Property Listing
Facts About Your Real Estate Listing Agreement - Home Selling Advice You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / Selling > How To Sell a House > Choose a Listing Agent > Facts About Your Real Estate Listing Agreement - Home Selling Advice Home & Garden Home Buying / Selling Essentials 10 Things Home Buyers Shouldn't Do Best Tips for First Time Home Buyers "Must-Do" Tasks Before You Sell How to Buy a Home, Step by Step For Sale by Owner Advice Articles & Resources How To Buy a Home How To Sell a House Celebrity & Historic Credit Reports & Scores Design & Remodel Home Maintenance Inspections & Appraisals Investing & Foreclosures Modular & Manufactured Mold, Radon, Lead, etc. Mortgage Advice Moving & Relocation Real Estate Careers Real Estate For Sale Vacation Homes Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Home Buying Books Foreclosure Books Mortgage Books Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Home Buying / Selling newsletter! See Online Courses Search Home Buying / Selling Stay up to date! Email to a friend Print this page Home Selling Tips 10 Steps You Should Take Before You Sell Passing Your Home Inspection Showing Your House to Home Buyers More About Home Selling How to Measure Residential Square Footage Understanding the HUD-1 Settlement Statement Handling a Home Buyer's Deposit Suggested Reading About Contingencies Buyer Possession Before Closing What Stays, What Goes? Related Blogs Mortgage Fraud Blog The Real Estate Blog The Money Pit Most Popular Modular and Manufactured Homes Finding Your Best Place to ... Home Buying Don'ts First Time Home Buyer Tips Before You Sell Your Home What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Related Topics Home Repair Architecture Credit / Debt Management Housekeeping Landscaping Real Estate Listing Agreements From Janet Wickell , Your Guide to Home Buying / Selling . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Listing Agreements Aren't all the Same If you are selling your home, and plan to list it with a real estate agency, what type of listing contract will you sign? There are three primary types of listing agreements and each one offers a different level of service, rights, and responsibilities for both the real estate agent and the home seller. Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement The Exclusive Right to Sell is the most commonly used listing contract. As its name implies, it gives the agency the exclusive right to sell your property. You pay a commission to the agency at closing no matter who buys the property, even if you find the buyer yourself. If an agency other than the listing ageny sells the home, the listing agency typically splits its total commission with the second agency. Exclusive Agency Agreement The Exclusive Agency listing contract also gives a specific agency the right to market and sell the property, but with one big difference—the seller retains the right to sell the property without paying a commission if he sells it to a buyer who was not introduced to the property by the agency. The listing agency shares its commission with another agency if the second agency brings a buyer. Open Listing In an open listing, no single agency has an exclusive on selling the property and the owner can sell it himself without paying a commission to anyone. A seller can sign an Open Listing with multiple agencies. If the seller does pay a commission, it's to the selling agency only. No commissions would be shared in an Open Listing scenario. Which Listing Contract is Best? Many agencies will only offer you an Exclusive Right to Sell agreement because it protects their investment. Good real estate agencies spend a great deal of time and money to market and sell their listings. It isn't worthwhile for them to sign an Exclusive Agency agreement, because it leaves you with the option of selling the house yourself at any time during the listing period—even after their marketing efforts are in full swing. There's also the question of which party truly introduced the buyer. Did the buyer come to you because she saw the agency's signs or advertising—and chose to bypass the agent? Sticking with an Exclusive Right to Sell solves that problem. Many agencies will sign an Open Listing, but don't expect any type of marketing from them. If they have a buyer they think might be interested, they'll show it, but they won't spend time and money to push a property that's listed by multiple agencies. More Articles for Home Sellers Things You Must Do Before You Decide to Sell The Importance of Curb Appeal Getting the House Ready to Sell Get Psyched to Show Your Home Should You Offer a Buyer Possession Before Closing? Important disclaimer information about this About site. Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Oprah's Life Vacation Ideas Shop Safely Online VIDEO: Craft Rooms VIDEO: Christmas Traditions What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews
Real Estate Investment
RISMedia - Residential Real Estate's Largest Independent News & Information Service - Immediate access to industry news,top real estate professionals,and the nation's most respected product and service firms real estate referral,real estate training,real estate education,real estate news articles information consulting expertise real estate professionals reference resources industry worldwide database national regional state real estate referral,real estate training,real estate education,real estate news articles information consulting expertise real estate professionals articles information consulting expertise real estate professionals reference resources industry worldwide database national regional state real estate referral,real estate training,real estate education,real estate news reference resources industry worldwide database national regional state real estate referral,real estate training,real estate education,real estate news Today's News Products/Services Article Search Events Feedback Login Real Estate Magazine Realtors/Services Power Broker Report Real Estate Leadership Power Broker Event Realestate Magazine Feedback Daily News Feedback Advertising Opportunities Feedback Other Feedback Today's Real Estate News Get our free News Feed Existing-Home Sales Trend Lower in November Sales eased 1.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.97 million units in November from a pace of 7.09 million in October More. Inverted Yield Curve Influences Mortgage Rates Fixed mortgage rates fell slightly this week, as long-term interest rates declined following a large decrease in new home sales More. NAR Provides Access to Updated Study of Emerging Legal Issues in Real Estate Study tracks historical data regarding more than 90 different legal liability issues faced by real estate professionals More. Pitching Property in the Blogosphere Real estate blogs rising in popularity at a time when the Internet is becoming more important in home-buying process More. Todays HOME Spun Wisdom New Years resolution: Adopting a healthy diet More. November Illinois Home Sales Nearly Even with Last Year Median Price at $202,000 Total home sales down less than 200 from the prior year More. 2005 California Housing Market Eclipses Previous Records Sales of detached, existing single-family homes are expected to reach 635,000 this year More. Housing Costs Up in Western Massachusetts Prices outside of the city are up much faster this year than in the Boston area More. NAR PULSE: NAR Welcomes Federal Guidelines on Specialty Mortgages The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS on Dec. 20 welcomed proposed guidelines from the federal financial regulatory agencies on specialty mortgage products that allow consumers to defer repayment of the home mortgage principal and interest. More. NAR PULSE: Terrorism Insurance Readied for President The U.S. House and Senate have reached agreement on extension of federal terrorism re-insurance for an additional two years, setting the stage for signing by President George W. Bush. The legislation increases the point at which federal backstop assistance kicks in from $5 million this year to $50 million in 2006 and $100 million in 2007, and creates the President's Working Group on Financial Markets (which includes the Treasury secretary and the Chairs of the Fed and SEC). NAR supported extension to ensure the availability and affordability of terrorism coverage, vital to the financing of commercial properties. More. NAR PULSE: New Resort Certification to Serve Growing Second-Home and Resort Market To better serve the growing second-home and resort real estate sector, a new certification for REALTORS called the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) will be offered by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. The new certification program was announced at the 2005 NAR Conference & Expo in San Francisco last October. More. Sedgwick CMS Holdings Agrees to Acquisition by Fidelity National Financial FNF will acquire company for $635 million More. RE/MAX Moves to No. 8 in Entrepreneur Franchise 500 Study Company moves up in ranking More. W.C. & A.N. Miller to Help Build a Town Town of Haymount will be new venture for Miller More. Millionaires Bank on Orange County, Calif., Homes At a time when half of all county homes sell for more than $600,000, one out of six crosses into seven-figure territory More. Todays HOME Spun Wisdom Looking for a good quote to add to your New Years toast? Here are some thoughts on ringing in the New Year from some of historys most notable quotable. More. Online Marketing: New Years Resolutions for Your Web Site Commentary by Israel Rothman More. Sharp Increase in Average Time Needed to Sell a Home: Survey 75% of respondents say homes in U.S. now taking more than 30 days to sell, up from 39% in second quarter; new sales data suggests more balanced market emerging More. Floridas Lake Worth Favors Industrial Park over Building Affordable Townhomes Leaders want seven-acre mobile home park to become part of growing industrial area More. Top Mistakes of Home Buyers and Sellers in 2005 Mistakes made in 2005 may help those looking to buy or sell in 2006 More. Home Buyers Put Faith in Concrete Recent hurricanes, higher energy costs cause for more concrete structures More. California Median Home Cost Up 16.2% But sales are down 11.2% compared with last year More. Training & Business Development: Final Four Days for $125,000 Deadline for Real Estate Apprentice is approaching fast More. Todays HOME Spun Wisdom For 2006, make one resolution as a couple. Here are some guidelines. More. State Home Sales Slide For the first time in 47 months, the median price of a home in two Santa Barbara County, California markets declined from its prior annual level More. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Author Launch the Great American Homeowner Challenge New Year's Eve Times Square 2006 celebration to kick-off campaign to inspire long-term financial success through homeownership More. List of Real Estate Training Courses for Real Estate Designations Updated Prominent real estate designations and certifications that are managed by an equally long list of real estate associations, institutes, councils and societies are now available for review in one spot More. MLSSoftware.com, RealBird Partner to Provide Map-Based Searching Services MLSSoftware to resell a branded version of RealBirds service to its clients More. Training & Business Development: The Magnificent 12 Four more industry leaders now in official judges lineup for Real Estate Apprentice More. Training & Business Development: Profiles in CourageThe Entrepreneur Agent The short cut to fearlessness More. Training & Business Development: Becoming 100% Invested in the Present Making the customer feel as though they are the only one is key More. Real Estate Continues as Prime Investment for 2006 Second consecutive year that industry has been one of the top investment choices in the survey More. Action Against Fraud Urged Jury calls for new $2 deed-filing fee to fund a new real-estate fraud prosecution unit More. Houston Home Sales Near Record Single-family home sales increased by 8.7% to 4,735 in November, up from last year's 4,357 More. Number of Homes for Sale Hits Nine-Year High in Orlando However, existing-home sales through November remained on pace to set a 13th consecutive annual record More. Todays HOME Spun Wisdom Hosting a New Years party? Here are some resolutions to think about to help you enjoy your own bash. More. Nations Strong Housing Market Seen Simmering Down in 2006 Economists: production will ease back next year to 2004s historically healthy levels More. Bankrate: Mortgage Rates in a Holiday Holding Pattern Average 30-year fixed rate mortgage dipped from 6.34 percent to 6.33 percent More. Most Homeowners Oppose Proposal to Replace Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Presidents tax reform panel would eliminate other consumer deductions More. ABN AMRO Mortgage Ranks Highest Among Primary Mortgage Lenders Highly satisfied customers refer their loan originator to others more than twice as often More. Todays HOME Spun Wisdom Regifting and exchanging 101some tips on the dos and donts of regifting More. Builders Take Steps to Curb Homes Sales Backlog of units becoming a problem for some companies More. Foreclosure.com Adds Content That Helps Subscribers Make Smart Property Decisions State-specific Foreclosure Laws and How to Buy Foreclosures offer helpful tips More. Weichert, Realtors Expands with Four New Franchises in New York and Massachusetts Company now has 31 opened affiliated offices and 11 company-owned offices in New York More. Prudential California Realty Launches Architectural Collection Division 15-year architecture and design expert to spearhead new division More. NAR PULSE: Historically Strong Home Sales Expected in 2006 The housing market for 2005 is headed for a fifth consecutive annual record, and sales activity in 2006 is expected to be the second best year in history. For more information, click here . More. NAR PULSE: NAR Launches RESPA Compliance Tools as Part of Awareness Campaign The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS has launched four new tools to help real estate professionals better understand and comply with the requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) as part of NARs RESPA Awareness Campaign. For more information, click here . More. NAR PULSE: New Resort Certification to Serve Growing Second-Home and Resort Market To better serve the growing second-home and resort real estate sector, a new certification for REALTORS called the Resort and Second-Home Property Specialist (RSPS) will be offered by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. The new certification program was announced at the 2005 NAR Conference & Expo in San Francisco last October. For more information, click here . More. Wealthy Americans Remain Confident Home Values Will Increase PNC survey finds fewer than one in 10 expect decline in value of their primary homes More. Housing Market Strengthens in November Record year for single-family home construction expected More. -- Current Issue Previous Issue Past Issues Reprints Realtor Solutions CURRENT ISSUE April, 2005 Past Issues -- Daily News Email Submit your email address to receive a daily news email from rismedia.com SITE SPONSORS Today's Profile Barbara Reynolds A Smooth Transition Poll Has your market become a buyer's market? Yes No Don't know Results Polls
foreclosure property Top List
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Real Estate at Post-NewsMarketplace.Com - Denver and Colorado Homes New Homes REALTOR ® Listings Mortgages Rentals/Apartments Find a REALTOR ® Mtn Homes Mortgages Moving › Place an ad › Site Map › Search › Contact us › Help › The Denver Post › Rocky Mountain News Price Range: 0 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000 150,000 175,000 200,000 225,000 250,000 275,000 300,000 325,000 350,000 375,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,500,000 1,750,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 10,000,000 11,000,000 TO 50,000 75,000 100,000 125,000 150,000 175,000 200,000 225,000 250,000 275,000 300,000 325,000 350,000 375,000 400,000 450,000 500,000 550,000 600,000 650,000 700,000 750,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,250,000 1,500,000 1,750,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000 9,000,000 10,000,000 11,000,000 Bedrooms (min): Bathrooms (min): any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 City any Agate Alma Arvada Aurora Bailey Bennett Berthoud Beulah Black Hawk Blue River Boulder Bow Mar Breckenridge Brighton Broomfield Brush Buena Vista Buffalo Creek Burlington Byers Calhan Cascade Castle Rock Cedaredge Centennial Center Central City Cherry Hills Village Clifton Coal Creek Colorado City Colorado Springs Columbine Valley Columbine Village Commerce City Como Conifer Copper Mountain Cotopaxi Cripple Creek Dacono Deer Trail Delta Denver Dillon Divide Dumont Eaton Edgewater Elbert Elizabeth Empire Englewood Erie Evergreen Fairplay Federal Heights Firestone Florissant Fort Collins Fort Lupton Foxfield Franktown Fraser Frederick Frisco Fruita Ft Lupton Genoa Glade Park Glendale Golden Granby Grand Junction Grant Greeley Greenwood Village Guffey Harstel Hartsel Heeney Henderson Highlands Ranch Hudson Idaho Springs Indian Hills Jamestown Jefferson Johnstown Keenesburg Keystone Kiowa Kittredge Kremmling Lafayette Lake George Lakewood Larkspur Leadville Littleton Lochbuie Loma Lone Tree Longmont Louisville Loveland Lyons Mack Mead Mesa Milliken Monument Morrison Nathrop Nederland Niwot Northglenn Palisade Palmer Lake Parker Pine Platteville Red Feather Lakes Rollinsville Rye Sedalia Shawnee Sheridan Silver Plume Silverthorne Simla Strasburg Superior Tabernash Thornton Twin Lakes Victor Ward Watkins Westminster Wheat Ridge Wheatridge Whitewater Winter Park Woodland Park OR ZIP code All Listings New Home Listings REALTOR® Listings Classified Listings Sunday Only All Classifieds Advanced Search > Click here to view realestate ads from the newspaper Horse Properties: Colorado's top livestock locations Select a Section Horse Properties Mountain Real Estate Golf Course Living Planned Communities Luxury Homes Lofts/City Living Affordable Living Built Green Homes Condos & Townhomes First Name: Last Name: Community: any Arvada Aspen Aurora Boulder Breckenridge Brighton Broomfield Buena Vista Capitol Hill Carbondale Castle Pines Village Castle Rock Central Platte Valley Cheesman Park Cherry Creek Cherry Hills City Park Commerce City Congress Park Copper Mountain Crested Butte Douglas/Elbert Counties Downtown Denver Durango Englewood Estes Park Evergreen Golden Golden Triangle Grand County Grand Junction Greenwood Village Gunnison Highlands Ranch Keystone Lafayette/Louisville Lakewood Littleton LoDo and Coors Field Longmont Lowry Park Hill Parker/Franktown Pueblo Silverthorne/Dillon Sloan Lake - Highlands South Jefferson County Steamboat Springs Telluride Thornton/Northglenn Trinidad Uptown Vail/Beaver Creek Wash Park / Bonnie Brae Westminster Wheat Ridge Winter Park Southeast Denver Featured agent Bonnie Dinofrio View My Listings Take a $3,000 Holiday Shopping Spree with Berkeley Homes Berkeley Homes, a Denver home builder, is making a list and checking it twice for the holiday gift of the season -- a $3,000 gift card from Visa. Whether you've been naughty or nice, contract on any Berkeley home now through Dec. 31, 2005, and receive a $3,000 Visa gift card, good virtually anywhere, at closing. Read More Hand picking a piece Hand picking a piece of the Point Ten years ago, builder Dave Morovitz was working half the day at Nick-n-Willys and dabbling with the other half in center-city fix-ups. That was when you could still buy a down-at-the-heels bungalow on Park Hill for less than $70,000. See story Planning To Move? Fill out one form - we do the rest! Please complete all fields Date: Select Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Select Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 Current Zip Code: Moving To: State AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY For Advertising Information, please call Dave Hiebeler tel: (303) 892-2985 dhiebeler@denvernewspaperagency.com Powered by Indigio
real estate investing Being
Getting real about real estate investing - Nov. 17, 2004 Web CNN/Money Buying & Selling Investment Property Home Improvement Million $ Life Financing Best Places Getting real about real estate investing Being a landlord can be profitable -- or a big headache. Take some advice from these investors. November 17, 2004: 4:03 PM EST By Jon Birger , MONEY Magazine. Additional reporting by Joan Caplin and Amy Feldman. NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - Successful real estate investors sometimes make what they do sound almost too easy. "Rentals freed me from ever having to get a job again," says Orlando Rodriguez, a 38-year-old San Antonio landlord who makes about $100,000 a year off the 90 apartments he owns. "I'm a high school dropout -- seventh-grade dropout, actually -- so my story should tell people this isn't rocket science." Yes, landlording isn't science (which is not to say it isn't often a lot of hard work), but if you're willing to put in the time and effort, buying and operating rental properties can pay off big. Try this math on for size: You purchase a $100,000 condominium with $30,000 down and a $70,000 mortgage. If the condo rents for $1,200 a month, your net profits -- after costs such as mortgage, maintenance and property taxes -- should be in the $2,000-a-year range. Conservatively invested, that sum should earn enough to pay off the entire mortgage within 14 years. You'd have turned $30,000 in equity into $100,000, even if rents didn't go up and property values didn't appreciate. Factor in 4 percent annual rent increases and price appreciation, and the property's net value to the owner would be closer to $200,000. A stock fund would need to return 15 percent a year for 14 years to beat that performance -- and funds don't give you any of the tax breaks that can come with being a property owner. The key thing to remember, though, is that buying rental properties is not for point-and-click investors. Even landlords who hire out the plumbing, painting and rent collection to contractors and management companies typically make a big time commitment. Rick Lionhardt of Dallas, a 55-year-old retired telecom worker, owns 33 properties with wife Helen, 49, a secretary. Even when he was working full time, Lionhardt says, he spent 70 to 80 hours a week on real estate. "I'd make calls during lunch and drive around at night looking for more things to buy." For the first-time landlord, there is plenty to learn -- about taxes, financing, dealing with difficult tenants -- and usually there are many mistakes to be made. The payoff can be terrific though, even for investors who own just one or two properties. Doing it right will get you extra income now and a valuable addition to your retirement nest egg down the road. What does "doing it right" mean? Read on for some key tips and secrets -- as well as pitfalls to avoid -- from successful investors who had to learn the hard way. Know how to take your market's temperature. When considering a rental property, your top concern should be whether you can make money renting it out now, not how much its price might appreciate in the future (although that's important too). All you're doing is speculating on real estate prices if you're shelling out more than you're taking in -- and that can be dangerous, especially if you're doing it with borrowed money. "You never want to buy a property where every month you have to feed it," says Neil Binder, co-founder of New York City's Bellmarc Realty. So before you buy, add up your projected property taxes, mortgage payments and maintenance costs, and make sure the total is less than your expected rental income. Experienced real estate investors say they generally look to pay anywhere from 45 to 85 times monthly rent for a property. That means annual rental revenue should be about 15 to 25 percent of the property's value. Finding places with those kinds of yields can be difficult. Take California, probably the most bubblicious market in the country. A condominium renting for $1,200 a month in Southern California sells for $350,000 today, according to veteran California real estate investor Bruce Norris. A $1,200-a-month condo in the Dallas/Fort Worth area can be had for $95,000. To a landlord, that's the difference between an annual return on investment of 4 percent vs. 15 percent. Mortgages and home equity loans Search for rates from hundreds of lenders. No points only Select Loan: Select a Mortgage 15 Yr Fixed Jumbo - $385K 15 Yr Fixed Conforming - $165K 30 Yr Fixed Conforming - $165K 30 Yr Fixed Jumbo - $385K 1 Yr ARM Conforming - $165K 1 Yr ARM Jumbo - $385K 3/1 Yr ARM Conforming - $165K 3/1 ARM Jumbo - $385K 5/1 Yr ARM Conforming - $165K 5/1 ARM Jumbo - $385K 7/1 Yr ARM Conforming - $165K ARM Jumbo - $385K State: Select State Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Washington DC Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming "The only reason you'd be a California landlord at today's prices is because you're expecting price appreciation," says Norris, who thinks prices in the state are due for a fall. "Monthly cash flow would be almost impossible to achieve without an enormous down payment." Another tool experienced investors use to measure the profitability of a market is price-to-rent -- that is, the ratio of median home price to annual rent for three-bedroom homes. The bigger the number, the less likely you are to make money as a landlord. California has a price-to-rent ratio of 25 these days, the highest in the country. Hawaii (23) is second from the top, and Massachusetts (19) is third. Far more inviting to investors are states like Delaware, Missouri, Texas and Vermont, where the price-to-rent ratios are 11 or 12. For more information on median home prices and market rents in your area, visit realtor.org and huduser.org . Find smart ways to cut your financing costs. Borrowing to buy real estate as an investment is more expensive than borrowing to buy a home. Lenders generally think they are taking more of a risk on buildings that the owner doesn't live in. Consequently, the interest rates they charge tend to be 0.5 percentage points or more above those for traditional home mortgages. Not only that, but borrowers need excellent credit scores to qualify for the lowest rates. In addition, the minimum down payment is usually 20 or 25 percent, instead of the 10 percent for standard home mortgages. There are a couple of ways around the higher rates and steeper down payments. To qualify for a traditional mortgage, you are required by most lenders to live in the property for a minimum of one year. But there's nothing stopping you from buying a home or a condo with a traditional mortgage, living in it for a year and then renting it out afterward. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Mortgages Personal Debt Real Estate Loan Markets or Create your own Manage alerts | What is this? If the down payment rather than the rate is the stumbling block, ask the seller whether he's willing to self-finance the mortgage. With owner financing, the buyer signs a promissory note in which he agrees to make his mortgage payments directly to the seller. In exchange for forgoing a down payment, the seller typically gets a premium rate -- 8 to 10 percent, perhaps. Why would a seller take the additional risk implicit in skipping the down payment? "It's a lot faster to sell a house owner-financed than conventionally," says San Antonio landlord Rodriguez. (There are also brokers who buy owner-financed notes from sellers who want their money up front.) Click here to learn about interest-only mortgages and some of their advantages. Learn to take advantage of the many tax breaks. For tax purposes, what you make in rent is generally taxable as regular income. Real estate taxes and mortgage interest on an investment property are fully tax deductible though. Operating expenses such as utilities, insurance, repairs and condominium common charges are also deductible. So are rental fees paid to brokers, although they must be spread out over the life of the lease. Even better, the federal tax code entitles rental-property owners to a depreciation deduction even though housing prices usually go up, not down, over time. (There are, however, numerous conditions and catches, which is why it is essential to consult a tax adviser before you invest a cent.) Anticipate problems (they will be numerous). Reliable, prompt-paying tenants do up and leave suddenly. Minor leaks have a way of becoming expensive repair jobs. That's why it's smart to line up inspectors and contractors before you buy. And why it's important to establish rainy-day funds. Two or three months' rent is usually -- but not always -- sufficient. Just ask Marla Renee, a 55-year-old semiretired hairdresser who owns six rental properties in the Detroit area. Five years ago Renee bought a run-down duplex for $28,000. She figured the house needed $10,000 worth of work, but three months later the tally was nearly three times that. "The last tenant had turned on the water on purpose and flooded the whole place," she says. "The floor, ceiling and walls were all messed up." Finally, don't skimp on fees should you decide to hire a management company to tend to your rental property. The typical fee is 5 to 10 percent of rental income. Experienced landlords say it's not worth it to be cheap: Property managers often work harder to fill vacancies and to maximize rent when they are better compensated. Put potential tenants under the microscope. Picking tenants may ultimately be the most important real estate decision you make. This is where listening to the voices of experience really pays off -- although you should be discreet about how you apply their lessons. Elderly people are better tenants than college kids, as everyone knows, but in many states, landlords acting on that type of common sense judgment would be running afoul of fair-housing laws. Michelle Bizik, 35, of Lake Ariel, Pa. owns two small apartment buildings with her husband Goran, 30. For the most part, they've had lots of success finding good tenants. They require potential renters to provide Social Security numbers, ostensibly for criminal and credit background checks (which are a good idea), but Bizik says it's more about renters proving to her that they have nothing to hide. She also checks references with employers and prior landlords. If prospects pass those tests, she and her husband always meet them in person. "I need to get a vibe off of them," she explains. These are all good ideas for screening tenants. Here are a couple more. When checking references, don't stop with the most recent landlord. Contact the second or third most recent as well. "The current landlord may just want him out of the property," says Ellis San Jose, a 39-year-old real estate investor from Los Angeles. Also, consider making an unannounced visit to the prospect's current residence. Marcia Glantz, a Coldwell Banker broker for 27 years in Yorktown, N.Y., says, "Explain that your house is important to you, and that you want to get a sense for how they live." Saying no can be tough when a vacancy is burning a hole in your wallet. Stay strong. The one time Michelle Bizik caved proved to be a big mistake. "We were both against him," she recalls, "but the apartment was empty and he was a friend of another tenant." Soon after the guy moved in, his pregnant girlfriend, five cats and two friends did too. And he was late with the rent. "All the tenants were complaining," Bizik says. "The hall smelled like cat urine. The music was so loud, tenants were calling me at 11 o'clock at night." The Biziks offered to pay him to leave. He declined, so they had to go through the aggravation and expense of having him evicted. Think about investing in REITs instead. If you want to buy into real estate but don't want to deal with all the headaches that can come with managing it, you may want to consider a real estate investment trust (REIT). These are publicly traded building-management companies that pass the bulk of their earnings on to shareholders in the form of hefty dividends. That makes them a great choice for retirees and other income-hungry investors. One catch is that REIT dividends are taxed at higher rates than regular corporate dividends. REITs offer several advantages over buying properties on your own. First, there are economies of scale: On a per-square-foot basis, REIT maintenance costs are much lower than those of most individual landlords. The management expenses of a typical REIT are only 0.5 percent of total assets under management, says Russell Platt, manager of the Dividend Capital Realty Income fund. Another plus is diversification, since REITs typically invest in many markets and sometimes different types of property -- residential, commercial and retail. And finally, there's liquidity: You can sell a REIT whenever you want, and your brokerage commission will be a drop in the bucket compared with the 6 percent charged by most real estate brokers. A conservative REIT bet would be Equity Residential Properties ( Research ), run by Chicago mogul Sam Zell. Equity Residential is the nation's largest landlord, which makes it something like an index fund for apartment buildings. Earnings have taken a hit lately owing to, among other things, the Florida hurricanes. But occupancy rates have been ticking up, and Equity Residential still offers a juicy 5.1 percent dividend yield. A more aggressive play is Archstone-Smith Trust ( Research ), an apartment building owner with a big presence in suburban Washington, D.C. and other East Coast markets. Archstone-Smith also has a dividend yield of 5.1 percent. The company has profits from condo conversions, and high occupancy rates, which put it in a good position to raise rents. And that's a very nice position for any landlord to be in. --* Disclaimer Try an issue of MONEY magazine - FREE! More on REAL ESTATE • How to buy and build on rural land • Most overvalued housing markets • When booms go bust... TODAY'S TOP STORIES • Most overvalued housing markets • Risks to the economy in 2006 • Which was the worst ad of all in 2005? CNN Money contact us | subscribe to Money magazine advertising -- | site map | glossary | RSS | press room OTHER NEWS: CNN | SI | Fortune | Business 2.0 | Time © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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