BiggerPockets Daily

Three years ago, I opened the doors of my guest room to travelers on Airbnb to offset my mortgage. What started as a way to supplement my living expenses evolved into a passion for creating 5-star guest experiences and led me to start Stay Peachy Homes, a short-term rental (STR) property management company that helps homeowners and investors maximize their property’s performance and remove the management hassle.

However, like many first-time hosts, I made my fair share of mistakes in that first year. These errors not only taught me valuable lessons but also helped me fine-tune my approach to managing short-term rentals.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you enjoy filing your taxes? Of course you don’t. But there’s a silver lining. 

Doing your taxes can be fun (or at least tolerable) when you understand how to make the best of your circumstances. Savvy investors know the power of taking advantage of every last deduction—within the limits of the law. 

This leads to an important question: How much mortgage interest can I deduct on my taxes?

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As most house flippers or BRRRR landlords will tell you, paying for hard money—with high interest rates and points tacked on top—can take huge chunks of profit out of a project. For landlords, extra expenses are involved in making monthly payments and paying to refinance into a regular mortgage, further eroding the bottom line.

It’s generally a big pain and a reason many would-be-flippers and landlords stay on the sidelines or prefer to find private lenders, content to get paid once a deal sells or secures long-term financing post-rehab.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many investors assume that ownership is inherently safer than debt. I currently own equity in thousands of units and have invested six figures in real estate debts.

I can tell you firsthand that it’s not—at least not always. 

Still, real estate equity and debt investments serve different purposes in your portfolio. Before parsing the risks of equity versus debt investments in 2024, it’s worth reviewing the roles each plays.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Real estate investors are usually most concerned about rental income and property taxes. They seldom discuss home insurance. Many assume that home insurance is a standard fixed price in most parts of the country and give it scant regard, but you could be making a big mistake if you are one of those people. 

According to insurance.com, the average cost of home insurance nationwide hovers around $2,800 per year, which equates to $231 monthly for $300,000 in dwelling coverage and liability and a $1,000 deductible. However, this number fluctuates throughout the country. As a real estate investor, it’s important to note that the numbers quoted are for owner-occupied homeowners insurance. Landlords should add another 25%.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’ve been reading our stuff for the past year or so, you know we’re bullish on preferred equity. And we believe there is a short window of opportunity to achieve this asymmetric risk/return opportunity. 

Investors are asking a lot of questions about preferred equity, so we thought you might be interested in some details on the most recent preferred equity opportunity our fund invested in. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insurance premiums are skyrocketing across the U.S., with no end in sight to annual increases that may just make you rethink investing in real estate in several parts of the country. At the very least, anyone investing in 2024 needs to be aware of the states where insurance premiums are rising the fastest—and factor these changes into their costs. 

According to a recent report by the insurance comparison platform Insurify, home insurance premiums are set to rise by 6% in 2024 after already jumping by 20% over the past two years. And that’s just the average. Many states will see double-digit premium increases this year thanks to a perfect storm (excuse the pun) of factors, most notably extreme weather events and high home repair costs. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whenever I hop on a conference call, someone asks, “Where are you located?” And then their eyes widen when I respond, “Lima, Peru.” 

But back when I invested in rental properties, I did so in my hometown of Baltimore. It was only after I moved abroad that I discovered just how much I had subsidized those properties with my own labor. 

When people ask me today what I would do differently if I were to start investing in real estate all over again, I have an answer ready—because I did start over again. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five years ago, on the BiggerPockets forums, the name Western Wealth Capital (WWC) started to appear. With offices in North Vancouver, Canada, and Phoenix, they were well-known syndicators with a solid reputation, doing deals nationwide. 

A competitor, Sam Grooms of White Haven Capital, stated: “They’re solid underwriters and performers. Janet [LePage] (Western Wealth Capital CEO) is known to not budge on her criteria and price. I doubt she’d overpay for a property. We’ve competed against them on properties here in Phoenix. Their model is similar to most syndicators right now, underwriting a cash-out refi.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growing old is a fact of life—even for Keith Richards—and while it’s doubtful you’ll see world-famous rock stars or aging screen stars in a residential assisted living (RAL) facility, for the rest of the population, they serve as the last stop before our final elevator ride. This is why, after a pandemic pause, senior housing communities are back to making a roaring trade. 

“People put off moving in for an extended period of time during the pandemic,” Lisa McCracken, head of research at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), told the Wall Street Journal. “Now those needs have been amplified because of that delay.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices