Homebuyer Programs to the Forefront

Wintertime is usually a slow time for the residential real estate market. Cold temperatures and budgets that are recuperating from the holidays make January and February low activity months. The weather in many areas also makes most construction activities a non-starter. During this time of year, seasoned real estate professionals get into prep mode, establishing or maintaining professional relationships, stepping-up marketing efforts and preparing properties for the Spring. Homebuyers can use this time to prepare as well, by getting their financing in order, paying off debts and seeking additional sources of funding. One source of funding that often is overlooked is homebuyer programs and downpayment assistance funds.

Blockchain Real Estate: Some Things to Consider

There has been a recent movement toward marrying blockchain technology with real estate transactions. As a result, tokenization has been offered as the solution for everything real estate from investment to document execution. Companies like RealT, ManageGo, Republic, Blocksquare and others now offer a variety of different real estate services based on blockchain technology. Although this wave of innovation is seemingly ubiquitous in today’s real estate market, there are still a number of legal and logistical issues that must be considered before fully integrating blockchain technology into your real estate endeavors.

Flourish in New Beginnings: Navigating Life in a Different City

By Sharon Wagner

Moving to a new city brings a mix of excitement and nerves, especially after overcoming personal challenges. Courtesy of The Real Estate Think Tank, this guide is crafted to assist you in thriving in your new environment. It provides you with strategies to create a strong support system. Learn how to maintain focus amidst the changes. It also teaches you to cultivate a positive attitude during this transition.

2023 Recap (No Clever Title This Time)

Yet another year has come and gone for TRET and it’s time for our annual wrap up. Let’s start with this blog. This year started for us with a focus on individual wealth generation through real estate. This noble goal dominated the blog for the first couple of months of the year and was continued in an expert fashion by this year’s guest writer—Sharon Wagner. All of our residential real estate articles have had a wealth generation theme and we will continue to honor this commitment to wealth generation going forward.

Strategic House Flipping as a Gateway to Adult Education Funding

By Sharon Wagner

Embarking on the path of higher education as an adult can be a financially daunting endeavor. In the quest to secure funding for this journey, the realm of house flipping presents an innovative and viable solution. This guide is designed to arm adult learners with strategic insights, seamlessly interweaving the art of real estate investment with the pursuit of academic goals, thereby transforming financial barriers into opportunities for growth and success.

There’s No Place Like Home For the Holidays: A Look At The Multifamily Market

Thanksgiving has passed and the holiday season has officially begun, so it is only natural that TRET finishes its real estate asset class series with a look at home—multifamily properties. Also, for those who consider the holidays a time to get away, we’ll also take a look at the state of hospitality properties, as well.

Ready, Set, Invest! Your Guide to Buying Your First Investment Property

By Sharon Wagner

Investing in real estate is undoubtedly one of the smartest ways to boost your earnings and create wealth. With the potential for significant returns on investment, whether you're looking for an extra source of income or a path to becoming a full-time investor, purchasing your first investment property is a major undertaking. To help you make the most out of your investment, The Real Estate Think Tank has compiled some essential steps to follow when purchasing and managing your first investment property. 

Industrial Real Estate: A Normal Market for a Somewhat Normal Time

Recently coming off the effects of nearly two years of rising interest rates by the Federal Reserve, the real estate market has been in a state of constant change for the past 18 months. As this blog has extensively discussed, real estate is very dependent on interest rates, as they influence property loans, cap rates and ultimately, property prices. Despite the recent period of adjustment, the economy seem to show signs of normalization, with mortgage rates, consumer loan rates and even treasury rates settling at levels much higher than those of the previous two years. By all indicators, it seems like our economy and we seem headed for a soft landing. No market has internalized the current state of the economy more than the Industrial Real Estate market.

Unlocking Retirement Wealth: A Senior’s Blueprint to House Flipping Success

By Sharon Wagner

Please enjoy this article from guest author, Sharon Wagner. TRET will return next month with another article continuing its series on property types.

Navigating the world of house flipping can be an exciting and profitable journey for seniors who are seeking an active and rewarding retirement. While the venture promises lucrative gains, it also calls for strategic planning, unwavering dedication, and tactical execution.

The following are indispensable guidelines aimed at assisting mature adults in carving out a successful career in the house-flipping arena, while also enjoying a balanced lifestyle. The Real Estate Think Tank explores these crucial facets in detail.

Retail Real Estate Is Thriving, But How?

Picture it, the year is 2023. Any and every item that can be bought sold can be accesses via the Internet from the comfort of one’s own home. For over seven years, the number of stores in existence has steadily declined. The economy is experiencing the perfect storm of rampant inflation and recessionary forces. Despite all of this, retail real estate vacancy nationwide is 5.4% and retail is thriving. Let’s take a look at why.

Is the American Office Market Dead?

There was a time in the not too distant past when I considered office properties “the best of all worlds.” They offered the flexibility to create leases that were in between the detailed relationships established by industrial and retail properties and the more straight-forward residential lease. Rental calculations were relatively simple—base rent plus utilities and any tenant improvement allowances. Occasionally, common area improvements or maintenance factored into the equation. The property was typically used from 7 am until 7 pm, so utilities were relatively low and predictable. Wear and tear on the property was much less than any other real estate property class.

The necessity of office space was at one point unquestioned and tenants were readily available. Space considerations were for the most part limited to whether the location was large enough and had enough amenities or services to meet the tenants needs. Leases were easy to enter, easy to renew and easy to understand. For owners, office properties offered many of the benefits of owning a commercial property with fewer of the complexities that come with other property types.

The Connection Between Banking and Real Estate in 2023

Throughout the years that I have written this blog, I have regularly connected the activity of the financial market with the real estate market. In doing so, I often take for granted the connection between the two markets. Recent troubles in local banking, however, give me yet another occasion to highlight how the banking industry impacts the real estate market. It seems like every few years, I write an article like this, but I will do my best to highlight the contextual factors that make this year’s bank failures unique.

Real Estate Is Power

Lost in all the talk about real estate markets and real estate wealth generation is one key fact—real estate ownership is one of the surest ways to consolidate influence and power. If you don’t think this is true, simply look up the largest land owners in each major US city and follow the trail of their political contributions and donations. Large land owners can exert a tremendous amount of influence on neighborhoods and local laws. One very public example of this is Dan Gilbert, whose mortgage and real estate empire influences the entire Midwest, but also Detroit and Cleveland in particular. Even former president Trump, who has a less than stellar reputation in the New York real estate market, was able to parlay a real estate empire into a presidency.

Discipline and the Down Payment: Using Your Superpower To Get Paid!

Real estate is about asset and cashflow management. Put more simply, it’s about managing what you have. The right purchase exchanges your resources, in the form of cash, into a property, contract, tax lien, note or some other real estate asset. Once you have obtained a property, decisions have to be made regarding its repair, management and sale, if that is your plan. No matter where you are in the process—purchasing, managing, or selling, discipline is key.

One of the most controllable aspects of our lives is our behavior. How we act and respond to the world shapes our present and our future. Our ability to act in a way that brings about our desired outcomes is uniquely ours and belongs to no one else. In that way, discipline is our superpower. 

We’re Back Again

It’s a pleasure to once again write to on this blog. TRET’s contribution to 2023 is long overdue and I couldn’t let the year go by without a post. As some of you may have noticed. The TRET website was down for a few weeks, which had to do with some hosting issue that have been corrected and we are now happy to bring you new content.

Transform Your Garage Into a Home Office Area

Suzie Wilson

If you work remotely or run a business out of your home, you know how important it is to have the right work area. It’s almost impossible to set any kind of boundaries between work and life, without one. If you don’t have a room in your house that can be used as a home office space, there are other alternatives out there, including turning your garage into an office. Because the garage is set apart from the central living spaces in your house, it can work especially well for those who need a little more privacy or quiet for their work.

2021: What A Year

Ok, I’ll admit it…I wasn’t prepared for the impact that returning to work in person would have on my life and on TRET. Now, 2021 is coming to an end and I find myself yet again writing another end-of-the-year post in which I am apologizing for the recent inactivity on this awesome blog. This time, however, it’s a little different.

2021 marked 10 years since I published the first post on this blog. At the time I was real estate agent and teacher who was about to begin law school and was looking for ways to better understand real estate modeling and real estate finance. I hoped to create a community of like-minded people so that we could explore ways to better value real estate properties and mortgages and discuss the market. Ten years and many experiences later this blog has grown and transformed into a general forum on all things real estate and I am amazed at the direction it has taken. 2021 has been an amazing year for TRET, so let’s take a look at the year in review.

The End of Summer

Stephon Martin

August is coming to a close and although Summer isn’t officially over until September 23^rd, the end of August has an unofficial feel of transition. School will soon have begun for all children in the United States and the country will attempt to push forward out of the shadow of COVID-19. Some areas will forge ahead more successfully than others, but an attempt will be made by all. The beginning of September means that the holiday season is just around the corner. With the impending change of the season, how will the real estate market be affected?

Moving to a Bigger House to Start a Business: How to Do It

Suzie Wilson

Starting a business in a new community can be challenging. Preparing to move because current living arrangements do not allow you to run a business from your home can be difficult, but it's doable. House hunting, moving, and starting a venture all require detailed planning. However, the enthusiasm, economic growth, and products or services you bring to the new community will reward your efforts.

To succeed in finding the right home for your business and prepare for future expansion, The Real Estate Think Tank offers the following tips below.​

The Ultimate Guide to Picking a New Tenant Referencing Provider

Hello TRET Readers/Followers:

Want to know more about ways to check references for residential tenants? Please read the article below from Just Move In.

The Ultimate Guide to Picking a New Tenant Referencing Provider

Improvement Options You Should Consider to Increase the Value of Your Home

Please enjoy this article from guest author Suzie Wilson of Happierhome.net

Unless you plan to sell your house “as-is,” when you’re ready to list your home, you have a lot of work to do. While there are some benefits of keeping the original fixtures and features of a home, staying up to date with the latest home trends is crucial in selling as quickly as possible. The good news is you can get the job done with some simple upgrades. Below are a few that you need to consider.

Stick With Properties—For Now

Stephon Martin

It is an interesting time in real estate—we stand on the precipice of the ending of a national foreclosure moratorium, interest rates are extremely low, the housing market is red-hot, and the commercial market is still unpredictable. What should a real estate investor do now? While there are a number of options that can lead to success, there is one caution—stay away from whole loans.

Cautioning against whole loans almost goes against the very nature of this blog, which promotes all profitable methods of real estate investment. Whole loan trading and valuation is the very reason why I started this blog and whole loan investing can be a great way to find hidden value real estate. That said, the following are various reasons why whole loan investment is not the best strategy in the current market:

Press ‘Home’ — Selling Properties With Smart Tech

 

Please enjoy this article from guest author Suzie Wilson  of  Happierhome.net

There are many advantages to home automation: ease of use, better accessibility, and let’s face it — there’s something cool about a fireplace that starts up when you clap. What you may not have foreseen, however, are the benefits that technology provides when selling a property.

The Role of Tech

 In almost all areas of life, it’s clear that the pandemic has increased our reliance on tech. This is no less true in the housing market, where the need to actually step inside a property has been somewhat reduced by the use of 3D walkthroughs, video-chat tours, virtual open houses, and Zoom realtor consultations. This is good news for prospective sellers as, in the wake of COVID, housing sales have bounced back to levels unseen since pre-2008. If you are looking to sell your property, physical limitations need not slow you down.

12 Baffling Mortgage Acronyms Explained (UK)

Hello TRET Readers/Followers:

Please check out the Tembo article below regarding mortgage acronyms in the UK:

12 Baffling Mortgage Acronyms Explained