Established real estate investors who’ve been involved in raising private capital generally don’t have trouble finding private money lenders. After all, they’ve made a name for themselves and have (hopefully) proven themselves a worthy investment partner.

For newer investors or those who haven’t delved into the world of private money lending, however, raising capital can be a big challenge. Who do you ask? How do you ask? What will give you the best chance at getting funded for your real estate investment aspirations?

As with anything in real estate investment, smart planning and foresight are essential. Real estate investors need to know the best way to make their case to private money lenders if they want to be successful.

For real estate investors, money management is a big deal. After all, when you’re trying to save up for anything: your next big purchase, a vacation, retirement...it’s important to know where your money is going and if it’s being used most effectively. There are a lot of financial apps out there, but not all of them are worth their salt.

We’re looking at money management apps that are known for their high satisfaction rates, innovative approaches or useful features that shake up the way we plan our finances. And by the way: they’re FREE.

As we move on towards September and anticipate cooler weather, let’s take the chance to reflect on the temperature of the real estate markets that we’ve chosen to invest in. We’ve already covered Memphis and Houston, and now our attention turns to Dallas!

Similar to Houston, Dallas’ economy is affected by the state of the oil industry and, despite some recent lows, it hasn’t done much in the way of slowing Dallas real estate down.

Everyone has a different plan anda different preference when it comes to investing in real estate. Full-time, part-time, turnkey, fix and flip...the list is endless.

One would think that being a part-time real estate investor is the easiest way to go: and most of the time, that’s true. But it’s not because the investor is part time. In fact, if you go into the world of real estate investment without understanding the work that goes into it, you’ll wind up biting off more than you can chew.

Part-time investing—not relying on your investments as your only source of income, in other words—can be very rewarding. If done right, having a well thought out and secure business plan for investing in real estate is the surest pathway to earning passive income. But how exactly do you ‘do it right’?

Learn more about investing in Turnkey real estate with Memphis Invest.

How are people finding your real estate investment business? This is an important question to ask yourself not only in the beginning of your journey as a real estate investor, but throughout the entire process. Periodically, you need to look at and re-evaluate your real estate marketing strategies.

At Memphis Invest, we are constantly evaluating our strategy and reviewing how vistors are finding our website.  From there, we want to look at which visitors actually follow-through with one-to-one phone strategy sessions with a portfolio adviser and which ones become clients.  Not all marketing strategies create equal opportunities and some work better than others.

Being young isn’t easy. Granted, there are a lot of perks: energy, imagination, ambition...but there’s also a lack of experience that’s unavoidable and looked down upon by most seasoned professionals.  Unfortunately, looking down upon young real estate investors seems to be a past time for those who have been real estate investing for a while.

Young folks have a lot to offer, not only to their current generation, but to older, more seasoned investors, too. We all have to start somewhere, after all — why not start investing in real estate when we’re young?

There are three primary points to consider before changing things up:

1. As an investor, ensuring excellent customer service for your tenants is key to growing a positive reputation.  You will never make 100% of the tenants or even applicants happy 100% of the time.  However, put the effort in to hit that mark.  It will make it a lot easier to ignore the few who decide a nasty online post is their best route....whether it is truthful or not!

2. Many renters live paycheck-to-paycheck and value flexibility in paying rent.  This is a new reality and landlords as well as property management companies need to creatively figure out flexible payments.

3. Grace periods, though helpful to tenants, can promote bad habits.  Bad habits are the last thing you want to promote in a tenant!

With these in mind, consider: how can you innovate in how tenants pay their rent and improve customer service without extending too-lenient grace periods?

The whole team at Memphis Invest wanted to congratulate Carol Henderson on her 10 year anniversary with the company!  What a fantastic accomplishment to make it 10 years in this crazy, fun workplace.  Carol has been an integral part of our team and played an instrumental role int he growth and development of our company.

While Memphis might not be the biggest fish out there for real estate investing according to most, it doesn’t mean our great city doesn’t hold its own. Exciting economic opportunities are opening up in Memphis thanks to blossoming commercial and retail sectors.  This week, Dean Jernigan of Jernigan Capital announced plans to move the publicly traded companies corporate headquarters from Miami, FL. along with offices in Cleveland, OH. to the Poplar corridor in East Memphis.  This makes the 13th publicly traded company to headquarter in Memphis.  

This is great news for the business crowd in Memphis and made many stand up and cheer since Mr. Jernigan is no stranger to building huge companies in Memphis.   Along with some impressive gains in the housing market announced this week it is hard to be more excited.  While all markets have their ups-and-downs (Memphis real estate included), it’s hard not to get excited when you hear about what the local economy is cooking up.

We know, of course, that Memphis was named of the best places for millennials to be — and our great city is well on her way to proving it. From the opening of the Bass Pro Shops megastore in the iconic Memphis Pyramid to IKEA’s plan to plant a flag, the healthy and growing retail and commercial markets are playing a big part in the overall health of the economy: and in the performance of the real estate market.

Summer isn’t all fun and games. For many of us (especially in the Southern and Southwestern U.S.), summer can get unbearable. Heat, whether dry or humid, demands a conscious effort to wear sunscreen and stay hydrated.

People aren’t the only things that can be damaged by sun, heat and humidity. Properties can also be worn down by harsh summer heat. Just like in winter, we have to be mindful of how temperatures can pose problems for our investment properties.