The second round of the dot com boom is upon us and this time it is bigger and better. Web 2.0 as its being called has all kinds of portals, services, forums etc coming up and doing well. First it was the friendship sites - from social networking to dating and then online job websites that picked up very well. But now it is the turn of online real estate websites which are witnessing tremendous growth and the best part is they are not just growing but are getting rave reviews for being comprehensive, easy to use and setting up an overall standard for web based services.
As per the statistics by certain web analysts, the online property market is expected to grow further at a massive pace worldwide. In Australia, this market of online property is growing beyond expectation and currently covers about fifteen percent of total market transactions. In more developed internet markets like the US and Canada, almost ninety percent of property transactions happen online. This covers buying, selling, rent, lease and even business sales.
There is no doubt that the internet has started to become the preferred choice for online buying and selling of property. The growth of these online real estate portals has many solid reasons behind it. Let us take a look at some of the reasons why these sites have become so popular.
Well the first reason is probably the biggest reason and it doesn't take a genius to figure it out that online real estate websites completely negates the need for having a property agent for your requirements. It gives total control back to the owner of the property and even the buyer. Property agents take a significant part of the transaction costs hence any solution which helps increase the property value by decreasing costs is a welcome solution.
The second reason is the fact that you can now search for various properties from one end of the country to the other from the comfort of your house. It has never been easier to get information on your dream house or the perfect office space and what makes it even better is that you can compare between various properties sitting at home. Pretty much any information you can think of are present on these sites. From property details to images, costs, location, potential value of investment and even videos can be found.
The range of properties available is also impressive. From luxury villas, apartments, houses in beautiful suburbs to finding houses to rent, a room to share or sub let etc. These sites are a real boon to investors who are looking out for the next best property deals and want to take advant�ge of the booming property market.
Apart from details of the actual property, users of these sites can also get valuable information on other important aspects of the real estate market such as mortgages, various options available for financing, interest rates, information on the surroundings of the property such as distance to schools, hospitals, recreation areas etc. Online property transactions are on the rise and it won't be too long before the majority of all deals happen on the internet or at least get initiated via a trusted online real estate portal. Given the fact that the number of users is increasing everyday, it is the best time for listing your property on a real estate website.
by Jacqui Smith
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Real Estate Investing Unplugged
People invest in real estate for selling at a later stage for a handsome profit. For this they need to have a marketing strategy in place. Many new entrants in real estate investing have entered the business because they saw someone else do the same, and make lots of money. But it may not work for you.
There are more ways than ever before to profit from real estate investment:
1. Flipping:
In the industry, flipping is a term used to describe the act of buying, fixing up, and then reselling a piece of property. To flip a property in short term usually requires a large investment of capital, whereas long term flipping relies less on fixing up and more on the value of the area appreciating over time.
2. Offsetting Costs:
Many costs associated with renting the property can be offset even while the home is being renovated. If you are a long term investor after the renovation is complete you will rent to new tenants. You also have to take care of the hassles of finding tenants, the damage tenants might cause to your property, up keeping the property and performing repairs, etc. But still you are holding to your property and this can earn for you for the life time.
3. Garner the Foreclosed Properties:
A great way to make a bigger profit on your real estate is to purchase only properties that are foreclosing. A foreclosure happens when a property owner is no longer able to make payments on a mortgage. These people have likely been evicted from their home and, unable to rent the property, the owner is trying to sell it to recover at least some of their costs. Foreclosed properties tend to be in need of heavy repairs, but they are usually sold for a bigger profit.
4. Investment From Afar:
It is also possible to invest in real estate without buying any particular property. Many banks allow people to purchase trusts, bonds, or stocks oriented towards real estate specifically. You will be sure to want to talk to a broker before getting into this kind of real estate investing. It's always more risky to invest in a property that you've never seen before. If you're able to, it might be a good idea to visit the property before investing any kind of significant amount into it.
Real estate investors must develop a marketing strategy for their properties. Depending alone on the forecast that all property prices will always go up and never come down, it is not a safe idea, as there are times of slump in the markets. Real estate prices do come down occasionally, and real estate investors should not believe in blind faith
by Nate Rodnay
There are more ways than ever before to profit from real estate investment:
1. Flipping:
In the industry, flipping is a term used to describe the act of buying, fixing up, and then reselling a piece of property. To flip a property in short term usually requires a large investment of capital, whereas long term flipping relies less on fixing up and more on the value of the area appreciating over time.
2. Offsetting Costs:
Many costs associated with renting the property can be offset even while the home is being renovated. If you are a long term investor after the renovation is complete you will rent to new tenants. You also have to take care of the hassles of finding tenants, the damage tenants might cause to your property, up keeping the property and performing repairs, etc. But still you are holding to your property and this can earn for you for the life time.
3. Garner the Foreclosed Properties:
A great way to make a bigger profit on your real estate is to purchase only properties that are foreclosing. A foreclosure happens when a property owner is no longer able to make payments on a mortgage. These people have likely been evicted from their home and, unable to rent the property, the owner is trying to sell it to recover at least some of their costs. Foreclosed properties tend to be in need of heavy repairs, but they are usually sold for a bigger profit.
4. Investment From Afar:
It is also possible to invest in real estate without buying any particular property. Many banks allow people to purchase trusts, bonds, or stocks oriented towards real estate specifically. You will be sure to want to talk to a broker before getting into this kind of real estate investing. It's always more risky to invest in a property that you've never seen before. If you're able to, it might be a good idea to visit the property before investing any kind of significant amount into it.
Real estate investors must develop a marketing strategy for their properties. Depending alone on the forecast that all property prices will always go up and never come down, it is not a safe idea, as there are times of slump in the markets. Real estate prices do come down occasionally, and real estate investors should not believe in blind faith
by Nate Rodnay
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Real Estate Leads: Comparing Lead Generation Sources
Real estate leads are as good as gold to a real estate professional – literally. The real estate leads you follow up with today are your clients tomorrow and your paycheck a month from now. Much of your time as a real estate professional is spent generating real estate leads and converting those leads to clients. The advent of the Internet and its emergence into main stream culture brought a new tool to real estate agents in the late 90s: online lead generation services.
Nowadays, the majority of people looking to buy or sell a home or do anything real estate wise are going to the internet first. Years ago, people would get ready to buy or sell, and then walk into a local Realty office and get themselves a real estate agents. Now, they can start researching real estate anywhere from 3 months to 5 years before they actually make a move! That means real estate professionals need to come up with new ways to catch these real estate leads early, so they have time to work them and turn them into clients. There are two major ways to do that now: purchasing a lead generation service and paying for real estate leads and creating your own website with contact pages to generate your own real estate leads.
Which way is better? Truthfully, if you're not doing both, you're not being as successful as you could be. Any real estate professional who wants to be a top producer NEEDS their own personal website with homeowner information, contact forms, a blog, etc. That way real estate leads can FIND you on the web.
On the other end, the majority of top producers out there not only have their own website, but they also subscribe to one or more lead generation service, such as HouseValues or GetMyHomesValue. Companies such as these sell real estate leads to agents either at a monthly subscription price, or having the agent pay per lead. These services set up websites offering homeowners free home value information in exchange for their contact information. Basically, a homeowner goes and fills out a simple form about themselves, their contact information and their home and submits it to the company's website. The company in turn, gives this “lead” to whatever real estate professional they have subscribed in that lead's area and it is up to the real estate agent themselves to work up the value and follow-up with these real estate leads.
Each lead generation company does things a bit differently: for instance, GetMyHomesValue offers exclusive leads – where the lead is given to one and only one agent in the area, whereas other companies out there will sell the same real estate leads to several different agents. HouseValues has extensive e-mail drip campaigns and scripts to make follow-up a bit easier for agents, while GetMyHomesValue has their staff attempt to contact the leads several times for the agent and then leaves the rest of the follow-up to the individual agent.
The criticism most of these lead generation companies receive has to do with what actually constitutes real estate leads. Because these “leads” are filling out information online, they can often give fake information to avoid being contacted. This then makes it harder for the agents to follow up with the leads.
The successful agent, however, does not give up with confronted with real estate leads that give a property address and e-mail address, but a bad name and number. A great agent will exhaust all options of follow up before scrapping ANY lead, such as using public directories like the White Pages online, tax records of the property, reverse look-ups, etc. They will e-mail the lead on a weekly basis and even stop by the property listed in order to determine who actually submitted the lead.
What happens when the owners of the property claim they did not request their home value information, nor are they looking to sell? The no-so-hot agent will be angry at the waste of their time and blame the lead generation company for selling bogus real estate leads. The HOT agent will introduce themselves anyway, offer their services in any way they can and hand out a business card, then lead the home content in the knowledge that although they may not have gotten to the bottom of the lead, they did just add another prospect to their pipeline of real estate leads.
Online lead generation tools are a HUGE asset to real estate professionals – when used correctly. To be successful with real estate leads gathered online, you've got to be ready to work hard and long. You may not convert the lead for 6 months, a year, even two years, but as long as you're working your real estate leads and keeping your name in their head, you've got a leg up on the competition.
By: Ashley Lichty
Nowadays, the majority of people looking to buy or sell a home or do anything real estate wise are going to the internet first. Years ago, people would get ready to buy or sell, and then walk into a local Realty office and get themselves a real estate agents. Now, they can start researching real estate anywhere from 3 months to 5 years before they actually make a move! That means real estate professionals need to come up with new ways to catch these real estate leads early, so they have time to work them and turn them into clients. There are two major ways to do that now: purchasing a lead generation service and paying for real estate leads and creating your own website with contact pages to generate your own real estate leads.
Which way is better? Truthfully, if you're not doing both, you're not being as successful as you could be. Any real estate professional who wants to be a top producer NEEDS their own personal website with homeowner information, contact forms, a blog, etc. That way real estate leads can FIND you on the web.
On the other end, the majority of top producers out there not only have their own website, but they also subscribe to one or more lead generation service, such as HouseValues or GetMyHomesValue. Companies such as these sell real estate leads to agents either at a monthly subscription price, or having the agent pay per lead. These services set up websites offering homeowners free home value information in exchange for their contact information. Basically, a homeowner goes and fills out a simple form about themselves, their contact information and their home and submits it to the company's website. The company in turn, gives this “lead” to whatever real estate professional they have subscribed in that lead's area and it is up to the real estate agent themselves to work up the value and follow-up with these real estate leads.
Each lead generation company does things a bit differently: for instance, GetMyHomesValue offers exclusive leads – where the lead is given to one and only one agent in the area, whereas other companies out there will sell the same real estate leads to several different agents. HouseValues has extensive e-mail drip campaigns and scripts to make follow-up a bit easier for agents, while GetMyHomesValue has their staff attempt to contact the leads several times for the agent and then leaves the rest of the follow-up to the individual agent.
The criticism most of these lead generation companies receive has to do with what actually constitutes real estate leads. Because these “leads” are filling out information online, they can often give fake information to avoid being contacted. This then makes it harder for the agents to follow up with the leads.
The successful agent, however, does not give up with confronted with real estate leads that give a property address and e-mail address, but a bad name and number. A great agent will exhaust all options of follow up before scrapping ANY lead, such as using public directories like the White Pages online, tax records of the property, reverse look-ups, etc. They will e-mail the lead on a weekly basis and even stop by the property listed in order to determine who actually submitted the lead.
What happens when the owners of the property claim they did not request their home value information, nor are they looking to sell? The no-so-hot agent will be angry at the waste of their time and blame the lead generation company for selling bogus real estate leads. The HOT agent will introduce themselves anyway, offer their services in any way they can and hand out a business card, then lead the home content in the knowledge that although they may not have gotten to the bottom of the lead, they did just add another prospect to their pipeline of real estate leads.
Online lead generation tools are a HUGE asset to real estate professionals – when used correctly. To be successful with real estate leads gathered online, you've got to be ready to work hard and long. You may not convert the lead for 6 months, a year, even two years, but as long as you're working your real estate leads and keeping your name in their head, you've got a leg up on the competition.
By: Ashley Lichty
Friday, March 23, 2007
Investments In Rental Properties
There is no mistake about it, investing in real estate makes money. Agreed, you have to spend money to make money, but that is true in all areas of investment. Historically one of the most secure ways of making a profit in the real estate industry is the investment of capital in rental properties. That's right, being The Landlord. However, being a landlord can be a trying experience if you don't know what to expect and don't have any experience. So before you dive into the land lording game, take some time to find out what will be required of you and what the duties of a good landlord consist of.
Once you have found the property that you are going to rent, spend a little time and money doing any necessary repairs and upgrades. Make sure that there is nothing that does not operate as it should and that you have a clean and welcoming property to offer. Next don't be afraid to ask for and indeed require references from prospective tenants. Be sure to check them thoroughly to make sure they are genuine. After all, you want the highest quality of tenant available for the price range that you are asking. Also don't be afraid to deny prospective tenants if there is limited interest at the start. Renting successfully is all about finding the right tenants, not any tenants.
Ideally you will be able to find the proper long-term tenants that are little or no trouble on an ongoing basis. But sometimes, this is not the case. Will you be able to protect your investment property and remove a problem tenant? If not then you may want to reconsider this type of investment. Sometimes being a landlord is not easy and there are some tough decisions that have to be made and carried out. Keep this in mind and investing in rental properties could be the gold mine you have been searching for.
By: M Peterson
Once you have found the property that you are going to rent, spend a little time and money doing any necessary repairs and upgrades. Make sure that there is nothing that does not operate as it should and that you have a clean and welcoming property to offer. Next don't be afraid to ask for and indeed require references from prospective tenants. Be sure to check them thoroughly to make sure they are genuine. After all, you want the highest quality of tenant available for the price range that you are asking. Also don't be afraid to deny prospective tenants if there is limited interest at the start. Renting successfully is all about finding the right tenants, not any tenants.
Ideally you will be able to find the proper long-term tenants that are little or no trouble on an ongoing basis. But sometimes, this is not the case. Will you be able to protect your investment property and remove a problem tenant? If not then you may want to reconsider this type of investment. Sometimes being a landlord is not easy and there are some tough decisions that have to be made and carried out. Keep this in mind and investing in rental properties could be the gold mine you have been searching for.
By: M Peterson
Saturday, March 10, 2007
3 Classic No Down Payment Strategies
Everyone has heard a story or read about someone who bought a property without paying a single dime as a down payment. But how does this work?
There are several "classic" methods commonly used to purchase real estate with no money down. There are an infinite variety of situations in a real estate transaction that could lead to a deal with no down payment. But for the sake of reality, I will focus on those that are most commonly seen in the current market.
1. Seller second - The buyer obtains a new first mortgage for most but not all of the total purchase price. The seller finances the rest.
Purchase price: $100,000
Buyers loan: $90,000 (90% LTV) (new first mortgage)
Sellers finances $10,000 (in the form of a new second mortgage)
The buyer has borrowed 100% of the purchase price. Thus, you have100% financing, and no down payment was paid by buyer.
This is not a difficult strategy to employ if the seller has enough equity, is willing to hold a second, and the first mortgage lender approves.
One thing that is not mentioned in most articles about this strategy is the requirement for lender approval. The lender who is making the 90% loan will have to agree to allow the seller to take back a second mortgage. In cases where the buyer has better credit, this is usually OK with the lender. But if the buyer has a lower credit score, the lender may not approve of this. If your credit score is on the lower side, but you have good documented income, you may still qualify.
Talk to your lender ahead of time and find out if creative financing options such as a seller second would be allowed. Make sure you have a lender who is used to working on investment property loans. Some mortgage companies only have programs for owner occupants. You need to go to a lender who specializes in loans for investors.
2. Another common way to obtain a no down payment loan is to utilize one of the many low or no down payment programs that exist. Many of these are intended for owner occupants, but some are available for investors. Again, it is important to talk to the right lender.
If you have an investment property that you want to sell, consider taking back a second mortgage for 5-10%. This is not a huge amount, and it can help you sell your property faster.
When it comes to finding a seller who will help you create a no money down deal, consider buying from an investor who is willing to be flexible. Some investors are willing to do creative financing simply because they understand that it helps them sell houses. It never hurts to make an offer that includes a seller second. You never know until you ask.
There are some points to remember when purchasing investment property with no money down. A key point is the comparison of monthly payments to expected rental income. When you are financing 100% of the purchase price, your payments will be higher. If you have a second mortgage payment to add to a first mortgage, your payment may be even higher. Be sure your rental income will cover the entire monthly payment.
3. More common among professional investors is buying wholesale properties, using hard money to purchase and rehab.
When the rehab is completed, you want to get a new mortgage that pays off the hard money loan. Since this is a refinance, you can take cash out of the property. You may have to bring some money to closing on the hard money loan, but you get it all back when you refinance, so you end up with no money out of pocket. This becomes not only a "no down payment" deal, but also a "cash back at closing" deal.
It works like this:
Purchase price $100,000
Repairs $15,000
Hard money loan $115,000
Purchase and repair, then get new loan to pay off hard money.
New loan is based on 90% of After Repair Value.
For our example, the ARV is $150,000
90% of $150,000 is $135,000.
New loan for $135,000. Subtract hard money loan pay off of $115,000 leaves $20,000.
You keep the extra $20,000 in cash, tax free since it is a loan, rent your house out and let the tenant pay the loan back.
Your gross profit is $20,000 cash and $15,000 equity. Total gross profit $35,000. Not too bad for a couple months work.
Down payment by definition means specifically money that is used to "pay down" the total purchase price. This does not include money for closing costs, points, interest, and other items such as insurance. But if you are buying wholesale properties, fixing them and refinancing to pull cash out, you should be able to pay all your expenses and have a nice profit at the end of the day. (Just keep some of that cash in reserve for emergencies)
If you do 3 houses per year, and you only net $25,000 total, after paying all expenses on each of the 3 houses, you are still netting $75,000 cash and equity in about 6 to 8 months. Plus, if you are renting these properties, you are also creating additional streams of income through monthly cash flow as well as accumulating equity in each property.
This is a solid strategy to achieve a retirement nest egg and ongoing income for life in less than 10 years. If you look around at the real estate investors who are wealthy, the vast majority own rental property, be it residential or commercial.
They understand the concept of buying at a discount, then holding their properties for years. They get to the point where their holdings are worth double or triple the price paid. This is free money that you can earn simply by buying and holding long term. No, this is not as easy as it sounds, but nothing worth doing is ever easy. If it were, everyone would be wealthy.
There are wholesaling companies in every major city that specialize in selling fixer upper properties that fit with strategy number 3 in this article. Look for their signs on the side of the road, their ads in the paper, or ads in local thrifty nickel type shopping papers.
Most deals do require some out of pocket cash, even if it is only temporary, until you refinance.
True no down payment opportunities are pretty rare these days, with interest rates at historic lows. If interest rates go back up, (and they will) we will see more creative financing and more no down payment opportunities in the future.
By: Donna Robinson
There are several "classic" methods commonly used to purchase real estate with no money down. There are an infinite variety of situations in a real estate transaction that could lead to a deal with no down payment. But for the sake of reality, I will focus on those that are most commonly seen in the current market.
1. Seller second - The buyer obtains a new first mortgage for most but not all of the total purchase price. The seller finances the rest.
Purchase price: $100,000
Buyers loan: $90,000 (90% LTV) (new first mortgage)
Sellers finances $10,000 (in the form of a new second mortgage)
The buyer has borrowed 100% of the purchase price. Thus, you have100% financing, and no down payment was paid by buyer.
This is not a difficult strategy to employ if the seller has enough equity, is willing to hold a second, and the first mortgage lender approves.
One thing that is not mentioned in most articles about this strategy is the requirement for lender approval. The lender who is making the 90% loan will have to agree to allow the seller to take back a second mortgage. In cases where the buyer has better credit, this is usually OK with the lender. But if the buyer has a lower credit score, the lender may not approve of this. If your credit score is on the lower side, but you have good documented income, you may still qualify.
Talk to your lender ahead of time and find out if creative financing options such as a seller second would be allowed. Make sure you have a lender who is used to working on investment property loans. Some mortgage companies only have programs for owner occupants. You need to go to a lender who specializes in loans for investors.
2. Another common way to obtain a no down payment loan is to utilize one of the many low or no down payment programs that exist. Many of these are intended for owner occupants, but some are available for investors. Again, it is important to talk to the right lender.
If you have an investment property that you want to sell, consider taking back a second mortgage for 5-10%. This is not a huge amount, and it can help you sell your property faster.
When it comes to finding a seller who will help you create a no money down deal, consider buying from an investor who is willing to be flexible. Some investors are willing to do creative financing simply because they understand that it helps them sell houses. It never hurts to make an offer that includes a seller second. You never know until you ask.
There are some points to remember when purchasing investment property with no money down. A key point is the comparison of monthly payments to expected rental income. When you are financing 100% of the purchase price, your payments will be higher. If you have a second mortgage payment to add to a first mortgage, your payment may be even higher. Be sure your rental income will cover the entire monthly payment.
3. More common among professional investors is buying wholesale properties, using hard money to purchase and rehab.
When the rehab is completed, you want to get a new mortgage that pays off the hard money loan. Since this is a refinance, you can take cash out of the property. You may have to bring some money to closing on the hard money loan, but you get it all back when you refinance, so you end up with no money out of pocket. This becomes not only a "no down payment" deal, but also a "cash back at closing" deal.
It works like this:
Purchase price $100,000
Repairs $15,000
Hard money loan $115,000
Purchase and repair, then get new loan to pay off hard money.
New loan is based on 90% of After Repair Value.
For our example, the ARV is $150,000
90% of $150,000 is $135,000.
New loan for $135,000. Subtract hard money loan pay off of $115,000 leaves $20,000.
You keep the extra $20,000 in cash, tax free since it is a loan, rent your house out and let the tenant pay the loan back.
Your gross profit is $20,000 cash and $15,000 equity. Total gross profit $35,000. Not too bad for a couple months work.
Down payment by definition means specifically money that is used to "pay down" the total purchase price. This does not include money for closing costs, points, interest, and other items such as insurance. But if you are buying wholesale properties, fixing them and refinancing to pull cash out, you should be able to pay all your expenses and have a nice profit at the end of the day. (Just keep some of that cash in reserve for emergencies)
If you do 3 houses per year, and you only net $25,000 total, after paying all expenses on each of the 3 houses, you are still netting $75,000 cash and equity in about 6 to 8 months. Plus, if you are renting these properties, you are also creating additional streams of income through monthly cash flow as well as accumulating equity in each property.
This is a solid strategy to achieve a retirement nest egg and ongoing income for life in less than 10 years. If you look around at the real estate investors who are wealthy, the vast majority own rental property, be it residential or commercial.
They understand the concept of buying at a discount, then holding their properties for years. They get to the point where their holdings are worth double or triple the price paid. This is free money that you can earn simply by buying and holding long term. No, this is not as easy as it sounds, but nothing worth doing is ever easy. If it were, everyone would be wealthy.
There are wholesaling companies in every major city that specialize in selling fixer upper properties that fit with strategy number 3 in this article. Look for their signs on the side of the road, their ads in the paper, or ads in local thrifty nickel type shopping papers.
Most deals do require some out of pocket cash, even if it is only temporary, until you refinance.
True no down payment opportunities are pretty rare these days, with interest rates at historic lows. If interest rates go back up, (and they will) we will see more creative financing and more no down payment opportunities in the future.
By: Donna Robinson
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Top 3 Reasons to Delay Purchasing a Home
So you have set aside enough funds for a down payment on a house and closing costs? And you are curious to know if there is ever a time when you shouldn't buy? Regardless of all the benefits of buying a home, it is still a major and life changing purchase and a buyer should go forward with an cautiously optimistic but informed attitude.
An important thing to honestly evaluate before you purchase is the average appreciation rates of your local market and your own personal circumstances. Historically, the average appreciation rate for real property has been roughly 6%; however, as the nation is huge your local market appreciation rates can obviously vary. Your main objective should be to stay in your house long enough so that you are not placed in a position where you will have to sell your home at a loss. If you have to sell a home before it has appreciated enough to cover the costs and commissions of selling, you could find yourself in a serious, financial bind. This especially applies to those who buy a home with a down payment of ten percent or less. In the market of the past five years, many who purchased homes with zero down payments are finding themselves in exactly that position, basically "under" their loan.
Real estate commissions traditionally run around six percent of a home's sales price. The seller's closing costs generally amounts to about one and a half percent. Adding all the costs you would incur if you were forced to sell, you can see how this can easily exceed the first year's appreciation of your home. If you made a minimal down payment (from 3% - 5%), you could actually have to come up with cash out of pocket to sell your home. In addition, if the value of the houses in your neighborhood has dropped considerably, you may also find yourself owing a deficiency judgment. A deficiency judgment is a judgment for an amount not covered by the value of the security( in this case your house) put up for a loan or installment payments. In general, with the final sale of the house, the owner is still left with a balance owing on the original amount of the loan and is liable by law to pay it. While this is the worst case scenario, it still is prudent to know that such situations can occur and realistically evaluate how you can avoid them.
The three occasions when it is much better to hold off on buying a home are the following:
New to the Area
A very good to reason to delay buying a home is if you have just moved to an unfamiliar area or region of the country. It makes sense to rent for a number of months before deciding on exactly which neighborhood you desire and can afford to live in. Often when people are too hasty to buy a home immediately, they find that they might have made a better decision if they had waited awhile and had become more familiar with the surrounding neighborhood and local community. They would have additional leisure time to evaluate home values and find the best bargain in the neighborhood they desired to live in.
Uncertain or Unstable Job Future
You could have just graduated from college or you are expecting a promotion and a transfer. Or perhaps, your company has announced an impending "restructuring" or "downsizing". If any of these apply to your situation, it might be best to forego buying a home until your job and financial situation stabilizes. It is much easier to dissolve a lease on an apartment or condo, than to try to sell a home in a financially difficult or pressing situation.
Marital Problems
While not advertised on national real estate ads, real estate agents are often participants in the real unfolding life drama of clients who have to sell their houses due to foreclosure, divorce, and deaths in the family. One of the saddest scenarios occurs when recent former clients undergo a divorce and are forced to sell a recently purchased house. For whatever reason, many couples in marital turmoil, are steeped in denial and often decide that buying a new home may help resolve their difficulties. Perhaps it is inevitable that such problems should then occur, but selling a home before it appreciates can create an additional emotionally draining financial burden in an already difficult situation.
While this certainly isn't meant to discourage the prospective buyer, it certainly is intended to inform the buyer of the serious decision they are about to undertake and to evaluate his or her circumstances honestly. Taking the time to be forthright at the outset will assure a purchase they will be happy with in the long run. For more information visit http://www.nefcortez.com
by Nef Cortez
An important thing to honestly evaluate before you purchase is the average appreciation rates of your local market and your own personal circumstances. Historically, the average appreciation rate for real property has been roughly 6%; however, as the nation is huge your local market appreciation rates can obviously vary. Your main objective should be to stay in your house long enough so that you are not placed in a position where you will have to sell your home at a loss. If you have to sell a home before it has appreciated enough to cover the costs and commissions of selling, you could find yourself in a serious, financial bind. This especially applies to those who buy a home with a down payment of ten percent or less. In the market of the past five years, many who purchased homes with zero down payments are finding themselves in exactly that position, basically "under" their loan.
Real estate commissions traditionally run around six percent of a home's sales price. The seller's closing costs generally amounts to about one and a half percent. Adding all the costs you would incur if you were forced to sell, you can see how this can easily exceed the first year's appreciation of your home. If you made a minimal down payment (from 3% - 5%), you could actually have to come up with cash out of pocket to sell your home. In addition, if the value of the houses in your neighborhood has dropped considerably, you may also find yourself owing a deficiency judgment. A deficiency judgment is a judgment for an amount not covered by the value of the security( in this case your house) put up for a loan or installment payments. In general, with the final sale of the house, the owner is still left with a balance owing on the original amount of the loan and is liable by law to pay it. While this is the worst case scenario, it still is prudent to know that such situations can occur and realistically evaluate how you can avoid them.
The three occasions when it is much better to hold off on buying a home are the following:
New to the Area
A very good to reason to delay buying a home is if you have just moved to an unfamiliar area or region of the country. It makes sense to rent for a number of months before deciding on exactly which neighborhood you desire and can afford to live in. Often when people are too hasty to buy a home immediately, they find that they might have made a better decision if they had waited awhile and had become more familiar with the surrounding neighborhood and local community. They would have additional leisure time to evaluate home values and find the best bargain in the neighborhood they desired to live in.
Uncertain or Unstable Job Future
You could have just graduated from college or you are expecting a promotion and a transfer. Or perhaps, your company has announced an impending "restructuring" or "downsizing". If any of these apply to your situation, it might be best to forego buying a home until your job and financial situation stabilizes. It is much easier to dissolve a lease on an apartment or condo, than to try to sell a home in a financially difficult or pressing situation.
Marital Problems
While not advertised on national real estate ads, real estate agents are often participants in the real unfolding life drama of clients who have to sell their houses due to foreclosure, divorce, and deaths in the family. One of the saddest scenarios occurs when recent former clients undergo a divorce and are forced to sell a recently purchased house. For whatever reason, many couples in marital turmoil, are steeped in denial and often decide that buying a new home may help resolve their difficulties. Perhaps it is inevitable that such problems should then occur, but selling a home before it appreciates can create an additional emotionally draining financial burden in an already difficult situation.
While this certainly isn't meant to discourage the prospective buyer, it certainly is intended to inform the buyer of the serious decision they are about to undertake and to evaluate his or her circumstances honestly. Taking the time to be forthright at the outset will assure a purchase they will be happy with in the long run. For more information visit http://www.nefcortez.com
by Nef Cortez
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Home Selling Tips: Maximize Your Home's Sales Potential
Home Selling Tips
Home selling tips are everywhere - some are suggestions you might never have thought of. Others, are general ones you're likely to find everywhere. However,just because they're common doesn't mean they don't work.
Here are some home selling tips of our own:
· When advertising your property, never use the words "asking" or "negotiable" with your selling price. This will only make it seem like you're not sure of the value of your home. Why bother setting the price in the first place if further negotiation is likely to change it?
· When preparing your house, try to see it from the buyer's point of view. Would you want to buy a house like your own?
· Unless you're sure you're up to the challenge, hire a good agent and attorney to do the home selling for you. It may cost more, but it can save you a lot of aggravation in the long run.
· Make sure you have full Multiple Listing Service coverage - this is a powerful tip to remember. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the strongest selling tool for your home. Some people would not even advise you to check for any offers before you see you home on MLS!
· Home showings through an open house are a good idea, especially if you live in a small town.
· Getting clutter out of the way will not only improve home showings, but also make it easier to pack once the home has been sold.
· Finish any renovations you've started on the house. No buyer wants to finish a job the seller started!
· When negotiating with the buyer, throw your bad mood away. It's hard to discuss price when you're still upset about the buyer's plans to cut down the tree you love. Maintain an interactive discussion and build up trust. Even if the offer doesn't work out, keep up a good impression.
· Don't let buyers' offers sway you - consult with your attorney about the price offered. Usually there's a period of three days for you to accept or reject an offer. Also be prepared for home inspections, as usually this happens during this stage of the home selling process.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article: home selling tips are endles. Choose only the tips that would best suit your needs and situation.
To Your Success,
by Dan Giordano
Dan Giordano http://www.FreeRealEstateDeals.com
Home selling tips are everywhere - some are suggestions you might never have thought of. Others, are general ones you're likely to find everywhere. However,just because they're common doesn't mean they don't work.
Here are some home selling tips of our own:
· When advertising your property, never use the words "asking" or "negotiable" with your selling price. This will only make it seem like you're not sure of the value of your home. Why bother setting the price in the first place if further negotiation is likely to change it?
· When preparing your house, try to see it from the buyer's point of view. Would you want to buy a house like your own?
· Unless you're sure you're up to the challenge, hire a good agent and attorney to do the home selling for you. It may cost more, but it can save you a lot of aggravation in the long run.
· Make sure you have full Multiple Listing Service coverage - this is a powerful tip to remember. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the strongest selling tool for your home. Some people would not even advise you to check for any offers before you see you home on MLS!
· Home showings through an open house are a good idea, especially if you live in a small town.
· Getting clutter out of the way will not only improve home showings, but also make it easier to pack once the home has been sold.
· Finish any renovations you've started on the house. No buyer wants to finish a job the seller started!
· When negotiating with the buyer, throw your bad mood away. It's hard to discuss price when you're still upset about the buyer's plans to cut down the tree you love. Maintain an interactive discussion and build up trust. Even if the offer doesn't work out, keep up a good impression.
· Don't let buyers' offers sway you - consult with your attorney about the price offered. Usually there's a period of three days for you to accept or reject an offer. Also be prepared for home inspections, as usually this happens during this stage of the home selling process.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this article: home selling tips are endles. Choose only the tips that would best suit your needs and situation.
To Your Success,
by Dan Giordano
Dan Giordano http://www.FreeRealEstateDeals.com
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Buy-Change-Sell: A Real Estate Strategy
Here's a proven real estate strategy: Buy a property, change the use, and sell it for a profit. Big profits are possible if you find its most profitable use. The disadvantages of this strategy? There is a lot of homework required, and many possible dealings with zoning authorities and others.
Years ago there was a row of old homes on a main street in the Northern Michigan town where I used to live. Many of them were rentals. None of them were very well taken care of. Then one day they were gone.
What had happened? That part of the street had been zoned commercial for many years, but there wasn't a reason to tear down perfectly good homes to put up stores. That is, there wasn't a reason until the land could be sold for commercial purposes at a price that exceeded the value of the homes plus the cost of removing them.
As the town grew, at some point an investor realized that he could buy those rental homes, tear them down, and sell the land for a nice profit. This is not uncommon. A particular piece of real estate is not always used for its "highest purpose." When this is the case, it may sell for much less money than it otherwise should. It is just waiting for someone to recognize what its highest purpose is, and then buy it and convert it.
Sometimes an office that had once been a home is converted back into a home, because the property is worth more as a home. Homes sometimes become professional offices for attorneys and doctors. The more common examples of a change of use is when farmland is developed for homes, or when apartment buildings are made into condominiums. Many of these ideas will be covered as their own topics.
The bottom line is that if there is a higher use for a property, there may be a profit opportunity. How can you tell? First you have to identify the highest use, meaning the use that makes the property most valuable. One way to do this is to simply look around and see what is happening with other properties around the one you are looking at.
Once you determine what the property should or could be used for, you have to determine how much it will sell for when it is ready. Then you determine how much it will cost to get it ready, plus the holding costs until it sells, and the costs associated with buying it and selling it. Subtract all of these costs from the projected sale's price.
Then subtract the profit you want for your work from that figure. This gives you the maximum price you can pay to make the deal work. Offer less, of course. That helps with this and any other real estate investing strategy.
by Steve Gillman
Years ago there was a row of old homes on a main street in the Northern Michigan town where I used to live. Many of them were rentals. None of them were very well taken care of. Then one day they were gone.
What had happened? That part of the street had been zoned commercial for many years, but there wasn't a reason to tear down perfectly good homes to put up stores. That is, there wasn't a reason until the land could be sold for commercial purposes at a price that exceeded the value of the homes plus the cost of removing them.
As the town grew, at some point an investor realized that he could buy those rental homes, tear them down, and sell the land for a nice profit. This is not uncommon. A particular piece of real estate is not always used for its "highest purpose." When this is the case, it may sell for much less money than it otherwise should. It is just waiting for someone to recognize what its highest purpose is, and then buy it and convert it.
Sometimes an office that had once been a home is converted back into a home, because the property is worth more as a home. Homes sometimes become professional offices for attorneys and doctors. The more common examples of a change of use is when farmland is developed for homes, or when apartment buildings are made into condominiums. Many of these ideas will be covered as their own topics.
The bottom line is that if there is a higher use for a property, there may be a profit opportunity. How can you tell? First you have to identify the highest use, meaning the use that makes the property most valuable. One way to do this is to simply look around and see what is happening with other properties around the one you are looking at.
Once you determine what the property should or could be used for, you have to determine how much it will sell for when it is ready. Then you determine how much it will cost to get it ready, plus the holding costs until it sells, and the costs associated with buying it and selling it. Subtract all of these costs from the projected sale's price.
Then subtract the profit you want for your work from that figure. This gives you the maximum price you can pay to make the deal work. Offer less, of course. That helps with this and any other real estate investing strategy.
by Steve Gillman
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Owner Financing Made Easy: Your Solution to Real Estate Success!
Would you like to know a proven method to sell property quickly and for greater than fair market value? Would you like to have a competitive edge over all the other homes on the block? Would you like to have constant cash flow after you sell your property? Owner financing is a lucrative, time-proven method that works in good and bad markets. The market has changed and your marketing must change too! Owner financing is a common strategy that works well in today's market and is how the banks have gotten RICH...and so can YOU! Just learn the rules, regulations, and points that make your investment safe, low risk, and maximum value.
Benefits to owner financing:
- Solve the two biggest problems a buyer has
- Sell your property quickly in both good and bad markets
- Keep a competitive edge regardless of increased foreclosures and new home construction
- Attract more buyers
- Avoid extensive price negotiations
- Have a constant cash flow after you sell your property and create wealth
Owner financing is a huge advantage for acquiring properties and selling properties.
When you sell your property using owner financing, you make a significant transition from being a property owner to a note owner/investor. This means you utilize two strategies: (1) a competitive advantage to sell your property profitability and quickly and, (2) cash flow after you sell your property. You become the bank! This strategy allows you to collect cash flow from the property you sold and continue to profit from the sale afterwards.
By owner financing you can generate more profits than if you just sold the property and collected the cash. Owner financing allows you to set the terms, including interest rate and payment terms. You are helping the buyer while generating steady cash flow; owner financing is creative deal structuring that is a win/win for all parties involved. Get rich with owner financing or get left behind!
by Maria Fee
Benefits to owner financing:
- Solve the two biggest problems a buyer has
- Sell your property quickly in both good and bad markets
- Keep a competitive edge regardless of increased foreclosures and new home construction
- Attract more buyers
- Avoid extensive price negotiations
- Have a constant cash flow after you sell your property and create wealth
Owner financing is a huge advantage for acquiring properties and selling properties.
When you sell your property using owner financing, you make a significant transition from being a property owner to a note owner/investor. This means you utilize two strategies: (1) a competitive advantage to sell your property profitability and quickly and, (2) cash flow after you sell your property. You become the bank! This strategy allows you to collect cash flow from the property you sold and continue to profit from the sale afterwards.
By owner financing you can generate more profits than if you just sold the property and collected the cash. Owner financing allows you to set the terms, including interest rate and payment terms. You are helping the buyer while generating steady cash flow; owner financing is creative deal structuring that is a win/win for all parties involved. Get rich with owner financing or get left behind!
by Maria Fee
Saturday, February 3, 2007
How To Give Yourself A $20,000/Year Raise Without Asking Your Boss
Why without asking your boss?
Two reasons, one, he or she will most likely say no; and second, he or she will probably have you committed for asking.
So what do you do. Give the raise to yourself.
Impossible you say. Chuck and Sue are crazy. Not at all. Here's how.
You know we love the Creative Real Estate niche of Lease Purchasing and you know we believe it to be the perfect home-based business.
But, did you know you can use these same methods in your spare time to give yourself that big raise.
Ask yourself, "What would I be willing to do to earn an extra $20,000 in a year".
The answer may surprise you. And no, you don't have to become a hit man (or woman) to earn this.
You just have to be willing to take a look at Lease Purchasing.
Some background before you think we've completely lost it.
For every 100 calls Sue makes on For Sale By Owner property, she either speaks with or leaves messages for about 60%. That's about 60 people she puts the concept of Lease Purchasing in front of.
Out of that 60, approximately 10 will develop into true prospects. From these 10, 2 or 3 will develop into property we are willing to take on. The others may become consultations or manual sales.
(Please keep in mind, these numbers will vary a bit depending upon your particular area and current market conditions).
Gee, you say, that sounds like a lot of work. Not really. Consider making those calls over a 3 month period. That's the equivalent of a call per day. Why a 3 month period. Because you're only looking to do one deal a quarter.
Next question. How does this translate into a $20,000/yr. raise? Simple.
On a typical single family house, we look for a $5000 assignment fee on average. Well, let's do the math. 4 x $5,000 = $20,000.
Yup, a $20,000 raise on 4 deals per year.
Is this realistic? Absolutely.
In fact, we may be conservative on that raise for you. You may well decide to do five or six or more deals in a year.
All it takes is knowing how to structure your deals, having the proper contracts and a willingness to want to give yourself a raise. You can find all this information at our website at: www.homebusinesssolutions.com/products/products.htm
You're right. Chuck and Sue are crazy. Crazy like a fox.
Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
Two reasons, one, he or she will most likely say no; and second, he or she will probably have you committed for asking.
So what do you do. Give the raise to yourself.
Impossible you say. Chuck and Sue are crazy. Not at all. Here's how.
You know we love the Creative Real Estate niche of Lease Purchasing and you know we believe it to be the perfect home-based business.
But, did you know you can use these same methods in your spare time to give yourself that big raise.
Ask yourself, "What would I be willing to do to earn an extra $20,000 in a year".
The answer may surprise you. And no, you don't have to become a hit man (or woman) to earn this.
You just have to be willing to take a look at Lease Purchasing.
Some background before you think we've completely lost it.
For every 100 calls Sue makes on For Sale By Owner property, she either speaks with or leaves messages for about 60%. That's about 60 people she puts the concept of Lease Purchasing in front of.
Out of that 60, approximately 10 will develop into true prospects. From these 10, 2 or 3 will develop into property we are willing to take on. The others may become consultations or manual sales.
(Please keep in mind, these numbers will vary a bit depending upon your particular area and current market conditions).
Gee, you say, that sounds like a lot of work. Not really. Consider making those calls over a 3 month period. That's the equivalent of a call per day. Why a 3 month period. Because you're only looking to do one deal a quarter.
Next question. How does this translate into a $20,000/yr. raise? Simple.
On a typical single family house, we look for a $5000 assignment fee on average. Well, let's do the math. 4 x $5,000 = $20,000.
Yup, a $20,000 raise on 4 deals per year.
Is this realistic? Absolutely.
In fact, we may be conservative on that raise for you. You may well decide to do five or six or more deals in a year.
All it takes is knowing how to structure your deals, having the proper contracts and a willingness to want to give yourself a raise. You can find all this information at our website at: www.homebusinesssolutions.com/products/products.htm
You're right. Chuck and Sue are crazy. Crazy like a fox.
Copyright 2000, DeFiore Enterprises
Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com
Saturday, January 27, 2007
A Powerful Suggested Technique for YOUR Home & Property Search
You can be a pro at buying a home: Whether you are buying your first home or you are an experienced home buyer who owns more than one home, there are some things that can help you get faster results and get more professional and pleasant help from your Realtor.
A home or property purchase is one of the most important and exciting events to experience. Owning a home can help you build equity while reducing your income tax.
Land of any size requires minimal maintenance and is one of the best long term investments, even compared to gold or diamonds. However, along with the low maintenance, there is seldom any income to offset the cost. There are exceptions, mobile home parks, parking lots, and land rental under a shopping center are wonderful investments with relatively low maintenance if any.
Those who own land and property, as opposed to those who rent or lease, are historically considered to have a measure of stability, success and personal merit in addition to the obvious personal financial worth. This is so true that our Founding Fathers, who were dedicated students of all recorded human history, decreed that to be eligible to vote in our country a person must be a freeholder -- that is one who owned property mortgage free. They knew that the most responsible citizens would be the most responsible voters. Few of us would meet that criteria today. A person who held his property debt free, that is with a free and clear title, a Freeholder, was considered to have made good decisions, had good self control and managed his affairs well. Therefore, that person was considered to have obtained a level of maturity and responsibility -- that proved an ability to manage personal affairs and money as well as a priority to think of the future. The person who owned property with no debt, thus had obtained a sufficient ability to be allowed to vote on the management of our government and the public trust.
We are a nation of home and property owners more than any other nation on earth. However, most of us have a mortgage these days. If you, like most of us, need a mortgage on your new property, we hope you will find value in this article and that it will help you understand the advantage of planning your mortgage as a prerequisite to your purchase of a home. Having completed the mortgage acquisition step, a Realtor can help you organize your home search, as you begin browsing through the housing market.
Determining what features you want in your ideal or dream house and what payments you can afford are the important first steps. We ask that you consider the entire cost of home ownership, that is a total of the principle and interest payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance. Most folks are aware of the first four P.I.T.I. or Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. There is another cost of home ownership that is not often figured in. It is property maintenance.
Maintenance is usually about 5% of the value of the improvements per year, if the average is taken over a long period of time, such as forty years. Many people think that 5% is too high a figure and prefer to use 2-3% instead. Whichever you use, make sure you figure in the cost of maintenance or you will end up not easily able to afford the upkeep on your property. This is very important to realize whether you are buying a new home or an older one. And, the older home will usually have a lot of deferred maintenance -- that is things that should have been done and haven't been!
If, for example, you purchase a home and lot where the vacant lot would sell for $50,000, and the home could be replaced for $250,000 and the landscaping value is $20,000 -- a rule of thumb is that you should figure $12,000 per year in maintenance of the home and another thousand in the maintenance of the grounds. We see properties all the time where the improvements have what is known as deferred maintenance. That work that should have been done and hasn't been, soon will need to be done. Deferred maintenance, maintenance not done that should have been done, is subtracted from the value of a home by those in the market, even if it is subconsciously done.
Home maintenance includes painting, caulking, re-carpeting, floor sanding refinishing, re-roofing every 15 to 50 years, depending on the composition of the roof and even replacing of windows, trim and siding. Outside there are sidewalks, the driveway, out buildings, decks, mulching, shrubbery maintenance, fertilizing, reseeding and replanting and of course the regular cutting and similar lawn care expenses. The reason we bring all this up about maintenance is that we hope you figure in the cost of it in addition to your home cost. If maintenance is not figured in you will end up with a mortgage plus maintenance cost or have to borrow more money to do the work that is needed, and that makes it more difficult to afford your new home.
It is important to figure in all the appropriate costs, expenses and other pertinent things, and to get a mortgage that you are able and willing to afford. It is important to your Realtor too. Some Realtors, in order to conserve their time and have more available for serious buyers, require that a person or couple be pre-qualified for the price range in which they seek to purchase a property first, before they begin to show properties. This is a good idea for the buyer as well as the Realtor and some sellers even ask us to NOT bring any prospective purchasers, unless they are financially prequalified -- in writing!
Mortgage brokers will gladly pull your credit report and get you a letter of pre-qualification or even a loan commitment letter for the amount you need to purchase a home. If you have a written loan commitment in hand when you first contact a Realtor, you will get considerably more and better attention.
One of the most difficult situations for a Realtor is that some percentage of the prospective purchasers that come to see properties for sale are not able to purchase those properties. Roughly 95% of a Realtor's time is preparation, paper work, promotion, marketing, web site modification and maintenance as well as maintaining contact with our most qualified buyers and sellers. When we spend two or three hours with a prospective purchaser, and it's usually far more, we are taking away from all the other things we are responsible to do for our other buyers and for our sellers. That time has to be made up.
For properties under $200,000 perhaps half of the folks that come to see us for a home are not able to buy the one they want to see. For properties under $100,000 about 75% of the folks who ask us to see properties are not able to purchase those properties. And, for those folks who come into our offices or call us regarding properties under $100,000 the percentage who can't purchase what they want is greater and greater as the price goes down.
Interestingly enough, a fairly high percentage of those who seek a property over a million dollars are qualified to purchase those properties without the help of our mortgage broker. Either they have their own banker, or they are able to obtain the funds on their own from other investments, or perhaps they even have a liquid assets account such as a money market account.
If you wish to be a shining light, and of greatest interest to your chosen Realtor, you are well advised to seek a mortgage broker or mortgage banker first and get a response in writing to bring with you. Your mortgage banker will probably ask for copies of prior years' tax returns. If you have copies of your credit reports, tax returns, lists of assets and all liabilities, and your bank statements are organized, you're ready to start exploring the housing market and shopping for a mortgage.
By the way, as I write this, our in-house Mortgage Broker or another lender of our choice, is able to give you a better rate and better terms than any other mortgage banker or broker in the market. Whether you use us as your Realtor or not, and if you are planning to purchase in our area we hope you will use us; you will get the utmost attention from your Realtor when you show up with a loan commitment!
Now SHOP! And, have fun!
by Jody Hudson
A home or property purchase is one of the most important and exciting events to experience. Owning a home can help you build equity while reducing your income tax.
Land of any size requires minimal maintenance and is one of the best long term investments, even compared to gold or diamonds. However, along with the low maintenance, there is seldom any income to offset the cost. There are exceptions, mobile home parks, parking lots, and land rental under a shopping center are wonderful investments with relatively low maintenance if any.
Those who own land and property, as opposed to those who rent or lease, are historically considered to have a measure of stability, success and personal merit in addition to the obvious personal financial worth. This is so true that our Founding Fathers, who were dedicated students of all recorded human history, decreed that to be eligible to vote in our country a person must be a freeholder -- that is one who owned property mortgage free. They knew that the most responsible citizens would be the most responsible voters. Few of us would meet that criteria today. A person who held his property debt free, that is with a free and clear title, a Freeholder, was considered to have made good decisions, had good self control and managed his affairs well. Therefore, that person was considered to have obtained a level of maturity and responsibility -- that proved an ability to manage personal affairs and money as well as a priority to think of the future. The person who owned property with no debt, thus had obtained a sufficient ability to be allowed to vote on the management of our government and the public trust.
We are a nation of home and property owners more than any other nation on earth. However, most of us have a mortgage these days. If you, like most of us, need a mortgage on your new property, we hope you will find value in this article and that it will help you understand the advantage of planning your mortgage as a prerequisite to your purchase of a home. Having completed the mortgage acquisition step, a Realtor can help you organize your home search, as you begin browsing through the housing market.
Determining what features you want in your ideal or dream house and what payments you can afford are the important first steps. We ask that you consider the entire cost of home ownership, that is a total of the principle and interest payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance. Most folks are aware of the first four P.I.T.I. or Principle, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. There is another cost of home ownership that is not often figured in. It is property maintenance.
Maintenance is usually about 5% of the value of the improvements per year, if the average is taken over a long period of time, such as forty years. Many people think that 5% is too high a figure and prefer to use 2-3% instead. Whichever you use, make sure you figure in the cost of maintenance or you will end up not easily able to afford the upkeep on your property. This is very important to realize whether you are buying a new home or an older one. And, the older home will usually have a lot of deferred maintenance -- that is things that should have been done and haven't been!
If, for example, you purchase a home and lot where the vacant lot would sell for $50,000, and the home could be replaced for $250,000 and the landscaping value is $20,000 -- a rule of thumb is that you should figure $12,000 per year in maintenance of the home and another thousand in the maintenance of the grounds. We see properties all the time where the improvements have what is known as deferred maintenance. That work that should have been done and hasn't been, soon will need to be done. Deferred maintenance, maintenance not done that should have been done, is subtracted from the value of a home by those in the market, even if it is subconsciously done.
Home maintenance includes painting, caulking, re-carpeting, floor sanding refinishing, re-roofing every 15 to 50 years, depending on the composition of the roof and even replacing of windows, trim and siding. Outside there are sidewalks, the driveway, out buildings, decks, mulching, shrubbery maintenance, fertilizing, reseeding and replanting and of course the regular cutting and similar lawn care expenses. The reason we bring all this up about maintenance is that we hope you figure in the cost of it in addition to your home cost. If maintenance is not figured in you will end up with a mortgage plus maintenance cost or have to borrow more money to do the work that is needed, and that makes it more difficult to afford your new home.
It is important to figure in all the appropriate costs, expenses and other pertinent things, and to get a mortgage that you are able and willing to afford. It is important to your Realtor too. Some Realtors, in order to conserve their time and have more available for serious buyers, require that a person or couple be pre-qualified for the price range in which they seek to purchase a property first, before they begin to show properties. This is a good idea for the buyer as well as the Realtor and some sellers even ask us to NOT bring any prospective purchasers, unless they are financially prequalified -- in writing!
Mortgage brokers will gladly pull your credit report and get you a letter of pre-qualification or even a loan commitment letter for the amount you need to purchase a home. If you have a written loan commitment in hand when you first contact a Realtor, you will get considerably more and better attention.
One of the most difficult situations for a Realtor is that some percentage of the prospective purchasers that come to see properties for sale are not able to purchase those properties. Roughly 95% of a Realtor's time is preparation, paper work, promotion, marketing, web site modification and maintenance as well as maintaining contact with our most qualified buyers and sellers. When we spend two or three hours with a prospective purchaser, and it's usually far more, we are taking away from all the other things we are responsible to do for our other buyers and for our sellers. That time has to be made up.
For properties under $200,000 perhaps half of the folks that come to see us for a home are not able to buy the one they want to see. For properties under $100,000 about 75% of the folks who ask us to see properties are not able to purchase those properties. And, for those folks who come into our offices or call us regarding properties under $100,000 the percentage who can't purchase what they want is greater and greater as the price goes down.
Interestingly enough, a fairly high percentage of those who seek a property over a million dollars are qualified to purchase those properties without the help of our mortgage broker. Either they have their own banker, or they are able to obtain the funds on their own from other investments, or perhaps they even have a liquid assets account such as a money market account.
If you wish to be a shining light, and of greatest interest to your chosen Realtor, you are well advised to seek a mortgage broker or mortgage banker first and get a response in writing to bring with you. Your mortgage banker will probably ask for copies of prior years' tax returns. If you have copies of your credit reports, tax returns, lists of assets and all liabilities, and your bank statements are organized, you're ready to start exploring the housing market and shopping for a mortgage.
By the way, as I write this, our in-house Mortgage Broker or another lender of our choice, is able to give you a better rate and better terms than any other mortgage banker or broker in the market. Whether you use us as your Realtor or not, and if you are planning to purchase in our area we hope you will use us; you will get the utmost attention from your Realtor when you show up with a loan commitment!
Now SHOP! And, have fun!
by Jody Hudson
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
How to Make the Real Estate Market Work For You and Get The Most Money
Dad always said that Real estate is a good investment because they don't make it anymore. Because they are so busy these days anyone selling your home may be thinking more of listing more homes than your welfare. If you plan on selling and moving you will need to take some simple steps to get the most money you can.
Most Real Estate companies do a good job but in a sellers market you can probably sell your home yourself. Anyway if you have the time it won't hurt to try. If it doesn't sell then you can always call the pros in latter. The internet has been a blessing to the average person. Not only can you sell many things you don't need anymore, you can even sell your home on the net at sites like PropertytraderUSA.com. Thousands of people visit sites like this looking for a new home. Even if your home is with a Broker you can still speed things along by putting low cost ads on the internet.
First you need to get your home ready to show. Buyers like homes that are clean with as few of your things as possible lying around so it's time to do a spring-cleaning. Some big furniture may cost more to move than its worth so sell these things locally. You may want to buy new things later anyway. Then look around for small stuff you don't want and sell it on eBay. What's left is stuff you can't live without or it's just junk. If you aren't sure then ask your wife guys, she'll point out the junk to you.
If you like most people have collected too much stuff then consider renting storage for a month or two. Clean out the garage and hose it down to get rid of dust and spider webs. Men like garages and want to picture their tools and things there. One of the best home improvements that don't cost a lot of money is pant, especially if you don't mind doing the labor.
Ever notice how guests always end up in the kitchen? Most people like kitchens and this is the first room to remodel or just clean and paint. The next most important room is the bathroom. Repair leaks, rust spots, and replace the little things that seem to get ugly over time. If you have pets make sure you don't have a cat litter box sitting around smelling up the place. Homeowners get used to their own smells and can't smell a thing but your visitors' sure can!
Big dogs scare some people (not me) and maybe it would be best to let Bruno visit Uncle Pete for a few weeks. After you finish with everything invite some friends over for a party and get some feedback on how everything looks. When everything looks good it's time to take some pictures. You need good clear pictures to post on the net and mail to interested buyers. If you're not experienced at photography find someone that is. Good photography takes years to learn and that's what you need now. I've tested photos of my products on eBay and believe me it makes a big difference. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you use a Real Estate broker select one with lots of experience. I like the larger companies because they give you lots more exposure through their advertising and intercity referrals. Buyers trust them more also. The small cut-rate company's may be slower to find a buyer and fix problems. When you are ready to move be careful to pick an honest moving company. Many of them �ave been holding truckloads of belongings and demanding more money. Pick one with a good reputation.
When I was selling Real Estate there was no such thing as the internet. What a wonderful thing it is. More and more people are selling everything you can think of on the net. There are plenty of Real Estate listing websites including my own PropertyTraderUSA.com that will advertise your Home for a small fee. PropertytraderUSA.com is free for the first 200 ads. After that its only $25 for six months and includes a photo. Wow, can you imagine selling for $25 and saving all that money! Do it Now!
To your success! Dean Minton
Most Real Estate companies do a good job but in a sellers market you can probably sell your home yourself. Anyway if you have the time it won't hurt to try. If it doesn't sell then you can always call the pros in latter. The internet has been a blessing to the average person. Not only can you sell many things you don't need anymore, you can even sell your home on the net at sites like PropertytraderUSA.com. Thousands of people visit sites like this looking for a new home. Even if your home is with a Broker you can still speed things along by putting low cost ads on the internet.
First you need to get your home ready to show. Buyers like homes that are clean with as few of your things as possible lying around so it's time to do a spring-cleaning. Some big furniture may cost more to move than its worth so sell these things locally. You may want to buy new things later anyway. Then look around for small stuff you don't want and sell it on eBay. What's left is stuff you can't live without or it's just junk. If you aren't sure then ask your wife guys, she'll point out the junk to you.
If you like most people have collected too much stuff then consider renting storage for a month or two. Clean out the garage and hose it down to get rid of dust and spider webs. Men like garages and want to picture their tools and things there. One of the best home improvements that don't cost a lot of money is pant, especially if you don't mind doing the labor.
Ever notice how guests always end up in the kitchen? Most people like kitchens and this is the first room to remodel or just clean and paint. The next most important room is the bathroom. Repair leaks, rust spots, and replace the little things that seem to get ugly over time. If you have pets make sure you don't have a cat litter box sitting around smelling up the place. Homeowners get used to their own smells and can't smell a thing but your visitors' sure can!
Big dogs scare some people (not me) and maybe it would be best to let Bruno visit Uncle Pete for a few weeks. After you finish with everything invite some friends over for a party and get some feedback on how everything looks. When everything looks good it's time to take some pictures. You need good clear pictures to post on the net and mail to interested buyers. If you're not experienced at photography find someone that is. Good photography takes years to learn and that's what you need now. I've tested photos of my products on eBay and believe me it makes a big difference. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
If you use a Real Estate broker select one with lots of experience. I like the larger companies because they give you lots more exposure through their advertising and intercity referrals. Buyers trust them more also. The small cut-rate company's may be slower to find a buyer and fix problems. When you are ready to move be careful to pick an honest moving company. Many of them �ave been holding truckloads of belongings and demanding more money. Pick one with a good reputation.
When I was selling Real Estate there was no such thing as the internet. What a wonderful thing it is. More and more people are selling everything you can think of on the net. There are plenty of Real Estate listing websites including my own PropertyTraderUSA.com that will advertise your Home for a small fee. PropertytraderUSA.com is free for the first 200 ads. After that its only $25 for six months and includes a photo. Wow, can you imagine selling for $25 and saving all that money! Do it Now!
To your success! Dean Minton
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Purchasing Property With No Money Down: My Personal Experience
Have you ever seen those infomercials about buying houses with "No Money Down?" They are really well done. They have all kinds of people offering great testimonials about how they have gotten rich, buying rental properties, with absolutely no money out of their pocket. You see this guy, standing on a street corner, talking to someone, and he says, "I own that one," pointing to a beautiful colonial. "I also own that one next to it, and the one two doors down, and I'll be closing on the one directly across the street from it, next week." He then assures us that he has purchased 17 homes in the last eight or ten months, with zero money down on the properties. Plus, in many cases he's also paid no closing costs.
And, let's not forget, this same guy is grossing tens of thousands of dollars monthly, and his net worth is nearly one million dollars. So, he says.
Now, all of this looks wonderful, so when the person selling the course that will teach you how to do this, at a nifty price of just $297.00, speaks, you are glued to his every word. "Real estate is the safest and fastest way to make money, today," the expert will tell you.
So, can this really be done? Can you purchase houses with no money down? Can you become a landlord in as little as one month's time and start raking in the cash from those rent payments? The answer is an absolute "Yes." It can be done, and I am proof positive, because I've done it. The question you should be asking yourself is not can I buy real estate with no money down, but should I?
You see, this is a question that the guy selling the No Money Down course, with all of his people and their great testimonials hopes you never ask. His advertising and marketing strategy would collapse, if he gave anyone a chance to ask this question, because he would be forced to lie if he answered it.
Rarely is the whole truth anywhere to be found in infomercials, especially when the advertising is about No Money Down real estate programs. The infomercial makes the idea and the program look so easy that any child could handle it. It makes it seem like every American should be doing it, and we'd all be millionaires. But every American is not doing it, and many of the ones who are doing it not only are not getting rich, they are actually going broke. The infomercial won't tell you this. That's why I'm here.
The Truth
Now, let's get started with the truth about buying real estate with no money down and the truth about being a landlord. The first thing you need to know is that they are both very bad ideas. Let me illustrate by using my own experience in these areas. I started buying rental property nearly 10 years ago. The first property I bought was a deal orchestrated by some real estate con artist, who told me I needed just $2,000 to take ownership of this home and, in the process, help out a woman who was about to be foreclosed upon.
In two years, she would clean up her credit, refinance the loan on the house, and I would make $10,000. Sounded good to someone who was quick to buy into anything that returned big dollars in a short time.
This worked for the first year, as the woman paid on time, and I pocketed an extra $�00 monthly. Later, though, things began to collapse, as the house began to need repairs, all of which the woman couldn't afford, so I had to pay for them. I put nearly $5,000 into the house in a four-year period. When I was finally able to sell it, I didn't quite make back what I had put into it.
Meanwhile, I was eager to overcome this problem by adding many more. A slick mortgage broker got hooked up with an even slicker real estate prospector, and the two of them convinced me that they had a way I could buy houses rapidly, with absolutely no money out of my pocket. Although my experience will probably be enough to enlighten you to the pitfalls of this model and of being a landlord, let me say that I can't emphasize enough how dangerous buying property with no money down is.
In six months time, I had purchased eight houses - many with loans from the same wholesale lender. These lenders should have been concerned with all of the debt I was building, but they kept approving loans, based on my good credit and rents covering the mortgage payments. One of the biggest problems, which I was not experienced enough to detect, was that most of the rents were just $50 to $100 above the mortgage payment.
"Don't worry," the investor/ hustler would say. "You'll make all your money on volume. We'll get you into 30 or 40 houses, and you'll be pocketing $4,000 to $5,000 every month."
As you might imagine, my mind raced. I was making the huge deposits at that very moment. My bank account was fattening up at breakneck speed.
The Illusion
This is what people who buy houses, using the No Money Down plan envision happening. After all, if you can buy one house with no money down, why not five or ten or fifty? For some reason - the vision of the dollar sign, most likely - I failed to seriously consider the maintenance of these houses, the possibility of missed rent payments, and the chance that renters might actually stop paying, altogether, forcing me to evict them - a time-consuming and extremely costly undertaking.
As you may have already guessed, all of these things happened to me, after I had amassed 26 rental properties. In fact, oftentimes, all of these problems happened in the same month. Now, for awhile (when I had about 10 houses), if one person failed to pay rent, I could cover it with the nine other payments. But when two, three and sometimes even five tenants didn't pay in the same month, it was devastating to my business. I had to go to my business account and pay up to $3,000 at a time in mortgage payments, with no income to cover it. Plus, I had to pay a property management company to get my tenants to pay or to evict them.
Soon, this became the norm, not the exception. There were constant problems at my houses. Unhappy tenants led to poor upkeep of the property and even more maintenance problems. About one year, after I had amassed 26 houses, I was having problems with roughly 10-15 houses and/or tenants each week. I was evicting at least two tenants each month, and approximately four to seven tenants were either behind on rent or not paying at all. Promises were made, payment plans arranged and few, if any, ever followed through.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this was no way to make money in real estate. Consequently, I got rid of these houses as fast as I possibly could. There were plenty of buyers, willing to take over my headaches, because they had the ability to make it work, they believed.
In 10 years of being a landlord, I lost thousands of dollars and likely took some years away from my life with all the stress I had endured. So, whatever you do, avoid the No Money Down Trap. There are much better, still inexpensive ways to make money in real estate.
And, let's not forget, this same guy is grossing tens of thousands of dollars monthly, and his net worth is nearly one million dollars. So, he says.
Now, all of this looks wonderful, so when the person selling the course that will teach you how to do this, at a nifty price of just $297.00, speaks, you are glued to his every word. "Real estate is the safest and fastest way to make money, today," the expert will tell you.
So, can this really be done? Can you purchase houses with no money down? Can you become a landlord in as little as one month's time and start raking in the cash from those rent payments? The answer is an absolute "Yes." It can be done, and I am proof positive, because I've done it. The question you should be asking yourself is not can I buy real estate with no money down, but should I?
You see, this is a question that the guy selling the No Money Down course, with all of his people and their great testimonials hopes you never ask. His advertising and marketing strategy would collapse, if he gave anyone a chance to ask this question, because he would be forced to lie if he answered it.
Rarely is the whole truth anywhere to be found in infomercials, especially when the advertising is about No Money Down real estate programs. The infomercial makes the idea and the program look so easy that any child could handle it. It makes it seem like every American should be doing it, and we'd all be millionaires. But every American is not doing it, and many of the ones who are doing it not only are not getting rich, they are actually going broke. The infomercial won't tell you this. That's why I'm here.
The Truth
Now, let's get started with the truth about buying real estate with no money down and the truth about being a landlord. The first thing you need to know is that they are both very bad ideas. Let me illustrate by using my own experience in these areas. I started buying rental property nearly 10 years ago. The first property I bought was a deal orchestrated by some real estate con artist, who told me I needed just $2,000 to take ownership of this home and, in the process, help out a woman who was about to be foreclosed upon.
In two years, she would clean up her credit, refinance the loan on the house, and I would make $10,000. Sounded good to someone who was quick to buy into anything that returned big dollars in a short time.
This worked for the first year, as the woman paid on time, and I pocketed an extra $�00 monthly. Later, though, things began to collapse, as the house began to need repairs, all of which the woman couldn't afford, so I had to pay for them. I put nearly $5,000 into the house in a four-year period. When I was finally able to sell it, I didn't quite make back what I had put into it.
Meanwhile, I was eager to overcome this problem by adding many more. A slick mortgage broker got hooked up with an even slicker real estate prospector, and the two of them convinced me that they had a way I could buy houses rapidly, with absolutely no money out of my pocket. Although my experience will probably be enough to enlighten you to the pitfalls of this model and of being a landlord, let me say that I can't emphasize enough how dangerous buying property with no money down is.
In six months time, I had purchased eight houses - many with loans from the same wholesale lender. These lenders should have been concerned with all of the debt I was building, but they kept approving loans, based on my good credit and rents covering the mortgage payments. One of the biggest problems, which I was not experienced enough to detect, was that most of the rents were just $50 to $100 above the mortgage payment.
"Don't worry," the investor/ hustler would say. "You'll make all your money on volume. We'll get you into 30 or 40 houses, and you'll be pocketing $4,000 to $5,000 every month."
As you might imagine, my mind raced. I was making the huge deposits at that very moment. My bank account was fattening up at breakneck speed.
The Illusion
This is what people who buy houses, using the No Money Down plan envision happening. After all, if you can buy one house with no money down, why not five or ten or fifty? For some reason - the vision of the dollar sign, most likely - I failed to seriously consider the maintenance of these houses, the possibility of missed rent payments, and the chance that renters might actually stop paying, altogether, forcing me to evict them - a time-consuming and extremely costly undertaking.
As you may have already guessed, all of these things happened to me, after I had amassed 26 rental properties. In fact, oftentimes, all of these problems happened in the same month. Now, for awhile (when I had about 10 houses), if one person failed to pay rent, I could cover it with the nine other payments. But when two, three and sometimes even five tenants didn't pay in the same month, it was devastating to my business. I had to go to my business account and pay up to $3,000 at a time in mortgage payments, with no income to cover it. Plus, I had to pay a property management company to get my tenants to pay or to evict them.
Soon, this became the norm, not the exception. There were constant problems at my houses. Unhappy tenants led to poor upkeep of the property and even more maintenance problems. About one year, after I had amassed 26 houses, I was having problems with roughly 10-15 houses and/or tenants each week. I was evicting at least two tenants each month, and approximately four to seven tenants were either behind on rent or not paying at all. Promises were made, payment plans arranged and few, if any, ever followed through.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this was no way to make money in real estate. Consequently, I got rid of these houses as fast as I possibly could. There were plenty of buyers, willing to take over my headaches, because they had the ability to make it work, they believed.
In 10 years of being a landlord, I lost thousands of dollars and likely took some years away from my life with all the stress I had endured. So, whatever you do, avoid the No Money Down Trap. There are much better, still inexpensive ways to make money in real estate.
Monday, January 15, 2007
How to Get Financing after Filing Bankruptcy
If you're thinking about buying a home but have declared bankruptcy in the past, don't give up hope. There are still ways for you to be able to find a loan, even if your credit history is less than sterling.
Lenders make various kinds of home loans, normally graded from "A" all the way down to "D." The more problems that show up on your credit report--slow pays, late pays, or even bankruptcy--the lower the grade of loan you'll be able to qualify for. If you're employed and have a relatively good income, you'll get better terms, even though you won't qualify for a "Grade A" loan. The longer you've been at your current job, the better, because it shows stability.
Here are some general rules about the qualifications lenders look for before giving consumers the various grades of home loans:
To qualify for an AA loan, lenders must see no late payments or any other difficulties when they look at your credit history for the past two years. First, we'll look at the top of the line loans, all in the A grade category.
To qualify for an A+ loan, you can only have one late payment in that two-year time period. An A- loan is available to borrowers whose credit report shows two or three late payments, and have at least two credit cards. Borrowers in the A category will normally be qualified for all the various perks that lenders offer, such as low interest loans and low down payments.
But if you've had a bankruptcy in the past, you're choices are more limited, and you'll generally need a larger down payment.
For instance, a grade B loan can be obtained by borrowers who've been at their jobs for a reasonable length of time in as little as 18 months after declaring bankruptcy, assuming that they've been able to reopen at least one line of credit during that time and kept it current. Usually the lender will require 15% down, and the best interest rate the borrower can generally get is 6-7%.
A grade C loan will require good, steady employment, and may be available within a similar time frame as a B grade loan. The interest rate is generally higher, currently at about 8.5%, and the down payment requirements are considerably higher. For instance, a lender will normally require 20% down on $300,000 house or 40% down on a $500,000 home.
You'll need a significant amount of down payment to qualify for a grade D home loan, as well, and the interest rate will normally run between 9.95-10.7%, depending on your overall credit score. If you're employed and your credit score is above 500, you can put down as little as 30% on a $300,000 home or 45% on a $450,000 house. If you're self-employed, however, you'll need 45% down just to buy a $250,000 home.
If you're hoping to purchase a home, talk to your local lender to see what their criteria are for their various grades of loans. Even if you've had a bankruptcy in your past, that doesn't mean you can't buy a home. It just means it may take some time, you'll need to establish a strong employment history, and you'll need to save more money for a down payment than if the bankruptcy hadn't occurred.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Forget what you've been told about credit. Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate. Visit Real Estate Credit Help Center: http://www.recredithelp.com
Lenders make various kinds of home loans, normally graded from "A" all the way down to "D." The more problems that show up on your credit report--slow pays, late pays, or even bankruptcy--the lower the grade of loan you'll be able to qualify for. If you're employed and have a relatively good income, you'll get better terms, even though you won't qualify for a "Grade A" loan. The longer you've been at your current job, the better, because it shows stability.
Here are some general rules about the qualifications lenders look for before giving consumers the various grades of home loans:
To qualify for an AA loan, lenders must see no late payments or any other difficulties when they look at your credit history for the past two years. First, we'll look at the top of the line loans, all in the A grade category.
To qualify for an A+ loan, you can only have one late payment in that two-year time period. An A- loan is available to borrowers whose credit report shows two or three late payments, and have at least two credit cards. Borrowers in the A category will normally be qualified for all the various perks that lenders offer, such as low interest loans and low down payments.
But if you've had a bankruptcy in the past, you're choices are more limited, and you'll generally need a larger down payment.
For instance, a grade B loan can be obtained by borrowers who've been at their jobs for a reasonable length of time in as little as 18 months after declaring bankruptcy, assuming that they've been able to reopen at least one line of credit during that time and kept it current. Usually the lender will require 15% down, and the best interest rate the borrower can generally get is 6-7%.
A grade C loan will require good, steady employment, and may be available within a similar time frame as a B grade loan. The interest rate is generally higher, currently at about 8.5%, and the down payment requirements are considerably higher. For instance, a lender will normally require 20% down on $300,000 house or 40% down on a $500,000 home.
You'll need a significant amount of down payment to qualify for a grade D home loan, as well, and the interest rate will normally run between 9.95-10.7%, depending on your overall credit score. If you're employed and your credit score is above 500, you can put down as little as 30% on a $300,000 home or 45% on a $450,000 house. If you're self-employed, however, you'll need 45% down just to buy a $250,000 home.
If you're hoping to purchase a home, talk to your local lender to see what their criteria are for their various grades of loans. Even if you've had a bankruptcy in your past, that doesn't mean you can't buy a home. It just means it may take some time, you'll need to establish a strong employment history, and you'll need to save more money for a down payment than if the bankruptcy hadn't occurred.
(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.
Forget what you've been told about credit. Get the Credit You Need to Buy Real Estate. Visit Real Estate Credit Help Center: http://www.recredithelp.com
Sunday, January 14, 2007
How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home By Owner
One questions many "for sale by owner" sellers ask is "how can I determine if a potential buyer can afford to buy my house?" In the real estate industry this is referred to as "pre-qualifying" a buyer. You might think this is a complex process but in reality it is actually quite simple and only involves a little math.
Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand. The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for "principal, interest, taxes and insurance. This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The second term is "RATIO". The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI. Still with me? Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.). This ratio is sometimes referred to as the "front end ratio". When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the "back end ratio".
Now for the formulas:
The front-end ratio is calculated simply by dividing PITI by the gross monthly income. Back end ratio is calculated by dividing PITI+DEBT by the gross monthly income.
Let see the formula in action:
Fred wants to buy your house. Fred earns $50,000.00 per year. We need to know Fred's gross MONTHLY income so we divide $50,000.00 by 12 and we get $4,166.66. If we know that Fred can safely afford 28% of this figure we multiply $4,166.66 X .28 to get $1,166.66. That's it! Now we know how much Fred can afford to pay per month for PITI.
At this point we have half of the information we need to determine whether or not Fred can buy our house. Next we need to know just how much the PITI payment is going to be for our house.
We need four pieces of information to determine PITI:
1) Sales Price (Our example is 100,000.00)
From the sales price we subtract the down payment to determine how much Fred needs to borrow. This result brings us to another term you might run across. Loan to Value Ratio or LTV. Eg: Sale price $100,000 and down payment of 5% = LTV ration of 95%. Said another way, the loan is 95% of the value of the property.
2) Mortgage amount (principal + interest).
The mortgage amount is generally the sales price less the down payment. There are three factors in determining how much the P&I (principal & interest) portion of the payment will be. You need to know 1) loan amount; 2) interest rate; 3) Term of the loan in years. With these three figures you can find a mortgage payment calculator just about anywhere on the internet to calculate the mortgage payment, but remember you still need to add in the monthly portion of annual property taxes and the monthly portion of hazard insurance (property insurance). For our example, with 5% down Fred would need to borrow $95,000.00. We will use an interest rate of 6% and a term of 30 years.
3) Annual taxes (Our example is $2,400.00)/12=$200.00 per month
Divide the annual taxes by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property taxes.
4) Annual hazard insurance (Our example is $600.00)/12=$50.00 per month
Divide the annual hazard insurance by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property insurance.
Now, let's put it all together. A mortgage of $95,000 at 6% for 30 years would produce a monthly P&I payment of $569.57 per month. This figure was produced by our payment calculator. Add in taxes of $200.00 per month and add in insurance of $50.00 per month and the PITI necessary to purchase our house equals $819.57.
Putting it all together
From our calculations above we know that our buyer Fred can afford PITI up to $1,166.66 per month. We know that the PITI needed to purchase our house is $819.57. With this information we now know that Fred DOES qualify to purchase our house!
Of course, there are other requirements to qualify for a loan including a good credit rating and a job with at least two years consecutive employment. More about that is our next issue.
Bruce Andrews has been in the real estate business for over 20 years. He has experience in real estate investing as well as practicing real estate as a broker for several years. He is currently President of Fifty States Realty, www.fiftystatesfsbo.com a national "for sale by owner" website.
Before we get to the math there are a few terms you should understand. The first is PITI which is nothing more than an abbreviation for "principal, interest, taxes and insurance. This figure represents the MONTHLY cost of the mortgage payment of principal and interest plus the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance. The second term is "RATIO". The ratio is a number that most banks use as an indicator of how much of a buyers monthly GROSS income they could afford to spend on PITI. Still with me? Most banks use a ratio of 28% without considering any other debts (credit cards, car payments etc.). This ratio is sometimes referred to as the "front end ratio". When you take into consideration other monthly debt, a ratio of 36-40% is considered acceptable. This is referred to as the "back end ratio".
Now for the formulas:
The front-end ratio is calculated simply by dividing PITI by the gross monthly income. Back end ratio is calculated by dividing PITI+DEBT by the gross monthly income.
Let see the formula in action:
Fred wants to buy your house. Fred earns $50,000.00 per year. We need to know Fred's gross MONTHLY income so we divide $50,000.00 by 12 and we get $4,166.66. If we know that Fred can safely afford 28% of this figure we multiply $4,166.66 X .28 to get $1,166.66. That's it! Now we know how much Fred can afford to pay per month for PITI.
At this point we have half of the information we need to determine whether or not Fred can buy our house. Next we need to know just how much the PITI payment is going to be for our house.
We need four pieces of information to determine PITI:
1) Sales Price (Our example is 100,000.00)
From the sales price we subtract the down payment to determine how much Fred needs to borrow. This result brings us to another term you might run across. Loan to Value Ratio or LTV. Eg: Sale price $100,000 and down payment of 5% = LTV ration of 95%. Said another way, the loan is 95% of the value of the property.
2) Mortgage amount (principal + interest).
The mortgage amount is generally the sales price less the down payment. There are three factors in determining how much the P&I (principal & interest) portion of the payment will be. You need to know 1) loan amount; 2) interest rate; 3) Term of the loan in years. With these three figures you can find a mortgage payment calculator just about anywhere on the internet to calculate the mortgage payment, but remember you still need to add in the monthly portion of annual property taxes and the monthly portion of hazard insurance (property insurance). For our example, with 5% down Fred would need to borrow $95,000.00. We will use an interest rate of 6% and a term of 30 years.
3) Annual taxes (Our example is $2,400.00)/12=$200.00 per month
Divide the annual taxes by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property taxes.
4) Annual hazard insurance (Our example is $600.00)/12=$50.00 per month
Divide the annual hazard insurance by 12 to come up with the monthly portion of the property insurance.
Now, let's put it all together. A mortgage of $95,000 at 6% for 30 years would produce a monthly P&I payment of $569.57 per month. This figure was produced by our payment calculator. Add in taxes of $200.00 per month and add in insurance of $50.00 per month and the PITI necessary to purchase our house equals $819.57.
Putting it all together
From our calculations above we know that our buyer Fred can afford PITI up to $1,166.66 per month. We know that the PITI needed to purchase our house is $819.57. With this information we now know that Fred DOES qualify to purchase our house!
Of course, there are other requirements to qualify for a loan including a good credit rating and a job with at least two years consecutive employment. More about that is our next issue.
Bruce Andrews has been in the real estate business for over 20 years. He has experience in real estate investing as well as practicing real estate as a broker for several years. He is currently President of Fifty States Realty, www.fiftystatesfsbo.com a national "for sale by owner" website.
Can I Sell My Private Mortgage Notes?
In this country millions of homes are sold every year. In most cases buyers go to a bank or finance company to seek mortgage financing.
In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:
? The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.
? The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees.
? The seller may be interested in having a long-term income stream.
Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer's ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Peacock Capital�provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.
We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the "Check is in the mail" Or, "Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?" Or, "Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?" Etc.
In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:
? The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.
? The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees.
? The seller may be interested in having a long-term income stream.
Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer's ability to meet their monthly obligations.
Peacock Capital�provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.
We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the "Check is in the mail" Or, "Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?" Or, "Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?" Etc.
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