Real estate investing is always good and sometimes it's red hot. When it's hot dozens of real estate seminars begin rolling across the country and thousands of people spend thousands of dollars for investing education.
It's startling to learn that of all those thousands of eager folks who attend these seminars only about 5% buy even one investment house. Why? The real estate gurus sell the "sizzle" and make profiting from real estate sound easy. The truth is that it's simple, but not easy.
Here's a quick plan that will enable anyone to begin building financial independence.
There are basically four steps to investing in single family homes:
1. Buy homes below full market value. Yes, people really do sell homes for less than the home's full value. The key is to understand that most home owners will only consider a purchase offer that is all cash and within 5% to 10% of their asking price.
The successful investor learns to find financially distressed home owners who have no choice but to sell for less than market value. They have lost their job or been suddenly transferred; they are divorcing; they been living beyond their income; the family has been overwhelmed with medical bills and, not uncommonly these days, their money has gone to support a drug habit.
Those are examples of motivated sellers. They have to sell and they will accept something other than a conventional, all cash offer.
2. How do you find motivated sellers? You work at it! Like any business it is important to develop a little marketing plan. One that is simple, yet very effective, is the one that was proven 75 years ago by the Fuller Brush company; door to door sales.
You are selling your skill as a home buyer to people who must sell. Your are there when they need you and you have the skill to help them solve at least part of their problem. With door to door prospecting you will learn more and buy more homes quicker than any other method. However, most people just won't walk door to door for three or four hours per week. OK, there are other ways.
You can watch public notices for the announcement of foreclosure sales. Meeting with a home owner right after they've received a notice that they are about to lose their home allows you to deal with a very motivated seller. Other public notices that provide buying opportunities include probate, divorce and bankruptcy. You can follow the Homes For Sale listings in your local newspaper or Internet site.
You can telephone the names found in these notices or, and this is the least time consuming, send a postcard expressing your interest in buying their property. It will produce buying opportunities, just not as many as personal contact.
3. After you've found a motivated seller you must understand how to frame offers that provide benefits for both you and for the home owner. A good real estate investor quickly learns that this is not a business of stealing property, but of solving problems in a way that benefits the seller.
The home owner is in a tight spot of some kind and you can save them from public embarrassment and, in most cases, give them at least a little cash to get a new start.
No investor can afford to leave cash in every deal. No one but Bill Gates has that much available money. You must use creative techniques like, leases, option and taking over mortgage payments. Little or no cash is needed for those deals. You can find plenty of reasonable priced educational material on those subjects in book stores or on EBay. The same education that seminars sell for thousands of dollars.
4. You make your profit when you buy! Never make a purchase until you've carefully determined exactly how you will get to your profit. If you hold it as a long term investment will the monthly rental income more than cover the monthly mortgage payment? Will you sell the deal to another investor for fast cash? Will you do some fix-up and sell the property for full value? Will you quickly trade it for a more desirable property? Have a plan before you buy.
There you have four steps that even a part-time investor can execute in three to four hours per week. What's the missing ingredient? Your determination and perseverance. If you will unfailingly follow the plan for a few months you will be well on your way to financial independence.
Friday, November 28, 2008
3 Tips to Staging the Inside of Your Home Like a Pro
Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.
To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the inside of your home:
1. De-clutter. This is one of the most important things you can do. It might be easier to think of de-cluttering like this – you’re moving anyway, so why not start packing now?
Pack up everything you don’t need and store the boxes out of sight in the garage (or consider temporarily renting a small storage locker).
2. Organize your closets - put similar colors together, pants together, skirts together, shirts together etc. Why? Because it will make the closets look bigger. (Really.) An organized closet appears bigger, and you want your closets to look as spacious as possible.
3. Make your home look like a model. You want to de-personalize as much as possible so potential buyers can imagine themselves and their own belongings occupying the space in your house. That means minimizing – putting away everything you don’t need or use. Clear off kitchen counters as much as possible – stash all those appliances you don’t use, and put miscellaneous small clutter in a few attractive baskets or boxes
And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?
And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.
To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the inside of your home:
1. De-clutter. This is one of the most important things you can do. It might be easier to think of de-cluttering like this – you’re moving anyway, so why not start packing now?
Pack up everything you don’t need and store the boxes out of sight in the garage (or consider temporarily renting a small storage locker).
2. Organize your closets - put similar colors together, pants together, skirts together, shirts together etc. Why? Because it will make the closets look bigger. (Really.) An organized closet appears bigger, and you want your closets to look as spacious as possible.
3. Make your home look like a model. You want to de-personalize as much as possible so potential buyers can imagine themselves and their own belongings occupying the space in your house. That means minimizing – putting away everything you don’t need or use. Clear off kitchen counters as much as possible – stash all those appliances you don’t use, and put miscellaneous small clutter in a few attractive baskets or boxes
And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?
And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Investing to Profiting
Real estate doesn't have to stop at buying a home. There are several ways to invest, turn the property around and help you to profit. There is always a market for making extra cash flow through properties. It will only take understanding the market and knowing how to respond to what is available to you.
The first thing to keep in mind if you want to invest in extra real estate is to find homes at the right time. There will be times when the market is lower than others. There will also be houses that have been put up for foreclosure that will have a lower price than some. These will be the best homes to invest in at the beginning. With a little work and a small investment, you will have the ability to turn around and make profit off of the property later on.
Depending on the home that you decide to invest in will also determine how you can profit off of the home. You will want to make sure that you are in a logical demographic area and that you have the ability to do what you want with the home. Often times, those that have the home will invest some in it and sell it to someone else for higher profit. Other times, you can keep the property and rent it or lease it in order to have more substantial profits. No matter what you want to do, it will only take the right time of year to get what you want done with the property that you have.
Being smart about real estate can easily bring you in money, especially if you are working with the right market. By investing in the right properties and knowing when to turn the property around, you will have the ability to do exactly what you want with the real estate for your financial benefit.
The first thing to keep in mind if you want to invest in extra real estate is to find homes at the right time. There will be times when the market is lower than others. There will also be houses that have been put up for foreclosure that will have a lower price than some. These will be the best homes to invest in at the beginning. With a little work and a small investment, you will have the ability to turn around and make profit off of the property later on.
Depending on the home that you decide to invest in will also determine how you can profit off of the home. You will want to make sure that you are in a logical demographic area and that you have the ability to do what you want with the home. Often times, those that have the home will invest some in it and sell it to someone else for higher profit. Other times, you can keep the property and rent it or lease it in order to have more substantial profits. No matter what you want to do, it will only take the right time of year to get what you want done with the property that you have.
Being smart about real estate can easily bring you in money, especially if you are working with the right market. By investing in the right properties and knowing when to turn the property around, you will have the ability to do exactly what you want with the real estate for your financial benefit.
Distressed Property; Is it a Positive Investment?
There are many investments that are made in real estate, most which are expected to allow the price of the property to go up. However, sometimes the value of a property starts down. If you have run into a property that is like this, you will want to decide if it is worth investing in. Distressed property is one of the questions that several ask when investing into real estate.
If a property is distressed, it means that it has not had the care and attention needed by the previous owners. Most likely, the home is part of a foreclosure, abandoned home, or other problem and may have not been lived in for a specified amount of time. Any distressed property will need a lot of attention given to it if you decide to invest in the property.
Before looking at this type of property, you will want to make sure that it will be worth your investment. While a distressed property will usually go down thousands of dollars because of the quality, it may not be cheaper. It will be expected that you put a specific amount of work and money into the home in order to repair it and get it back up to being part of the market.
If you are able to get an extra loan, have more money, and want to fix up a home, then a distressed property is for you. However, if you don't want to put in the extra effort, then finding this type of property may loose you money and comfort in your own home. You will also need to decide whether you will be able to profit off of the investment in the long run according to the neighborhood, market, and your intentions for using the property.
While a distressed property can benefit, it will need to fit your goals and your lifestyle in order to be an effective investment. As long as you have assessed your financial stability and goals and are able to put in the extra money, time and work, you can take a distressed property and turn it into what you want. This will give the property the dream of moving from rags to riches.
If a property is distressed, it means that it has not had the care and attention needed by the previous owners. Most likely, the home is part of a foreclosure, abandoned home, or other problem and may have not been lived in for a specified amount of time. Any distressed property will need a lot of attention given to it if you decide to invest in the property.
Before looking at this type of property, you will want to make sure that it will be worth your investment. While a distressed property will usually go down thousands of dollars because of the quality, it may not be cheaper. It will be expected that you put a specific amount of work and money into the home in order to repair it and get it back up to being part of the market.
If you are able to get an extra loan, have more money, and want to fix up a home, then a distressed property is for you. However, if you don't want to put in the extra effort, then finding this type of property may loose you money and comfort in your own home. You will also need to decide whether you will be able to profit off of the investment in the long run according to the neighborhood, market, and your intentions for using the property.
While a distressed property can benefit, it will need to fit your goals and your lifestyle in order to be an effective investment. As long as you have assessed your financial stability and goals and are able to put in the extra money, time and work, you can take a distressed property and turn it into what you want. This will give the property the dream of moving from rags to riches.
Getting Your House Ready to Sell
How can a buyer get interest for purchasing your house? Impression is the keyword. You just need to get your house ready to sell by doing some preparation. Get inspected by a professional if you want to pay a little effort for maximum results, or if you don’t want to spend much money by paying professional you can do by yourself for getting your house ready to sell.
Now that become a question, how to get your house impressed a buyer? Those are the steps for getting your house ready to sell to a buyer.
Beautify your exterior
What you do is just beautifying. The goal is to make your exterior look pretty and fresh to impress your buyer. Just to inform you that the exterior becomes the first impression to overlook a house. There are two sensory organs of a buyer you must impress. Those are eyes and nose. By bringing the garden homelike condition to your house exterior, making it looked pretty and freshening it up. The steps you can do are:
- Get the grass, trees, flowers, and plants tidy and fresh by mowing and watering it
- Clean up the curb and entering path and put the potted flower in the sides.
- Freshen up the smells by put scented potpourri.
- Clean up all of windows and entering doors.
- Get rid of equipments out of sights.
- Paint the walls if necessary.
Make the Cosy Interior
After buyer got impression from your house exterior, do some simple works to get the cosiness of your house interior. It aims to make a buyer feel homelike buy entering your house. These are the steps:
- Clean up the tile floors; scrub it if there are some bad spots.
- Get rid of spider net from your ceilings.
- Wash the carpets with a fragrant soap.
- Get your furniture placed tidily and gets rid of unnecessary one.
- Brush the closets
- Clean the garage, basement, and attic
- Get the windows opened and clean, it will bring freshness to your house inside
- If you have pets, bath them.
- Put some fresh fragrance in air conditioner.
Repairing and Replacing
Some Repairing and replacement is necessary to do, if there are some broken furniture, equipment, or appliances. Just check out:
- broken or missing door
- cabinet handles
- ceilings
- ventilation filters
- broken tiles in bathroom and kitchen
- faucet
- wallpaper
- some furniture
Get your friends’ opinion
Assume some friends like a buyer, and get some advice and suggestion to make your house get more ready to sell. And the most important thing is your friends feel your home like their own home.
Now that become a question, how to get your house impressed a buyer? Those are the steps for getting your house ready to sell to a buyer.
Beautify your exterior
What you do is just beautifying. The goal is to make your exterior look pretty and fresh to impress your buyer. Just to inform you that the exterior becomes the first impression to overlook a house. There are two sensory organs of a buyer you must impress. Those are eyes and nose. By bringing the garden homelike condition to your house exterior, making it looked pretty and freshening it up. The steps you can do are:
- Get the grass, trees, flowers, and plants tidy and fresh by mowing and watering it
- Clean up the curb and entering path and put the potted flower in the sides.
- Freshen up the smells by put scented potpourri.
- Clean up all of windows and entering doors.
- Get rid of equipments out of sights.
- Paint the walls if necessary.
Make the Cosy Interior
After buyer got impression from your house exterior, do some simple works to get the cosiness of your house interior. It aims to make a buyer feel homelike buy entering your house. These are the steps:
- Clean up the tile floors; scrub it if there are some bad spots.
- Get rid of spider net from your ceilings.
- Wash the carpets with a fragrant soap.
- Get your furniture placed tidily and gets rid of unnecessary one.
- Brush the closets
- Clean the garage, basement, and attic
- Get the windows opened and clean, it will bring freshness to your house inside
- If you have pets, bath them.
- Put some fresh fragrance in air conditioner.
Repairing and Replacing
Some Repairing and replacement is necessary to do, if there are some broken furniture, equipment, or appliances. Just check out:
- broken or missing door
- cabinet handles
- ceilings
- ventilation filters
- broken tiles in bathroom and kitchen
- faucet
- wallpaper
- some furniture
Get your friends’ opinion
Assume some friends like a buyer, and get some advice and suggestion to make your house get more ready to sell. And the most important thing is your friends feel your home like their own home.
Home Selling Prices
So you’ve decided to do some home selling. Congratulations, this is an exciting business you’re getting yourself into. Whether it’s selling your parents’ house, your aunts’, your close friend’s, or even your own home, there are some things to consider before you can start marketing the house. One of which is how to set the price.
It’s really important to take time before you finalize your home selling prices. If the price is too high, the home will stay in the market for too long, waiting for someone who can afford it. Even if you chose to reduce the price later, it would show the potential buyers that even the seller realize that the home selling price was too high (and probably still is). But if the price is too low, this would easily sell but eventually brings damages to the sellers’ net expectation!
If you’re selling your own home, the chances are you’re going to want to set the price as high as possible. This might seem like an obviously silly thing to do, but it happens to a lot of people who either cherish their house too much, or are simply not aware of the real value.
The first case is a lot easier to handle. Remember that apart from the location, your home selling price is a major consideration in purchasing. So no matter how much you love your house, try to set a realistic price. Some things that might decrease (or increase) your home selling price are as follows:
a. Location. Sorry, this one’s a definite. A home in a more desirable area will cost more than less desirable ones.
b. House condition. A good maintenance shows that this home is worth being looked after.
c. Surroundings. Check out schools around the house and their quality. See how the weather would take effect. Watch those pesky neighbors. These things, though seemingly miscellaneous, applies to buyers and can affect the overall home selling price.
d. Extra features. Does the house own something the market is demanding? Does your home have a pool or a beautiful patio? Don’t hesitate in taking them into account of setting the price. Be realistic, though – a dusty, never-used fireplace, no matter how classy, will do nothing to your home value.
The second case – where you’re not sure of your house’s value – is a bit more difficult. You might want to read some home selling advertisements to see the price of the houses similar to the one you’re selling.
To help you finish off with an ideal home selling price, some standardized methods of price setting have been established. A Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) is “a comparison of similar properties in the same general area that compares actual sold prices”, in other words, comparing your house to similar ones to get a rough value. Nowadays Real Estate Agents can do CMA for you, and you can even do it yourself by the help of some websites.
It’s really important to take time before you finalize your home selling prices. If the price is too high, the home will stay in the market for too long, waiting for someone who can afford it. Even if you chose to reduce the price later, it would show the potential buyers that even the seller realize that the home selling price was too high (and probably still is). But if the price is too low, this would easily sell but eventually brings damages to the sellers’ net expectation!
If you’re selling your own home, the chances are you’re going to want to set the price as high as possible. This might seem like an obviously silly thing to do, but it happens to a lot of people who either cherish their house too much, or are simply not aware of the real value.
The first case is a lot easier to handle. Remember that apart from the location, your home selling price is a major consideration in purchasing. So no matter how much you love your house, try to set a realistic price. Some things that might decrease (or increase) your home selling price are as follows:
a. Location. Sorry, this one’s a definite. A home in a more desirable area will cost more than less desirable ones.
b. House condition. A good maintenance shows that this home is worth being looked after.
c. Surroundings. Check out schools around the house and their quality. See how the weather would take effect. Watch those pesky neighbors. These things, though seemingly miscellaneous, applies to buyers and can affect the overall home selling price.
d. Extra features. Does the house own something the market is demanding? Does your home have a pool or a beautiful patio? Don’t hesitate in taking them into account of setting the price. Be realistic, though – a dusty, never-used fireplace, no matter how classy, will do nothing to your home value.
The second case – where you’re not sure of your house’s value – is a bit more difficult. You might want to read some home selling advertisements to see the price of the houses similar to the one you’re selling.
To help you finish off with an ideal home selling price, some standardized methods of price setting have been established. A Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) is “a comparison of similar properties in the same general area that compares actual sold prices”, in other words, comparing your house to similar ones to get a rough value. Nowadays Real Estate Agents can do CMA for you, and you can even do it yourself by the help of some websites.
home selling process
So many tips are being given on home selling. If only you knew where to begin with! Some homeowners get confused because they don’t have a big picture of what exactly will happen during the home selling process. While it may differ from various areas, some general steps sellers should expect are the same.
The first thing to do is some preliminary planning. Though you may not feel like it, this is the step that kick-start the whole home selling process. Your house needs to be fully prepared to accept a new owner. If you plan to sell your house and buy another one, always know for a fact that you’re qualified to buy a new one before selling your old home.
When you feel like you and your house is ready, it’s time to find yourself a realtor. Interview agents in your local neighborhood or ones that are proven with a good experience. Ask on how they would market your property, and what kinds of additional commissions do they offer. This is someone that’s going to be with you throughout the process, so make sure the chemistry works.
When you’ve made your decision about an agent, prepare the listing agreement. There are several types available, each ones giving you a different level of involvement between you and the broker. Choose one that’s similar to the amount of work you’re willing to contribute in the home selling process – and how much money you’re going to spend.
The money of your listing agreement should come from the revenue of your home price, so make sure you set the price ideally. A too high or too low price will not help sell your home, as this may creates a bad image to potential buyers. Check some cost analysis to get a rough value of your property, and work from there. Don’t forget the costs you have to spend throughout the home selling process.
If you set the price right, it’s highly possible that potential buyers would start calling for home showings. Prepare for this as well as you prepare your house for it. If you’re using an agent, leave the house whenever a client comes over. If you’re selling on your own, check the points you’re going to show the potential buyers and think about what you’re going to say.
Finally, if the home showings went well, the buyers will make an offer. Offers should be made in standard forms that would satisfy a lawyer. Make sure you know what the buyer wants to include in the sale and what should be excluded. You can choose to accept or reject the offer, or modify it and see if the buyer is willing to negotiate with your incentives.
Once you’ve reached an agreement, that pretty much brings you to the end of the your home selling process. Good luck!
The first thing to do is some preliminary planning. Though you may not feel like it, this is the step that kick-start the whole home selling process. Your house needs to be fully prepared to accept a new owner. If you plan to sell your house and buy another one, always know for a fact that you’re qualified to buy a new one before selling your old home.
When you feel like you and your house is ready, it’s time to find yourself a realtor. Interview agents in your local neighborhood or ones that are proven with a good experience. Ask on how they would market your property, and what kinds of additional commissions do they offer. This is someone that’s going to be with you throughout the process, so make sure the chemistry works.
When you’ve made your decision about an agent, prepare the listing agreement. There are several types available, each ones giving you a different level of involvement between you and the broker. Choose one that’s similar to the amount of work you’re willing to contribute in the home selling process – and how much money you’re going to spend.
The money of your listing agreement should come from the revenue of your home price, so make sure you set the price ideally. A too high or too low price will not help sell your home, as this may creates a bad image to potential buyers. Check some cost analysis to get a rough value of your property, and work from there. Don’t forget the costs you have to spend throughout the home selling process.
If you set the price right, it’s highly possible that potential buyers would start calling for home showings. Prepare for this as well as you prepare your house for it. If you’re using an agent, leave the house whenever a client comes over. If you’re selling on your own, check the points you’re going to show the potential buyers and think about what you’re going to say.
Finally, if the home showings went well, the buyers will make an offer. Offers should be made in standard forms that would satisfy a lawyer. Make sure you know what the buyer wants to include in the sale and what should be excluded. You can choose to accept or reject the offer, or modify it and see if the buyer is willing to negotiate with your incentives.
Once you’ve reached an agreement, that pretty much brings you to the end of the your home selling process. Good luck!
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