The real estate investment experience can be enormously rewarding; not just financially, but in personal enrichment. Investing teaches us a great many things about economics, customer service, and money management. It’s a wealth of information that we’ll likely be able to pass on to the next generation to help spark their success.

But really, when it comes down to it, most of us are in real estate investment for one primary, ultimate reason: financial freedom.

We want to not only eliminate debt, but have enough to retire comfortably — maybe with enough to check all of the items off of our bucket list. But really, it’s not that easy.

Because honestly—freedom can be scary. Finally quitting your job can be scary. It’s ingrained in us to earn and strive for more, more, more. Stopping can be a strange prospect, and you can only be content to lounge on the beach for so long. So what will you do with your financial freedom? What will you do when your day job is gone? You’ve got passive income coming in. You have a list of things you want to do. But then what? What will you do with all of you time, money, and energy?

Real estate investor’s aren’t always buying. Even as a buy-and-hold investor, sometimes, you want to sell. Maybe a property isn’t working out for you, maybe your goals are changing. Maybe you just want to streamline your portfolio. Either way, there will come times—especially with many markets seeing returning and accelerating home values, when it becomes tempting to sell. But should you?

Many of our investors are investing out-of-state. They don’t call Memphis home, but they know that this place has something great to offer. Before really drilling down into the other six incredible characteristics that make Memphis such a unique city, let me add one that rarely makes too many lists.

The Memphis Invest & Premier Property Management teams!

This is an extraordinary group of men and women who do an outstanding job every day managing an incredibly large portfolio.  They are a tremendous factor in the success of over 1,600 real estate investors investing their hard earned incomes and retirement accounts into investment real estate.  This team is second to none in the country and they are an extremely unique value for real estate investors and this city alike!

Now, onto the amazing things that Memphis has to offer.  And boy, does Memphis have some amazing things going for it! Every city has problems, sure: we’re not trying to romanticize. But at the end of the day, we can’t help but love Memphis.

If you’ve ever considered investing here, visiting, or even moving to Memphis, let us tell you a few of the things that make Memphis so incredible.

There are a lot of choices when it comes to investing in real estate. There’s always a decision to make, and one of the first you’ll encounter is simple where? Where should I invest? Most investors start out considering their local markets—because why wouldn’t you? Still, there are clear pros and cons to investing locally...and out-of-state, for that matter!

As a real estate investor, the most important thing if figuring out what kind of investments best suits your situation, goals, and personality. If you’re having trouble taking the next step with your investing future, look no further than this evaluation. We’re diving into the pros and cons of both investing locally and out-of-state!

We’re all about a continuing education. Now more than ever, there are new ways to learn about just about anything you can imagine. Between college courses, literary resources, blogs, and good old experience, learning comes in just about any format you’d ever want. With technology where it is today, podcasts are just one more great way to learn. Now replacing typical radio talk shows, podcasts lets you listen to experts in your field anywhere, anytime.

Since the holidays are a big time to travel, why not kill some long hours in transit learning something new? Before you get on that plane or start that big road trip, download some podcast episodes to take with you. These top not finance and real estate podcasts are a great place to get started.

It feels good to have a great tenant, doesn’t it? Even the most passive of real estate investors reap the benefits of a good tenant: they pay on time, take care of your investment property, and just make life a whole lot easier for everyone involved. When you manage to attract a stand-out tenant, you’ve got something special: period.

When you find something great, what do you do? You hold on to it, of course!

Remember: the vacancies between tenants are one of the most costly periods for real estate investors. So keeping those times down to a minimum with loyal, quality tenants is a strategy worth considering. Naturally, circumstances mean that you won’t always be able to hold on to a good tenant. People move for a lot of reasons that are beyond your control.

That said...from your end and through excellent property management, you can attract and keep quality tenants that will regret leaving and might just recommend your rental to someone else. But what are the best practices for getting great tenants to stick around anyway? These simple keys may help you better vet property management companies or improve on the systems you already have in place.

It’s hard not to feel the holiday spirit this time of year. No matter what holiday you celebrate, there’s something undeniably different about this season. It can be stressful, sure, but it’s hard not to love warm feelings and those little extra acts of kindness. We have the nostalgia of Christmas music on the radio, festive decorations and the joy in buying presents for loved ones.

For real estate investors, the holidays are a great time to slow down and reflect on the year. What are you thankful for? Who are you are thankful for? Remember to show gratitude to those who have made your 2015 a good year.

Houston has been the top dog in real estate investing for awhile now...but could that title be usurped by its sister Texas city, Dallas? Signs are pointing to big things for Dallas real estate and real estate investors are taking note. A survey of 1,500 real estate professionals said they wouldn’t be as likely to put their money in those big cities that are slowly losing their luster—New York City, San Francisco, and the like. No, the survey ranked the Dallas-Fort Worth area number one overall, and just second for investors.

So what’s making Dallas real estate so hot? As one of the strongest markets out there right now, it’s important for investors to understand the why. 

If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past year about Houston, it’s that this city knows how to keep going. While many predicted that this year’s ongoing oil slump would cause a cooling in Houston’s real estate market, it just hasn’t happened. Despite layoffs in the energy sector and dropping oil prices, Houston, on the whole, has barely flinched.

Despite a somewhat flat August (by Houston’s standards, anyway), Houston home prices jumped to a record September high with 4.5% year-over-year growth: hitting a $208,000 median and defying predictions that Houston’s real estate prosperity was coming to an end. (You can see the full September report from the Houston Association of Realtors here.)

What’s keeping things going strong in the face of so many negative predictions? With so much attention on their market—one of the hottest in the country, along with fellow Texas city, Dallas—how has Houston managed to succeed time and time again, even with big oil in question? The answer dips deep into economic history...and how a city once dependent on energy is holding its own in every way.

Generating passive income sounds amazing in concept, doesn’t it? Income. Passive. Knowing that without expending too much time, effort, and energy, you could be racking up the cash to cover your retirement, or that trip to the Bahamas you’ve been dreaming about. Passive income comes in many shapes and sizes. Now more than ever, there are a million different ways to start generating passive income.

And real estate investment, in certain forms, is one of them!

It all depends on how you choose to invest. Investing in real estate can be a great avenue to financial security and freedom, but would-be investors need to be wary of the myths and misconceptions surrounding earning passive income through real estate.