If I had to write “Real Estate Investing for Dummies,” I would begin and end with this advice — “Buy property in the path of progress.” If you buy in the path of progress, you can make almost every mistake in the book — buy high, negative cash flow, etc....

Humans are wired instinctually to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Believe it or not, the “pain-avoidance” instinct is actually a lot stronger in most people than the “pleasure-seeking” instinct.   More than we want to get it right, we really don’t want to get it wrong. The fear of making...

You did it! You’ve patiently waited the 6 - 20 weeks it takes to renovate the house and put a tenant in place. You wired your earnest money deposit, agonized over your financial disclosures, and navigated a labyrinth of online portals (with MartelTurnkey there to help you at every step!) ...

Most people know that there are two core ways you can harvest a return on your investment when you buy real estate — cash flow or appreciation.    Ideally, an investment property will produce both, but nearly every investor comes to a crossroads where they have to pick which one...

“Do your due diligence!” If you have heard it once, you have heard it a million times — often from someone who has never done “due diligence” in their lives.   It sounds good, but no one ever stops to think about how unhelpful that platitude is. Okay … I...

Many people make big mistakes when they try to determine the cash flow potential of a rental property. Basically, they think that if the market rent for the house is higher than the mortgage, they’re in the money.   It’s not that easy. If it were, anybody could do it....

We’ve enjoyed bottom-of-the-barrel interest rates for years, but that may be about to change. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by a quarter-point last month, and we expect that to be the first of at least three interest rate hikes to happen this year.   So is the...

In the era of bitcoin, everyone wants to be a disruptor — an iconoclast that tears down the old and ushers in the new. That’s how people become billionaires — right?   In that kind of entrepreneurial environment, the 30-year mortgage seems like a dinosaur. “Thirty-year fixed rate?! That’s what...

“Can I Buy Real Estate with my IRA or 401(k)?” If you ask a traditional financial planner, they will probably say “no.” Not unless you buy a share of a REIT … which they can sell you for a fee or commission. What a coincidence.   Surprise surprise — this is...

What’s a better investment — real estate or the stock market? I bet your financial advisor has an opinion … especially if (s)he gets a commission or fee for selling you stocks and managing market funds.   Still, the numbers are stark, and Wall Street isn’t afraid to throw them...

Inflation is at the tip of everyone’s tongue — from financial professionals to ordinary Americans feeling pain at the pump and the grocery store.  The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 7.5% rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January, the highest in 50 years. Compare that to...

If you invest in rental property, one of the biggest advantages you have is depreciation. You may have heard of some of the “tax advantages” of real estate investing. Now, the US tax code is over 60,000 pages long. Even CPAs don’t know every word of it.  But one part...