Posted by admin on July 10th, 2008 — Posted in Better Home Improvement, Living With Investment, Realty
Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. Different lenders charge different fees. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.
In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 11 percent. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust? Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 7 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 11 percentage. Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. Buy a new house with geldlening met negatieve bkr registratie, 228201 euro in a week.
Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.
In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 11 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 3 percent. But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 6 percent offered by competitors will change.
A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 6 percent. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 6 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.
To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. See which lenders are charging fees 6 percent and for how much.
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Posted by admin on June 14th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or moving on up the property ladder, home buying can be tricky. How do you draw the line between a money pit and a diamond in the rough? Here are three things to keep in mind. Depending on the circumstances, these might be reasons not to buy.
Neighborhood. Unlike the rental world, where neighbors last a year, a house is a long-term commitment. Your neighbors when you move in may very well be your neighbors for some time to come, and that’s something to keep in mind when looking at a potential new home. Also consider proximity of the house to things like schools, stores, and major roads. If there’s a highway nearby, some questionable properties, an unfriendly feeling, or anything else that feels uncertain, it might be wise to give that house a pass. After all, you might be able to fix your house, but you can’t fix your neighborhood.
Major repairs. Many inexperienced home buyers make the mistake of not checking out every aspect of the property thoroughly. Getting a great deal on a house with a roof that needs replacing is not that great of a deal. Check out the furnace, central air, and the plumbing and electrical systems. Major problems don’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t buy the property, but they should be included in the price negotiations. A good realtor or seller will factor in such considerations, and you may be able to buy the house for less if it’s understood that you’re responsible for replacing the roof. Just don’t get duped. Don’t take anyone’s word that the furnace is new- make sure of it.
Water Damage. Check this one out- thoroughly. Is the house located in a high-flood area? Is something important (like the roof or basement) leaking? If water damage occurred once it’s not likely to stop unless the problem- aka the flow of water- is corrected. This could lead to expensive irrigation systems and internal repairs. I heard a horror story of a house that began with a water spot on a wall, and led to removing the floor and vacuuming out two feet of water. Water damage is often a sign of a bigger problem. Unless you can trace it to its source and identify how to stop it, it might be best to steer away from water-damaged property altogether. Why sign up for trouble?
Keeping your eyes open going into a real estate negotiation is the most important thing. If something doesn’t feel right, trace it backwards until you figure out why, and then decide if it’s worth it to go ahead with the purchase. Sometimes you’ll find it’s easy to walk away from a great house in a bad neighborhood. Other times, you can get your purchase price substantially reduced if you can point out exactly what repairs are needed. The trick is to catch those needed fixes- because the seller may not point them out for you.
Paul Evans is a managing partner for Covenant Mortgage Company in Montgomery, Alabama. They help people purchase or refinance their homes at the lowest rates, while contributing 50% of their profits to mission work. http://wwww.covenant-mortgage.org
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Posted by admin on June 7th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
“A weakening housing market, together with other financial currents in the U.S. Economy, represents the potential final impetus to a ‘Perfect Storm’ brewing over the American Middle Class, and, without luck or prompt legislative action, may lead to disaster, especially for homeowners.” So says Warren R. Graham, a New York Bankruptcy Attorney. The other prevailing currents threatening to collide over the heads of an unsuspecting public, claims Graham, include rising interest rates, limited recourse to bankruptcy relief and the virtual elimination of usury and other restrictions on credit card issuers.
For many millions of Americans, who live “paycheck to paycheck,” the only thing defining their status as Middle Class, and differentiating them from the so-called “Working Class” is their ownership of a home, and the equity accumulated in it. Graham points out that that equity is being eroded by two factors: the first is the threat of declining home values, and the second is the propensity of homeowners, over the last few years, to refinance their homes or take out home equity loans at very low adjustable rates to pay off high interest credit card debt. Now, Graham says, the equity is at risk, because of the softening in the market, the fact that the adjustable rates have risen consistently (and are expected to continue to do so), and the reality that much of it has already been borrowed out to pay off credit card debt, and for other purposes, such as home improvement.
Coupled with the risk of declining home equity, Graham argues, is an enormous, and, to date, largely invisible swinging of the pendulum toward the credit card issuers, and their sponsoring banks. After years of intense lobbying (on both sides of the political aisle) by that constituency, the bankruptcy laws have been extensively rewritten, so as to restrict, severely, access to certain kinds of bankruptcy relief, especially for those who, while certainly not well-off, earn above their respective state’s median income. “Credit card holders, of course, had no lobbyists on retainer,” says Graham.
At the same time, the same financial institutions have found creative ways, by re-domiciling themselves in states hungry for their business, such as South Dakota, to avoid the restrictions of usury laws. So now, observes Graham, it is not unusual for your credit card interest rate, if you are carrying a balance, to rise suddenly from that 5% “teaser rate,” to an unprecedented 32%, in the event of a default. “And worse,” Graham points out, “a ‘default’ doesn’t have to be non-payment. Your cardholder agreement, which you likely have not read, allows periodic review of debt to income ratios, and problems with other creditors as a justification to change rates on almost no notice.”
Add to that the changes in banking procedures, by which banks have restructured their “minimum payment” requirements on cardholders carrying balances, “and that monthly $250 minimum payment has now jumped to $600, or more, multiplied by the number of cards the consumer may be carrying.” The homeowner who wants to do something about this has a much harder time doing so, according to Graham. “His or her house has less equity, because of a softening market, or because it has already been tapped by the homeowner, and the cost of borrowing against it is higher, by virtue of climbing mortgage rates.”
In the meantime, the Middle Class homeowner’s income has not even remotely kept pace with these increased costs, Graham points out. “And this does not even take into account the likely substantial effect of rising gasoline and energy costs.” “And when the homeowner finally reaches the end of his or her tether,” says Graham, ” his or her income level may prevent recourse to bankruptcy. Chapter 7 liquidation may be unavailable altogether, and Chapter 13, in which a percentage of creditor obligations are paid over time, while mortgage debt remains intact, may not be feasible, because the income may simply not support the cost of financing a repayment plan.” Thus, Graham concludes, bankruptcies may be dismissed, and homeowners may have to dispose of their properties, or worse, lose them to creditors in satisfaction of their mounting debts.
According to Graham, “one does not need a crystal ball to see that a potential debacle is looming for the Middle Class homeowner.” Unless pure luck prevents these currents in the economy from coming together, or unless the U.S. Congress revisits its ill-conceived bankruptcy reform (especially that part of it geared to consumer debt) and state banking departments review their willingness to ignore usury prohibitions that date back to biblical times, disaster may await.
“The credit card industry, in the flush days of the late 1990’s started down this path,” says Graham, “and may have overplayed its hand. But without attention and intervention by legislators and regulators, the victim is likely to be the backbone of this Countrythe American Middle Class.”
Warren R. Graham is a New York attorney with the Firm of Cohen Tauber Spievack & Wagner LLP. He is a frequent writer on a variety of topics, including legal matters, political and religious affairs. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of his firm or its members. Additional information on him may be found at either http://www.ctswlaw.com/templates/page3_attorney.asp?docid=667.com or at http://warrenrgrahamlegal.blogspot.com.
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Posted by admin on June 3rd, 2008 — Posted in Realty
There are several advantages to getting mortgage pre-approval before looking for a home.
Being pre-approved for a loan lets you know how much you can borrow towards a home, your agent can help you find a home within the loan amount you’re pre-approved for, and a seller of a home is more likely to accept your offer than someone who has not been pre-approved for a loan yet.
Your lender will review your credit, financial, and employment information during the mortgage pre-approval process after you fill out an application.
Once you qualify for a loan, you will receive a mortgage approval letter. It will contain a maximum loan amount you’re approved for and how much time you have to use the loan.
This is your bank’s guarantee of the amount they will lend you toward the purchase of a home.
When you are ready to negotiate a price for a home, the seller will be more willing to accept your offer because you already have financing available. A seller would be more reluctant to accept an offer from someone who doesn’t have the money yet to buy the home, because the offer can fall through if the buyer can’t come up with the money at the time of closing.
The advantages of having mortgage pre-approval puts you in a better position to look for houses that you can afford because you already know how much money you can borrow and you already have financing in place when negotiating a price for a home.
Michelle Roebuck provides mortgage and home buying advice for people with bad credit at http://www.find-bad-credit-mortgage-loans.com.
Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.find-bad-credit-mortgage-loans.com/newsletter.html.
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Posted by admin on May 29th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
I invite you to take the next few minutes to learn the truth about the real estate market, how it compares to other methods of building assets and why it is such a lucrative form of investing. Many potential investors will say, ‘I need to get into the Florida Investment Property market’, especially taking into account current stock market fluctuations and the HOT market for investment properties, but simply don’t know the facts about Orlando property investing and how to use sale and leaseback method of property management.
When is the last time your financial advisor or stockbroker tried to convince you that moving a portion of your assets into the Florida Investment Property market might be a good idea? Never Right? The ‘why’ is simple. They don’t earn commissions when you buy Florida Investment Property. It is also likely that you have probably never had an ‘apples to apples’ comparison of stocks versus Florida Investment Property quite like the one you will see here.
Reason 1:
Leverage: Banks will not typically loan money to buy stocks. Banks will however, compete fiercely to loan money to buy Florida Investment Property. Your first question should be, ‘why is that’? It has to do with risk management, which we will discuss later. The fact that banks want to loan you money to buy Florida Investment Property creates a situation which we will call LEVERAGE.
Let’s assume that you have $10,000 to put into some type of investment. If you choose to buy $10,000 worth of stocks, you will own exactly $10,000 worth of stocks. Pretty straight-forward. However, suppose you choose to invest that $10,000 into Florida Investment Property using a 90% mortgage (which in many cases can go up to 95-100% mortgages in today’s market), you will own $100,000 worth of Florida Investment Property. If both of your investments were to appreciate by 10%, your actual gain with your stocks would be $1000 where your actual gain with Florida Investment Property would be $10,000. That equates to an actual 10% return on investment vs. a 100% return on investment. That’s what we call leverage.
Leverage: Florida Real Estate vs. Stocks
The traditional argument against Florida Investment Property Investing (mainly from Stock Brokers) has always been ‘I can get an average of 10% from stocks with little effort so why would I invest in Orlando Investment Property that only appreciates 6-7% per year’? This point-of-view is not taking leverage into account.
If you take the above statement to be true and compare the REAL numbers, the stock investment gained 10% of the initial $10,000 value (or $1000) and the Orlando Investment Property investment gained 6% of the initial $100,000 value (or $6000). That is still an actual return of 10% versus 60%. It is not hard to see which investment provides a greater immediate return on investment. Additionally. these numbers do not take into account any income from your property during the course of the year, or the substantial tax advantages to owning property, which we will discuss later.
Reason 2:
Value: As we mentioned previously, if you invest $10,000 into purchasing stocks, you own $10,000 worth of stocks (a fairly obvious point). If you invest $10,000 into purchasing Orlando Investment Property using the leverage of a 90% mortgage, you own $100,000 worth of Orlando Investment Property right? Well, only if you paid retail for your property. Any savvy investor will tell you that there are excellent deals to be had in Orlando Investment Property, you just have to find them.
What if you purchased a $100,000 property that happened to be worth $110,000 the day you bought it? Does it happen? The answer is yes, all the time. If you have your eyes open and are willing to ‘go through the numbers’ to find good deals, they are all around you. You may be asking yourself, why would anybody sell a $110,000 property for $100,000?
Value: Making money when you buy.
The reasons are endless as to why a quick sale is desired, but just to name a few: job relocation, divorce, an estate is being settled or maybe a current appraisal on the property simply wasn’t done prior to selling. By ‘finding this deal’ you have accomplished two things.
You have added $10,000 to your asset column in the form of equity.
You have created additional LEVERAGE for yourself as the value of your property increases (a 6-10% gain on $110,000 is better than a 6-10% gain on $100,000!) Remember, you make money in Orlando Investment Property when you buy, not when you sell.
Reason 3:
Control: Let’s take our assumption one step further. When you buy your $10,000 worth of stocks, what can you do to increase its value? If we follow the previous assumption, you have invested $10,000 using a 90% mortgage to purchase a $100,000 property that has an actual value of $110,000 because you ‘found a good deal’. So what can you do to further increase the value of your new $110,000 property?
It is amazing what a cleanup, a little landscaping and a paint job can do to increase the value of a property. Only a few hundred dollars well spent can result in huge value gains in Orlando Investment Property. Your $110,000 property with a little effort could easily be worth $115,000, $120,000 or more virtually overnight! Do you have to do any of this work yourself? Absolutely not! If you like to do that sort of thing then have at it, but if not, simply hire it done and accept a little lower net gain.
Reason 4:
Superior Tax Position: The tax code in the United States is geared to reward Investors who make housing and other property available to the population. When you invest in stocks, you are taxed at some of the highest rates in the tax code. When you invest in Orlando Investment Property, you put yourself in one of the best tax positions in the business world. Remember the wealthy that hold substantial portions of their assets in Orlando Investment Property? Tax advantages are one of the main reasons this is true.
Continuing with the above example, let’s say that you have completed your ‘deal’ with the $10,000 invested with a 90% mortgage to purchase the $100,000 property that appraised for $110,000 (because you ‘found a good deal’), which you improved to say, $115,000 by spending another $1000 on cleanup etc. Assume that one year passes and the Orlando Investment Property market grew by 6%, your property would now be worth $122,000. So far, so good right? If you are like most people, you may want to spend some of your hard earned money.
Let’s do the numbers. You have a mortgage at current rates that started at $90,000 and after a year worth of payments (the majority of which are tax deductible) you still owe approximately $89,000. However, your property is now worth approximately $122,000. If you were to refinance at 90% once again, you would take out a new mortgage of approximately $110,000. This will leave you with approximately $21,000 in cash in your pocket. Now, the BIG question; do you have to pay tax on that money? Absolutely Not! You have not sold the property or realized a ‘capital gain’. You have simply borrowed money from yourself. You are able to do what you wish with that money, free from any tax whatsoever. Obviously, a good strategy might be to purchase two more properties just like your first deal!
Also, we have not taken into account the fact that ALL of your interest payments on this property are tax deductible. In addition, you are also able to depreciate the property itself and all of its contents for additional tax advantages if you choose to do so.
Let’s be fair and compare the Orlando Investment Property tax position with the stock scenario. Assume that the $10,000 initial stock investment grew by 10% in the first year, creating a gain of $1000 and you wish to access it. If you draw it out, you will pay from 20-28% (or higher) in capital gains tax in order to have access to this money. This reduces your net gain to $800 (actual 8%) or less, depending on your tax situation. Compare that to Orlando Investment Property and you are beginning to get the picture.
Reason 5:
Limit Your Exposure To Risk
Risk Management: Do you remember at the top when we said that banks would compete fiercely to loan you money on Orlando Investment Property? The answer to the ‘why’ is very simple. Low Risk. Banks incur little if any risk when loaning money on Orlando Investment Property due to the steady, solid growth rate of the property market, as well as the fact that if you default on your payments they will simply sell the property to somebody else. This is in direct contrast to the volatile stock market, which can vary daily with sharp increases and decreases in value. Furthermore, banks realize that a property isn’t going anywhere, whereas many investors know all too well about .com and other types of companies that were there yesterday and gone today.
This is all not to say that Orlando Investment Property markets don’t go down from time to time, however the dips are much less dramatic than that which can take place in the stock market, proven out by the banks’ willingness to loan money on property.
Reason 6:
Protecting your peace of mind.
Finally, Now that we understand the value of leverage and risk management we realize that a 6% Orlando Investment Property gain ‘beats the pants off’ a 10% stock gain in actual return on investment by a wide margin (approximately 50%, not taking into account several factors that can increase this number such as tax advantages, income on property etc.) Owning good, solid Orlando Investment Property allows you to sleep at night, or go on an extended vacation without worrying about your asset column. This is directly opposed to holding a substantial percentage of your assets in stocks.
Lisa Carson
http://www.biminibayresortinvestment.com
lcarson@biminibayresortinvestment.com
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Posted by admin on May 10th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
If you’re looking to diversify, broaden or even begin your property portfolio consider Europe for your next investment destination.
Europe is host to such a broad range of countries all offering diverse property opportunities - you have everything from emerging market economies with massive potential for sharp growth rates, well established city based rental markets giving great yields and even residential housing markets offering an investor a slow burn on his capital outlay.
Here’s an overview of the potential on offer in the top ten European countries for real estate property investors right now.
Bulgaria - Bulgaria is in position for EU accession in 2007 and as a result it is receiving massive foreign and domestic investment particularly into infrastructure and construction and the whole country is benefiting from the amount of money being spent on it.
Those who buy now in Bulgaria are buying into the longest projected period of growth and buying before the expected boom that will begin when Bulgaria is officially made an EU Member State. Furthermore they are buying to target the burgeoning tourism market that heads for the beautiful beaches of the Black Sea Coast in the summer and the snow capped mountains of Bulgaria’s ski resorts in the winter.
Croatia - Another country tipped for full EU membership in 2007, Croatia offers property investors commercial and residential property opportunities. The numbers of international business establishing bases in Croatia has increased substantially in the last couple of years and there is demand for the development of light industrial and office space.
Furthermore Croatia has a strong tourism market that offers a real estate investor further opportunity to either target short term rental yields or to buy off plan or develop for resale to the second and holiday home market in Croatia.
Cyprus - There are two real estate economies in Cyprus - you have the well established Republic of Cyprus property market where an investor should seek to target the retiree audience or the tourism market and then in Northern Cyrus you have an emerging economy currently offering massive growth potential.
Property price increases in North Cyprus have consistently been in double digits for the past three years and there are no signs of a slow down in the offing.
Czech Republic - The majority of real estate investors consider Prague the only city worth targeting in the Czech Republic but the country’s other cities like Brno also offer an investor opportunity to purchase residential accommodation for rent to the domestic and expatriate professional population. Property price growth has been fantastic in recent years and rental rates are increasing annually.
Estonia - Real estate investors should target the local market in Estonia and consider looking for opportunities in the capital city of Tallinn. The Estonian economy is growing at a staggering rate which is affording the local people greater purchasing power which in turn is having a direct effect on the property market in Estonia.
Basically as local demand increases so prices can rise and as local purchasing power increases so it can sustain these price rises. A real estate investor can buy into this growth now and should expect the period of growth to be sustainable for at least the medium term.
Hungary - Property investors who targeted Hungary’s capital city of Budapest last year enjoyed up to 15% growth on underlying property prices and these growth rates show no sign of slowing down currently.
There is local and expatriate demand for property to buy and let in Budapest and the local economy is benefiting from foreign direct investment and strengthening. This means that there are long term prospect for growth in Hungary. Furthermore there’s an emerging market within Hungary’s property sector and that is the tourism market which offers an investor a chance to get in on both residential and commercial property ventures targeting this growing market segment.
Latvia - Latvia is benefiting from substantial foreign direct investment which has helped establish the Latvian economy as one of the fastest growing in Europe and Latvians are on target to receive one of the five largest wage increases in the world. All this means that locally the population can afford to spend more on property either in the form of rental rates payable or property prices payable and real estate investors can buy off plan and flip on to the local market upon completion or even buy to let out in the capital city of Riga or in the coastal port towns.
Poland - Having joined the European Union back in 2004 Poland has received massive aid and investment as a result which has improved the country’s infrastructure incredibly and led to a strong period of economic growth.
Many European and international companies have established bases in Warsaw and Krakow and the demand for accommodation in these cities alone has really soared. Real estate investors are targeting Poland because it offers a low risk, high potential property market. Furthermore investor confidence in Poland is high because the Polish government have already proved that they have a strong commitment to maintaining the good economic growth rates that their country is currently enjoying.
Romania - Because Romania has yet to join the EU and align all its governmental, fiscal and constitutional policies with those of Europe it is quite a tricky country for a foreign investor to get in on. However it offers a real estate investor such exciting opportunities - where else in the world can you buy anything and everything from a castle to a factory at such ridiculously low prices.
Those with a strong appetite for paperwork and red tape will make their fortunes from Romania’s property market, but for the rest of us it’s an economy to watch carefully. As the country moves slowly towards EU membership so it will become easier and more attractive for property investors to target.
Turkey - Turkey is on track for EU accession following agreement that it should begin accession talks in 2005. Since that point Turkey’s economy has been granted ‘Market Economy’ status, the country has received billions of dollars of Middle Eastern funds into its property sector and world wide investor interest in Turkey’s property market has exploded.
The majority of opportunities either exist in Istanbul or along Turkey’s southern coastline where hundreds of thousands of tourists flock every year. Prices for property in Turkey are currently incredibly low so with all the positive data and news coming from Turkey recently there is only one way prices are going to go - and that’s up!
There are so many opportunities available to an investor in Europe that those serious about profiting from real estate property should give the continent careful consideration!
Rhiannon Williamson is a freelance writer whose articles about property investing and emerging real estate markets have appeared in publications around the world. She is currently working on a brand new property investment resource www.amberlamb.com/
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Posted by admin on April 24th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
Property Investment is growing in importance today in the global investment arena as more and more developing economies open up giving us the chance to make vast capital gains offshore. This article deals with how to buy property at a bargain so as to boost your ROI and continues from the previous article in our three part article series on how to maximise your ROI when purchasing investment property.
Most people, know the stock market adage, buy low sell high and attempt to apply it to many areas of their life. Most do not know the science of analyzing and quantifying this increase in prices and the real estate arena is no different. The best way to increase your ROI is to purchase a property when it is undervalued thus adopting Benjamin Grahams value investing model. Spend some time looking at the class of property that you wish to acquire and then focus on looking for a bargain.
Once you know what class of investment property you are in, spend some time looking at the statistical data. The more savvy investors would then perform technical analysis on the real estate purchasing and rental data to generate a graph. Note that there is no need to do this yourself and most real estate brokers that have investment property divisions, can generate the graphs for you. Spend some time asking why the rental is increasing and ascertain the risk factors to the rental market for your particular class of investment property.
The whole purpose of this mathematical analysis before you actually go down and “fall in love with the property” is to adopt a dissociated mindset and be a real estate fund manager mindset. This allows you to screen out loss making properties before you even get pressured by the real estate agents or potential sellers to purchase or take a look at their properties. Thus you should imagine your role is as one of acquiring property investment bargains which meet your mathematical investment criteria and which pass your physical inspection.
In conclusion, property investing like most other forms of investment, the money is made when buying the property. Spend some time figuring out what your property investment objectives are and focus on achieving them. This is a three part series and we will continue in the next article on buying a property in a hot rental area and boosting your property investment ROI.
By Joel Teo 2006 All Rights Reserved
Joel Teo is the author of this three part investment property series. You can find Part III of this investment property series at the investment property series article 3.
The Property Investment Resource provides more property investment articles at the property investment article directory.
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Posted by admin on April 10th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
Why would you buy investment property without seeing it? It’s a numbers game. Whether or not you see the property before you make an offer isn’t nearly as important as making sure the numbers make sense.
A man in California used to just send out offers on a hundred MLS listings at a time, offering 25% less than the asking price on each one. Occasionally a few sellers would accept his offers. He never had to look at the homes beforehand. Including an “inspection and approval” clause in the offer meant he could always back out of the deal later when he saw the house. Meanwhile, he efficiently found the truly motivated sellers.
This true story demonstrates that with a good clause or two in the contract, you don’t have to worry about making an offer before you see a property. It’s true when you buy investment property or your next home. When it isn’t everything the seller says it is, you can reject the deal with little or no loss. So why wouldn’t you want to look at the property?
Buy Investment Property By Numbers
The main reason you might skip looking at a property before making an offer is time. This is certainly true if the property is far away. If you don’t get a price that makes sense, why spend your time traveling to look at real estate investments? A price and terms that make sense - this is what is important. Of course you’ll probably want to look at the actual property eventually, but looking at the numbers is how you invest.
Investors value income property according to current cash flow (or should if they want safe and viable investments), so start by verifying income. Get the actual income figures for the past 12 months. Always consider the potential income if rents are raised, vending machines are added, etc., but base your offer on the current income.
Verify all expenses with investment properties. If any expenses listed by the seller seem unusually low, they most likely are. Just substitute your own best guess in place of any suspicious numbers.
After you determine the net operating income, apply the appropriate capitalization rate to arrive at the value. If you’re not sure how to do this, get help. However, you really should understand the principle of how to figure a cap rate. This is a numbers game you’re playing.
Calculate loan payments (talk to your banker), and see how much cash flow you’ll have. Then you can figure your cash-on-cash return based on how much of your own money you put into the deal. Just divide the cash flow by your investment.
When the numbers work, you can safely make an offer. Inspections will tell you if there are problems that will affect the cash flow. You can always renegotiate if there are such problems (assuming you made your approval of all inspections a contingency of the offer). Of course, you can even go take a look now that you are truly ready to buy that investment property.
Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com
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Posted by admin on April 5th, 2008 — Posted in Realty
Are you thinking of buying a home? If so, then there are many things that you need to research first. For example, do you know what a mortgage is and do you know all the details of getting a mortgage? The more you know before you get into it, the easier the whole process will be for you.
If you’ve never owned a home before, you know that
securing
a mortgage loan can be more nerve wracking than you
might
realize. After all, just like you would need to prove your
expertise to secure a job, you need to prove your credit
worthiness to secure a mortgage. The problem is, if you’ve
never owned a home, how can you possibly convince a
lender
that your credit is good enough to qualify you for a home
mortgage loan?
This means that first-time buyers often face higher than
standard interest rates and other unfavorable terms on their
mortgages such mortgagee insurance. Yet many, many
first-time homebuyers or event people with poor credit
history enter the market each day, so there are lenders out
there that are willing to take the risk. There are lots of
mortgages designed specifically for first-time borrowers,
with terms and rates that are flexible and not exorbitant.
The trick is finding one of these lenders.
You could simply start going from major lender to major
lender to enquire about their fixed low-rate mortgages, but
a far more sensible strategy involves finding a third party
mortgage broker who represents a number of lenders
under one
roof. Of course, just as there are literally hundreds of
different mortgages to choose from, so too are there
hundreds of mortgage brokers. It is far better to use the
services of a broker to help you ~cut to the chase~ and find
the right mortgage for you.
You should beware though - many mortgage brokers make
their
money by working on a commission basis with the lenders
themselves. There are, however, independent brokers who
are
not in the business of servicing lenders, but borrowers
instead. It’s their job to help new borrowers to find a good
mortgage with low rates.
Lastly when you find a broker who has good relations with
a number of lenders, it’s easy to get a mortgage at special
rates and it is also easy to repay the loan at favorable
interest rates. In addition, when it comes time to
refinance, you can generally use your relationship to lock
in a much more desirable interest rate through a broker
than through your current lender.
The author has learned the hard way how NOT to buy a
house and secure a mortgage. Since then she has become
an expert and helped thousands of people get the “right”
morgage and purchase the home of their dreams.
Janine Monik is passionate about mortgages and
is the webmaster of Flynn Mortgage
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Posted by admin on March 21st, 2008 — Posted in Realty
Mortgages are the single most intimidating aspect of owning a home. If you don’t understand how they work and know the terminology how will find a good deal for your home? A free mortgage guidebook can help.
Information should be free. This has been the defining principal of the Internet since before Al Gore took credit for inventing it. Knowing where to find the information and filtering out the garbage from people trying to sell you can be difficult. Fortunately, mortgage information can be easily found online. Everything you need to know about mortgages and mortgage refinancing is just a keystroke away.
A good mortgage guidebook will teach you how to tune up your credit, put some money in the bank, shop for lenders, explain mortgage lingo, and show you common pitfalls to avoid. These pitfalls include not protecting your credit while shopping for a mortgage lender, and falling victim to predatory lending tactics from unscrupulous mortgage brokers and lenders.
Mortgage comparison shopping can be difficult for the uninitiated. You need to understand how to compare different aspects of mortgage loan offers including terms, conditions, and fees. A good mortgage guide includes a worksheet for comparing loan offers making it easy to determine which loan is right for you.
It pays to do your homework and shop from a variety of mortgage lenders and brokers. Get the mortgage information you need in one easy to read guidebook. Good mortgage guidebooks come with free email support and a list of the best lenders in one easy to read format. Free mortgage guidebooks are available for download 24 hours a day, every day. Don’t mortgage your home without one.
Sign up for your free mortgage guidebook today at RefiAdvisor.com.
HREF="http://www.refiadvisor.com" rel="nofollow">Savannah Mortgage Refinance
Louie Latour has twenty years of experience in the mortgage industry as a mortgage broker. He is the owner of Mortgages Refinance Advisor, a mortgage help site devoted to saving homeowners money with a free guidebook
HREF="http://www.refiadvisor.com" rel="nofollow">Mortgage Refinance: What You Need to Know.
Sign up for your free guide today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com
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