BiggerPockets Daily

Let’s get one thing straight: everyone should hold both stocks and real estate in their portfolios. Diversification is the ultimate hedge against risk. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pit stocks and real estate against each other in a classic Mortal Kombat-style matchup. Which earns the best return on investment: real estate or stocks? And while we’re asking this grandiose question, which investmen...

Let’s get one thing straight: everyone should hold both stocks and real estate in their portfolios. Diversification is the ultimate hedge against risk. But that doesn’t mean we can’t pit stocks and real estate against each other in a classic Mortal Kombat-style matchup. Which earns the best return on investment: real estate or stocks? And while we’re asking this grandiose question, which investmen...

Do you want to destroy your wealth? I can teach you how. Do you want to create more wealth for yourself? I can teach you to do that as well.  Do you know about the denominator effect?  In finance and investing, the “denominator effect” occurs when the value of one portion of a portfolio decreases drastically and pulls down the overall value of the portfolio. As a result, any segments of the portfo...

In January, we published an article about DSCR loans, a product increasingly used by more and more real estate investors to scale their portfolios. Known for easy qualification and light documentation standards (no income verification, no DTI requirements, no tax returns, etc.), sophisticated real estate investors are continuing to utilize DSCR loan options after maxing out on conventional financi...

Last week, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) rapidly collapsed—going from normal operations to insolvency in a matter of days. SVB was the 16th largest bank in the United States, with about $209B in assets. The failure represents the 2nd largest bank collapse in U.S. history. As of Sunday, March 12th, a second bank, Signature Bank, was seized by regulators for fears of insolvency. As of this writing, the...

I’ve written two relatively recent articles on the economy. The first summarized Lauren Baker of ITR Economics keynote address at BPCON 22. She concluded that signs point to a potential soft landing in the economy—the aversion of disaster. Great news!  Or not.  I discussed the potential that the throttling of commercial credit markets could crash-land this potential soft landing.  In my second art...

You’re not alone if you’re unfamiliar with land trust affiliate marketing. However, it is quickly becoming a popular real estate marketing strategy—and can be a highly effective one at that!  Land trust affiliate marketing is a technique that involves using land trusts to market real estate properties. This post will dissect exactly what that means, how it works, and its benefits and disadvantages...

There are few real estate markets with as many attractive cities as California. From the allure of luxury and lifestyle in Los Angeles to the technology heart of San Francisco, there’s a reason why California rents are often reported to be the highest in the nation.  The California real estate market is an important one for real estate investors thanks to its large and diverse economy that spans n...

Property taxes can substantially impact how much you’re paying for your home and dig into your profits as a real estate investor. They also vary widely from state to state, with Hawaii’s average property tax rate at around 0.29% and New Jersey’s averaging approximately 2.46%.  While there’s only a 2.17% difference between the two, that 2.17% equates to a lot of money. Let’s say you own two homes:...

A blanket mortgage is useful for real estate investors with a large real estate portfolio. Also called a blanket loan, the mortgage consolidates several separate loans into a single mortgage. For many experienced investors, having one loan payment makes juggling several mortgage payments and interest rates more straightforward. However, arranging a blanket mortgage loan is not always the best fina...

If you’re a real estate investor looking to grow your portfolio, you are likely aware of the difficulties of finding adequate funding. You may have had to meet stringent qualification criteria, offer individual guarantees, and contend with complex loan management issues. Luckily, there’s a solution to the confusion. Rental portfolio loans reduce the difficulties of financing multiple rental proper...

Did you know you may be charged a prepayment penalty for attempting to pay off your loans early?  Prepayment penalties are fees that some lenders charge if you refinance or pay your mortgage off early. Not only are they fairly common—they’re also often misunderstood by borrowers. In this article, we’ll discuss how a mortgage prepayment penalty works, the types of prepayment penalties you may encou...

There are plenty of reasons to want a second home. Whether you’re making the leap into real estate investing and need a property that can cash flow each month or you just need a place to stay in the summers, second homes are a mainstay in the classic “freedom” lifestyle. However, buying another property is a serious financial commitment. And if buying a primary home is one of the largest financial...

You’ve decided, for whatever reason, that you want to invest outside of your local area or state. Your next question is—where should I invest? I’m going to offer you a list of things that you can consider when trying to figure out what market to invest in. These things are in no particular order, and some of them may not apply to you or your particular situation. My intention with each one is to g...

I am a huge fan of doing it yourself. My husband and I have flipped numerous houses—but on a fairly small scale, one home at a time and doing almost all of the work ourselves. YouTube is a great resource. There are videos for just about any task on that site. But just because you KNOW how to do something doesn’t mean it makes sense for you to do it yourself. Here are four jobs we have attempted at...

It was the year 2000. We had made it through Y2K! The world would continue as it had for many centuries before. One thing would change though. I was now in my freshman year of high school, and I started getting asked something more and more consistently. No, I am not talking about your mom or dad embarrassingly asking you if there were any new love interests in your life. The question was, “So, Ry...

Don’t be that person! If you’ve ever been to a networking event, then you’ll know who I’m talking about: the person who goes around giving out business cards as if they’re flyers. The best networkers give out business cards only when asked to do so or after you’ve established a personal connection. Otherwise, you may seem superficial, and the cards will become meaningless! Here are some steps you...

The popularity of manufactured (mobile) homes has been on the rise over the past several years, spurred partly by highly competitive traditional housing markets, overall interest in smaller homes, and the search for more affordable housing. But what about adding this type of home to your real estate investment portfolio as a single home or in a mobile home park setting?  Although I haven’t persona...

Before the pandemic, co-living as a housing solution was already gaining popularity as urbanization caused rents to rise in major cities. Now, the concept of living in accommodations with communal spaces is making a comeback after the pandemic left a rental affordability crisis and loneliness epidemic in its wake.   Early this year, the largest co-living operator in North America, Common, announce...

Real estate is widely considered the best and more consistent investment around. However, calculating the value of your investment is more challenging than checking your monthly bank statement. Multiple ways to calculate your return on investment (ROI) for a rental property exist. How you choose to do so depends on your situation.  In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of calculating ROI f...

The U.S. housing market is facing an affordability crisis. The combination of high home prices, rising mortgage rates, and decreased spending power has driven housing affordability to its lowest level in decades. As such, it is difficult for investors and homebuyers alike to identify cities where they can afford to buy property.  But, there are still great opportunities to buy real estate, even on...

Are you tracking the storm brewing in the commercial real estate realm?  It’s not a big surprise. It happens in every downturn in one form or another. But investors always seem to be surprised.  Though this downturn will likely not be as devastating as the Great Recession, there is one element that makes the problem more pervasive. That is the fact that a much higher percentage of the investor pop...

Are you struggling to wrap your head around depreciation recapture? If so, you’re not alone.  When running your real estate business, you can account for the wear and tear of your property and any furnishings and appliances you own via depreciation. You can divide the costs associated with these items over several years through depreciation based on the schedules of asset classes that the internal...

Can you win in any market? No seasoned real estate investor would deny the importance of keeping up with macro and micro market conditions. Ignore either, and you don’t really stand a chance. With that said, lately, conversations of a downturning market have swallowed up evergreen advice. In fact, new data suggests that investor homebuying fell 46% year-over-year in Q4. So, it feels like not enoug...

When people consider taking the leap to start investing in real estate, one question always persists: is now the right time to start investing? The longer this question looms in an investor’s mind, the harder the proposition becomes. The short answer is yes. It is always the right time to invest in real estate. In terms of an asset class, real estate tends to appreciate over time and provides inve...