So I Just Bought A Couple Of Fixer Uppers...

... with a couple of friends over the last 2 months

but get this - we don't plan to flip them

The plan is to follow the BRRRR Method

• Buy
• Renovate
• Rent
• Refinance
• Repeat

There is an actual book named that

Which I bought a few years back

read it cover to cover a few times

I just wasn't at a place in my life

where I was ready, willing, and able to take action on it

now I am and doing it and having some fun with it

Now I want to share how it works

to buy and hold these homes

as opposed to flipping them

I also give you a little insight as to how

3 Idiots are succeeding in a tough investor market

while others are struggling

you will definitely get a few laughs

and you might just learn a little bit too

You don't want to miss today's show

Mixed Signals...

...what are we supposed to believe is really going on in real estate

you have heard us talk about how rates have come down into the 5's

we are also seeing that most sellers are barely getting any showings

so what type of market are we actually in right now?

let me do my best to explain it

• buyers are absolutely looking at more homes online now
• buyers are excited about lower rates and payments
• buyers are still waiting to see more homes come on the market
• sellers that had listings expire on 12/31 are just getting ready to list again
• most existing sellers haven't made the necessary price adjustments to sell

and here is what I am expecting to see in the next few weeks

• the new listings will show up
• the new ones that are priced well will sell super fast
• some new listings will get multiple offers
• the market pace will pick up
• and then even more sellers will get off the fence and go on the market
• the old over priced listings will linger and they will not sell

todays show goes deep into explaining how all of this will play out

Why Interest Rates Just Dropped Down Into The 5's...

...it wasn't due to the Fed lowering the rate

The President ordered the purchase of $2 Billion in bonds

and it was the catalyst for interest rates to drop 22 basis points almost immediately

The Federal Housing Finance Agency leader Bill Pulte posted "We are on it"

and will be working Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to execute the plan

financial markets are buzzing and so are home buyers

as the average mortgage rate hit 5.99% on January 9th

• affordability just increased
• monthly payments went down
• sidelined home buyers are jumping back into the market

This also raises the possibility of a rate drop by the Fed

at their meeting on January 27-28

given that the Fed has dropped rates by .25% at 3 consecutive meetings

there has been talk of pausing rates drops for this meeting

to re-evaluate things with regard to things such as GDP and inflation

there will not be another Fed Meeting until March 17-18

so this meeting is a big determiner of the rates available to home buyers

throughout the 1st quarter of 2026 and tax season

keeping in mind that the current Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term

will be ending on May 15th

there will be a lot of attention on the hot topic of interest rates

tune in to today's show for all of the details

How Sellers Can Pay Your Closing Costs...

...when you don't have enough money to close a sale

Many Home Buyers are finding it hard to save up for a down payment

Let alone have enough $ for the closings on a home purchase

Let's Suppose that a buyer wants to purchase a home for $300,000

The down payment for an FHA Loan is 3.5%

Most conventional loans require at least 5% down

That means a buyer would need between $10,500 - $15,000 saved up

Closings cost can vary, but lets use 2% for this example

that means and additional $6,000 is needed to make the deal work

The buyer will need $16,500 - $21,000 in verifiable cash in the bank

Not everyone has that kind of $$$

with the way inflation has been over the past few years

and this is the #1 thing that crushes a home buyers dreams

There is a way for sellers to pay your closing costs

and many will do it in order to get their homes sold

Lets suppose a seller is willing to pay 3% towards a buyer closing costs

That's $9,000 that can be used by the buyer

for closing costs, insurance, interest rate buy downs,etc

Some things to know if the purchase price is $300,000 :

• The home would need to appraise for $300,000
• The seller actually nets $291,000 (300k-9k)
• If the appraisal is low, the deal will need to be re-worked

today's show gets down and dirty with the details

Where did all the listings go...

...Something Just Happened To Real Estate Inventory

Every year, the real estate industry seems to set a huge number of listing contracts

to expire on December 31 if the property is unsold by that date

which means that the number of homes available for sale

drops dramatically on January 1

The vast majority of those properties will come back on the market

during the month of January

many of them will have:

• new listing agents
• lower pricing
• different marketing
• some renovations completed

Along with that

you will see a number of brand new to market listings hit the market

from the group of sellers that waited until after the holidays to sell their property

the inventory levels will creep upward over the 1st 15 days of the month

and by the end of January

its very likely that there will be more homes available

than on December 31st

There will certainly be some listings expiring on January 31st

but that number will be much smaller than December 31

For those looking to purchase in the New Year

This is good news

Tune in for all the details on today's show

The 2026 Crystal Ball Report...

...everything you need to plan out your real estate strategy for this year

we have the receipts from last years forecast back in episode 152

check that out when you are done with this one and let me know how we did

here are a few of the things that I see happening:

Interest Rates will start the year hovering in the 6% range

• They will dip down below 5% shortly after the end of tax season
• There will be a new Fed Chair in May right after the April 28-29 Meeting
• Which makes the June 16-17 meeting the one to keep your eyes on

Builders will continue to creatively give incentives to buyers

• they are paying big $ to buy down interest rates for buyers
• they are paying most/all closing costs buyers
• while holding the line on prices to keep sales comps high

The Number Of Accidental Landlords will increase

• sellers are more willing to pay for buyers closing costs
• many buyers are using loans with 5% down or less
• this will create a problem reselling these home the next 2-3 years
• many will end up renting out these homes

Home Values Will Go UP 4.1% - not down

• looking back over the last 5 years prices were predicted to go down by many
• It didn't happen and buyers hurt themselves by waiting for it to occur
• a large number of current home owners have low interest rates and big equity
• relatively few will be forced to sell at a loss
• market conditions and a rising economy will make this possible

listen in, bookmark this episode, and check my receipts in a year

The Biggest Day For Expired Listings...

...Is December 31st

It has been every year since I have been in the real estate business

and it means that on January 1st

a few interesting things are likely to happen

• real estate active listings will drop dramatically
• some sellers won't realize that they are off the market
• cold calling agents will be dialing for $$$ on New Years Day
• home sellers that "expired" will be getting a lot of calls

some sellers will choose to "extend their listings" with their current agents

• the marketing is already in place
• there could very well be momentum from the end of the year
• they don't go off the market when buyers jump back in Jan 1
• they avoid all those calls on New Years Day

the 1st 10-15 days of January will see a lot of change

and it will get super competitive for sellers

and then perhaps level off a bit in February/ March

• expired homes will be re-listed with new agents
• many will take price reductions
• new marketing will be in place
• the inventory level will rise back to where it was - maybe higher

there is a lot to unpack here

tune into todays show for a road map of how to choose the right strategy

Why Home Buyers Should Close on December 30th...

...There may very well be a property tax savings by doing so for the buyer

it may also be a date that makes sense to the home seller

for the very same reason which makes it a win-win situation

• qualify for the homestead exemption for the buyer
• start off the New Year in your new home for the buyer
• save a vacation day for the buyer due to the holiday
• capital gains tax rate locked in for seller
• addtional write offs for the seller

if that's the case, then why not just close on December 31?

its rather simple really

numerous unforseen circumstances may cause a delay in a closing date

and in this case it would then make the closing take place in the next tax year

• bank wire doesn't arrive on time
• overnight closing package delivery delayed
• banks, title companies and attorney close early
• many workers on vacation - skeleton crews at offices
• travel delays for buyer or seller
• something goes sideways with a double closing

there are definitely scenarios where it makes sense to close after the 1st

and each of these will create a unique set of circumstances

that might just affect the sales price negotiation

tune in for some of the crazy things I have experienced over the years

Home Search Christmas Magic...

... this is how some people are finding deals this holiday season

let's face it - most people aren't looking at homes the week of Christmas

and most sellers are facing the fact that their homes

probably won't sell before the end of the year

so here is how the Magic is happening

there are sellers out there

that will accept and offer now

that they most likely wouldn't have accepted a month ago

and most likely won't accept after the 1st of year

most sellers just want to get under contract

and start the new year off with that taken care of

so they can move on with their plans to move

many of these sellers have been on the market a super long time

and may simply be exhausted from the sales process

closure is super important to those sellers

there is also the distinct possibility of them being a little kinder

and open minded about an offer during this time of the year

there really is no downside to testing the waters now

tune in for more details on how its all happening

Your Listing Photos Are Too Nice...

...and there are many times where sellers are overdoing it

stay with me here as I explain what I see on a daily basis

let's suppose that your home has a blemish or 2

and you think that a little trick photography might help

so you choose to creatively avoid those things in the marketing photos

it certainly will make your home look more attractive online

but consider the fact

that once a buyer enters the home

the will notice the very things you didn't want them to see

which ultimately creates a negative experience for them

we hear comments all the time like

• it looked bigger in the pictures
• it looked better online
• it didn't look dirty online
• we couldn't see all the damages

probably not what you were hoping for

and other the other side of the coin

there are times when the home looks better in person

but the marketing photos are not done well

and people scroll right by for reasons such as:

1. the front photos were taken from inside a car
2. they stand on a chair and shoot downward in the room
3. people and pets are in the photos
4. the home wasn't cleaned and there is stuff everywhere

when buyers are spending a quarter of a million $$$ or more

a little reality goes a long way

in attracting the right person to buy the home

and there are times where bad photos "unsell the home"

tune in for the harsh reality of these mistakes