Roommates: How To Find and Screen Somebody to Share Your Home

Unless you're moving in with your best friends, I don't think many people love the idea of living with roommates. In fact as I write this, just thinking of my some of my former college roommates makes me cringe. They would forget to turn the stove … [Read more...]

Find and Rent The Best Apartments In Your City: How To Optimize Your Apartment Hunt

You might not expect to hear this from a Realtor---after all, I help people buy and sell homes for a living---but buying a home isn't right for everybody all the time. Many times, in fact, it's best to rent. If you don't want to settle down, if … [Read more...]

Lessons from a Realtor: 7 Dos and Don’ts for Buying or Selling a Home

Between the dream of home ownership and turning the key to your new home, a lot has to happen---and a lot can go wrong. After all, real estate transactions take place between two imperfect parties: human beings. When I started out as a Realtor, I … [Read more...]

Why So Many People Are House Poor and How You Can Avoid the Same Fate

Wouldn’t it be nice if buying a home were as easy as walking into a store and out with a new smartphone? Unfortunately, it’s hardly so simple. As I'm finding out, getting ready to buy a home requires a ton of preparation (not to mention … [Read more...]

How Much Is Your Home Worth?

Millions of you want to know the answer to one seemingly simple question: How much is my home worth? Sadly, in many cases, the only simple answer is "much less than you paid for it." (Go ahead, you can share your story in the comments. This should … [Read more...]

Buying a Short Sale: Is It Worth It? (And Does It Really Take Six Months?)

Many U.S. real estate markets are flooded with short sales and, according to the National Association of Realtors, that number is only expected to increase in the near future. So if you’re in the market for a new home, there’s a good possibility … [Read more...]

A Tried and True Formula for Buying Rental Property

A little over a month ago, guest writer Arthur Garcia contributed a well-received post about how he and his fiancée used a $40,000 inheritance to purchase an investment property. I know you may not be an active (or even aspiring) real estate … [Read more...]

What We Did With $40,000

The author of today’s post, Arthur Garcia, approached me a couple months about doing this podcast interview about my experiences with debt and building passive income with this blog. Arthur’s since launched The Business of U, a website focusing … [Read more...]

Condo Financing is Different

Are you considering getting a mortgage to buy a condo? Read this first. As a Realtor, I know that condos are popular among first-time home buyers. After all, the average condo costs less than the average single-family home. (In March 2011, the … [Read more...]

Mortgage Underwater? Here Are Your Options

So, was 2005 the year that you dove in and bought your first house? How much do you wish you had had a crystal ball back then? Don’t be too hard on yourself: NOBODY had the ability to see the future and nobody knew just how bad the housing … [Read more...]