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For Sale By Owner? Or Lose a Sale By Owner?

2006-05-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

For Sale By Owner? Or Lose a Sale By Owner?
by Kael

Many people tend to think that by hiring a real estate agent, they are losing out on money that they could have saved if they sold their own home. This couldn’t be further from the truth. To often, people put their own houses up for sale and then wait until the right buyer comes along. But how long does that home stay on the market until THAT happens?

The general public is often mistaken about the role of a real estate agent. The agent doesn’t just earn a commission off a purchase or sell of a property, but instead, it is in the best interest of the real estate professional to do everything possible for their client. What this translates to, is the ability of the real estate agent to tap into sales and marketing channels that the average home owner or purchaser could not use.

People who buy or sell properties do not have access to the multi listing services, weekly advertisements in major news outlets (paper, television and radio), and an extended lead network that provides fresh referrals. Instead, a for sale by owner situation hopes for newspaper ads and word of mouth to sell their property.

What’s more persuasive and readily accessible to an immediate buyer?

In my opinion, for sale by owners are doing themselves a disservice by handling the transaction themselves. As I gave the aforementioned reasons, a person will be in a much better position to sell their home if they avail themselves all of the possible resources to do so. These resources are all at the touch of a willing and knowledgeable real estate agent.

So how does a fsbo find the right agent? They should ask their friends and coworkers on who they know that can handle a solid real estate transaction. Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in the real estate world so the fsbo should do their own due diligence and find out which agency and which particular agent to use. Female or male, it all goes to personal preference. Ask for the agent’s background to see how many sales last month they successfully brokered. Ask them what their plan of attack is to sell the property and what various angles they are going to take. And most of all, determine how much of a personality they have. Determination and personality go a long way!

This article was prepared by Article Authors
for this CT real estate Site

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Financing For Real Estate Investors.

2006-04-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Financing For Real Estate Investors.
by Steadyflow

In the real estate business there are those folks commonly known as real estate investors. I have had some very interesting calls lately from folks that literally wanted us to pay 100% of all the cost for them to buy the property, add in all of the closing costs, as well as finance 100% of the rehab costs. They did not want to spend one cent of their own money but of course they wanted to be able to profit from the sell of the property after all was said and done. Well they forgot to add no interest and never pay back the loan to their list of dreams.

This is what I call the welfare mentality. Something for nothing! Don't get me wrong there is a need for assistance in everyone of our lives. I have had to file for unemployment before so I know what I am talking about. It is there for assistance until you can get back on your feet and move on with your life. The mentality of this generation is exactly that, I take your money that you have worked so hard for and use it to benefit myself, but only if it doesn't cost me anything! Well that may work for political gain but it does not work in the financial world!

So what is the point? Well recently we have added several new programs for real estate investors that are looking for this type of financing. It is not 100% but it is one of the best programs I have seen in a while. It offers 75% of purchase price and 75% of the rehab costs! Not exactly welfare but close to it! (Relax my friend and smile for once!)

Now if you know anything about this type of financing then you know that this is an incredible offering. Literally the investor only has to have 25% of the total cost to be able to qualify for this financing! We have many other

options available and can help the investor determine which one is best for their situation.

Another program that we have access to is for construction companies. It literally works like an open line of credit for upwards of $200,000 for the building of new homes. There are also many other offerings that we have access to for

construction loans.
We have been able to fund several of these a month recently and are constantly updating our offerings to our clients.

If you have a legitimate project that you need to get financed, and I think it is possible, we will consider all requests that make sense. I also have the option of going to our database of private investors. So do yourself a favor and contact us and I will tell you point blank if we can help you or not.

You can find out more information about these types

of funding here.

Commercial

Real Estate Finance.

Arnold Cortez

Top 25 Small Business Loan Sources

Suggested Sites:

AdvancedBusinessCapital.com

Small Business Finance

Blog

Fast Blogger

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Arnold Cortez

Top 25 Small Business Loan Sources

Suggested Sites:

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Small Business Finance
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Fast Blogger
Generator

Arnold B. Cortez
Copyright © 2004 www.AdvancedBusinessCapital.com
Website Owned and Operated by ABC Consulting Austin,Tx

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The Power Of Appreciation

2006-04-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

The Power Of Appreciation
by Lou Castillo

If you truly want to bring into your life everything that you desire, then start with appreciating all that you have now. Here’s how it works – you bring into your life whatever it is that you focus your thoughts upon. So, if you focus on all the lack in your life, you get more lack. But if you focus appreciation on all that you have, you get more of what you want.

Of course the question is “But how can I appreciate not having something?” The answer is to appreciate the things in your life right now. Enjoy where you are right now. Then think of the things you desire, but look at them with the thrill of expectation. Think of it like this: when you plan a vacation, it’s has not happened yet, but you are filled with excitement anticipating the thrill of all you’ll see and do. You’re not depressed because you are not on vacation now. You know it is coming.

That’s how the Power of Appreciation works. Appreciate the now, and be thrilled with the anticipation of obtaining all that you desire, and more will come into your life.

Just like your goal is not to complete your vacation – it is to enjoy it. The same is true with all of your desires. You always have new desires. You’ll never fulfill them all, because no sooner is one fulfilled that ten more are born. It’s what keeps you alive. Can you imagine living each day with the thought that you have already fulfilled every desire? That there is nothing else to achieve? Of course not. There would be no purpose to life. So desires are not the lack of something; they are the promise of what is yet to come. How exciting! All that you want - you’ll have.

Knowing that there is no lack – only desires yet to be fulfilled, you can relax, appreciate, and enjoy all that is already in your life. If you want to be happier, and fulfill your desires even quicker, try this exercise: take a few moments several times a every day to notice and appreciate some of the things in your life that you would miss if they were no longer in your experience. For instance, you might appreciate the home in which you live, the electricity which powers your house, the softness of your bed, the laugh of your loved ones, the sounds around you, the multitude of colors, the smell of Thanksgiving dinner cooking, the PC on which you’re working. When you realize the importance these experiences play in your life, and the void their absence would make, it is easy to feel appreciative of all that you have.

Don’t mistake that I’m saying settle for what you have. To the contrary, I’m saying enjoy what you have, while fully anticipating the fulfillment of all you desire. The point is to fully appreciate everything you have, which will lead to experiencing everything you want.

Best of Success & Abundance,

Lou Castillo

Yours Free: 6 Full Months Of Specialized Real Estate Investing Strategies - Delivered To You By e-Mail, Audio and Teleseminar - All At No Cost To You...
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Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early ‘90’s, and now shares his vast experience with investors around the country. Unlike many of the speakers and mentors in real estate, Lou has both an undergraduate and a Master's Degree in Business and Marketing, and for 12 years he worked managing a 50 million dollar business for American Express.

He was on his way up the corporate ladder until he recognized that real estate offered a greater opportunity for financial freedom, and for the lifestyle he desired. Using his powerful formulas Lou was able to retire from his corporate job at age 37 and follow his passion - his first love - which is investing in real estate.

Lou has developed proven systems that create massive wealth through real estate investing. He has authored more than 7 books and courses on the subject focusing on the implementation of his techniques. His latest development 'The Investor Riches System' has been helping investors world wide achieve financial freedom through real estate. If you wish to talk to Lou you can e-mail him at Lou@InvestorRiches.com

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Buying a home? Consider Hiring an Attorney

2006-04-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

Buying a home? Consider Hiring an Attorney
by essmeier

The most expensive thing most people will buy in their lifetime is the house in which they live. In addition to being expensive and taking decades to pay for, the purchase of a house also represents one of the more complicated legal transactions most people will ever encounter. Despite the need for contracts involving bankers, city, state and county tax assessors and other legal entities involved in the sale of land, most people never even consider hiring an attorney to assist them with the purchase of a home. That's unfortunate, as the relatively small amount of money saved by hiring an attorney now could possibly save thousands of dollars later.

How can an attorney save you money? By double-checking all of the terms and documents of the transaction to make sure everything is legal and proper. Most people who buy homes don't bother to check zoning ordinances or whether or not the home or fence on their property encroaches on that of a neighbor. An attorney can check these things along with tax issues and any one of a number of minor things that most buyers never even know to think about.

Right now in Texas, a number of homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure are engaged in lawsuits against the company that sold them their houses. Among the allegations in the case are suggestions that the company that sold the property did such things as:

Tell buyers with bad credit and even previous bankruptcies that they qualified for unusually large home loans. Some of these loans had monthly payments that exceeded 50% of the buyers' monthly income. In short, they agreed to lend buyers money that they knew the buyers could not afford to repay.

Provide buyers with mortgage documents that stated that the property wasn't being resold but was rather being refinanced by existing owners.

Offer loan documents that contained a number of blanks which the sellers filled in sometime after closing. Buyers were later shocked to discover that their monthly mortgage payments were much higher than they had been promised.

Showed the buyers fraudulent appraisals that suggested that the property in question was worth 2-3 times its actual value.

A lawyer would have caught any one of these problems, had even one of the displaced homeowners bothered to hire one ahead of time. And yet hundreds of buyers appear to have been victims of mortgage fraud because they weren't willing to spend a few hundred dollars to have an attorney look over the documents before they signed them.

Buying a house is agreeing to an obligation that can tie up your finances for decades. It only seems reasonable that if you are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a place to live, you might want to consider spending hundreds of dollars to make sure that the terms of your purchase are legal and reasonable. A little money spent now could save you a lot of money later.

©Copyright 2006 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including HomeEquityHelp.net, a site devoted to information regarding mortgages, home equity loans, and lines of credit.

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Follow-Up: The Key To Successful Closings

2006-04-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Follow-Up: The Key To Successful Closings
by Lou Castillo

If everyone always did everything they said they’d do, we’d all be a lot richer. Unfortunately, tasks are overlooked, and the ball is often dropped. If you want to have successful closings, you must have strong “follow-up” skills to catch problems early in the process. Follow-up on everyone and everything.

I can’t begin to tell you the number of closings that almost fell apart, or would have fallen apart had I not kept a watchful eye on the entire process to make sure that everything was completed when it needed to be. Here’s a typical scenario: you’re wholesaling a house and you have just 30 days to get it closed before the contract with the Seller expires. You find a buyer who can get a loan and close before the expiration. Then a few days before closing you find out that the loan isn’t ready and closing must be delayed two weeks. But the Seller already has another Buyer ready to pay more than your price, so they refuse to extend your contract. You just lost the deal.

So what is follow-up? I used to think it meant staying in touch with the buyer to make sure that everything was completed for the loan. Then I learned that the buyer is often a newbie and clueless of what needs to be done. Mortgage brokers just usually respond “Everything looks great” until they can’t close the loan. So the real trick to following-up is to speak to the final decision maker for each step. This works whether you’re selling a retail house or a wholesale house, or even if you are the buyer/borrower. The goal is to close without delays.

Assuming that you have already received a pre-qualification letter from the lender, and ensured that the lender will loan on the deal (i.e. no issues with title seasoning, assignment fees, habitability of the property), the first step is to follow-up with the broker/lender that all of the application paperwork was submitted, and have they forwarded it to the lender? If not, what is still required? Determine if the lender requires a termite letter, appraisal, and a survey (most lenders do). If so, have they all been ordered? When is each to be completed? Keep following-up until you verify that each has been delivered. You also want to verify that the appraisal was sufficient for the loan.

If I don’t already own the house, I order a title report as soon as I go under contract with the Seller to discover any defects early in the process, and begin resolving them. Closing attorneys usually do not order the title report until just before closing to receive as current information as possible. But if they find problems, it could delay your closing. It is well worth the $125 to run title ahead of time, and eliminate delays.

Once the broker has forwarded the paperwork to the lender, the next step is to verify the loan has gone to underwriting. If not, what is the delay? If so, was the loan approved? Do any conditions need to be met? What are they and who is handling them? Make sure that once the conditions are met, the loan is returned to underwriting and approved.

Verify that the closing has been scheduled with the attorney, and that they have cleared title. Find out if and when the loan package will be forwarded to the attorney. Then remind all of the players of the date and time of closing, to bring a picture ID to closing, and to bring any funds required in a certified check.

This seems like a lot of work that should be handled by other people, but the reality is that often times something is overlooked. Through your diligent follow-up efforts, problems will be detected early and corrected, allowing your closing to occur flawlessly and on schedule.

Best of Success & Abundance,

Lou Castillo

FREE! Real Estate Investing Secrets To Earning $100,000 Your 1st Year! -- 11 Overlooked Real Estate Strategies That Will Turn Your Investing Business Upside Down And Put You On The Fast Track To Success! Plus A Bonus Track With A Secret So Successful It Can Double Your Investing Income Overnight!

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Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early ‘90’s, and now shares his vast experience with investors around the country. Unlike many of the speakers and mentors in real estate, Lou has both an undergraduate and a Master's Degree in Business and Marketing, and for 12 years he worked managing a 50 million dollar business for American Express.

He was on his way up the corporate ladder until he recognized that real estate offered a greater opportunity for financial freedom, and for the lifestyle he desired. Using his powerful formulas Lou was able to retire from his corporate job at age 37 and follow his passion - his first love - which is investing in real estate.

Lou has developed proven systems that create massive wealth through real estate investing. He has authored more than 7 books and courses on the subject focusing on the implementation of his techniques. His latest development 'The Investor Riches System' has been helping investors world wide achieve financial freedom through real estate. If you wish to talk to Lou you can e-mail him at Lou@InvestorRiches.com

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Real Estate Investing and Goal Setting

2006-04-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

Real Estate Investing and Goal Setting
by David Neese

What is the primary reason for success most people have that seems to elude unsuccessful people? Goal setting is the primary reason for success. Lack of proper planning is the number one reason for failure. Proper goal setting involves setting a business plan in place for your life. Too many people this doesn’t sound fun or sounds tedious. In practice though, goal setters have more time freedom, more money, and more success in all areas of their lives than those who don’t. Well it’s no different with real estate investing.

Real Estate Investing must be treated as a business and it requires planning that anyone can do. Much like an airplane pilot who goes through a pre-flight checklist, the real estate investor must go through many steps for every real estate deal. You must market to find the deal, do your research on the property to establish a value, have your contracts ready, make your offer, schedule a closing, have title work done, prepare your financing, get property insurance, etc. The reason the doers make money is because so many people aren’t ready to make money. Real estate investing seems like pie in the sky until you put your plan down on paper and it starts to crystallize. The planning process itself should give you renewed energy.

Before I daily setup my plan I didn’t want to get out of bed each day, but now I get up ready to work on knocking out my plan every day. Set your plan up into baby steps that you can review and knock out every single day. Your daily plan must include marketing to get motivated sellers to contact you. Regardless of the deals you have in the works, if your marketing stops, you will go through long dry spells. Even with consistent marketing you will have periods with few leads and periods where you are just swamped with sellers offering you great deals.

Constant daily review of your goals is critical. This is why so many suggest taping your goals on your bathroom mirror so you see it when you wake up and again before you go to bed. You can even buy giant poster sized post it notes that you can write your goals on and stick them on your wall. Reviewing your goals before going to sleep at night causes your brain to dream about your goals and program them into memory. So put your goals down on paper and start putting your real estate investing plan into action.

David offers a free E-course on quick start strategies for getting started in real estate investing that is delivered free via email and tele-clinic at: http://www.FreeRealEstateInvestingCourses.com

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Changes in FHA Mortgages

2006-04-13T23:20:00.000-07:00

Changes in FHA Mortgages
by Jim Woodard

FHA mortgages – those insured by the Federal Housing Administration – have long been considered one of the best ways to finance the purchase of lower-priced homes, particularly for first-time buyers. Recently the FHA overhauled their programs, making their mortgages more attractive to consumers.

FHA mortgages are especially well known for their low down payment requirements. In many cases buyers only need three percent of the purchase price, with military personnel paying as little as 2.25 percent. And some of that cash requirement can be applied to closing costs. However, FHA had its fair share of burdensome requirements that have made these loans less appealing in recent years, according to a report from the National Association of Mortgage Brokers.

“It wasn’t uncommon for an FHA loan to be held up because an inspector found a cosmetic flaw in a house,” said NAMB’s FHA Committee Chairman. “This all changed when HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) recently adjusted some of its requirements for FHA loans.”

In December, the FHA waived the requirement to fix cosmetic flaws. It also made it easier for consumers to negotiate payment for common mortgage costs. Previously, the seller had to pay all non-allowable expenses. This would include items like the processing, document preparation, inspection, photo, tax service and underwriting fees. With the exception of the tax service fee, these costs can now be paid by the buyer, adding more flexibility in the mortgage process, the NAMB report said. It also noted that FHA mortgage insurance is much cheaper than private mortgage insurance.

Copyright 2006 TheLow Quote.com
Syndicated real estate columnist and feature writer
Mortgage / Real Estate Update Report
www.TheLowQuote.com

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Don't Check Your Brain at the Border

2006-04-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Don't Check Your Brain at the Border
by Chris Cooper

I always believed in the maxim, “diversify your investments”. So during our working careers my wife and I used to buy real estate, especially south of the border.

When it came time to retire, we chose to live at least half the year on the shores of Lake Chapala, Mexico. Lake Chapala is at almost the same elevation as Denver, Colorado, but rarely gets as cold. There is a brief mild winter, but most houses are neither heated or air conditioned.

Because of the ideal weather and prices which are still less costly than in the United States, this has become a popular retirement community with people from around the world, but especially the USA and Canada. Ex-patriots in Mexico number in the hundreds of thousands.

As the baby boomer generation ages, this and other places like Roatan Island in Honduras, Costa Rica, the coasts of Mexico and, of course, most of the Caribbean will become more popular – and more expensive - with retirees.

These are ideal retirement locations and I don’t mean to discourage anyone from considering them. But don’t check your brain at the border.

Except for Puerto Rico, these are all foreign countries. Not everyone speaks English and things are done differently.

If you are considering a second home and make inquiries, you will swiftly become acquainted with the large realtor populations of these places. Surprisingly they will mostly be very friendly Americans or Canadians, willing to wine and dine you, introduce you to the local ex-pat community and explain the ins and outs of foreign living.

About a year or so ago, International Living ran an article titled: “Not All Sharks Swim Under the Water”. It was about ex-pat realtors and the tales they tell. And this is where the location of your brain becomes critical.

Take everything you’re told with a grain of salt. Hang out in any local pub, and you’ll likely meet disgruntled ex-pats who are disgusted with wherever you are. Also take what they tell you with a grain of salt, but carefully consider both sides of the picture.

When you are on a trip, you are on vacation. Things are all fun and games. You meet new people, party and drink too much. You sightsee and have a great time.

But living in these areas can be a lot different. The phones and electricity may not work all the time. Internet service can be spotty. You might have to pump and purify your drinking water.

There can be disputes with the native population, which you’ll generally lose.

There will be many sharks – generally ex-pats – that will be more than willing to take advantage of your naiveté.

So some advice:

1. Don’t believe everything you are told. Check everything out with as many different sources as you can. And if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

2. Remember you are a guest in a foreign land. Don’t act like a spoiled brat. The cultural gap can be huge. And even if a local resident speaks English, there are often misunderstandings due to that cultural gap.

3. Don’t invest your money with some friendly bloke you meet in a local pub, no matter what return he guarantees. As a matter of fact, keep your money in the states or Canada, safely tucked away in a reputable bank or brokerage firm. If you want to keep some local currency on hand, open an account at a real bank. Keep the same accountant that you had in the states or Canada.

4. The laws are different. In many countries a Notary will handle both sides of a real estate transaction. But you still have the right to hire your own lawyer, interpreter and building inspector and surveyor. You would be shocked to learn how many people don’t – I know I didn’t. And in many countries, lawyer-client confidentiality and conflict of interest are unheard of.

5. While most of the native population will be respectful of you if you return the favor, you will be a target of local thieves. Crime will probably be lower than wherever it is you’re coming from, but it exists – especially house break-ins and auto theft. You might also find yourself resented by the more well-to-do local population. It might be hard to make friends with them.

6. Try to learn the local language and customs. Don’t try to impose your values and watch where you try to butt in.

7. In many places, the only thing you will have in common with other ex-pats is the language. So be sure you choose a locale with a sufficient ex-pat community so you can create friendships. For the most part there will be many warm, welcoming people willing to include you in their social circle.

8. Be prepared to deal with poverty, people living in appalling conditions, child labor and more. There will be many groups to help, but there never seems to be enough to put even a small dent in the problem. Some of the problems are due to the local culture and there is nothing you can do about them.

There is no such place as paradise, at least not in Mexico, South America or the Caribbean. You can live a very nice life style, but nothing is perfect.

For more articles about planning for retirement and financial planning, visit http://www.credit-yourself.com/financial-planning.html

Chris Cooper, a retired attorney, and his wife Aileen, who has an MBA in Finance, provide personal financial planning advice at Credit Yourself – http://www.credit-yourself.com

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Retirement Tax Havens

2006-04-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

Retirement Tax Havens
by Ken E Morris

Financial planning is really life planning. Choosing a home, particularly a retirement home, involves many factors. With state and local taxes on the rise, retirees should look closely at tax matters when formulating their retirement financial plan.

Retirees who plan on continuing to work in their "golden years" should know that state taxation of such income varies widely. Some states give retirees favored treatment on earned income, some treat retired seniors like everyone else, and some impose no tax at all on earned income. Taxation of investment income shows nearly as much variation between states. Retirees in a new domicile must also watch out for unexpected municipal income taxes.

Income from government, military, private pension and other retirement plans is growing increasingly important to the survival of retired individuals. Some states exempt all such pension income from taxation, while others exempt certain types or place limits on non-taxable pension income. Some states even tax former residents on retirement plan withdrawals, creating the possibility of paying income tax in two states. Some states follow federal tax formulas for taxation of Social Security benefits, others have their own formulas, and some tax benefits not at all.

Sales and property taxes must also be considered. Again, some states offer property tax advantages to retired seniors while others provide homestead exemptions. Retirees should consider sales taxes when estimating their retirement budget for such items as clothing, household goods, food and drugs.

It is also important not to overlook the effect of estate taxes upon the surviving spouse. Some states do not provide an unlimited marital deduction. Property ownership laws must also be examined in this area when considering the distribution of possessions upon death. Changes in these laws must be monitored as many states will attempt to make their financial environment more appealing to retirees.

All retirees weigh the cost of living, weather, nearness to relatives and recreational opportunities in their decision to settle in their retirement community. The tax climate should also be examined to analyze the financial situation during retirement. Working with an experienced financial planner, as well as a tax advisor, is often recommended to those looking for a retirement home.

“Can somebody please help me watch, manage, invest or oversee my 401k” is the question Mr. Morris hears most often that causes him the most concern. Fearing the American worker is being left in the dark, Mr. Morris, a fee based Investment Advisor Representative, based in Central Ohio, with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., helps 401k participants get the most out of their retirement plan.

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The Benefits of a Real Estate Directory to Visitors

2006-04-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

The Benefits of a Real Estate Directory to Visitors
by Puripong Koomsin

When you need a telephone number, where do you turn? If you’re like most people, you flip open the Yellow Pages – the telephone directory. Directories are so much a part of our everyday lives that we take their presence for granted. The building directory helps you find the right office or apartment. The employee directory will help you find the right person in the right department. A film directory helps you find the movie that you’re looking for by title, subject, actors, director or producer.

One of today’s most popular ‘search engines’ started life as a directory – and still is. Yahoo! has one of the most comprehensive directories of web sites online. But when you’re looking for specific information, especially regional information, it pays to turn to a specialty directory to help you find what you want. An online real estate directory is the best place to turn when you’re looking for a information about buying, selling, inspecting and improving property.

What is a real estate directory?

Like most web directories, a real estate directory is a listing of web sites indexed and organized to make things easier to find. Depending on the real estate directory, the listings available will be indexed according to region, agent, type of property or price – and often all of the above. Other sections will be clearly labeled as well – a comprehensive real estate directory offers more than just properties for sale. You’ll find listings for appraisers, inspectors, home improvement sites, contractors – almost anything that has to do with real estate.

Why a real estate directory?

Unlike a single realtor site, a real estate directory will cover listings from many different sources, which gives you the widest possible variety of listings to search through. A trip through a real estate directory will give you a good feel for the general market conditions in the region where you plan to buy – and make it easier for you to find a realtor who is listing the properties that you want to buy. After all, why deal with a realtor who specializes in luxury condos when you’re looking for a two-bedroom bungalow on the lake?

While traditional search engines are a good place to start looking for home listings, you’ll often have to drill down through several pages to get past the listings for home mortgage companies, a few dozen single realtors, several realty listing sites that only lead to more realty listing sites – in other words, all the flotsam that floats to the top of the search engines. By going directly to a real estate directory, you’ll cut out the sifting through pages of unrelated info and get straight to what you’re looking for – an indexed directory of current real estate listings that makes it easy to find the homes you want to buy.

Finally, the best real estate directory doesn’t stop with providing listings of homes for sale like many realtor sites do. You’ll find listings for web sites that tell you how to prepare your home for sale, how to put your home on the market, which home improvements offer the most ROI (return on investment, of course), mortgage and loan companies and so much more.

Puripong Koomsin is the owner of Real Estate Directory - estateround.com At http://www.estateround.com, we check all of our listings by hand to make sure that they’re relevant and up to date. You’ll find information and listings that cover all aspects of home buying and selling. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or improve, you’ll find the information that you need at Estateround.com.

webmaster@estateround.com

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Banks vs. Owner Financing

2006-04-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

Banks vs. Owner Financing
by Aurel Radulescu

It can often be difficult to obtain a loan from banks, which is why owner financing is becoming very popular among home and real estate buyers. Among the many perks of owner financing, the seller often accepts a low down payment whereas banks often charge 20% or more. In addition, many owner financed properties can be obtained without a credit check. This is especially beneficial for anyone who has a few blemishes on his/her credit report, which may cause banks to charge a higher than normal interest rates. An individual, or real estate developer, who is in the business of providing owner financing will likely extend financing to anyone who agrees to keep the payments current.

In recent years, the internet has become a hub for owner financing properties while also providing plenty of lending opportunities for anyone who wishes to apply for a loan from banks. Currently, a lot of the major internet auction sites have a category that is specifically designed for buying and selling real estate. These categories are more often used for owner financing options related to land purchases, but buyers will find a few homes sprinkled in now and then. From a mountainous retreat to a tropical island paradise, there is owner financing for land in these and other areas.

Customers who wish to apply for loans from banks will find a variety of resources online, including eloan.com and lendingtree.com. These sites offer a customer the ability to have banks competing for their business. According to these sites, offers may begin arriving within hours. Not everyone will be approved, however, as there are a number of deciding factors that banks look at when deciding to extend credit. Among them, the customers credit history, debt to income ratio, ability to repay the loan and the presence of regular income.

Loans that are obtained through banks will require documentation, which may include previous 2-3 years of tax returns, current pay stubs and/or proof of employment. If they own land, individuals who are interested in buying or building a home will find that they have more success with banks. The reason is because the land will become partial collateral for the loan and, if the buyer defaults, banks will foreclose on both the house and the land. In addition, many land owners do not have to come up with the money for a down payment as the equity in their land will serve as the down payment.

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Real Estate Investing Strategy: Make Money With Wholesaling

2006-04-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

Real Estate Investing Strategy: Make Money With Wholesaling
by Charles Petty

Your exit strategy is an extremely important part of your real estate investing business. In fact, it is one of the most important parts. Sometimes investors get excited because they learn how to buy properties, they find them and they get the money lined up to purchase them. But after the purchase, the excitement dies, as they have no idea what to do with their newly owned properties.

You must know your exit strategy when you buy. What do you plan to do with the property? Knowing this allows you to make all types of decisions, from how much to offer, to what kind of financing to use, and more. One strategy is to incorporate wholesaling into your real estate business plans.

What is Wholesaling?

It is simply finding a bargain property and passing it on to a bargain hunter. That bargain hunter will be an investor who will either purchase the property to resell it or purchase it to hold it for rental income. Your profit as a wholesaler should be between $5000 and $15,000 on each house. In some cases it will be higher than $15,000 and on some deals your profit may be a little lower than $5,000.

Why wholesale?

Real estate investors choose to wholesale properties for a few reasons. They could be:

1. Quick cash - it is possible to turn a property around anywhere from 7 to 45 days and get cash in your pocket. If you need to get your hands on some cash quickly, this would be a reason to wholesale. Or, you may not need the cash immediately. You might just want to build your cash reserves. Wholesaling is a good way to do this quickly.

2. Too many houses - maybe you're good at finding houses, but you find more than you need or can use at any given time. If this is the case, wholesaling is a smart move for you. You can still profit from your locating skills, even if you aren't going to keep the property for your own personal portfolio.

3. Flexibility - at any given time, you can determine whether you want to keep a property or sell it. This gives you flexibility as you locate and purchase properties.

An important fact to remember!

Probably the most important thing that you need to remember when you decide to wholesale is: your buyer should get the majority of the profit! This is important because your buyer will be the one to purchase and rehab the property. There has to be enough room in the deal for your buyer to do this and still retain a nice amount of money for cash out and/or equity.

This does not mean that you find properties and give them away for $1,000. Your profit will vary depending on the house, but the better you are at locating properties and putting together offers, the greater your profit will be -while still maintaining an excellent profit for your buyer.

Charles Petty, J.D. MBA, and his wife have been involved in over 600 real estate transactions in the last 7 years and are the creators of the Ultimate Turn Key Real Estate Investing Systems. For a FREE Special Report on how to make $10,000 in 30 days and Six Figures in Six Months buying and selling houses using their Ultimate Turn Key Systems, visit their website right now: www.RealEstateInvestingProfits.com or call 800-311-9228

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