I try to make this blog a valuable resource for our customers and other people interested in real estate investing. From general real estate information to more specific advice regarding real estate investing, from the latest news in what's going on with Memphis Invest to up-to-date information about the Memphis area, I want you to walk away feeling more intelligent and/or more informed after every post you read on here.

Let's face it: You probably don't have a monopoly on all the rental homes in your area. (If you do, please be kind enough to let us know where you live, so we can take some of that market share off your hands; you must be exhausted.) With so many other real estate investors competing for a limited pool of tenants, it's important to make yourself stand out from the crowd.  Here in Memphis we are managing right over 1,800 properties and, while that may seem like a massive number of properties, we are still a fraction of the total number of rental properties in the city.  Just this week, we have had several meetings to discuss stepping away from the "ordinary" and figuring out how to eliminate altogether properties that are vacant over 30 days.  We have roughly 25 properties in our entire portfolio about 1.3% that have been vacant over 30 days and we have been asking ourselves the same question we posed to you above.  

If we have done our job correctly, each of our clients are investing in real estate for generally the same reason.  They are not looking for quick hits and fast paydays.  Real Estate investors who work with our company buying investment property in either Memphis or Dallas, are all looking for a long-term return on their investment.  Nearly all of our clients are looking for an opportunity to – for lack of a better way to put it – invest and forget. 

When it comes to their finances, it's no secret that people don't make decisions based on raw data alone. National and global events, investors' impression of a situation, emotions...all of these things and so much more go into the decisions people make when it comes to their money.  Because data and information can sometimes be fuzzy..., we need to surround ourselves with more than just one source of information.  We also need to consider that sometimes people let their own agendas influence the way they deliver information to their audience.  Sometimes sources of information don't really care about the truth or about data.  They care about how they can shape the data and the story to meet their own agenda.  Nothing is more dangerous for someone making a financial decision - especially in real estate - than a source with an agenda!

There is definitely a change taking place right now in the Memphis real estate market.  Like the picture above, the fog is lifting and the city is starting to come alive again with real estate transactions starting to show improvement in many areas.  The change can be seen very clearly in both the residential retail market and the residential investment market.  The Memphis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR) has reported some very interesting numbers over the last two months.  Sales are up.  Pricing is up and properties are moving quicker.  All of those are good signs for the Memphis market.