Is your real estate market overpriced? Navigating today’s housing market isn’t easy. Though inventory is going up and mortgage rates are going down, property prices are still sky-high. For the real estate investor, it’s pretty easy to assess your local market. Things get tougher as you go further afield.

Sometimes you’ll hear us refer to a very simple rule for real estate investors: take nothing on faith. But what does that really mean, and why is it essential to success as a passive real estate investor? 

Essentially, we’re telling investors to do their due diligence, to ask questions, to verify, and to absolutely look a gift horse in the mouth. We’ve all heard what they say about making assumptions!

One of the arguments critics like to use against real estate investment is its lack of liquidity. To access cash, you must endure the rigamarole of selling the property. As any seller knows, this process can be one long headache. 

Fortunately, having cash in hand isn’t the only way to reap the rewards of your property’s equity. Investors should know all of their available options. We’re not necessarily recommending these strategies. They each come with unique benefits and drawbacks, and we urge individuals to do their due diligence.

Fix-and-flip investments might make for compelling programming on HGTV, but investors prefer buy-and-hold rental properties. A recent Investor Sentiment Survey from RCN Capital demonstrated that rentals were the most popular of the three types of residential real estate investments.

There’s an ongoing debate among economists about the state of the real estate market. While the first months of the year give us some idea of where we’ll be throughout 2023, some are still fearful that the market will crash. After all, we’re coming off unprecedented highs, through inflation, and into a recession.

As a real estate investor, you know by now that you only have so many hours in the day to get everything done that needs doing. Because of this, you're well aware that some things can be a waste of your time and effort. Some things are better left to someone else!

For you, that may mean partnering up with a real estate agent to find and acquire your investment properties. But for real estate investors, it's not as simple as joining forces with just any Realtor. After all, investing in real estate and buying rental properties just isn't the same as buying a new home for your own private use.

As real estate investors, we are bombarded with a metric ton of information each and every day. The amount of information out there to consume and digest is overwhelming at times.

That makes it difficult to discern what's truly at the heart of it all. What actually makes an impact on your investing career? What really makes a tangible impact on your success?

Real estate investment takes a special kind of person. We don’t mean that everyone can’t find success in this business—only that certain types of people are going to have an easier time at it than others based on their personalities. There are certain traits that successful real estate investors just have.

If you ask someone “what makes a real estate investor successful?” you’ll likely get a lot of different answers.

The truth is, a lot of different traits make the recipe for success. Honesty is important. Integrity—that’s a good one. Tenacity, nice. There’s old-fashioned intelligence. A natural knack with money.

But what common thread weaves through every successful real estate investor?

Surely there’s one thing that brings it all home. One thing that ties it all together...

It’s hard not to feel the holiday spirit this time of year. No matter what holiday you celebrate, there’s something undeniably different about this season. It can be stressful, sure, but it’s hard not to love warm feelings and those little extra acts of kindness. We have the nostalgia of Christmas music on the radio, festive decorations and the joy in buying presents for loved ones.

For real estate investors, the holidays are a great time to slow down and reflect on the year. What are you thankful for? Who are you are thankful for? Remember to show gratitude to those who have made your 2015 a good year.