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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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DOE Building Technologies Program: Homes Search Help More Search Options Search Site Map Subject Index -- EERE Information Center Homes Building America Projects Your State Energy Office Energy Savers Website Home Energy Saver Tool Virtual Home Navigator Consumer Energy Information Efficient Windows Home Energy magazine Real Goods Ways to Save Use a programmable thermostat to control the heating and cooling in your home Compare your energy use against the national average Conduct a home energy audit to determine the largest savings potential Install energy efficient lighting such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) Hire a professional to help you insulate and repair your ducts Need help lowering your energy bills? As many as 30 million low-income families in the U.S. are eligible for home weatherization help. Visit the Weatherization Assistance Program web site for information Homes Use Energy Like It's Going Out of Style The typical U.S. family spends $1,300 a year on home energy bills, and some of that energy is wasted. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning units are inefficient, windows leak conditioned air, and appliances devour energy. This is money out of your pocket, and it's bad news for the environment—electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. Building Energy-Efficient New Homes New home construction presents an opportunity to incorporate energy-saving features right from the start. Across the nation, savvy homeowners and home builders are demonstrating that energy-smart building choices can help homeowners save on energy bills and, at the same time, give homebuilders a competitive advantage. The Good News? Well, maybe using so much energy—especially in the form of fossil fuels—is going out of style. Homeowners and renters know that saving energy means saving money, and they're realizing that it does not mean sacrificing functionality. There are many things you can do to save energy, ranging from long-term investments to simple no- or low-cost changes. In fact, simple adjustments—like letting your dishes air dry—add up to significant savings. Looking for long-term savings? Because we use-and waste-energy in so many ways, there are plenty of options for cutting back. If you replace 25% of your lights in high-use areas with fluorescents, you can save about 50% of your lighting energy bill. In the market for a new appliance? Invest a little extra money in an energy-efficient product and save more money in the long run. If you're building an addition to your home, double-paned windows and proper insulation will reduce your heating and cooling costs, and strategically placed windows will provide daylighting. From water heating to landscaping, most areas of your home offer opportunities to save. But we will always need energy, and that's why many homeowners are turning to renewable energy sources for a cleaner, more sustainable choice. This can mean investing in solar panels to supply your home's electricity or purchasing a solar water heater. It can also mean installing ground source heat pumps that use the heat of the earth to moderate the temperature of your home. In many areas, utility companies offer clean energy options such as wind power. And that's not all. While you're at the business of saving money, you'll help reduce dependence on fossil fuels, which increases domestic security. You'll also help the environment. In 2000, residences accounted for 20% of U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions—that's 313.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. Saving energy also goes hand in hand with other sustainable choices, like saving water and using more friendly materials and products, like paint, carpet, and cleaners. This is good news for the environment, but it also improves the health of your home, so you can breathe easy. So, where to start? A home energy audit will help you determine what changes will save the most energy and money. If you'd like an overview of energy use in homes, check out the Virtual Home Navigator . Energy Savers is full of useful tips for saving energy, and Home Energy Saver allows you to plug in specific information about your home to find out where you have the most potential for savings. By now, chances are you've come up with a much better way to spend your money than sending it out your single-paned window. A college savings fund, perhaps, or a water-saving clothes washer? Or how about that vacation you've been dreaming about? Printable Version Webmaster | Security & Privacy | Building Technologies Program Home | EERE Home U.S. Department of Energy Content Last Updated: 07/08/2004

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Chase.com Home Page ")} else if (document.all){document.write("")} else {document.write("")}//-- About Us Careers Contact Us Find Us Privacy & Security Site Map Search Individuals Small Business Advice & Planning Customer Center Company Sites Corporate & Institutional Private Banking Shareholders Career Seekers Press Community & Culture Individuals Customer Center Small Business > Products & Services · Online Services · Credit Cards · Checking · Home Equity · Savings · Mortgage · CDs · Auto Finance · Investments · Insurance · Education Lending · More > The Best Chase has to Offer Banking, investing and exclusive benefits for clients with higher balances. Online Services Bank, invest, pay your bills, and shop onlineall in one place. -- > Need Help? Locate a branch or ATM, contact us, download forms and get theanswers you need. Advice & Planning > Meet Your FinancialGoals Buying or renovating a home? Planningfor Retirement? Banking Hotline > U.S. Armed Forces Overseas Please contact us if you need assistance with your Chase or Bank One accounts. > Manage Your Business Financial solutions for companies & not-for-profits with annual revenues up to $10 million. Commercial Banking > Products and Services Financial services for organizations with annual revenues ranging from $10 million to $2 billion. Mortgage Lending > Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Chase's commitment to fair lending & outreach to its communities, and information about HMDA. Highlights@Chase -- Access My Accounts -- View accounts, pay bills and more with Chase Online SM . User ID: Password: > ID & Password Help -- -- > Other Online Services Home | JPMorgan | JPMorgan Chase Terms & Conditions © 2005 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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Home Equity and Line of Credit- home-equity.Interest.com. Compare current home equity interest rates for home loans Compare Equity Rates | Equity Trends | Loan Calculators Begin by selecting your state and type of program. Select a State Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico New Jersey New York North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Select Loan Type Home Equity Loan Home Equity Line of Credit Improving Your Financial Literacy Source: Bank News - Dec 29, 03:08 AM As part of a nationwide survey of more than 1,300 homeowners conducted in August and released recently by Wells Fargo, respondents were questioned about their financial behaviors and attitudes regarding interest-only loans, the housing market and retirement planning.The WeUs Fargo second Annual Survey of American Homeowners found that of the 8 percent of homeowners with interest-only real estate- secured accounts, a 73-percent majority pay both the principal and interest at least some of the time. Read More... New-Home Sales Took Tumble in November Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution - Dec 27, 02:13 PM Dec. 24--Sales of new houses took an unexpected dive in November, falling to the slowest pace in a year and adding to evidence that the six-year real estate boom is ending. Home sales were down 11.3 percent from October, median and average prices were not much changed from a year ago, and the pool of unsold homes continued to swell, reaching a record 512,000. Read More... Warning on Interest-Only Mortgages Source: Buffalo News - Dec 23, 07:32 AM The Federal Reserve and other bank regulators said interest-only and other nontraditional mortgages pose a threat to the financial system and urged the nation's banks to tighten lending standards.Lenders are also letting home buyers fund down-payments with home-equity loans in what the industry dubs "piggyback" financing. Read More... Reverse Mortgage Could Help Senior's Finances Source: Cincinnati Post - Dec 21, 05:11 AM If anything defies the adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," something called a reverse mortgage might be it -- especially for older homeowners who find themselves struggling financially while sitting on a big pile of home equity.If you own your home and are at least 62, a reverse mortgage might allow you to get your hands on that equity and continue to live in the home with no requirement to repay the loan as long as you stay there. Read More... How to Be an Armchair Economist Source: The Seattle Times - Dec 20, 02:01 PM Dec. 20--The housing market is likely to cool, but not collapse. And though continued high energy prices may depress consumer spending, sustained business investment should counterbalance that. Read More... Options on Taxes Invest in Income Source: Augusta Chronicle, The - Dec 20, 01:38 AM WASHINGTON - In presenting President Bush with two options to streamline the tax code, his handpicked advisory panel promises that most taxpayers can expect to pay Uncle Sam about what they pay today. Even though Mr. Bush and Congress will change the panel's plans, it's worth looking at the winners and losers the two options would create. Read More... 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Texas Land Trust Council Bulletin Board Maincontent Local Navigation print friendly search Regulations Publications Outdoor Learning Kids Game Warden Grants Get Involved Shop FAQ Calendar Español Experience Texas Fishing & Boating State Parks & Destinations Hunting & Wildlife Land & Water Doing Business Home Land & Water Land Private Tltc Bulletinboard Texas Land Trusts About Texas Land Trusts Starting a Land Trust Texas Land Trust Directory Foreword Listing Regional Index About the Texas Land Trust Council ( TLTC ) TLTC Board of Directors and Honorary Council News 2004 TLTC Conference Speech Bulletin Board TLTC Publications Land Trust Resources Texas Land Trusts Top 1-Million Mark in Acres Conserved Download the TLTC July 2005 E-Newsletter as a Word file here. Conservation Development Symposium Hosted by The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center Austin, Texas August 19th, 2005 The Symposium will feature profitable, ecologically sound approaches to developing land. For more information, Contact Stephen Brueggerhoff or call 512-292-4200, ext. 112 Conservation Easement Guide Now available online (0 B ) and in paperback! contact Carolyn Vogel for your copy The Family Land Heritage Program of the Department of Agriculture honors farms and ranches that have been in continuous agricultural operation by the same family for 100 years or more. To learn more or register your property, visit the the Family Land Heritage Program 2006 Southwest Land Trust Conference San Antonio, May 4-6, 2006 La Quinta Inn Convention Center San Antonio, Texas Join 250 land trust practitioners, agency professionals and conservationists from throughout the Southwest! - More information to come - If you have an upcoming event you'd like posted on the TLTC Bulletin Board: Please contact Carolyn Vogel at (512) 389-4779 or e-mail her at the Land Trust Council. Contact Us | Help | Accessibility | Media | Site Policies | Complaints | Intranet | State of Texas | TRAILS Search | TexasOnline | Compact with Texans Texas Parks and Wildlife Department , 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744 Toll Free: (800) 792-1112, Austin: (512) 389-4800 Content of this site © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department unless otherwise noted. Last modified: August 5, 2005, 8:50 am