Secrets to Finding the HOT Properties

Investing in real estate is not a new path to financial success. It is a well worn path and it is so well worn because it is such an effective way to make a great deal of money in a relatively short period of time. But you have to be a forward thinker to make any serious money in the buying and selling of real estate.

The objective is to buy low and sell high and that means that you have to make a guess (an EDUCATED guess) as to what is GOING to happen tomorrow or next week or next year or ten years from now and not base your decisions on what happened yesterday, or last week, or last year or ten years ago.

Think about the neighborhood that you grew up in. Your mom and dad bought the house when the subdivision was new. It isn’t new anymore. It isn’t on its way UP. It is on its way DOWN.

The residents and the buildings are all beginning to show their age. That is the nature of real estate. What goes up will eventually go down. You always want to buy when the area is on the rise and not when it is in decline. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule but there aren’t many.

In short; you need to find the hot markets when buying investment property and in a nutshell the hot market is where the people are GOING. Determining where people are going is the trick.

Buying in an area that is already popular can be a hot market providing you can make a good deal on the property but finding out about upcoming changes in the infrastructure can lead you to where people will be going in the future.

Infrastructure changes are such things as major highway construction, marinas or entertainment facilities. Basically, you base your real estate market investments upon the cold hard facts and not what you hope will happen or what your barber tells you.

Right now isn’t a great time to invest in real estate in the USA but there are hot properties overseas that you can take full advantage of while you wait for the US real estate market to recover. Costa Rica is a good example.

Costa Rica is only 3 hours from the mainland. It is a hugely popular vacation destination and beach front property has been on an upward spiral for several years but it appears that the trend is going to continue.

Real estate investing is not an exact science. You always have to weigh the risk against the potential reward and if you do decide to invest in overseas property it is wise to employ a local attorney to oversee the process.

Then there is always the ‘cool’ factor that shouldn’t be overlooked when searching for hot investment real estate. For example: in California there is an area called ‘the Venice Beach’ area. There was a film made there a few years ago that was loaded with skate boarders and surfers. Suddenly, Venice Beach became a very ‘cool’ place to live and real estate prices soared! So don’t overlook ‘cool’.

Keep both eyes on large corporation expansion plans. When corporations build, expand or even relocate the real estate market will boom simply because of demand for housing and small businesses. If a Wal-Mart is going to be built in a town, can a McDonald’s be far behind? And all of those people who will be coming in to run Wal-Mart and all of the small businesses that it spawns will need housing.

Yes! Business can cause real estate prices to go up and can create hot properties for investment purposes!

Remember that old song that Willie Nelson recorded, “You have to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run”. Although the song was about gambling the advice is solid for investing in real estate.

Choosing what properties to invest in should be made strictly upon solid facts. A building permit for a marina is solid proof that a marina is going to be built and that the adjacent property values are going to go up.

Your cousin telling you that he HEARD that a marina was going to be built is NOT a fact. It’s hearsay and you shouldn’t bet a lot on hearsay! Investing in real estate is an excellent way to get a very high return but you really do need to know what you are doing to keep from losing your shirt.

Location, Location, Location!

According to the old real estate saying, “The only three things that matter in real estate are location, location and location.” The fact is that a ten bedroom, eight bath home with cathedral ceilings and a swimming pool that is sitting next to a garbage dump is nearly worthless.

On the other hand a little one bedroom, one bath shack sitting in the middle of downtown Dallas would be worth a small fortune. So you can see that the location is of the utmost importance when you are considering a piece of real estate to invest in.

What is it that makes the location of a piece of real estate valuable? The answer is fairly simply really. The value is based on nothing more than the desirability factor. Desirability is a fluctuating intangible that is really hard to nail down.

Property that is totally undesirable to one person might be just the next person’s dream-come-true. And this phenomenon is true for real estate investors and for home buyers and for renters. It is true for all aspects of the real estate market.

The main point for any real estate investor to consider first is what their strategy will be for making a profit on a property. Buying is only half of the equation and whether the location of the property is good or bad depends upon that profit strategy.

For example: If an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of just waiting for the market to go up, prime real estate is probably the very best choice. Locations that are near entertainment centers or developing areas would be best because the likely hood that the property will increase in value simply by waiting is a pretty good bet.

On the other hand, if an investor is going to invest in a property with the intention of renting it and making a monthly income from it, he might be better off to look into urban properties. Urban properties wouldn’t be considered ‘prime’ real estate but they are ‘prime’ rental properties.

Then there are real estate investors who are handy with their hands. They can make repairs and renovations to rundown properties themselves, sell it for a great deal more than their purchase price and make a very nice profit. The location that these kinds of real estate investors often find the best is in neighborhoods that are made up of mid priced homes in working neighborhoods.

There are many factors that real estate investors consider when they are deciding which property to invest in. One factor can be what I call the ‘snob’ factor.

It’s strange but people will pay a lot more money for a small property in the ‘right’ neighborhood than they will for a larger property in a less desirable neighborhood. However...one person’s definition of a ‘good’ neighborhood will not be anywhere close to another person’s definition of a ‘good neighborhood.

Then there is the ‘visibility’ factor. If a neighborhood or an area has become famous or even infamous, property values rise regardless of the location. Convenience is another factor when considering the desirability of the location of a piece of property. People do like to live close to where they work and where their children attend school. Rising gas prices just might work wonders for real estate prices in inner cities.

The desirability of the location of any piece of real estate can be determined by a great many different factors for real estate investors and for home buyers and renters. If the location is desirable for the investor’s purposes he will invest.

If the location is desirable for a home buyer’s purposes then he will buy. If the location is desirable for a renter’s purposes then he will rent. So basically, you can roll all of the various factors for determining whether a location is good or bad into one simple work; desirability.

We are a nation of individuals. We all see things from a different point of view. Look around. There are people living everywhere. They live in big cities, small towns and in urban and rural areas. Who can determine what a ‘good’ location really is?

There is a proverb that says, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. The modern version would be ‘whatever floats your boat is good’. In real estate it would translate to ‘if the location serves your purpose then it’s a good location’.

Urban Real Estate Investing 101

Most investors are not interested in investing in urban real estate. This means that there is a wide open opportunity for those who ARE interested in investing in urban real estate. You will likely hear umpteen reasons why you should NOT invest in urban real estate so let me give you a few good reasons why you SHOULD invest in urban real estate.

First let’s discuss the pricing of urban real estate. If you keep your ‘ear to the ground’ so to speak you can find some real hidden gems in the urban real estate market. Not every low price is a good deal, of course, and just like with every real estate investment that you ever make, you should be certain that you do your homework.

Really great deals turn up in every real estate market for one reason or another. Don’t miss those terrific investment opportunities simply because the property is in an urban area.

Then there are the Section 8 tenants to be considered. Here is an obvious advantage to investing in urban properties. Government subsidized housing is a 21^st century reality and under Section 8 the government pays a full 80% of the monthly rent. These renters are often referred to as ‘Section 8 tenants’. There is, of course, always a waiting list of potential renters and they all want to move into YOUR urban investment property.

That adds up to a very nice and sure monthly income for you. Renters don’t always pay their rent but the government does send checks on time and in full thus eliminating much of the rent collection hassle.

Let’s not overlook the fix and flip opportunity afforded by urban real estate investments. Okay, let’s face it. Today’s real estate market could be better….a lot better…but just because the over-all market doesn’t seem to be all that healthy at the moment that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great fix and flip opportunities out there and particularly in the urban areas. The trick to making a profit on an urban property is to sell with incentives included and, if it is a rental property, with a tenant already in residence.

Don’t forget about the good old government of the United States of America. The government funds projects to rehab entire neighborhoods in urban areas and they do soon a regular basis. The local government gets funding and usually offers attractive incentives to developers and home owners investing in these urban neighborhoods.

Not only that but you can some really astounding interest rate offers that will let you keep your money in your pocket and out of and danger at all. This creates a win/win/win situation. The government gets to spend money which they seem to do so well. The inhabitants of the neighborhood get better housing and you make a nice profit. Everybody wins!

There is the tired old real estate saying, “The only three things that matter in real estate are location, location and location.” That really is NOT necessarily true. Do you remember playing the board game Monopoly when you were a kid? Remember those first little properties that were located right at the beginning of the game?

They were cheap. They were REALLY cheap. If you bought one of those right out of the gate, so to speak, you could have a hotel up on it almost immediately and every player in the game was going to have to land on it and pay you. It was a pretty good location but not an expensive one. It was one that you could afford to make improvements on quickly.

Remember? Think of investing in urban real estate like you would think of investing in Baltic Avenue or Mediterranean Avenue. You don’t pay much for the property but improvements don’t cost much either and you can make a profit easily and quickly. It was good strategy for Monopoly and it is a good strategy for real live urban real estate investing.

Urban property investments meet all of the criteria for sound real estate investing.

There is a good rental market in an urban area. There are lots of people who need housing and that housing is very often government subsidized.

Urban property is usually low priced and can even be purchased at extremely attractive interest rates as well.

The market is stable in urban neighborhoods. There isn’t a boom or bust mentality. Demand is not likely to decrease.

Investing in urban property can be a very good decision but you should always do your homework before you invest.

Cut Out The Middleman (Agent) To Sell Your Home

The omission of a middle man is perfectly justifiable if you can manage to sell your house without enlisting his help. This particular tactic is not very difficult to understand. You save a great amount of money if you do not have to pay your real estate agent his commissions for getting you buyers for your house.

Moreover, by doing so, that is, removing the middle man you can also afford to lower the price you have quoted for your house, leading to the much faster selling of the house.

However, with this decision to sell your house without the help of a real estate agent means that the work to be done on your part increases. Such work for the agent is part of his daily routine as he has to encounter such formalities with every project he gets.

For you, thought it maybe new, it is not impossible to accomplish, and you will soon find how.

The first thing an agent will do when you hire him is he will come and see your house for himself. He will need to know whether your house is in a presentable condition. Then he will go about telling you what are the things that need fixing and altering. He may even consult a staging professional at this stage.

Therefore, this is the first thing you must find out for yourself too. Is your house is a presentable condition? The following are the areas you need to look out for:

1. Floors and ceiling

2. Bathroom and kitchen fittings

3. Lighting and ventilation

4. Doors and windows

5. Paint, both on the inside and outside

6. Drainage system around the house

7. Condition of driveway and walkway

8. Home Improvements

Besides these general outlines you can take some forward steps to ensure that your house gets sold quickly and without much hassle.

· Cosmetic Improvements: You can alter the design of your house a bit by repainting the wall, re doing the furniture and optimizing the living area. You will have to keep the latest trends in mind while doing so. Taking help of a staging professional can also help here. You can make your house look inviting, as a result of which it may look impressing. You can decorate it with proper lighting and plants, etc. basically, you need to make sure all the furniture, kitchen and bathroom cabinets and equipment, etc are all in good condition.

· Target Buyers: You need to know the kind of people that will be moving into your house. You need to analyze what kind of people will prefer a house in the locality in which you are now living. You can take the example of the neighbors that have just moved in. though people differ, but some traits remain the same. Knowing your target customers will help a great deal in staging your house.

· Buyers’ Needs: People are very finicky about the kind of house they prefer and they are not wrong in thinking so. Though you cannot guess each of those small details, you can satisfy some of their broader concerns which may pertain to security of the neighborhood, connectivity (with the market place, their work place, their children’s school, etc), and comfort.

· Pricing: At all costs, keep the pricing very realistic. There is no point just thinking about your own profit, because quoting such a high price would mean that your house does not get sold quickly. Have a good idea about the current real estate market condition and quote your price accordingly. Also decide on how you would like to attract buyers and what kind of advertisement would you like to place and where. Negotiate the price and terms of purchase and sale very carefully. You need to be extra careful while doing so especially because you are not enlisting the services of a real estate agent for whom these clauses are quite normal.

Legal Aid: Never refrain from seeking legal aid when in doubt. Rather, it is always better to hire a lawyer even if it means you will have to pay him a portion of your profits earned as fees. There are very complex land and property-related issues that you might not be familiar with. You do not want to get caught unawares in case something untoward may happen.

Make a Good First Impression When Selling Your Home

Presentation. Yes, that is the keyword you always need to keep in mind. “First impression is the last impression” is a proverb that not many people are willing to buy into these days. But in case of homes, especially an old home that you are showcasing to others, this may very well be the case. It is a time tested way to make sure that your house gets liked by whoever comes to view it.

To make sure that you make a good impression on the prospective buyers, you need to make sure certain things in your house are fixed. As someone living in the house, many things might be normal to you because you have gotten used to them.

But to an outsider, these things are not normal. On the contrary they are an anomaly and will immediately be noticed by them.

Any crack in the ceiling, any broken piece of furniture must be fixed before you start showing your house to outsiders. The sure shot way to find out these anomalies is to ask your agent what he finds amiss.

Here’s what you need to Look out for:

OUTSIDE

1. Mow the grass and trim the edges

2. Weed the garden and clean the drive. Remove the leaves.

3. The grass beds must be weeded and cleaned

4. Shrubs must be trimmed so that they do not look untidy

5. Wash the house from the outside

6. Keep the garage in a neat and tidy condition

7. Keep the back door clutter free. You have been used to dumping all extra and unwanted items there. But now you need to pick them and put them in their proper place.

INSIDE

Kitchen

1. Clean taps and fitting well and make them shine.

2. Polish counters, cabinets and other furniture around your kitchen.

3. Clean the floor too. If it is high gloss type flooring, make sure it glosses! Use a good floor polish to make that happen.

4. Cupboard doors must also be cleaned thoroughly.

5. All equipment in your kitchen must look good. Clean the casing of the refrigerator and dishwasher and any other equipment around.

6. Make sure your oven is in a god condition.

7. Make the stove top shine. You can use one of the many stove polishes available to do so.

Bathroom and Lavatory

1. Taps and fittings must be taken care of. Polish and clean them.

2. Take care of the vanity unit. If it is made of high gloss material polish it well.

3. Lavatory seats must also be polished and cleaned well.

Laundry

1. Keep the laundry room clutter free. You don’t want it to look as dingy as you have always been used to keeping it to the prospective buyers.

2. Paint it if that needs to be done.

3. Polish the tub.

4. Make sure the washing machine is in a good condition.

5. Clean up all the extra things you have been dumping there without even realizing.

Bedrooms

1. Make beds before leaving your house each day.

2. Keep your closets and drawers tidy.

3. Be open to prospective buyers wanting to inspect them.

Living Room

1. Keep it tidy.

2. Make sure the curtains and drapes are washed and tidy.

3. Potted plants that have not been taken care off must be removed.

4. Buy new one if required.

Dining Room

1. Keep your table well polished. There are lots of varnishes available in the market. Invest in a good one.

2. If your table is anyway old and rusty, cover it well with a good table cloth.

3. Place flowers and vases over it to make it look decent.

4. Get proper drapes and curtain for the dining room.

5. Keep this area clutter free as well.

General

1. Any doors around the house must look like they are always in use. That is to say, they must be well oiled. Creaking doors give a very wrong impression to those outsiders who come to view your house. They make the viewers feel that the house has not been much in use and taken care of. You must take care of this small aspect.

2. Place potted plants wherever required. It adds glow and vibrancy to your house and also makes it look a prosperous place to live in.

3. Provide the house with good lighting so as not to make it look dull. Let as must natural light come in as possible.

What NOT To Do When Selling Your Home!

Selling houses needs the agent and sellers to have a certain kind of experience. It is a fact that houses cannot always be sold on the spur of the moment. It needs proper planning and there is always a cohesive way to go about it. one of the other hassles that those who need to sell their house need to go through are the legal and technical formalities that form such an important part of the whole process.

The legal paperwork that selling a house involves is far greater that you can imagine. It needs proper professional aid. If you are capable of doing it yourself, then it is an additional advantage, but you must be very careful. Any small error in any detail that you may have provided can cost you a lot of money.

The following is a basic checklist you must always refer to when you try and show your house to prospective buyers. You need to take care of these things so that you do not put them off, thwarting your chances of actually striking a good bargain:

· De-clutter: Any home with a lot of clutter, that is to say, a house that has not used up its space in a proper manner stands very less chances of getting sold faster for a good price. More and more people these days are looking at optimizing the space within the house. Because of increasing population, the living area for most people is decreasing. So within whatever space they have, they would like to have it done well.

· Make Beds: In case you are in a habit of leaving home each morning for work without having made your beds, you are in trouble. Your agent may bring prospective buyers to your house and they may find beds not made. This is nothing major but it just gives a very negative impression. If you cannot make your beds in the morning, you can talk with your agent and ask him to avoid bringing in people before a particular time, or bring them only during weekends, the only time you make your bed!

· Clean Closets: Make sure your closets and drawers are neatly arranged. It just gives an impression of order within the household. Cluttered closets symbolize chaos and give a wrong impression of your house to buyers.

· Light: Make sure that you have your curtains drawn to let in enough natural light. Use natural light as far as possible. Artificial lighting can be used to enhance the interiors of your house, but just relying on artificial lighting gives a gloomy impression.

· Leave your house: Let the agents do the showing around. If someone has come to view your house that they might buy for a huge sum of money, they want to have a look at it well. In the presence of its current residents, viewers cannot frankly view the house well. They cannot open and inspect each cabinet.

· Clean yard: Make sure your yard is clean and tidy as well. As with beds and closets, this too plays a major role in forming a good impression.

· Be Accessible: You may have a very erratic schedule, but you must make sure that you are available for prospective buyers whenever they have to make a phone call to you to ask you things about your house. This is one way in which you can ensure your house gets sold quickly. Untraceable owners lose many a prospect just be being inaccessible. Keep your agent or realtor abreast of the kind of schedule you follow.

· Dogs and pets: If you have strange fascination for weird pets, or even for something as harmless as a dog, make sure you send him for a walk. People who come to view your house may not be very impressed by your animal. On the contrary, if they do not like animals, they may feel uncomfortable, and be unable to inspect your house well.

· Smell: Make sure your house does not stink under any circumstances. It is a major put off

Check Regularly: You must inspect your own house to see everything is in place, especially the above items. Do a regular check up, may be once a week. Arrange the closets, mow the yard. Make sure everything looks vibrant and happy. Never, however, give a false impression. Show your house just as it is, reflecting all the good times you have spent there.

How to Sell Real Estate in this “Slow” Economy

In order to revive the nearly unprofitable real estate market it is important that more and more homes are staged. This is a simple concept that ensures that a particular house that is for sales find appeal with more and more buyers.

Apart from getting a large number of buyers so that the seller can strike a good bargain, it is also equally important for the seller that his house gets sold of quickly. It is important to increase the demand so that the market can get more lucrative.

This is the primary reason why real estate agents are fast hiring, or themselves turning into ‘staging professionals’. These professionals help in building homes that find maximum appeal to the seller in terms of their tastes and preferences.

And it is a fact that stages homes bring as much as 15 percent more revenue that those that are not. People are constantly looking for a house with more space. Many look at it as an investment that how much they will gain when they in turn sell it. Keeping all this in mind a professional stages houses.

Therefore, those people who want to sell their houses enlist the services of such staging professionals who, on being hired, help the owners to prepare their houses for sale.

They are specialized to so such a job. And indeed, the sellers see the difference in the demand for their property and the price that is coming in, before and after the staging professional has done his job.

Sellers generally use services of the agents who report to the seller that their house is not getting a good offer. They cannot, however, pinpoint the problem. They cannot understand the nature of renovation the house needs. Staging professionals, being specialized at these things, have a good idea of what the buyers are looking for and are effectively able to help the seller.

It is true that different buyers have different tastes, but with some things one can never go wrong. And this is precisely the principle that staging professionals follow. Staging of a house is done on the fundamental belief that a well staged house will cost money. The seller will have to pay for the renovation and the professionals fees.

It will still be more profitable than reducing the selling price of your house. According to a survey, 50 percent of the sellers are willing to spend about $2000 on staging, while 50 percent of them are willing to go up to $5000.

Staging professionals have a clear idea about the kind of colors that sell, the kind of furnishing in the house that makes it more appealing to those who come to have a look at it. They also have a clear idea of how the space inside the house must be used for optimum utility, which seems to be a major concern for all buyers.

It is a fact that well showcased houses sell 84 percent faster than those that are not. Staging professionals are not into house building or house designing. They merely advise the agents or the sellers themselves on the strategy to use while re doing their house.

Here are a few standard tools they use:

· Color: A tried and tested palette that professionals use can never go wrong. Though trends keep changing but there are some basic colors that never go out of vogue. Professionals generally work with neutral colors that have a wide appeal.

· Furniture: Professionals have just the precise idea of how to furnish and accessorize the house.

· Space: Optimization of space must be done well and professionals can tell you how.

· Budget: They also work with economical budgets. And indeed that is what the seller wants to maximize his profit from selling his house.

There are several seminars arranged from time to time from which professionals can take valuable advice. Trends keep changing from time to time and a good professional must necessarily keep himself updated about those recent developments.

On the basis of such knowledge he can suggest to sellers or their agents what to do with their house while selling.

The professional keeping himself abreast of the latest developments even increases the sellers faith in him and is a sure shot tool of success for the professional. After all, nothing is more valuable than the professional being able to get the house sold faster for a good price.