Help, advice and practical how-to-guides for home remodelling, maintenance and construction
Lucas Piper, owner of Five Star Vacation Home Rentals in Austin, has seen many short-term rental owners spend thousands on upgrades that fail to increase bookings. Despite investments in new furniture, complete repaints, or landscaping, some properties remain vacant for weeks. In contrast, owners who focus on a handful of targeted, inexpensive improvements consistently secure ...
When you buy or sell a home, part of what you’re paying for goes beyond your agent’s time and expertise. Behind every transaction is typically a real estate brokerage covering a wide range of costs that directly affect how smoothly your deal moves forward. Those behind-the-scenes expenses shape everything from the technology your agent uses ...
The signs are everywhere: “We Buy Houses – Cash – Fast.” If you’ve ever wondered whether these offers are legitimate or simply a way to undercut sellers, you’re not alone. Selling to a cash buyer can resolve real challenges, but only if you understand the process and avoid common mistakes. Sebastian Jania, co-founder and owner ...
A significant obstacle to development in many cities is not zoning or neighborhood opposition, but the lack of clarity in the approval process itself. In Farmington Hills, Michigan, a new system is removing this uncertainty by offering developers unlimited, free pre-application meetings with all relevant municipal departments before any formal plans are submitted. Cristia Brockway, ...
A 20-year-old realtor closing nine deals in his first nine months in the Sioux Falls market is unusual. But according to Rockwell Tornow, Realtor® of Amy Stockberger Real Estate, his early success is not about luck or favorable market conditions. Instead, he attributes it to two factors that younger agents can use more effectively than ...
The holiday season brings a spike in financial activity across the real estate industry. Title companies rush to close deals before year-end, investors hurry to finalize acquisitions, and agents juggle numerous transactions. According to identity theft protection experts, this increased activity creates ideal conditions for scammers who use urgency and distraction to steal payment information ...
The real estate services industry is facing a sharp change in customer expectations around security. According to industry insiders, the debate is no longer about whether to offer scam protection, but how quickly companies can add it to their service packages. James Harkins, head of business development at American Identity Group, a firm that partners ...
A surprising hiring trend is emerging among successful real estate teams in secondary markets: many top agents started their careers in education. Joseph Hamer’s team at ReeceNichols South Central Kansas is entirely made up of current or former educators, a structure he says is intentional and reflects a clear insight into what makes agents effective ...
“A big chunk of my borrowers are self-employed. They just do not fit the banker box because of how they report their income or manage their finances,” says Geoff Ball, president of HD Lending, LLC in Arizona. He explains that many self-employed borrowers have substantial equity in their properties and legitimate business income. Still, the ...
Industry veteran Lucas Piper, owner of Five Star Vacation Home Rentals in Austin, identifies ongoing property maintenance, rather than acquisition strategy or financing, as the main reason many short-term rental (STR) operators fall behind in guest ratings and revenue. Piper, who manages 70 vacation rentals in Central Texas, argues that inadequate maintenance protocols are the ...
The commercial real estate brokerage industry relies on a flawed agent development model, according to Jamie Maniscalco, President and Managing Broker at The Alpha Commercial in Miami. Maniscalco contends that the difference between training and mentorship determines whether agents succeed or leave the industry. “Companies say that they offer training, but it’s really more, hey, ...
Linda Fleischer of Coldwell Banker Realty says fear of unpredictable HOA increases is making Florida condos nearly unsellable to the demographic that should want them most. Florida’s condominium market is facing a crisis that goes beyond recent changes to reserve requirements and new mandates for special assessments. According to Linda Fleischer, a licensed real estate ...
The public construction industry faces a pricing disorder that surpasses the confusion of pre-Internet real estate, according to one industry insider. While residential homebuyers once struggled to value properties without reliable sales data, contractors bidding on public infrastructure projects face even greater information gaps—resulting in bids on identical projects that can differ by millions of ...
Dozens of permanent supportive housing buildings in California are constrained by outdated subsidy programs, with rental income levels well below the level needed to cover actual operating costs. As these buildings age, the financial mismatch is threatening the stability of the entire sector. The 2022 collapse of Skid Row Housing Trust exposed deep vulnerabilities in ...
According to Linda Fleischer of Coldwell Banker Realty, insurance costs—not property values—now determine whether waterfront deals close in Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay residential market is undergoing a significant reset, driven not by property values or desirability, but by the rising monthly cost of flood insurance. Linda Fleischer, a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell ...
