Insights

Leverage is a fundamental tool in real estate investing, allowing investors to acquire properties while using their own cash for just a fraction of the total cost. Borrowing money to invest in income-producing properties can amplify your returns, allowing you to scale faster than relying solely on your own capital. However, excessive leverage can prove to be a double-edged sword—when the market is in your favor, it opens the door to greater opportunity. But if the market turns against you, it can lift the lid on Pandora’s box. In this article, I’ll explore the benefits and some of hidden dangers of high leverage, how it can impact long-term investment success, and ways to strike the right balance.

When you’re getting into real estate investing, especially if you’re starting out, there’s one big question to tackle early on: Should you go for value-add or turnkey properties? Both strategies have their pros and cons, their benefits and challenges, and this guide will help you figure out which is the better fit for your goals, budget, and experience.

I have several ebooks that I send out at no cost to folks who sign up for our “insights” mailing list. But in today’s hyperspeed world, I’m finding that now a lot of people who are constantly on the go just don’t have time to sit and read as much as they’d like. That’s why, with help of my AI sidekick, I’ve started turning the content of those ebooks into podcasts.

Follow this link to listen to the first. And stayed tuned for several more.

https://www.realdata.com/realestateeducation/5_Key_Steps_podcast.mp3

In my previous post, I gave you a list of some of the most common acronyms used in real estate. Not a complete list, of course, but a good start to decode the secret jargon of our industry.

And as I professed then,  mastering this lingo and using these terms correctly not only facilitates communication but also demonstrates expertise and insider knowledge.

Now that we have a representative list, let’s look at the meaning of some of these terms.

In my previous post, I discussed what I believe are some of the most important pros and cons of investing in self-storage real estate.

As with most real estate sectors, self-storage features some terms that are particular to this property type — specifically in how owners describe occupancy: Unit Occupancy, Physical Occupancy, and Economic Occupancy. Let’s review them:

Real estate has probably been the best vehicle for building wealth since, well, forever – and income-producing real estate (aka rental property) may be the type of real estate that offers the greatest opportunities to small and mid-size investors.

But nothing worthwhile comes without a few potential pitfalls. You can and certainly should prosper as an investor, but to do so means being mindful of some mistakes that could derail your success. Let’s consider a few of the most important:

If you’ve gotten involved as a landlord or tenant with non-residential real estate, such as retail or office buildings, then you have probably encountered a phenomenon that may go by any of several names: expense recoveries, expense reimbursements, pass-throughs, or common area maintenance (CAM) charges. What exactly is this phenomenon and how does it work?

Expense recoveries (aka reimbursements or pass-throughs) serve as a customary ingredient in leases for non-residential property. In part 1 of this article, I discussed some of the typical ways such an arrangement might play out.