Greg McKinney Mineola Texas

  5 Things First-Time Homebuyers Must Know Before Taking out a Mortgage By: Greg McKinney Mineola TX   If you’re thinking about buying your first home, there are some things you should know to increase your chance of mortgage approval. Even in today’s competitive real estate market, first-time homebuyers have many opportunities to get a home, but it all starts with knowing how to get approved for a mortgage.   You Must Check your Credit   Your credit is the first thing lenders look at and use to decide if you’ll qualify for financing. Everyone gets free access to their credit reports – use it.   Check your credit report for any of the following: Late payments Use of more than 30% of your credit line Collections Inaccurate information Dispute any incorrect information, bring late payments current, and pay any large outstanding credit lines down to improve your credit score.   You Need Money for a Down Payment AND Closing Costs You might ...

  Let’s talk about a new tax coming in 2022. It’s not exactly a new tax but it's a new way that the IRS are going to keep tabs on your finances even down to your garage sales. I'll explain that in a second, so on January 1, 2022, new laws are being put into place that 1099 reporting will be implemented and it will be mandatory for payment platforms like Vimeo, cash app, and PayPal. What it means is that there will be a 1099 issued for anyone who receives $600 or more in transactions throughout the entire year. Currently, to give you an idea how different this is, a lot of people believe it’s normal but it's not normal for these payment apps. This is for anybody selling things or receiving payment on payment platforms like PayPal and that's $600 throughout the year total. Currently, to give an idea how big of a deal this is or how big of a change from the current rule it is, those payment platforms do not have to issue a 1099 unless at least $20,000 of transactions have ...

  Hello, I'm Greg McKinney a long time real estate investor from Mineola Texas. This ever changing real estate market we are currently living in is fascinating to watch. One area growing rapidly is multifamily housing. Many investors are discovering the benefits of investing in  multifamily housing.  They have also discovered there is a huge increasing demand for these types of residences. Younger people are renting longer before purchasing their first home and older adults are moving into smaller spaces. These are to two main contributing factors to the increase in  demand for multifamily housing . This type of housing has traditionally always done well no matter what the economy is doing. As I previously mentioned, the demand for this type of housing is driven by 2 main sectors. The younger generation is renting for longer periods than ever before. Many think the primary reason is student load debt. Their student loan debt is pulling down the actual amount they...

Hello,  I’m Greg McKinney from Mineola TX and we have remodeled dozens of homes here in East Texas over the past 30 years. Whether you are working on your personal home or investment property, one thing I have learned over the years is to always spend your money where you will receive the highest return on your investment. Think through each project you are doing thoroughly. If you’re thinking about updating or remodeling your home it’s a good idea to invest your money in the areas of your home where you will get the best return for your money. You want to add as much value to your home as possible while spending the least amount possible. Here is a list of the main projects I would recommend. We will dive deeper into each in this article. Paint Adding Faux Stone Updating the Kitchen New Siding The top thing you can do to update your home is a fresh coat of paint inside and out. It is amazing how drastic paint can change the appearance of a home. It can get costly to hire this done...

With the vast majority of homes across the United States going under contract within the first month it’s creating another new problem we haven’t seen before in this red hot real estate market. With very few homes available to purchase sellers are having difficulty finding another home to purchase after the home they are selling goes under contract. Many are not accepting offers on their homes until they find another home to purchase. Some are writing up the contracts to allow the sellers to lease the homes for several months after the sell to give them time to find a new home. In some cases these sellers are paying extremely high monthly rent just to stay in the home they just sold. Scheduling the purchase of your new home with the same time you sell your old home has become almost impossible. We are even see the sellers lease the home they just sold for as long as 6 month to give themselves as much time as possible to find a new home. Many sellers are refusing to accept contingency...

The American mortgage market has a long history of ups and down. As the economy rises and falls so does the mortgage market. Mortgages have enabled millions of Americans to live the American dream of owning a home but mortgages have also caused the ease of getting a mortgage to have that dream turn into a nightmare when everything does not go as planned. As economies rise and fall through good times, recessions and depressions it can really take a financial toll on families especially those who have borrowed more money than they should have to purchase a home. It’s amazing to look back at home much the mortgage industry has evolved over time. Mortgages started way back in ancient civilization. Most historians believe before written documents were prepared, people would make a verbal agreement to pay for a piece of land over time to the sellers. Some of the earliest records of mortgages are from Rome and India. The Romans kept actual ownership of the property with the lender/owner unt...

The shows on TV make it look so easy. Find a cheap house, make a few cosmetic repairs and sell it for a huge profit. They make it look like so much fun that everyone is doing it. Homes are being flipped all over the country but as many first-time flippers are learning it isn’t as easy as it seems. Many miss basic things and either lose money or make very little. Here are a few mistakes new flippers make and how you can avoid them. Flipping houses is a serious business and it requires a large amount of research before jumping in. Most new investors do not realize the time and money it will take to do a project. Most investors believe they can physically have the skills and knowledge to do the work themselves, but they quickly find out that is not the case. Having good judgment and making good decisions is extremely important when investing in real estate. A very simplified explanation of house flipping is you simply want to buy the house as low as you can and sell it for as much as ...