BiggerPockets Daily

A Wave of Zoning Law Changes Could Have Huge Impacts for Investors and Housing—Here’s What You Need to Know 

The U.S. is facing a housing deficit of about 3.2 million units, and the situation is especially dire in urban areas like New York. It’s one of the reasons prospective homebuyers are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable homes. 

That’s led many cities and communities to consider changes to strict single-family zoning restrictions, which are correlated with high home prices, surging rents, and fewer housing starts. Many see the reversal of pervasive restrictions on multifamily construction across cities as a solution to the affordable housing crisis. 

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Are you sitting on the sidelines in this market? Many investors are. There’s a lot of fear and caution. But we’re not. And you don’t need to be, either. 

Of course, I recommend staying in cash if you can’t find the right investment opportunity. But we are finding them on behalf of our investors, and they’re the beneficiaries. I’ll tell you about one here.

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For real estate investors, the question of cash flow versus appreciation is as old as time. However, in an era of high interest rates, buying properties for cash flow isn’t easy. That doesn’t mean investing should be off the table, as there are many advantages of owning rentals other than immediate cash flow—appreciation and tax advantages being the most obvious. 

Whether to keep buying or stay on the sidelines comes down to some specific decisions. Let’s dig deeper.

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In a recent episode of the BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast, I had the privilege of chatting with Mindy Jensen about my journey to financial independence. One burning question arose: How did I manage to lower my expenses without sacrificing quality of life? 

Well, fellow FIRE enthusiasts, let me share six of my key insights into how I transformed my financial landscape by embracing strategic hacks that allowed me to live life to the fullest (no cutting out lattes here!) without breaking the bank.

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We are less than a month away from listing our Brooklyn, New York condo, which we bought for $375,000 back in 2004, the same week we got married. 20 years, two kids, and one chocolate lab later, we are selling the condo for something close to $1 million and then flipping the profits into a new investment via a 1031 exchange. (New here? Catch up on the last few monthly missives!) 

As a reminder, we haven’t made much cash on this property over the past 20 years. The growth has been all equity—and now’s the time to cash in!

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Why does mindset matter most? The answer is quite simple, yet surprisingly hard to believe: Mindset matters most because having the right one allows you to have the proper focus, work ethic, and decision-making skills to grow your company and your business.

What Is Mindset, and How Does It Allow Me to Do All That?

Mindset = mind + set.

Mind = The element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought. 

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Commercial real estate is in for a terrible 2025 as high interest rates and high vacancies force big-time landlords to cut their losses at 50-80% discounts. Meanwhile, South Carolina passed a new law that effectively puts an end to wholesaling as a practice in the state.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/high-interest-rates-are-forcing-big-time-investors-to-sell

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/new-south-carolina-law-would-severely-crack-down-on-wholesaling

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There’s a critical lack of affordable housing. This housing shortage began following the 2008 financial crisis and worsened during the pandemic, and now, not enough homes have been built to meet current demand. Inventory is slowly rising in Q2, which is helpful, but more inventory alone doesn’t solve the problem.

The government has plans to help create more affordable housing inventory and keep large-scale investors from taking homes away from middle-income Americans. The White House released a budget in March that included plans to support Biden’s Housing Supply Action Plan. Items like significant tax credits for first-time homebuyers and for homeowners who sell their starter homes were created to directly reward and incentivize consumers to move. 

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. What were you doing on the morning of Jan. 17, 2020? While the world was learning about a strange new virus approaching our shores, my business partner, Ben, and I were visiting Louisville, Kentucky. We were meeting our largest operating partner, Mike (not his real name), to walk through a mobile home park his firm was acquiring. Our fund would be the largest investor. 

This park looked like many we had invested in, but larger. There were 315 lots, but about 50 were vacant. We saw a typical range of cars—from junkers to Jaguars. People walked their dogs, kids boarded buses, and a maintenance man shuffled around with his coffe

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A mayor in handcuffs, a bankrupt city mired in poverty, unemployment, and soaring crime: 10 years ago that was Detroit’s legacy. Today, it is a real estate success story. 

Early investors—to quote one of Motown’s most famous songs—are dancing in the street. Developers are pouring billions of dollars into its business district, luring the likes of Ford, Quicken Loans, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and more to take up office space. There’s even a Gucci store—the city’s first. The spillover has resulted in booming residential home prices—up 40% since 2020—and revitalized neighborhoo

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