Home ownership is touted as the greatest investment, and one of the biggest responsibilities, of a lifetime. So it's no surprise that the buying a home can seem overwhelming and confusing, especially for first time homebuyers. As you wade through the real estate lingo and legal paperwork, just keep a few key points in mind. By knowing what to focus on, you'll have more control over the entire process of buying a home.
Financial Concerns When Buying a Home
The loan amount you qualify for, and what you can really afford, may be two different things. Take the time to figure out what you can comfortably afford to payout monthly. Make sure you include lawn maintenance, household repairs, tools, and association fees in that number. You will be much better off getting less of a house, and still being able to maintain it, than buying a brand new home and letting it go to pot because you weren't aware of the true expenses of home ownership. The next step is to clean up your credit and get pre-approved, so that when you do find your dreamhouse you can move ahead.
Wants and Needs When Buying a Home
Spend some time thinking about your desires and future plans. Take a minute to mull over these questions about buying a home:
* How many rooms/space do you need? Will your family grow, or will you move again in a few years? * What's your ideal location? Do you want to be in a certain school district? Do you need to be near the city, or away from it all? How important is your commute time to your quality of life? * How important is a brand new house? Can you afford a fixer-upper (time and money)?Do you want a huge yard to care for? * What amenities do you need? How important is living in a close-knit community? * Where are you willing to make trade-offs, and which issues are non-negotiable?
Once you have an idea of what you want it will be easier to spot the right place, and to describe your ideal home to a real estate agent.
Found it? Inspect It! -Before Buying a Home
Do not, under any circumstances, neglect a good home inspection. When buying a home, the inspection can be the most critical step you take. A good inspector will look for mold, water damage, gutter damage, and ventilation issues. But the responsibility will rest on the person buying the home, that's you, to make sure that the inspector does a good job. Some red flags you don't want to see when buying a home are water spots on walls and ceilings, growth the walls, or water lines in basements. Water spots will indicate mold, and the basement growths indicate water damage.
Count on Someone You Trust When Buying a Home
Maybe your Dad has a dozen investment properties and will hold your hand through the closing process of buying a home. Maybe you ask friends to refer a competent real estate professional. However you go about it, just make sure that you understand the legal procedure of buying a home. You are making one of the biggest investments of your life, so you should feel confident and happy. Ask a lot of questions, and only work with a real estate professional who answer them fully and happily, and your experience buying a home will be rewarding rather than confusing.
About the Author
John Harris is a researcher and writer on applicable real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations. For more information please visit Escondido RealtorsB
Po shfaqen postimet me emërtimin sell house quickly. Shfaq të gjitha postimet
Po shfaqen postimet me emërtimin sell house quickly. Shfaq të gjitha postimet
e enjte, 14 qershor 2007
Real Estate Investing
If you're just getting into real estate investing, chances are you are looking at two basic options for mid-range residential property. You can either own the property indefinitely and rent it out at a profit or you can own the property for a short period of time, fix it up, and sell it for a profit. While both can be great approaches to real estate, some properties are not equally suitable for both.
Renting It Out: Renting out your property can be a huge moneymaker, but not for every property. For instance, if you have just bought a property that is in serious disrepair, you may not want to rent it out. It might be better to fix it up and sell it, because nobody wants to rent a property that is in serious disrepair. Furthermore, if you fix it up and then try to rent it, you now have to recover the initial payment on the property as well as the cost of renovation. That can take awhile, and can be recovered faster by selling the property.
Likewise, if you have just bought an expensive property which is in great shape, you may be better served to make some market-specific improvements and sell the property. People who can afford to rent expensive residential property are probably not looking to rent; they're looking to buy.
Finally, consider the area the property is in. Is it in a transitional area, where people tend to stay for five years or less and move on? If so, renting it out can be extremely profitable. Do something with the property to set it apart from the average property in the market and then list it at 120% of the market value, trumpeting the aspect of the property that sets it apart. In a market where everyone is stuck renting basically the same property, a little bit of color or flair can add a lot of value to a property.
Fixing and Flipping: The key to the fix it and flip it philosophy is to renovate the property to the extent that it is now marketable to a wealthier buyer without spending so much in the renovation process that the increase in value is negligible. This can be more difficult than it seems. First, major renovations can sometimes snowball out of control. What started as a $30,000 project can turn into a $60,000 project before you even know what hit you. Second, you need to know your market very well. You need to know that by investing $30,000 in the renovation of a property you can turn around and sell that property for (significantly) more than $30,000 more than you paid for it. This can be risky.
However, if you are confident that you know your market and can keep the renovation project under control, fixing and flipping a property can involve much less risk. Because you can make your money back in a shorter period of time than renting the property, unforeseen changes in the market are less likely to cause you problems. A faster turnaround should make for higher profits in the long run.
About the Author
Visit Automated Homefinder for all of your Boulder real estate needs.
Renting It Out: Renting out your property can be a huge moneymaker, but not for every property. For instance, if you have just bought a property that is in serious disrepair, you may not want to rent it out. It might be better to fix it up and sell it, because nobody wants to rent a property that is in serious disrepair. Furthermore, if you fix it up and then try to rent it, you now have to recover the initial payment on the property as well as the cost of renovation. That can take awhile, and can be recovered faster by selling the property.
Likewise, if you have just bought an expensive property which is in great shape, you may be better served to make some market-specific improvements and sell the property. People who can afford to rent expensive residential property are probably not looking to rent; they're looking to buy.
Finally, consider the area the property is in. Is it in a transitional area, where people tend to stay for five years or less and move on? If so, renting it out can be extremely profitable. Do something with the property to set it apart from the average property in the market and then list it at 120% of the market value, trumpeting the aspect of the property that sets it apart. In a market where everyone is stuck renting basically the same property, a little bit of color or flair can add a lot of value to a property.
Fixing and Flipping: The key to the fix it and flip it philosophy is to renovate the property to the extent that it is now marketable to a wealthier buyer without spending so much in the renovation process that the increase in value is negligible. This can be more difficult than it seems. First, major renovations can sometimes snowball out of control. What started as a $30,000 project can turn into a $60,000 project before you even know what hit you. Second, you need to know your market very well. You need to know that by investing $30,000 in the renovation of a property you can turn around and sell that property for (significantly) more than $30,000 more than you paid for it. This can be risky.
However, if you are confident that you know your market and can keep the renovation project under control, fixing and flipping a property can involve much less risk. Because you can make your money back in a shorter period of time than renting the property, unforeseen changes in the market are less likely to cause you problems. A faster turnaround should make for higher profits in the long run.
About the Author
Visit Automated Homefinder for all of your Boulder real estate needs.
How to Sell Houses Quickly
We're getting close to payday. The final step is to sell quickly. This is another topic that could be discussed for days.
I'm only going to cover wholesaling and lease/options. There are many other possibilities such as retailing and several different types of auctions, which are beyond the scope of this book.
You already decided how you were going to sell (your exit strategy) before you bought the property in the first place, right?
Wholesaling
If you bought a "junker" (an "ugly house' in need of repair) and followed the MAO formula, you can either wholesale it or retail it. You can wholesale it quickly for cash. You could make more money retailing it, but there is also more risk and it takes longer.
Wholesaling is nothing more than finding a bargain for a bargain hunter. In other words, selling the house to someone who is willing to do the repairs and retail the house. They'll be doing most of the work so they'll be making most of the profit. You'll pocket a healthy "finders fee" for discovering the deal.
If you choose this option, put an ad in the real estate section of your local paper. It should read:
Handyman Special Cheap, Cash 219-555-1212
You could put a website in the ad too, if you have one and your local paper allows it.
Other than that, DO NOT change the ad. Run it just as it is. The first and last lines of the ad are blank. It costs a little more, but it makes the ad stand out and draws more attention. The ad is proven over time to attract buyers.
Your asking price should be at or about MAO. If you followed the rules, you paid less than MAO (at least $5,000 less than MAO) so you should make several thousand dollars profit.
Your goal is to build a "buyer's list" for this and future "junkers". When the phone rings, prescreen your buyers.
Tell them you get deals like this often and ask if they'd like to be contacted as other houses become available. Get their contact information. Also ask if they can pay cash and close quickly.
Ask them to go see the house and get back to you quickly if they're interested. You shouldn't be showing houses.
When they call you back, ask how quickly they would like to close. The only acceptable answer is ASAP - no longer than 10 days. If they need more time than that, they're not a real buyer so move on. They're probably trying to tie up your property so they can wholesale it to someone else.
Get as much money as you can as an earnest money deposit. Then schedule the closing as soon as possible to get the rest of your money.
Oh, and you don't need any cash to wholesale a propertyâ�Ã,¦do you? You get the property under contract, and then find a buyer before you have to close. You can assign the contract to your buyer for the difference between his or her purchase price and yours. Pretty simple isn't it?
So there's a quick synopsis of wholesaling a junker.
About the Author
Robert Phillips is an expert on creative real estate investing. For real estate investing tools, tips, and resources on real estate investing visit http://www.how2investinrealestate.com
I'm only going to cover wholesaling and lease/options. There are many other possibilities such as retailing and several different types of auctions, which are beyond the scope of this book.
You already decided how you were going to sell (your exit strategy) before you bought the property in the first place, right?
Wholesaling
If you bought a "junker" (an "ugly house' in need of repair) and followed the MAO formula, you can either wholesale it or retail it. You can wholesale it quickly for cash. You could make more money retailing it, but there is also more risk and it takes longer.
Wholesaling is nothing more than finding a bargain for a bargain hunter. In other words, selling the house to someone who is willing to do the repairs and retail the house. They'll be doing most of the work so they'll be making most of the profit. You'll pocket a healthy "finders fee" for discovering the deal.
If you choose this option, put an ad in the real estate section of your local paper. It should read:
Handyman Special Cheap, Cash 219-555-1212
You could put a website in the ad too, if you have one and your local paper allows it.
Other than that, DO NOT change the ad. Run it just as it is. The first and last lines of the ad are blank. It costs a little more, but it makes the ad stand out and draws more attention. The ad is proven over time to attract buyers.
Your asking price should be at or about MAO. If you followed the rules, you paid less than MAO (at least $5,000 less than MAO) so you should make several thousand dollars profit.
Your goal is to build a "buyer's list" for this and future "junkers". When the phone rings, prescreen your buyers.
Tell them you get deals like this often and ask if they'd like to be contacted as other houses become available. Get their contact information. Also ask if they can pay cash and close quickly.
Ask them to go see the house and get back to you quickly if they're interested. You shouldn't be showing houses.
When they call you back, ask how quickly they would like to close. The only acceptable answer is ASAP - no longer than 10 days. If they need more time than that, they're not a real buyer so move on. They're probably trying to tie up your property so they can wholesale it to someone else.
Get as much money as you can as an earnest money deposit. Then schedule the closing as soon as possible to get the rest of your money.
Oh, and you don't need any cash to wholesale a propertyâ�Ã,¦do you? You get the property under contract, and then find a buyer before you have to close. You can assign the contract to your buyer for the difference between his or her purchase price and yours. Pretty simple isn't it?
So there's a quick synopsis of wholesaling a junker.
About the Author
Robert Phillips is an expert on creative real estate investing. For real estate investing tools, tips, and resources on real estate investing visit http://www.how2investinrealestate.com
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