Regular followers know we’re news hawks. We scour the headlines for clues about opportunities and threats facing real estate investors. We look at the good, the bad, the ugly … and consider things at the micro, macro, geo-political, and systemic level. Even though we watch a broad range of real estate niches … we tend […]
Headlines say real estate funds performing well … Read More »
A common adage is “treat your investing as a business”. Good advice! And at first blush, you might think it means … Figuring out your mission, vision, values … Establishing clearly defined goals and objectives … Developing strategies, tactics, processes, policies and procedures … Recruiting, training, and leading a team … Setting up communication and
SWOT are you worried about … Read More »
As real estate investors, we’re always looking toward tomorrow. We’ve had a long, sustained recovery since the market crash in 2008. Many indicators show the economy is on the right track … the stock market is up, unemployment is down, and the dollar is strong. So, what could be the problem? We’ll talk about what
The Economy is Great Except for One Problem Read More »
One of the primary purposes of easy money (“quantitative easing” or QE) is to inflate asset prices, bloat balance sheets, and create a wealth effect. The formula is simple. Print gobs of money, buy bonds to drop interest rates, and flood the markets with liquidity. Corporations borrow cheap money to buyback stocks … pushing stock
Protecting equity from bursting bubbles … Read More »
Ohhhh … there’s SO many directions we could go with that subject line … but let’s pick something both potentially polarizing and unifying … Income inequality. It’s a political cause and an economic reality. But we’re not here to talk politics. Because it doesn’t matter if we think it’s fair or not. We’ll leave that
Capitalizing on the American dumbbell … Read More »
We know a guy who bought a property with NO foundation. He didn’t know it because he paid cash … and with no lender forcing an inspection, he skipped it. Oops. He figured since the property had been in use for decades, everything was fine. But just because a building is standing, it doesn’t make
Better check that foundation … Read More »
Hard to believe it’s nearly 10 years since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed and were taken over by Uncle Sam. Time flies when you’re getting rich. It’s been a GREAT run for residential real estate investors … especially apartment investors. Free money in the punch bowl can really juice up a profit party. But
Beware of bubble genius … Read More »
Even though the Fed skipped a rate hike last meeting, someone forgot to tell the 10-year Treasury yield, which has broken over three-percent … DOUBLE where it was just two years ago. In case you don’t know, the 10-year Treasury yield is arguably the single most important interest rate on Earth … certainly for real
Rising rates, oil, and an angry Amazon … Read More »
In spite of rising rates and concerns about bubbles … real estate is looking pretty good right now. At least the right real estate in the right markets. Of course, “real estate” can mean a lot of different things. In this case, we’re talking about good ol’ fashioned single-family residences. Houses. Yes, we know mortgage
Profits, jobs, and opportunity … Read More »
Shhh … do you hear it? It’s the margin calling … “Margin” is a term we hear all the time but can be a little confusing … because it means different things depending on the context. But margin comes up often in financial conversations because it’s an important concept … and worth taking a look
The margin is calling … Read More »