Flipping a House for a Real Estate Profit

Writen by Dean Novosat

House Flipping is the term used by investors who purchase a home for the sole purpose of quickly relisting the house for a profit. In many hot markets, a house can appreciate in as little as a few days! In these markets, it doesn’t take long to realize a profit. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.

More commonly, an investor purchases a home in a hot market, performs some general repairs, fixes obvious problems, paints, and replaces flooring. This means that the investor must hold onto the property for a few weeks to a few months. In this case, you must be able to afford to pay the mortgage for a few months.

When searching for an investment that you want to flip, you must find the right property. Not all homes are good candidates for flipping. Certainly, buying a home in a depressed area would not be a wise decision. You should look for an ugly home in a nice neighborhood.

Many potential investors ask whether they need to be a handyman or contractor to successfully flip a house. Not at all! You can be the “general contractor” and manage the house repair while you get it ready to resell. Of course, much of your profits will go to the people doing the work on your home, but you don’t have to give up your “day job” to get the work done.

When budgeting for your flip, a good idea is to get estimates from several contractors. Ask them to quote the price for the fix ups, and more importantly, the amount of time it will take to complete the job. Remember that the longer the project takes, the more you’ll be paying on your mortgage.

Once you have several firm quotes, double the amount of the quote as a closer estimate to what you’ll actually spend. Unknown problems will be uncovered during the remodel and you’ll need to have some extra capital and have extra time available to complete the job.

Once you complete the project, get the house back on the market! And sell for a profit. Many people are successfully flipping houses as you read this. And many are making huge profits. But the first step is to start! So go buy a property and get it fixed up. Good luck!

Dean Novosat writes and hosts the site http://www.NewsRealEstateSite.com

Austin Apartment Locators

Writen by Alison Cole

Austin apartments are available in a wide range depending on the area, the size of the apartment, the rent/price, and the facilities available with the apartment. Finding an ideal apartment is an onerous task and it is a great relief to have someone else do it for you. Some such services are provided by the apartment locating/finding service companies. These companies, also known as “locators”, match the requirements of the customer with the database of apartments that are available for rent or for sale and find an ideal match. Usually, these locators’ services are offered free of cost as the apartment communities pay the locators for advertising their apartments.

There are many reasons why people prefer to use a locator when searching for an apartment. Locators save a lot of time and money, as well as mental stress. They are also a perfect choice if the requirements are too specific: like having a pet, having special needs like a wheelchair, wanting special amenities, wanting to live in a specific area, or being new to the city.

Before choosing a locator for Austin apartments, there are some things to be taken into consideration. They are how long the locator has been in business, whether the locator use an online database, the number of apartment communities the locator works with, whether the locator provides other services like utility hook up, discounts, referrals to moving services, how familiar the locator is with the area, and the speed of the service and the response.

Austin apartment locators should be contacted 30 60 days from the date of actual moving. Most apartment locators do a credit check so it is better to submit a clear credit history to the locator before the actual search, as this will help the locator to find an ideal apartment community. Also provide a list of names and addresses of references both credit as well as personal. It is better to know exactly how much rent you can afford, as this will make it easier for the locator to find an apartment.

Austin Apartments provides detailed information about Austin apartments, Austin apartment guides, Austin apartment locators, and more. Austin Apartments is affiliated with Home Furnishings.

Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate Upscale Real Estate

Writen by Mike Hohmann

Located about 25 miles north of the heart of downtown San Diego and four miles east of the Pacific Ocean, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. represents the more upscale end of San Diego County and Southern California. With home prices ranging from $1 million to more than $22 million this city’s real estate market does not have a high turnover. It does, however, have a steady growth trend like the rest of California.

The weather makes Rancho Santa Fe ideal. The city has more stable temperatures throughout the year than the U.S. The temperatures range from the mid 50’s to mid 70’s year round. The almost 7000 Rancho Santa Fe residents enjoy more sunshine and less wind than the nation’s average.

Nearly two thirds of all Rancho Santa Fe residents live inside “The Covenant” or the original Rancho Santa Fe development. Owning property inside of “The Covenant” requires an extra 15 cent tax yearly for every $1,000 of their purchase price which helps maintain beautifully landscaped roadways and public areas. Residents of The Covenant also enjoy exclusive privileges to tennis, golf, and garden clubs in the area.

One of the six private golf clubs, The Crosby at Rancho Santa Fe, is named as “the most upscale and exclusive private golf club in San Diego” according to SanDiegoGolf.com. A 722 acre luxurious golf resort, The Crosby plays off a theme of legendary actor/singer and passionate golfer, Bing Crosby, who used to live in the area. Dan Klunk, membership director at The Crosby, said membership fees are $140,000 if you live outside the gates with $575 monthly dues. The club has more of a resort feel to it with a ballroom, restaurants, a courtyard, and kids activities.

In August, 2005, the average home in Rancho Santa Fe sold for $574/sq.ft. and sold in 114 days. The average lot size is slightly more than two acres. Outside of The Covenant, there are approximately 27 33 planned communities. With upscale communities that provide some of the finer things of life, it’s no wonder that Rancho Santa Fe is one of the ten wealthiest communities in the U.S.

Inside Finances Rancho Santa Fe Real Estate is a network devoted to financial information such as real estate. The Inside Finances network has 10,000’s pages of real estate information for cities all over the United States. Inside Finances covers several topics from the basic “how tos” of real estate to city specific real estate information.

Who Pays What in Northern California Real Estate Transactions?

Writen by Nicolai Nielsen

Section 4 of the standard California Association of Realtor contract for the purchase of residential property is called “Allocation of Costs.” It deals with whether the buyer or the seller pay for termite inspection, home inspection, smoke detector installation etc. The most costly items which seller and buyer negotiate are

Recording fees

Title insurance

Escrow Fees

County and City transfer tax.

Anything can be negotiated and becomes binding on the parties who sign the contract; however, there are certain customs which differ from county to county as to who pays what.

The following list gives an overview about counties in and close to the Bay Area and the customary allocation of certain costs.

When your Real Estate Agent writes your purchase contract, make sure he marked the right check boxes.

In a buyer’s market, buyers need not stick to customs but can ask for more. Many sellers cannot pay the higher interest rates and are happy to get out of a property, even if it means that they pay costs they would not have paid two years ago.

Alameda
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Split

Contra Costa
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Negotiable

Marin
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller

Napa
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax:

Sacramento
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Seller
Escrow Fees: Seller or Split
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Split

San Francisco
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax:

San Mateo
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller or Split

Santa Clara
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Seller
Escrow Fees: Seller
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller or Split

Solano
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller

Sonoma
Recording Fees: Buyer
Title Insurance: Buyer
Escrow Fees: Buyer
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller

Yolo
Recording Fees: Seller
Title Insurance: Seller
Escrow Fees: Seller
County Transfer Tax: Seller
City Transfer Tax: Seller

useful links: http://www.car.org

Nicolai Nielsen is an MBA and a broker in California.

Air Space Strata Plans

Writen by Luigi Frascati

At Common Law a landowner has the right to control the air space above the land he owns subject to statutory restrictions for zoning, aviation and the like. As such, landowners may create one or more air space parcels above their land. Once this is done, the title to each air space parcel may then be dealt with separately from the other titles. Since an air space parcel is treated as land, it may be subdivided into strata lots with common property.

The vertical division of real property is based on the legal conception of land as a volume of space with boundless height and depth. As the density of building in urban areas increases, fewer sites are available for new construction and land values escalate. This trend has produced a growing interest in developing air rights. The concept of land as a three dimensional entity underlies the land title scheme pretty much everywhere in North America, which allows air space parcels to be created, transferred, mortgaged, leased and subdivided.

Since air space parcels still have a physical relationship to the land because air space rights are part of the land and the ownership of land, the Land Title Act (in British Columbia) as well as other statutes allow landowners to treat their air space as if it were land by depositing a survey of the air space above their land at the Land Title Office. Such survey is called an ‘Air Space Plan’. If the landowner keeps the underlying land but allows someone else to occupy the air space parcel, he becomes what it is commonly known as a ‘remainderman’.

Developers have used the air space parcel concept to construct mixed use strata projects. This method is typically used where the same structure contains different uses. In effect developers create different air space parcels to contain single use strata developments. By this means, the same complex may contain one or more separate strata plans, each having a different use. For example, one strata development may be residential while another is commercial. Although they share the same complex, each strata corporation controls a separate portion of the structure.

Virtually every air space development involves construction of a strata building over top of land or buildings owned by the developer as remainderman. It is very important to ensure that there are appropriate arrangements to compel the remainderman to maintain the necessary physical support and related services to the air space parcel, even if the remainderman’s property suffers damages. The major concern is that the creation and unregulated sale of such vacant airspace strata lots will, at some future date, through fraud or financial difficulties of a developer, result in the purchasers of such lots being left with vacant airspace strata lots which have little value, as the contracted building will not be built or not completed.

In each air space strata development, furthermore, there should be one or more written agreements between the strata corporation as the occupier of the air space and the remainderman, who is likely the developer. These agreements deal with obligations of support, access, provision of utilities, insurance and other important matters. Finally, the owner of an air space strata lot must be familiar with the relevant agreements between the strata corporation and the remainderman. Since these agreements are usually complex, an owner should obtain legal advice when reviewing such agreements.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

3 Tips to Staging the Inside of Your Home Like a Pro

Writen by Kathleen Yamauchi

Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.

To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the inside of your home:

1. De clutter. This is one of the most important things you can do. It might be easier to think of de cluttering like this – you’re moving anyway, so why not start packing now?

Pack up everything you don’t need and store the boxes out of sight in the garage (or consider temporarily renting a small storage locker).

2. Organize your closets put similar colors together, pants together, skirts together, shirts together etc. Why? Because it will make the closets look bigger. (Really.) An organized closet appears bigger, and you want your closets to look as spacious as possible.

3. Make your home look like a model. You want to de personalize as much as possible so potential buyers can imagine themselves and their own belongings occupying the space in your house. That means minimizing – putting away everything you don’t need or use. Clear off kitchen counters as much as possible – stash all those appliances you don’t use, and put miscellaneous small clutter in a few attractive baskets or boxes

And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?

And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.

~~~
Kathleen Yamauchi is a long time realtor located in Prescott, Arizona. For more free tips and resources on buying and selling your home and other real estate advice, visit her web site at http://www.kathleeny.com.

Foreclosed Houses Tips For Home Investors And Real Estate Professionals

Writen by Ernani Uchoa

Buy foreclosed houses under market value

When you invest in a foreclosed house, you can save a lot of money. Approximately 4 5% of all home mortgages end up in default every year, which means that there are over one million foreclosure homes for you to choose from at any given time.

How do you find foreclosed houses for sale?

You can search government foreclosure listings, HUD foreclosure home listing, VA homes listings, bank owned property listings, and many other sources. Or you can save a lot of time and effort by signing up for our foreclosure home listing service, and start looking for your dream foreclosure house completely free for 7 days. We compile the foreclosure homes listings from hundreds of different sources and update the information everyday. We give you complete information on the foreclosed house including description (number of bedrooms, baths, etc.), complete address and legal description, picture, asking price, contact information, and much more.

What types of foreclosed houses can I buy?

Foreclosure houses include any 1 4 family dwelling and condominiums and other habitational units. These foreclosure properties are owned by different entities:

* Bank Owned Properties (also known as Real Estate Property or REO) – Banks take back ownership of the property because the owner failed to make mortgage payments.
* HUD homes or VA homes – Homes owned by HUD or VA due to forclosures.
* Government foreclosures – Foreclosure homes owned by the IRS, US Custom or other government agencies because the owners failed to pay taxes, penalties, or other amounts due.

Ernani Uchoa http://www.foreclosuredeals.com

Search more foreclosure articles at http://www.foreclosuredeals.com

The Power Of Leverage To Make You Rich

Writen by Michael Pratt

Wisdom outweighs any wealth.
Sophocles

Does the idea of using someone else’s money to buy something for yourself seem impractical? It shouldn’t; it happens all the time. You’ve probably even done it before. Have you ever taken out a loan to buy a car? By doing this, you tapped into other people’s money (the bank’s) to buy the car. How much better would it be if you also had someone else making the payments for you? By investing in real estate, you do just that. Instead of using other people’s money to accrue additional expenses, you use other people’s money (the bank’s) to buy the property, and you use other people’s money (your tenants) to make the payment by renting the property out for more than it costs you to own it. The income produced by the property that is left over after all expenses are paid for is the property’s cash flow. And simply put, that is the power of leverage.

Too many people are under the impression that they need to save up a large down payment before the bank will lend them the money to buy a property. This is not true. There are a number of ways that you can obtain financing without bringing in a down payment. The easiest way to start acquiring real estate is to buy your first property and then use its equity to buy more properties. Equity is the difference between what an asset is worth and what you owe on it. If you own a property that is worth $100,000 and you have a mortgage on the property for $80,000, your equity is $20,000. Using the equity in one property to buy another is exercising the power of leverage. Leverage helps expedite the wealth process. Using leverage maximizes your purchase ability. It is the most efficient way to acquire properties, build positive cash flow, and take advantage of appreciation.

Appreciation is the amount that an asset goes up in value over a period of time. If you took your $20,000 equity and used it as a down payment to buy one more property, you would benefit from the cash flow of two properties instead of one. You would also earn the appreciation of two properties instead of one. Real estate on average has realized between 3 and 8 percent appreciation per year. By using one property to buy another, you are using leverage, but not to its fullest. How much faster could your wealth grow if instead of using your $20,000 to purchase one more property, you use it to purchase four properties by putting only $5,000 down on each? Your wealth would increase by the appreciation and cash flow of four more properties instead of only one.

A recent Forbes Magazine article stated that 97 out of every 100 self made millionaires made their fortunes through real estate investing. Believe it or not, you, too, can take control of your financial life by creating wealth through the acquisition of real estate assets. You may be thinking that all of this sounds too good to be true; well, wait it gets even better! Not only is real estate one of the only investments in the world that you can acquire using the power of leverage, but the income and gains produced by real estate receive some of the greatest tax breaks available. Unlike stocks and other investments, real estate profits can be tax deferred or better yet, even tax free! The government allows you to roll over each windfall into your next real estate investment through a process called a 1031 exchange. It feels good to make money and not pay the lion’s share in taxes.

Real estate can also build wealth in any economic climate. If the real estate market is up, quick turnaround investments (flips) can produce large, immediate gains. If the market is down, there are more opportunities to acquire assets at a lower cost due to foreclosures, motivated sellers and seller financing. When interest rates are low you can buy more assets for your buck. When interest rates are higher, more people are prompted to rent apartments which translates into higher rental prices. The increased demand turns your real estate asset into a cash flow cow.

The power of leverage is truly a remarkable thing, and you can start taking advantage of it today. Whether you own a home with equity already, or you are ready to go purchase your first deal, let the power of leverage help jump start you on your path to success in real estate investing.

Michael Pratt is a noted public speaker and teacher. He is enthusiastic about helping people get started building wealth through real estate investing. For personalized step by step help in getting started in real estate investing, go to http://www.myreiteam.com and try it for FREE.

10 Reasons To Use A Wisconsin Buyer’s Agent

Writen by Andrew T. Johnson

Your Buyer’s Agent will suggest an offering price or give you an opinion about whether a particular Wisconsin property is priced correctly.

Your Buyer’s Agent will offer a critique of a seller’s property beyond disclosing defects and will look for adverse material defects for your benefit.

Your Buyer’s Agent will help you write the offer with your best interests in mind.

Your Buyer’s Agent will help find information about the property’s history and liens so you can make an informed decision.

Your Buyer’s Agent will give you advice within the scope of expertise as a licensed Wisconsin Real Estate Professional.

Your Buyer’s Agent will help you in obtaining financing.

Your Buyer’s Agent will inform you of local real estate market conditions.

Your Wisconsin Buyer’s Agent will help you negotiate the purchase and assist you in the transaction to help you get the best possible price.

Your Wisconsin Buyer’s Agent will provide honest treatment, loyalty, confidentiality, and financial accountability.

Your Buyer’s Agent will structure the offer with your best interests in mind.

A Buyer’s Agent is almost always a free service, this is because the Buyer’s Agent is paid from the Listing Agents commission. In the end a Wisconsin Buyer’s Agent will save you time and money.

http://www.wisconsinrealtysolutions.com

Andrew T. Johnson
Wisconsin Realty Solutions
http://www.wisconsinrealtysolutions.com

Can I Sell My Private Mortgage Notes?

Writen by Afra AmirSanjari

In this country millions of homes are sold every year. In most cases buyers go to a bank or finance company to seek mortgage financing.

In some cases, 200,000 in the U.S., home buyers rely on the seller rather than a financial institution to provide financing because:

The purchaser may not qualify for a traditional mortgage.
The purchaser may be a relative looking to save on closing fees.
The seller may be interested in having a long term income stream.

Often the seller is pressured into providing financing for the purchaser instead of receiving a lump sum. This forces the seller to assume the role of a mortgage company, worrying about servicing and collecting a monthly income stream. A stream, which may or may not be consistent, depends on the payer’s ability to meet their monthly obligations.

Peacock Capital provides an option to note holders nationwide who are ready to sell their homes and use the equity for their own purposes.

We will purchase the note for a lump sum and collect the monthly checks. No more worrying about the “Check is in the mail” Or, “Will they stop paying, forcing a foreclosure?” Or, “Has my buyer kept up with their insurance payments?” Etc.

Afra AmirSanjari is the Principal for Peacock Capital. Peacock Capital specializes in solving the cash flow challenges of Small/Medium Businesses, Government Vendors and Individuals with innovative financial solutions by providing a network for securing operating capital.
http://www.peacockcapital.com
info@peacockcapital.com