population, they serve as the last stop before our final elevator ride. This is why, after a pandemic pause, senior housing communities are back to making a roaring trade. “People put off moving in for an extended period of time during the pandemic,” Lisa McCracken, head of research at the Natio...
Jun 30, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1355
Mortgage rates recently rose above 7% for the first time this year, bringing an already glacial housing market to a standstill. The news has hit investors like a horror movie jump scare after we’d thought the worst was behind us. A robust economy is partly to blame. During the pandemic, when U.S. citizens feared rationing and mass unemployment, predicting our current economy would have been almost unthinkable. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 29, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1354
In our first sotry today, California ADU laws have been softening for several years in an effort to increase housing space and availability. ADUs are often used as rentals, which can help alleviate some of the pressure on rental supply. However, what it doesn’t do, is increase general housing supply, as ADUs are considered a part of the primary residence, where only one person can own it. However, Assembly Bill 1033 was passed in California last October that changes everything, and presents inve...
Jun 28, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1353
As a rental property owner, there’s no better feeling than a tenant signing a lease. This puts you on track to generate a positive return on investment (ROI). Unfortunately, things don’t always work out as planned. For example, a tenant not paying rent can turn your profit upside down. Should you find yourself in this situation, there are several key steps you must take. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 27, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1352
Pittsburgh has the hottest housing market in the country. Who knew? According to Redfin, Pittsburgh housing prices were up a mighty 22% from February 2023 to February 2024, making it the city with the fastest-growing house prices in the country. Formerly the heart of the Rust Belt, the city has recently reinvented itself as a tech town, welcoming major players like Google, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Apple, and Microsoft. It’s not by luck. The city’s Carnegie Mellon University boasts one of the coun...
Jun 26, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1351
When discussing rental properties, it’s common for people to refer to multifamily residences. How many times have you heard someone say something like, “I have 20 units under management,” most of which are probably spread across just a few buildings? This investment approach is logical from an economic standpoint. Having four units under one roof versus just one, four rents instead of one—you get the point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 25, 2024•17 min•Ep. 1350
During much of the year, this short-term, two-bedroom rental in Indio, California, a lovely, quiet, desert town about 35 minutes past Palm Springs, hovers around $172 a night. That is, until mid-April every year when thousands of revelers descend on the world-famous Coachella music festival, the listing says it is a 17-minute walk away. During those weeks, this very same rental commands $808 a night. That’s more than a 369% increase, and it’s the same for every rental in the area, in every price...
Jun 24, 2024•9 min•Ep. 1349
Simply investing in any metro Sunbelt market is not a recipe for success. To catch a cresting wave of appreciation and cash flow, you’ll need to dive deep into the metrics to examine where people are moving to, how property and rental prices are increasing, and what the unemployment rate is like. The good news is that we’ve done it all for you! So stop throwing darts at the map, examine our findings, and pick markets like the savvy, switched-on investor you are. Learn more about your ad choices....
Jun 23, 2024•18 min•Ep. 1347
With home prices and interest rates still at record highs and inventory squeezed, homebuyers and real estate investors may be better off purchasing a fixer-upper in some cities. At least that’s according to a report from StorageCafe, which found that fixer-uppers cost an average of 29% less than homes that are ready to move in. And in 20 of the largest 50 cities, they can cost 50% less than a regular home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 22, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1347
You can’t eliminate all risk from investments. After all, the zombie apocalypse could strike tomorrow and probably wipe out your entire portfolio. But you can reduce risk, even among high-return investments. In fact, these are precisely the investments you want to minimize risk for—your Treasury bonds don’t need it. I love real estate syndications as high-return investments. They’re completely passive: You don’t have to worry about financing or contractors, permits or inspectors, tenants or prop...
Jun 21, 2024•16 min•Ep. 1346
The pandemic swept through the U.S. housing market like a tsunami. Radical price hikes and all-time low inventory accompanied massive migration away from pricey big cities. Four years later, the housing market still hasn’t fully recovered. If you plan to invest in real estate or scale your existing portfolio in 2024, it’s worth keeping these six things in mind for a clearer perspective on today’s market movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 20, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1345
Effective rental property management is essential to your long-term success. Without a defined strategy, there’s a greater chance of making mistakes that cost you time and money. Here’s a property management checklist that tells you two things: 1. What needs to be done 2. When it needs to be done Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 19, 2024•11 min•Ep. 1344
Depending on the college, students nationwide looking to live at school have recently found themselves staying in luxury hotels, trailers, on friends’ couches, or Zooming in to class from their parents’ homes. That’s because available student housing is becoming as rare as a full-ride acceptance letter from an Ivy League university. The shortage has created a massive opportunity for private developers and landlords, who know that housing doesn’t have to be paid for out of pocket but can be borro...
Jun 18, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1343
I don’t invest in Bitcoin because I am betting on the continuation of Western civilization, not its collapse or decline. If I did believe my government would collapse, I’d invest in guns, ammo, and canned corn. And if I believed that Bitcoin could peacefully replace my country’s currency, I’d still rather own real estate, businesses, stocks, or other alternative assets than a currency like Bitcoin. At $1.3 trillion in market capitalization as of April 2024 and a price of $65,000 per Bitcoin, ent...
Jun 17, 2024•25 min•Ep. 1342
I don’t invest in Bitcoin because I am betting on the continuation of Western civilization, not its collapse or decline. If I did believe my government would collapse, I’d invest in guns, ammo, and canned corn. And if I believed that Bitcoin could peacefully replace my country’s currency, I’d still rather own real estate, businesses, stocks, or other alternative assets than a currency like Bitcoin. At $1.3 trillion in market capitalization as of April 2024 and a price of $65,000 per Bitcoin, ent...
Jun 16, 2024•22 min•Ep. 1341
If you haven’t heard, Henry Washington and I are doing something special in honor of the 200th episode of On the Market. We are competing in a Flip/Off, battling against each other to see who can score the highest return. We described our deals on the podcast and what we hoped to achieve, but I want to keep everyone up to speed on how my flip is progressing. So, every week, I’ll update this diary so you can see how my property transforms into the high-cash-flow deal I know it will become. Learn ...
Jun 15, 2024•9 min•Ep. 1340
This year’s hurricane season is expected to be one of the busiest on record, with a potential for 25 named storms. How much risk is your property at? Meanwhile, home prices fell in 7% of markets, but some stand out as cities that, on paper, shouldn’t be showing declines. Is this indicative of a larger trend? Or is it just an outlier? https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/14-cities-facing-highest-property-damage-risk-during-hurricane-season https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/crash-or-correction-home...
Jun 14, 2024•20 min•Ep. 1339
With median house prices in the U.S. inching towards half a million dollars and mortgage rates back over 7%, homebuyers and investors alike are getting choked out of the market. Although there are several cities in the Midwest and South where you can still buy homes for $100,000, they tend to be the exception rather than the norm. Despite the shortage of houses, according to Realtor.com, there are several markets where you can buy a quality home in a good neighborhood for under $300,000. Learn m...
Jun 13, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1338
A record 300,000 migrants entered the U.S. through the southern border in December. Rather than trying to sneak past border agents, many surrendered to apply for asylum. Overwhelmed immigration courts take years to process these claims, and migrants are protected from deportation in the meantime. They hope to stay, work, and build a life here. But achieving legal status in the U.S. is a complicated process. Meanwhile, some Americans are fearful of the impact of increased immigration rates on U.S...
Jun 12, 2024•21 min•Ep. 1337
Taxes and regulations impact your bottom line as an investor—and not always in direct or obvious ways. Unfortunately, as soon as you start talking about either one, the average person closes their mind, circling the wagons around their existing worldview and only hearing data points that support it. Look no further than this Yale study, which shows that people perform worse on math problems if the correct answers conflict with their political ideology. I’ll get it out of the way now: I find both...
Jun 11, 2024•13 min•Ep. 1336
Before you find and hire a property manager, there’s something you need to know: Not all property management companies structure their costs the same way. Knowing how much property managers generally charge—including their fee structure—allows you to determine if it’s the right fit for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 10, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1335
