The Real Estate Professional » Real

How to Eliminate Risk in Real Estate Investment!

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:48:33 +0000

Avoid 12 Common Mistakes Made by Novice Investors and Ensure High Rates of Return!

Real estate investment has provided many investors with positive cash flow, tax benefits and satisfaction of making an impact in others lives. Like any investment however, real estate has intricate nuances and market trends that when ignored can cause an investor tremendous heartache.

Unbelievably many first time investors are willing to part with their hard earned cash without taking the time to study their investment. They rely on traditional trends and gut feelings. Before you risk your investment take the time to learn all you can about your market. By aligning yourself with the right Professional you can avoid these 12 common mistakes, and you’ll ensure an excellent return on your investment.

1. Failure to Determine Your Time Need – Cash flow, capital appreciation, tax benefits, loss of management, equity pay down and pride of ownership are just some of the thing s that need to be addressed before you make that investment. A service -minded real estate professional can be a tremendous asset by taking the time to evaluate your needs and making sure you’ve got all your bases covered.

2. Not Checking out the Seller or Sellers Agents Numbers – Claims of extremely high rates of return run rampant in real estate investment. Don’t get caught up in the excitement – check everything: rents, payment history, read more

The Great Fee debate – Are You on a Real Deal or a Fake Deal?

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:36:25 +0000

“Today, being a professional salesperson is just that – sell homes and move on. Running a business where you have all the costs is running a business. ” (Lee Woodward, CEO Real Estate Academy). In other words, the two should not be confused.

If there were an award for the most controversial and widely debated topic in real estate today, that award would arguably go to the topic of pay structures in this industry.

In an attempt to gain direction and understanding of this issue, a number of prominent industry leaders gathered together in one room recently at The Complete Leader Conference, hosted by renowned sales coach and business visionary, Lee Woodward. Lee was joined at the conference by a unique line-up of leadership professionals, who, over two days, tackled head-on, a number of crucial issues facing real estate industry leaders today. In this way, it wasn’t so much about being given the answers, but more an open forum where participants were encouraged to contribute and be open to a variety of views on many thought-provoking leadership issues.

Extensive research was undertaken prior to the conference in order to develop an interactive survey that formed a key part of the day. The purpose of the survey was to anonymously extract information about the delegates as a broad representative sample of our industry leaders. The findings of the survey highlighted that, in terms read more

Real Estate Investing- Buying Properties at Auction

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:36:01 +0000

Foreclosure Real Estate Investing: How NOT To Lose Your Shirt At The Foreclosure Sale For real estate professionals, this past year has been one of the most painful in recent times — defaults are up, homeownership is down, foreclosures have soared and the poorly performing housing sector is starting to create negative ripple effects in the broader national economy. Since all projections indicate that 2008 will be equally as challenging, should property investors run for the hills, put all their money in AAA rated munis, and ride out the storm until the next boom? Absolutely not! There’s no question that 2008 will bring reduced housing demand, lower prices in some areas, and fewer loan options, yet 2008 looks strong for treasure hunters. At HMB, we’ve been seeing investors scoop up bank REO’s for 40 to 50 cents on the dollar and selling them off at nice profits. After all, people will always buy property if they can get a great deal, no matter what the market conditions. Your job is to simply find the best deals. Many great deals will most certainly come from foreclosures over the next 24 months.

If you intend to jump into foreclosure auctions, follow these tips to help insure a profitable transaction: A� Do your homework: I recently had one of my investors call me and ask me if he would be risking anything greater than his security deposit if he simply walked away from a house he purchased at auction. Because he was intimately read more

21 Great Ways to Get Ahead as a Real Estate Investor

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:57:09 +0000

Strategy 1: Only spend time with qualified sellers who have both motivation and condition. Motivation: a compelling reason to sell with a time crunch to do it in Condition: there is a way to structure a profitable deal – either the seller has the equity to take a deep discount in price or the financing is such that you can structure terms for you to make your profit that way. Strategy 2: A deal is only a deal once you have signed contracts in hand. And even then, you might not. I just made an offer on an awesome house in a high appreciating area. There was a cash offer in ahead of me for full price. I made my offer higher. The seller rejected my offer because it was not a cash offer, and accepted the cash offer. Within 24 hours the cash offer pulled out. Apparently he made offers on several properties, tying them up, and picking which ones were best, and pulling out of the rest. Strategy 3: Use “standardized” forms and contracts that you know how to use fast. Have your attorney review contracts you have, and have a standard version of them legally approved. Then make changes to them for each transaction by using an addendum. Strategy 4: Perform your due diligence before; during and after you have the property under contract. I need comparables and a rough idea of repair expenses before making my offer. The title report is not essential until I have my offer accepted because I have a contingency clause allowing me to cancel if I don’t read more

New Government Initiatives to Boost Real Estate Sector in India

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:56:59 +0000

At the Government level many new policy initiatives have been taken recently to boost the real estate Property in India . These policy decisions will lend a stimulus and impetus to the industry. It is beyond doubt that the new initiatives will unlock the potential of the sector. Also, along with the stimulus package announced by the Government, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken a definitive step whereby banks are allowed to devise new schemes beneficial to the property sector.

As part of the Government initiatives to boost real estate boom sector India, RBI has declared concessional schemes for the real estate sector. Such initiatives include:* Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (ULCRA) repealed by increasingly larger number of states. * In case of integrated townships, the minimum area to be developed has been brought down to 25 acres from 100 acres. * 51 per cent FDI allowed in single-brand retail outlets and 100 per cent in cash-and-carry through the automatic route. * Full repatriation of original investment after three years. * Minimum capital investment for wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures stands at US$ 10 million and US$ 5 million, respectively. * 100 per cent FDI allowed in realty projects through the automatic route.

Further, in its endeavour to initiate new policies to boost the real estate sector in India, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, has taken steps to reduce the time read more

How to Make Niche Real Estate Work for You

admin — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:36:46 +0000

Having a specialty in a particular kind of real estate or real estate investor can seem like closing doors to all possible clients, but in a world of thousands of real estate professionals, it is a smart business move to shine in a particular niche. Deciding on your niche and how you intend to approach it is key to finding a solid business amongst the many other people who are also looking for clients. Your niche should be something you’re passionate about. Whether it’s golf, pets, first-time home buyers, luxury real estate or senior clients, you should be eager to learn more about it and apply what you’ve learned to your business. Don’t get into a niche just because it’s a hot market right now. Your natural love of your niche is what will sustain you when the market is not going your way. People like feeling special. If you specialize in an area that they identify with, they are more likely to pick you because at least they know you will be paying attention to their particular tastes/concerns/goals. For people who are passionate about their interests, it can bump you up from an interesting option to a necessary part of their real estate dealings. Your potential clients will recognize passion when they see it. If you’re obviously enthused about selling real estate beside parkland, they’ll know it by the way you speak, what you know and how you write your website and/or blog. This is what captures clients’ attention read more

Is Tampa Real Estate a Good Investment?

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:37:10 +0000

If you’re looking for investment property, Tampa real estate is one option you may want to consider. The current prices for Tampa real estate, coupled with the long term outlook for property values in the Tampa Bay area, make it a wise way to invest your money for a healthy return.

There are actually several good reasons to consider investing in Tampa real estate:

- The Tampa area consistently offers some of the best return on investment over the long term compared to most other coastal areas in the United States.

- The graying population of America is growing steadily. Each year, more retirees are planning to retire to areas like Tampa so they can enjoy their leisure years in the sunshine and tropical breezes. Today more retirees than ever can afford prime real estate, and they are willing to pay top dollar for amenities, location and access to water for boating, water skiing, relaxing on the beach and other activities. Florida is the most popular state for retirees, in part because of the lack of a state income tax. It makes Tampa real estate especially attractive to retirees who earn a steady income of any sort.

- Tampa real estate is a sound investment because it doesn’t rely on just one demographic. Although retirees are a solid portion of the market, Tampa also appeals to young families because of the warm weather, good schools and many communities with a home town feel to them. Vacation home buyers are read more

Want to Invest in Real Estate? 7 Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before You Buy Another Real Estate

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:41:44 +0000

You’ve heard that investing in real estate can be very lucrative. Before you get started, here are seven questions to ask yourself.

Ask yourself why you want to invest in real estate.

- Do you want another income stream

- Do you want to build equity in a house

- How many sellers and buyers do you want to speak with each day/week/month

- How much time do you have to invest in real estate

- Are you working a full time job

- Are you retired looking for additional income

- What do you want to do with your time?

If you want to build a real estate investing business, then you need to treat it like a business.

Are you going to be a landlord? Then you need to determine how much time you want to spend collecting rent, maintaining the property, making repairs, answering tenant calls late at night, etc.

Or have a property management company handle the tenants and maintenance? Then you need to determine who you will hire to manage your property and how much you will pay them. Typically a property management company will charge one months rent to locate a tenant and then charge 8%-10% of the monthly rent for collecting the rent and answering all calls from the tenant. You still need to set aside a reserve fund for maintenance.

Maybe you don’t want to be a landlord and you want to wholesale property. Then you need to develop a buyer’s list of read more

Investing on Singapore Real Estate – Your Passport to Quality Life

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:02:40 +0000

A recent survey by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit found Singapore’s rich are among the most optimistic of global investors on real estate, expecting the value of their property holdings to rise in the next two years. They have plans to raise their property investments from the current average of 25 percent of their portfolio. Investment in property with long investment horizon is sure to return remarkable gains. The time is also ripe now, the private property prices are just inching upwards but still low compared to their peak time price

Singapore is one of the most attractive places to live in Asia. The island’s strategic location and investor friendly governance is also providing immense leverage for foreign investors and enterprises to park their assets or to anchor their Asian operations here. A property in Singapore enhances their asset portfolio and invariably proves to be a prudent choice as it serves multiple purposes as a residential or office unit, or as an additional stream of revenue. After a significant holding period the investment reaps them good returns.

Foreigners are permitted to invest in Singapore property with limited restrictions covering landed properties. Foreigners who are keen on staying in Singapore for an extended period may even seek Permanent Residence (PR) visa under Enterprise Development Board’s Global Investor Programme (GIP). Under this GIP scheme investors can gain PR by read more

The Unknown Facts About Real Estate in India

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:36:03 +0000

There are many unknown facts about India Properties. In a country where there is traditionally the predominance of the agricultural sector, that sector continues to be greatest source of employment generation. It may be an unknown fact that the Indian real estate sector is the second greatest employment provider in the country. This sector significantly contributes to the national income and Gross Domestic Product and it is expected there will be an average 10% increase annually in these aspects. The recent slump in the property market in India consequent upon the global economic downturn is reported to be evening out and the industry is projected to register considerable growth in the coming years. The observation of the international property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle is significant in this context: “economic recovery during CY 2010-11 is likely to reinvigorate the interest of foreign investors in India’s real estate market. We expect enhanced capital inflow in the real estate sector in the medium-to-long-term”. Again, Jones Lang LaSalle says, the faster economic growth of the nations like India, China, Brazil and Russia will pay the way for faster recovery of the real estate sector in those countries when compared with countries like the US and the UK.

Yet another unknown fact about Indian real estate is underlying in Jones Lang LaSalle’s report which says India property market will be in an upswing from the last quarter of read more