Year of the Residential Real Estate Investor

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Published Date: 2014-01-22

Real estate investment tools are making it easier for individuals to succeed in residential real estate investments and all signs are pointing to 2014 as the start of mainstream acceptance of residential property investments. Kimberly Smith is a serial real estate entrepreneur who had spent the past few years trying to get a real estate investment book published with no success. Publishers just kept telling Kimberly “no one is buying real estate books.” Not a person to take no for an answer, Kimberly believed there was a huge need to support individuals understand that residential real estate is not just for your primary home, but has the ability to be a profitable and viable investment. Kimberly Smith, the co-founder of Corporate Housing by Owner (CHBO) and AvenueWest Corporate Housing, a real estate brokerage offering full service property management, knew firsthand that there was a demand for real estate knowledge. While the news portrayed the real estate crash Kimberly was fielding thousands of calls from property owners across the United States asking for help with their real estate. Even though these, “accidental landlords” had not planned on being landlords, as a result of the downturn in the economy, they were forced into this new world of real estate investment. According to the newly released “by Owner” Corporate Housing Annual Report these property owners are not just surviving, they are thriving in their new roles as real estate investors. In 2013 91% of survey respondents reported that their properties were profitable or break-even. In addition 36% predict that 2014 will be more profitable than 2013. Kimberly’s first goal was to create a “What If” real estate book that anyone would want to pickup and be the type of item you could find at Starbucks. She understood the demand for knowledge and not just from serious investors, the demand was also there on the basics, ABCs of investing. If there could just be a fundamental resource for the everyday person that allowed them to know what questions to ask, which directions to go or which decisions to make, Kimberly believed this would be an amazing resource. But the publisher’s kept telling her “no.” Finally, in early 2013, Kimberly was approached by Alpha Books a division of the Penguin Group. The publishers had decided the world had changed and there really was a huge demand for real estate investment knowledge and they needed it as soon as possible.  Kimberly, the real estate professional, teamed up with professional writer Lisa Iannucci and a book was born. After 20 years as a real estate agent, broker and property manager Kimberly was able to take all her hard earned knowledge and share it with the rest of the world. The Idiot’s Guides: Making Money with Rental Properties is now available at all major retailers, in paperback, in digital and even at your local library. Kimberly’s belief that, “Being a successful landlord means more than just buying a place, finding tenants, and colleting rent. Success is all about knowledge that results in residual and sustainable income.” Reinforcing the concept, that 2014 is the year of the real estate investor, Inman News, the thought leader in the real estate industry, just featured real estate investing at their annual Real Estate Connect Conference in New York City. This was the first time in 13 years Inman has feature real estate investing as a conference topic. Kimberly is relieved to know that future real estate investors and accidental landlords now have the resources and knowledge available in the new book. More importantly she is looking forward to the day when buying investment real estate is as common place as buying stocks.