If you are buying or selling a home, the chances are good you struggle with the meaning of descriptive real estate terms. Here are explanations and definitions for more terms. "Shed Dormers"These are often seen in Dutch colonial style houses and are flat roofed dormers. Sometimes these dormers are single windows, but often they are two or three windows side by side with one flat roof."Blind Dormer Window"Sometimes builders construct fake dormer...more
As the real estate market cools, the profit potential of home ownership has cooled as well. Here's a strategy called "follow the builder."It is relatively easy to make a profit when you sell your home if the market is rising sharply like it has been in most of the country for the last three years. It becomes more difficult when a hot market slows down. It's very difficult to make a profit on the sale of your home when prices are falling. Is there...more
Rental property investment starts with finding the best deals. To do this, you can increase your odds by finding more deals. Who's more likely to get a cheap apartment building, an investor that looks through the MLS listings and calls it a day, or the one that uses ten resources? Here are those ten:1. Look in old papers to find "For Rent" ads. Call if they are a few weeks old. The landlord may be ready to sell, especially if he hasn't yet rented the units out.2. Look up old FSBO ads. Call on two-month-old "For sale By Owner" ads, and if they haven't sold, they may be ready to deal. Owners often give up the effort, but still would love to sell. Help them out!3. Drive around looking for "For Sale By Owner" signs. Owners often don't want to pay to keep the ad in the paper every week, so you won't see all properties there.4. Find abandoned properties. That's a pretty clear sign that the owner doesn't want to deal with the property. He might sell cheap.5. Talk. Let people know you are looking and sometimes the properties will come to you. There are a lot of owners out there who want to sell, but haven't yet listed their property.6. Talk to bankers. You might get a foreclosed rental...more
As the real estate market begins to calm down, many worry about making a profit on their homes. Here's an example of the "follow the builder" profit strategy.Follow That BuilderIn many areas of the country, there are builders who build hundreds of houses each year within a fifty mile radius of each other. They build entire communities, or are one...more
I didn't understand the concept of a real estate team at first, so I had a hard time with real estate investment. I tended to be a "lone wolf," trying to do too much myself. I have since learned that in real estate, you need a team of people you can trust and rely on. Here are some possible team members, and what they need to be on the team. 1. A...more
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 the big pay-off. You also lose all your income when a house is vacant.2. Fixer-uppers. Good points: Fast return on your investment, and it can be more creative work. Bad points: More risk (many unpredictables), and you get taxed heavily on the gain.3. Low income housing. Good points: Similar to any other rentals, but with higher cash flow. Bad points: Similar to any other rentals, but with more repairs and tenant problems.4. Selling rent-to-own houses. Good points: If you buy, then sell on a rent-to-own arrangement, you get higher rent, and the buyer is usually responsible for maintenance. Bad points: Bookkeeping can be tricky, and most tenants don't complete the purchase (this can be an advantage too, but it does mean more work for you).5....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...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...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...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...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...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