rental property

Instant gratification versus delayed gratification

by Jay Castillo on November 15, 2010 · 28 comments

in Financial literacy, Managing Finances, Real Estate Investing

After inspecting a bunch of foreclosed properties recently, I was to drop-off my real estate broker at her house. Her grandson who was around 7 years old, approached us after I parked, while we were still inside my car. He signaled me to open the window, which I did, and he noticed I was using [...]

How to compute for Net Operating Income or NOI and find good investment properties

by Jay Castillo on October 18, 2010 · 10 comments

in How to do the Numbers, Real Estate Investing

In my previous posts about Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO), After Repair Value (ARV), and Cost Factor (CF), we determined these numbers for properties that we intended to flip for a profit. This time around let’s determine another number that is more applicable to income generating properties like multi-door apartments, which are obviously better kept for [...]

Why not treat your first home as a real estate investment?

by Jay Castillo on October 13, 2009 · 27 comments

in Mindsetting, Real Estate Investing

I remember a lot of comments from readers and also from people I meet in person who tell me that they are just looking for a place to live and are not really looking for a real estate investment. My default answer is “Why not treat your first home as an investment?” In reality, once [...]