Real Estate: Reasons and Priorities for Purchasing Property
April 30, 2007
Real Estate: Reasons and Priorities for Purchasing Property. It’s not just about Real Estate as an Investment.
By Jody Hudson www.JodyHudson.com
Real Estate can be a great investment with unusual appreciation. We have had several years years of exceptional annual appreciation.
We are still having great appreciation, perhaps as much as 20% annually in some areas. But, it is not as extensive nor as much as it was. Real Estate as an investment can be fairly good to best in the world — but it is an investment that is best viewed over the long term; There can be long periods when it does not go up in value much, if at all. Taken over a period of decades or even centuries, nothing on earth beats it.
Another problem with real estate is that it is not liquid, that is, it is not easy to convert to cash — like stocks, bonds, and savings accounts are. Real estate is particularly non-liquid during a downturn in our markets. You will
not likely hear this anywhere else, especially from other Realtors, but real estate is not a great investment, it is usually a good investment but not always, and not all the time — when looked at short term.
Cheap, Bargain, Real Estate; Good Deals, Below Market, Low Priced Properties Are Available…
April 30, 2007
Cheap, Bargain, Real Estate; Good Deals, Below Market, Low Priced properties are available if you know how to buy them.
By Jody Hudson - Realtor since 1972.
How to FIND and BUY: Cheap Bargain Real Estate, Good Deals, Below Market, Low Priced and Less Expensive; homes, lots, land, businesses, and condominiums. They are everywhere and easy to find. Here is how to find and buy them from anyone, anywhere.
This article lays out the steps: How to find and buy a Bargain, A Good Deal, in real estate; that is; how to get it real cheap! Yes, there are ways!
Nearly every call or e-mail that I get is asking me to find the buyer a bargain. We all feel that way when we are buying as well. All of us want a good deal. We all want to get cheap real estate. And we can all do it.
There is a bit of a challenge however. Every single buyer that I’ve ever had in my thirty two years of selling real estate has wanted to sell the property they have for more than it is worth. Herein lays our challenge as Realtors — and of course for you as purchasers.
How to Make the Real Estate Market Work For You and Get The Most Money
April 29, 2007
How to make the Real Estate market work for you and get the most money.
Dad always said that Real estate is a good investment because they don’t make it anymore. Because they are so busy these days anyone selling your home may be thinking more of listing more homes than your welfare. If you plan on selling and moving you will need to take some simple steps to get the most money you can.
Most Real Estate companies do a good job but in a sellers market you can probably sell your home yourself. Anyway if you have the time it won’t hurt to try. If it doesn’t sell then you can always call the pros in latter. The internet has been a blessing to the average person. Not only can you sell many things you don’t need anymore, you can even sell your home on the net at sites like PropertytraderUSA.com. Thousands of people visit sites like this looking for a new home. Even if your home is with a Broker you can still speed things along by putting low cost ads on the internet.
How to Price Your Property?
April 28, 2007
A house properly priced is half sold. But there are plenty of ways to price it improperly.. * You can’t go by what you paid for the place. Perhaps you bought two years ago when local prices were skyrocketing, and things have cooled off since. Perhaps houses like yours can now be bought for less, and if you hold out for what you paid, you’ll just waste your time.. On the other hand, perhaps prices in your area have taken off, and you’d short-change yourself if you just tried to “get my money out” (but you’d have a fast sale.). * You can’t go by how much you’ve spent on improvements. A given street will support only a given price range. If you’ve invested so much that yours would be the most expensive house on the street, the buying public is not likely to reimburse you.. * You can’t go by your tax assessment figure. Even in communities that aim at full-value assessments, the figures are almost never in line with what buyers are currently ready to pay.. So how do you price your house?. By putting yourself in a buyer’s shoes.. What else is for sale in the area? How does it compare with your house? How long has it been on the market? What has sold recently, and how much did the buying public value it at? What has failed to sell in the past year?. Any good broker can furnish the data you need, often in the form of a chart known as a CMA, Comparative Market Analysis. . And once you have it, again think like a buyer. What price would it take for you to look at a list and say to an agent “Take me to see that one”?.
Joint Ventures In Real Estate Development; So How Do They Work?
April 27, 2007
There are many reasons why you would consider joining with another person to undertake a development project in Joint Venture.
Usually the most basis reason reveolves around something you don’t have.
Some of them may be:
1. I own land … have capital & capacity to borrow … but no experience.
2. I have capital & capacity to borrow … partner has land … both have no experience.
3. I am ‘time poor’ … work full time and can’t be personally involved …
Let’s suppose you want to find a land owner who will put their land into the Joint Venture, (JV) and their land will be their major contribution to the deal, plus some borrowings.
Let’s consider the implications of entering into a JV in the first place.
After all, in a JV you have to take into account another persons attitude, decision making process, (or inability to make a decision), whether they have a logical and sensible mind … the list goes on.
So, getting into a JV must have a good payback for you. Whatever you lack is usually the reason for entering into a JV.
How to Get Financing after Filing Bankruptcy
April 26, 2007
If you’re thinking about buying a home but have declared bankruptcy in the past, don’t give up hope. There are still ways for you to be able to find a loan, even if your credit history is less than sterling.
Lenders make various kinds of home loans, normally graded from “A” all the way down to “D.” The more problems that show up on your credit report–slow pays, late pays, or even bankruptcy–the lower the grade of loan you’ll be able to qualify for. If you’re employed and have a relatively good income, you’ll get better terms, even though you won’t qualify for a “Grade A” loan. The longer you’ve been at your current job, the better, because it shows stability.
Here are some general rules about the qualifications lenders look for before giving consumers the various grades of home loans:
To qualify for an AA loan, lenders must see no late payments or any other difficulties when they look at your credit history for the past two years. First, we’ll look at the top of the line loans, all in the A grade category.
Budgeting Your Log Home: Where Do You Start?
April 25, 2007
The Log home industry has matured these last many years, but there is still a lot of confusion about how much a log home costs. Naturally, everyone wants to know the cost of the log package; however, the budgeting only starts here. If you are shopping for a milled log package (as opposed to hand-crafted, which is a totally different category), the difference between one manufacturer’s price and another is minimal when compared to the total cost of the structure. Here are some reasons why:
Other materials. The logs themselves only form a portion of the material costs of the home. Once the log walls are erected, you still have to worry about a floor, a roof, the windows, the doors, the plumbing, the kitchen… the list goes on and on. Some manufacturers quote a “weathered-in shell” which includes the logs, the windows and roof - all the elements that enclose the building (protecting the house against the weather). Other manufacturers only quote the log package, and leave it to the contractor to provide the other materials locally. When pricing a log package, make sure you are comparing “apples to apples”.
Purchasing Property With No Money Down: My Personal Experience
April 25, 2007
Have you ever seen those infomercials about buying houses with "No Money Down?" They are really well done. They have all kinds of people offering great testimonials about how they have gotten rich, buying rental properties, with absolutely no money out of their pocket. You see this guy, standing on a street corner, talking to someone, and he says, "I own that one," pointing to a beautiful colonial. "I also own that one next to it, and the one two doors down, and I’ll be closing on the one directly across the street from it, next week." He then assures us that he has purchased 17 homes in the last eight or ten months, with zero money down on the properties. Plus, in many cases he’s also paid no closing costs.
And, let’s not forget, this same guy is grossing tens of thousands of dollars monthly, and his net worth is nearly one million dollars. So, he says.
Now, all of this looks wonderful, so when the person selling the course that will teach you how to do this, at a nifty price of just $297.00, speaks, you are glued to his every word. "Real estate is the safest and fastest way to make money, today," the expert will tell you.
How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home By Owner
April 24, 2007
One questions many “for sale by owner” sellers ask is “how can I determine if a potential buyer can afford to buy my house?” In the real estate industry this is referred to as “pre-qualifying” a buyer. You might think this is a complex process but in reality it is actually quite simple and only involves a little math.
Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand. The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for “principal, interest, taxes and insurance. This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The second term is “RATIO”. The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI. Still with me? Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.). This ratio is sometimes referred to as the “front end ratio”. When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the “back end ratio”.
Can I Sell My Private Mortgage Notes?
April 23, 2007
In this country millions of homes are sold every year. In most cases buyers go to a bank or finance company to seek mortgage financing.
In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:
? The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage. ? The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees. ? The seller may be interested in having a long-term income stream.
Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer’s ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Peacock Capital provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.
We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the “Check is in the mail” Or, “Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?” Or, “Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?” Etc.
