September 2008


real estate investing
Escapeso Austin Real Estate asked:


First off, watch some late night infomercials on TV. And possibly order some real estate tapes from Carlton Sheets. This will provide you with a positive upbeat attitude and a sense of false confidence that is essential in order to go bankrupt. Believe that after listening to some tapes, you can compete with people that have done this 7 days a week for years.

Second. For your first investment, buy in a city you know little to nothing about and avoid using a buyers agent who does know the city. Go directly to the sellers agent. The best way to make a truly horrible decision is to avoid any outside advice. The best part of this is that avoiding a buyers agent usually doesn’t save you any money since the selling agent simply makes more when you deal with them directly.

Look for a discount or a distressed property over a good long term investment. Late night infomercials and Carlton Sheets talk a lot about this. Getting equity at the point of sale. One thing about distressed properties with desperate sellers is that they frequently are in crappy areas with low appreciation rates. Buying a property at under market rate in an area with low appreciation potential versus a property in a good area is the kind of short sighted thinking that will really help you reach the goal of bankruptcy and foreclosure.

When you talk to people including your realtor, try to spend time talking about all the crap you learned from your book or light night infomercial. The more you listen to other people, the more you might get different perspectives and the higher chance you might learn new things. This could really hurt your chances of going bankrupt so avoid listening to anyone. Remember you know everything even if you only got interested in real estate last week.

Be positive to the point of stupidity. Alot of investors I know always think about how their situation would be affected by a 10 or 20 percent drop in the market before making a purchase. You should avoid this kind of thinking. You need to be blinded by greed. You should only fantasize about how you are going to double your money.

When calculating your monthly cashflow, assume that you will have 100% occupancy all the time and no maintenance cost. While you are at assume that its going to rain money tomorrow.

Also, be stubborn when renting your properties. Decide upon a number say $900 a month and refuse to budge. Come up with some bizarre logic about how the property deserves $900 a month. Lose months of rent having the property sit vacant instead of going down $50 on the rent. Instead of responding to the market make statements like “Well the markets wrong then”.

As you move closer to foreclosure, don’t alter your spending habits. Don’t move into a smaller house or cut spending. Act like nothing is wrong.

Overextend, overextend, overextend. Are you approved to buy one house. Why not buy 5, heck why not 20. Instead of building up a portfolio of properties over time, gaining experience along the way, just buy alot of properties next Tuesday.

Alot of people are getting into the foreclosure game. Their is no reason you should be left behind. Throwing caution to the wind and filling your eyes with greed and you should find yourself walking down the golden path to foreclosure.

This is not a definitive guide to foreclosure. Alot of people end up in foreclosure due to many things unforeseen events like unpreventable family illness, divorce or job loss. This is simply a guide to what I call elective foreclosure.



real estate investing
Brad Wozny asked:


There is a popular proverb – let money work for you rather than yourself working for money whole life. Investment, rather a good investment following the norms set by a real estate investing guide book, does exactly this. A real estate investing guide book teaches you the ways of success in the investment on real estates.

Most of the people who do not want to spend an extra little thought on profit making prefer traditional banking system to keep the money safe. They consider the annual 3%-4% revenue from the bank as an added advantage. This though provides no probation for any risk, yet the return amount is too poor. But a real estate investing guide book can change their perspective of investment. If you can afford to take a little more risk, you may gain 10% – 15% return with real estate investing. This is surely worth of investment and the little risk. But, for that you need a good real estate investing guide book.

A real estate investing guide book advices you on both the dos and don’ts of real estate investing. When you are buying a house, make sure that you have enough capital and time to participate in a cyclical investment process. Investment in real estate restricts the liquidity of the assets. Investment in other areas like stocks and bonds are more flexible than this. So the first advice from a real estate investing guide book is – be definite about your decision. Generally it is advisable that when you have a lot of money on hand, then only attempt real estates.

If you want to turn your real estate investment as a source of regular revenue, then following a real estate investing guide book, it will be precise to suggest that you opt for tenants. With tenants you can earn more money regularly, and then sell out the property when you need. Thus a real estate investing guide book helps you to deal with the liquidity problem of real estate investing, by turning the rigidity of the real estates into a flow of regular income. So, to invest in real estates successfully you should follow a real estate investing guide book by heart.



real estate investing
Real Estate Advisor asked:


Buying a home is a big-time real estate investment and has to be done with great prudence. Knowing where not to buy a home is as important as are the dos and don’ts of buying a home.

Of the many top ten lists on CNNMoney.com, there is listed the top ten overvalued cities in America where it is better not to buy a home for the next two years or so. The report states a variety of reasons for the unfavorable market conditions.

Five cities in California – Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Sacramento and Stockton, figure among the top ten cities that have the least possibility of home price appreciation. Home prices have reached a new high (by nearly 60%) in these areas over the past two years. With an economy driven by agriculture and relatively higher unemployment rates anticipated for that area, the real estate market is predicted to slump in the region.

Although three cities in Florida are recommended as good real estate buys, the report also cites four others in Southwest Florida that fall among the very bottom of the list. With home prices here expected to plummet very soon, cities like Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda and Sarasota are those that one would do best to avoid for a year’s time or so, while buying a home or a condo.

Market prices are expected to decline in the Jersey Shore (New Jersey) area that saw a radical boom in the last two quarters. Although home prices in the third quarter have rebounded from the slight drop during the second quarter, the bubble is expected to burst soon and the overpriced market is likely to stabilize. The popular seaside cities of New Jersey, Atlantic City and Ocean city are anticipated to fall under the unfavorable list.

In Phoenix, Arizona, a hot favorite among investors last year, sliding home prices may to be an unavoidable occurrence in the next 12 months. With home prices dropping by more than $100,000 in some residential developments and investors trying to sell off their property, it is safer to wait for a year or longer before investing here.

Economists at Moody’s Economy.com also predict a sharp decline in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, California’s Inland Empire.

The bottom ten cities that are likely to see major drops in median home prices during the coming year are Stockton, (leading the list with a predicted fall of 9.7%), Merced, Reno/Sparks, Fresno, Vallejo/Fairfield, Las Vegas, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Washington, D.C and Tucson.

Given these fluctuating real estate market conditions, one should exercise a great deal of caution when investing in real estate. It makes sense to get the expert advice of a real estate agent to advise you about your next home purchase, since agents often have access to the most up-to-date real estate market data and neighborhood pricing trends.



real estate investing
James Kobzeff asked:


cle covers six dynamite real estate investing tips intended to help anyone just getting started in real estate investing to successfully launch and hit the ground running with real estate investment property.

1. Develop the Correct Attitude

To stand a chance of succeeding at real estate investing, foremost, you must understand that real estate investment is a business, and you will become the CEO of that business.

As your first order of business, then, it’s crucial to develop the correct mind-set about investment real estate and be able to make this distinction between buying a home and investing in real estate:

“You buy a home to live and raise a family; you buy real estate investment property to pay for the home, live comfortably, and raise your family in style”

As one very successful real estate investor said, “Only women are beautiful, what are the numbers?” In other words, you will not succeed at real estate investing until you acknowledge that it’s not curb appeal, amenities, floor plan, or neighborhood that should turn you on or off to the investment opportunity; what counts most is the property’s financial performance.

2. Develop Meaningful Objectives

A meaningful set of (realistic) objectives that frames your investment strategy is one of the most important elements of successful investing. Yes, we may all desire to make millions of dollars from real estate investing, but fantasy is not the same as expressing specific goals and a method on how to achieve it.

Here are some suggestions:

How much cash are you willing to invest comfortably? What rate of return are you hoping to achieve by making the investment in real estate? Are you expecting instant cash flow, looking to make your money when the property is resold, or merely looking to achieve tax shelter benefits? How long are you planning to hold the property before you dispose of it? What amount of your own effort can you afford to contribute to the day-to-day operation of running the property? What net worth are you hoping investing will help you to achieve, and by when would you like to achieve it? What type of income property do you feel most comfortable owning, residential or commercial, or does it matter?

3. Develop Market Research

If you’re new to real estate investing, you undoubtedly know little about investment real estate in your local market. So, do market research to learn as much as you can about income property values, rents, and occupancy rates in your area. The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to recognize a good (or bad) deal when you see it.

Here are some good resources:

(a) The local newspaper, (b) A local appraiser, (c) The county tax assessor, (d) A qualified local real estate professional, (e) A local property management company

4. Run the Numbers

I can’t stress enough the importance of running the property’s cash flow, rates of return, and profitability numbers. Remember, real estate investing is a business, and as the CEO of your investment enterprise, you’ve got to know what you’re buying, especially if you’re trying to determine which of several investment opportunities would be the most profitable.

You have two options:

(a) Invest in real estate investment software. This will enable you to discover for yourself the investment property’s cash flow and rates of return, and create your own analysis reports. Plus, by running the numbers yourself, you gain a broader understanding of real estate investing nuances, and in turn might be less likely to fall victim to the wiles of someone with little concern about how you spend your money.

(b) At the very least, work with a real estate professional that has invested in real estate investment software and can calculate, present, and discuss the property’s financial data with you.

5. Develop a Relationship with a Qualified Real Estate Professional

Working with a qualified real estate professional is a great way for beginners to get started with rental property investing because an astute professional can acquaint you with local market conditions, recommend a property that meets your investing objectives, and discuss strengths and weaknesses about specific property performance.

Here’s a warning, however: Work with a real estate person who understands investment real estate.

Be sure the agent has a firm grip on key financial measures inherent to real estate investing, knows how to measure profitability and rate of return, has the ability to present the data you need to make wise investment decisions, and, most importantly, shows a genuine interest in how you spend your money. The last thing you want to do is to get involved with a real estate agent that would throw you under the bus just to make a commission.

Here’s a good way to interview for an agent. Ask them for the property’s cap rate and then request an APOD. If their response (even to these basics) is to stand there looking at you like a deer into the headlights of a car, find another agent.

6. Start Investing

Hopefully, this has given you some insight into real estate investing, highlighted a few things to make you a more prudent real estate investor, and perhaps alerted you to a couple of things that should be avoided.

Okay, that does it for us, now it’s time for you to get started. Here’s to your success.



real estate investing
Stephen Campbell asked:


Investing in residential real-estate and making money out of it could be challenging as it requires a lot of hard work and intelligence. However, many people do residential real estate investing in spite of knowing all the pros and cons of this investment. Succeeding in residential real-estate is quite difficult. One cannot get success overnight. One needs to develop a plan and execute it in order to succeed. However, it is important for a person to know which would be the best time to start investing in residential real-estate. It is quite difficult to achieve success in this field.

However, one can take help of various statistics that would help proceeding. One should know everything about residential real-estate investing before getting down. The investor should be aware of various factors that would effect the residential-real-estate investing. There are few basics that an investor must take care before residential real estate investment. These days one can also search for information online. There are many real estate investing-communities online that provide with various products and services to investors for residential real-estate.

Economic factors influencing

The investor needs to check for all the economic factors that would influence the investing in residential-real-estate. Variables like employment levels and income levels needs to be evaluated well. Some other factors like interest rates, wage rates, transaction costs, and purchasing power also should be calculated well. The relationship between national economy, regional economy and local economy should be inspected well. This would help for an investor to identify all the possible effects of all the variables on residential-real-estate investment.

Social factors influencing

Territory and companionship are the basic desires of people. Cost and prestige of certain residential real estate evokes desire of people to purchase them. Various social factors like age distribution, crime rates, education, and pride of ownership are considered while analyzing residential real estate investment.

Some other factors influencing

Some other factors effecting residential-real-estate investing are legal, political, and governmental factors. One needs to determine and evaluate these factors too. These various policies affect the demand and ultimately the prices. Existence of various amenities like access, public transportation, schools, police protection, and fire protection influence the demand and price for residential-real-estate investing. Environmental, physical also location factors influence residential real-estate investment. Location and situation would allow the investor to analyze and make proper investments. Site features establish value allowing investors to use the inherent resources. Size of the land and topography of land is also considered while investing. The situation also attributes establish value by virtue of proximity to some other resources. Some of these various resources include a shopping center, a school, a freeway, central business district, a waterfront, a dump, or a sewage treatment plant.

There is no guarantee of succeeding in residential-real-estate investing. However, an investor can succeed by analyzing various factors that would influence residential real estate investment. If the investors are careful then they can get one step ahead of rest people.



real estate investing
Real Estate Advisor asked:


Based on several factors that include lifestyle, retirement, opportunities for fun and investment, International Living magazine has chosen the world’s seven hot spots for 2007. Still virtually unnoticed by the world’s tourists, these seven regions are the best international real estate markets in 2007. They are:

1. Montenegro: This spectacular European country on the Adriatic Sea that many have almost forgotten has topped the list of best international real estate markets. The aquamarine sea, enthralling mountain backdrop, captivating summer villas and quaint fishing villages are just a few features of this jaw-droppingly beautiful country. An ideal tourist spot, this country has been adjudged the ‘fastest growing travel and tourism economy’ by the World Travel and Tourism Council.

2. Cartagena, Colombia: This is an ancient walled city embellished by magnificent Spanish colonial architecture and flanked by white-sand beaches. The city offers a warm weather, affordable lifestyle, and world-class diving and snorkeling for tourists and locals alike.

3. Malaysia: Southeast Asia’s top retirement haven, country is a very affordable destination. Malaysia offers a western lifestyle and a host of attractions including modern infrastructure, cheap accommodation and innumerable cultural charms. Its beautiful white beaches and clear blue waters offer sailing, diving, snorkeling, etc.

4. Calabria, Italy: A sunniest corner of Europe, Calabria is a beautiful peninsula that is enveloped by clear silver-blue sea on three sides. Life happens in a very leisurely manner in this place that possesses all the charms of a medieval village. A promising real estate market, the region is well connected by the low-cost Euro-carrier RyanAir.

5. Ciudad Vieja, Uruguay: This is another of the world’s inexpensive cities that remains undiscovered yet. The city has seen a booming real estate market since 1995 and the upward trend is sure to continue through 2007 too. Also ranked as one of the top 10 cheapest cities in the world last year, Ciudad Vieja remains one of the best places to invest this year.

6. Honduras Cloud Forest: With acres of mountain forests of breathtaking beauty, this mountain paradise is just minutes from a charming beachside town and an international airport. One can access this town by air in less than 2 hours from many places in the U.S. With the area poised for a real estate boom in a few years down the line, now is the time to buy.

7. Mexico’s Flamingo Coast: An enticing stretch of coastline with dozens of quaint little beach towns, side-by-side, the Flamingo Coast offers great beachside living and a laid back lifestyle. Its warm weather, white sandy beaches, emerald-green waters and cheap rentals are some of the attractions the region offers.



real estate investing
Real Estate Advisor asked:


Baby boomers, baby boomers, baby boomers; we all hear this term over and over again. So who are the baby boomers? Baby boomers are people in the United States who were born between 1946 and 1964. Approximately 78.2 million people fall into this category.

As a group, baby boomers comprise the largest population cohort in the history of the United States. The size of the group gives it vast influence over American politics, popular cultural, and of course, real estate. To evaluate the influence of the baby boomers on the future of real estate, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) conducted a study in 2006. The findings of the research were published in report entitled Baby Boomers and Real Estate: Today and Tomorrow. Below are some highlights from the NAR study.

AGE DISTRBUTION

According to the NAR report, baby boomers now range in age from 42 to 60 years old. The typical baby boomer is 50 years old, and the oldest of the baby boomers turned 60 in 2006. About 46% of baby boomers are in their 40s, and about 25% are at least 55 years old.

HOUSEHOLD INCOME

As a group, baby boomers are in their peak earning years. In 2005, baby boomers had a household income of $64,700, and about 25% them had a household income of at least $100,000 per year.

HOME OWNERSHIP

About 78% of baby boomers own a home, which is higher than the national ownership rate of 69%. About 96% of baby boomers believe that home ownership is a good financial investment.

FUTURE REAL ESTATE PURCHASES

About 10%, or 7.8 million of all baby boomers, said they were likely to purchase additional real estate in the next 12 months. Of these potential buyers, two-thirds were planning on buying a primary residence, 26% want to buy land, 19% want rental property, 15% want a vacation home or seasonal home, and 14% want a commercial property.

WHAT FEATURES ATTRACT BOOMERS

When baby boomers were asked about what features are most important to them, 38% wanted a lower cost of living, 38% wanted to be near family, 38% wanted easy access to quality health care, 37% wanted a better climate, and 36% wanted to be near a body of water.

PREFERRED COMMUNITY AMENITIES

When baby boomers were asked about the type of community amenities that interest them most, about 18% wanted to be near cultural offerings, 9% wanted to be closer to their family, 4% wanted to be on a golf course, and 3% wanted easy access to educational facilities.

WHERE DO BOOMERS WANT TO RETIRE

When baby boomers were asked about where they want to retire, 33% of them want to retire in a rural area, 30% in a small town, 25% in a suburban area, and only 12% in an urban community.

BOOMERS AND THEIR REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Baby boomers consistently use the services of a real estate agent. Approximately 60% of homebuyers and 79% of home sellers used a real estate agent in their last transaction.

SUMMARY

The baby boomers have had and will continue to have a significant impact on the real estate market. As the boomers near retirement, they continue to value real estate and will continue to invest in properties and land. Real estate agents would be well served to understand what baby boomers want in terms of their real estate investments, and design strategies that target the needs of this enormous population cohort. For more information, read the NAR report entitled, Baby Boomers and Real Estate: Today and Tomorrow



real estate investing
Brad Wozny asked:


Many people are trying their luck at real estate investing, and although many are wildly successful many more are not. The truth is there is very little luck involved in real estate investing; the best way to be successful is to arm yourself with knowledge about the type of investing you want to do as well as knowledge about the market in which you are planning to invest. There are countless ways to get the information you need to be successful in your real estate investing endeavors including books, websites, and real estate investing seminars. All of these methods will give you information, but the best way is to learn about real estate investing from someone who has already found success and can teach you the methods they used to profit in the business through a real estate investing seminar.

A real estate investing seminar held by a successful and experienced real estate investor will give you the best chances of success. Learning form a professional is often a more effective way to educate yourself than independent study because you are benefiting from the experience, tips, and advice in a one on one fashion of a professional. One of the best ways to be successful in any field is to model yourself and your business practices off of someone who is already successful in your field of interest. Taking a real estate investing seminar will allow you to learn successful business practices that have already been tried and tested for success. There are many real estate investing seminars out there, and not all are of the same quality. Make sure the real estate investing seminar you choose is run by someone who is already successful and has the track record to prove it.

There are lots of companies that run real estate investing seminars in hopes of generating an income off of the seminar but they do not have the experience or expertise to pass on to you to make you successful. If you are looking for a real estate investing seminar it is best to ask around for recommendations from anyone you know who has an interest in real estate investing to see if they can recommend a real estate investing seminar that they benefited from.

If you don’t personally know anyone in the real estate investing business some quick research online will give you thousands of real estate investing seminar choices. You should then search based on the individual real estate investing seminar or the presenter’s name to find out what past participants have to say about the program and the success it brought to them. Never sign up for a real estate investing seminar that is mainly about selling you additional resources or subscribing to services. The real estate investing seminars that will help you the most are ones that offer real insight, information, tips, and advice about real estate investing without trying to sell your additional things. Making a profit from real estate investing is not easy but with the right knowledge from a quality real estate investing seminar the potential for great profit is there.



real estate investing
Stephen Campbell asked:


Investment in real estate gives an opportunity to gain good profit for a lot of people. Since investing in a real estate is a great short or long term opportunity, the demands are increasing with each passing day. The price increases substantially over time and this is the main reason for the increasing demand.

There are several real-estate investment trusts that are used by people to invest in residential and commercial business of real estate. A group of people form a trust and a lot of mortgages and commercial properties are managed and possessed by them. Investments are made by the trust in several other real estates. These that invest in real estate show the characteristics of stocks and real estate.

A trust that invests in real-estate works like a company and produces income from real-estate like offices, apartments, shopping centers, hotels and warehouses. Though there are wide ranges of property types, most of the trusts that invest in real estate concentrate on just one of the property types. Those ‘trusts’ that are specialists in health care are known as health care real-estate investment trust.

A trust for investing in real-estate was formed in the early 60′s so that it could raise the investment opportunities in real-estate to a great extent. Small scale investors have the right of accessing these investment funds. The advantage of forming a trust is that a person can select a particular amount of share he wants to invest from various trusts instead of investing in a single management or building.

The trust that invest in real-estate can be broadly divided into three types. They are mortgage, equity and hybrid. Mortgage trusts that invest in real-estate offer direct money to the owners of real-estate by purchasing mortgage or loan backed securities. In case of equity trusts that invests in real-estate the management and the ownership is with the trust. The last category of trusts is a combination of the equity and mortgage trusts. The hybrid trusts that invest in real estate not only provide loans to the operators or owners of real estate but also own properties.

There are quite a few differences between trusts that invest in real-estate and limited partnerships. The main variation is that in case of investment trusts the annual tax information should be provided to the investors. However in case of limited partnerships there is no need to provide for the tax information. The second difference is that in case of limited partnerships there is a limit to the amount that can be invested.

However there is no limit to the amount that can be invested by an investment trust. In case a company desires to be a trust that invests in real-estate, the company is bound to share more than 90 percent of the income that is generated and is taxable to all the shareholders at least once a year. When a company is recognized as a trust investing in real estate the dividends that are provided to the share holders can be reduced.



real estate investing
vknarayana asked:


Real Estate Investing is no longer the special past time of wealthy businessmen. In today’s world real estate has become a common financial motion for people from all walks of life. This trend will likely to continue to perform will into the predictable future. This change is due to elimination and concentration on company pension plans. Personal investing guide has replaced these plans as the preferred way to plan for retirement

Real estate investing book increases the knowledge and information in the real estate field. People who speak in real estate market are the people with experience in real estate industry. A real estate book which is introduced in electronic format is called as Real estate E-book.

A real estate investing book is a collection of paper, parchment or other material, bound together along one edge within covers that contain information about real estate investment business. A real estate book is also a real estate literary work or a main division of such a work.

A real estate investing book could be studied by real estate course students in the form of a book report. This book may also be read by a real estate professional or real estate business man who would like get more knowledge about some topic related to real estate. There are several recommended real estate investing books available for increasing your real estate investing knowledge and improving your real estate business.

Real estate investing book is one of the least risky types of investments books you can read. Rather than investing in hit or miss stocks that are sometimes unpredictable, real estate investing is a much more stable market. If you make a wise real estate investing book purchase, you will be able to increase your investment’s worth over time even if you put little or no knowledge or basic ideas into it.

The purpose of the Investing book is to supply all the necessary information so that you can obtain new skills and educate more yourself in real estate investing field, in order to get proven profitable results from your investments in the stock market! The Investing book intends to not only provide advice on investments for beginners, but also aims to offer fresh ideas for experienced investors. The Investing book also offers a list of investing terms and important phrases that the investors would need to be well-known with upon their embarkation into investments.



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