Plenty of factors figure into the state of the U.S. economy. When the economy crashed a few years ago, the housing market was largely blamed. Very slowly, we’ve been climbing out of this economic hole. The general public opinion of the recovering economy, however, is still mixed and hasn’t changed much from 2009. In a study by the Pew Research Center in February of this year, a reported 61% of Americans were hearing a mixture of good and bad news surrounding the U.S. economy and its recovery, 33% heard mostly bad news, and only 5% heard mostly good news.
3 min read
Tenant Relations and Rent Collection
Rent may be a necessary evil for tenants, but for real estate investing, it's simply necessary. Rent is your positive cash flow, after all. Those savings are integral to having peace of mind in our uncertain and ever-changing economy.
4 min read
Real Estate Investing: Best Lease Renewal Incentives for Tenants
You have a vested interest in keeping good tenants around. After all, a good relationship between you, your property manager and those living in your rental property is something to be cherished and nurtured. You want to be and can be in this for the long term with your renters. If a lease on your property is running out, however, and the future is unclear for tenants, there is something you can do about it. Real estate investing has many moving parts, and long-term buy and hold real estate has even more. Profitability is not just about finding and buying property but also about how you manage that investment.
3 min read
How To Get A Portfolio Loan For Out Of Town Investment Properties
In the above subject line there are two assumptions that are generally misconstrued to the average real estate investor. For perspective, I’m an underwriter at a community bank that makes portfolio loans and other types of real estate investment loans.
Topics:
real estate investing
Memphis Investment Property
portfolio loans
bank financing
out of state investing
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4 min read
Older Housing Providing Big Opportunity For Real Estate Investors
Companies like Lowe's and The Home Depot may be really good bets right now if you are looking for a new stock for 2014. Why? Because America's housing stock is getting older and more and more homeowners as well as investors are buying fixer-uppers as well as choosing to update existing properties rather than buy new ones. On a national level housing stock is aging quickly and that can be a very good thing not only for home stores, but also for homeowners.
2 min read
Rising Interest Rates Seen As A Boost For Memphis Real Estate
Mortgage originations jumped to over 30,000 in2012 (the latest year with data) and when 2013 numbers are released, they are expected to show another year with over 30,000. That is almost 8,000 more originations than 2011 and the first time the city has gone over 30,000 originations since pre-2007. This activity in the Memphis market is a very good sign as the cities normal real estate cycles begin to shift back into focus.
2 min read
Property Management And Tenant Repair Issues [Infographic]
I was doing some research this week on improving tenant relationships with their property management companies and I came across this info-graphic. Part of the research was on how to respond quicker and provide better service to tenants who have issues with their rental properties. For a company like Premier Property Management where 100% of the properties we manage are owned for real estate investing purposes, quick reaction and tenant satisfaction will go a long way in helping an owner have a consistent and reliable income stream.
2 min read
Home Renovation and You: Making the Most of Remodels
The property you just bought, hoping it will be a successful real estate investment, probably needs some work done. Naturally, if there are major problems with the property, those should be addressed first. Things like electrical work, major systems replacements, foundation work, roof replacement or anything that compromises the safety of your property need to be addressed before anything else.
3 min read
Customer Service Is Not A "Spare Time" Attitude!
Carol Henderson and Cyndy McCrary of the Memphis Invest customer service team spent two days last week at the Secret Service Summit event in Ohio learning from and working with some of the top customer service experts in the country. IT was a great opportunity for the team to get a first hand look at how other companies and even some of the experts in the field of customer service are staying ahead of their competitors and providing great service to their clients. We have been asked before why we put such a focus on customer service and why we are constantly telling the story of being really great at it for our clients. I think that receiving thank you notes like this one really sum up our commitment:
"Thank you Laurie, that is good news! I appreciate you keeping me up to date. I feel like I am your only client".
M. Howard
Topics:
real estate investing
Memphis Invest
customer service
exceptional customer service
Secre Service Summit
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4 min read
When Will Appraisal Values Match Real Estate Buyer Expectations?
In many housing markets around the country, there is growing evidence of a housing recovery. Even some of the hardest hit areas of the country where outside market forces like slow job recovery and low wage recovery have hurt, the areas are showing signs of a strengthening housing market. Prices are going up, permits for new builds are increasing and sales to home owners are increasing while investor activity is taking up a smaller percentage of market activity.
