There is a money lie that keeps people broke. You have heard it from well-dressed advisors, glossy brochures, and even family members who mean well. The lie is simple: “Hand your money to smarter people and they will take care of it.” It sounds comforting. It also keeps you from ever learning how money really...
For decades, Detroit was written off as a city of abandoned homes and shrinking opportunity. Then, investors showed up. They saw what others didn’t — low prices, rising rents, and an economy slowly rebuilding from the inside out. Today, Detroit is once again in the headlines, but this time for a very different reason. City...
For decades, the “ugly house” strategy was the go-to move for real estate investors. Buy cheap, renovate, and force appreciation. But in today’s market, the numbers don’t pencil how they used to. Renovation costs have skyrocketed. Contractors are in short supply. And the so-called distressed property discount is slimmer than ever. Many investors who cling...
Dead Money vs. Living Money Millions of Americans are sitting on record amounts of home equity right now. The problem? Equity looks great on paper, but by itself it does not pay the bills. That is why I call it dead money. The good news is that there are safe, strategic ways to put that...
On paper, the U.S. economy looks strong. Unemployment is low, inflation has cooled from its 2022 peak, and GDP continues to expand. But if you ask the average American how they feel, the answer is very different. Consumer sentiment today is nearly as pessimistic as it was during the 2008 financial crisis or the stagflation...
Foreclosure Fears Grow as Google Searches for Mortgage Help When you’ve been through as many market cycles as I have, you learn to pay attention to the quiet signals before the headlines hit. And right now, one of those early signals is starting to make noise. Google Trends recently showed a sharp increase in searches...
Are We Heading for a 1970s-Style Economy? When you’ve been investing as long as I have, you start to see patterns. Right now, I feel like I’m standing in a stadium, watching the warm-up before the big game, and it feels an awful lot like the late 1960s. Back then, the U.S. economy was running...
The Next Airbnb Gold Rush? Investing Near These National Parks When most people think about investing in short-term rentals (STRs), they picture trendy city lofts or beachfront condos. But some of the savviest investors I know are heading in a different direction, toward the breathtaking landscapes surrounding America’s national parks. These markets have a unique...
What History Teaches Us About Recessions (And How to Prepare for the Next One) Recessions aren’t new, and they aren’t going away. Whether we are in one right now or heading toward one, what matters most is not the cause of a downturn but how governments and central banks respond to it. After 30+ years...
The Future of Real Estate: Humans + AI (Not Humans vs. AI) By Ken McElroy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries and real estate is no exception. Today, algorithms can scan thousands of data points in seconds, from rent growth and job creation to construction pipelines and demographic shifts. For many investors, that sounds like...
