Free Glide

Potential residential property investors are often bewildered by the wealth of information available regarding property investing, which is often contradictory.

First time property investors should take the following points into consideration before embarking on their property purchase but always check their own circumstances out with their accountant before committing any funds to the project: -

1. Rely on the numbers and leave emotion out of the transaction as you will not be living in the property

It’s not critical that you adore the colour scheme, the type of handles on the doors or some other features of the property - the numbers e.g. purchase price, rental return, supply of rental property in the market and potential capital gain, must stack up. These details, apart from potential capital gain, are readily available from real estate agents.

2. Start small time - you will be able to sleep at night that way

Start with a lower priced investment property and a smaller loan. As you will be, most likely, subsidising the loan repayments, there is less pain with a smaller loan if you are not receiving rental income during any period. Being able to sleep at night is always an investor’s objective.

3. Treat your property investment as long term

Unless you have bought a red hot bargain, you won’t be able to achieve substantial short-term gains and you need to be able to recover your purchase transaction costs such as stamp duty and legal fees together with your selling transaction costs. Of course, capital gains tax also comes into the equation when you sell. Capital gains tax will apply when you make a profit after owning the property for more than 1 year (from purchase exchange of contracts to sale exchange of contracts)

4. Either buy locally or within driving distance from home

It’s reassuring to be able to regularly see the property and know that it still exists and you are likely to be more familiar with the market. This does not mean that you should necessarily be purchasing the property next door to your own home as it’s advisable that you remain at arm’s length from your tenant and enjoy some anonymity. If you do purchase in an area that you are not familiar with always ensure that that obtain an independent valuation on the property you are purchasing even where you are using your own home as security.

5. Engage the services of professionals

It makes good sense to use the services of an accountant, a lawyer, a realtor and a mortgage broker to assist you in purchasing and managing your residential investment property.

6. Obtain advice from your accountant regarding the name in which the property should be purchased and the loan obtained

This decision can have substantial tax implications and should not be taken lightly.

7. Consider a fixed interest loan when borrowing

It will provide interest rate certainty. Whether you borrow interest only or with principal and interest repayments depends on your own circumstances. Your home loan specialist and accountant should be able to assist you with this decision and whether you borrow on a fixed or variable basis.

8. When selecting a property to purchase look for proximity to transport and amenities and avoid high maintenance features such as a swimming pool or a large garden

It’s important to purchase property that a tenant will be happy to live in. You should try to appeal to the mass market e.g. 3 bedrooms and covered car parking in an area where there is a high demand for and not an oversupply of vacant rental accommodation. When you buy properties, which incorporate a swimming pool or a large garden area, you can count on the fact that the maintenance costs will increase without any increase in rent.

9. Don’t attempt to squeeze the last drop out of your rent

It makes more sense earn a lesser rent but to have long term tenants who will look after the property and treat it as if they owned it. It’s also smart to explore the cost of insurance cover over rental income and property damage.

10. Don’t stop with a single residential invesment property

The first purchase can be a daunting process but the second and subsequent properties are easier to purchase than the first.

Bob Ward, a licensed Australian real estate agent, is a director of real estate training and public relations consultancy, http://www.lot109.com.au Along with his wife, Susan, he’s also a seasoned residential property investor.

It’s one of the most frustrating situations that a homeowner can face. You’ve decided to move, yet you can’t make that move until your current home sells. Then, for one of a number of reasons, buyers just don’t seem interested in buying your home. It happens all the time, and though it’s frustrating, the reasons are generally fairly straightforward. Here are several of the most common reasons that homes sit on the market longer than they should.

First, your asking price may be too high. This is the most common reason that a home doesn’t attract buyers. Homebuyers are often some of the most savvy shoppers in the world, because buying a home is generally the most expensive purchase a person will ever make. That means they shop hard and they know what homes are worth in their target area. If yours is out of line with those prices, it will sit on the market while others are snapped up by eager buyers. So check your price regularly against the competition.

Make showing easy. Sometimes the difficulty lies in how hard it is for potential buyers to view your home. If you or your listing agent insists on being home each time it’s shown, that means many viewing opportunities will be missed. If you want your home to sell quickly, it needs to be seen by as many buyers and selling agents as possible, so make it convenient for them to visit if you want a faster sale.

Another common reason a home doesn’t sell is its condition. Homebuyers know what they can get for their money, and they have an idea how much it will cost to repair or upgrade a home. So it your home needs work, you have a couple choices. You can either make the necessary repairs or adjust your sales price to reflect what it will cost to make repairs. Either way, you’ll improve your chances of selling your home more quickly.

However, be aware that many people won’t look at a house that’s advertised as a fixer-upper or as-is. The vast majority of folks want to be able to move in and begin enjoying their new home without having to do any substantial repair or upgrade. Therefore, it’s generally more desirable to make the repairs before you list your home. That way, you can use the upgrades as a selling point to encourage a faster sale.

Finally, you may need to come up with some creative marketing techniques to help sell your home. Believe it or not, the most effective means of selling is still the good old tried-and-true method of putting a sign in the yard. However, you can increase your chances of interesting potential buyers by attaching a plastic bin to your sign that offers flyers buyers can take home and study, offering details about your home’s price, amenities, terms, schools, and anything else a homebuyer would like to know.

Creative marketing techniques include home staging and advertising psychology. Kick your home staging up a notch with more than the usual deep cleaning, decluttering, and adding flowers. Consider your target buyer and stage suggestions of activities. Kick your advertising up a notch with sales copy that gives benefits to the buyers. Don’t just list the features of your home–turn those into strong benefits to the buyer.

The bottom line: if your home hasn’t sold within 60 days, you may need to look at one of the above situations to see if you can improve your chances of attracting a buyer.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

So you’ve heard that the Orlando Florida holiday home and vacation home market is no longer a smart investment but you haven’t heard it from a creditable source? First ask yourself “What does this person know about the market?” or “Is this person themselves investing in any Orlando Florida holiday or vacation homes?”. Everyday I get calls from people telling that they were thinking of buying a vacation home but a friend or co-worker told them the market is going to bust and Orlando real estate is about to go belly up or the whole US real estate market bubble is going to pop and in a few months US land will be worth nothing. This reminds me of the old Chicken Little story where everyone believes the sky is falling and a huge rumor windmill starts spreading. The fact is that the Orlando Florida real estate market is doing better then it ever has in history and vacation and holiday homes are turning out be profitable investments.

In fact with large developers starting to enter the Orlando Florida real estate arena both holiday homes and vacation homes are losing their cookie cutter appearances and turning into unique upscale properties that anyone would be proud to call their own. While in the past many Orlando vacation home developers cut corners where ever they could to save a buck new developers seem to be spending the extra money and understanding that people notice small details (What’s the point of buying a $500,000 house if it has wall to wall rough budget carpeting?). Of course not all developers are seeing eye to eye on this, many developers still believe that the bottom line is still the most important factor.

Why are Orlando Florida vacation homes rasing in value? Here are just a few factors:

1. Foreign Investors - While the dollar is low foreign investors are jumping all over US real estate in general and a large percent of them are looking at the Florida market. UK investors especially appreciate the large spaces and detail to craftsmanship that isn’t often found in their countries.

2. Safe Investment Compared to Stock Market - The stock market is down and while many people are buying up blue chip stocks for the long haul the truth is many don’t feel safe buying in when every day the numbers just go down and down. As quick as the stock market is going down the investment real estate market is rising. This makes it the best time to buy a vacation home or holiday home.

3. Save Money on Vacation - It’s common knowledge that no matter how the economy sways people always go on vacation. The holiday travel and vacation industry is a very stable market that doesn’t show much fluctuation no matter what external factors are working against it. Add in that Orlando Florida is the vacation capital of the world and it’s easy to see why many families want their own place to visit every year.

*** SIDE NOTE: Owning a vacation or holiday home in Orlando gives you a huge discount off many of the major amusement parks because you’re considered a local resident.***

If you’re an investor or not you still want to make money from your vacation or holiday home. This is why many amateur investors are getting into the market, it’s hard to lose money right now and these new investors feel that they’re real estate geniuses. With new incentives that some developers are offering there is no reason anyone with a reasonable income can’t afford their own vacation or holiday home in Orlando Florida.

If you have any question about the Orlando Florida vacation home or holiday home market feel free to visit my website or call me with any questions.

Goldberg Executive Realty Group
Mark Goldberg
Phone: 1-866-247-2259
E-mail: GoldbergRealtyGroup@cfl.rr.com

http://www.investrealestate101.com

As the seller of a property that you have purchased, or even refinanced in the last few years, you may not have very much equity in the house. Many investors will not want to even look at your house let alone make an offer because if there isn’t enough equity for them to make a marginal profit then it just won’t work for them.

Well no need to throw in the red flag because there are many investors out there who specialize in doing short sales.

How does this work? Well if you are behind on payments and a foreclosure is right around the corner you may be able to show how a hardship has caused you to get behind on your payments.

You would simply fill out a purchase agreement with your investor, a deed to be placed in escrow, and many other documents including a power of attorney. This will give the investor full control to get the short sale handled. Next, the investor will present a solid case to the lender who is holding the mortgage.

The investor will explain that that you (the seller) can not make the payments any longer and would like to give full control of the property to the investor. He will explain that the loan on the property must be reduced significantly for the investor to purchase the property. Are you with me so far? Okay, good.

You must understand that these types of sales are not a fast sale. That is not at all why they are called short sales. Infact a short sale can take several months of waiting around and negotiating back and forth between the lender and the investor. If for any reason your lender refuses a short sale you still may be able to avoid foreclosure. Your investor is experienced in this arena and will explain to you other steps you can take. Good luck!

If you need help selling your house Joe Loiacano and the Landmark Investment Group are here to assist you.

To sell your house and for a free consultation visit http://www.Soldin2Days.com.

Copyright © 2005 Landmark Investment Group. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Joe Loiancano is the owner and president of The Landmark Investment Group.

The Landmark Investment Group is a real estate investment company who buys houses as investments from people who need to sell quickly. Visit http://www.Soldin2Days.com for a FREE, confidential, no obligation consultation to learn how we can buy your house in 2 days or less! “Cash for your house in 2 days or less!”

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If you are holding off purchasing your home because you do not have a large enough down payment, a piggyback mortgage could help you qualify for financing. Piggyback mortgages are a way around the twenty percent down payment; here is what you need to know about securing a piggyback loan.

Piggyback loans are a way of helping you secure the necessary down payment to qualify for a mortgage; by securing this piggyback loan you may be able to avoid purchasing Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). Piggyback mortgages vary from one mortgage lender to the next; some require that you have at least 10% of your down payment while others will loan the entire 20%.

A piggyback mortgage is essentially a second mortgage secured by your home. This loan differs from a home equity loans in that you must qualify for the piggyback loan in order to qualify for your primary mortgage loan. The good news for homeowners using these loans to qualify for financing is that the interest you pay on both loans is tax deductible. It is important to remember this piggyback loan is secured by your home just like the primary mortgage. If you fall behind on the payments for either mortgage the lender could foreclose and take your home.

To learn more about your options when applying for a mortgage loan and how to avoid common homeowner mistakes, register for a free mortgage guidebook using the links below.

Only a few years ago the estate agent was the one and only reliable method of selling your house, today you have many more options and, subsequently, the marketplace is a little bit more complicated.

In response to this change in market conditions many estate agents are using very underhanded tactics to trick you into using them. Tricks such as overvaluing your property to ensure you sign on with them. Remember, an overvalued property DOES NOT SELL for that amount. In all likelihood you will be stuck with the property for 6 months and when an offer does come in it will be dramatically lower than what you expect. By this time you will be desperate and the estate agent will suggest you go with the offer. The agent gets their commission based on the real value of the property whenever it sells; you will be the only person out of pocket.

What’s worse, by marketing a property at an overvalued amount, you can actually delay the sale further. Even when the price is finally reduced to a more realistic level, buyers can be put off by the length of time a property has been marketed for.

Further evidence of this can be seen by the campaign by the consumers champion Which, http://www.which.net/moveit/index.html, for estate agents to clean up their act.

An alternative option, which the agents will advise strongly against, is a private sale to a cash funded investor.

These sales can be completed in days and with flexible completion dates to suit requirements.

Let’s use an example to illustrate the advantages of NOT using an estate agent and selling direct to an investor.

£160,000 Market value as suggested by an Estate Agent

-£11,200 Typical offer through an estate agent is 7% less
-£3,760 Approximate fee for the agent (2.5% + tax)
-£1,000 Solicitors fees
-£9,700 Average house sale takes 6 months (assume 5% APR)
-£9,700 Average discount secured on next property by being a cash buyers

£126,640 Total real value of your home when you sell it.

As you can see there are a lot of hidden costs or lost opportunities (i.e. not being a cash buyer of your next property) in selling a property through the traditional methods of using an estate agent.

With investors they usually pay the solicitor’s fees and they have cash ready to buy your home so there are no delays and, as long as the offer is more than the figure above, you could actually be better off selling for less money!

In fact, by being a cash buyer of your next home you could save even more money.

So as, you could sell you’re home at £160,000 to a cash buyer for 126,640, and be no worse off financially than by selling through an agent.

What’s more you would have saved yourself 6 months of hassle, stress and worry. It is a well known adage that moving home is one of the most stressful things that someone can do, so by simplifying some of the money issues, can be a real emotional plus.

So, the next time you’re moving home, and an estate agent tells you a private sale is a bad idea, or you just need to sell your home quickly, think about the other options you have…that of the property investor.

Written for for MPG Investments - THE Home Buyers. MPG Offer home buying services to make sure that you can Sell Your House Fast.
Written by R. Heeley of Netcallidus Ltd - Seach Engine Optimisation services.

If you are planning to apply for a mortgage after bankruptcy, here are three steps you can take which could save you up to $1,000s in extra interest and other costs:

1) Increase your credit score

Before applying for a mortgage after bankruptcy, you will want to make sure to increase your credit score. Increasing your credit score can help you in two ways: First, it can increase your chances of qualifying for a mortgage after bankruptcy. Secondly, if you increase your credit score enough, you may be able to get a lower interest rate on the loan.

In After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions I go into detail on nine strategies you can use to increase your credit score. For example, one way to increase your credit score is to correct or remove any inaccurate or obsolete information from your credit reports. Another strategy is to establish some new accounts and pay them in a timely manner.

2) Come up with a budget

Before you even consider applying for a mortgage after bankruptcy, you will want to have clear picture of your current financial situation. For example, you will want to know how much you’re making and spending every month.

You will also want to know how much of a monthly payment you can afford if you have a mortgage after bankruptcy. For example, most lenders don’t like to see an individual spend more than 28% of their gross on the mortgage - but that’s a general rule, each lender will have specific criteria.

In addition to the payment on your mortgage after bankruptcy, you will also need to budget utilities, homeowners insurance, maintenance, property taxes, etc.

Another item you will need to budget for, if you plan to apply for a mortgage after bankruptcy, is the down payment and closing costs. In addition to the down payment, closing costs alone can run thousands of dollars.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce, or even eliminate, the money you have to out of pocket for a down payment or closing costs - but that’s another article in itself.

3) Find an experienced mortgage broker

Once you’ve increased your credit score, and have a clear picture of your home buying budget, you will want to find an experienced mortgage broker. Why? If you plan on applying for a mortgage after bankruptcy, you will want an experienced professional on your side guiding you though the process.

How do you find an experienced mortgage broker? You can ask friends,
family, or any real estate agents you know. Once you have the names of some mortgage brokers, you will want to interview each one.

I list a number of important questions to ask them in After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions, but I will limit it two as I cannot cover them all here. Among other questions, you will want to know if they have successfully been able to get other individuals a mortgage after bankruptcy. You also want to make sure they are licensed.

Another important question you will want to ask is what type mortgage after bankruptcy (A, B, C, or D) the mortgage broker thinks you can qualify for. This is important. Why? The lower the grade the higher the interest rate you will pay.

In this article, we touched on three steps you can take before applying for a mortgage after bankruptcy - steps that could save you up to $1,000s in interest and other costs!

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Copyright © 2006 Innovative Solutions Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.

DISCLAIMER:

This information is designed to provide only a general overview of the subject matter herein.

This information is provided with the understanding that neither the publisher nor author is engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a professional should be sought.

Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss or damages, including but not limited to special, consequential, incidental or other damages, caused by the information contained herein.

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About the Author: R. Lawrence Anderson is author of After Bankruptcy Credit Solutions, which shows individuals how to qualify for credit and loans after bankruptcy - including how to qualify for a mortgage after bankruptcy.