BDF Realty’s Blog

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44)   I was completely caught off-guard by the Savannah Bananas.  More accurately, I didn’t understand the frenzy around their tickets.   It all started around 6 months ago when my wife casually asked me to...

My 11-year old son has become very interested in football cards.  He used to just like finding players on his favorite team (The Tampa Bay Buccaneers- ugh!  If it wasn’t going to be the Carolina Panthers, could he not pick a team in another division???), but now he has expanded his interest in what the cards are “potentially” worth.   Now his old man had similar interests in his younger...

“You don’t know what you don’t know.” Socrates   It has been a life-long learning process for appreciating professionals in my adult life.  Most of the time, this teaching did not come easily to me.   From fixing cars and watching them break down at inopportune times.  Feeling physically poorly for months until I went to a doctor who had me better in days.  Using bug spray to get rid...

Answer: Yes!  We live in the United State of America.  If you’re the owner, you are always welcome to visit your properties.  This right is usually written into the lease as well.   This is a very short answer (and makes for a very short blog)…   For a longer discussion… the question could be whether it is advantageous for owners to visit their properties if they have a property...

The (FTC) complaint alleges that (a large property management company) advertised monthly rental rates that failed to include mandatory junk fees that could total more than $1,700 yearly… These undisclosed fees ranged from “services” such as “smart home” technology and “utility management,” to air filter delivery and internet packages. Renters could not opt out of paying these fees....

My 9-year old daughter, Emme, decided she wanted to have a family “Thanksgiving Trivia” game this year. She dutifully came up with some questions about the holiday that we’ve celebrated every year. Just through osmosis, I figured that the adults would know most of the answers. How hard could it be? I pictured Pilgrims eating turkey and corn with the natives while celebrating the bountiful...

I went to a newly-opened Mexican restaurant the other day to meet a friend for lunch.  When we entered, I was expecting a nice hostess to say “hello”, take us to our table, and hand us some menus.  Instead, we were greeted with some imposing automated ordering machines.  I looked at my friend and asked him if he knew what to do.  He shook his head “no” and then stepped forward to start pecking...

Being in the industry, high-end home rental stories are interesting to me.  I read a good one from former NBA player, Carlos Boozer, who wrote about the time he rented out his house to the famous singer, Prince, of Purple Rain fame.   Boozer had recently bought an 18,000 square foot, 10 bedroom/13 bathroom house in Bel-Air, California.  Apparently it had once been owned by the president...

“(Warren) Buffett famously bought $5 billion worth of BofA’s (Bank of America’s) preferred stock and warrants in 2011 in the aftermath of the financial crisis, shoring up confidence in the embattled lender struggling with losses tied to subprime mortgages.” 7/30/24 CNBC.com article by Yun Li   “The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance reported about 113 people moved to the Charlotte...

In this month’s edition, we have a riveting property management fairy tale!  Once upon a time in a nice, far-off place called “Charlotte, NC”, a nice landlord put a nice, vacant rental house on the market.  Now the market was not too hot, not too cold, but just right…   The next day, a nice rental application was submitted for it.  And the day after that, another nice rental application...