For a real estate investor, expanding your portfolio to properties outside of your realm of knowledge can be a daunting notion. You may, for example, be considering Memphis real estate, but you live out of the city or state. Risk is an ever-important element to investing, and deciding where to invest is paramount. So much more goes into the equation when weighing the risk of investing in out of area investment properties.  One of the biggest risks revolves around property management.  We will get to that in a minute.  First, the decision centers on deciding if investing in another city is right and then deciding which city is best.  Because real estate investing does vary by location.  Not to mention, the real estate market is not the same everywhere — it varies not only by state, but by city.

While the only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes, that doesn’t mean tax laws are unchanging. For 2014, many tax laws that people have counted on for good tax breaks are expiring — and not all of them are certain to be renewed. Not only that, but both representatives of the White House and Congress are calling for major tax reform that could have some other major changes in store.

In this day and age, security is a major concern for a lot of people. Unfortunately, the days of leaving your home unlocked without worry are behind us. Burglars and other intruders are a very real concern for your tenants. A deadbolt lock on the exterior doors may help with peace of mind, but it could be that you’re thinking about investing in a home security system for your real estate investment property.

To quote the wise William Shakespeare, “To invest in real estate, or to not invest in real estate, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…”

There are plenty of rewarding things about managing your own rental properties. Some landlords are thrilled by the prospect of finding the perfect tenants for their properties and building lasting relationships with them. They find the experience of managing and maintaining a property to be very rewarding — and it certainly can be!

You may not be all that excited about the start of 2014. A new year can bring new stresses, new worries and the complications of the unknown. It could be that you were good and comfortable with 2013, but 2014? You might not be ready to make friends with 2014, let alone embrace it.

The phenomenon of social media is here to stay, folks. Which sites and applications are the most popular may change -- and it's no wonder considering new ones are popping up all the time -- but the fact remains that social networking has altered the way companies and individuals think about advertising and marketing forever.  It is estimated that within the next year or two, dollars spent on social media advertising will eclipse traditional marketing channels.