Tools & Resources
GreatSchools.net: A Tool to Evaluate Public Schools
Renters and buyers alike rank schools high on their list of criteria when searching for a home. Mike and I own one investment property in a neighborhood that is split between two school districts–one good, one not so good. The value of the homes and the rents they can generate vary significantly, [...]
65+ Online Tools and Resources for Real Estate Investors
Real estate investors need to calculate property values, determine rents, manage tenants, and track finances for all of it. Here is a collection of resources that we hope will help you do it.
Real Estate Values: Whether buying or selling investment property, you have to know the market. Here are some resources to [...]
Free Templates For Snazzy Real Estate Brochures
After Mike and I bought our first investment property, one of my tasks was to create a flyer to advertise the new rental. I spent hours formatting a flyer in Excel to include pictures of the property and a description. Mike then spent hours editing what I had spent hours writing. (I [...]
What’s Your Home’s Walk Score?
How “walkable” is your home on a scale of 1 to 100? I recently ran across a tool at WalkScore.com that ranks any address based on proximity to restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, movie theaters and the like. WalkScore provides a quick snapshot of one criteria that might be important for house and apartment hunters [...]
A New Real Estate Widget for the iPhone
There are two kinds of people in the world. Those that own an iPhone and those that want to own an iPhone. Sadly, I fall into the latter category. For those of you fortunate enough to own an iPhone, and for those wannabes who, like me, will one day own an iPhone, [...]
RottenNeigbor.com–A New Way to Check Out the Neighborhood
Did you ever wonder what the neighbors were like near a rental property you wanted to buy? Well, a new Google Maps mashup RottenNeighbor attempts to answer that question for you. Simply enter the zip code where the property is located, and a map with clickable push pins shows you where families have [...]
Government Foreclosure Websites
Foreclosures offer an opportunity to buy rental properties at a substantial discount. We buy many of our rental properties from HUD, and the number of available foreclosures from all sources is growing. Here are a list of resources for both government foreclosures and bank owned properties:
Government Foreclosures
HUD Homes
Fannie Mae - Owned Property Search
FDIC: [...]
Home Value Websites
Determining a home’s value is a critical step in the process of buying and selling real estate investment properties. To help you in the process, we’ve assembled a collection of free websites that offer instant home values. Many of these websites also offer a lot more information that you may find helpful in [...]
Jason, I can tell you how we would handle this. We would start eviction proceedings immediately. If you ...
I have a tenant who always pays late and pays the usually sends late fees. They have been good ...
The way I understand it, the federal government will be repaid on the zero-interest, nonrecourse loans. Loans for homeownership properties ...
As a landlord, how can I report my tenant's EXCELLENT payment history? They've been great tenants & never missed ...
Is it true that 80% don't pay off their interest-free financing on time? Personally, I've never had problems getting rebates, ...
On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, ...
It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.ThomasJeffersonThomas Jefferson 
the peak will come end of 2008. sorry guys, the worst is not over... 
Wow.. this article really cooled me down! and what an apt title..
With two no-shows on two consecutive days, i was ...