John T. Reed’s real estate investment blog

Tens of millions of people want to “invest” in real estate. But I doubt very many of them have thought through what an investment really is. Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary says an investment is, “the property in which one invests.” That’s tautological and therefore unhelpful. That same book defines “invest” as “6. to put (money) into business, real estate, stocks, bonds, etc. for the purpose of obtaining an income or profit.” I wrote a rather advanced book on the fundamentals of real estate investing which you may want to read. Click on the cover to get more information about...

Can Detroit come back real-estate-wise? Wall Street Journal article article on retirement finances leaves out home equityApr 03, 2024 Staging and fixing houses are rarely profitable, a waste of your money. Investment Basics REDDIT real estate investor leery of creepy agents want to lease his property Profit from cosmetic rehab sought by a REDDIT reader is a myth REDDIT reader wants to know whether to buy negative-cash-flow triplex How do you buy real estate with crypto? Should you? Do not complicate your real estate investing with LLCs or other such nonsense Should you take advantage of an assumable low-interest-rate mortgage...

I just got an interesting testimonial from a real estate book reader in the Netherlands. I frequently get asked if my real estate investemnt books apply to foreign countries. Yes and no. Yes on the basic approach. No with regard to customs and laws unique to the country in question. A Swedish reader said the fact that he was probably the only guy in that country who had read my books was a virtue. In the land of the blind, the one guy who read American John T. Reed’s books on real estate investment is king. He was a contrarian...

Copyright by John T. Reed I discuss this subject in two of my books:  and  There is great demand for ways to get around due-on-sale clauses in mortgages for four reasons: to preserve a below-market interest rate to avoid a credit check when the prospective buyer has poor credit or inadequate cash or income to afford the property to use the Stonecrest line of Tax Court cases to avoid paying income tax on excess mortgage relief over basis. to lease-option a one- to four-family house (which generally relates back to the second reason). Reason for the due-on-sale clause Real-estate investors...

Copyright by John T Reed One of the most common questions I get from readers is whether they should incorporate, form a limited liability company, use an S corporation, and so forth. This is a manifestation of the asset-protection movement which has arisen in recent years as people have heard about more and more lawsuits that successfully stretch the law to cover more and more situations. I did a comprehensive article on LLCs in particular in September 2021. Hypercomplex The short answer is there is no answer. Each form of ownership has advantages and disadvantages. You need to pick the...