Using Color Psychology to Sell Your Home

Writen by Jeanette Joy Fisher

When painting your home for resale, choosing the right colors can make a huge difference in your paycheck at closing. For instance, did you know that the exterior color of houses selling most quickly is a certain shade of yellow, but that choosing the wrong shade of yellow can kill a sale?

You’ll find many brochures in paint stores, showing various combinations of exterior paint colors. But most people don’t realize that most of those combinations actually include three colors, and not just two. Limiting your exterior paint scheme to just two colors also limits your income potential.

For a fast sale, think fun colors and go for a third, or even a fourth, exterior color. Think “Disneyland Main Street,” where every shop is painted in glorious multi colors. Adding more colors will also add definition to the various architectural details of your home. Use gloss or semi gloss paint on wood trim.

The Psychology of Exterior Colors

When choosing exterior colors, take the sales price of your home into account. Certain colors, especially muted, complex shades, attract wealthy or highly educated buyers, whereas buyers with less income or less education generally prefer simpler colors. A complex color contains tints of gray or brown, and usually requires more than one word to describe, such as “sage green,” as opposed to “green.”

On the other hand, simple colors are straightforward and pure. Generally, houses in the lower price range sell faster and for higher prices when painted in simple colors like yellow or tan, accented by white, blue, or green trim.

The Psychology of Interior Colors

Using colored, rather than bland, white walls will increase your profit potential. Lynette Jennings tested the perception of room size and color, and discovered that a room painted white appeared only appeared larger to a few people when compared to an identical room painted in color – and the perceived difference was only about six inches! Most people also look better when surrounded by color, and feel happier, and since buyers pick houses that make them feel happy, that knowledge can put dollars in your pocket at closing!

Entryways should bring the exterior colors into the house. Repeating shades of the exterior throughout your home will make the entire home seem to be in harmony. Living and family rooms painted in a slightly lighter shade of the exterior color will ensure that you’ve picked a color your buyers like, because if they didn’t like your exterior colors, they wouldn’t have bothered to look inside. If they loved the exterior colors, they’ll love the interior, too.

When choosing interior colors, consider the use of each room. For instance, kitchen and dining areas that are painted in “food colors,” such as coffee browns, celery greens, and scrambled egg yellows, feel natural.

Since, deeper shades of color imply intimacy and serenity, I like to paint master bedrooms a medium shade of green or blue for warm selling seasons, and rouge red for cooler weather. Other bedrooms can be painted in creamy tones of green, blue, or a pale shell pink. (See the chapter on the Psychology of Color in my book “Joy to the Home: Secrets of Interior Design Psychology” for further information.)

Selling Season

Always consider your selling season (the time of year you’ll be marketing your home) and climate when choosing colors. Estimate the amount of time you’ll need to get your home ready for sale, and then add on extra days for unexpected delays. Use cool colors, such as blues, greens, and grays, to sell during spring and summer, and warm colors, such as yellows, reds, and maroons, when selling in the fall and winter.

Color Intensity

My husband and I usually use lighter colors when painting the exteriors of our investment dollhouses, because it makes them appear larger. On the other hand, our cabin in the woods looks richer when painted a darker color. When we decided to have it painted, I considered the usual cabin colors of dark brown and barn red, but fell in love with Olympic’s gorgeous “Gooseberry” plum color.

When getting ready to paint your house, look at the colors of neighboring houses and choose colors that harmonize, yet stand out from the crowd. Colors that clash badly with other houses will detract from the overall neighborhood.

At the beginning of the article, I told you that homes with yellow exteriors sell the quickest. But which shade of yellow sells best? First, the yellows to avoid: yellows with green undertones look sickly to most buyers, and yellows with orange undertones give buyers an impression of cheapness.

The best selling yellow exterior color is actually a pale, sunny yellow, especially when complimented with one or more carefully chosen accent colors. For instance, a semi gloss white trim will give your home a clean and fresh look, and adding a third color, such as green, can make your home even more attractive to prospective buyers.

Colors affect human beings in many ways, and by using the principles of Color Psychology, you can make your home stand out from the competition, sell more quickly, and at a higher price.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm

Win a Grand Real Estate Deal

Writen by Jack Parker

We all want our property to sell on the highest possible price, but don’t know how to go about that. This is the time when we need a real estate dealer who would prove to be a super savior in this crisis. We usually make a mistake in selling our property which costs us big bucks. So one needs to take proper care and keep few things in mind before going for any property deal. Never show your desperation in selling the property that will make you fall pray to low bidders. Take guidance of some real estate professional for any kind of information as they can tell you about the present market condition. People usually are afraid of selling their homes through property dealers but the below listed questions would definitely help them to overcome this doubt and make them feel free in relying on the real estate dealers.

Do I really have the time to spend on selling my property by my own? Most of us would say no to ourselves. In today’s hectic work culture where do we find time to do that extra bit. Some properties remain unattended as the owners don’t have the time to show the property to the customers and the deal gets lost.

Do I have the knowledge and energy to gather the right kind of buyer for my property? You would get fooled any moment as there are so many forgers around. Property selling requires a lot of effort and hard work which definitely requires time. It’s better to pay to the property dealers than to go for low bid deal.

Do I know what financing options to offer to the buyer? Am I ready to answer to the prospective buyer’s queries. Before selling the property the seller needs to have all the information that the buyer needs and the options to offer to the buyer. The real estate dealers have a proper team which comprises of the financers which will help you with all the financial dealings. Consulting a property dealer always lowers the seller’s headache as they have professionals from various sectors as required in the property dealing process.

Do I know all the legal aspect involved in the dealing. Many home sales have been lost due to Lack of inspection, imperfect paper work, law related flaws etc.Do ask yourself that whether you know the right way of selling a house. If the answer comes no then do consult a real estate professional. Big bucks can be earned by teaming right people.

For any further information: property dealers and online real estate

Closing Costs When Purchasing A Home

Writen by Raynor James

Buying a home is a financial strain if you are making a sizeable down payment. This can lead to problems if you forget the hard, cold cash you will need for closing.

Everybody looking to purchase a home no doubt wonders what the average closing costs will be. It is only natural to wonder, especially considering how expensive the closing costs can truly be if you are not careful. In truth, the costs aren’t much given the amount of money the home typically sells for, but they can cause problems because they usually must be paid now and in cash. Essentially, they add to the down payment amount and can cause cash flow problems for buyers.

As you might imagine, closing are not easy to quote. Closings in one state involve different things and costs compared to another. Closing costs related to things such as points and property taxes are dependent on the particular deal and geographic location. Some states, for instance, do not collect property taxes, which means no deposit against them must be collected at closing. All and all, you should take the following figures with a grain of salt, but at least you will have a guideline.

To protect their investment in you, most lenders roll the majority of closing costs into the payment plan for the loan. For instance, the lender will require you to pay a deposit in to one of their accounts to cover future property taxes and such. If you are lucky, some creative lenders will actually roll these costs into the in the loan given to you.

As of 2003, meaning the numbers have risen quite a bit over the past couple years, the average total closing costs for a $180,000 mortgage amounted to between $2,000 and $10,000. This figure is an admittedly vague calculation of costs ranging from appraisals to fees and taxes. Do not go into a real estate transaction assuming these figures will apply to your specific situation. Get a very clear written statement of all costs, so you know exactly what is coming and the amount of cash you are going to need on hand to cover them.

If you are buying a home, there is one way to attack closing costs. You can aim for a no point, no fee home loan. Assuming you can find a lender, many of the expenses attributable to a buyer are going to disappear. Of course, you have to get the loan!

The fact that you are wondering about the closing costs when purchasing a home is a good sign. It means you are thinking through the process properly. That being said, don’t rely on anything you read on the web, including this page. Get the exact terms from your lender and an escrow company. If you have less than stellar credit, using a mortgage broker is an excellent option as they now how to beat down the costs in your favor and can also give you a solid estimate based on both their experience and the lender being used.

Raynor James is with the site FSBOAmerica.org FSBO homes for sale by owner.

Buying Before You Sell

Writen by Martin Lukac

Many buyers have to sell their current house before they purchase a new one. If you find a house you love before you sell your current one, what do you do?

A contingency is a provision in a real estate contract which states that if something doesn’t happen, such as selling your own house or obtaining financing, the contract becomes null and void. The standard contingency for selling your own house would state:

This contract is contingent until 9 p.m. on the ___ day after the Date of Ratification (Deadline upont the sale of the Purchaser’s property located at __________). If the Purchaser does not satisfy or remove this contingency by the Deadline, then at any time after the Deadline, but prior to the Purchaser satisfying or removing this contingency, either the Seller or the Purchaser may declare this Contract void by providing notice to the other party.

This language clearly protects the Purchaser. If you aren’t able to sell your own home by the deadline, you don’t have to buy the new one.

As you can probably imagine, many sellers do not want to deal with the uncertainty of such a transaction. A seller wants to know that they have a deal or not when will the house be sold?

To balance this out, there is a compromise position which is acceptable to many sellers: a kick out clause. With this, the seller accept the buyer’s contract which contains a contingency for the sale of the buyer’s house, but adds language to the affect that if another offer is received, the first buyer will have X numbers of days to decide whether to “buy or walk”.

This is how it is usually stated:

The Seller may continue to offer the Property for sale and accept bona fide back up offers to this Contract. If during the term of this contingency (the sale of Purchaser’s present property), a back up offer is accepted, the Seller will Deliver notice to the Purchaser requiring that the contingency be satisfied or removed not later than 9 p.m. on the ____ day after delivry of the notice, or this Contract will be null and void.

How do Purchasers remove the contingency for the sale of their current home?

There are several ways, including:

if the Purchasers have been successful and obtained a sales contract on their home, they give a copy of that contract to the Seller, with a letter removing the contingency;

if the home hasn’t been sold yet, but the Purchasers are willing to take a chance that it will sell, they simply present a letter to the seller removing the contingency. However, this time the Purchasers will need to present proof that they can afford to purchase the home. This can be in the form of a letter from the lender stating that financing of the new home is not contingent on the sale of the current home, or the Purchasers can present evidence that they have sufficient funds in order to close on the new home.

No matter how much they want the home, purchasers would be foolish to remove the contingency when they cannot meet either of these two requirements. Otherwise, they are left legally required to purchase the new home without having sold their home, or they would be in breach of contract. Neither situation is a good one.

This is a dilemma for most homeowners. You want to step into a bigger house or move to a different neighborhood, but can’t afford two houses at once. I don’t recommend that anyone who absolutely must sell his current home before buy a new one make an offer on a new property.

If you aren’t sure of your financial situation, go ahead and talk to a mortgage lender before you sign a contract. Because sellers are reluctant to accept any contingencies, especially those for the sale of the purchaser’s current home, it is strongly recommended that you put your house on the market and test the waters.

You never know, your house could be hot, and you will quickly sell it. Armed with that contract, you won’t have any problem in buying your new home. But you should still protect yourself.

While a real estate sales contract is legally binding, it is not the same as cash in the bank. Buyers do walk away from contracts, with and without justification. If this should happen to you, you can get a money judgment against your contract purchaser, but it does nothing to solve the problem of your contract with a seller. They may consider you in breach if you aren’t able to comply with the terms of the contract you signed, leaving you open for a lawsuit.

So, if you are able too, sell your house. Then buy.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today.

Buy Your Dream Home

Writen by Anurag Tyagi

It is definitely not easy for everyone to buy a property. But with the lending agencies getting more liberal in providing home loans, it is now much easier to realize your dreams. You can have your dream home even if you don’t have adequate capital in hand to purchase the house.

Most of us think the process is tough, needs a huge down payment as well as heavy monthly installments as repayment. But that is not always true. It all depends on your budget. As I personally think one must possess at least some cash in hand and never look for 100% finance to buy a home/property. Just 10 15% cash in hand of the total money value of house at the time of purchase is required to be on the safer side. The higher the down payment the lower will be your monthly installments.

Most of us who don’t have a house live in rented accommodations. We pay a significant amount of our monthly income to house owners as rent. Is this a judicious use of hard earned money? Can there be any better option? Can we be little more dynamic and think beyond what we presently have? A little introspection and market awareness can help us to streamline our money in right direction.

You can convert your monthly rentals into monthly installments for your own house. There are a large number of players in the financial market offering easy loans for the purchase of real estates and properties at low rate of interests and easy monthly repayments.

One has to be wise enough to choose a right loan plan for oneself. Equal emphasis must be paid in choosing a real estate agent too. A good real estate agent definitely makes a difference in real estate transactions and gives you maximum value for the money. Choose real estate agents with credible market presence that works with high level of transparency. So go ahead, plan your budget, hire a qualified real estate agent, which you can find even online and buy your dream house. Think what you actually want? Paying monthly house rent and giving away your hard earned money to the house owners or create asset by paying monthly installments as a repayment to your real estate loans.

The author of the article Anurag Tyagi is contributor with Real Estate site giving you Help in Buying or Selling Real Estate in USA

Real Estate Investing House Problems

Writen by Dr.Phil Speer

Houses can have lots of problems

Real estate investing requires expertise in recognizing these problems and the costs for repair.

Sometimes you stumble onto a jewel investment by discovering a house where mom was an excellent housekeeper, and all that’s necessary is minor cleanup of the premises to prepare for selling. But the truth is that most people don’t even sweep the floor when they move after the house is sold. And sometimes the house they leave behind is a wreck.

If a yard looks trashy and overgrown, you know how to pick up the garbage and mow.

If the walls look drab and shabby from years of neglect, you know how to replace new wall paneling or repair holes with wallboard mud. If these basics are not understood, you can always get a quick lesson at your neighborhood Home Depot or Loew’s.

But zilch experience is necessary for slinging a paintbrush, unless you are just sloppy. Paint is the easiest of options in giving fresh renewal to property.

Cosmetic repair is simple and easy. You can either do it yourself or hire a handyman.

Houses that really only need some yard work and a few gallons of paint are readily found in the real estate buyer’s market. But these houses tend to be far from deeply discounted or bargain priced investments.

Some house problems constitute severe potential pitfalls in real estate investing. The most critical problems are foundation irregularities and mold.

I inspected a house recently that had serious foundation problems. My attention was first called to the entrance steps with broken brick due to shifting of the house on its foundation. As I walked around the inside of the house, I saw that the sheet rock had cracked in several places on the level above the entrance steps. What was obvious to me was obvious to every other buyer who had seen the house, which explains why the property had been on the market for over 200 days. So as this red flag went up about the foundation problem, my curiosity was also raised about the cost of repair. I know nothing about foundation problems, and I would never tackle such a problem on my own. But I knew there were specialists in the area with expertise in foundation repair. So, I got a couple of estimates before deciding if the purchase price was fair.

Mold!!!

One of the most serious problems in buying any house today is mold contamination, especially in the southeast. This is a recent problem that we never experienced in the past with such prevalence. Let me warn you: repairing a mold infested house can cost you big bucks. Even in excess of $100,000!

An infested house must first be tested by a certified lab to ascertain the extent of damage. A third party contractor usually takes responsibility for repair after the initial test. Then the testing lab must re evaluate the premises after repair to confirm whether toxicity levels have been reduced to acceptable standards. Then, and only then, can you re enter the property to make modifications or paint. You are in a heap ‘o trouble, boy, if you buy a house WITH MOLD, unknowingly or knowingly, and if you fail to remedy the problem or try to sell without disclosure. Just write it off as a bad experience and bad investment if you buy without taking remedial costs into consideration. Mold is a serious problem in today’s housing market.

This warning doesn’t mean you should not buy any house with mold infestation. You can obtain firm bids (not estimates) for repair on some situations. However, damage can be so severe and widespread that even mold removal firms will not even quote a firm bid! Factor the remedial repair into the buying price and the selling price. Be prepared, however, that it just won’t work in some cases.

Mold is damaging to health. Some people are more sensitive to mold than others. Mold replaced the asbestos scare of the ’70s and ’80s when Texas homeowners sued insurance companies for millions of dollars over mold damage. The mold problem has migrated from the South and is moving into northern states. Many Alabama insurance companies went out of business because of the mold problem, and those insurers left usually refuse to insure any house with mold history.

Don’t let mold catch you with your pants down!

Most houses have some kind of problem or problems. Learn to distinguish between the cosmetic and serious problems, and recognize that solutions are usually available for either. You, the real estate investor, must become a problem solver of house problems.

Phil Speer, Ph.D., started his real estate investing career 25 years ago. Without the availability of credit and using only a $10 bill, he purchased $1 million in properties in his first year, and had accumulated $10 million in properties by his fourth year. http://www.CashinHouses.com/ He was featured in a Wall St.Journal editorial as most successful investor in the Nothing Down Real Estate Movement, and was honored with a Caribbean cruise as top investor of the year. In his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, he has been a businessman and Human Resources Consultant for 30 years. He is an author, speaker and seminar director.

To learn how to profit in real estate investing, even without cash or credit, read his report at http://www.BigMoneyinFixerUppers.com/nomoneydown/flipping.html/ Subscription is free to his Fix up Ezine. He and other contributing authors provide free articles and resources on real estate investing at his online “Academy of Advanced Real Estate Investing Techniques” at http://www.AAREIT.com/

Bulgarian Property Market Update 26 Jan 2006

Writen by Timothy Wright

Figures from the National Statistical Institute indicated that the average prices of flats in the Regional capitals of Bulgaria have shown a rise of over 36% in 2005.

The prices of flats in the capital of Sofia saw the highest rise of 20.2% with prices averaging 1,222.4 leva/sqm. The highest percentage of growth was registered in Vratsa, where the prices of flats rose by an astounding 86.1% and prices are at 464.8 leva/sqm.

Other areas of growth for the same period include:

Yambol up 72.1 per cent to 513.6 leva/sqm
Silistra up 70.1 per cent to 406.5 leva/sqm
Varna up 25.6% to 1,198.1 leva/sqm
Bourgas up 46.2% to 1,126.5 leva/sqm

* * *

Sofia Olympic Bid Gathers Momentum

In a move which signals the determination to put Bulgaria on the tourist map and commit to major infrastructure improvements, the government has confirmed its support for the Bulgarian capital to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.

“We should be aware that the road ahead is long and difficult. Achieving the aim will be good not just for the development of the Olympic ideal, but for the development of winter sports and winter tourism in Bulgaria as a top priority of the economy as well,” Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said.

The first stage in the process concludes in June 2006 when the number of competing cities is narrowed down to four. These cities will then continue the bidding process right up until June 2007 when the winning city is named.

Major highway projects will be given priority as the State and Sofia Municipality, along with the Bulgarian business community work together to ensure the best possible outcome of their bid. Winter tourism will also greatly benefit as a result of a successful bid.

* * *

EU Integration

This week saw the arrival of European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini in Bulgaria. Frattini met with the Prime minister and many other government ministers along with Justice Minister Petkanov and senior judiciary members.

Items up for discussion included judicial reform, the suppression of human trafficking, corruption and the strengthening of the future EU external borders. All are seen as areas of concern and part of the EU accession process, with EU membership expected in 2007.

* * *

Brits Invest and Holiday in Bulgaria in Record Numbers

The British have been heading to Bulgaria in record numbers. The country is not only proving more and more popular as a destination for British holiday makers but many are also buying investment properties and holiday homes in the country.

James Knight, Managing Director of leading property specialist Knight International (http://www.knight intl.com), has predicted that 1.2 million British tourists will probably choose to visit Bulgaria for a holiday in 2008.

In 2002 there were 100,000 Brits travelling to Bulgaria for a holiday. This number has risen heavily each year and was up to 400,000 for last year, 2005.

Knight cites that Brits now know a lot more about Bulgaria and the country is now seen as been within their “comfort zone” for holiday destinations, along with other countries such as Italy, France and Spain.

The cost of a holiday is also vastly less than that of a similar holiday in France or Spain due to the lower cost of living. There is also an impetus on the expansion work been carried out at airports such as Burgas and Varna to allow the passage of an increasing number of tourists. Low cost airlines are also doing their bit with more flights than ever in and out of the country. The completion of construction work at the airports will open the market to more low cost carriers resulting in greater competition, lower prices and improved flexibility for the traveller.

On the property front, the number of Brits buying second homes in Bulgaria has risen 77% in 2005. Alex Wright, director of British Consultancy Company HIFX comments “Although France and Spain remain the most popular destinations to buy abroad, due to their proximity and the cheap price of travel; British citizens are starting to look further a field,”

He adds “Bulgaria also is booming and the Black Sea resorts are reminiscent of Spain 20 years ago; investors are buying in their droves and there is similar activity in some of the ski resorts.

While Spain accounts for 35% Brits homes overseas and France accounting for 24%, interest in second homes in these countries is declining and the going to other countries such as Dubai and Bulgaria where buyers can get more for their money.

Tim Wright is an international property investor and regular article contributor. He is the author of “Bulgarian Property The Overseas Buyers’ Kit” available at http://www.BulgarianPropertyBuyer.co.uk

Real Estate Investments in Your IRA?

Writen by Bill Young

Yes, its true! But most people do not know that they can invest their IRA funds in real estate.

Why is that?

Because the financial establishment, banks, brokerage houses, credit unions, etc. don’t make money when you invest in real estate.

In fact, they lose money when you take your IRA funds out of investments they sell!

Its that simple and that selfish. They would rather have you lose money, lose your retirement dreams than tell you that you can put your money into investments other than those they sell, typically limited to stock market investments.

We have even had clients tell us their banker or broker told them it was illegal to invest their IRA in real estate!

If you check with the IRS, (http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/index.html) you will see that they allow you to invest your IRA funds in real estate and anything else you want, except life insurance and collectibles.

Imagine, you are no longer condemned to stand by idly and watch your retirement dreams disappear before your eyes in the stock market. If you were beginning to think you would have to spend your Golden years at the Golden Arches, take heart!

You can now reap exceptional profits from real estate investments, just like other investors. Even early retirement can became a reality again!

If you are currently a real estate investor, you now have another source of capital for your deals. Rehabs, pre construction deals, rentals, etc. can now be funded with your IRA funds. Join forces with certain family members, friends, business partners and put together your own pool of investment capital, or your own private bank, for larger deals.

If you are not knowledgeable about real estate or simply don’t want to take an active role in your investments, there are other possibilities such as investing in mortgages or tax liens, limited partnerships, LLC’s; there is virtually no limit.

This way, you can collect tax free interest payments with no management headaches and without special knowledge.

This is a great way to make up for your stock market losses. The law allows your IRA to earn unlimited profits, every year. What about the $4,000 per year limit to your IRA? It only applies to contributions, not profits.

Of course, there are rules and prohibitions that apply to investing IRA funds in real estate. This is the IRS, after all. For instance, you cannot buy or sell property you currently own to your IRA. You also cannot buy that condo in Miami and use it yourself, it must be for investment only.

Remember, this is your tax deferred retirement money which you are not supposed to benefit from until you retire. Any use of the money before age 59

The Different Ways You Can Sell Your Property

Writen by Dave Hazlehurst

Using an Estate Agent to Sell Your Property

Selling a property with the help of an estate agent is the traditional route. In fact it is so established that many people don’t even know that there is an alternative.

If you use an estate agent to help sell your property they will normally do the following things:

• Prepare the property particulars and photographs
• Promoting your property to potential buyers on their lists
• Arranging viewings with potential buyers
• Handling enquiries
• Helping to negotiate the offer price

However, Estate agents usually charge a hefty sales commission of between 1.5% to 4%, plus VAT.

This means that on a

Understanding Opportunity Cost When Investing In Property

Writen by Alan Forsyth

While most investors have got involved in property investing because they understand the opportunities to make money through leverage and capital growth or high yields, I still see and hear of many who do not fully understand opportunity cost.

Remember anyone that gets into property is usually in it to generate money or income – how many deals/properties you own is insignificant.

So what does opportunity cost mean?

Well according to the encyclopedia, “Opportunity cost is a term used in economics, to mean the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone (and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity), or the most valuable foregone alternative. For example, if a city decides to build a hospital on vacant land that it owns, the opportunity cost is some other thing that might have been done with the land and construction funds instead. In building the hospital, the city has forgone the opportunity to build a sporting center on that land, or a parking lot, or the ability to sell the land to reduce the city’s debt, and so on.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost

So in property investing terms, if an investor decides to invest