On The Market

I started listening to On The Market and other BP podcasts in 2019, when I was fortunate enough to become an "accidental landlord" through an inheritance of property in California. As a New York City resident with no real estate background, I had no idea what I was doing initially. Through many BP podcasts I got up to speed on topics like property management, pros and cons of LLCs, building in-market teams of professionals and more. In 2024 I started putting several learnings I picked up from BP into action: 1) After a long-term tenant moved out in June, I decided on selling the single family home I inherited in Norwalk, CA. I ran several scenarios on how much to upgrade the home (or not) and ultimately decided to put in close to $100k in work to go for top dollar in a fairly low-supply market. As a result, I quickly had 9 offers after listing in September, including 5 over list price and the winning offer almost $50k over list. The return on my $100k of renovations was around $150k over what an as-is sale to a flipper would have yielded. (50% return on ~2.5 months of being out of pocket). 2) Trying to fund the renovations above wasn't straightforward, since I didn't have $100k of cash just sitting around. After looking at various funding options, I realized that the best option would be to borrow cash from a couple life insurance policies I have had for decades. I was able to tap about $75k at rates from 5.3-5.7% relatively quickly, and fund the rest of the work out of savings. For the ~2.5 months or so of renovations my lending costs were a few $1000s, easily covered by the higher sale price. I repaid all of my policy loans after closing, so can tap these funds again in future if needed. Thank you for constantly plugging "just run the numbers" to your audience. 3) I wanted to keep my equity in real estate, but closer to home instead of in CA, so also took advantage of the BP market analysis tools, as well as suggestions for setting up a team in a new market. After looking at NYC and other markets, I decided to reinvest in Rochester, NY, which is performing fairly well and is much more affordable than NYC. BP's deal analysis tools helped me quickly evaluate several deals and start making offers quickly. I was pretty conservative in underwriting so didn't win out on my first offers, but in November I purchased a duplex near downtown in a highly walkable / travel friendly part of town. Rents are in the range of $3k/month on a $325k purchase, so not quite hitting the "1% rule" m, but close enough for me to be comfortable getting into the market. Thank you to everyone on the BP team for covering a wide range of topics - many of those were valuable for me in 2024 and I hope to make more progress on my investing in 2025!

Used to be an amazing podcast, but unfortunately the podcast usually starts with two full ads, then the host talks for like 30 seconds about what the theme will be about and then guess what? Two more ads. I will unsubscribe .

Omaha, Nebraska, is a prime real estate investment destination due to its booming development projects, like the $950M Eppley Airfield expansion and a $1.3B urban core revitalization supported by a future streetcar system. Forbes named Omaha the "Best City to Move to in 2024" for its affordability, economic opportunities, and safety. With rapid economic growth, quality of life, and supportive infrastructure, Omaha offers promising returns and a thriving community for investors. Ted Kaasch REIA Radio Podcast

I’ve always appreciated this podcast and the thoughtful approach of the host. However, I was disappointed with the recent episode featuring Debra Kamin. While she claimed to be reporting on NAR in an unbiased manner, her personal beliefs on political issues, like abortion, were apparent through her tone and side comments. These views felt out of place in a discussion that should have remained focused on the topic at hand. I value balanced reporting and hope future episodes stay true to that standard.