Short Sale Real Estate Investing
May 31, 2009
Short sale investing involves buying a piece of property from a lender for an amount less than the balance owed on the property. Basically, there are two types of short sale realty investments. The first type refers to when you purchase a property, foreclosed by a lender listed with a realtor. In this type, you simply offer the lender, who has now become the owner on record, less than what is owed on the property. In this case, you can offer less than the balance that was due on the foreclosure. Such a short sale, realty investment calls for a good relationship with the realtor. The other type involves negotiating directly with the lender of a motivated seller. It is essential to be determined in the negotiation process, mainly in reaching the right person at the lender Real Estate Owned (REO) department and then to get the price of your choice.
The key to be successful in the first kind of short sale, real estate investment lies in forging a relationship with a reliable local realtor. You can always search for one or two realty offices in your area that handle majority foreclosures and short sale, realty investments. In order to build your relationship with the realtors, you need to inform them about your ability to buy. Make sure you follow through, once you make the offer. It will help the agent know that you are the investor to turn to, whenever he has a deal regarding short sale, realty investment.
There are three fundamental steps that can be incorporated, in order to be successful with short sale, real estate investments. They are as follows:
. Search for the properties: The first step to success in a short sale real estate investment is to search for properties. This can be accomplished through regular realty advertisements and looking for distressed or overgrown property. It helps you get calls from sellers close to foreclosure.
. Get the seller on your side: The second best way to earn success in this type of investment is to get the seller on your side. In order to do so, you need to listen, communicate and empathize openly and honestly with the seller, regarding your plans. Besides, you will also be required to answer all questions and speak to the concerned parties frequently, so as to keep the channels of communication open. It helps to keep doubts out of the picture.
. Find the right person at the lender to speak with: Though it is not easy to find a reliable person, but this step is essential. More often than not, the first person you speak to will not necessarily be the right person and you may require cross certain hurdles to finally reach the person with some authority. You would certainly require patience in order to get the job done.
Short sale realty investment is considered to be lucrative for building wealth too. Owing to the increase in foreclosures across the country, the trend of learning and applying short sale realty investment skills is likely to continue.
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Real Estate Investing Avoid Buying a Unique Home in Preforeclosure Even From a Nice Family
May 31, 2009
Early in my career as a real estate investor, I got a call from a really nice family about to lose their home to foreclosure. Located in the suburbs, the house looked pretty much like every other house in the middle-income neighborhood on the outside. On the inside, though, the house was very unusual.
You see, the husband and wife were theater majors in college and they remodeled the lower level of their home to look like the set of a movie. The home gym looked like the set of Million Dollar Baby. The playroom looked like the set of Home Alone. And the home theater (with seating for six and a big screen TV) was painted entirely black, floor, walls, and ceiling.
The parents home-schooled all four children, so the lower level also housed a study room with computers and desks. The two-car garage was fully carpeted because the youngest children liked to play there during the day.
The house was a full time home, school, gym and theater for this family. The parents thought they would live there forever - or at least until the last of their children moved away. But sadly, they missed a couple of mortgage payments and found it impossible to catch up. They called me in hopes of selling their house fast so they could save their credit.
When I did my due diligence, I learned that homes in this neighborhood did not stay on the market long. Close to the public schools, it was a quiet neighborhood with lots of green space. Add to that: the neighborhood homeowners association often held potluck dinners and street parties and were the envy of the surrounding community.
What could be better? I thought. A great one-of-a-kind house in a great neighborhood at a great price.
I bought the house with about 20% equity, no money out of my pocket, and cash back at closing. I immediately put the house on the market. At the time I thought the uniqueness of the property would be a great selling point. I thought it would stand out as “one of a kind” and families would fight to live there.
Boy, was I wrong.
Most people who looked at the house thought the unique features of the lower level were just plain weird.
I marketed the house specifically to families with children who I thought would love the spacious gym, the play room, the home theater, and the study rooms as much as the family who had put so much of their personal stamp on them. But no one else seemed to see the beauty of it.
Only the strangeness of it.
The house sat on the market five months without a decent offer. I watched my profit dwindle drastically over six months while paying holding costs, utilities, and lawn care.
Then I made a hard decision. I hired a remodeler to transform the lower level into an ordinary looking basement with smooth white walls, dropped ceilings and beige carpet. I watched even more of my profit evaporate.
But I quickly found a buyer.
Lesson to be learned: Three bedroom, two bath, bread-and-butter houses are the best investment properties for a reason. Everyone can imagine living in an ordinary house. Not everyone can see themselves living in a really unique one.
Things To Know Before Investing Online
May 30, 2009
Before you take your hard earned money and invest it, it is a good idea to have a plan before you get started. First you will need to define your goal.
A goal can be owning a new home, buying a new car, having enough money for your child’s education as well as a host of other things that need to be thought through. Write a list of yours and your families goals and choose the one thing you desire the most. Next to each item write by when you want to achieve that goal.
You will then need to decide how many years you have to meet each of your targeted goals. This is important because you will need to find the best investment plan for the timeframe you have set up for yourself. You can find many tools to help you figure these things out when you do a little research on the internet.
The next step is to make a financial plan. This will entail figuring out your finances. You will have to be honest about the situation you find yourself in right now When you plan a trip, you never leave without knowing where it is you are starting from and the same can be said about the journey to a secure financial future. Make a list of your assets as well as your liabilities and see how they stack up against each other. With any luck and a lot of hard work, you should have more money coming in than going out and it is with this money you must decide whether to invest online or not.
If you are interested in investing larger amounts of money, but are wondering where it will come from, making small changes in your daily routine can end up saving you a lot of money. Take the cost of a large cup of coffee every morning. If that coffee is more than $1.75 per day, you are wasting as much as fifty dollars a month. If you took that fifty dollars and invested it wisely, it could wind up being five hundred dollars. So make an effort to get a travel cup and make your coffee at home. Put the money you would have spent in a jar, and take the money and invest it.
If you put your money into a savings account that earns 5% interest in a year, you could be talking a nice piece of change you will have to invest. You can do the same thing with going out to eat or going to see a movie. Whenever you deprive yourself of a treat, pay the container anyway and watch your savings account grow.
When you decide to invest online, you want to be sure you have enough money to take the risk. You don’t want to take away from your family needs on a chance that you can double or triple your money. You may lose it instead, and money earmarked for your family expenses shouldn’t be used for online investing.
James Brown writes about ShareBuilder 401(k) promotion code, TradingSolutions.com online coupons and ShareBuilder coupon
Basic Investing Tips That You Have to Know
May 30, 2009
To limit the scope of this article, we will focus completely on the investing basics as they relate to you personally making investment decisions not giving money to a financial institution, which will make the investing decisions for you.
The first part of investing basics is knowing how to invest and where to invest. This can be answered quite simply: there are two ways in which to invest through an offline brokerage or through an online brokerage. Today, however, this is somewhat of a false dichotomy, as most offline brokerages also have websites. To invest, simply open up an account with either an online brokerage, such as ScottTrade or ShareBuilder, or open up an account with an offline brokerage or a financial institution; put money into the account; and then purchase shares based on an overall strategy. While you might be able to get better, more professional tips from an offline brokerage or financial institution, you will have better access to fundamental and technical information such as financial reports and graphs, respectively if you use ScottTrade or ShareBuilder.
The second part of investing basics involves knowing what it will cost. This, of course, will also depend on the brokerage you select. If you select an online brokerage, the cost of trading will probably be lower, since competition is stiffer and prices are easier to compare. Most online brokerages no longer charge commissions, but instead charge flat rate fees. This is important to take into consideration, especially if you plan on daytrading and earning small profits on multiple trades.
The third part of investing basics involves knowing what risks are involved. While there are some exceptions to this rule, here is the basic premise of a risk and investment: the more profitable a given investment could be, the higher the risk generally is. For instance, if you want attain 25% growth on your portfolio each year, you might have to risk losing 20%. But if you want to gain 10%, you might only have to risk losing 2%.
The fourth part of investing basics involves developing strategies. This part is important because it can make stock selection a predictable, mathematical process. This involves developing a list of requirements before you purchase any stock. For instance, you might determine that you want to make a diversified investment that includes two high-risk stocks, seven low-risk stocks, six medium-risk stocks. You will then want to determine what your goal is: to generate growth or to generate income via dividends. You will then want to begin sorting through stocks and choosing stocks specifically based on these goals.
The last thing you must know about investing basics is when to buy and when to sell. While this part of investing basics can get quite complicated when considering short and long positions, we wont go into that here. Instead, for beginners, it is more important to remember to trade based on specific pre-created goals, rather than basing each trade on emotion, which has lead many people into making poor financial decisions in the past.
Will King is the webmaster for 101 Investing Tips where you’ll find many resources and other articles on just about everything related to investing.
FOREX Accounts One Size Does Not Fit All
May 29, 2009
Once you have decided that you have the proper mindset and are ready to start investing on the FOREX exchange you are ready for the next step. That step is to select the type of FOREX account you want to open. You should make this decision before you pick a broker to work with. Some brokerage companies specialize in one type of account or another. The type of account you choose could affect your broker choice.
You will find that most brokers offer several types of accounts. The primary differences between the account types will be margin requirements, minimum deposit and lot sizes. You will need to consider your trading strategy and financial resources to select the right account. The three most common accounts are mini accounts, standard accounts and managed accounts.
The most popular account with new investors is the mini account. One of the factors that make the mini account so popular with beginners is that it has the lowest minimum deposit requirements. The minimum deposit requirements for a mini account are dependent on the broker, some will allow you to open an account with only a $100 deposit. Most mini accounts will deal with lot sizes as small as 10 thousand currency units. Mini accounts may provide as much as a 200 to 1 margin rate and only require $50 per lot to trade. This means that with $50 you will be able to control $10,000 worth of currency.
Most mini accounts have a built in safeguard because they are aimed at beginning investors. This is usually referred to as “Guaranteed Limited Risk”; this guarantees that you will never lose more than your initial investment in a trade. In the case where the currency drops and the broker would need to make a margin call to keep your position open they automatically close the trade. This will cause you to lose the money you invested into this trade but you will not end up owing the broker money. The downside to this is that if the currency rebounds you will no longer have a position that you could profit from.
A standard account is another common account that has higher deposit requirements than a mini account. The usual investment to open a standard account with most brokers is $2,000. These accounts usually trade in lots of 100,000 units. With a standard account you will still usually have a margin ration of 200 to 1. To purchase a normal lot of 100,000 thousand units then will require a deposit of $500 from you. It is still pretty common with a standard account to have the “Guaranteed Limited Risk” safeguard included.
Some brokers will also offer what is called a “Managed Account”. With a managed account you will not be actively trading. A professional trader will be assigned to your account and will use your money to make trades. This requires a much lower investment of time and knowledge from you. Managed accounts usually have a higher minimum requirement amount, often of $10,000 or more.
You will want to consider your knowledge, financial situation and risk tolerance when deciding which account type will work best for you.
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FOREX Accounts One Size Does Not Fit All
May 29, 2009
Once you have decided that you have the proper mindset and are ready to start investing on the FOREX exchange you are ready for the next step. That step is to select the type of FOREX account you want to open. You should make this decision before you pick a broker to work with. Some brokerage companies specialize in one type of account or another. The type of account you choose could affect your broker choice.
You will find that most brokers offer several types of accounts. The primary differences between the account types will be margin requirements, minimum deposit and lot sizes. You will need to consider your trading strategy and financial resources to select the right account. The three most common accounts are mini accounts, standard accounts and managed accounts.
The most popular account with new investors is the mini account. One of the factors that make the mini account so popular with beginners is that it has the lowest minimum deposit requirements. The minimum deposit requirements for a mini account are dependent on the broker, some will allow you to open an account with only a $100 deposit. Most mini accounts will deal with lot sizes as small as 10 thousand currency units. Mini accounts may provide as much as a 200 to 1 margin rate and only require $50 per lot to trade. This means that with $50 you will be able to control $10,000 worth of currency.
Most mini accounts have a built in safeguard because they are aimed at beginning investors. This is usually referred to as “Guaranteed Limited Risk”; this guarantees that you will never lose more than your initial investment in a trade. In the case where the currency drops and the broker would need to make a margin call to keep your position open they automatically close the trade. This will cause you to lose the money you invested into this trade but you will not end up owing the broker money. The downside to this is that if the currency rebounds you will no longer have a position that you could profit from.
A standard account is another common account that has higher deposit requirements than a mini account. The usual investment to open a standard account with most brokers is $2,000. These accounts usually trade in lots of 100,000 units. With a standard account you will still usually have a margin ration of 200 to 1. To purchase a normal lot of 100,000 thousand units then will require a deposit of $500 from you. It is still pretty common with a standard account to have the “Guaranteed Limited Risk” safeguard included.
Some brokers will also offer what is called a “Managed Account”. With a managed account you will not be actively trading. A professional trader will be assigned to your account and will use your money to make trades. This requires a much lower investment of time and knowledge from you. Managed accounts usually have a higher minimum requirement amount, often of $10,000 or more.
You will want to consider your knowledge, financial situation and risk tolerance when deciding which account type will work best for you.
Ready to learn forex trading? Want to learn about FOREX Trading Signals.
Learn our FOREX day trading system completely free.
To Win Or To Fail Tips For Successful Trading
May 28, 2009
Investing money entails a great amount of risk. Like they always say, “It takes money, to make money.”
Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean that to achieve good profits, one has to invest heavily and risk greatly. That is not the case all the time. A well-informed investor can make sound decisions that will help him earn considerable profits with minimal loss.
The first lesson a successful businessman will tell you is that any endeavor carries potential risk along with potential gain. The trick is to determine if the profit is worth the risk. If it is, it is now time to consider if you are willing to take the risk.
So before you start trading, ask yourself this:
a.) What are your achievement goals?
b.) Are your investments going to lose money?
c.) Are you willing to take bigger risks for better profits?
Setting your achievement goals will allow you to know how long you’re willing to wait for a stock to gain profit. It will also give you a limit on how much you’re willing to lose. It will also give you an idea on how to go about investing in a stock.
If you choose a low-return investment, it will mean that either you increase the amount you invest or increase the length of time invested.
After you have made up your mind with the above questions, there are some tips you may want to use to evaluate your trading philosophy.
a.) When to invest. Ordinarily, you want to trade all the time. You get excited when you see shares go up or when they fall down. You make decisions based on a whim and factors that don’t usually affect a stock in the long run. The best traders wait 50% of the time waiting and studying how a stock performs. They do not trade every day and all the time.
b.) Discipline yourself. You are so excited to make trades that you trade on a stock that looks half-decent enough rather than waiting for the best stock to come along.
c.) Small moves big payoffs. Don’t waste time dabbling in so many small stocks with minimal profit. Watch out for big stocks and concentrate on a few.
d.) Do not be too emotional. Making money is exciting. Losing money can get very depressing. Detach yourself from your emotions; otherwise, you won’t be able to look at things objectively.
Trading stocks is a high-risk, high-profit venture. Dabbling in the stock market half-cocked is suicide. Take your time. Study, research and be patient. After all, it’s your money, so it’s your loss.
Find out more about stocks and shares at http://stocksandshares.us
To Win Or To Fail Tips For Successful Trading
May 28, 2009
Investing money entails a great amount of risk. Like they always say, “It takes money, to make money.”
Money doesn’t grow on trees, you know.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean that to achieve good profits, one has to invest heavily and risk greatly. That is not the case all the time. A well-informed investor can make sound decisions that will help him earn considerable profits with minimal loss.
The first lesson a successful businessman will tell you is that any endeavor carries potential risk along with potential gain. The trick is to determine if the profit is worth the risk. If it is, it is now time to consider if you are willing to take the risk.
So before you start trading, ask yourself this:
a.) What are your achievement goals?
b.) Are your investments going to lose money?
c.) Are you willing to take bigger risks for better profits?
Setting your achievement goals will allow you to know how long you’re willing to wait for a stock to gain profit. It will also give you a limit on how much you’re willing to lose. It will also give you an idea on how to go about investing in a stock.
If you choose a low-return investment, it will mean that either you increase the amount you invest or increase the length of time invested.
After you have made up your mind with the above questions, there are some tips you may want to use to evaluate your trading philosophy.
a.) When to invest. Ordinarily, you want to trade all the time. You get excited when you see shares go up or when they fall down. You make decisions based on a whim and factors that don’t usually affect a stock in the long run. The best traders wait 50% of the time waiting and studying how a stock performs. They do not trade every day and all the time.
b.) Discipline yourself. You are so excited to make trades that you trade on a stock that looks half-decent enough rather than waiting for the best stock to come along.
c.) Small moves big payoffs. Don’t waste time dabbling in so many small stocks with minimal profit. Watch out for big stocks and concentrate on a few.
d.) Do not be too emotional. Making money is exciting. Losing money can get very depressing. Detach yourself from your emotions; otherwise, you won’t be able to look at things objectively.
Trading stocks is a high-risk, high-profit venture. Dabbling in the stock market half-cocked is suicide. Take your time. Study, research and be patient. After all, it’s your money, so it’s your loss.
Find out more about stocks and shares at http://stocksandshares.us
Private Moneylenders The Real Estate Investors Secret Weapon
May 27, 2009
Real estate investments are very lucrative and offer a variety of other benefits such as tax deductibles and asset appreciation. However, it is beyond the financial means of most real estate investors to pay the cost of their property up front. Such investors have to obtain a home loan from private lenders or financial institutions to bear the cost of their new home.
It is very common for real estate investors to procure finance in a range of eighty to hundred percent of the property value. The homeowner is required to make monthly payments to the financial company for an agreed period.
Private moneylenders or ‘hard’ moneylenders are generally third party lenders that provide the necessary funds to buy or renovate your home. In exchange, the homeowner agrees to pay a certain percentage of the profits earned after selling a property after renovation. This form of lending is mutually beneficial to both parties. It guarantees lenders better returns for their money, as the rate of interest is quite high.
The loans, often short-term loans, are especially beneficial to real estate investors who have a financial need for a very short while or who have been turned down by other financial institutions due to poor credit score. Another advantage of obtaining loans from private moneylenders is that they offer fast loans unlike many other financial companies and banks that offer loans after following a long internal procedure for loan sanctions. As a result, investors are drawn to such lenders owing to the flexibility and convenience offered by private moneylenders.
Typically, private moneylenders are most eager to work with people who have a promising venture. If a venture is good enough, they are willing to overlook their credit records. This form of financing can prove to be extremely expensive as such loans attract very high interest rates as compared to other banking and financial institutions. Another difficulty is that such lenders are quite hard to locate as compared to other traditional lenders.
People, who have surplus liquid cash and are on the lookout for ways to multiply this amount in a short period of time, become private moneylenders to provide funds to borrowers who are in need of quick cash.
However, it should be noted that all private moneylenders differ in their dealings and the amount of funds provided and the repayment terms may greatly differ. They may charge an interest in the range of 12% to 18% and have a well-drafted loan agreement to secure their investment. They may finance 50% to 75% of the home value post renovation for a period ranging from six months to five years.
The funds can be held in trust or escrowed until the renovation project is fully completed.
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Why Invest a Santa Cruz Beach House
May 27, 2009
If you are looking for a wise investment in the world of real estate, then consider purchasing a Santa Cruz beach house. Why are beach houses in this area a wise investment? First, these properties always increase in value, and second, they represent a potential source of residual income.
The local beach micro-market is currently up, which means that prices are high and buyers are willing to pay the high prices. While some wonder if this means the market is in a bubble, most experienced Realtors who know the region understand that this trend will continue. The fact is that people with money want to live near the beach, or better yet, in ocean-front property. For this reason, the prices will stay high and continue to increase. Those considering investing in a Santa Cruz beach house do not need to wait for prices to drop. All that is going to happen in the future is an increase in interest rates and prices, so if you are considering purchasing, this is a good time to do it.
Purchasing a California beach house for yourself gives you your own private retreat. The beaches in the area are gorgeous - Sunset, Manresa, Rio del Mar, Seacliff, Capitola, Seabright, Cowell, Natural Bridges - to name a few! This is perhaps not surprising since they are one of the biggest draws of the area. People travel from across the country to visit this awe-inspiring area and spend time on the beach, and purchasing your own beach house gives you the chance to enjoy these beautiful beaches every day.
However, there is another benefit to purchasing a Santa Cruz beach house. Not only is it a great investment because of the potential resale value in the future, but you can also make an income from your home while you own it. If you don’t live in your beach house year round, you can rent it to vacationers when you are not using it. This provides you with residual income whenever you need it.
The fact is, tourists who are visiting the beaches of California want to stay in beach houses, and if you can offer one for lease, you can pocket a decent income. You can use the beach house as a vacation home, and then offer it for lease when you are living in your primary residence. You may even find that you get frequent renters who return to your property year after year.
If you have decided that ocean-front California residential property is a type of real estate that you wish to invest in, you will need the help of a qualified Real Estate agent. Because the Santa Cruz market is so unique, and also so lucrative, finding an agent who has experience in the area is essential.
Look for an agent with at least two years worth of experience and who holds certification from the National Association of Realtors. Talk to the realtor about your desires for your a beach area property, and see what properties he currently has available. By working with a professional with the right experience, you will ensure that you find a property at a fair market price.
Seb Frey is a Capitola, California Real Estate Broker specializing in Santa Cruz Real Estate. He is fluent in Spanish and enjoys helping people find their piece of the American Dream in Santa Cruz. You can find Seb’s blog at SantaCruzHomeBroker.com/blog.
