Homeowners will spend months beautifying their houses for sale, but for some reason, that attention to detail doesn’t translate to rental properties. I’ve heard horror stories from tenants who have looked at rental properties where the counters were covered with dirt and no one had even bothered to mop the floors! If you want to attract desirable tenants, however, here are nine inexpensive ways to spruce up your rental property. [Read more...]

The landlord’s most basic right, as detailed in the lease or rental agreement is to collect rent. Depending on the nature of the rental, rent may be due once a month, twice a month or every week. The landlord and tenant will agree on how and when the rent is paid. Some landlords only take checks or money orders and others use bank deposits or even online payment systems. If a tenant fails to pay rent on time, it’s within the landlord’s rights to take action that could eventually lead to eviction. [Read more...]

Rather than hit everywhere at once, however, surges in activity will hit different states and markets at different times, as state courts push filings through.

After sitting on ice for most of the past year as banks worked through paperwork issues, foreclosure filings are slowly starting to simmer again. But rather than boil over across the country, the saw-toothed reemergence of filings is appearing in fits and starts that depend on when a given state—or a given lender—decides to push a batch of filings through.

In September, filings declined by 6% on a monthly basis, according to RealtyTrac data, after gaining in August on a surge of default notices that warned of pain to come. But despite filing declines in both July and September, foreclosure filings managed to inch up in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter, although only by a marginal gain of less than 1%. [Read more...]

The 10 Biggest Investor Mistakes       …and how to avoid them!

1. HIRING THE WRONG VENDORS
Hiring unqualified contractors can cost both time and money…important to generating wealth from real estate. Many contractors don’t understand investment real estate. Work with those that do.

2. SEARCHING FOR DEALS BY YOURSELF
Novice investors burn up hours of time and gallons of gasoline looking for deals. The best deals find their way to wholesalers and real estate agents that specialize in investment properties. Build a team of agents that know you and what you’re looking for. [Read more...]