Small Business Finance » Real Estate

What the Case Shiller Index Reveals About Austin

Neo — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:49:28 +0000

What the Case Shiller Index Reveals About Austin. In 2009, Austin received was rated 2nd in the healthiest housing marketplace list according to an analyse conducted by Builder Magazine. According to the Builder Magazine, the list of healthiest cities was created on the basis of how great the cities were for people to live.

The list also took into consideration the existence of educational institutions as well as commercial districts. The 3rd aspect taken into consideration was that the city wouldn’t show any run-up in prices during a booming period. Austin showed it all and more and hence was ranked 2nd.

In the same year, Austin was rated #2 by Forbes in their “Top Ten Cities Where People are Relocating.” In a nut shell, this means that there were more people buying homes in Austin but by the end of the 4th quarter of 2009, it seemed as if the home sales were taking longer as compared to 2008. There are specific pockets or areas in Austin where the supply exceeded the demand and vice-versa. Some of areas in Austin also witnessed overselling of modest homes to sub-prime borrowers or investors. This is many ways is being looked upon as good news for the city but there are many people who still feel that Austin is on the verge of a severe downtown.

In an interview to Roselind Hejl (Coldwell & Banker), Steve Forbes the President and Chief Executive Officer of Forbes and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine said, “While I wouldn’t describe it as “another shoe to drop”, I’d say that from a national perspective, there is little sign that the housing market has bottomed yet. While there has been a slight uptick in existing sales that’s likely more the result of foreclosures, speculators and bottom fishers, than an actual pickup in demand. That said, any activity that effectively removes excess inventory is at least somewhat positive.”

According to the Case Shiller Index of housing prices, Austin market has been quite steady through 2009. In fact, Austin showed an overall increase of 2% in the median price as compared to 2008. Although, the Case Shiller Index of housing prices doesn’t monitor Austin markets, from time to time they do provide reports. Some real estate experts like Roselind Hejl believes that if the Austin market was monitored then it would show zero run up prices in 2009.

But why is Austin showing such a balanced market report? This is more so because most builders in Austin have stopped building new homes. Hence, the total number of home sales decreased in 2009 as compared to 2007. Apart from the builders, the sellers are also playing an important role in reducing the inventory. There are several homeowners who have simply pulled off their homes from real estate market listings. Each neighborhood of Austin show major variation in the number of properties available for sale.

The 2010 statistics show that, 170 homes have been sold in February and there are 6,926 homes on the listings including 1,088 foreclosed homes. Who knows 2010 might be a better market for Austin in terms of homes sales.

Checklist for Buying a Home

Neo — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:37:36 +0000

Buying a home can be one of the best feelings in the world. Nothing beats that feeling of security and satisfaction when you open the door to a new home and are happy with your purchase. The question is, how can you best ensure that feeling is going to happen? There are a lot of pitfalls in the real estate world and naturally you want to be able to avoid them and end up with a great home. Here are some great tips on how to streamline your home purchase and keep those little headaches from cropping up.

Enough cannot be said about being financially secure and aware. If you spend some time organizing your finances before making an offer the process becomes much less stressful. Take some time and research your credit history and find out if there are any outstanding issues or problems and get them taken care of. This can negatively affect your chances of getting a good mortgage, so it’s in your best interest to clear any credit issues up before the buying process starts. Most mortgage companies will offer you a pre-qualification, now this is nice to have but you are better off to take it a step further. Obtain a pre-approval for your mortgage. The pre-approval gives you an absolute number to work with. Not only does this make shopping for a home easier on you, but it gives you a significant amount of leverage in the actual sale.

The next logical step is to begin working with your realtor on finding homes that suit your needs. Let you realtor know what things you cannot do without and those things that you would like and let them come up with a list of fitting homes. During this time you can also research the available homes in your chosen area on the internet and find places that appeal to you. With this ammunition you and you agent should be able to view homes and properties with confidence and easily find a place that is agreeable to your needs, wants, and wallet.

Once you have located the perfect property, have an inspection done. This step cannot be stressed enough. Be wary of sellers who are willing to sell to others on the “no inspection” clause. This is never a good thing and much of the time they don’t want an inspection done for a reason. The inspection is extremely important step in ensuring your protection as the new owner. After all, this is going to be home right? Don’t ever sell yourself short.

Financing A Real Estate Investment

Neo — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:44:42 +0000

The benefits of financing a real estate investment in Maryland can’t be emphasized enough. Not only does it give you a massive tax benefit, it also eliminates your need for immediate cash and for sellers or lenders, it also creates a stream of income. And getting it is not very difficult. Most lenders know that they can earn a good amount of interest on the amount they lend. In case you are looking for a seller to finance your purchase, just tell him that you will pay him more if he waits. He’ll be game. However, this is not all, there are various other ways to get your deal financed.

An investor in Maryland can also look for private lenders to finance his deal. Though the investor might have to pay a rate of interest that is higher than what the banks ask for, but there will be lesser hassles.

The investor can also take over the existing loan, if any, against the property in Maryland while purchasing it. The investor must make sure than the all the previous installments are cleared. In this method, the investor does not have to shell out a down payment for the purchase of property in Maryland. The remaining payment for the purchase can also be made to the seller in installments.

What does an investor do when he has no cash and the seller is not ready to sell without it? The solution is pretty straightforward and simple. He mortgages some other property that he has. He might even try combining the equity of more than one property to arrange for the finance. However, the investor must take care that he mortgages his residential property and not the ones that are meant for investment. He will end up blocking them and might have a problem selling them when he plans to. An investor can raise all the cash he needs for a real estate deal in Maryland. He just has to be alert and look at all the options available.

A Good Buying Opportunity

Neo — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:07:49 +0000

If you are looking to move to a new state, Arizona real estate is definitely worth a look. Following is a primer of the state and the FSBO Arizona real estate market.

Phoenix. Phoenix is by far the largest city in Arizona and it is growing fast. The sixth largest city in the United States, Phoenix is the official and economic capital of Arizona. The city is growing at such a high rate that it has engulfed the accompanying towns of Scottsdale and Tempe.

If you want to attend sporting events, Phoenix has a nice selection. The city has professional baseball, basketball and football teams. Phoenix even has a professional ice hockey team, the Phoenix Coyotes.

If you are looking for warm weather, Phoenix is the place. During the summer, average temperatures are usually above the 100 degree mark without much humidity to speak of. Evenings can get cool during the winter, but day time temperatures remain in the 70′s.

Flagstaff. Unlike Phoenix, Flagstaff is a town that reeks of the more historic Wild West. Sitting on the famous Route 66, Flagstaff is a college town because of Arizona State University. If you like the feel of a college town, skip Phoenix and consider Flagstaff for your real estate needs.

Arizona Real Estate. Arizona real estate is very reasonably priced compared to other states. The average home price in Phoenix is in the low $300,000s. Arizona has, however, become a hot real estate market with home values appreciating over 25% in the last 12 months. If you prefer hot, sunny days, Arizona real estate may be a very good investment.

Low Income Housing Investments

Neo — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:34:05 +0000

Low income housing providers get a bad rap. Be ready to be called a slumlord if you invest in it. Much of what people call slumlording though, is simply providing reasonable housing for those with low incomes. It is of benefit to the renter AND the landlord.

Why Do People Rent Ugly Homes? Not so nice places are rented because they are affordable. When a house needs paint, has old rusty hinges on the doors, and a dirt driveway, it costs less to buy, and therefore can be profitably rented for less. In fact, anything major that the landlord does to improve it will result in higher rents, and possibly drive the renter away.

This often happens due to local regulation. When my own town enacted its first rental regulations, the fifteen pages of new rules required many landlords to spend money to upgrade their apartments and other rental properties. They included many non safety related requirements, like a minimum of windows, to allow natural lighting, bedroom square footage requirements, and no peeling paint or cracked plaster.

Regulations like these are done in the name of low income renters, but the result is always the same: higher rent. Combined with the regulations against mobiles homes, these laws force low income families to move further away from town and jobs. I mention all this to let you know that if you offer an ugly, but safe and affordable rental, you are providing a real service.

Why Low Income Housing Investments? When an average two bedroom house in a small town costs $130,000 and rents for $800, an old mobile home on a lot will probably cost $45,000 or less and rent for $500. The house costs almost three times as much, but the rent you get isn’t even doubled. In other words, the mobile gives you MORE CASH FLOW. That is why old houses, run down apartments, and mobile homes (on land) are such good investments.

Maybe you think you’ll have more risk and management problems with low income housing. Well, you’re right. Small repairs come up more often, and rent will be late more often, on average. But this is why you deserve a higher rate of return. I wouldn’t recommend investing in low income housing if you didn’t get a higher rate of return.

Let them call you a slumlord. Just treat your renters well, and make your places safe. Do these things, and you can enjoy a good return on your investment in low income housing.

How to Advertise For Your Property

Neo — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:42:07 +0000

Now as you be inflicted with resolute to advertise your property the top arises, how to advertise for your property so as to make the aptly response for it? To produce an public notice in one of the news epistle is very unadorned but previous to with the intention of we should understand with the intention of could you repeat that? Components must a skilled public notice be made of? What must be the basic organize pro it? What in rank is to be built in? What in rank is to be disqualified?

The basic mix public get on to while advertising for their property is with the intention of they try and include each doable in rank in this area their property as if the property is to be sold solely on the basis of this public notice. But such public notice will principal to decline the public notice response, as it is unable to call the attention of the person conception it. Equally it seems with the intention of as long as more in rank in the public notice the less significant would be the response to it. It is not so with the intention of you must not provide one in rank but at that time it must be chosen carefully. Equally public notice is to grab attention and produce u results in the form of visitors approaching you.

It is not doable pro the booklover to deal with all and each listed family in the newspaper, beyond doubt they are eliminating approximately of them. You are not suppose to be amongst eliminated one’s. You don’t be inflicted with to produce them one such opportunity.

There are particular factors to be considered while making an public notice for your property i.E. It must grab reader’s attention, must be able to influence their appeal, create a ask and compel them to take an proceedings. Now consent to us think it over these factors on an party basis:

To grab attention of a fastidious party looking pro such public notice you need to get on to them feel with the intention of this public notice relates their search. The simplest way to sort out this is start your public notice with mentioning the first name of the city or place your family is in. It’s very unadorned. If somebody wishes a place by such location will start conception your public notice.

Now since grabbing the attention is not all you need to capture their appeal too. The preeminent way to it is to provide approximately of the finance information as public are very much interested in this in rank, but in generally of the ads it is rarely mentioned to them. Now pro giving this in rank you can friend one of the bank or loan officers and ask them pro an estimate pro your property. They can surely provide you with a map you can refer to in your public notice.
You can furthermore bring up the mode of payment you would rather. Now to create approximately lofty ask you can take up again giving approximately clear stipulations like fenced back yard, fireplace… such stipulations makes a person feel skilled while conception your public notice.

Now could you repeat that? Exactly sort out u aspire the booklover to sort out? Certainly you aspire at that time to take approximately proceedings. Now to get on to with the intention of take place you need to provide them with approximately friend in rank. You can produce at that time the option pro calling you e-mailing you or if you be inflicted with a website they be agreed with the URL of your locate. The major responses occur commonly by as long as them with the touchtone phone digit as its makes the interaction straightforward pro the booklover.

How To Finance An Investment Property

Neo — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:18:53 +0000

The secret in real estate business is to use other peoples money. This is how most real estate tycoons are made. Unlike traditional residential real estate mortgages, real estate financing offers much broader financial options, including lending or financing from various financial institutions. Transactions like these call for above average negotiation skills.

Its not advisable to invest your own money in a real estate as for a few very important reasons. You tend to give most of your profits away by not leveraging your investment.

This is not to say that real estate investment is all about losses. On the contrary. if you know how to make money work for you, you may actually garner a great deal of money in return for your investment. Here is how.

If, for example, you purchase a $100,000 property that increases an average of 7 percent per year, you would see a net profit from renting your property resulting in an approximately 15 percent return.

If you are content with little return of investment, you might settle with your 15 percent return. But if you really want to earn on your investment, consider the possibility of what leveraging can do for you. At present, a typical real estate investor can find financing as high as 95 to 97 percent of the purchase price. There even some instances where you may be able to get a 100 percent financing but we won’t use this for our example as it’s an inadequate comparison.

So, if you’re are an investor who is already content with a smallreturn of investment then 15 percent sounds like a lot. But for those who really want to make it big in the real estate, 15 percent is far from being considered a noteworthy return.

How does leveraging work? Lets assume that the rental income will cover all your expenses, including the mortgage payments. Taking the same example, a 7 percent appreciation of your property results in a $7,000 profit per year. With a 95% financing in place, you’ll be able to get a $7,000 return on $5,000. This will provide you with a 140 percent return on your investment. Not only that, with the same $100,000 you can go out and purchase 20 investment properties, finance 95% percent of them, and make an amazing $140,000 profit a year. This totally beats the $15,000 profit with an all-cash transaction.

In terms of the additional 20 properties, expect to have a hard time getting financing for them since usually only five or six new rental property mortgages are the maximum that lenders presently allow. Which is why you need to have an above average negotiation skills.