In 2016, the U.S. collected just under $4 trillion in tax revenue. Yes, trillion with a T. Roughly $2.7 trillion of that revenue – just over two-thirds of the total – went to paying our country’s social insurances (Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, unemployment compensation, veterans benefits,…

Thinking about moving to Fort Myers, FL, but not sure that your kids will find their thing? You can really only go to the beach for so many days in a row. Have no fear, there are plenty of family-friendly activities in this beach town that don’t require you to remove the sand from everyone’s ears…

Think your home insurance policy covers every mishap that can come your way? Keep thinking, friends. The exact instances that are and aren't covered by typical home insurance depend entirely on the details of your policy—and, contrary to what you may think, each policy is quite different. "Insurance…

October 24, 2017 SHARE A 43-year veteran of the moving industry, Jorja Coulter has seen the atmosphere of the moving industry transform from one with a minimal focus on customer experience (CX) to one on the precipice of major CX change. As the VP of Customer Experience & Quality at National Van…

Photographer Raphael Mazzucco is selling his eclectic art-filled and personalized-to-the-max home in Montauk, NY, for $4.35 million. “This house is a one-of-a-kind opportunity,” says listing agent Dylan Eckardt with Nest Seekers International. “Everything’s done to a T. Everything’s got meaning.”…

NBA All-Star David Lee has listed his three-unit condo in West Hollywood’s storied Sierra Towers for a whopping $22.5 million, according to the Los Angeles Times . So that’s basically three units for the price of, well, three units. The raw space measures 5,000 square feet and features “endless…

Once upon a time, I bought a memory foam mattress ... and lived happily ever after. The end. Let me elaborate: After enduring my partner’s 10-year-old pile of springs and threadbare padding for far too long, I put my foot down and insisted it was time for something new. And, while scouring the…

Side hustles. They’re awesome, right? Many of us have at least one, and that’s real estate (if we haven’t made the plunge into full time). Here are a few of my favorite side hustles I’ve been able to employ while working full time! Let’s start with the major money-makers and work our way down. 1.…

Criminal background checks and credit reports have become routine for rental applicants: About 43 percent of all landlords check rental applicants’ credit, and 48 percent of landlords consider credit information to be one of the top three factors they consider for potential renters. At the same…

It’s hard to think about moving to Florida without thinking about easy access to amazing beaches. Fort Myers, FL, has some top-notch choices in a state that is known for its sandy coastline, so if you’re considering moving there, you’ll have an abundance of options. Here is our list of the best…

Buildium Free Trial Buy now Blog Accounting & Bookkeeping Buildium Software News Growing Your Business Industry News & Events Legal Concerns Maintaining Your Properties Resident Retention Tech & Sustainability This week in property management news: October 23, 2017 Industry News & Events Younger…

With a listing described as "Hollywood Hills glam meets East Coast style," there's no doubt you're dealing with a camera-ready home. So it figures the phrase is being used to market the luxe mansion that Melissa Gorga of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" is selling for $3.5 million. The reality TV…

You’ve always been one to dream big — and of course, that applies to your home. Who doesn’t want a little more space to spread out? But with a bigger home comes more responsibility and bigger costs, some of which may not be obvious right out of the gate. Let us break down the hidden costs of buying…

Ready for a pragmatic look at the pros and cons of leasing to illegal immigrants? Dollars and cents, risks and benefits, not rhetoric or opinion-mongering? Now that there are only a third of us still in the room, let’s talk about a few practical realities. There are 11-11.5 million undocumented…

Today I’m going to be talking about three things you must consider before you buy your first property. OK, let’s get to the vlog. Do Business With Like-Minded People In my opinion, the first thing you need to do before you buy your first property is make sure that you are working with the right…

If I gave you the choice between getting $100 today or $1 per month for the next 30 years, which would you take? Most of you would want the $100 right now, but if you do the math, $1 per month for 30 years is $360, which is more than three times the lump sum of $100. Still want the $100? Perhaps.…

Your home office has grown: instead of a humble laptop on a desk, you have printers, scanners, multiple workstations, and a few different cell phones — each with a different purpose. It’s time: you might just have outgrown your home office. If you’re still on the fence, here are 6 signs that it’s…

When Erin and I first short-term rented our place on Airbnb years ago, we didn’t know what to expect. Airbnb’s biggest proponents spun tales of easy money falling like leaves from an autumn tree, while its biggest opponents wove dire stories of raging parties that ruined their homes and left them…

I’ve been flipping houses since 1998 . My investment model is the “live-in flip,” where I live in the home as I remodel it. This strategy definitely has its ups and downs, but it’s an excellent way to dip your toes into the rehab market to see if you like it rather than diving headfirst into the…

The family estate of Eagles founder and frontman Glenn Frey , who died last year at age 67, has just come on the market in L.A.'s Brentwood neighborhood for $15 million. Frey and his wife, Cindy Millican Frey , purchased the 8,800-square-foot home in 2002 for $10 million from late TV exec Michael…

In addition to fixing problems when they happen, there is another category of repair that as a landlord, you’ll need to make sure gets done: preventative maintenance. In other words, these are tasks that need to be accomplished on a regular basis, usually annually, whether or not anything is broken.…

Why do you want to invest in real estate? Is it just about having a lot of units—or is it about creating a life you can be proud of? On today’s episode of The BiggerPockets Podcast , we sit down with Josh Daniels , a real estate investor in Montana who, along with his wife Summer, has chosen to buy…

Few things are more stressful than packing up the contents of your entire home—except, that is, un packing that intimidating labyrinth of boxes, bags, and bundles once you've landed in your new place. But with a little organization (and maybe a lot of wine) you can make the experience a lot more…

Ahh, Etsy—the online marketplace of organic hemp totes and crocheted alpaca-wool throws. So many unique goods can be found in this online marketplace that would look just adorable in your home! Yet if you dig beneath the cute doggy backpacks and calligraphy cake toppers, you'll quickly find a dark…

Mamma mia! This week’s most popular property on realtor.com® is an astonishing Italian villa in the distant, sun-drenched land of ... Atlanta's exurbs. It's not exactly where we'd expect to find an ode to Tuscan architecture, but it's easy to see why everyone clicked on the place. The stunning…

Let’s get ready to rumble! I say this halfheartedly because of the pride held by both the single-family home investor and multifamily investor. I am going to tackle a highly contested topic on BiggerPockets: Is a single-family home a better investment than a multifamily property? Unfortunately, I am…

Like many real estate investors, I rent properties to long-term tenants and collect monthly payments. It’s an old property-rental model, but it works. However, now that services like Airbnb have popularized independent short-term rentals , old-fashioned renting may not be the model that offers the…

In the real estate market, the earnest money check is one of the essential ways buyers prove they're serious to sellers. It's a substantial chunk of change that will be included with your offer to the seller to further prove that you are really serious about buying the seller's house. But once an…

Many chase the allure of being labeled an “investor”—but a good amount don’t succeed because they fail to understand the basic principles surrounding wealth-building through smart investing. As with many endeavors, knowledge is power when it comes to investing, and by expanding your knowledge of…

The long, hot summer for home buying is finally cooling down, and buyers should breathe a sigh of relief. After months of steadily rising prices, bidding wars, and offers over asking, existing-home prices are continuing to fall. Prices hit a median $245,100 in September, sliding nearly 3.2% from…

I posted a story recently about quick, affordable ways to get in the asset column when all the real estate just so happens to be too expensive. But even if you’re ballin’ on a budget, you can still play, even with just $10,000 in savings. You may not be in the league of a Billionaire’s Row high…

Serial real estate investor Ellen DeGeneres has plucked a luxurious oceanfront property out of foreclosure in Santa Barbara County for $18.6 million. DeGeneres’ latest property acquisition is located on highly coveted Padaro Lane in Carpinteria, CA . It's a “low-key but super-expensive street where…

Want to pack up your bindle and hop aboard a rail car? If you’ve always dreamed of being welcomed home by the sound of a train whistle, we've found a home for you. The Side Trak in Conway, NH, is available for only $51,500. Despite its small size, this converted train caboose can sleep up to five…

As a real estate agent for close to 30 years, I realized early on that many people make their biggest mistakes with real estate between the ages of 25 to 35 years old. Our working years really take place between 25 and 65 years old, and I believe the decisions we make in the beginning towards home…

It's all about millennials these days. Everything seems to center around these special snowflakes. But what about the original "me" generation? We're talking about baby boomers, of course. What do these roughly 76 million Americans want when it comes to housing? Well, they want multicar garages, for…

October 18, 2017 SHARE Once again, it’s that time of year. The 2017 National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) OPTECH Conference & Exposition is right around the corner! As you’re probably already aware, OPTECH is one of our favorite conferences of the year. It’s held a special place in our heart…