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Many Americans, who are significant real estate investors, have holdings in different states in the USA and may even have real estate that they own in foreign countries. Owning real estate abroad is an effective strategy to capture the advantages of the differences in global markets. There are currency advantages as well as tax structures […]

The IRS rules regarding a 1031 exchange permit the exchange of an investment property for another of a “like-kind.” The definition of “like-kind” is the type of investment, not the form. Rental properties of any kind can be exchanged for other rental properties or for another investment property. For example, a single-family home, held as […]

A reverse mortgage also called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is a financial technique used by those who own their home free and clear to use the value of the home to create a monthly income, without having to move out of the home or sell it outright. Alternatively, for those with substantial equity […]

There are many varieties of home mortgages to consider when buying a home. The best type of home loan for a homebuyer’s particular circumstances depends on the answers to a few questions, which are: • How long do you plan to own or live in the home? • How good is your credit history? • […]

REIT is an acronym that stands for Real Estate Investment Trust. As a legal entity, a REIT can be a corporation, a trust, or an association. Each year, the REIT must distribute, as dividends to its shareholders, 90% or more of the taxable income earned. Many think that REIT’s are only part of huge Wall […]

The decision about the value of acquiring vacant land depends on a number of factors, which include: • Location – Land out in the wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, has much less value and fewer alternative uses when compared to a vacant lot in downtown Houston, unless you discover oil deposits on it. • […]

Eminent domain is a legal procedure. It gives the government and in some cases private entities that are doing public works projects, the right under certain circumstances to take your real estate for a certain amount of compensation, whether you want to sell it or not. Eminent domain processes can be a tragedy for those […]

The potential profits from condo conversion are similar to buying raw land and then getting permission to subdivide it into smaller lots for sale. Profits can be extracted from buying a large real estate property like an apartment building, converting it to condominiums,  and selling it in smaller pieces. A nice example of the profitable […]

Real estate development starts with acquiring or controlling raw land that either has the potential to be subdivided (made into smaller parcels that can be sold as lots to build homes) or used for a commercial project. There are many important considerations when searching for a property that is suitable for development, which include: A. […]

For this post, we took a survey of the “pundits,” (the supposed experts) to find out what they think about another housing bubble coming. In the conclusion, we give our opinion and some insights about dealing with the current real estate market dynamics. We are pragmatic about this because we know that real estate, like any […]