Below are ten categories of real estate, and different ways to invest in them. The best one for you is something only you can decide, according to your particular needs. To help you do that, I list a couple good points and bad points for each type.1. Renting single family homes. Good points: An easier way to get started, and good long term return on investment. Bad points: Being a landlord isn't much fun, and you typically wait a long time for...more
Why should you consider refinancing real estate investments instead of selling them? Maybe you've owned a rental property for years, you've paid down the mortgage, the value is up, and you want to cash in on that equity. You will do better to refinance. Here's why.There are two problems with selling. First, selling means paying a large capital gains tax. You can avoid this if you reinvest through a 1031 exchange, but then the point is that you...more
It was a simple real estate formula. The ads ran in our small-town newspaper for years before I realized exactly what was going on. They were always the same: A house for sale with 5% down and payments of 1% of the purchase price. Maybe a three bedroom home for $90,000, for example, with $4,500 down and $900 per month payments. When a friend started doing the same thing he explained the process to me. It was a way to get a great return on capital, and it was the opposite of buying with no money down. There is no down payment at all when you buy, because you buy for cash.The Simple Real Estate FormulaYou probably know that when you buy for cash, you can often get a much better price. With no financing contingencies in the offer, and the promise of a faster closing, sellers are willing to sell for less. You can offer $95,000, for example, on a house that might be worth $108,000. If you can't get it for less than, say, $99,000, you walk away - there are always other opportunities.Once you buy the house, you put few thousand into high-return repairs and improvements. These might include paint, carpet, and maybe asphalt for a dirt driveway. For our example, we'll say you spend $5,000....more
Nothing down? Exactly why would a seller want to walk away from closing with nothing? The truth is, they normally wouldn't, and that brings up the most important point about real estate investing with no downpayment: A seller almost always needs cash at closing, but it doesn't have to be YOUR cash. Nothing Down - A Few WaysSometimes sellers are...more
There is nothing worse than putting house up for sale and watching it sit on the market. Here are a few tips to sell your house fast. Sell Your House FastThe following tips will help you sell your house fast, but we need to cover something first. If you have some type of defect with your house, it is going to have to be repaired. There is a...more
Hiring a property management company is a great idea if you have even a small apartment building. Having someone taking care of all the small details of a rental property means you'll have more time to find the next good investment. Also, trying to do it all yourself is the surest way to make your real estate investment experience a bitter one. To find a good property manager, ask the following questions.1. Other properties they manage? It's best if they have rental properties that are similar to yours. You can also drive by their other properties to see how they are maintained.2. The fee? They vary around the country from as low as 4% of gross rents for larger buildings, to as high as 12% for single family homes. Be sure the fee is clearly stated and understood.3. Extra costs? Are showings extra? Do evictions cost extra (beyond the legal fees)? Any other extras?4. Who actually handles your property? It's best if one person handles your building all the time, and has some experience. Get their name.5. How and when is the fee collected? Will you be billed, or will it be deducted from your account directly? Monthly? Quarterly?6. Type of advertising? Exactly how will they advertise...more
So many people think that by getting into the franchise business, they are setting themselves up for an easy way to make money, with a safety net under them the whole time. The only real advantage is that you are buying into a business model that...more
Buying FSBO real estate, or houses for sale by owner, has its own particular problems and opportunities. Dealing with an uninformed seller who thought he knew enough to handle everything by himself can be frustrating, but it can also be very...more
For months, Joe Cline (not his real name) kept his frustration over longhours, cramped quarters and rushed deadlines at an Internet company underwraps. But last month, when his boss needled him one time too many, heerupted, lashing out with an...more
Mike M. was a senior manager for one of my large corporate clients, butyou wouldn't know he was on the fast track if you looked at his office. Heworked long hours, felt pressured, and was always playing catch up. Mike wasunresponsive to requests and...more
Where are the best investment real estate locations? If you have enough experience investing in real estate, you can make money almost anywhere, but there are always places that are better or worse for real estate investments. For maximum profits,...more
Forex trading is nothing more than direct access trading of different types of foreign currencies. In the past, foreign exchange trading was mostly limited to large banks and institutional traders. However recent technological advancements have made...more