Real Estate

Just like how the purchase price of a car is not the entire cost, the purchase price of a house is not the entire cost either. Let’s discuss all the surprising costs that may come after you close escrow. First of all, these are the unsurprising costs after you purchase a home: If you follow […]

Partially thanks to high mortgage rates, the percentage of homebuyers who pay cash has risen. As of September 2023, according to Redfin, 34.1% of U.S. home purchases were made in cash. This is up from 29.5% in September 2022, when mortgage rates were lower. Redfin analyzed county records across 40 of the most populous U.S.

Selling bonds to buy real estate is a much easier decision to make than selling stocks to buy real estate. Real estate acts like a bond plus investment because bonds have more similarities to real estate than stocks do. The word “plus” is added to bonds to describe real estate as a type of bond

One of the best ways to get a better deal on a home is by paying cash. Sellers prefer all-cash offers because there’s less risk the transaction will fall through once in escrow. As a result, some sellers are willing to discount the sales price or take your cash offer over another offer with a

With money market interest rates so high, every day you delay closing escrow is one more day of free interest income. You could feasibly extend your escrow period so long that the extra interest income you earn pays for all your closing costs and then some. I’ve argued why buying a home with contingencies is

Local economic catalysts are important for supporting the value of your home. Therefore, before buying a house, you must look into the future as to what might affect the demand for housing in your target neighborhood. We can’t control what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates. We also can’t force the federal government to

Housing affordability is at or near an all-time low and the Fed is partly to blame due to its aggressive rate hikes in such a short time frame. The Federal government is also partly to blame due to excess stimulus spending during the pandemic. However, this is not a post about who is to blame

We’ve all heard of men buying midlife crisis cars to feel more alive (or make up for shortcomings). But what about buying a midlife crisis house? Have you ever thought of such an interesting phenomenon? Let’s say you’re living in a perfectly fine house that fits all your needs. It has the best layout with

Dual agency is when a real estate agent represents both the seller and buyer. Personally, I’ve bought bought three homes using a dual agent before. I simply found each listing online, built a relationship with the listing agents, and convinced them to represent me to save on the purchase price. In the end, I believe

Paying all cash for a house is one of the best ways to beat out your competition and get a better deal. With all cash, you don’t have to submit an offer with a financing contingency, which sellers dislike. As a result, you increase your chances of winning a bidding war at a reasonable price.

As an avid pickleball player and real estate investor, I thought it’d be good to go through a thought exercise on pickleball’s impact on real estate prices. More pickleball courts will appear over time given pickleball continues to be the fastest growing sport in America. Although I love pickleball, as a homeowner, I would not

As a homeowner and real estate investor, I want home prices and rents to rise. Real estate is an integral part of my Fat FIRE strategy of perpetually generating six figures in passive income. So when I saw Zillow’s latest bullish housing price forecasts, I was thrilled! Zillow believes national home prices will increase by

Now that I’m in contract to buy a home with contingencies, I’ve been wrestling with my emotions on whether buying a new home is a good idea. Perhaps you’ve also become emotionally attached to your existing home and are questioning your decision to move as well. Maybe this post will help you move forward. I

In this podcast episode, I speak with Ben Miller, Co-Founder and CEO of Fundrise. We discuss the various opportunities and risks he sees for real estate and stock investors over the next 12-24 months. For the several years that I’ve known Ben, he has always demonstrated a more measured outlook than other CEOs and investors

In my quest to upgrade homes, I’ve come to realize that buying a home with contingencies is like getting a free call option. Your likely worst case scenario is that you make nothing. But your best case scenario is that you buy a home at a price that is below market. For the last three

Now that you know why a home’s accurate square footage is important, it’s time to exploit the inconsistencies and make some money! Buying a home with the wrong marketed square footage can bring about gains. Every home buyer is a real estate investor, whether they know it or not. I always encourage homebuyers to buy

If you’re buying a home, you should compare the home’s advertised square footage with the official square footage on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and tax records. Your goal is to uncover any discrepancy and understand why the discrepancy exists. The MLS takes its information from the home’s official square footage found in the county’s