Real Estate Investment Strategies

Investing in real estate is highly profitable because of the large amount of money involved which also makes it high risk. Real estate investing is a business that anyone can learn and there are many proven strategies that are considered effective in getting a high return on your investment.

If you are interested in making money investing in real estate then you should begin by becoming highly informed about anything that has to do with investing in real estate. You can gather this information for the internet or local newspapers.

When you think you have found an investment property be sure to also find out as much information as possible prior to making an offer. Get a decent idea of what the property is worth when you purchase it. Also make a budget of the repair affiliate costs and stick to it.

Before purchasing a house for investment purposes you need to know what small inexpensive things you can fix up to give you the largest return in terms of property value. Locate a home that is cosmetically challenged but in a decent area with repairs that you can do mostly on your own.

Sometimes when you are looking for homes to invest in you find more than one property that looks promising leaving you to make a difficult choice. This makes it crucial for an investor to know how to accurately compare different offers. Anyone who wants to succeed in real estate investing needs to have some negotiating skills.

When you are investing in real estate it is important to keep a strict budget in tact at all times. You need to have a clear picture of what you are going to spend on a specific property. Know what all the involved repairs are before making any offers.

All real estate investments carry a degree of risk because the real estate market is constantly fluctuating. You can help yourself out and hire the professional help of a reputable local real estate agent. This experienced agent can provide you with insider information on the local market and special offers on properties. Someone whose job is all about the market will be able to teach you things that you would have never thought about.

Those who would like to invest in real estate need to be prepared and capable of handling changes that will occur in the local real estate market. The changes that happen in the real estate market are caused by increased interest rates, tax rates, supply and demand, a rise or fall in property values, and the local unemployment rates.

When it comes to investments as high risk and expensive as real estate investments then you need to have a back up plan ready before they can even happen. To succeed in real estate you should be planning the sale of the home before you purchase it. Real estate investing doesn’t involve any guesswork but is really based on set calculations of the costs of investment and how much you will come out of the deal with.

Published by author Spencer Hunt, for Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors®. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate, Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

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The For Sale by Owner Option - Selling Your Own Home

The majority of those who successfully sell their own property are the property owners who live in highly populated metropolitan market areas where property sales are more common. In a buyer’s market or in rural areas it is much harder for properties that are for sale by owner (FSBO) to successfully sell.

A buyer’s market is when there are more home sellers than there are people to buy homes. This creates a situation where the home buyers are exposed to a large range of property to choose from making it a more competitive market for the sellers. Homeowner’s should opt for the FSBO option only where the local economy is doing well and it is a seller’s market.

To be considered a seller’s market there needs to be more buyers then properties for sale. In a seller’s market the buyers are left with fewer properties available to them. This often creates a situation where the sellers are much more selective on the buyer and also get a higher selling price for their property.

There are other economic issues that play a role in the real estate such as home mortgage interest rates, local employment, and consumer confidence. Unfortunately we can’t control the economy and some are forced to sell their homes or buy homes in times that are unfavorable financially to them.

There are a few things people who succeed at selling their homes do to increase their odd of winning at FSBO. They need to be able to have the financial support that it takes to keep their property exposed to those who are purchasing homes for the entire period it takes to sale a home. This advertising period is at least 90 days and includes personal signage, advertising, repair costs of the home, and professional legal advice. You also should have a little bit of spare money to back you up financially if there are any marketing mistakes.

You should also have basic business knowledge about important marketing, personal selling, as well as enough technical information on real estate principals and practices. This will prevent you from making informed decisions that can cost you a lot of money and stress.

Anyone who wants to list the property FSBO must be disciplined with marketing goals and objectives with set time frames for the process and finalization of those goals and objections. You need to be able to be very organized and able to pay close attention to details.

There are a lot of stressful moments when selling something as expensive as your own home so you need to be able to keep a business perspective on all decisions. When selling you own home always avoid guesswork and replace it with concrete analysis. Making informed decisions is much less stressful then guessing.

If you want to sale you own home successfully you need to be a wise negotiator and be able to effectively deal with the different personalities in your potential home buyers. Be ready to and well equipped to sell your home and plan to use a lot of time devoted to selling your home.

You may wish to contact Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors® for more info on real estate, especially in the areas of Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

Published by author Spencer H. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate.

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The Direction The Sun Sets Is Very Important When Designing a House!

When building a house, it is important that a home owner studies the effects of the sun on his future home. He or she should carefully study the path way of the sun’s progress and its effect of heat and light on the rooms in the house. Many home owners build their houses negligent of this fact and then after moving in realize that the sun creates much more heat than expected within certain rooms of the house. Thus when designing the floor plan these are significant elements to take into consideration. Remember when constructing try to minimize locating the high traffic rooms in direct line of the sun’s travel.

Perhaps the best designed houses are known for making proper use of the physical setting and the natural landscape surrounding the house. Many home owners tend to forget the fact that the setting of a house embraces not only the immediate surroundings but also the distant views. A house can boast of a thousand times more beauty than another simply because of the surrounding natural features on the land. The occurrence of flora and fauna coupled with the way the sun rises and sets over a house certainly lends a home an aesthetic splendor!

For a home owner, understanding how the land and the house work in accordance with the sun’s movement can be done simply by studying the sun's daily path. Additionally, one should pay particular attention to the window location in the rooms as they stream light and heat indiscriminately into the house. Generally a home that is in harmony with its environment is open to sunshine and breeze, yet it protects and shades the residents because of thoughtful interior design. Ideally, during the construction phase a house owner needs to consider ventilation and heat as major issues of concern.

When considering the layout and design of rooms in a house, one must be wary of the climate. If a house is built in a tropical country then the scheme should be quite different to houses in temperate zones. Generally for houses being constructed in a hot humid climate or a hot dry climate, a home owner may want to consider a design that boasts of magnificent views of sunrises and sunsets while avoiding the heat. He or she should also focus on designing in order to allow cooling breezes to pass through the home naturally. Whereas for those who live in cooler climates, solar heating capabilities of the sun can be quite an advantage for minimizing heating bills.

Discover more great tips at http://www.allaboutthehome.info/ a website offering tips and resources on matters like shower doors, bedroom curtains and color schemes to fit any budget.

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Commercial Real Estate Syndication: Controlling the Property

Getting Control of the Property

We’ve been discussing the process of assembling groups of investors for the purpose of acquiring income producing commercial real estate. As we move to getting the property into escrow so that you can verify its suitability for investment, we need to look at keeping control of the property for sufficient time to complete your investigation.

Your goal is to control the property without risking any of your money. The Seller’s goal is to extract as much money as possible from you as quickly as possible to tie you to his property. So how do you structure your purchase contract to maximize your time while minimizing your exposure? Using well structured contingencies is the answer.

As the Syndicator of group investment, you need to perform a Due Diligence investigation of the property. This is essentially a verification of the statements made by the Seller as to the condition of the property, the status of the leases, the history of income and expenses, the state of title, the existence of natural and man-made hazards, and anything else that can affect the value of the property. It is acceptable to make your purchase (and your deposit) subject to your approval of all of these conditions. Stating these conditions in your purchase contract turns them into contingencies, since your completing the purchase is contingent upon accepting the all of this information as stated by the Seller.

There are two “special” contingencies you’ll want in your purchase offer when you are creating a group investment. The first one is that you can cancel the transaction if you cannot fully subscribe your investment group in a specific period of time. Basically, if you fail to raise the money in time, the transaction is canceled and you get your deposit back.

The second is to allow you to vest the property in another name. This might be something as simple as “John Doe or assignee” in the Purchaser section of a standard real estate contract. This is very important to your “survival” as the Syndicator. It is this ability to assign your purchase rights under the contract to the LLC that gives you an opportunity for ownership in the group investment.

As a practical matter though, Sellers can get uncomfortable with lots of contingencies that have long removal periods and may wait for a faster buyer. An acceptable alternative is the use of an Option to Purchase. The Option gives the option holder (you) an irrevocable right to purchase the property in the time period specified in the option. Options also tend to be less “expensive” that escrow deposits since no one is getting tied up in purchase contract. The downside for you is that your option payment is non-refundable. If you don’t purchase the property, your option payment (called “option money”) is gone.

Options can range from a week to a year, although most fall into a 3 to 6 month period. It is also possible to pay a small amount of money for a shorter period, say a month, in what is often termed a “free look.” Why it’s called a “free” look when you’re paying a few hundred dollars for it is one of those time-honored industry oxymoron’s, but it probably relates to the relatively small amount of money for the short term option compared to the longer term ones.

Realistically, you would want to structure your option to have an extension period if you discover you want the property. Of course, you’d need to pay more money with each extension. Even when using an option, you’ll still want to have your contingencies in place when you submit the purchase contract. The difference is that you’ll have less time in which to approve of them.

So now you have the two methods in which you can control a potential investment property for sufficient time to complete your investigation and raise the money with which to purchase it. Good hunting!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: ’Craig Higdon, “The Investment Property Insider,” works as a commercial mortgage broker. He publishes the weekly “Investment Property Insider” e-zine and blog, www.InvestmentPropertyInsider.com. Visit the blog and get a complimentary report on commercial financing techniques.’

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Small Budget Investment Properties

To begin investing in real estate properties you don’t need to have a huge start up capital. If you have a tight budget for investing it doesn’t mean that you can’t reap the financial benefits of fixing up homes for resale. Actually many of the cheaper homes you can buy and remodel inexpensively will get you the greatest return on your investment.

To successfully invest in real estate on a low budget you should start by finding a cosmetically challenged home with a strong structure that is in a mediocre neighborhood. Once you begin looking in the right areas you will see that it isn’t very difficult to find an investment property with a low asking price.

The selling price of a fixer-upper home can be negotiated considering all of the flaws. This makes is easier for you to invest small amounts of money to add the maximum amount of value to the property.

When it comes to real estate investment quality doesn’t always have to mean a lot of money. You might be surprised at how far a new paint job, fixtures, and flooring can go when it comes to the over all appearance and value of a home.

If you aren’t convinced that you can manage investing in real estate on the budget you have set up you can always turn to your own investment, your home. If you have already purchased a home then you can leverage this asset to gain the capital you need to feel secure investing in real estate.

A homeowner that has paid their monthly mortgage payment on time and has decent credit will be able to get money in their hands faster and easier then they ever imagined. Whether you have a considerable amount of equity in your home or recently purchased it, it is possible that the property increased in value creating a larger amount of equity for you to access.

To calculate the amount of equity you have built up in your property you take the current balance of your mortgage loan and subtract it from the home’s market value. You can generally get the amount of your equity in a secured form of credit such as a home equity line of credit or a home equity loan.

You can also refinance your property to receive a lowered interest rate and some spare investment cash on the side. You can then use the money given to you as the means of buying an investment property or at least using it as a down payment. Be sure to ask your lender about any rules regarding cash-out refinancing. The majority of cash-out refinancing mortgages come with a higher interest rate attached then other types of mortgage loans.

Homeowners can use their home’s equity value to receive a home equity loan as another option. A home equity loan is a type of second mortgage to the one you are currently paying off. Opting for this type of loan offers many benefits including the ability to repay the loan early without getting hit with a large penalty fee.

You may wish to contact Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors® for more info on real estate, especially in the areas of Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

Published by author Spencer H. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate.

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First Time Home Buyers - There's a Solution For You

Considering the interest rates are at an all time low there are many young Americans who have taken the huge step into purchasing a home, townhouse, or condo over throwing their money away in rent every month. The majority of these young Americans are in their mid-twenties and are searching for a wise investment option.

These young Americans are fully aware of the fact that they are throwing their money away in the form of rent and aren’t able to receive any tax write offs. It seems more young adults then ever are more informed about mortgages and the major benefits of owning your own home.

If you are a first time home buyer the first step you should take is getting a prequalification letter. When you have a prequalification letter it shows a seller that you are serious about purchasing a home right now. A prequalification letter will also determine the maximum amount of money you can qualify for before you begin your search for the perfect home.

Keep in mind that once you have made a bid on a property there is no where to go but up in the price, you cannot lower the bid. For this reason it is imperative that you take your time when looking for a home. Never put in a bid for a property until you have thoroughly researched the recent history of home sale prices in that area.

A qualified real estate agent will be able to print out a list of homes that have been sold in the surrounding area in the past 6 months. This will help you make an informed decision on what you should be offering a homeowner for a specific home.

It is recommended to start off with a low bid considering it can always be increased. You should also set a limit for the property and if another bid comes in that is higher then you should really sit down and insure that it is a wise investment for the raised price.

A homebuyer really has to experience the buying process before they can fully understand the process of bidding and mortgages. There are many realtors and home sellers who will hold a $1000 check with the bid proposal as a deposit. Some first time home buyers become skittish when it comes to this because they don’t understand that this money is only to be used towards the purchase of a new home. This check cannot be cashed until their bid has been accepted and are ready to move forward on ownership of the property.

It is wise that before you go searching for your first home that you get a prequalification letter. You can easily accomplish this online, on the telephone, or at a local bank in as little as ten minutes. Doing this before you look for homes will save you and your real estate agent a lot of time. A prequalification letter makes it easier to focus on specific properties that easily fit into your price range.

You may wish to contact Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors® for more info on real estate, especially in the areas of Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

Published by author Spencer H. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate.

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