real estate investing isnt

MSN Money - The real risks of investing in real estate MSN Home Hotmail My MSN Sign In Money S earch MSN Money: Help Home News Banking Investing Planning Taxes My Money Portfolio Loans Insurance Investing Home Portfolio Markets Stocks Funds ETFs Commentary Brokers CNBC TV MSN Money Insight Jubak's Journal SuperModels Start Investing Strategy Lab Company Focus Mutual Funds Street Patrol Other Views Contrarian Chronicles TheStreet.com Resources Commentary Index Decision Centers Start Investing Mutual Funds Find Hot Stocks Simple Strategies Power Tools Investing For Income Real Estate Related Links Expert Picks Market Dispatches CNBC Stock Picks Message Boards Print-friendly version Send this to a friend Research any REIT Find top-performing mutual funds Sortable database of SEC filings Find stock winners with our screener Personal finance bookshelf Find It! Article Index Finance Q&A Tools Index Site Map The Basics The real risks of investing in real estate advertisement With prices soaring, real estate looks tantalizing -- but the margin of error is shrinking. Forget the get-rich-quick plans. Pay attention to the numbers. By Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine For Derrik Dyka, the biggest obstacle to successful real estate investing isnt a meltdown in property values or tenants who wreck an apartment or dont pay their rent. "Its overconfidence," says Dyka, a 34-year-old Minneapolis investor who turns old apartments into new condominiums. If youre expecting to cash in on the 21st centurys first gold rush without breaking a sweat, it would be wise to take Dykas words to heart. The margin of error for making money in real estate is closing fast. Its not surprising that real estate tempts so many Americans today. Over the past five years, home prices have soared and rags-to-riches tales abound. But so much real estate has become so expensive that Real Estate Research Corp. in Chicago reports that many real estate pros say now is a better time to sell than buy. As San Diego real estate investor Chuck Wise observes about the area where he operates, todays buyers are like "lambs being shorn." Start investing with $100. Explore our new ETF center. Of course, that doesnt mean that all deals are doomed to fail. But it does mean that its time for would-be investors to pay more attention to the perils of owning property, not just the potential profits. Watch your cash flow The most common entree into real estate investing is the single-family house. Investors bought almost one-fourth of all homes sold in 2004, according to the National Association of Realtors. If youre one of those buyers and your income from that property (after taxes) exceeds your expenses by $100 or $200 a month, youre in good shape. But because prices and property taxes are so high in many areas, and theres so much competition for attractive rental properties, its increasingly difficult to find deals that generate enough income to more than cover your expenses -- whats called positive cash flow. In areas such as the leafy suburbs of New York City and Boston, where a modest three-bedroom house can easily cost $600,000, theres no way you can collect enough rent to cover the steep property taxes and payments on a $500,000 mortgage. Figure monthly out-of-pocket expenses of more than $3,000, if not $4,000. The pool of renters who will pay that much is small. Related news and commentary on MSN Money • Nothing quick about getting rich with real estate • Do you have what it takes to be a landlord? • Don't bite off too much house • How to find a good investment property • 7 creative ways to buy your first house • Decision Center: Home financing So be ready to set your sights lower and get your hands dirty. Instead of a well-located home in pristine condition, look for a fixer-upper off the beaten track for maybe $150,000 that you can rent for $1,000 a month. The numbers work if youre willing to spend weekends, say, painting the walls and, if youre capable, making repairs that would otherwise require professional help. The hidden profit from home improvements is why "ugly real estate often makes more money than the nice stuff," says Kelley Pace, head of Louisiana State Universitys real-estate research institute. Mind the cap You can quickly figure out whether a house or condo is likely to generate positive cash flow. For more complex properties, such as a small office building or retail space, check the cap rate, a single number that can tell you if youre overpaying. The cap rate -- cap is short for capitalization -- is a propertys net operating income as a percentage of its price. The figure is real estates version of a bond yield. If a property sells for $500,000 and generates net income of $50,000 (rents minus expenses), the cap rate is 50,000 divided by 500,000, or 10%. The lower the cap rate, the more you pay for each dollar of annual income. In 2000, the average cap rate on commercial property in the U.S. was 10%. Since then, because of relentless price appreciation, the average cap rate has sunk to 8%. That alone suggests that wringing further gains out of commercial property is unlikely. If you want to invest in a commercial property, aim for a purchase price that results in a 10% cap rate. But remember that the cap rate also depends on how much you collect in rent. Ask the broker for details about the tenants leases, including how rents compare with those of other nearby properties and when the leases are up for renewal. The property should come with an information packet that is more like a stock prospectus than a real estate agents fact sheet on a single-family house. If necessary, hire a property inspector. Then take all the information to a lawyer who specializes in real estate. If you have any doubts about the property, walk away. Page 1 of 2 Story continues on next page Fund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. © 2005. All rights reserved. Quotes supplied by ComStock , an Interactive Data company. MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances. © 2005 Microsoft MSN Privacy Legal Advertise Feedback Help

real estate investment course

** Real Estate Investment ** Foreclosures : Real Estate Investing Course : Foreclosure Information site map Buy Foreclosures - $0 Down Make $5,000-$50,000+ in 45 Days. FREE Foreclosure & Bank Lists included. Click Here Learn How To Make A Fortune Investing in Real Estate Foreclosures! Literally tens of thousands of homes and properties are facing foreclosure. More than 1% of ALL residential property in the United States today is already in, or facing mortgage foreclosure soon. With a staggering 1 million plus homes being foreclosed on any given day, opportunities for buying low-cost real estate foreclosures are plentiful. Every day, smart investors are amassing vast fortunes buying bank foreclosures. Real estate investing is undoubtedly one of the quickest, yet safest way to create enduring, financial wealth. Once you combine methods used by professionals with a proven investment strategy, you have a winning plan to create affluence for yourself. For the prepared individual, foreclosures give rise to circumstances for profit. Buying our ebook course gives you the essential, insider information to acquire a foreclosure home safely and earn considerable profits from any distressed property situation. Foreclosures: Opportunity For Investment There are 3 distinct windows of opportunity for foreclosure investment, each having its unique advantages and degree of risk - pre-foreclosures, real estate auction / sheriff sales and bank owned REO properties. Learning where to find foreclosures, when and how to buy them, the best foreclosure stage for investment, how to research titles, as well as deciding if a property has potential for profit are all critical to success. Our real estate investment course discloses everything you need to know to purchase foreclosure property successfully and profitably. Free Foreclosure Information & Consultation Got a question about buying foreclosures? Purchase our foreclosure course and receive crucial information direct from real estate investor / author Steve Maletos. Steve knows the strategies and shortcuts which can make you successful.Besides getting a complete investment system, you also gain a mentor at no extra charge! Steve's unlimited support and consultation is available only to students of his foreclosure course. Get FREE foreclosure consultation Locate Bank Foreclosures Bank owned, or real estate owned homes (REO) represent one of the safest methods of purchasing foreclosures, especially since their property titles are practically always guaranteed. Whether seeking safe investment opportunities, or a low price home residence, you can find bank foreclosure listings now. Hard Money Lender Source Foreclosure investing for most people will require funding. Included in both the CD-Rom and printed book version of our foreclosure courses, we provide private investor fund sources (with full contact information) who will loan investment money. We can also present your loan application to an exclusive list of hard money lenders . These are short term loans evaluated on an individual basis of property improvements and merit. Tell A Friend! Let your friends know about our Foreclosures Course materials! (or as a reminder to yourself) Testimonials Make Money in Real Estate Investment Affiliate Program Foreclosure Laws Industry Resources Foreclosure Listings Site Map Foreclosed Properties Steve Maletos Investor Mentoring Privacy Policy Real Estate Investor Loans

Home Mortgage

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Sell House

Boston.com / Real estate Buying Renting Recent sales Place an ad Luxury Living Community data Financing Commercial Moving Guides How to solve appraisal problems By Inman news MORE Having an appraisal done on your home is essential, whether or not you plan on selling. Loan calculators NEWS LINK NEWS LINK RESOURCES For Sale: Homes | Condos | Open Houses For Rent: Apartments | Houses | Roommates Vacation rentals Place an ad: On Boston.com | In the Globe Commercial: Search listings for sale or rent An appraisal is a dispassionate, third-party estimate of the value of a piece of property. It can either give you peace of mind by affirming your offering price or it can put the kibosh on a transaction entirely. As part of your loan application, you will pay for your lender (typically $200 to $400) to order an appraisal to estimate the current market value of the home you want to buy. You may also opt to hire an appraiser yourself before you make an offer to help you determine the price you bid on a house. Lenders require appraisals before they will approve and fund a loan in order to ensure that the home is worth the amount of money you are asking for. While most appraisals match up with what buyers want to borrow, some do not, which can send a lender backing out of your loan commitment. Understanding how real estate appraisals and appraisers work can help you deal with the consequences. Why do appraisals go awry? Most appraisal problems boil down to two things: incomplete information on the property or incompetence of the appraiser. Incomplete information often comes with the appraisal territory. All appraisals must conform to guidelines set by the Federal Reserve, but ultimately every appraisal is a subjective analysis of a property's current market value. To arrive at that number on your house, an appraiser will compare your house with that of three comparable homes in the area that have sold within the past six months and adjust for differences in the properties. They will photograph, measure and inspect the home (do NOT consider this your home inspection, however) to help them make their comparisons. But true market value can be difficult to ascertain in markets where prices are volatile and properties widely vary. Incompetence in the field can cause appraisal problems, too. Not all real estate appraisers are created equal in terms of licensing and education. While federal licensing requirements for everyone are being phased in, only about half the states currently require appraisers to be licensed, though most states do require appraisers to pass a written examination and have 75 hours of continuing education and 2,000 hours of direct experience. Inexperience can be a big culprit in a problem appraisal, so can downright incompetence. Boosting the appraisal A lender probably will reject your loan application if the appraisal of the property comes back lower than the asking price. But you can fight a low-ball appraisal. Here's how: Get a copy of the appraisers report. You can successfully argue to raise the estimated value if you show that the report overlooks a valuable feature of the home or failed to consider the recent sale of comparable property for a higher price. Take your case to your loan representative. The lender can override the estimate or order a new report from a different appraiser. Try to renegotiate with the seller. The seller may be willing to accept less than you originally agreed to pay in order to avoid the time and cost required to cancel the sale and put the house back on the market. Increase your down payment. The lender may be willing to overlook a low appraisal if you put more money down. Find a good appraiser Ask your lender for the names of appraisers they know, trust and have on their list of approved appraisers. You also can check with one of several national appraisal organizations for names of local appraisers who are members in good standing. Look for an appraiser who can do your appraisal in a timely manner and who has experience in the area you want to buy. This can help speed things along, and assure you of an accurate appraisal. TIP: If you do choose an appraiser from your lender's list to check out a house, and you end up making an offer, you may not have to pay again for the required loan-application appraisal. Quick Take If you have any question about the value of the house you are bidding on, add an appraisal contingency to your purchase offer. This provision stipulates that the property must appraise for at least the purchase price you're offering. If the appraisal comes in lower, you can back out of the deal or renegotiate price. feedback | help | site map | advertising | globe archives | rss © 2006 The New York Times Company Real Estate Guide - Massachusetts Home Builder - New Home Construction

Rental Property

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