Category Archives: Real Estate
Everyone Wins When Landlords Help Tenants Boost Their Credit Score
Despite the fact that home ownership is becoming unaffordable for an increasing number of people, the economics of residential rentals please no one, regardless of whether it is a mom-and-pop landlord renting out a finished basement or a large company managing a building with hundreds of units. The rent payments that landlords collect from… Read More »
What Is Legal When It Comes to Screening Prospective Tenants?
Vacancies are a landlord’s worst nightmare, so why is housing so hard to find in Washington, D.C.? Prospective tenants must demonstrate to the landlord that they will consistently be able to make rent payments; this usually means showing proof of employment and income. Sure, every landlord forms a first impression about how much or… Read More »
Everyone Loses When Landlords of Unlicensed Properties Try to Collect Rent
Rent is prohibitively expensive these days. To be approved to rent an apartment in a building managed by a reputable company, you have to be so wealthy that, 15 years ago, your income level would have gotten you approved for a home mortgage. The safest rental agreements are the ones where the landlord and… Read More »
The Trouble With Unoccupied Real Estate Properties
If you own a rental property, nothing stresses you out more than the times when the property is sitting vacant. As annoying as it is when tenants complain about the property you are renting to them, as expensive at it is to repair the properties in a timely fashion, and as exhausting as it… Read More »
Which Repairs Are The Tenant’s Responsibility?
If you think that renting out real estate properties will be a painless way to make money in your sleep, you will be sorely disappointed. Your rental properties may or may not be a source of stress while tenants are living there, but they will definitely stress you out every day that they are… Read More »
The Biggest Obstacle To Your Real Estate Empire Could Be Sitting At The Head Of Your Dining Table
Years later, it is possible to laugh about how meddlesome members of your family interfered with your plans for your wedding; one can have a sense of humor about a pescetarian mother-in-law who went behind your back to tell the caterers to replace the steak tartare appetizer with sashimi or about the wannabe celebrity… Read More »
Are Mortgage Buydowns A Win-Win Situation Or A Shady Gimmick?
Nowhere besides the Washington, D.C. area is it more obvious that, during the pandemic, people with cushy, salaried jobs used the months of working from home to save up money to buy real estate. With no commuting expenses and no opportunities for dining out and recreational travel, the upper middle class turned those budget… Read More »
Real Estate Investing Is Not A Game
Some people approach investing as a game, as if the uncertainty about whether you will gain or lose money from the investment, and how much you will gain or lose, is part of the fun. If this is your approach to investing, then buying real estate properties and renovating them in order to generate… Read More »
What Is The Difference Between A Real Estate Agent And A Realtor?
In many endeavors in life, it is simple and practical to follow the principle that too many cooks spoil the broth. For example, the fewer people involved in the planning of your wedding, the better. Likewise, many entrepreneurs look back fondly on their startup days, when two or three friends made their great idea… Read More »
The Landlord’s Guide To Security Deposits In Maryland
It is easy to find advice online for tenants about how to spot a landlord who is likely to rip you off or fail to make necessary repairs during your tenancy. It is also easy to find advice for landlords dealing with the difficult situation of dealing with tenants who are unable to pay… Read More »