You are here: Home / Archives for Real estate

Now That You Are Ready to Buy, What Comes Next?

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You have good or excellent credit, or maybe you qualify for federal programs to help you purchase a home, like HUD; you have saved a down payment, calculated your budget and know how much you can afford as a monthly mortgage payment. And you don’t even need paycheck advance anymore. Now what do you do?

You will want to find a real estate broker to help you find the right property and make the deal. Though some people think it will save money to try and manage this part alone, in many situations, particularly when dealing with federal home buying programs, a real estate broker is required to make the deal. A real estate broker can also help you determine a price range, find a property, a lender, broker the deal, and help your with everything until after the closing. Real estate brokers can save you time, energy, and stress throughout the home buying process. Though a broker cannot tell you exactly what to bid for a property they can advise you and make suggestions, but ultimately you have to make the final decision.

One step that can speed up the process is to get prequalified with a lender. If a property owner gets two equal bids, but one buyer is prequalified for a loan and the other bid is contingent on qualifying for the loan, the homeowner or builder will usually accept the bid from the prequalified buyer over the other bid. This does not mean that being prequalified means a seller will accept any bid because you are a prequalified buyer. It just means that the seller knows you can get the loan if your bid is accepted.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Got Curb Appeal?

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Farm House & Cabin

Image by fredthechicken via Flickr

 

“Curb appeal” is something everyone who owns real estate knows of; it simply means how nice the house and yard look from the street. When someone’s selling a house, curb appeal is essential.

 

One way to get curb appeal is to plant flowers in the yard. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, especially if the work is done by the owner. Choose perennials so they don’t have to be replanted and choose plants that have low maintenance and long blooming time for the amount of sun the yard gets.

 

People often rally the aid of friends and family to help with yard work or painting, which always helps for curb appeal. It can be surprising how much a fresh coat of paint or a pressure washing helps the look of a home. Choose a color that’s not stark in comparison to those around it.

 

Don’t Forget the Concrete

 

The driveway, sidewalks and any cement paths can be pressure washed for a very clean look. Go over them first with water and Dawn or Cascade dishwashing soap and a broom until an oil stain is gone, then pressure wash again.

 

Is there moss or leaves on the roof and in the gutters? Moss will cause dry rot, gutters stuffed with leaves and needles will clog the works and then water will spill over the sides.  This makes for holes and puddles in the yard near the house; plus, full gutters draw heat away from the house, so it makes good sense to keep them cleaned out.

 

Spruce the place up as much as possible and it’ll sell faster.

 

 

Filed Under: General, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Investing in Your First Rental Property

May 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Single-family home 2 

Image via Wikipedia

Should you invest in a rental property? The answer depends on your motives.

It’s impossible to give a definitive statement about your prospects, because real estate markets are so specific to location. In terms of the overall economy, 2011 is not considered a good time to buy a house hoping it will appreciate quickly so you can “flip” it for a quick profit. But it’s a better time to buy properties for long-term cash flow, as many markets may have excess inventory and sellers are motivated.

The first step in choosing whether or not to invest is to do your research. Check into the multiple listing services in the towns and neighborhoods you’re interested in. Also visit directory sites such as Canada 411 to see how many thriving real estate-related business are in the area: storage units, moving companies, cleaning services, etc.

Then you’ll need to decide what type of property to buy: single-family dwelling, multi-unit complex or business property?  Single-family homes leased to tenants with the intent to buy is the lowest-risk, least-hassle option.

In a rent-to-own arrangement, your tenant signs a lease agreement, pays a refundable security deposit, and has an option to purchase (with a non-refundable option fee that will be applied to a future down payment). You can offer a rent credit if they pay on time, which can also go toward their down payment. Tenants will typically agree to a higher rent this way.

You’ll also save in advertising costs, as one yard sign reading “Rent to Own” will generate more calls than a dozen newspaper ads.

Filed Under: Landscaping, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Betting on Good Real Estate

April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Flipping a house is always considered a gamble, because you’re putting money upfront to possibly sell for some more money without any assurance that it’ll actually happen. Why would anyone do it? Because there can be big money in it.

In real estate, that’s the name of the game — hitting it big. You don’t know for sure when or how any particular house is going to sell, but you bank on it. It’s like everyone’s sitting at the poker tables with their cards in hand not knowing how the other players are faring; but they play anyway because they might come out on top.

Houses are a fickle beast these days — what with all the foreclosures and short sales. Tricks up the game just a bit. But if you’re smart and savvy, knowing how the market lives and breathes can actually make you quite the weather forecaster. Whether it rains or shines on the market is important to know, so you can know when to strike the hardest. A house has a better chance of selling and selling well when you put it out there at the right time. Then, for sure, your hard work in updating the house, spiffing it up with staging techniques, will pay off in a big way.

Just don’t expect to hit it overnight. Working in real estate is a long process of hits and misses; bear with all of it, and you might not only come out on top, but with some experience to boot. And that, my friends, is probably the most profitable gain in real estate; it’s about the experience.

Filed Under: Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Home Repair Warnings

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most new home owners fall in the trap called a shoddy home. A home that is brought at a very low price, but has to be repaired from scratch, just like building a house entirely from the foundation. The art of differentiating between a good deal and a bad deal in houses is a skills that a few real estate agents master quite skillfully. They do this with years of practice in choosing between houses and making a few mistakes. Even if a real estate agent makes a mistake, he can get rid of it as soon as possible without and does not have to live in it. But if it is a customer who purchases a house with the intention of buying it, then she is in a huge trouble.

Home repairs can end up costing twice as much as you paid for buying the house in the first place. Hence you will need to make sure that whatever you purchase, is worth every penny spent and will require very little money for repairs. The skill to differentiate between repairs that cost very little to repairs that cost a leg and an arm is very important. External things such as painting and landscaping can be done cheaply. It requires very little money to do these.  Hence, don’t let the outer appearance fool you, it is only on the inside that counts. A house is prone to attack by termites; you will have to check properly. A house that is infested with termites will require all of the wood work to be replaced, which easily run into thousands. Foundation, electric and plumbing work too can turn out to be costly if the house is old.

Filed Under: Repairs, Restoration Tagged With: , ,

Budgeting Is Important For Real Estate Investment

February 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are many important factors that need to be understiid by a person before investing in the real estate. One of the most important things is the budgeting for the purchase of the real estate property. This is because of the fact that there are various things that are involved in the purchase and only if the person who is investing saves small amounts of money will the purchase be possible. There are some people who may buy the property through the aid of a financial institution.

This is normal for a person who is in the business of buying and selling property. The person may make a profit on one deal and then the person will be able to compensate for the loss in another property with the profit from the sale of another one. This is the method in which the person will be able to make profits. A real estate investor, who is not doing business but buys each property after doing hard work through money saved after each months expenditure should never buy a property with the money that has been borrowed from any financial institution. This is because of the fact that the value of the land may slip and the person will be left high and dry.The land that was bought cannot be sold because of the decrease in the price. Similarly, the person will not be able to cash out because it is not his own money. The person cannot do anything about it because he has to pay a huge interest for the amount of money that was borrowed from the financial institution. All this will lead the person to get caught in a whirlpool of trouble. So, the person needs to budget a lot and then save money in small amounts each month, to buy the real estate property and make a profit from it.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Landscaping Tagged With: , ,

How To Maximize Revenue From Real Estate

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are several tips that will help those who are investors in the real estate business to make money. There are some people who may invest in the real estate, but they are not able to make money because they do not know when to sell the property. At the same time, there are other people who may sell the property even before it has appreciated in value. All these kind of investments will not help the person to make money. It is important that an investor in real estate knows about the business to be able to make the right amount of money and these tips will help you in making money with your real estate investment.

The first thing that the person who is investing in the real estate needs to think of is that the person should not become too greedy. If the property is for the sake of investment, then the person needs to have a goal. If the goal is achieved in terms of price rise, then the profits should be taken. If the person is invested in it for a long time, then there is a lot of chance for the person suffering from loss as the prices of property is cyclical and it can move down over a period of time.

The investment in the real estate should also be made after assessing the price of the land. There are times when the sale price can be quite high. This is because the price would have been hiked up and this can cause the person who buys it to be unable to sell the property for a profit. To prevent this, the person should do research before buying the property and then buy it for as low a price as possible to increase the chances of making a huge profit on the investment.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

The Various Kinds Of Real Estate Investments

February 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are various kinds of real estate investments that are seen. Some of the common real estate investments that can be made are the investment in the land that has no buildings. This is usually done by a person to just sell after the value of the land has increased. This is the common kind of investment in real estate that is done even by people who know little about real estate.

A real estate business man on the other hand, will invest in properties that can be developed. There are places where there are no buildings on the land. The real estate developer will build a huge building with many apartments. This construction on the property can be done with the help of loan that is got from the bank or other financial institutions. Once the construction is completed, the same building can be re sold for a price that is much larger. So, the person will be able to make a huge profit on the investment that was done.

The other kind of business is one in which the apartments that have been constructed, but have no things in them are bought by a developer. This person will then fit the raw house with various kinds of furnishings and then resell the house that has been developed and has complete furnishings in it. This too will help the person to make huge profits in spite of the expenses that were incurred in furnishing the house.

These are the three different kinds of real estate investments. The person who is investing in the business must make sure that he or she knows about the business before investing a lot of money in it. Though there are some who think that the real estate business is a sure shot method of making money on the internet, it is not true. The truth is that this is not a sure shot method of making money because there are many risks that are involved. After a person has invested a lot of money, the property may not sell leading to huge losses.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Real Estate Investment Should Be Part Of Every Investment Portfolio

February 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Investment is one of the main methods in which a person will be able to save money for the future. There are many instances where the person is invested in various instruments, but the real estate is not a part of the investment. This can lead to a lot of problems for the person, as far as the investment is concerned. This is because of the fact that the real estate investment needs a lot of knowledge other than the regular investment knowledge.

Any person who is planning to invest in the real estate must make sure that the research on the piece of property is done before the investment is made. This is because of the fact that the investment in real estate can be quite daunting for the person who is involved in it. There are many people who do not know on the methods of assessing the value of the land that they are planning to invest in. this makes them to be cheated by the seller. To prevent this and to overcome such problems, the person needs to understand that the investment is done in such a way that the intrinsic value of the land is assessed before investing in it.

The various components of investment include the investment in the fixed deposits, investment in the equity market, investment in gold and also investment in real estate. So, any person who wants to build a proper investment portfolio should make sure that a large chunk of the investment is done in the real estate. In fact, any person who is young should make sure that they buy real estate because the value of land is sire to appreciate a lot over a period of time. The value will appreciate much more than the appreciation in the value of many other asset classes. This will give a lot of return to the people who are invested in these. So, when the real estate is part of the portfolio for long term, there is a huge potential for growth in the value of investment.v

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Purchasing Foreclosed Properties: Smart or Short-sighted?

February 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Foreclosure. You’ve heard about it, but do you know what it is?

If you’re on the receiving end of a foreclosure, it’s not a good thing. It means that you can’t afford any more mortgage payments on your house. While some banks and lenders are a little lenient with a few late payments, if your money is going out faster than it is coming in, you run the risk of foreclosure. If that happens, the bank or lender takes back your mortgaged property, which you originally put down as a sort of collateral upon signing the ownership rights.

Part of the reason the economy tanked was because banks were offering loans despite their knowledge of a homeowners inability to make sufficient payments on that loan. As tragic as it sounds, the increased rate of foreclosed properties showed promise of profit for real estate prospectors who purchase and later ‘flip’ foreclosed properties. The appeal for ‘flipping’ is real because some foreclosed properties are on the market at rates considerably less than they are worth.

As with anything, there is risk associated with purchasing or moving into foreclosed property. Usually properties are foreclosed due to economic circumstances, rather reasons directly related to the condition of the property. Though a foreclosed property may be being sold at a ‘low rate,’ the actual worth of the property is dependent on economic stability and residential or commercial trends. This is why working cooperatively with an agent familiar with foreclosed purchases can be invaluable in real estate prospecting and forming reasonable moving quotes.

Even if you aren’t prospecting, and are merely looking to move into a new home or property, mortgaging a foreclosed home can be an incredibly intelligent and money-saving decision. However, foreclosed discount rates can waiver anywhere between 5 to 30 percent less than the actual value, so before making a purchase, take time and compile a list of the best moving quotes. The best decisions are never impulsive.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts