Posts Tagged ‘Valuations’

Buy The Cheapest Home On the Block

When buying, you need a strategy to find a home that is both a good place to live and a solid investment. Location, location, location is one rule, but there are others.

One of the obvious keys to buying a home that will be a good investment is the location. You are looking for a neighborhood with good schools, low crime and so on. That being said, what type of home do you look for when you find the neighborhood in question? The answer is the cheapest home on the block so long as it is not a disaster.

Why buy the cheapest property? It all has to do with valuations. Every neighborhood has a valuation range. The range extends from the cheapest home in the area to the most expensive. When you buy a home, it is vital to understand that it will be hard to raise the value of that home much beyond the value of the most expensive home in the neighborhood.

Assume you like a neighborhood with homes ranging from $350,000 to $450,000 in price. You go ahead and buy a home for $400,000. You come into some serious money and do $500,000 in improvements [gym, pool, 2nd floor, theatre, etc.]. Is your home now worth $900,000? Nope. It is probably going to appraise for $500,000 or so. Simply put, you have spent more than the neighborhood will support.

Taking this example further, you can see why buying the cheapest house on the block makes sense. It gives you room to improve the home and gain the equity appreciation. If you buy a beat up home for $350,000, just cleaning it up may increase the value to $400,000. A few substantive improvements can punch the value up from their. The point is you have room to move on the price.

Is there an occasion when buying the cheapest home does not make sense? Of course. The situation typically involves a home with a major defect. If the foundation is crumbling, run away! You are going to spend so much money fixing it, you will never see a buck of profit.

Once you find the neighborhood of your choice, establish the value range for the properties. Find the cheapest home on the block that has no major problems and buy, buy, buy.

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Author: Raynor James
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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How Do I Prepare to Sell My House?

During this credit crunch time, “I want to sell my house” is the cry of many a householder for various reasons. Whether your wanting to move to a bigger, or smaller house, if you’re relocating, or if you have mortgage arrears that are spiraling our of control, selling your house is going to be a major part of seeing your goal realized.

Having spoken with a number of estate agents and property buyers, including estate agents in London, here are the main points you want to consider when its time to sell your house:

1. Determine where you want to go. What’s you’re ultimate goal in selling the house? What will you achieve by selling the house? It always helps to write this down and have it in a prominent position in your home, so you are reminded of your goal. Determining what this goal is will also help you decide how much you need from the house sale to achieve your goal. “Sell my house for the highest price I can get ” is not really a goal because even if you get the highest price for the property, will that help you achieve your goal? How much do you really need from the sale of the house?

2. Get your house valued. This will help you determine How much you can reasonably expect from the sale of your house in the current climate. In this current “credit crunch” environment get 4 maybe even 5 estate agent valuations. This is because house values can fluctuate with each agent, so you want to get a good idea of the average price you can expect to sell at. Do your own research by talking to your neighours, either those who are selling, or those who have moved into your immediate area, and ask them what value was placed on their house.

3. Determine the right estate agent to work with. You need to work with an estate agent who is going to be proactive in selling your house. He or she will need to be looking for people who want to buy houses like yours, and this will mean you discussing your requirements with them. If the estate agent knows what you need to achieve, he can try to find buyers that meet that criteria.

4. Make your house presentable! First impressions are key to a succesful house sale. You may need to spend some money in making your house “look nice” for a potential buyer, but you should certainly make the effort in terms of “elbow grease”. This will include giving some areas a lick of paint to make areas more clean looking, decluttering flat surfaces like shelves and cupboards, and ensuring that each room has an air of spaciousness about it. Give high priority to your front garden or balcony, if you have one. Even before a prospective buyer sets foot over the threshold of you door, they will have made a buying decision based on the impression given at the front of your property. Probably the best way to prepare is to go around the house, making a list of all the things that would turn you off buying the house. Then plan for a seven to ten day clean up, dealing with all the areas that you can manage. This will make a significant improvement on your ability to sell your house, and the price that you will get for it.

5. No Offer is a silly Offer! Even if the offer is below market value, once it actually meets your own criteria in terms of what you need, then you’re a winner! Unfortunately, the market is shrinking all the time, and so are property prices with it. This means, If you know what you need from the sale of your house, and you achieve it, then you are in a better position than some who are holding out for as much as they can get, yet seeing that amount dwindle away on a daily basis.

Colin Baptiste has a keen interest in property investment in the UK. Many people in todays credit crunch are asking how do I sell my house in this current market? Visit his site and get a Free Report on selling your house

Author: Colin Baptiste
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Why Sell Your House For Cash Rather Than Use An Estate Agent?

Good question. People have diverse reasons for selling their homes. Not all sellers require a fast house sale, but for some the thought of waiting 3-12 months in an unhappy situation is simply too long. If your property is struggling to sell on the open market or you just want a quick no-fuss house sale and are prepared to pay a bit less than the over-inflated valuations of estate agents then you should consider using a company that specialises in buying properties for cash.

  • Emigrating
  • Relocating
  • Need more space
  • Prolonged poor health
  • Equity release
  • Buying your dream home
  • Problem tenants
  • Problem neighbours
  • Need less space
  • Bad structural report
  • Divorce settlement
  • Rising maintenance costs
  • Financial difficulties
  • Facing repossession

Most house buyers have the luxury of lots of time to pick and choose exactly which property they want to buy, this is particularly true in the current economic climate when house prices are falling and house buyers are keen to pay the lowest possible price and are extremely price sensitive. This is fine if you don’t need to sell your home fast and can just wait until the next link in the chain is able to move or prices stabilise. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. The chain you are in may collapse and you lose the house you are trying to buy, leaving you stranded for another 3-12 months. So, if you need to sell your house fast there are companies who can help.

How does it work? Easy, most sites buying properties for cash have an online quick quote or application form – you just fill in your details to get things underway. They then research your specific area and contact you with an offer (subject to survey) based on a range of factors. If this is roughly in the range you require then an independent surveyor will come and value your property. As long as there are no major issues affecting the valuation the whole process can be completed in 3-5 weeks.

The normal estate agent route can take between 3-12 months to sell, depending on the buoyancy of the market in your area. To ensure that you sign with them, rather than another company down the road, estate agents will often over-inflate their estimate of how much your property will sell for (some by 10-15%) and then get you to drop your price after a couple of months with no offers.

Selling through an estate agent:

  • Around 3-12 months
  • Chain can collapse at any point
  • Home Information Pack
  • Estate agent fees
  • Legal fees
  • Valuation costs
  • Constant stress
  • Over-inflated price adjustment
  • Mortgage payments
  • Possible bridging loans
  • Maintenance costs

Using Cash Buyers:

  • Guaranteed completion
  • Completion on a date to suit you
  • Sell in 3-5 weeks
  • No Home Improvement Pack costs
  • No legal fees
  • No valuation costs
  • You get your money fast
  • No “gazumping”
  • Price is below market value (not estate agent valuation)
  • No maintenance costs if you Sell & Rent Back

This might not be the right solution for your situation but it is worth considering all your options if you really need to sell your home fast. If prices are currently falling in your area and you don’t need to sell in around 4 weeks then you are better off waiting until the market either stabilizes or starts to go up. Remember, the prices you see on the details of properties being sold by estate agents are not necessarily what they will actually be sold for.

If you need to sell your property fast visit http://www.sell-my-house-fast.org and complete the online form for immediate help – sorry UK only.

Author: Marcus Baker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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