Black Hole Of Real Estate Podcast

The Best Way To Find Fixer Uppers... ...They Are out there if you know where to look   I fully realize that everyone wants a great deal but let's face it there isn't a hot deal out there for everyone these days if there was, it would push prices upward   Fixer Uppers can be the easiest properties to find and the hardest to get a great price on its a very crowded space with a ton of competitors cha...

There Is A Sudden Shift In Listings For Sale... ... new listings are increasing home sellers are definitely doing their research and the agents that are winning have this going for them   they are full time 24/7 agents have top notch communication skills superior marketing they have mastered video and have a YouTube channel successfully negotiated 100's/1,000's of sales 500+ online reviews robust...

People Brought Cash To The Table To Sell This Week...  ... and it can absolutely make sense for some home sellers now let's be clear most home sellers expect to get some $$$ back after the closing but there are situations where it just isn't possible within the time constraints that certain sellers require here are some of the top reasons that people are willing to sell at a loss   they have to se...

Does A Low Appraisal Break The Deal...    ...not necessarily so let's talk about it for whatever reason - many times the appraisal comes in right at the contract value I have often wondered if the 3 differerent apprsaisers went to the same home and weren't given the contract price would they get the same value at the end of the day it doesn't matter much but its interesting to consider so what hap...

You May Owe $ For Taxes After A Home Sale... ... and keep in mind that I am NOT a CPA but I've learned a few things along the way that you can discuss with your tax planner have you ever noticed at the end signing closing documents that there is a "tax form set of questions" for a 1099R it is used to help determine if you may owe tax on the home sale if the home being sold is a primary residence a...

Is It The Right Time To Get A Real Estate License... ...occasionally I have clients ask me this question their reasons are usually:   they want to purchase a home they think it would be fun they want to study the market they think they can make some easy $   my response to them is always the same if you think you are ready then you are ready   the process isn't all that hard in fact, I think the b...

A Very Unsurprising Announcment... ...The Fed Rate was unchanged this week We have talked about this at length over the last few weeks The new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh made some comments that caught my attention he is looking to modernize the way that the Fed looks at inflationary data with a goal of getting closer to real time data to make more timely decisions to keep the economy heading in the rig...

The Clearest Sign That The Market Is About To Pick Up ... ...just happened The reconciliation package was just approved by Congress which ended the last part of the government shutdown and now we have an end to the Iran War in place as each country has signed documents on June 15th There is a Fed Meeting taking place this week but no one is expecting any change in the interest rates this time arou...

Fearlessly Forecasting The Next 3 Fed Meetings... ...at a time when the direction of the market is anything but clear The 1st meeting led by new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is approaching quickly The 2 day meeting June 16-17 may not be the tone setter that everyone has been anticipating over the last 6 months with all of the uncertainty in the economy right now its very likely that nothing changes with...

Lessons Learned Owning An AirBnb... ...the things we now know that can help everyone considering a purchase We recently sold a beach property that we have owned for 5 years we made some $$$ along the way by renting it out and got some tax benefits as well the prices in the area had increased, so we turned a nice profit at closing no complaints and we would definitely consider another one key items...

The Stark Reality Of Insurance Claims... ... and the feeling that you get when something wasn't covered that you thought was covered as we enter hurricane season we are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best damage to your home can come from a number of things   wind tropical storms hurricanes floods  termites vandals aliens   when its time for a home owner to place a claim they will need...

There Is A Certain Truth To Back Up Offers... ...and savvy sellers taking full advantage of this under utilized tool there are times when the highest offer isn't necessarily the best and to hedge against that we are noticing sellers signing backup offers that have a little less money in them but a lot more certaintly that they will close and there is a way to structure the 1st contract to make it...

Dialing In The Summer Sales Forecast...      ...and most people are wondering where the market is heading Most years, we normally see an uptick in acivity in June and July   school is out tax season is largely done moving to a new school district kids graduated retirement   But 2026 has proven to be anything but a typical year and there is a lot of uncertainty out there that is living "rent free"...

Both Buyers And Sellers Winning...   ...is happening a lot more than people might think some of you are shaking your heads "NO!" right now stay with me on this a lot of people are getting the results they want for the reasons that they want them frustrated buyers are finding homes to buy after searches that took far longer than they ever imagined do they always get a rock bottom price? of course n...

Closing Day Can Be The Most Stressful... ...Time for everyone involved in a real estate sale Recently I personally worked with a couple That wanted to buy their dream home in Florida They were supposed to close on a Thursday That didn't happen and it became a class on Murphy's Law  through no fault on anyone involved the closing needed to be extended not once, but twice and needless to say things...

The Changing Of The Guard At The Fed... ...may bring some notable changes to policy and lower interest rates Jerome Powell's term as Fed Chair ends on May 15th Kevin Warsh will be taking over the leadership role Interestingly enough, Powell has chosen to stay on as part of the committee historically speaking, the exiting Fed Chair hasn't remained after their term expires Warsh has stated that he w...

Creative Financing Options... ...Here are the GO TO OPTIONS for many home buyers that have unique circumstances getting in the way of buying a home owner finance seller paid closing costs rent to own here are some of the reasons they seek these options   lack of verifiable qualifying income for bank loans debt to income ratios are too high lack of cash available for closing costs self employed   ...

The Unrepresented Home Buyer...   ...A segment of the market that appears to be growing slightly In essence, this is someone that does not want to use a real estate agent when purchasing a home their belief is that they can manage the entire transaction and potentially save some money along the way they would take on the responsibility of setting up their own showing and gaining access to the prop...

Boomers Are Driving The Real Estate Market... ...Homeowners born betwen 1946-1964 years old are leading the way This group makes up 46% of sales this year Which oddly enough is the same amount as last year Finishing at a distant 2nd place were millenials born 1980-1998 making up 26% of sales this year a slight decline from 29% last year Boomers lead the way in home equity by a wide margin which is...

Not Everyone Is Excited To Inherit A Property... ...Don't get me wrong, some people are thrilled to receive one But a surprising number of people are not loving the idea we hear some very compelling reasons each week from new owners   they already have a home they live a long distance away the home needs a lot of maintenance there are property taxes due the monthly carrying costs are more than the...

The Most Effective Curb Appeal Strategies... ...are not as expensive as you think there are a number of things that you are recommended to do  I think we all know the basics, right? one of the areas that is often overlooked is the way the home looks in the photos and if you don't want buyers to swipe past your homes marketing you really need to nail the 1st photo ideally its an elevated aerial pho...

There Is A Real Chance You Are Getting Bad Information About Interest Rates...  ...rates have actually gone down the last 3 weeks and very few have noticed The Fed is about to hold the last meeting with Jerome Powell as its leader April 28-29 They have not changed the federal funding rate since December of 2025 and no one is expecting any changes being made at this weeks meeting so how is that rat...

The Questions 1st Time Home Buyers Are Forgetting To Ask...   ...and the answers that may be game changing for them   1st Question - Do I need to put 20% down on a mortgage?   Answer - No !!!   Many people wait to purchase a home, thinking that they need to save 20%   and while it may be a good idea for some, it simply isn't required for most       2nd Question - Are there closing costs and do I h...

Short Term Rentals Heating Up... ...Just in time for Summer ! I get a lot of questions about short term rentals how do they work how do you make $  what do you look for when you want to buy one how do I set them up how do I market them and with the end of the school year coming up quickly a lot of people will be searching online for vacation homes to rent its the perfect testing and training groun...

Some Surpising Real Estate Sales Data... ...The National Association Of Realtors (NAR)  Has reported that home sales increased by 2.2%  when comparing the 1st quarter of 2026 to 2025 a lot of people were suprised when the data came out and it comes with the caveat that sales in March 2026 are down more than 3% when compared to March sales in 2025 here is what may have caused these results 1Q 2025 ...