When I first wrote this article over two years ago,I wanted to document what I felt were the three best business websites, apps and decisions we had made that all effected the incredible rise of our company.  We had almost 10,000 views of that original article and many requests for an update.

To be very direct, the same three companies that helped us vault to the top of our niche in real estate investing are the same three that help keep us there today. There are no “magic bullets” or any “next, new programs” that we have to tell the world about. Business is business and often the same basic ideas, decisions and systems – utilized correctly- are the ones that continue to help companies grow.

As we head into 2015, there’s no shortage of people making real estate market predictions for the new year. As always, predictions, speculations and forecasts have to be taken with a grain of salt. We can’t rely on them entirely when it comes to decision making. Still, it’s good for those of us investing in real estate to look at where we’re going as much as where we’ve been. Professionals do study trends and their forecasts do come from a place of expertise.

We all have regrets in life. Some of us have real estate investment regrets. If you’re stuck with a rental property that’s weighing you down, you may find yourself wondering if you should just cut your losses and move on. Maybe you want to stick it out and hope for things to get better down the line. There are several options to weigh if you’ve found yourself at a crossroads with a property you own.

At the same time, understanding the big picture is just as important and learning that fluctuations in the way a property performs and the way a property fits into your portfolio are important too.  A down year is not always a reason to let a property go.  It takes careful and thoughtful evaluation before deciding to let got of a long-term investment property.  

Real estate investors like it when people rent. Obvious, right? After all, investing in real estate is a business and we have to treat it like a business. In a business, the goal is to make money. That, however, is an oversimplified version of the role of the real estate investors. We’re a business that deals with people — people whose lives matter and play important roles in the health of our economy and the real estate market.

This is a philosophy that plays into our role as a property manager.  So whether you are a landlord or you use property management companies to provide service to you, the success of a renter, your tenant, is vital to your success as a real estate investor.  Here at Premier Property Management, we hold four different sets of persons as vitally important to our company.  First, our team.  Second our clients.  Third our vendors.  Fourth our tenants.  These four groups are equally important and the tenant is the one who is so often overlooked.

We haven’t met a person yet who likes paying a mortgage. Both homeowners and investors who don’t pay for properties via all-cash offers have to deal with mortgages. No one likes them. In the years since the market crash, mortgage rates bottomed out to an all-time low, making it an ideal time for investors to snatch up properties and bring some life back into the real estate market. They did, giving the market the boost it needed to get back on its feet.

Looking forward to 2015, however, real estate experts expect rates to rise to 5% next year and 6% in the next two years, putting rates at the highest point they’ve been since the market crash. While that’s hardly the highest they could be, the real estate market is still in the middle of recovery, which could mean another slowdown if lenders don’t play it smart.

If you’re new to real estate investment, you’ll find out pretty quickly that the learning curve can be steep. One of the most important parts of real estate investment is to educate yourself on the legal aspects of the business. The last thing you want to happen is to find out you’ve made a legal mistake...after you’ve already made one.

It’s no secret that the real estate market and the job market are closely connected to one another. 

For instance, we know that the real estate market has been struggling due to a lack of first-time homebuyers — because the job market is making it difficult for them to have the resources necessary to purchase a home. Because of this reason, the housing market has remained more sluggish than it should in the midst of economic recovery.

Winter. It can be a magical wonderland that conjures up images of chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at one’s nose, but more often than not, winter can get downright dreary. Whether it’s slushy, dirty snow, brown winter grass or bare tree branches, winter can hit your curb appeal hard.

I came up with a list to help turn the dreary winter look into a tidy and well-kept property.  These ideas can help properties rent quicker and at a higher rate.  Just because winter is dreary does not mean our real estate investing properties have to be!

There’s no denying that Houston, TX is a cool place.Between it’s booming local economy, legacy of space travel and melting pot population, Houston is doing pretty well for itself. For businesses, entrepreneurs, young graduates — and, you guessed it — real estate investors, Houston is the place to be!

Our TEAM at Memphis Invest began looking for a third market two years ago.  Dallas, TX. has been an incredible market for our company over the past few years and continues to perform very well for our clients.  For our next step and the growth of our company, we really wanted to stay in a state where we were already licensed, highly familiar with the market and there had to be compelling reasons to open the new office.