Thursday, October 23, 2008

Rolling Your 401k into Real Estate: Best Retirement Saving Plan

each one desires to lead relaxed tension-free life after getting retirement . One of the best retirement investment plans for you is to roll your IRA into real estate.

A popular way of retirement saving option you can have is an Individual Retirement Account - IRA. This holds double benefits. It can save your money and help you lessening your tax burden. You can roll your capital gains on the land into a future real estate acquisition . In this way you can get rid of the requirement of paying tax on the capital gains.

You can consult a finance expert. Ask him for advice regarding the tax treatment of any future change to your investment strategy. Even a small visit to a land banking specialist can help you out with past performance data from landbanking as an investment strategy. Do not take any past performance data as a prediction for the returns you expect. Past performance can not be taken an indicator of future earnings.

It can be very speculative sorts of investment if you invest your IRA into real estate. You can have well-planed selection for land. And you are bound to gain good gains. The best thing for you is to roll your IRA or 401(k) plans into a self directed type account.

The procedure for rolling over your IRA is not complex. It is simple and quite trouble-free. The procedure can take few days to a week after your old custodian frees your funds and terminates your account.

Land banking is safe and reliable for building personal wealth. You can thus secure a better retirement with the help of your 401k or IRA funds. It is better for you to invest your 401k into real estate. This will make you master your financial future. You will have the qualitative life as well. You can have the opportunity to change your circumstances into profits .

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The benefits to purchasers of home auctions

For the fluctuating real estate industry, one particular niche offers a good advantage. Since then, property tax lien auctions have been the quickest growing within that meadow. could the reason be that the economy isn't at its most excellent and the rate of home foreclosures has never been so high? As homes go through foreclosure and repossession, the homes are sold at Property tax lien auctions to the person with the highest bid so that the mortgage companies can get back their losses. Since a foreclosure can look very bad on a property owner's credit report, most will avoid this by auctioning off their homes before it gets to this point. Over the next ten years according to some authorities, more than 35% of homes for sale will be purchased at Property tax lien auctions.

Some benefits sellers have when they decide to use Property tax lien auctions to sell their houses is the sale is quick and you don't have to wait for 'pending financing' rules set by the buyer. The money from the purchaser will be present at auction time
A homeowner who is auctioning off a house usually doesn't have time to wait for a buyer to get financing or to auction the house off again if the buyer's financing doesn't come through. 

Property tax lien auctions offer properties for sale "as is". Bidders know that they need to do some repairs and other things to take care of. It isn't compulsory for the buyer to be loving about spending a large amount of money on paint, new carpet or appliances before the auction of their house. The buyer will be responsible for replacing the water heater if it is about to malfunction. The purchasers widely know this when shopping Property tax lien auctions and they usually have a space where they're able to inspect the property before bidding at the auction. It is not the seller's fault if the buyer cannot bring a professional home inspector along and something doesn't work later. 

One of the benefits of property tax lien auctions for investors is not having to worry about potential buyers wanting to view the home at their convenience. Sellers have a life of their own, including families and even pets. The risk of getting a call at any time of day or night from an agent who would like to show the home is more than likely the hardest part about putting a house on the traditional market. Can they turn you down? They might, but they probably won't without at fewest seeing the home. If an agent can not be shown the home, they won't come back to call again. You have to be prepared at all times to show your home. The owner needs to keep their pets out of the house during showings, and keep it clean always. Sometimes it can be hard, especially when the call comes when you're having dinner or when you have a visitor.

Selling houses at Property Lien Auctions are an advantage to homeowners. Property tax lien auctions make it easy for homeowners to sell their home momentarily for any number of reasons. While the seller may get a lower price for the property than if they had sold it in the traditional way, tax lien auctions are worth the loss of profit for some sellers.

Get more info about Pre Foreclosure Property such as purchasing tax liens where you'll find all you need to know about the Buy Tax Lien Laws and much more.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Buying Costa Rican Property: Do Your Due Diligence

As with any major investment, when buying real estate in Costa Rica, it is important to do your due diligence.

This means getting all the data and statistics about all elements of your purchase. This means you need to understand what exactly you are buying, what the purchase includes and what the limitations (if any) are. In many areas, there are limits to building heights, depth of setbacks, and other details which you need to be aware of before purchasing there.

While the Internet has made real estate investing and land purchasing easier, it is wise to approach any large transactions from a perspective of information gathering and fact-finding. Do not try to buy land or homes without visiting them in person.

It can be tempting to try and purchase a beautiful piece of land from the Internet pictures, but you can make a grave mistake if you end up paying for land, or a home, or some property which is not what you actually take ownership of at the completion of the sale.

Some areas in Costa Rica can not be built upon, but since there are few regulations on who can sell land; the unwary buyer may end up purchasing land which can never be built on. This is why doing your due diligence is vitally important when investing in Costa Rica.

Also, it is vital to work with professionals and sellers who know the details of investing in this area. Work with a company or person who has a list of happy customers, has purchased property in the country him or herself and who can demonstrate experience in this area. Find someone you like and trust. Ask a lot of questions. Get expert advice.

The more you know, the better prepared you will be to make a good decision.

 

Monday, October 13, 2008

How To Find A Flip

Flipping houses is becoming increasingly popular. Unfortunately, the popularity of the idea is creating a bit of competition among those who would love to try it out for the first time. Since there is an increase in competition it often serves to raise the costs involved in purchasing the profit, which will only lower the profit potential. However if you find a good property and feel that the deal is a good candidate for a flip you can ask yourself the following questions to help determine whether or not the flip really is a good candidate.

1) Have you had a qualified inspection performed and has it been determined that the property has only minor repairs that need to be made and the landscaping? This is very important because every repair and improvement that needs to be made will spend more and more of your budget. You want to complete the project with as little extra money invested as possible in order to get the greatest return on your real estate investment possible.
2) Is the property suitable for the neighborhood? By this I mean is the property a 3 bedroom house built for families located in the middle of a retirement village or is it a 1 bedroom home in the middle of a family neighborhood? These aren't exactly a good match and can cause problems when it comes time to sell.
3) Can the neighborhood bear the price you need to bring in from the flip? If you are trying to create an upscale home in a middle class neighborhood you setting your self up for a loss on your investment. You will want to find a flip in need of repairs, that is selling for cheap in a neighborhood of better homes so that it will be able to bring in the profit you are hoping to get when it is all said and done.
4) Can you afford to make the changes you want for the house on the budget you have alotted and without drastically changing the structure of the house? This is a big one and one that very often gets overlooked. You usually do not want to start knocking out walls or making additions when flipping a property. That is something that should be left for the new owners. You don't want to make any waves if possible and only make the changes improvements that will raise the value of the home.
5) Can you improve and raise the value of the property enough to make it worth your while in a short period of time? This is another big deal when it comes to a house flip. It takes time and money to make the changes that most "flippers" have in mind for their investment, especially first time flippers. Do you have the motivation and time to stick with it and all the money to cover the carrying costs while you making the changes and improvements?
6) Is the property in a high demand neighborhood, city, etc. for selling properties? 1 more mistake would be buying in areas that are hard sells for buyers. It is often quite easy to find the lower priced properties that look appealing at first however; if you can't sell the property you purchase to flip, it really does defeat the purpose of putting all that time, effort, and money into making the repairs and improvements.
7) Can you do the work or will you need professionals and if so, will it still be cost effective? Be careful that you do not overestimate your abilities in this if possible. It is awesome to think you can put down a hardwood floor with quality work, but the reality of actually doing it is quite another thing all together. Be sure you have a realistic understanding of the potential costs involved in the flip and whether or not the property will still be profitable in the worst-case scenario.

Answer these questions when checking out potential real estate investment and house flipping properties and you should be well on your way to a successful flip, at least as far as the selection of the property goes. You should also find a house to flip that you like as you will likely be spending a great deal of time there.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

5 Things You Must Not Do When Flipping A House

When it comes to making a profit in the business of flipping houses and other real estate investments you will find all kinds of do's and don'ts along the way. The truth is that these are extremely useful whether this is your very first flip or you have been flipping properties for 35 years.In fact you might just find out that you can learn something by reading like this, even if you've been flipping houses for 40 years and have completed many successful flips.

1) Don't forget to check out the neighborhood before you buy. You will want to make sure that the property you are considering is a good fit for the neighborhood. You should also make sure the plan you have drawn out for the property will match with the other neighborhood properties in order to make a quicker sale.
2) Don't blow your budget without good reason. Your budget is what you used to determine whether or not the house would be a profitable venture. If you blow your budget and cannot recover the extra money you've spent in the selling price on the house you will have seriously cut into your profits if not eliminated them all together. The goal in property flipping is to get in and out quickly and spend as little money as possible in order to make as much money as possible.
3) Don't forget to set daily goals and hold yourself accountable to those goals. If you don't reach your goals for the day it can set the entire project back by as much as a month depending on the goals and what has to be rearranged as a result. Stick to your timeline and your daily schedule in order to avoid potentially costly delays in time and money.
4) Don't neglect the exterior. Curb appeal is what brings buyers into the house. If you spend all your money, time, and effort making improvements to the interior of the home you will have very little left to make the outside appealing to potential buyers. A homebuyer is in the market for the entire package. A home that looks run down on the exterior leaves the lasting impression of being neglected on the inside and many buyers will never walk inside the house, if the outside looks bad.
5) Don't spend money you don't need to spend. While it would be great to put in granite countertops and gourmet kitchens into every home it isn't always practical and this is often money that will not be recovered, particularly in homes that are in marginal neighborhoods. If you want to get the most for your money avoid costly expenses that aren't exactly necessary for the successful completion of the flip. Resurface bathroom fixtures rather than replacing them if possible and use new cabinet doors or hardware rather than adding new cabinets all together to cut down on expenses. In other words, salvage what you can, fix what needs to be fixed, paint what you can, and add a few cosmetic touches before moving on.

The market for real estate is a very fickle market. Avoid spending too much time and money on a house that isn't going to recover those extra touches and expenses. Instead hold onto those ideas for higher end flips once you have a few successful flips under your belt.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Beginners Guide to Flipping Properties

Flipping houses is becoming big business in the world of real estate investment. Unfortunately it takes all kinds of 'flippers' to make the world go around and some of them aren't nearly as conscientious as others. If you are going to get into the business of flipping proeprties and want to make a good living, and build a good reputation, for producing good quality results you must see to a few details throughout the process.

1) Do what needs to be done. Don't cut corners and create situations that will put the family that purchases your home in personal or financial risk. You want to create a safe home for the family or person that ultimately makes the purchase. You can not accomplish this by taking shortcuts and using crappy workmanship.
2) Avoid spending money that doesn't need to be spent. By this I mean don't spend money creating more work. Most investors do this by tackling additions, ripping out walls, or changing the floor plans. These kinds of changes are best left to the buyer unless they will significantly improve the asking price you can bring in on the house. Otherwise spend most of your money in the kitchens and bathrooms where they are more likely to bring in bigger profits.
3) If it ain't broke don't fix it. There is a lot of wisdom and experience in this old saying. There is no reason to go in and fix something that doesn't need to be fixed unless doing so will improve the value of the house to its buyers.
4) Always work within a budget. Most people set a budget when planning to flip houses but very few manage to work within that budget. This is the difference in making the profits you anticipated and putting the entire project at risk.
5) Create a home that the buyer will want to live in not the home that you will want to live in. You should never flip a house or design a flip according to your tastes; it is a recipe for disasters in more ways than one. First of all, it is unlikely that buyers will be able to afford it. Second, it will set you up for feelings of rejection if a potential buyer rejects any of the small details. Third, it often raises the price you must seek for the property in order to cover the increased costs of decorating and designing according to your taste. Finally, it most often leads to unnecessary expenses, and more money and time spent which defeats the purpose of a quick flip type of project.
6) Time is money. Don't forget this in all things. The more time it takes to do the flip the more money it's going to cost and the less money you are going to make. Plan small changes and improvements that have a big impact on the property and can be completed quickly to get the most out of your flip.
7) Never attempt a champagne flip unless you have a champagne budget to back it up. Just as flipping above the market is not a wise move it is also equally unwise to flip a house beneath your target market as well. Don't attempt to flip a property in an upper class neighborhood if you can't afford the upper class building supplies and appliances that are needed in order to make it a success.

While these aren't guarantees for success they are solid advice that will minimize the risks you face when flipping properties.

Flipping Houses Is As Easy As ABC

All new things can be a little frightening or intimidating at first glance. The same is definitely true when it comes to flipping houses. Many people feel several times during their first flip that they have gotten in over their heads. The truth is that you will have to do more than a couple flips to get comfortable with the process. Most people make very little, if any real profit on their first flip and write it off as a learning experience only to enter into the next flip with newly learned lessons and a positive attitude. Learning the ABCs of flipping houses is a great place to begin and can help you avoid costly mistakes made by many first time flippers.

1) Appraise. You need to have a proper appraisal performed on the house you intend to flip and compare it to other houses in better condition and of similar size and style within the neighborhood. You do not want to buy the best house in the neighborhood, in fact it is best if you can find the neighborhood eyesore and turn it into a competitive house for the neighborhood in order to get the most for your money. More importantly you want the appraisal to reveal the actual value of the home now as compared to the price you are paying and talk to the appraiser about what the home would be worth the with improvements you are planning to make.
2) Bold Moves. Sometimes it takes bold moves to make the impression you want to make. The decision to flip houses is a bold move in and of itself and while you do not want to necessarily enter into risky waters you do not want to play it too safe either. Be cautious with your financing and guard your expenses and your budget well but make the changes that will catch the eye of the next owner for the property.
3) You must have a can do Attitude. You absolutely must have the confidence and believe that you can do this in order to get it done. A house flip is not an undertaking for the timid or those that lack self-confidences. You must stand up to the contractors, inspectors, and vendors in order for you to get the best posible price and the most for your dollar. In other words you need to believe in what you are doing and in yourself yourself in order to get it done. This doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to the advice of those with more experience and expertise, especially when it comes to structural issues within the home and bringing the property to code but you also need to stand up for yourself to insure that you aren't paying for things you aren't getting.
4) Determination. You must also be determined to see your project through to completion. It takes a certain sort of pigheadedness to get through the first few flips. It should be stated here and you should know that flipping property is certainly not an easy way to make a living. It does have the potential, to be a highly profitable and lucrative way to make a living and that is what most property flippers are looking for. If you want those profits you are going to need to push yourself out of bed even on those mornings when you feel as though looking at the property in question is going to make you wail and moan and pull out your hair.
5) Excitement. I think this may be the most important of all ingredients. You will find that excitement is in short supply many days but it if you can recapture that initial excitement over your decision to flip houses then it will sustain you on those days when the plumber brings bad news or you just learned that a solid weak of rain is forecasted for the weak the roof was to go on.

This is a small part of the ABCs of house flipping and real estate investing in general but I believe you get the picture. Good luck!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Creative Techniques For Financing Real Estate

Investing in real estate is one of the most effective ways accumulate wealth quickly when you do not have a lot of capital to invest up front. This all depends on your creativity however. Traditional real estate investing by definition involves the purchase, ownership, management, rental and/or sale of real estate for profit. Under this definition, real estate is an asset form with limited liquidity relative to other investments, and traditionally is highly dependent on cash flow, but when we look at creative ways of investing in real estate a lot more opportunities are open to us.


What are some ways to finance real esate creatively? There are many but here are some of the most popular to list a few:


Partnerships are fairly common because this is first thing a lot of real estate investors think about doing when they start out. They want to find somebody who can put up the money and split the deal with them fifty-fifty. This is an option but there are better ways to make a lot more.


Hard Money Lenders are individuals or companies that have cash ready for you to borrow. This is usually a much better alternative than traditional banks since it is a good source for getting funds quickly even if you have a low credit score. Many hard money lenders don’t like to lend more than 65% of the fair market value of a real estate property, so the better the deal, the more options you’ll have.


Private Lenders can be an even better alternative to hard money lenders because you can often arrange better terms since you are dealing with someone privately. Anyone, even friends or family can be a private lender. Everybody wins because you are offering them a much better rate of return than they will get in their savings or mutual funds and it’s secured by real estate.


“Subject to” Financing comes from the clause “subject to existing financing”. With this strategy you are leaving the existing financing in place and just taking over the payments on the sellers existing mortgage. Your name is no where on the loan. The sellers name will remain on the note. There are many other ways as well to do similar seller financing. This is an excellent strategy for those who have poor credit to begin investing quickly.


Wholesaling or Flippingare specific real estate investing strategies that are essentially creative solutions to eliminate the need for obtaining any funds at all. This is where you tie up a property at a discount (using an agreement) and then flip the property to another buyer or real estate investor for a quick profit. This is virtually risk free with no need for excessive cash, credit or financing and no need to do repairs or work yourself. This is why when it comes to making quick cash in real estate, this method of flipping houses is one the best routes to take not only for avoiding many of the financing headaches, it allows you to make cash more quickly for today's real estate market. It is smart to study as many options as you can and them compare the terms of each of them. Doing this will help you determine what works best based on your individual circumstances.

Whats so attractive about General Real Estate?

Even though there has been a lot of focus on the real estate market on the new lately, it has not stopped people from getting into the profession of real estate. Even with the over abundance of bad subprime mortgages which is driving the world into recession.

In reality real estate is a lot like the stock market and many people in general real estate are setting themselves up to make a small fortune when the economy cycles back around. It can be difficult to understand why people would still be interested in a career in general real estate even! after the real estate market has taken such a downturn.

What all intelligent investor in general real estate understand, is that the economy has it's fair run of cycles and for every bad turn there is a good turn right around the corner. Many people in the field of general real estate are buying property while the values are low and they will cash in when the economy! comes good again.

There are many attractions to getting into general real estate and those that do it for a living are well versed in how to maximize any type of market. To many people this is an exciting way to make a living while others would consider it an invitation to a heart attack.

If you are involved in general real estate then now is not the time to start to sell and the good investors and developers know that. This is a time to build your real estate portfolio and prepare for the upturn in the economy.

Knowing what is profitable in different types of markets and knowing what situations to avoid and recognize a money making situation when it presents itself, is what makes the real estate ventures worth their while. It takes many years and a great deal of education and training to becoming proficient in the general real estate business, but there is always money to be made if you just know how.

It's not as Easy as on Tv

One of the new popular types of television shows are the shows that talk about flipping a house. Flipping a house means buying an older run down property for a fraction of its real value, investing in rehabilitating the property, and then selling it for a profit. This is a more specific type of investment, yet many general real estate people get involved in flipping.

When the economy turns bad you are stuck with not only the properties you need to get an inflated dollar for but also you have to pay your contractors, this can be a problem you didn't see coming. This is the risky side of general real estate that only experienced people should attempt.

Real estate is a great investment if you know how to manage it. It is just like the stock market, you need to know when to get in and when to get out. Just like the stock market there is risk so be careful when you start investing in real estate.

Websites for Real Estate Investors

As a profitable real estate investor I regularly browse the internet longing for new utilities that can help me to make my business more efficient. One of the most time eating and costly tasks in that business is marketing.

Without an effective and efficient marketing solution I wouldn't be buying houses for very long. That's why I was so excited when I discovered a pair of real estate investor websites so affordable. Don't get me wrong, I've been around the block with scores of different applications out there but they are either cost ineffective or don't offer the traits I need. I'm proficient enough to write up these blog entries and post them here but I don't know the first thing about coding database tables, making forms or creating a contact management system.

EZWebSolutions.biz has come up with this inspired set of investor websites that has everything I was looking for in this type of solution. It's like the entire website is one big name and email capturer. Take a look at their We Buy Houses website and see what I mean. It has all the data capturing forms, teaser reports, graphics, professional look and admin panel that I could ask for. I don't even need to know how to code to manage the site! It has a point and click interface for me to manage the content of the site with ease.

Capturing motivated seller leads is completely systemetized. I can quickly create a pay-per-click campaign and get traffic to the site and essentially capture all the leads I can handle. I'm not sure how much longer the special will go on but they are currently offering a free autoresponder program with each website purchased so I decided to cancel my other autoresponder and saved myself $20 a month. I especially like the "We Buy Houses" website and they also offer similar sites for selling owner financed homes and finding lenders to fund my purchases.

Using this manner of marketing I'm averaging about 25 leads every 30 days that usually turn into 1 or 2 actual buys that we turn into serious greenbacks. Now my only continual expenses are the pay-per-click fees that I maintain with the click of a button at Google and Yahoo and a minimal monthly hosting fee which I was already paying for my poorly designed site! For a one-time $97 fee I've achieved my purpose an affordable solution and one that really works.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Real Estate Lead Capturing

Do you want to make your motivated lead capturing more efficient and run without your presence? I do and I've been searching for a way to do it. In the recent past there weren't many choices but today there are many. There are high-dollar solutions and cheap, get-you-by template systems. I have a moderate budget and I'm looking for something about mid-grade.

The main thing is that I want a site that I can send pay-per-click traffic to. This allows me to control the influx of traffic and the motivated seller leads I capture. I believe the other key is having an appealing looking site so that when leads get there they understand that I am a reputable business. I tried to create my own site once and I just don't have the skills to make it look polished. Now that I have a great looking portal I need it to be managable by me. Meaning that I want to be able to control the content without having to rely on a high-tech geek. The last issue is that I must have a way to deliver ongoing content to the motivated seller leads received. I know that I could use a 3rd party autoresponder but wouldn't it be nice if I could do it all from my own site?

I was seriously stoked when I found a set of investor websites that I was looking for. It's affordable too! it has the 3 "must haves" that were my requirements:

1. Excellent look
2. I don't need a geek to manage it
3. It has a built-in autoresponder

EZWebSolutions sells this series of investor websites that has a solution for buying properties, selling houses and seeking private lenders. Doesn't that cover all the bases? Well, it might be nice if there was a site that allowed me to sell properties to other investors but for now this is a perfect fit. The normal price for each of their sites is $197 but I've found that they are offering a discount right now where each site is just $97 and you can get discounts on multiple sites.

Wouldn't you know that I seemed to have found them at just the right time too! They just added this cutting edge technology that allows you to put up a squeeze page with the click of a button. I'm not kidding! It can be enabled with a checkbox in the administrative console. It uses the new Thickbox technology and has really allowed me to increase the number of motivated seller leads I'm capturing.

I hope this information is useful. it's a goldmine for my business and now I won't do business without these sites anytime in the near future.

How To Earn Easy Income by Referring Home Sellers and Buyers

We all like a little bit of extra income on the side, and what better way to earn easy income by referring potential home buyers or sellers. It is an easy thing to do, simply by sharing your stories or information with people around you, giving them an idea of where to look if they are interested in buying or selling a home.

Because the entire process of buying or selling homes can be stressful and difficult, giving someone the information to help them make educated and wise decisions concerning their choice to buy or sell a home, is an amazing thing to do. The entire concept of learning how to earn easy income by referring potential home buyers or sellers is made successful by people that are intent on sharing the information and on helping those trying to navigate the murky waters of home buying or home selling.

With the proper information, you will be aiding someone in their search for their new home purchase, while making some cash for your efforts. The main thing you will need to do is give ideas and information as they are needed to help the person or persons interested in the home buying or selling process. Making the process move more quickly is one of the many benefits of knowing and understanding before hand.

Take the time to become familiar with all important information before beginning the referral process. This enables you to handle any twists or turns that occur and allows for an uninterrupted flow of activity, giving you the chance to treat the prospective buyer or seller with the utmost attention, and to make their investment worth something to them.

Know the information and properties before talking to clients or prospective clients. They will want you to answer a myriad of questions before being satisfied of the situation and what they expect from it. Knowing before hand what you will be saying helps you to minimize any awkward moments and to rehearse your proper information.

Referring new buyers and sellers to a potential house dealer is always an easy way to make a good second income.

Finally, keep your lines of communication open at all times with both the client and with the potential home seller. A lack of communication is the most common issue that will be harmful to a new investment. It will show a lack of caution, as well as a lack of playing.

Timothy A. Crane Private Real Estate Investor We buy houses and help people with their situations and give them options that they did not know they had. Cash For Your Home http://www.cashmoneyhousebuyer.com

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

How Can a Short Sale Affect a Seller’s Credit

When compared to other options, such as foreclosure and bankruptcy, a short sale has a substantially better impact on a credit report. Though short selling your home will not improve your credit and certainly won’t look good on there, it will help you keep your head above water and will not destroy you for the long run.

·           Direct Impact on FICO Score
While people who have their homes foreclosed could see their credit score dip by 300 points, people who short sell their homes are looking at a loss of 80 to 100 points, at the most. This is because you are still giving the lenders something and in the end, you are showing the responsibility that lenders value.

 

·           How Long Will I Have to Wait to Buy Another Home?
  This is another area where short sellers benefit over their foreclosed counterparts. The waiting time for purchasing another home when you short sell is much shorter than the other options. In around 19 months, you can purchase another home at a decent interest rate. That means that you could conceivably be back on your feet in no time, establishing a new credit history.

Short Sale Deficiency Judgments

  Not everything is positive when it comes to short sales, though.  A seller could end up having to face a deficiency judgment, depending upon their home state.  This payment could be as much as the full difference of the total loan amount and the amount that you pay.  The laws on these judgments vary depending upon where you live, so it is important to review these laws in order to know what you might have in store. If you are held responsible for the repayment of such a loan, then short selling might not be a great option.

It will also be up to your lender to determine whether or not a deficiency judgment is in the cards. Because of this, having a discussion with your lender can often help you figure out what might be in store. A real estate attorney might also have some insight on this issue

You Can Make Money Even In Today's Real Estate Market

Worried about the future of the current real estate market? This actually the best time to make money for investors who understand what is happening today.


Real estate is cyclical and always has been. There was a large national article published that stated Las Vegas real estate had completely capped out and there was no place for it to go but down. Ironically, that article was published nearly half a century ago! Has real estate gone up in value in Las Vegas in the last 50 years? Absolutely and more than just a little! Am I saying that real estate values will increase like they have in the past? Don't plan on it, however I'll explain the benefit of this type of media coverage and how it is invaluable.


  1. This creates fear preventing more people from investing but that only provides more opportunity for you.
  2. It eliminates aggressive scam investments (as we saw rampant with builders in Florida and Las Vegas the last few years).
  3. People begin to question the value of their property and that creates more flexible selllers.



This is something to think about: I don't know any successful real estate investors who are afraid of flat or falling house prices? Quite to the contrary, knowledgeable investors understand when markets are flat or down it just weeds out beginning investors, makes people panic and means more opportunity.


What's important to understand is just as real estate is cyclical, so are the amount of buyers and sellers in a given market.


It's more than just buying property hoping it will increase in value tommorrow. That’s not investing, that’s speculating! You are totally relying on future growth which is completly out of your control. In the short term, that kind of conventional thinking will not work in a declining or a flat real estate market. As in every business, a well calculated decision is vitally important. Creative, risk free offers based on your specific investing situation and setting up an appropiate exit is important in today's real estate environment.


There are also better creative real estate strategies for down and soft markets like wholesaling, flipping/assignments, lease options, foreclosures, short sales, and "subject to" investing. But even when doing rehabs or fixer uppers (which are not usually recommended in down markets) there are still good ways to make a good profit with the right system and proper planning, such as factoring in depreciation and extended selling possibilities.


This is why faster, lower risk, more creative real estate investing strategies like wholesaling houses are better to use during market declines. The point is market conditions should not determine whether or not you make money; it’s how you approach it and what is appropriate for the circumstances. When you structure risk free deals and make calculated decisions, the real estate market conditions will never be a determining factor of whether you are successful!

Real Estate Strategies For The Investor

Investing in real estate is a great way to make some extra money and diversify your portfolio as well. It is a good idea before you plunge into your first investment property to at least have some real estate investment strategies in mind. Savvy real estate investors look for properties that are below market value. A good way to find these is to look at buildings that are foreclosures. Some times you can rent or resell a property right after it has been forclosed on if it is ready. In order to sell some properties you may need to do some updates or renovations before they can be sold. Working with a trusted real estate agent who specializes in foreclosures, knowing what types of real estate you are interested in investing in ahead of time and making the best deal you can is the best way to come out ahead.

You need to learn the many different investment strategies before you begin to invest in real estate. The most common strategy that real estate investors use is the one that can lead to the most problems. That real estate investing strategy consists of buying properties which the investor believes will soon increase in value due to market-wide appreciation. Although this strategy can be used successfully, it is based on pure speculation and can fail. Three investment strategies that are based on fact and not speculation are listed as follows. The first is known as the bargain purchase. Choosing a prorperty using the bargain purchase method will often allow you to buy that property at twenty percent below market value. This allows them to make up to a twenty percent profit using this real estate investing strategy and is a great strategy to use when purchasing foreclosures.

The second strategy is known as the increase value strategy. The property would be purchased at the current market value using this strategy. There must be some improvements that could be done within a six month time period that would increase the value of the building by twenty percent for this strategy to be successful. The last strategy is the double digit cap rate which is the one many real estate investors use. The double digit cap rate strategy is used for buildings that have a capitalization rate of ten percent or more. The net operating income from the property divided by the purchase price is the captalization rate. These are harder to find unless the market is depressed or you are looking into small market niches. Whatever type of real estate investing strategy you choose it is wise to have a real estate agent on your side who can help you make the right decisions and tell you of any new listings, including foreclosures that you may be interested in.

Homezonedirect.net is a oraganization dedidicated to providing you with the most up to date and relevant information available to help you make the wisest choices regarding your home and financial future. Our team of committed experts scourthe internet searching for theright information so you can begin to understand these finacially troubling times we are in.

We are not here to sell you anything, we only want to provide you with as much information as you need to help you make the best decision for your family. 

Donald Who? Becoming A Real Estate Tycoon

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By Jim Nettleton

You’ve heard it a million times – most of America’s millionaires made their money in real estate. The reason this old adage gets repeated as often as it does is because it’s true.

Real estate provides an individual with the best possible set of scenarios with which to gain wealth. Not only can wealth be obtained, but it can be obtained quickly. A well thought out investing plan can potentially make an individual independently wealthy in less than a year.

Now, don’t panic. You don’t have to have a boatload of money to get your train out of the station. As a matter of fact, you don’t need any money at all to get started. If you play your cards right, you might not have to layout a penny of your own funds to build a true real estate empire.

Creative real estate investing has been at the forefront for many years now and with today’s market conditions, it shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. In fact, these tough economic times are, in many ways, the best of all times for real estate investors.

The downturn on a national level has opened many avenues that have always existed much wider in the past two or three years. The older, traditional methods of acquiring properties still work, of course. However, they don’t work very quickly. Purchasing properties with the intent of holding them and receiving rent from tenants can indeed make you wealthy. But it’s going to take a long time to do so and, along the way, there are countless headaches to deal with. Legal problems, tax problems, unhappy tenants, deadbeat tenants, repairs, destructive tenants, and the list goes on and on.

If you’re after building your cash worth rapidly and doing so without dealing with all those problems inherent in buying and holding onto properties, there are far better ways to do so.

I’ll explain three of the best in the totally free report you can obtain through the link in my resources box below. To give you a brief outline, I’ll explain Tax Lien Certificates and the leverage they can give you; buying and flipping foreclosures and property scouting, one of the easiest of all that requires not a red cent of your own money.

Finally, there is a quick method you can use to find investors in your area who are active in the purchase and/or remodeling of properties. You’ll want to build a database of these individuals to refer to when creating deals that need financial backing. Write down the numbers on all those “We Buy Houses” signs that are all over the place. Check the classifieds for similar advertisements. In most metropolitan areas you should be able to create a database of several dozen such individuals and companies in just a few days time. This can become your most valuable resource.

Good luck and happy investing.

About the author:

Jim Nettleton is a radio and TV professional with wide-ranging interests including a passionate interest in real estate. Get his totally free and informative report, “Secret Real Estate Income Streams Revealed” here: http://www.jaynetinc.com/RealEstate