Warning - Risks of Rental Demand Declining When Investing in Real Estate Risk, risk, risk... Life is full of risks. To a limited degree, we get to choose which risks we voluntarily take on. For example, if you choose to invest in real estate, you choose to take on some additional risks that you might not—directly—face if you opt to invest in something else with its own set of risks. One risk when investing in real estate is the risk that the property you buy as a rental experiences a decline in rental demand, which often leads to a reduction in the rent you are getting. What are some things we ..read more

Private Mortgage Insurance Myths Reputation can be a challenging thing. I have found, through many conversations with clients over the years, that Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) has a questionable reputation with home buyers in general and investors in particular. However, much of its reputation is based on half-truths, bad information, lies, and myths. In this special class, James will discuss some of the more common myths about PMI and the truth about what PMI is, and why its reputation is misguided and/or misunderstood. In this class, James discusses: What is Private Mortgage Insurance ..read more

Warning - Risks of Neighborhood Decline When Investing in Real Estate Everything in life has risks. Not investing adds certain types of risks, while investing adds other risks. One risk that some real estate investors face is the possibility that the neighborhood they're investing in will decline, causing values and/or rents to drop. So, how do we prevent this, and what can we do about it if it happens to us? In this mini-class addressing the dangers and risks of investing in real estate, James discusses the risk of a decline in the neighborhood you're investing in and what to do to mitigate t ..read more

How to Calculate PMI If you're a house hacker, Nomad™, investor buying properties with less than 20% down, or buying creatively where the seller has PMI, you'll want to make sure you know how to analyze deals that have Private Mortgage Insurance. In this mini-class, James will cover how to analyze deals that have PMI, with an emphasis on doing it using The World's Greatest Real Estate Deal Analysis Spreadsheet™. In this class, James discusses: What is Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and why does it exist? How to anaylze deals with a single up-front, lup-sum PMI payment How to anaylze deals w ..read more

In many cases—not all, but many cases—real estate investors can speed up the time it takes to become financially independent by choosing to pay off the mortgages on their properties early. Sometimes it makes sense to take every extra dollar beyond a healthy amount of reserves and aggressively pay off properties as quickly as possible. Other times, it might be better to invest money that you have earmarked to pay off properties in something else—like the stock market, for example—until you have enough to completely pay off the mortgage in one single large payment. In this mini-comparison class ..read more

Deal Alchemy™ - Residential vs Commercial Property Deal Alchemy™ is all about manipulating the returns you're earning on your investments. Often, this is done through the choices we make when selecting the investment property and the strategies we choose to implement. For example, you could choose to invest in residential properties where your tenants would live in the property. Alternatively, you could choose to invest in commercial properties where your tenants do not live in the property. Often, these investments would have different numbers and characteristics, such as who pays taxes, insu ..read more

Warning - Risks of Loan Called Due When Investing in Real Estate Investing in real estate adds some risk to an already risk-filled life. However, certain activities and strategies when investing in real estate create additional risks that other strategies and activities do not have. For example, choosing to utilize strategies where the lender has the right to call a loan due—like many types of creative financing, using home equity lines of credit, and many commercial loans—adds the additional risk of possibly having loans on your properties called due and payable in full. Add in the fact that ..read more

How to Analyze Buying a Rental Property at a Discount in Portland Some real estate investors insist on only buying properties where they can purchase them at a significant discount. While not mutually exclusive, other investors insist on buying quality properties at a fair price as long as it gets them their desired returns and will stand the test of time. Buffett began as a deep value investor and eventually shifted his focus towards investing in high-quality companies. “It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price,” Buffett confidently s ..read more

How to Calculate PMI If you're planning to buy a property and put less than 20% down, you're likely to be required to pay Private Mortgage Insurance. Lenders prefer that you put at least 20% down, but if you insist on putting less than 20% down, they may still make the loan. However, they will usually do so at a slightly higher mortgage interest rate for taking on more risk and require that you pay a third party to insure them in case you default. This insurance you pay to the third party is called Private Mortgage Insurance. But how much is it? The easiest way to find out is to call your lend ..read more

There are a large number of investing strategies you could pursue as a real estate investor: Nomad™, house hacking, fix and flip, buying 20% down rentals, buying 25% down rentals, saving up to buy free and clear rentals and many, many more options. Which is the best? Which gets you to financial independence fastest? Which gives you the highest net worth? Which gives you the highest standard of living in retirement? Which has the lowest amount of risk? Which should you pursue and implement? These are some difficult questions. But, in this mini-class James will compare saving up to buy 20% dow ..read more