real estate

Posts related to real estate investing.

Jul222016 by StanNo Comments

that time i saved friends from losing out on a home

Some friends recently sent me several desperate messages asking for my help. They had used another realtor to get under contract on a home, but they were having major problems getting financing on the home. They knew I had experience with creative financing techniques, and so they reached out to me. Of course, I was curious why their realtor wasn’t helping, and they said simply that the “realtor didn’t have any more suggestions.” Yikes! So I gave them some advice that I had learned along the way with my investments. They followed my advice, and within two days, they emailed me back that they had been approved for financing! Now I don’t like to brag on myself, but there are too many realtors out there who have only book knowledge of their craft. I became a realtor because I thought

Jun242016 by StanNo Comments

why now is a great time to buy or sell a house in the upstate of sc

all about the upstate, real estate

Realtors always think it's a good time to buy or sell your house. That's how we make money, right? But there are some real reasons right now why it's a good time to buy or sell a home. Here are a few to consider. For everyone: interest rates are low. It's no secret that the Fed really, really wants to raise interest rates. It's unclear when they will, but it is very likely to happen, and odds are mortgage rates will be going up before year-end. Even a slight increase in rates will mean literally tens of thousands of dollars added to your debt over the course of 30 year loan. For sellers: inventory is low. It's very hard to find a home right now, and that means it's a great time to sell. Many areas are seeing homes sell within days of going on the market. I saw a home recently that

May72016 by StanNo Comments

how to flip real estate with absolutely no money

real estate

A few years ago I read an ebook on flipping a house with no money. Obviously, the topic piqued my interest. The biggest hurdle (and biggest risk) in flipping houses is laying down the money, but I had seen multiple sources that said money was not a necessity. How could that be? As it turns out, the ebook was absolutely terrible and answered none of the questions I had, but it did set me in the right direction. That direction lead me to an investor underworld known as "wholesale real estate." Before I go any further, let me be clear that wholesale real estate isn't technically flipping a house, at least not in the HGTV sense of the term. Wholesaling, as they call it, is actually flipping a real estate contract. Here is a very basic flyover of how it works: Find a home that has a

Mar282016 by StanNo Comments

why i buy houses instead of stocks

real estate

The stock market has never been bigger, from a hype standpoint. We constantly hear stories of people making millions trading stocks. When we turn on the news, there's a little stock ticker at the bottom of the screen giving us real-time updates, like sports scores. Many people, while working in an office all day, keep a tab open to watch what is happening in the stock market in real time. Our society is obsessed with the stock market. Which is why I'm not so into it. Well, it's one reason. I think about it this way - with the accessibility of information and the ease of trading stocks these days, what are the odds that I'm going to outwit most of the people out there with my cunning in stock trading? Not real good. And even if I am successful, nothing I can do can revert a sudden

Mar222016 by StanNo Comments

8 things about kitchen cabinets you (probably) didn’t know

house remodeling, real estate

As a real estate investor, I've done a few kitchen remodels over the years. Here are some of the tips I wished I had known earlier. The most finicky cabinets are the corner ones. You would think by now that we would have a ton of corner cabinet options, but most of those options are on the inside of the cabinet. The size of the cabinets still all tend to be within a few inches of each other. So don't expect to be able to squeeze a small corner cabinet into your kitchen. They don't really make 'em small anymore. Custom cabinets are not "the most expensive option." In fact, some carpenters/cabinet builders are basically as cheap as you can get, since they don't have much overhead in their business. Get some quotes, and you'll see what I mean, but warning: last I checked, most cabinet b...

Mar212016 by StanNo Comments

my (real estate) story

real estate

I didn't find real estate. Real estate found me. Kind of. Several years ago, my wife and I were served notice that our rent was going to go up nearly 20% for the second straight year. We didn't have a ton of money, but we had saved enough that I figured we could squeeze in a 3% down payment and some closing costs to avoid tossing away our money at landlords for another year. But our mission would not be simple. We weren't sure at the time if Greenville was where we really wanted to stay and bring up our family, and we also weren't sure when the recession that had deeply impacted both of us would actually end. So, we thought, we needed to find a home that had a tremendous amount of upside and equity - one that, even if the recession carried on indefinitely, would not hinder our abilit...