You’ve read all the books. Joined the forums. You’ve learned, you've leaned in, you've done your homework, devoured anything and everything real estate investment in your path. There’s just one little catch: you haven’t actually invested in any real estate yet.

When you hear the word “risk” as a real estate investor, what comes to your mind? You’re probably thinking about big things. The risk of buying a bad property. A lemon. You think about due diligence and ensuring that your property isn’t a dud. But there’s so much more to real estate investment risk than just when you buy your property.

And there’s so much more you, as an investor, can do to reduce your risk as an ongoing effort to make your investments more profitable.

You might not even think that some of these things are reducing risk. Some are ongoing actions

Part of the real estate investment business, of course, involves buying real estate. For new real estate investors, there’s a lot of apprehension about buying properties. There’s a lot of mistakes made, too, and probably more than a few failed deals!

Even for those successes, there was likely opportunity to save more on your deal than you did.

Negotiation tactics are part of really winning at buying real estate. Real estate deals can be tough to navigate—every seller is motivated by

For those of us thinking towards retirement planning, there are a lot of options put in front of us. While historically, many have relied on career retirement plans—do they really cut it anymore?

Those who are serious about having a solid retirement fund will want to look into investment options well before their golden years. Some might just settle for IRAs, stocks, and bonds, while others will look into more ambitious options. And those options can be hit-or-miss!

There are bad investment options out there. You know the ones. Gold. Gemstones. Tax shelters. Collectibles. Even stocks, except for the most experienced and savvy investors. For the average American, you’re going to want an investment that really pays off. Not one that you spend time hoping and praying works out.

We’re probably all tired of predictions. But for real estate investors, they can be incredibly valuable. If we can gauge the direction of the market ahead of time, we can make better, more informed decisions...ahead of the curve!

Memphis Invest, as you know, is thrilled to be in three incredible real estate markets—Memphis, Houston, and Dallas. Houston has been one of the hottest markets in the country for the past few years. But will it stay that way in 2017? What’s the forecast look like—and what can real estate investors expect?

We’ll tell you! Here’s what the outlook is for Houston real estate in the year ahead.

Let's be clear before we go much further here with this article...there is a quote in here from me.  I am not a real estate legend, lol!  

I do not put myself on the same level as some of the other true real estate legends that I am quoting here.  But as a partner in a $100 million annual company managing over $400 million in asset-value for real estate investors...yeah, I think I can include a quote!

Hopefully you enjoy this article and feel free to share some of you favorite quote below.

Planning Your Real Estate Investing Portfolio

Real estate is a great investment. Obvious statement, right? We know that right now, nationwide, it’s a great time for investors. The market is growing more stable, home and rental prices are growing, profits ripe for the picking, and it’s all-around a great time to get involved.

As we give 2016 the boot, we can tackle the new year with renewed vigor! Enthusiasm! Spirit!.

Well, we made it! Hello, 2017! We don’t know about you, but we thoroughly enjoyed the wild ride real estate gave us last year. 2016 was thrilling for our markets—Houston, Dallas, and Memphis. We’re even more excited about what this year will bring!

We’ve been taking a peek at what the experts have been saying for months now. What are the trends? What’s the outlook? What do we absolutely need to know?

Sure, every investor needs to take predictions with a grain of salt. The market can twist and turn in unexpected ways. But that doesn’t mean we need to be ignorant to what expert economists and analysts are saying.

Without further ado, let’s dive in and see what the buzz has been.

As real estate investors, we’re always looking for ways to increase the value in our rental properties. After all, we have a need to maximize the value in what we have before we acquire more properties. Increasing value, maximizing potential—all of that language—can bring a lot of images to mind—and some of those images can be expensive!

Thinking about big renovations, new appliances, granite countertops, major overhauls…

But does it really have to be that way?

The big thing to remember about increasing your property values is that you can do it piecemeal. You can take little steps, strategically, and over time. Ultimately, they will culminate in the most profitable version of your property—without emptying your pockets.

These are just some ways you can boost your rental property values: either in the eyes of prospective buyers and tenants where they feel and see extra value, or in putting real, actual ROI back in your pocket.