I try my best on this blog to focus on the issues effecting the real estate market and offer a perspective uninfluenced by political factors. To the extent that social factors effect the real estate market, I am happy to address them, but I work diligently to ensure that this blog does not serve the dual purpose of promoting any particular political ideology. With that said, we are all contextual creatures and I, as an African-American male, cannot ignore the current outcry regarding police brutality against my fellow brothers and sisters.
Friday, June 12, 2020
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Back in the Saddle Again
Hello Readers/Subscribers of the Real Estate Think Tank,
I once read that it's not how many times that you fall off the horse, but how many times you get back on. With that said, I want to announce that I am back on "the horse" and will once again begin to deliver to you once again real estate content from an industry-insider's perspective.
I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to try my hand at a few occupations and have had success in a couple of careers, but one thing remains consistent--no matter how far I try to stray, real estate is my calling. That said, I am going to begin to deliver content on a regular basis. In doing so, I will try my best to both be more technical, as well as more topical and will look to strike a balance between the two.
It's great to be back at the Real Estate Think Tank and like a pair of well-worn jeans, it just feels right!
Yours Truly,
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
The Real Estate Sales Game (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this post,
three aspects of real estate sales were addressed--lead generation, asset
valuation, asset management. These real estate sales characteristics require a
specific approach when applied to real estate sales. In this post, the
remaining two aspects of real estate sales will be discussed--marketing and
customer relations. These aspects of sales are more uniform across all
sales profession, both in and out of the real estate industry.
As a reminder, the
term real estate salesperson includes all real estate professionals that spend
a significant portion of their time selling real estate assets, including
property salespeople, real estate capital markets sales professionals and
commercial and residential loan officers.
Monday, August 6, 2018
The Real Estate Sales Game (Part 1)
Interestingly, I have over 10 years of experience as a real estate salesperson and attorney and have yet to write a post on the mechanisms of real estate sales. An understanding of real estate sales can be useful in informing the perspective of a real estate investor. Real estate salespeople have an intimate understanding of market activity, market trends and asset valuation that can prove valuable to all real estate investors.
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Change Is A Coming: How Current Economic Conditions Should Affect Real Estate Investment
Many economist and market pundits are predicting a market downturn, beginning
some time in 2019 or 2020. All of the indicators of an overheated boom seem to be
present--increasing margin debt, decreasing dividends, stock market price
inflation and increased levels of corporate debt. Essentially, low interest rates
have made credit more accessible. As a result, businesses are using credit to buy back some of their outstanding stock. In response to the relative decrease in availability of stock,
stock market prices are rising, increasing household wealth across the nation.
Spurred on in part by technological development, the economy seems to be booming at
present, but it is important to note that mechanism that is fueling this increase in wealth is debt.
Friday, July 27, 2018
How To Approach A Defaulting Second Mortgage
Default
happens, hopefully not often, but it is a fact of lending. Upon default,
however, a holder of a second mortgage must find an objective, value-driven
manner in which to evaluate its options. Unfortunately, in many instances second position lienholders opt for one of two extreme
approaches—accepting a nominal amount in exchange for the release of the lien
or demanding an unreasonably high sum for satisfaction of the lien. Both
approaches are harmful for different reasons. Despite such prevalent behavior, with proper management, a defaulting second mortgage can provide a lienholder with a number of
options.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Real Estate Crowdfunding
Real estate crowdfunding has been a hot topic for the past few years and continues to gain notoriety. Praised for its flexibility and low barrier to entry, crowdfunding enables investors to directly invest in real estate properties
without having to amass the funds necessary for a mortgage down-payment. For
an amount as low as $500, in some instances, investors can contribute to a pool of investor capital that will enable a real estate entity to acquire a
property. Open to both accredited investors and the public at large, crowdfunding
offers access to the risks and rewards of direct real estate ownership in a
passive manner with relatively little out-of-pocket costs.