BDF Realty’s Blog

  Most people own a car.  Statistically, there are more registered cars in the United States than there are licensed drivers!  And people have different strategies on their ownership depending on that they want to pay.  Some people like expensive foreign cars, other people just want a “beater” to get them from point A to point B.  Some keep them a long time; others keep them less than a...

  “If you hire someone to dig up dirt, they’re going to dig up dirt.” Bob Warner (Season 2 of the television show 24)   It’s hard to be part of the police force these days.  Most of what is reported about the profession is unfavorable.  And it can seem like they focus on lesser crimes while neglecting larger crimes that seem to go unabated.  Who hasn’t heard some variation of, “Why...

  “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)   As a long time Charlotte property manager, the growth of the city and its real estate here has been amazing.  I guess when you’ve been doing something for so long, you wind up telling stories about how...

  No one comes into my house! It’s a privacy issue. It’s a security issue. I won’t allow it! No… No… No, no, no! That’s not legal! Is it?   So goes a few of the responses from tenants when we begin showings for prospective renters of the house while they are still living there (typically between 30-45 days prior to their lease expiration). And guess what? We’ve never met a...

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown in prison.” Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:25)   My wife and I have been watching the old legal TV show, The Practice, lately. What an exciting show! Bobby...

  You are an apple farmer- a good one! You know your soil, got the regular watering down, and are complimented often for how crisp and tasty your apples are. You write a pretty good blog about them too.   On the business side, you price your apples the way your father did. You factor in all your costs and then add your 50% mark-up; it usually comes out around $1.00/pound. Your...

  As a property manager in Charlotte with investor clients, we are often asked where the best places are to buy local investment properties.   When I was a young real estate investor in 2004, I bought my first two investment properties on the same day from HUD. Both were relatively cheap and I figured they’d be easy to cash flow. I admittedly did not really know what I was doing....

  What do former NBA players Jack Sikma, Devean George, Vern Mikkelsen, and Terry Porter have in common?   I’m a big basketball fan, but had only heard of 3 out of the 4. And I had no idea what they had in common.   Answer: They all came to the NBA after playing at a Division 3 college. That’s pretty hard to do. It’s so hard, in fact, that they are the ONLY players to ever make...

  As a property manager in Charlotte, we conduct a lot of rental house showings.  Typically afterwards, the tenant is either interested in the house and submits an application or is not interested and goes incommunicado with us.  Fair enough.   But sometimes we get an e-mail like below:   Hi BDF Realty,   I saw the rental house today and liked it.  However, I was wondering if...