When two-year-olds first learn to say no, it’s a trying time for their parents. The epiphany that these all-powerful gods, known as mom and dad, who have controlled every aspect of their existence up to that point can be refused is intoxicating. Some studies have measured that toddlers argue with their parents 20-25 times an […]
Real Estate
What the Heck is a Reverse Mortgage?!?
At breakfast this morning my wife had a great question, “what is a reverse mortgage?” We see them advertised all the time, with happy old people enjoying life because of their reverse mortgage. A mortgage is something that helps you buy a house, so what the heck does a reverse mortgage do? A reverse mortgage […]
Buying Real Estate For 20% Below Asking
The following is a free, easy-to-implement, legal, and moral approach to buying real estate that can easily let you buy for 20% below the asking price. This works for all types of property, including residential, condos, multi-units, or commercial. I have successfully purchased properties using this approach in radically different markets (once in Canada, many […]
Managing a Contractor
My wife and I finished a home renovation years ago. I hired contractors for the bulk of the work. I’d heard all the horror stories, so I carefully prepared and thought I had myself covered. In the end, the last $3,000 of work was abandoned (out of a $20,000 job) after stretching from an initial […]
Book Review: How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days
I came across Bill Effros’ How To Sell Your Home in 5 Days years ago at a bookstore. I read about half the book, was hooked, bought it, and have re-read it a number of times since. It’s large print, written in a casual style and most people could read the whole thing in a couple of […]
Amateur Landlords
Nelson at the now sadly defunct Financial Uproar recently had a great post called Don’t Rent From An Amateur Landlord. The basic idea was that if you’re renting from someone who is new to real estate, they will be a pain as a landlord. They’ll be so nervous about having the bulk of their investment capital tied up […]
A Simple Technique For Determining Market Rent
Whenever someone tries to rent out their property for the first time, what to charge for rent is the big question. Friends and family will happily indulge us with fantastic sums no one will actually pay. If you’ve shown your apartment to prospective tenants, you’ll realize how inscrutable they can be. Many novice landlords have […]
Picking A Real Estate Agent To Work With
The standard advice for finding a real estate agent to work with is to get a referral from a friend or family member. If a friend or family member *IS* a real estate agent, they’ll probably already have expressed to you that they expect you to work with them. This is fine for what it […]
How Do “If We Don’t Sell It, We’ll Buy It!” Deals From Real Estate Agents Work?
It seems just about every town has a real estate agent that offers some sort of “I’ll buy your house if it doesn’t sell” deal. It’s natural to wonder how this could work – does the agent have dozens of homes they own? Are they just THAT good? Is it a scam? How It Works […]
The Magic Of Multiple Bids
It’s often a tricky thing when you’re trying to make a purchase for the first time. My wife and I have decided that 17 windows in the duplex that we’re living in need to be updated. It’s a 90-year-old house and we think the windows are original. Every time I look into windows they always […]