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Real estate investing is tough at the best of times. What about the worst of times. Is it possible to invest profitably in real estate when the market is like it is right now?

The real estate market is in meltdown right now. House prices are plummeting, foreclosures through the roof, people living in their cars and houses selling for $1. I’ve been watching a lovely 4 bedroom home in Florida that is listed on eBay right now for a starting bid of $1.

Real estate investing success relies on a few simple parameters. Rising house prices and good rental returns. If an investor can secure a house that will rise in value over time and returns enough rental return to come close to covering the expenses of the mortgage and other holding costs, then that investor will, over time, make a profit.

Ideally the rental returns from the tenants should exceed the costs of holding the property, and it is then in positive cash flow, and the investor makes a return on investment both from the income from the property and from the capital gain as well.

It’s all pretty simple really. There’s dozens of real estate investment seminars around, however that’s the basics. If you buy a home for an investment, and the value of that home goes down over time, you’ll lose money.

If you’re making a loss on the rental return over time, you’ll also lose money unless you can sell that home in the future at a price that is sufficiently higher than the purchase price to cover the rental losses and make some return on capital.

Simple stuff. But hard to achieve, even in the best of times. When the market is good, like it was up until a while ago, you made money if you we’re a good real estate investor. If you chose well, bought well and tenanted the property well, you were in front.

Not any more. The basic premise of real estate investing is rising home prices. If you’ve got rising home prices then you’ve got a good chance of doing well. Buy just about anything and by default you’ll make money.

Now prices are falling.

So right now there are no real estate investment opportunities right?

Wrong. There are good real estate investment opportunities. But if you’re trying to find them yourself you’re almost guaranteed to fail. There are some professional real estate investors now who are trying, and if you’re a professional investor with significant real estate investment experience you may do well. Or you may well do badly too.

But if you’re beginning real estate investing now you’d be better to stay out of the market. Unless……

Imagine for a moment.

A solid American public corporation, experienced in real estate investment. Well capitalized with a well thought out proven strategy for investing in real estate regardless of market direction.

The corporation invests in buying homes in demand. Not your McMansions that are on eBay right now, but the sort of houses that millions of working Americans live in right now, or need to live in. Basic properties that exist in their millions right over the US.

With sufficient capital it can buy hundreds of homes at a time. From government, charities or any organization that owns large numbers of homes in a single area. And because it can buy like that it can buy at way below market value. Hundreds at a time purchased in a suburb with all the right characteristics including high demand for rental properties and, in some cases a backlog of demand for up to 15 years.

Then it refurbishes those homes to a high standard. While doing so it spends money on the suburb building parks and playgrounds and community facilities. And within a period of time a suburb has been totally transformed. New community attractions, high quality homes that people want to live in. Suddenly everyone wants to live there.

Up to 40% of the profits are ploughed back into the local community.

Demand rises, people want to live there, both to rent and buy. The corporation has created it’s own capital gain, regardless of market direction.

And then it sells these properties to individual investors. No money down, loan provided, tenant provided with a rental guarantee. Immediate equity to the investor of around 15%. The investor owns the property and can hold it or sell it and keep 100% of the profits.

Now that’s successful real estate investing in a bad market. But it takes experience, commitment to a community and to the investors, and a solid background of real estate experience, and a lot of capital.

Sound too good to be true? Maybe it’s not.

Want to know more about profitable, sound, turnkey Real Estate Investing? Visit Peter’s Website Win-Win Real Estate Investments and find out more about no money down real estate investing at http://win-winrealestateinvestments.com/

Author: Peter Alderton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Tissot virtual reality

A home is a place where a person has lived in for many years. There is an emotional attachment to it. When a person gets ready to sell it there are quite a few difficulties that will be faced. Being used to living in the house will make us unaware of certain points that will affect the buyer and thus delay in the selling of the house. So, some common sense points have to taken into account to ensure that the house is sold. A lot of planning has to be done in advance, before selling the house.

A house that is being sold needs to look good. One should start from the outside. The first impression is the best impression. The front gate, the front yard, the lawn and the pathway should all be in order. The gate should be painted, the lawn should be mowed. The front yard and the pathway should be without clutter. Once inside the house, the place should give a neat and clean look. Avoid clutter. All the things should be in order. The kitchen should look spic and span, the drawing room, the dining room and the bedroom should be well kept. The bathrooms should be in order. Care should be given to tell the buyers about the number of bedrooms and bathrooms the house has. There should be no leaky faucets, broken windows or door handles, cracks in the walls or unwashed curtains. The place should have minimum furniture and look spacious. The buyer should want to buy the house. He definitely would want to live in the house as soon as it is bought and would not want to spend time and money on repairs.

Proper planning is essential to sell the house. You should decide how soon you want to move out of the house. Have you planned on the house you are going to live? Why do you need to sell the house? Is there a maximum time limit that you can have? If so, you can make repairs and make the house more saleable. This will fetch more value for the property you are selling.

The financial aspect of the house should be taken into account. You might have to take care of the mortgage on the property. If you are planning to buy a new house you will need to take a home loan for that. This might also affect your taxes. All these things should be planned in advance, so that you are not caught in a fix.

When you have decided to sell the house, it is best to sell the house and then buy the new home. The general feeling you might have would be to buy first, so that you have a place to stay. It is definitely a better option to sell before you a buy a new place.

When planning to sell a house, it is a good idea to employ the services of a professional home stager. He can make your home look its very best. This might also fetch you the amount closest to that you are asking for the home and will also help in selling it quickly.

When you plan to sell a house it is always best to highlight the points that will help in making a quick sell out. Some of the things that might attract buyers are extra bathrooms, an in-law apartment and the open space in the house. People are quite impressed with unique features that attract them to buy the particular property.

Plan ahead. Take care of the points that will help in making a quick sale. Clean the home thoroughly. The buyer needs to have a good impression and feel attracted to buy your house. A little effort on this front will make a lot of difference.

Andrew Wilson is a SEO copywriter for sell your house, Sell home fast and Quick sale house. He has written many articles in various topics like Sell and buy back UK, Buy and rent back and Sell property.

Author: Andrew V. Wilson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

If you are looking to sell your house fast for cash, you will find that the traditional method of selling your house through an estate agent can be a lengthy and problematic process. You would have to find a few agents to get comparisons, arrange for a valuation, paint & fix up your property, hold open days, show ‘browsers’ around, wait for an offer, negotiate a price, wait to see if the buyer can get a mortgage, wait if there is a chain involved, pay agent and lawyer fees, If sale fails – start again, all could be complete in 4 – 6 months if you’re lucky! You will also find that today’s UK housing market is not what it used to be, buyers are hard to find and most people that would like to buy are unable to get mortgages.

If you need a fast house sale for cash, then selling your house through estate agents is not the best way for you. An easier way to sell your house fast is to use property investors (cash buyers) who specialise in fast house sales. They offer to buy your house fast, no matter what condition it is in, so there would be no need to spend money painting or fixing up your property. One such company is Buy Sell Property Fast. They appreciate that everybody has different reasons for wanting a fast house sale, their services are tailored to meet your needs every step of the way.

One reason is that you may be selling your house fast to resolve your financial problems. If you are facing severe financial difficulty paying your mortgage, struggling to pay your household bills, car loans, your credit cards or other personal loans then specialist property investors can help stabilise your current financial position by quickly buying your house from you. This will help you avoid getting deeper into debt and also stop the threat of having your house repossessed.

Specialist property investors such as Buy Sell Property Fast can offer you a very fast property sale, usually within the course of a week or in extreme cases within 48 hours. This could allow you to repay and settle your outstanding mortgage and any loans that may have been secured on the property. Their legal team can confirm the sale of your property very quickly and put you back on track through financial stability.

You can also sell your house to them and then rent it back from them. It is very important to deal with this type of problem head on, don’t try to hide from it. If you take remedial action NOW, you can stop the repossession threat on your home.

Other reasons for wanting to sell your house fast include – Relocation or emigration, separation and divorce, bereavement, repossession, ill health, broken property chain or even a failed property investment.

Whatever your reason for selling, specialist property investors such as Buy Sell Property Fast can offer you a very fast property sale.

For more information on how to sell your house fast or even about quick house selling process, then visit Buy Sell Property FastIf you’re thinking ‘I need to sell my house fast’, then contact Buy Sell Property Fast.

Buy Sell Property Fast can offer you a very fast property sale, usually within the course of a week.

To get started, call us now on Free phone 0800 043 6316.

Author: Richard Manzenaro
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Get my ex back

In this time of great need, any option to sell is mostly something that a lot of people are looking for, just so as to be able to have ready cash that they can use on expenditures or in paying for outstanding debts. In many cases, it’s for the latter than the former. Lacking any other forms of ready cash or income, and in most cases, heavily burdened by debt, a lot of homeowners are currently backed up with financial dilemmas and are sadly made so desperate by the sheer number of debts they have incurred and compounded by piling expenses that they are left with one very basic, almost primitive thought for a way out: sell the house.

While it may really sound like the solution is just as bad as the problem, the truth is, done properly and with a lot of thought, selling the house you own and live in may actually allow you to not only earn enough to stave off debt collectors and lenders, it may even help you pay off your entire debt. On top of this, should the sale of the house be substantial, the homeowner who sold the house may even have surplus income which could be used in relatively less frugal purposes, since the trend today with finances is the removal of expenses that are deemed to be frivolities and just stick to frugality.

Now that we have established that there are significant benefits to selling your house, let us take a look at the particular costs that are involved in selling your house:

Standing home loan – It goes without saying that a homeowner who has taken out a mortgage or two on their home is in no position to sell the house for as long as they have not completely paid off the loan. Carefully plan out how you intend to complete the payment to your standing loan, since there are lenders that practice giving a penalty to early payers, as strange as that may be to some. Also consider that there may be some other fees and payments that need to be dealt with before your loan is completely settled, so it may be a good idea to get in writing every payment included in settling the loan, just so that there is no confusion or loose ends that are left.

Commission – Money that goes to the broker, known as the commission is often the largest expense in the entire process of selling a house, ranging anywhere from 5% to 7% of the selling price. Different real estate agencies will typically charge different rates, so it may be a good idea to ask around and see which particular real estate agencies can offer you a god deal, or that agency where you stand to get the most value for what they charge. Some real estate agencies will even allow a homeowner to market their own homes, although unless you have a natural gift for selling, the sales industry is hardly a place for amateurs.

Closing expense – Following the amount that goes into the commission of the broker who helped sell your house, another significant expenditure is the closing cost. Closing costs are typically made up of the title insurance expense, which is a huge amount in itself, pro-rated property taxes, which is rarely anywhere near the amount you expect it to be, document preparation fees, and, of course, legal fees for the services of a lawyer. Closing costs are rarely standard, so be sure to get a good estimate well ahead of the due date of closing.

Nick Stoles has been freelancing as a writer for the past 5 years. His articles on popular financial topics like forex trading, real estate and various product reviews can be found on many websites. His latest article published at http://www.autofloormatshop.com where he share tips on buying an auto floor mat for your car.

Author: Nick Stoles
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Healing food: natural way to cure cancer

The following are not your usual home buying tips. For example, almost everyone will tell you that you should buy a home, but the first tip below suggests an alternative.

Consider Renting

This is all about time and place and your own situation. Are you going to be in one place for long? If you are likely to move within a few years, you may be better off renting. Transaction costs of buying and selling will likely eat up any equity gains you get. It may seem profitable to buy at $200,000 and sell at $220,000 two years later, but commissions, closing costs and loan costs can easily add up to $20,000, so where is the gain? Also, there is no guarantee that prices will rise, and if they don’t you suffer a real loss.

Also, it is a matter of the ratio between rental rates and the costs of buying, and what is likely to happen in the market. For example, suppose you are in a slow-growing stable area, and your total monthly cost to buy a home is going to be around $1,200. If rent is anywhere near that for the same size home, you should probably be buying a house.

On the other hand, let’s look at the example of Tucson, Arizona in late 2005. You could buy a small home for about $190,000, with mortgage, taxes and insurance running about $1,325 per month. But you could rent the same home for just $675 per month. Now add to this the fact that home prices had been rising at 20% or more per year for years, and 12% of all recent sales were to speculators, not owner-occupants (a sure sign of a market top).

In this case, it would have made more sense to rent. Had you bought there two years ago, you would have paid $650 per month extra to be a home owner, or $15,600 over these last two years. In addition, the house would probably be worth a little less now than when you bought it. Better to have banked that $15,600 and bought the home today.

Other Home Buying Tips

Compare ALL costs when you look at various homes. It is easy to consider just the price of a home, or what that means in terms of a mortgage payment. However, there are other costs. If the home is in a flood zone, for example, insurance could be $200 per month higher than for other homes. Look at taxes, insurance, utility costs (big homes cost more to heat) and any other regular costs, so you can honestly compare houses according to what they will cost you monthly.

Go to online forums to learn about a new town. Many people like to talk about where they live. They get to do this in various online forums, which you can search for by entering the name of the town and “forum” into any search engine. Be aware that these are often places where locals complain about their town, but you can also find interesting and useful information, and ask questions.

If your real estate agent doesn’t represent you, don’t be loyal. If she is really a seller’s agent, she is obligated to pass on comment you make to the seller, like “I think we can go higher if they reject our first offer.” Even if she represents you, be sure she does it well. If you are shown three houses that have nothing to do with the criteria you laid out, show the agent the door. By all means stick with a good agent who really helps you, but otherwise you can also call the listing agent for each house you want to see.

Inspect the home yourself. You probably plan to have a home inspection done by a professional before you buy. But you should also visit the home a second time yourself, and do your own inspection. Bring a checklist and look over everything, even if this takes an hour or more. In this way you can tell the professional inspector what your concerns are, and be ready with questions for him.

There is another reason to do this inspection. It has to do with a concept called “time investment.” Sellers are more likely to accept an offer if they have invested more time and hope into a buyer. Negotiation secrets like this are a whole other area of home buying tips – one that you may want to learn about.

Copyright Steve Gillman. See a photo of the house we bought for $17,500, get a free ebook on how to buy cheap homes, a free real estate investing course, and a Home Inspection Checklist at: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com/home-inspection-checklist.html

Author: Steven Gillman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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