The fact that you don't need a down payment just happens to make it a really powerful investment tool, as the traditional 25% down payment for an investment property is one of the more significant barriers to entry for RE investing.

Going to meetings is powerful - when you see 300 people excited about something, many of them already sucssefull for years, and feel the energy in that room, you get a sense of possibilities.Over the course of 10 years my wife went from shaking her head about the idea, to being a careful supporter (still pumping the breaks when I bought a property every six weeks) being a property owner and actually a vocal advocate to other wifes when we host a  workshop or go to a meetup.

Either way - investment property or primary residence - I'm a huge fan of the power of HELOC to get some momentum in REI.

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One of the biggest hurdles when my wife and I first started was helping her understand the power of real estate investing.

@Jarib RivasI don't have an idea of the effect of a trade war on real estate markets but I think it's an interesting question.My hunch would be that the relative purchasing power of the dollar (and then it follows value of real estate backed by dollars) is affected by the exchange rate.Would be curious if others with a more academic and analytical macro economic and finance mind will weigh in....

Despite the negative connotations surrounding 203k loans because of all the rules you need to follow, I believe it is a very powerful and relatively risk-averse strategy for new investors.

I think you just have to use common sense: what’s the risk in doing basic yard work without any machinery or dangerous power tools?

They don’t get the keys until I get confirmation of power utility in their name, if the gas meter is separated out, that too.

In late 2013 I was living on a small Taiwanese island just off the coast of China. My wife and I were renting, and I began to think about buying a house instead of giving money to a landlord every month. The problem w...