cash flow

Real estate investing can be a lucrative and rewarding enterprise. It can also be a frustrating and profitless exercise. You could write a 1,000 instructional book on all the dos and don'ts of investing, but perhaps the first and most important question to as is simply "Why?" "Why should I invest in real estate and not put my money in savings or stocks?" The most important benefits of real estate...

One of the most important things every investor needs to do before purchasing a property is a profitability analysis. At first glance, many deals seem great, but upon further review turn out to be anything but ideal. You just can't tell for sure until you do the numbers. That's where this spreadsheet might come in handy. If you have Microsoft Excel (or OpenOffice), this financial spreadsheet is a good...

So you've approved an application and the tenant wants to sign a lease in a week. Your search for a tenant is over, right? Maybe not. When it comes to renting apartments, until you actually have money in hand its never a sure thing....

Whether you utilize a professional inspector when buying properties or simply rely on your own walkthrough, you can’t possibly know everything about the building at first glance. Unless you are from the Planet Krypton, you can’t discern the condition of the sewer lateral without taking additional steps....

Other than which building to buy, the most important question to ask yourself when investing in real estate is "How am I going to pay for this?" If you're loaded with cash and have a ton of equity built up in your house and other investments, this is a pretty easy question to answer. But for most of us, things aren't quite so simple....

In March, I posted a story about duplexes suddenly becoming a viable, cash flowing, option for prospective investment real estate buyers. Four months later, I'm here to highlight the topic again. But this time, I'm not talking about two families. They are still an increasingly attractive buy, but the real surprise in the past few months has been how lucrative buying up single families has suddenly become...

Just like radiators, I've always thought window air conditioners get an unfairly bad wrap. They are relatively cheap (usually between $100 and $300 per unit), most models are efficient if properly installed and there is no need to install expensive ductwork throughout the building....

When many investors are looking for their next rental property they have a tendency to ignore a vast majority of the current inventory on the market. The trait that these properties share in common is that they are single bedroom units. Landlords tend to shy away from them for fear that they won't be able to pull in the rents they desire. If you can relate to this standpoint, just as with avoiding...

I'm always astounded at how many investors don't keep detailed records on their properties. Especially since most of this data is submitted to the IRS at tax time. For some reason or another, after the data has served it's initial us, the information often gets tossed aside. If your records look like this picture or if they end up in the trash can, I encourage you to think twice about what you do. You are...

Despite the gloom and doom touted by the media, right now is a great time to be a landlord or real estate investor. You're going to have a tough time if you're trying to sell, but the current buyers market is opening up some real deals. But this fact is by no means a secret. What seems to be less recognized is how much our local rental market is improving in response to these current market changes....

According to forecasts.org, as of today, the rate of inflation in the United States is 4.12%. That's really high! Whether you live in St. Louis, the East Coast or Juneau Alaska this affects everything from the cost of a gallon of gas to your taxes. Money is worth less so it takes more of it to buy any product....

In the hot real estate market of the early to mid 2000's, duplexes were virtually ignored by investors looking for rental properties. And with good reason. Why would anyone buy a property if they couldn't make it cash flow. With the upward spiral prices took in that market, 2-families were generally abandoned by rental investors and embraced only by owner-occupants. Flash forward to 2008 and you have a...

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." I read Robert Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress a few years back and this line has really stuck with me. You've probably heard this phrase, or its acronym form (TANSTAAFL), uttered before. It seems to mean different things to different people, but for me its become a personal mantra of sorts. Nothing in this world comes without a price, and the world of...

*NOTE - This article was originally written in May of 2007 for the newsletter. Working with investment real estate offers me an opportunity to talk shop with all kinds of landlords and view all types of apartments, across St. Louis. One thing that always astounds me, is the lack of quality rental units in town. There seems to be a perception that there is no market for quality apartments. In my...