Matthew Mucker
Where does the 50% rule come from?
I know the "50% rule" is bandied about as gospel here in the forums, but haven't seen any actual, hard data that says that operating expenses tend to be ~50% of gross rent income. I'd like to verify this number is, in...
Evan Parker
Congratulations! You Gentrify: Displacing a Community
This question is one I pose to anyone who has an opinion on the topic. Obviously we're all here because we like something about the idea of REI and passive income. As the process goes, we find a "good deal" in some ar...
Laith Ali
can you come up with $400 in an emergency
Hi,I was reading an article a few days ago that said 40% of Americans can't come up with $400 if they had an emergency. I couldn't believe almost half the country is that broke. The median household income is 60k, so ...
Joshua Dorkin
BiggerPockets Real Estate Conference: Is it time?
One of my goals over the past 6 years has been to produce a real estate investing conference unlike any we've seen before. I believe that BiggerPockets is in a unique position to create a conference that changes the ...
Joshua Dorkin
Diary of a New Construction Project
Back in March 2013, BiggerPockets and J Scott collaborated to release two books -- The Book on Flipping Houses and The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs (check them out here if you haven't already). As part of the book ...
Bryce G.
Why are so many HOAs and local governments against STRs?
The response I get most often when I ask this question is that it's disruptive to local lifestyles to have more frequently rotating tenants and as a result STRs can decrease property values. The first one is qualitat...
Jeff F.
Cheyenne, WY 7 Unit Apartment Complex
On December 2, I closed on a 7 unit apartment building. When I made the offer, I saw a lot of things, but the two most common were disaster and potential. Due to the size of the place, the insane income numbers, and t...
Max M.
What's up guys? Mom's Basement Loser from Palatine, Illinois (TLDR alert)
With my burgeoning interest in real estate I decided to join Bigger Pockets to hopefully surround myself with people with whom I can talk about this business and maybe even work with in the future. In real life I'm su...
Bjorn Nielsen
Have any of you worked with RETA/International Living?
I’ve been looking into RETA deals (Real Estate Trend Alert) from International Living. The lead guy, Ronan McMahon, presents some compelling deals. I am curious though, if these deals are as sweet as they sound...I’m ...
James Wise
THIS is why your Realtor is Ignoring you-DATA says they Should!
If you spend any measurable amount of time browsing the BP forums you have probably come across a thread or two that was started by a new investor who's having a heck of a time getting a Realtor to work with them in a...