Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

On Tuesday, August 1, 1995, I took a group of investors to a monthly Bexar County (the San Antonio metropolitan area) tax sale to teach them how to research properties coming up for sale and to provide them with an opportunity to bid on and, hopefully, buy a property.

How many times have you heard someone say, “It takes money to make money”? I’ve heard that saying all my life, and I still hear it today. And there was a time when I didn’t know any better and believed that saying.

Most rental residents treat their dwellings like renters, not home buyers. That’s because rental residents “think” like they are renters, in almost all cases. I’ve found it is to the landlord’s advantage if tenants think like future home buyers.

Ernest Tew majored in real estate at the University of Florida and has been involved full-time in real estate investments since 1960. He has been actively involved in the acquisition, development, management, and marketing of more than $200 million worth of real estate.

It seems that our school system teaches everything except how to go out into the real world and survive. How many high school graduates do you know that can balance a check book, or understand anything about money and financing?

Answering machines, ugh. The worst part about calling sellers on the phone is that more often then not, there’s nobody there to answer the darn thing and we’re left dealing with their answering machines. Hmm…

It happens all the time. I’m driving down a road I haven’t been on in months, turn the corner and BOOM. There it is–a vacant house. Hmmmmm….this could be interesting, but I’ll need to do a little checking before getting my hopes up.

Interest rate yields are up from last year–slightly. Last week Friday, August 8, 1997, Three-Month Treasury Bills were yielding 5.14%. One year ago, the yield was 5.00%. Six-Month Treasury Bills were yielding 5.21%; one year ago, 5.11%. Stretching it out, Ten-Year Treasury Notes were 6.24; last year they were actually slightly higher at 6.54.

As of April 1, 1997, all fifty states have adopted the Limited Liability Company or “LLC.”The LLC is relatively new to the U.S., and most states have adopted LLC laws only within the past ten or fifteen years. Essentially, the LLC is a cross between a corporation and a partnership, with all of the bells and whistles of both.

Why is it so hard for some people to ever get started investing and improving their financial position, while others can attend a seminar, read a book, or listen to a home study course and jump right in and do something? For some people, there is never a right time regardless of what they want to do.

This is a glossary of common terms used in loans and lending. Please note that some of these terms may also have other meanings in other real estate related contexts.

A recent question asking, “Where do the pros invest their money?” triggered the idea for this article. I would like to share a couple of deals we just did, and I hope it gives you some ideas. This is a simple system we’ve been using for years with excellent results.

I recently opened the morning paper and staring me in the face was a half-page ad by one of the local banks. The caption, in large bold letters read: The Perfect Cure

As I discussed in my last article [Fast Cash and up to 75% Yield with No Competition], most of the major lenders on manufactured housing dropped out of the market in the early 1990s. Today we are beginning to see the benefits of that corporate retreat.

Along with the continuing changes in tax legislation, came a benefit for IRA contributions: The non-working spousal limit of $250 was raised to $2,000. Although an additional annual contribution of $2,000 doesn’t appear to be much, it works out to a very large amount over time considering that note returns are between 8% and 12%.

Here are some practical tips I have learned from doing lease options over the years. Lease options are great, except when the sellers decides not to live up to their end of the bargain.

I constantly see questions like, “Will this method work for me in my state?” Or, “I like this technique, but I’ve never seen this kind of opportunity in my area.” Or, “Is this really legal?” Somehow, people are more ready to disbelieve than to believe! All that any of us who teach creative techniques are really trying to do is pass on what we’ve learned.

Real estate paper investors can obtain well-secured high yields by investing in tax lien certificates and their Texas and Georgia counterparts, deeds with a right of redemption. Interestingly, tax lien certificates are not only extraordinary paper investments, but also extraordinary foreclosure investments.

Why are there so few good notes out there to be found? Perhaps those of us who have been teaching the secrets of “paper” for the past several years have created more knowledgeable note buyers in the market today than ever before.

This article provides general background information for residential real estate investors to make reasonably informed decisions about the merits of using a mortgage broker to arrange loans for purchases, sales, refinances, cash out transactions, rehabs or construction projects, as well as for personal

Here are the top ten reasons to incorporate your real estate business.

As the saying goes, “Happiness is a positive cash flow.” Empty rental units do not produce positive cash flows. What vacancies do produce are sleepless nights, gray hairs, and negative cash flows.

A man named Mark was calling from Florida saying he wanted to sell me a mobile home note. The note was secured by a mobile home just a few miles from my house. He had managed to get my attention. By the time I got off the phone, I had learned all kinds of good stuff.

If you know where to look and develop the proper mind set, there are plenty of real estate deals out there that you can put together without any cash or credit. I never put my own money into a deal. If it means taking money out of my pocket, I pass. Why risk it?

“My breakthrough property,” states real estate investor, author and educator Wright Thurston, “was a 24-unit property comprised of two 12-unit buildings. It took me from the little league to the major leagues.”