BiggerPockets Daily

2024 will be a crucial year for the U.S. economy, particularly around what the Fed will do with interest rates. But for the Fed to lower rates, they have to see signs of slowing growth. What reliable signs are there that the economy is moving in either the recessionary or the growth direction? There has to be a better way to tell than using the Super Bowl Indicator (it doesn’t work, folks).  Learn...

Disability benefits provide important lifelines to those who are unable to work due to various medical conditions. Although your ability to work while on disability will be limited, you may still be able to earn income from certain passive investments. Whether flipping houses while on disability will affect your benefits depends on your degree of involvement in your properties. Learn more about yo...

Investing in forest land can be a great way to diversify your portfolio. Because tree growth doesn’t rely on economic factors, consistent biological growth can create more stable returns than other financial investments. When you invest in forestry, you invest in a lower-risk asset that provides environmental benefits. This is often opposite what’s true for residential and commercial land, which i...

Yes, many pundits are still warning about a recession in 2024.  Here’s one example. Richard Duncan did a Macro Watch fourth-quarter update. He pointed out that between 1952 and 2009, all nine times total credit (adjusted for inflation) grew by less than 2%, and the economy went into a recession.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last week, Realtor.com published another version of its ‘‘magic number’’ forecast. The number in question is the mortgage rate number low enough to ‘‘unfreeze’’ the real estate market.  We know that the market has been in something of a gridlock for over a year now: Home prices are very high and keep rising. Mortgage rates are high and aren’t showing much of a downward trend. There aren’t enough h...

I moved around a lot when I was younger. And I’m not talking from state to state or city to city—I moved a few doors down from wherever I was living. I never knew why, and frankly, I never asked my parents. All I knew was that I was with my family, so I went wherever they went. It wasn’t until years later that I realized my parents were fixers and flippers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

This week’s headlines cover the erosion of landlord rights as squatters racked up a series of victories in recent months, culminating in the arrest of a landlord in New York City who attempted to evict a person living in her vacant home without a right to. We’ll also cover why recession predictions are always wrong, and if they even matter to real estate investors in particular. Learn more about y...

In simple terms, a mobile home—also known as a manufactured home—is a dwelling built in a factory. While these homes are used as primary residences by many, they can also make for a good investment.  So, Are Mobile Homes a Good Investment for Rental Property? Yes, mobile homes can be a good investment for rental property when approached correctly.  While there’s no defined strategy for success, ke...

Real estate investors seem to be taking it from all sides these days. Not only are interest rates, property taxes, and construction costs up significantly from a few years ago, but more and more legislation is being passed to make investing in and managing real estate more difficult, arduous, and expensive.  And, of course, it should come as no surprise that most of this legislation will not only...

If you’re looking to break into real estate investing but need to figure out what it takes, consider house hacking. You might wonder, though: Is house hacking legal? Is House Hacking Legal? House hacking is legal when you do it right. For example, renting a spare room in a single-family home or a unit in a multifamily home is legal.  However, renting a garage space not meant for living isn’t consi...

When it comes to maximizing profit on your investment property, you’ve likely considered quite a few rental strategies. If long-term doesn’t pencil out, you could always consider revenue from medium-term or short-term tenants if your market supports it. But there is another successful, profitable rental strategy you should add to your arsenal: renting your property “by the room.” Also referred to...

In the ever-shifting world of real estate, you find yourself at a crossroads: Do you buy now or wait for more favorable market conditions?  The housing market witnessed unprecedented shifts during the pandemic, with home prices soaring and mortgage rates experiencing volatility in 2022 and 2023 due to the Federal Reserve’s attempts to curb inflation through rate hikes. The combination of these two...

If you’re a real estate investor in 2024 or planning to be, your list of investment property criteria probably has the qualifier ‘‘affordable’’ right at the top. And you’re certainly not alone.  The latest Redfin investor home purchases report shows that investors snapped up 26.1% of low-priced homes sold in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2023. That’s the largest share of such purchases eve...

There are plenty of different financing options to consider when you’re ready to invest in real estate. You can leverage your own funds, for example, or receive loans from established organizations or private lenders. There are even options to partner up with someone with the funds to help you carry out your vision. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent years, a sizeable amount of criticism has been leveled against what many see as endless sprawl and “lifeless” suburbia that surrounds many American cities. In fact, it happens so often that I’m actually a bit surprised that while the difficulty and opportunity of rural investing comes up fairly often, there isn’t a large amount of discussion regarding the merits and challenges of urban v...

The year-round sunshine, the convenience of direct flights, the incredible food and culture—there’s a lot to love about Puerto Rico. As an American citizen, all the same rules apply for buying investment property in this balmy, seaside U.S. territory as they do on the mainland.  The Market Details According to short-term rental tracking company AirDNA, it should come as no surprise that Puerto Ric...

The year 2024 can feel like a confusing space to inhabit for rookie investors. You have the cash, you have the plan, and you’ve done your research. There remains one big issue: Interest rates that are currently much higher than the historically low rates we had pre-2022.  If you’ve done your research into investment financing, you know that investors pay even higher mortgage interest than regular...

There are plenty of hedge funds investing in real estate in 2024. As an investor, you can learn a lot about the real estate market—including where to invest—by closely following these hedge funds and their performance.  Now, let’s examine the hedge funds investing in real estate this year (and likely beyond). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine one day living in a luxurious, spacious house with everything you could possibly want in life. Now contrast that with red and blue lights filling your home, with officers yelling and sirens blaring. Then, envision a SWAT team ripping you away from your parents.  Although it seems far-fetched, this actually happened.  By all accounts, John was living a charmed “trust fund” life, but that wa...

As insurance premiums climb, property owners need to grasp how economic conditions and natural disasters affect the insurance market. These insights provide practical guidance for real estate investors navigating a dynamic, unpredictable market.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Love it or hate it, the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement has changed the conversation around financial planning. And any change that provokes new discussion and a fresh perspective is a good change—even if you ultimately side with the traditionalists.  Today, I’ll convince you that you don’t actually need or even want to retire early. You want the freedom, flexibility, and inte...

After a winter slump, the real estate market is starting to look a little brighter in time for spring. More homes are entering the market, and buyers are starting to consider buying again after staying on the sidelines, according to the latest numbers from Redfin.   For the four weeks ending March 3, new listings were up 13%, the biggest increase in three years. That uptick helped bring the total...

Poor air quality has been in the headlines about U.S. climate change, especially on the West Coast and in Southern states. Increasingly devastating wildfires are becoming a sad fact of life in California, Texas, and Arizona, with many states added to the list of those impacted or at high risk of fire damage each year.  But one specific wildfire-related factor is affecting the West more than in any...

When people start investing in residential real estate, one of the biggest mistakes is neglecting the importance of solid property management.  We’ve said it before: Your property management team is your first line of defense. They are the best tool for maximizing your property’s performance and value. Without them, even a good investment can turn sour.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Friday that it finally reached a settlement with the various homeowner groups that had been suing the trade group since 2019. The NAR will pay $418 million in damages and end some of its practices, including the language around commission sharing. https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/national-association-of-realtors-to-pay-418-million-and-remove-c...