How To Realistically Get Started As A Real Estate Investor
December 31, 2008
When it comes to real estate investing, most beginners find themselves with plenty of desire, a little bit of knowledge (from books, seminars, online message boards or something like that) and in most cases they have little or no money to get started with. Does this sound like you? If so you are not alone. Not by a long shot.
If you’ve spent any time online researching this topic you will have undoubtedly found a countless number of articles, books, CD sets and boot camps out there that all promote some super duper “investing secret or technique” that will teach you everything you need to know to be successful.. even if you have no money or experience in the business. Call me a “kill joy”, but in my experience, these types of things are not very realistic.
I’m NOT saying that these super secret secrets can’t produce success. I’m saying for most normal and sincerely interested people (like my 65 year old single Mother), the sophisticated & sometimes pushy techniques that are often touted by the “gurus” are simply not a viable option for them.
Buy or Sell First?
December 30, 2008
When it comes to home buying, the ideal situation would be to find a new home, just as you receive an offer on your existing home. You would then be able to close concurrently and move into your new home a few days prior to closing on your previous home. This does happen more often than not, but anyone looking to buy a new home needs to consider all the possible scenarios.
Should you buy or sell first? There are many schools of thought on this subject. Ultimately, it depends on you and your situation. For instance, can you afford to pay two mortgages in the event your previous home does not sell by the time you move? Would you consider a bridge loan (a short-term, high interest loan that let you borrow against the value of your old home to covers the bills until you secure the new, larger loan)? Are you willing to move twice to find the home of your dreams if you sell first and can’t find the dream home fast enough?
This is where the advice of a real estate sales professional is invaluable. Real estate sales professionals know the current market conditions. They are trained and experienced in working with home buyers and sellers to determine an ideal time to buy and sell.
Buying a Home: The 5 Biggest Mistakes that a Home Buyer Makes
December 30, 2008
As a Professional Real Estate Inspector I get to see and hear the right and wrong things people do when buying a home. These 5 tips will help you choose the right Real Estate Agent the first time.
Mistake #1: Not using an agent at all or using the Listing Agent as your ‘Agent’. Not smart at all. By law, the listing agent is required to keep the Sellers best interest at stake, not yours! Why would anyone enter into a relationship handicapped like this?
I’m not aware of any state that makes a Buyer pay for their Agent. The Buyers agent normally gets paid from a cut of the Listing fees or the commissions are split.
If you choose wisely, you can put a trained real estate professional on your side for free! A true Buyers agent can help you negotiate a contract, fly through the mountain of paperwork, help you find the right home and help you schedule the needed inspections and appointments necessary when you do find your dream home.
Mistake #2: Relying on the Home Inspector your Agent recommends: I’m still amazed at how many people will blindly take the advice and recommendation of their Agent, or of the Listing Agent, when choosing an Inspector.
Purchasing Florida Investment Property And Various Considerations
December 29, 2008
Purchasing Florida Investment Property
Considering researching the purchase of Florida Investment Property or properties for sale in central Florida? Do you find yourself wishing you didn’t have that lawn to mow and the constant upkeep on a home? Purchasing Florida Investment Property can relieve you of all those household chores but purchasing a Florida Investment Property requires you do some homework. You need to know what you are looking for in a Florida Investment Property. Some important things to consider in Florida Investment Property are: size, price, location and future salability. Are you looking for the best price on an economy unit, or do you desire luxury Investment Property with more to offer. Prices on Florida Investment Property will vastly vary depending on size, location and other amenities provided. Remember to keep the main thing in mind when purchasing Florida Investment Property: location, location, location. This is the most likely factor in determining whether your purchase of Florida Investment Property will escalate in value. A Florida Investment Property location near banks, shopping, restaurants and cultural venues in a growing real estate sales area will probably mean home values will continue to escalate. The market can always be volatile but purchasing Florida Investment Property in areas such as this will give you a greater chance of profitable resale value.
Where is Florida Investment Property
December 28, 2008
Florida Investment Property ? Why Investing is a Wise Decision There are many reasons to purchase investment property in Florida, the foremost being value appreciation. Property values generally rise while debt decreases; making real estate purchases a good investment. Every year since 1968, the national median home price has risen. Usually, home values increase at around the rate of inflation, with a greater increase possible. In recent years, median prices have increased by as much as 9 percent, making purchasing investment property in Florida a wise long term investment. Building equity is an excellent reason to purchase investment property in Florida. Equity grows over time for owners while renters don’t see any return on their money. Purchasing property forces you to save, making you a wise investor without realizing it. Owning investment property in one Florida location may make it possible for you to expand, purchasing a second and third property as rental profits increase. Owning investment property in Florida gives you borrowing power, the ability to use your property equity to borrow funds for your own use, or for further investment. Owning investment property in Florida gives you a sense of stability, not only for the consistent rental income, but for the potential of it becoming a regular seasonal vacation home for your family. Imagine the pleasure and ease of knowing where you are going to vacation, there’s no need to decide on location and try to compete to make reservations, with prices changing every year. There is stability on owning an investment property in Florida that can also be used as a family vacation resort.
Buying Beach Houses in New Zealand: Real Estate and Investment Opportunities
December 27, 2008
Buying a beach house in New Zealand offers many possibilities.
New Zealand is made up of two main islands, North Island and South Island, giving it miles of coastal lands and perfect beaches to live by. Each island offers its own unique climate conditions and way of life.
Make Money from the Real Estate investment
One aspect to consider when you think about buying a beach house in New Zealand is the possibility of earning money from it. There are several ways to do this. You could rent or lease your house to tourists. You could also live in it with an eye toward selling it for more than you paid for it in the not to distant future. The New Zealand real estate market is rapidly growing, and giving someone else a chance to buy a New Zealand beach house could earn you a lot of money.
Rules for Investment
If you are interested in buying a beach house in New Zealand as an investment property, visit www.landlords.co.nz. It will be important for you to know about taxes, mortgages in New Zealand, and learn if you have to be a New Zealand resident to be a New Zealand landlord, and find answers to the many other questions you’ll most likely have.
Are You Tired of Tenants, Toilets, and Trash?
December 26, 2008
Wouldn’t you rather go to Tahiti? Are you a landlord with rental property whose value has significantly appreciated? Are you ready to cash in those profits and take that trip to Tahiti?
Before selling your property, check with your accountant who will tell you that you will be paying $60,000 in Capital Gains Tax to Uncle Sam. Your accountant will also tell you that adding another $20,000 to your income by that sale is called recaptured depreciation. This will bump you into the next tax bracket and doom you next April 15th into sending the IRS a check for maybe another $7,000.
Are you still ready to sell that property? It looks like that trip to Tahiti is going to be sometime in the far future?
But wait! You decide to check with your realtor and then find out about a 1031 exchange to defer your Capital Gains. Your realtor tells you if you buy another like-kind rental property of equal or greater value, you won’t get hit with the gains tax on the sale. That is all fine and good, but it does not really get you out of the headaches associated with collecting rent, keeping your unit occupied, finding clean/classy tenants that won’t trash the place, nor does it keep you from getting that 2am call to fix an overflowing toilet. To top this off, now you have to pay more in property taxes and must charge higher rent.
3 of the 5 Ways Real Estate Can Take Advantage of Blogs and RSS
December 25, 2008
Earlier this month, Realtor Magazine announced that they would be featuring an article about Tampa Bay Realtor John Mudd and the success he has been having in attracting prospects and media attention with his blog on real estate. Since then, many others in the Real Estate market have been curious about how to implement similar strategies to capture leads in their areas.
This article is part of a series that provides insight to the unique ways that the strategy of blogging and the use of RSS and/or Atom feeds can be applied as part of your web promotion strategy.
1. Capture better search engine positioning for your local market with a blog.
By now it’s apparent that blogs with unique content can bring you better search engine rankings. This advantage is strengthened when you use a blog software tool that enables you to publish posts on your own server, which we’ll go over in more detail in part two of this article series.
RSS and Blogs bring you special web promotional opportunities that can help your blog and the site where it resides rank higher in search engines, due in part to the way they are organized. Particularly for narrow local markets, this can both widen and deepen your audience within 3 - 8 weeks with proper implementation.
Why Real Estate Investment?
December 25, 2008
Why should you invest in real estate? Well, investing in real estate for profit is one of the most popular approaches to generating additional income in the United States today. In fact, if you pay attention to recent press you will have seen numerous reports about the real estate investment craze that seems to be sweeping the Nation.
When done carefully and intelligently, real estate can yield fantastic benefits that can not be achieved through any other type of investment. Here are just a few examples of why real estate investing can be such a powerful wealth generator.
1. Real Estate Markets Are Slow to React - Although real estate, like everything else, has ups and downs, it is generally a lot slower to react than the stock market. For example, you won’t get up in the morning and discover that your real estate investment is worth ten or twenty percent less than it was yesterday.
2. Leverage. You can borrow money to buy real estate, whereas, generally you can not borrow money to buy stocks. You can control a large dollar value of real estate with a small amount of your own money by using loans and mortgages. The stock market, by law, limits the amount of leverage (margin) you can use to buy stock. There are no such limits with real estate.
The Bubble Effect
December 24, 2008
Turn on the TV at almost any time day or night and you will find news and talk shows informing us that there is a Real Estate bubble. What is a "bubble" and how do they know? The simple principle of what goes up must come down is being applied in general thought now and many in the public are starting to buy it. Let’s sit down, think logically and see if there is indeed a bubble or if there is room to grow.
Challenge 1: The "Investors" are driving the market upward and when they leave, everything will crash.
This of course is completely false. Let’s start by looking at home loans 5-10 years ago. A person with a decent credit score would have to pass a bunch of hurdles and put down 5-10%. On a $200,000 homes, this meant coming up with $10,000 - $20,000. The Internet was around, but still a mystery to most. Fast forward to today. The Internet is widely used by everyone from the grade school child to the senior citizen. The flow of information is simply amazing and because of this people are being educated quickly. People are no longer limited to just those they personally know. Loans are now easier to get. Someone with decent credit can walk into a home with zero down now.
