Top Real Estate Articles

Neighborly Advice For Constructing Your Dream Dwelling

Feb 3, 2010 Real Estate

Choose Your Lot

First, it is a good idea to find the property that you want to build on. Make sure you research the exact plot size, the previous sale price, and the zoning and tax laws of the area, to ensure that you are even allowed to build a home on that plot.

Construction Loans

Banks, credit unions, and mortgage lending companies will give you finance options for your home. Prices range depending on the type and size of home you are planning to have built. Using an architect to draw up your plans will help you get the base price down. Your money lender will always want to see the home plans before lending you any money.

Find An Architect

From California to New York to Arkansas, home plans include foundation, framing, siding, plumbing and electrical details, and can range from as little as $600, to as much as several thousand. It is always best to screen at least three applicants before you hire any professional and architects are no different. All you need to do now is to stop by the bank and show them your building plans.

Don’t Be Too Rigid

Having a custom home built is an enormous project. Expecting the unexpected will help you deal with the inevitable weather delays for contractor disputes so be prepared. You need to be flexible and patient, and know that in order to have your dream home built, it will take time.

Following through to the end of the project is the goal, so don’t take your eye off the ball. As with so many other things in life, you just have to keep pushing and step by step you will reach your goal and complete building your dream home. If you don’t spend time doing this you may wash out at some phase, and that can cost you thousands of dollars.

Utilizing this outline will keep you focused. As with many other things in life, educating yourself is crucial, so plan on spending all of your extra hours reading, interviewing and learning about the entire construction process.

The author enjoys writing articles about short sale specialist in boise idaho & boise idaho real estate. Click on the above links to learn more about these topics! Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

Tags: boise, business, finance, idaho, news, Real Estate, REOs, Short Sales

Business Lines of Credit for Real Estate

Nov 22, 2009 Real Estate

Because Investing in real estate has become a new lifestyle choice for thousands of people all over the world. With the increase in foreclosed homes and auction sold properties in the last year; there has been a dramatic increase in the possibilities of finding great houses for bargain prices. Investors are buying foreclosed properties, doing them up and selling them on for great profits. Flipping houses has become a new trend in real estate, and has proved to be a great way to make money. Having money readily available to refurbish the properties however is one of the biggest problems that new investors face, but business lines of credit are providing them with the ultimate solution.

Business lines of credit are a revolving credit facility provided by banks and financial institutions. Investors can apply for a line of credit with a bank which is typically given as either a cash credit or in the form of an overdraft. The agreed credit limit is then readily available for when the need arises, and the money can be used to flip a new home.

Business lines of credit are proving to be very beneficial to businesses worldwide. Unlike the traditional loans; lines of credit can be drawn upon and repaid at any time, and interest is only charged on the outstanding balance. There is no term time for business lines of credit, so the money can sit in your bank until it is needed. There is typically an annual review conducted with the financial institution, where credit amounts can be changed if desired.

Real estate investors are finding business lines of credit a very valuable asset. The increased cash flow enables refurbishment and renovation work to be done on a property without the need of having to use your own money. Cash can be drawn out of the bank and used to decorate and do up a property, and can be repaid upon the sale of the house. Business lines of credit provide investors with a new flexibility which is proving to be highly valuable.

Having money readily available to buy and do up a property is one of the biggest problems that a new real estate investor can face, and business lines of credit are solving that problem. After having purchased a home in need of revamping; money is at hand to fix up the house to a great standard. The property can then be put back onto the real estate market and be sold for a large profit to a new buyer. The money made on the sale of the house can be partly used to repay the financial institution or bank, and the rest is pure profit. Once a new investor has flipped their first house, it becomes easier to do a second, and eventually to manage a larger property portfolio. Business lines of credit are allowing new investors to find the means to buy and do up homes and to realise their dreams as real estate investors.

For more information go to: www.cashforrealestate.com

Learn more about Cash For Real Estate. Stop by Nancy Geils’s site where you can find out all about real estate investingReal Estate Investing and what it can do for you.

Tags: business lines of credit, cash for real estate, Getting Money, Real Estate, real estate investing, REOs

How to Buy Foreclosures

Oct 10, 2009 Real Estate

Foreclosures

Foreclosures occur when previous owners default on the mortgage payments and the property gets repossessed by the lien holder. These days, you will find many foreclosed homes and properties available for purchase in your area. This is a good thing for Investors!

If you are interested in buying a foreclosed home, you need to educate yourself about the topic so that you know what to expect from the deal. For a start, there are five main types of foreclosures that you should know about.

In the first stage of foreclosure there is a pre-foreclosure sale. Technically, the property or home is not yet in foreclosure, but almost there. The pre-foreclosure is basically when the property owners have received a notice or multiple notices of default. In these situations, the homeowner has the opportunity to sell to avoid credit damage, and real estate agents can work with them to get the home sold. Private investors are able to research public records to see which homes are in this stage and talk to the owners on their own.

HUD and government-owned properties are a good category to look into. These properties were insured by government-backed agencies, like HUD, and have been foreclosed by these agencies. These properties are most commonly listed by agencies and auction houses. They will usually be presented in auctions, but you can also find a lot that are listed individually by real estate agents.

REOs are properties that are owned by banks. When these properties are foreclosed, they are resold in similar manners as the private auctions. The major difference is that the banks use real estate agents instead of listing agencies and auction houses. These properties tend to stay on the market a little longer, which makes the lenders more flexible; they are incurring more money by allowing it to remain unsold on the market. For more information and to learn how to buy foreclosures go to: www.investingwiththestars.net/season3

This can be tricky if you don’t know what your doing to buy foreclosures. For this reason, it is imperative that you gather as much information about foreclosures as possible. Take notes and talk to some people who have the expertise to help you. Good luck!

Tags: Buying Foreclosures, finding foreclosures, Foreclosure Property, how to buy foreclosures, Hud, John Burley, Real Estate, REOs

What Are The Different Types Of Real Estate Investing Opportunities?

Oct 2, 2009 Real Estate

While the rest of the economy is in shambles, and record numbers of foreclosures make headlines, real estate investors are earning thousands of dollars by buying and selling homes. It seems that real estate investors know a thing or two about systems, strategies, and styles of investing that the average homeowner does not. If you are a budding real estate investor and you’re looking to invest in homes but don’t know how, here are some of the basic strategies that investors are using.

SHORT SALE: A short sale is when you purchase a home because the bank is willing to sell it for less than what is owed on it. This happens a lot because banks know that they cannot collect their entire lost amount if they have to bring a house all the way through the foreclosure process. So you can buy a home for less than what is owed, and re-sell it someone else for a profit. For more info on short sales go to: Www.investingwiththestars.net/ben/htm. Ben Pargman, Attorney has a great system to learn short sales! For more information on short sales go to: www.investingwiththestars.net/ben.htm

REO: REO stands for “real estate owned” and this is when the bank has taken ownership of the property. When you buy the property, you are not buying the property directly from the bank. The banks will often let homes go because it costs them thousands of dollars to re-list and sell homes and they don’t want the non-revenue-generating real estate on their books.

SUBJECT TO: When you purchase a home, it is one of the best ways to buy a house! When you buy a home “subject to” the existing financing, you get the deed to the home but the original owner keeps the mortgage in their name. You take over payments of the mortgage and ultimately sell the deed to someone else. For more information on Subject-to investing go to: www.investingwiththestars.net/banks.htm. Mike Watson has a program to get you started in subject-to investing!

Nancy Geils

Teacher/Financial Coach

Tags: Ben Pargman, carelton sheets, finding reo property, finding reos, Mike Watson, nancy geils, Real Estate, real estate investing, REOs, short sale investing, Short Sales, subject-to, subject-to investing

How to Buy Cash Flow Notes - “We don’t sell Notes”

Apr 18, 2009 Real Estate Properties

A Common Hurdle When Learning How to Buy Cash Flow Notes

When you are looking for non performing notes, you will most likely run into this common hurdle. I wanted to take the time to share it with you.

So you’ve been busy cold calling banks and looking for notes to buy.

A lot of these bank contacts have told you that they either don’t sell notes or that they don’t have any non performing notes right?

Let me ask you…when we hear this, should we just accept this information assuming it is the truth? Or should we do some more research by say, contacting someone else?

Your Two Responses to the Question: Can I Buy Cash Flow Notes?”

Let’s review to the 2 possible situations you will be get:

1. Our bank doesn not sell real estate notes.

2. Our bank does not have any non performing notes.

The former, I can believe. The latter, I can’t.

There is probably a 25% chance that if someone is telling you that they don’t sell non performing notes, they are actually telling you the truth.

On the otherhand, if they are telling you that they don’t have any non performing notes, the likelihood that they are pulling your chain is about 99.9%.

The best follow-up is find someone else to call at the same bank!

Finding Your Contacts When Learning How to Buy Cash Flow Notes

You can try contacting the CFO directly at the bank or you can use the corporate HQ number and ask for the head of secondary marketing. Then try to contact loss mitigation.

There are always “multiple” ways to solve a problem. Don’t let the first door shut stop your note buying pursuit.

How to Buy Cash Flow Notes - Finding Contacts…A Tip From Will

Will, one of my students, has shared a useful tip with me and I would like to share it with you. It has proven him success in finding contacts.

1. Go to thomas-law.com and select “mortgage banker licenses”

2. From there you can select the state and click on the link that says “mortgage lending division”

3. Then click on the licensee records link which should be on the left hand side

4. choose the “licensed mortgage bankers” link

Any one of those links will give you principal’s contact info & email. You can do this for all 50 states. Now who has the bank contacts? Use them and buy some cash flow notes!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Tags: buying cash flow notes, buying notes, defaulted mortgages, Foreclosures, how to buy cash flow notes, Mortgages, note buying 101, note buying course, real estate note investing, Real Estate Properties, REOs, Short Sales

How to do Short Sales- A Short Comparison to Buying Bank Notes

Apr 2, 2009 Real Estate Properties

How to do Short Sales, Not so Easy!

This article is for those of you who have tried your hand at Short Sales and realized that they’re harder than they look.

A side by side comparison…

How to do Short Sales…What is Required?

Short Sales are transactions that involve a willing borrower you’ve spent time convincing that they would be a likely candidate for a short sale.

And a loss mitigation officer overwhelmed with short sale proposals who often takes forever to get back to you documentation.

Compared to buying bank notes, short sales require bank statements, tax information, proof of income, letters explaining hardship, closing statements, and cash.

If you’re able to close a simultaneous short-sale, you may not have to fund anything. Otherwise, you have to finance the purchase from the bank.

How to do Short Sales Compared to Buying Bank Notes

Real estate note buying won’t require you to gather documentation. You will be working with a secondary asset manager or loss mitigation officer who already has the documentation for you, all you will need to do is review the information. The documents that you will need to worry about are the purchase and sale agreement and the loss mitigation officer. Most lenders will follow the same process.

Yes, in defaulted mortgages you will need money buy the bank notes. There are many strategies that you can look into that require very little capital. I will tell you more about that later.

California - Short Sales and Buying Notes

When you are taking title as part of a deed in lieu negotiation, the constraints that equity purchasers have don’t apply. You are also exempt from Civil Code 1695. There are multiple exits strategies that you can pursue, these include deed in lieus, loan modifications, refinances, or even reselling the note. In short sales, you are limited to the need of finding a buyer and selling the property.

There are no licensing requirements when you are buying bank notes with a singular interest.

Potential litigations will not arise for you as they would with lease option deals. (a lease option deal is interpreted as another loan and you will be accused of equity stripping). Your real estate note purchases will allow you to modify the loan. Just remember that you will be subject to changing foreclosure laws because you will be the new lender.

A Thought on Short Sales and Buying Bank Notes

I’ll leave you with this - whereas you may have thought short sales were a pain-in-the-butt because of the uncooperative lender you were negotiating with. You may find yourself on the other side of the table if you buy a bank note, and have an investor come to you with an offer asking you if you’ll take a discount on your defaulted mortgage in order to sell the property.

That would be a good change of pace right?

Tags: bank notes, buy notes, cash flow notes, how to do short sales, Mortgages, note buying, Real Estate Properties, REOs, Short Sales

How to Buy REOs - Non-Performing Notes Versus REOs

Mar 20, 2009 Real Estate Properties

I would like to share something on how to buy REOs vs. Non-Performing Notes with You.

A hard choice, I know.

Many people probably would ask themselves…”If I can buy real estate so cheap, why would I want to own bad paper and buy non performing notes?”

Well, yes. REOs can be cheap.

And yes, you would be acquiring real property as opposed to a debt.

And, yes. You can get rid of it pretty quickly if you price it right. So why shouldn’t everyone drop everything they’re doing and buy REOs?

Buying REOs: 4 Risks Involved

1. Valuation

You must be precise with the value of the home, as well as the interior condition. When you have a non-performing note, you have several options in ways to turn your note investment into positive cash flow. (example: getting your borrower to make payments).

It is a necessity to be certain of your REOs value and the condition of your property. In order to squeeze profit from your vacant property, these values are key. When you are buying notes, this information is not as important.

2. Purchase Risks

If your sources aren’t nailed down, they can waste your time. In most cases you are dealing with brokers who are 2-5 people deep in a chain, and a fradulent attorney that claims they have mandate for someone else.

3. Deal Risks

After 2 months of chasing a deal that consisted of REOs, a friend of mine only closed on 1 of them. Why? All the others were listed for sale and as the agents got the properties into contract, the seller pulled them from the deal.

Or they were lost to a competitor since there were 3 brokers in between him and the seller. The one REO not pulled was the one that wasn’t already listed. The “loss ratio” on non-performing note pools - in other words the rate at which notes are pulled from a specific pool - aren’t as high by any means. (One day, ask me about the west coast pool that we lost!)

4. Discount Risks

The discounts that you typically hear about when buying REOs may not be quite as juicy as you’ve been made to believe.

You can close on a note buying deal at a 30% discount and you will hear about pricing this low on a regular basis. REOs priced at this range are typically unheard of.

I don’t mean to be negative about REOs. All I am saying is know what you are getting into. Don’t listen to everything that you are hearing about REOs being the deals to invest in.

Tags: Buying Reos, Foreclosures, how to buy reos, invest in non performing notes, learn how to buy reos, non performing note buying, Non Performing Notes, note buying, note investments, Real Estate, real estate investing, Real Estate Properties, reo business, REOs

How to Buy and Sell Real Estate Notes - on Cash for Keys

Mar 14, 2009 Real Estate Properties

Cash for Keys When Buying and Selling Real Estate Notes

The information that I am sharing with you will be a valuable lesson, pay close attention.

Assuming there are no Junior Lien Holders…

Buyers in CA are willing to purchase REOs at 75% of market value.

Non-Performing notes aka Real Estate Notes are even more discounted and can be bought at 50% of market value.

So the act of taking a property to sale, and eliminating primarily the BK risk, is worth a full 25% of the homes value.

Remember this when you are buying and selling real estate notes!

Buying and Selling Real Estate Notes - A Cash for Keys Example

Take a look at the numbers:

$100,000 value of home

$150,000 1st mortgage

$50,000 price

What should I offer the Homeowner in Cash for Keys?

Let’s say it took 4 months from the purchase of the real estate note to sale of REO. If I offer $15,000 and the borrower accepts, what would be my yield on that investment?

The answer would be 45%.

To get the annualized return, take the yield and multiply it by 3. Here’s the scenario: You paid $50,000 to buy the real estate note and $15,000 for the deed. You sold the house for $75,000 in a 1/3 of year.

Cash for Keys Can Save You Valuable Time

Paying up to 15% of the home’s value in order to get the Deed is justifiable. The amount of time you save is high as well as the impact on yield.

Before you think “no way Mr. Borrower, you don’t deserve a dime!”, think about the impact of having the Deed and the costs you can save. Don’t be stingy on your cash for keys offer.

Be your success & go out there and TAKE ACTION!

Tags: buying notes, home loans, how to buy and sell real estate notes, how to buy real estate notes, how to sell real estate notes, Mortgages, note buying, note buying business, Real Estate Properties, refinances, REOs, trust deeds

Taking Advantage of Short Sales to Avoid Foreclosure

Feb 25, 2009 Real Estate Investments

In difficult real estate sales markets, one of the tools used by lenders to minimize the financial losses associated with foreclosure is a short sale. Short sales are often utilized when homeowners with high mortgage balances are in arrears and unable to bring loan payments current. A lender can either proceed to foreclose upon the property, or can try to convince the homeowner to list the property for sale to pay off the outstanding loan balance.

If the owner is willing to sell, chances are the lender will have to settle for a lot less than a full pay-off of the remaining mortgage loan balance. Many lenders today prefer to give the owner a chance to list and sell a home at below market price before the foreclosure auction takes place. A sale at a price that doesn’t produce enough to pay off the mortgage loan in full is called a short sale.

Yes, a lot more often than you would think lenders are willing to give a green light to sales at prices that do not produce enough cash to satisfy the full mortgage balance owed to the lender. This type of lender-approved sale of homes in foreclosure is known as a short sale. This is a process by which lenders mitigate or minimize their losses due to foreclosures.

It seems strange that lenders would approve a short sale, knowing that financial loss will result. Why is this so? Lenders use this strategy to avoid foreclosing on a property because an actual foreclosure is an extremely costly process. Not only must the lender repossess the home and resell it, but there are legal fees, insurance, taxes, real estate commissions, lost interest revenue and eviction costs as well.

The net amount available to pay the lender is often more with a negotiated short sale than a home acquired through foreclosure and then resold to the highest bidder. Lenders are now so overwhelmed with REOs (repossessed homes) that they simply can’t afford to add more foreclosure homes to an already enormous roster of non-income generating assets. The soaring costs of foreclosure aren’t the only reason that lenders look to short sales as an alternative.

Lenders are also pressured by local governments to keep repossessed, unoccupied homes in good repair in order to keep away vandals and drug criminals. Some municipalities even file civil lawsuits against lenders who fail to keep REO properties in good repair, result in even greater losses for the lender. Considering all of the ways in which a foreclosure could cost the lender money, short sale becomes a lender’s preferred alternative.

Most lenders are trying to get rid of their REO inventory and taking big discounts. But many now have discovered that ownership of large inventory of vacant properties is a huge burden. So they are more than ever interested in not taking the REO in the first place. That’s why they now have special staff to deal with short sale offers submitted on properties in foreclosure. They are doing everything possible to avoid foreclosure and burdening themselves with the ownership responsibilities and expenses.

Short sale has many advantages for home buyers, since it provides an opportunity to buy a home at a substantial price discount before the public foreclosure auction. Realize though that a short sale is always subject to lender approval. Real estate investors can take advantage of this option by “flipping” the home to sell it at a profit, or by using the bargain home as a rental for ongoing income.

But why would a homeowner agree to a short sale? With so many homeowners out of work and unable to pay their mortgages, more and more homeowners are facing the real possibility of foreclosure.

For homeowners with few resources to make often high payments on an over-financed home, a short sale is sometimes the only way to easily exit the situation. For investors, a short sale can be a path to a profitable return on the sale of a foreclosure home.

Tags: "mortgage, bank owned, financing, Foreclosure, Mortgage Payment, Real Estate, real estate investing, Real Estate Investments, REOs, short sale, Short Sale Foreclosure, Short Sales