The Real Estate Blog with a Twist

I awoke late on Sunday morning — it was after 9 a.m.  Tanja and I had stayed up way past our bedtime watching the first six episodes of the new season of House of Cards, and I was jolted awake by my 100-pound, 4-year-old German Shepherd, having his 20th or 30th (I...

Every month, I look forward to the economic outlook article in Tom Henderson’s newsletter, and I like to share it with our readers as well.  Tom has a way of using straight talk to break down complex subjects into simple terms.  It usually isn’t much more complicated...

There’s just no way around it: not everything works out the way we planned.  In fact, when life just seems to be a series of ebbs and flows, I sometimes wonder if anything has ever worked out as planned.  As CEO of Hughes Private Capital and co-manager of our...

This is an interesting way to fight back.  Airbnb is going to build their own apartments and lease them out to tenants who can, in turn, rent them out to Airbnb guests. There have been multiple attacks on Airbnb operators in various states and cities as of late — from...

In none other than the progressive blue state of California, it is now written in the Health and Safety Code for nursing homes and long-term care facilities that if you repeatedly use the wrong pronoun you can be sentenced to up to one year in prison. Is it just me,...

Like a great spouse, the “good” kind of debt (or leverage) can be your best friend when it comes to investing.  And, like a not-so-great spouse, it can also be the friend you wish you had never met.  Successfully leveraging debt has made many people fabulously...

There are few things in life that make such a long-lasting impression they will stay with you forever. Recently, I was fortunate to have had such an experience when I accompanied 32 veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their war memorials.  It was a whirlwind...

Hughberry, our senior assisted living company, is gearing up to welcome its share of “Silver Tsunami-ites” with beautiful, private, well-staffed assisted living residences.  As the company continues to expand, we are seeking an entrepreneurial, experienced, passionate...

A lady we contacted a few weeks ago was crying by the time we were done with the phone call.  The good news is, they were tears of joy and not of sadness.  Although her reaction was maybe more emotional than what we are used to, it wasn’t necessarily surprising....

How many times have you heard someone tell you that they are honest?  And it usually doesn’t stop there.  Nope – after assuring you that they’re honest, they feel the need to go into all the reasons why they are so honest, how much they believe in integrity, and on...

Several years ago, a Hollywood movie dominated theaters and raked in millions of dollars despite a serious but largely unnoticed flaw in the plot.  Did you catch it?  I didn’t, but Jason Morris, our very smart estate attorney and this week’s guest writer, did.  Let me...

Following the Great Recession, the American dream of homeownership was progressively sliding downward.  Now, the dream is back and continues on an upward climb. Figures show that from 2015 to 2016, the number of non-homeowners (mostly renters) looking to purchase...

Sometimes we have to pass along articles just for the entertainment value, but at least this article is real estate-based.  Fox News reported that an entire street in San Francisco has been sold at a tax auction for a mere $90,000.  Sounds like a good investment,...

Owning income-producing real estate can be a lucrative investment.  But have you ever stopped to think about how and where your money is actually made?  One of the big advantages of owning income-producing real estate is that it allows an investor to receive a return...

I have great news!  All of you out there who are worried about another economic downturn can rest easy.  Janet Yellen said there’s no reason to worry about another financial crisis, so it must be true.  If only it were that easy! How old does she think I am?  I just...

I have been having this discussion with my 25-year-old daughter, Kayla, for about the last year.  Should she buy a home or just keep renting?  Tradition says, “Own your home and don’t throw money down the drain on rent.”  You will have the pride of homeownership and...

A few weeks back, we talked about Takers and Producers.  Below is another example of what good can happen when we take action to eliminate pure giveaways in our society… to stop the enablement of the Takers.  Deep down, it is our human nature to want to work and be...

Back in the good old days, Real Estate Agents had all the power.  They had information that no one else had, so you had no choice but to hire an agent if you wanted to buy or sell real estate.  On the rare occasion I could get my hands on one of the MLS books that...

For years, I have been under the impression that the gas sold at 7-Eleven was owned by Venezuela.  This assumption led me to believe that purchasing their gas would be supporting the previous dictatorship regime of Hugo Chavez, which led me to take my business...

I learned this lesson the hard way beginning back in 2007.  Actually, I didn’t really grasp it in its entirety until much later, but it was eventually learned and it was painful. Back in 2007, times were a little nuts.  This was when real estate was flying and there...

I can’t believe what I am reading lately.  After 8 years of liberal policies, I guess I forgot what it’s like to see more conservative actions taken by the federal government. President Trump vowed to get rid of two regulations for every new regulation proposed.  I...

One of the best indicators of the sustainability of home prices is the ratio between income and home prices.  If home prices rise faster and higher than homebuyers’ incomes, potential homebuyers can’t afford as much, which puts pressure on sellers to lower their price...

Steve and I got high with 12 of our friends last week, then we all visited the most top-of-the-line hangar in town and drove to lunch at ArrowCreek because we were starving. Okay, that may be one of the best titles I have ever used for an article!  I bet it got you to...

Realtor.com published an article about the 10 biggest comeback cities in the U.S., and Reno comes in at #10.  It appears they have done their research, except for one thing, and that is what they say about Reno. I guess it only sells or is interesting if they put...

All right, I tried to stay out of this mess and not comment on the United Airlines debacle, but now I can’t help myself after reading this in the WSJ today: Lawmakers Put Heat on Airlines House members tell United and rivals to treat fliers better or face new...

Did you know that there is an underworld of seller financing alive and strong out there?  Chances are, you probably haven’t given it much thought. We are familiar with this concept because it is one of the worlds we do business in.  Now, you might be wondering why I...

Are we becoming a nation of people who never want to take responsibility for anything? The newest attempt at a law here in Nevada is to seal eviction records for 60 days. Here is the write up from the NVAR: AB107 would provide that eviction records, from the affidavit...

“It’s the economy, stupid.”  Some of you may remember that phrase, coined by James Carville for Bill Clinton’s campaign.  Well, in all my brilliance, I am coining a new one: “It’s the free market, stupid.” Tom Henderson has done it again with a great article...

By Guest Writer, Craig Martin Your real goal for your investment portfolio can be easily thwarted by public predictions of the future.  Here is what leading predictions in November were telling us before voters elected Donald Trump as our president: “As the historic...

Two weeks ago, my wife, Tanja, and I set sail on a Carnival Cruise out of Galveston, Texas headed for three Caribbean islands.  This was our second cruise ever, lasting 7 days -- twice as long as our first one. I am not normally a nervous traveler, and the ship...

You decide the answer to that question after reading this article published in The New York Times (big surprise there) about considering climate change when buying a home.

How would you feel if you made plenty of money to afford a home, but you were not able to get approved for a loan because you were self-employed? Or what if you paid all your bills all your life, but a medical issue forced you into bankruptcy, and now you can’t get financing to buy a home?

We are seeking a person full-time to focus on assisting our CEO and coordinating events to attract new investors for our four investment funds. This job would consist of: Assisting our CEO who co-manages our four investment funds and is responsible for raising capital...

Again the collectivist economists and followers are touting the increase of income and wealth inequality gap of the top 1% as a reason to raise taxes or to promote some wealth redistribution program.

For many of you, the real questions might be: “Why would you want to sell part of a loan?” or “Who wants to buy part of loan?”

I love to tell the story about our first exposure to the idea of buying non-performing second mortgages.

Let’s see if we can figure out which investment is a better, from a lender’s standpoint.

It’s a fact many of us are familiar with: Women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. If you take all full-time workers and divide the median annual earnings of women by the median annual earnings of men, it does equal .77.

I have always heard and re-told the story of how McDonald’s isn’t in the business of selling hamburgers, but is really in the business of owning real estate.

A huge breath of fresh air is the best way to describe the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, and not because there is less smog out there, or because the sagebrush wafts a crisp clean scent over the 100,000 acre valley.

In a recent national Bankrate survey, real estate was voted #1 over CD’s, gold, the stock market, bonds and others for most desirable place to invest money long-term.