Property renovations can get very expensive very quickly.Real estate investors need to prioritize their renovations to get the most for their time and money. Research shows that the most bang for your buck can be found in the overhauling of two rooms in particular — the kitchen and the bathroom.  There are two unfortunate points connected to that little bit of research.

1. Bathroom remodels and kitchen remodels, just by the nature of what goes into them, can cost a lot of money to renovate. 
2. Both of these rooms in the house involve plumbing. Any work that involves tampering with plumbing is going to drain your money.

It seems odd to open by telling real estate investors how to fail. Sometimes, though, the best advice comes from being told what not to do! While there are always individual circumstances in real estate investment and advice should be taken with a grain of salt, there are certain principles to the business that are universal.  One of them is to never call a buyer a "loser" as the sign points out.  I promise you....that has never happened on our end!  

We have worked with nearly 1,000 investors at this point and there are certain actions that we can all identify as "trouble" for real estate investors.   How you refer to a buyer is an easy one. Here are five REALLY EASY to identify trouble points to watch out for as a real estate investor.  They may not be as obvious as the picture above, but they are crucial and often self inflicted so they are critical to be aware of!  Take notes and shoot us any questions you may have.

When it comes to real estate investment, it’s vital to be well-informed. It can be incredibly daunting, because there’s a lot that real estate investors need to know in order to be successful in this business. In many cases, you can afford to make a few mistakes while adjusting to the learning curve — but not when it comes to matters of the law.

To those not immersed in that world, real estate investors can be mysterious figures, lumped in with landlords and property management. For you and your colleagues, that isn’t the case. Real estate investors do important work that ultimately affects your landlords and your tenants. Real estate investing done properly is not a gamble nor a game, it is serious business where calculated risks are taken and where serious wealth can be built.

Whether you have your hands in the day-to-day going-ons of your investment properties or not, there are steps that you can take that will have you standing out in the sea of investors.  We have written extensively about the serious and important work of real estate investors and how we as a company are very selective as to the clients we would like to work with.

It’s a spooky, spooky time of year! Halloween is upon us, and the season just isn’t complete without a few haunted houses. They’re a staple of our idea of something spooky and have been featured in movies and books for decades. What’s Psycho without the Bates Motel? What’s The Amityville Horror without the house? Whether or not we believe in ghosts, demons and spirits doesn’t matter — just about everyone can get on board with a good supernatural story.

Haunted houses, however, aren’t just a part of our popular culture. Haunted properties, from hotels and houses to asylums and castles, make for popular-real life attractions. Whether or not these properties are authentically haunted is a constant, unsolvable debate.  At the same time, we do not recommend our investors buy haunted houses - real or not!

We had the pleasure of participating in the Best Real Estate Investing Advice Ever podcast hosted by Joe Fairless this week and had a great time talking real estate investing with Joe.  There are not a ton of great real estate investing podcasts online today.  They are really a mixed bag as far as the content and the quality.    

I recently recorded a video listing our some common behaviors that real estate investors will exhibit.  The funny thing about the behaviors is that they were all characteristic of mistakes I have made and we all have these irrational behaviors to some degree!

Ah, Fall. Who doesn’t love fall? It comes with pumpkin spiced lattes, cozy sweaters, brilliance in the changing colors of the leaves and a sense of family togetherness. Fall is great — but real estate investors would do well to prep their investment properties for the season. We’re not just talking curb appeal, either (although that is one of the steps for you to consider)— whether you're selling a property or looking for new tenants, there’s plenty you can do to stand out this season.

A little work can go a long way to preventing vacancies or long listings on the MLS.  Here are 3 steps for you to consider this Fall if you have a property for rent or sale.

Greg Herlean is an expert on how American's can take control of their financial future.  He is also an experienced real estate investor and got his start in real estate investing by using his Self-Directed IRA.  His Self-Directed IRA provided him with control over the decisions he wanted to make in his IRA account.  

On a broader scale, a Self Directed IRA will allow you to diversify your portfolio, receive tax benefits, and increase your savings.  As the founder of Horizon Trust, Greg has an inside perspective on the strategies that self directed account holders are using successfully.  

We don’t hide the fact that we love Memphis. Memphis, TN made its mark on the world with pioneers in the music industry — founding and shaping genres like Blues, Rock n’ Roll and Gospel in ways that were felt across the country. Between jazzy compositions, mouth-watering barbecue and good ol’ Southern charm, Memphis isn’t to be overlooked.