Cash Flow Real Estate Investing

The Beginning of the End for Real Estate Contrarians

I read an interesting article this morning on Marketwatch.com. Specifically a piece by Marshall Loeb. Now as a finance guy I normally skip articles by Loeb and his cohorts at competing web sites, because their content is bland, vanilla, and always so overly general that nothing they recommend or discuss can ever be directly implemented. And after reading them I usually I feel like a cross between the AFLAC duck as he walks out of…

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Rental Houses

It’s a Budget Buster!

In this real estate market there is no good reason to buy a property that you plan to hold and rent if it needs any more than about $2500 worth of work. It’s just not necessary, because there are so many great properties on the market – and I mean listed on the MLS and STILL occupied – that will cash flow as a rental at or near full asking price. I took a quick…

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Rants and Raves

Off-Topic Friday: Those Are NOT Double Stuff

We had a family crisis last weekend. A Red-Alert-level crisis. We were on our first solo family camping trip in the Waterloo State Recreation Area out past Chelsea. First time camping without a big group like the cub scouts. Aside from forgetting my trusty Swiss Army knife and a lighter for my cigars we did pretty well with the packing. We had great weather – the lake temp was perfect and it had a sandy…

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Cash Flow Real Estate Investing

Yes But Why THAT One?

As I move between the worlds of residential and commercial real estate I’m realizing more and more that the fundamentals of both are a lot alike. Having spent the last few years building up a portfolio of single family rental properties, I’ve developed some very strict and specific criteria to use in my screening process. It’s interesting to note in retrospect though, that my criteria has gotten more and more specific, and therefore more narrow,…

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Cash Flow Real Estate Investing

Upgrades Outnumber Downgrades!

Just read some good news in the Wall Street Journal this morning regarding commercial real estate.   They reported that in the first half of 2008, the bond rating firm Moody’s had 234 upgrades, 123 downgrades, and 1452 decision of “no change” with respect to bonds and other instruments backed by commercial real estate mortgages.    While this was certainly good news with everything else happening in the economy, Moodys of course took great pains…

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