How LLCs Protect Real Estate Investors
As a rental property owner, you are exposed to some potential hazards and liabilities. Through no fault of your own, a tenant could be injured at one of your properties and they may decide to litigate. Or a massive weather event could damage your property and you might need expensive repairs. So how would you…...
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Ken Answers Inner Circle Mail – August
One of the best things about Ken’s Inner Circle is being able to ask Ken your questions about real estate. Ken answers these questions every Monday during his YouTube live. Moving forward, we’ll also include Ken’s responses here. Do you have a question for Ken? If so, you can ask here. I’m thinking about buying property…...
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Understanding Tenants Rights
The most critical part of owning a rental property is having tenants who like where they live and pay on time. You don’t need to be friends with your tenants, but the fact is, your tenants have legal rights and, now that you’re a landlord, you’ll need to understand what they are. Understand What Laws…...
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How to Avoid Real Estate Scams
Everyone’s getting into real estate these days, and unfortunately these days that seems to include criminals. Real estate-related fraud has increased by a lot these past few years. Between 2019 and 2020 alone, the number of wire fraud cases And unfortunately, those types of crimes are on the rise. So we’re going to look at…...
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Ken Answers Inner Circle Mail – July
Why does a property manager need a real estate license? – Liviu Ken: My cynical answer is that it’s because the city wants your money. However, while I don’t think it’s necessary in many situations, I can’t say that it’s overkill in every situation. The main reason for this requirement is because you’re handling tenants’…...
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Ken’s Top Ten Real Estate Tips
The majority of you reading this have probably invested in something at some point. Maybe you bought some stocks online or invested in a friend’s startup. Or maybe you’re like me and you’ve invested in real estate. I’ve learned a lot over the years about real estate investing, and I’m happy to say that I’ve…...
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Ken Answers Inner Circle Mail – June
One of the best things about Ken’s Inner Circle is being able to ask Ken your questions about real estate. Ken answers these questions every Monday during his YouTube live. Moving forward, we’ll also include Ken’s responses here. Do you have a question for Ken? If so, you can ask here. Do you think that rents…...
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The 6 Most Common Real Estate Myths
For anyone who’s interested in learning more about real estate, there is no shortage of articles, books, videos, and courses that can shed light on the subject. Unfortunately, there’s also no shortage of misinformation out there. If you’re in the process of buying or selling a property, you’ll probably hear one of these real estate…...
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The Four Things That Can Trigger an Audit
One of the main advantages of real estate investing is the tax deductions investors can make. Upgrades, repairs, office supplies, and the wages that you pay any personnel are just a few of the things that you can deduct. That’s why it’s so important to save all of your receipts, invoices, or any other records…...
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How 1031 Exchanges Lower Your Taxes
One of the strongest advantages of real estate investing is the tax benefits it offers. For investors looking to sell one property and upgrade to another, there is a type of transaction called the 1031 exchange which allows investors to defer capital gains taxes as long as the proceeds from the sale are put toward the purchase…...
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Ken Answers Inner Circle Mail
One of the best things about Ken’s Inner Circle is being able to ask Ken your questions about real estate. Ken answers these questions every Monday during his YouTube live. Moving forward, we’ll also include Ken’s responses here. Do you have a question for Ken? If so, you can ask here. I have an investment…...
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Ken’s Picks – May 2022
Hey everybody, I’m happy to kick off a new recurring column in which I share with you the things I’ve been reading, products I’ve been buying, news stories I’ve been following- essentially, my picks for everything I like. Enjoy! What I’m reading The Capitalist Manifesto: How Entrepreneurs Can Save Capitalism by Robert Kiyosaki Robert is…...
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Four Things You Need To Do To Turn Your Home Into a Rental Property
If you’re a homeowner who’s considering turning your home into an Airbnb or renting it out to long term tenants, there are a few things to know first. This changeover is a little more involved than moving your things out and handing the keys over to your new renter. Taking these four steps will make…...
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Buying Real Estate With Cryptocurrency
Last year, mortgage giant Fannie Mae signaled a major turning point in the mainstreaming of cryptocurrency when they started allowing cryptocurrency to be used for the down payment of a home. While cryptocurrency had been embraced by the tech community almost immediately after the first decentralized cryptocurrency was created in 2009, it has been slow…...
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Sustainability Can Mean Profitability
In the past, renters have been influenced to choose a particular property due to considerations such as price, location, aesthetics, and noise levels. While that criteria is still important, over the past several years, renters have added another requirement to their list: they are now seeking housing with a lower carbon footprint. In a recent…...
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How You Can Become a Cash Buyer
If you’ve been trying to buy a home, you already know how competitive it is. And you’re probably especially aware of how challenging it is to compete with all-cash buyers. A quarter of all homes sold in February of this year were purchased with cash, up from 22% a year ago, according to the National…...
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Dallas: Market of the Month
Dallas, Texas and its surrounding metropolitan area are attracting new residents in droves. The influx is being propelled by job opportunities, climate, and the area’s relative affordability. According to the US Census Bureau, the Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington metropolitan area was the eighth fastest growing in the country between 2015 and 2020. That inbound migration continued during…...
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The Top 8 Tax Deductions For Rental Property Owners
One of the most advantageous things about investing in rental properties is the deductions you can take at tax time. That’s why meticulous record-keeping is so important throughout the year. If you’re going to claim a deduction, make sure you can provide documentation that this is a real expense. I always tell investors to treat…...
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Why Multifamily Is Leading Commercial Real Estate Investing
Multifamily real estate has emerged as the hottest asset class in the commercial real estate sector. The value of multifamily properties has increased so rapidly over the last 18 months that it’s surprising even long-term multifamily investors. In 2020, there was a brief drop in multifamily investment, but those losses were quickly regained and the…...
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7 Questions to Ask the HOA Before Buying
When you’re considering purchasing a property in a building or neighborhood that has a homeowners’ association, there are some important things to find out. While a well-organized HOA can enhance the quality of the community, if an HOA is poorly run or short on funds, they can incur expenses that will be passed on to…...
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The 4 Must-Haves of Every Partnership Agreement
Real estate investing is inherently collaborative. Every investor, no matter how seasoned or successful, needs a team of professionals in order to buy, rehab, and rent out a property. For a lot of investors, it makes sense to team up in order to increase their buying power and tap into each other’s skill sets and…...
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Why Self-Storage Has Become Hot Property
When we talk about rental properties, we’re typically referring to single family homes or multifamily properties. But there’s another type of rental property that has increased dramatically over the pat few years, and those are self-storage units. In 2019 alone, there was $5 billion in new construction on self-storage units. Let’s take a look at…...
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The Top 4 Ways the Pandemic Shook Up Real Estate
The shifts over the past two years can’t be overstated. The real estate market has been drastically impacted in ways that would have been unimaginable two years ago. Mortgage rates below 3 percent? Buyers waiving appraisals? Boise, Idaho becoming unaffordable? These are things that were inconceivable two years ago, but now they’re reality. Let’s dive…...
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What You Need To Know About Virtual Real Estate
Would you pay a million dollars for a house you couldn’t move into? For buyers of virtual real estate, the answer is yes. Seemingly overnight, virtual real estate has become a booming industry. While it has been around for several years, virtual real estate has grown white hot since October, when Facebook announced that it…...
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The 5 Most Landlord-Friendly States
As an investment, rental properties are an excellent way to hedge against inflation. While your debt remains fixed, the amount you can charge for rent will likely increase every year and you’ll be able to reap passive income for as long as you own the property. At least, that’s the ideal scenario. There are a…...
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5 Questions to Ask When Buying a Rental Property
When you’re shopping for an investment property, it’s important to ask the right questions. There are some issues that you may not necessarily discover during routine due diligence. Asking these questions (and avoiding these mistakes) will go a long way toward ensuring your investment’s profitability. Will My New Place Be Noisy? That property you fell…...
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2021: The Record-Shattering Year in Real Estate.
There’s no doubt about it: 2021 was a wild ride. According to a new report by Redfin, numerous real estate records were broken this past year. Record low mortgage rates combined with millions of people still working from home fueled a surge in demand while inventory remained scarce. As a result, 2021 was an epically…...
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The DO’s and DON’Ts of Social Media in Real Estate
We know the power of social media is something unheard of, especially when trying to find investors. But what can you actually do? Join Mauricio Rauld, a KenMcElroy.com advisor, in a video about the limitations of social media advertising when trying to use the 506B exemption. Check out Mauricio’s page here: http://legacy.kenmcelroy.com/advisors Mauricio Rauld:Hey everybody,…...
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The Five Biggest Mistakes Rental Property Owners Make
When you’re a rental property owner, it’s easy to make a mistake here or there. After all, you’re human. And you’re juggling a lot of responsibilities: making sure your tenants are happy, maintaining and upgrading the property, and looking for ways to improve the bottom line. Fortunately, a lot of mistakes can be easily rectified…....
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Protecting Your Rental Property From Disaster
One of the most important purchases you can make for your rental property is insurance. The process can feel a bit overwhelming and many property owners don’t find out what their policy actually covers until they need it. You never want to be in a situation in which you find out that something important isn’t…...
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The Hottest Markets You’ve Never Considered
While big real estate markets like Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta have been grabbing headlines for their rapid appreciation and bidding wars, there’s an entire tier of smaller cities seeing their housing markets heat up. Realtor.com has released its list of the hottest real estate markets in the US, and it’s clear that the popularity of…...
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The Easiest Way to Invest With Other People’s Money
There’s a great way to get your foot in the door with real estate, and it doesn’t require an expensive buy-in. In fact, you won’t need to spend a penny of your own money. It’s called real estate wholesaling, and it’s a short-term business strategy that’s ideal for newcomers to real estate investing. All you…...
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How Real Estate Can Beat Inflation
Former president Ronald Reagan once remarked, “Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.” While there’s a fair amount of hyperbole in that statement, the comparison of inflation to a robber is an apt one. As a market force, inflation can and will devalue…...
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Are College Towns Good For Real Estate Investing?
College towns offer excellent investment opportunities, but a lot of investors are apprehensive about the thought of college students as tenants. While it’s true that college students aren’t necessarily the tidiest demographic, the fear of out of control college students isn’t a reason to overlook an opportunity for a cash flowing investment. Just because you…...
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Have Millennials Solved Affordable Housing?
With home ownership being out of reach for so many, a lot of people are turning to a new resource: each other. Amongst millennials especially, there is a new trend of friends pooling their resources to co-own property. Even before the pandemic, a lot of people were deciding that they’d rather enter into this arrangement…...
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Understanding Housing Cycles
The housing market may seem erratic and unpredictable, but the fact is, it always conforms to the same pattern of housing cycles we’ve been seeing for almost 200 years. Every housing cycle is comprised of four phases: recovery, expansion, hyper-supply, and recession. Researchers have estimated that the average housing cycle lasts 18 years, but that…...
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Five Things to Look For in a Bookkeeper
As anyone who’s owned investment property knows, it’s a bit of an overstatement to call it “passive” income. Regardless of where you are in the investment process, there will always be work to do, even if you’ve delegated all of the heavy lifting to others. One area that will still require your attention to some…...
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Why Data Centers Are the Hidden Real Estate Boom
Right now, as you read this, you’re contributing to the demand for one of the most essential types of real estate in the world – data centers. Data centers are home to the technological infrastructure that allows any and all online activity to take place. They literally act as shelter for the internet. Data centers…...
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How to Invest in Real Estate Without Buying Anything
The skyrocketing housing costs of the past year have created a huge jump in unmet demand. There are hundreds of thousands of would-be buyers who have saved up for a down payment only to realize that it’s still not enough, or that they can’t compete with all-cash offers. So there they are, with a good…...
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Market of the Month: Austin
The housing market in Austin, Texas could not be hotter right now. Spurred by a booming economy and new residents arriving in droves, the area’s real estate market is seeing unprecedented appreciation that makes the Texas capital a great place for investment opportunity, especially for multifamily housing investors. With an overall rank of No. 2…...
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How Do Freelancers Qualify For a Mortgage
Trying to qualify for a mortgage can feel like a giant document drop that includes everything but your high school report card, all to prove to the lender that you’re a good credit risk. For people with a consistent employer, showing your employment history is one of the simpler elements. But for freelancers, gig workers,…...
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Rehabbing Your Rental Property
Whether you’ve only just purchased a rental property, or you feel like your property has untapped potential, it could be time for rehab. Not all rehabs are created equal, so it’s important to focus on improvements that will enhance your bottom line. When you’re deciding which upgrades to make, just keep in mind that you…...
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Tiny Houses
With home prices rising month after month, would-be buyers have turned to a small solution: tiny houses. Tiny houses typically range in size from 100 to 400 square feet. Yes, that is extremely small, especially when the average size of a studio apartment is 600 square feet, according to apartments.com. But what owners lack in…...
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Things to Know Before You Refinance Your Home
If you’re already a homeowner, you’ve probably seen your equity increase dramatically this past year. According to data reported by CoreLogic, between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2020, U.S. homeowners with mortgages saw their equity increase by a total of one trillion dollars, an increase of 10.8 percent. Simultaneously, interest…...
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Market of the Month: Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee has a lot to offer. It’s one of the most famous music destinations in the world, so much so that it has earned the nickname “Music City.” There is an endless array of entertainment options in Nashville, with no shortage of bars, clubs, and concert venues. In addition to its music scene and…...
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Is Waiving the Appraisal a Good Strategy?
In the current hyper-competitive housing market, buyers are doing what they can to set themselves apart, especially when they’re competing against multiple offers, in some cases all-cash offers. A growing number of home buyers are meeting this challenge with a risky strategy: waiving the appraisal contingency. It’s a move that buyers believe will get their…...
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How to Price Your Short-Term Rental
If you own a rental property nowadays, you have the option of renting it out to tenants who will stay there year-round, or you could capitalize on a higher nightly rate and rent it out for short-term stays on Airbnb, Vrbo, or one of the many other short-term rental sites that have sprung up in…...
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The New Real Estate Disruptors
There’s a new disruptor that has entered the real estate market, the iBuyer. An iBuyer is a real estate company that will buy your home, make some cosmetic repairs, and then sell it. Opendoor, Offerpad, and Zillow offers are just a few of the iBuyers who are changing the way home buying and selling works…....
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Market of the Month: Phoenix
In Phoenix, Arizona, the only thing hotter than the desert weather is the current housing market. A steady stream of new residents lured by the mild winters, lower cost of living, outdoor recreation, and a rebounding job market have turned up the heat on the Arizona capital’s demand for housing. Phoenix is America’s fifth most…...
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The Future of Apartments: Smart Home Technology
Smart technology has become a common feature in residential spaces over the past decade. During that time, a growing number of homeowners have been controlling their homes remotely, or enjoying voice-activated features at home. Currently, 69% of U.S. homes have at least one smart home device. Multifamily housing was a little slower to jump on…...