New Homes Utilities/EEPS Service

Builders, Raters, Sponsors, & Lenders of New Homes : ENERGY STAR What is ENERGY STAR? | Newsroom Search Manufacturers Retailers Builders, Lenders, Raters & Sponsors of New Homes Utilities/EEPS Service & Product Providers Businesses Small Businesses Congregations HVAC Contractors PRODUCTS HOME IMPROVEMENT NEW HOMES BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT PARTNER RESOURCES -- Home > Partner Resources > Builders, Lenders, Raters & Sponsors of New Homes -- -- Builders, Raters, Sponsors, and Lenders of New Homes IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: EPA Releases Final New Guidelines for ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes What are ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes? Homes built to strict energy-efficiency guidelines using tried-and-true technologies and construction practices. Benefits of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Increased profits, customer satisfaction, and recognition, all while helping the environment. Builders , Raters , Utilities/Sponsors , Lenders , Other Partnering with ENERGY STAR Step-by-step guidance to help you capitalize on your ENERGY STAR partnership. Builders , Raters , Utilities/Sponsors , Lenders , Other Tools and Resources Logos, marketing examples, fact sheets, training presentations, a locator for finding other partners, incentives, and more. News and Policies Find out what's new, apply for an award, or examine program policies. Quick Links Partner Resources Partnership Agreements 100% Builder Commitment 2005 Outreach Partnership Homes Online Submission Tool Local/Regional Resources Partner Locator Regional Web Sites Marketing Resources Lender Resources Achievement Report ENERGY STAR Logos Advanced Lighting Package Sales Toolkit HomeCalc Brochures Presentations Customer Fact Sheets Technical Resources Indoor Air Package Builder Option Packages Manufactured Housing Guides Systems-built Housing Guides Revised Sampling Policy Do Even More with ENERGY STAR: Lighting Advanced Lighting Package Appliances Heating & Cooling Indoor Air Quality Kitchen Products | Home Improvement | New Homes | Business Improvement | Partner Resources Newsroom | Privacy | Contact Us | Site Index EPA Home EPA Search DOE Home DOE Search

Foreclosure Property Searches -

Real Estate Software Directory:FederalHomes.com Online Foreclosure Property Searches - Nationwide Merged Home Contents Introduction Category Index Software Index Company Index Get Listed Software Companies: To add your software to our directory, please click here . Real Estate Software Directory: Foreclosure FederalHomes.com Online Foreclosure Property Searches - Nationwide Merged Price: $19.95 Upgrade: Current version: 0.0 Year released: 2003 Year updated: 2003 Copies sold: 1,000 - 9,999 Documentation: • on-line help Computer operating systems: • Web based • Subscription Based Foreclosure Search Service Description: Where does the property information come from? The data contained in the FederalHomes.com Database comes directly from the lending institution that foreclosed the mortgage or trust deed relating to that property. We do not solicit real estate agents, brokers or Realtors for property listings. Property information sources include: banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies, credit unions, savings & loans, auction companies, asset management groups, consumer finance organizations, FDIC, SBA, GSA, HUD, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and various housing authorities. How is the listing information collected? FederalHomes.com is constantly receiving foreclosed property information from lender sources. The listing information is received manually and electronically. New properties are entered into the database and sold properties are removed. We do not maintain any foreclosure information reported more than 60 days ago. Almost every lender has different methods of reporting distressed property information. This is also true for government and state agencies and local housing authorities. Some report new information daily, some weekly, and some monthly. Are these properties available now? The properties listed in the FederalHomes.com database have been through the auction process and are owned by the foreclosing lender. These properties are now available directly from the lending institution and/or its marketing agent. Contact information for the lender and its agent, along with detailed property descriptions are available to members of FederalHomes.com. What types of properties are contained in the listings? Lenders foreclose mortgages and deeds to every type of real property imaginable. This includes: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Land, even Golf Courses and Theme Parks. Property Types include: single family homes, town homes, condos, co-ops, multi-family units, rental & income properties, apartment buildings, offices, hotels, motels, retail, restaurant, mobile homes, vacant land, and more. What details are included with the listings? Some lenders report more detailed information about their property listings, some report less. We tell you everything the lender told us about the property, nothing is held back. Listing details include: state, county, city, address, asking price, listing agency, listing agency contact name, listing agency phone number, agent contact, agent phone number, property type, size/square footage, bedrooms/bathrooms, year built, number of acres, comments and more. How often is the database updated? Our database is updated every Monday (excepts holidays). The properties have been reported as "available" from the foreclosing lender within the last 60 days. How do I find the properties I want? All foreclosure listings in the FederalHomes.com database are organized by State, then County. Each County displays foreclosure listings by City, alphabetically. Single Family Residential listings are displayed first by City, with the newest bank owned properties listed first, followed by the newest government property listings. Multi-Family Units and Commercial listings are also displayed by City, alphabetically, and follow the Single Family Residential listings in each county. Commercial properties are sorted and displayed just like the Single Family Residential listings. What does "Resid" and "Resid Unit" mean? Sometimes the foreclosing lender doesn't tell us whether the property is a single family home, a town home, condo or co-op, but we do know that the property is a "Residential Unit," as compared to a Commercial, Industrial or Agricultural property. When we are certain the property is a "Residential Unit," we label the property, "Resid" or "Resid Unit." This can apply to Single Family and Multi-Family properties. How accurate is the database? Some lenders are less timely with their data, and thus less accurate in the reporting of their foreclosed property inventory. This is especially true for many government agencies. We estimate that 15%-20% of the database listings are under contract or sold at any given time. This produces and Availability Rate of 80%-85%, the highest and most accurate in the industry. As all of our information comes directly from the foreclosing lenders, we are solely reliant on their ability to deliver timely property listings and information. Are there any restrictions for Members of the database service? Your membership enables you to access the FederalHomes.com database 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with no restrictions on the number of times you access the listings or length of time spent on the web site. When you become a member of the FederalHomes.com database service, you agree not to disclose your Member I.D. Number to others. You also agree not to distribute the information contained in the FederalHomes.com database service to any person or organization, by any means, for any reason. + Federal Homes PO Box 62 Galway, NY 12074 Contact: Matthew Landry Telephone: 518-229-5784 Web address: www.federalhomes.com Year business started: 1995 Employees: 5 Note: Survey Methodology. Solutions Through Research News :: Publications :: Data :: Homebuying :: Software :: Education :: Cybersites © 2005. Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. All rights reserved.

Real Estate Agent! --

Find a Real Estate Agent Real Estate Agent Home faq contact sitemap Home Buy a Home Sell a Home Directory Glossary FAQ Contact Us Dec 29,2005 Find a Real Estate Agent! -- Whether you're planning on buying or selling a home, choosing the right Real Estate Agent is one of the most important decisions youll make. Let Real Estate Agent.com help. Please enter in your zip code of interest below or browse our city and county directory to find a local real estate agent. Buy a Home Enter Your Zip Code of Interest: Sell a Home Enter Your Zip Code of Interest: You can also browse our Directory to find a Real Estate Agent in your State, County, and/or City. Real Estate Agent .com is one of the fastest growing directories of Real Estate Agents on the Internet, so if you are unable to find an agent in your area, contact us and we will find an agent to contact you shortly! Advanced Search Buy a Home Sell a Home City OR County State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Why Use A Real Estate Agent? When selling a home , a real estate agent can be an indispensable resource. Real estate agents can give you up-to-date information regarding prices, financing, terms and conditions of competing properties, and information about the housing market in general. A real estate agent will market your property to other real estate agents as well as to the public, and will know the best way to go about doing so. A real estate agent can also help you objectively evaluate buyer proposals, and then, finally, help you close the sale. In fact, a 2002 study on Home Sellers reports that the median sales price of an agent-assisted home was 27% higher than one sold "by owner". When buying a home , having the assistance of a real estate agent can be equally as important. Real estate agents have access to resources for assisting you in your home search not available elsewhere. A real estate agent can also provide you objective information about each property, and give you advice based on years of experience. A real estate agent will help you negotiate and also steer you through the closing process to make sure everything goes smoothly. We understand how difficult it can be to buy a home for your family or to sell your home on today's real estate market. We aim to build the bridges between people like you and your local real estate agent professional to ensure that you receive the help you need on a one on one basis. Down payment on a home will be 3% or more, depending on the type of financing you get. 5 Most Popular Questions How big is an acre? Why should I use a real estate agent? What is equity? What is a REALTOR? What is comprehensive homeowners insurance? Mortgage Calculator Real Estate Investment Software Moving Supplies Advertise Link Exchange About Us Testimonials Contact Us Links RealEstateAgent.com 2003 - 2005 Privacy Policy Terms Of Use Client Login Developed by Volico Web Consulting RealEstateAgent.com is a method of advertising for Real Estate Agents and Agencies. In no way is RealEstateAgent.com responsible for the services provided by the advertisers on this site, nor can it be held liable for any damages resulting from the services, contracts, or deals resulting from agents found within this site. Please view our Disclaimer for more details.

buy property in Spain.

Buying property in Spain - A full guide to buying property in Spain Buying Property in Spain A full guide Sponsor this Page for 720.00 a year Over 250,000 Unique Visitors every month! Click here Home | Spanish Shop | Photo Library | Message Board | Classified Ads | Property | Currency Converter | Site Map | Stats | Search | Advertise | About Us | Contact Us Property in Spain - A full guide Introducing the new service from idealspain.com www.idealspain-properties.com - Properties for sale & to rent throughout the whole of Spain CrawfPro Spain SL - CrawfPro is a private company based in Granada, selling select homes in the area. We can also find your property, survey it, lead the buying process, inspect construction, manage your project, look after your property and deal with bureaucracy. Don't be alone. HIFX - Save money on currency, regular payments & overseas property insurance. Lump sums: excellent exchange rates & totally free transfer of funds to Spain. Regular payments: fix an exchange rate for your mortgage or pension transfer for up to 2 years ahead with no monthly transfer changes (this alone could save you 300 per year!). Buying a property in Spain Foreigners buying property in Spain has become very popular. The country has a pleasant, healthy climate and in recent years the local authorities have made great efforts to increase the number foreign tourists and residents. Spain now derives more of its foreign income from tourists than any other country in Europe. Due to low European interest rates, now is a good time to buy property in Spain. There is a very wide selection of standards, from farmhouses (fincas) and plots through to villas, townhouses and new apartment developments. There is no shortage of real estate agents in Spain and it pays to search out a good company who will care for your requirements. Before you buy a property in Spain you should use our website to look at the different areas then consider visiting your favourites before deciding where to buy. Many people also rent a property in that area first. Here's a simple guide to get the most out of buying a property in Spain: Set your budget limit and stick to it. Visit the property at least twice before you make a decision. Check what amenities the property has such as electricity, water, gas. Have a builder or architect examine the structure of the building. Talk to your prospective neighbours about the area. If you are unsure about a property, take photos and draw sketches to take home with you. Have your legal advisor check ownership of the property before you sign anything. Have your legal advisor check outstanding debts on the property before you sign anything Initial Costs As well as the cost of the property, the buyer will be liable for transfer tax (IVA), which at present is 6% on a second-hand property and 7% on a new one, plus 1/2% stamp duty. The property registration office will charge you a fee to change the new deeds into your name. This is usually around 300€. There will also be notary charges for copies of the 'escritura publica'. The charge is on a scale depending on the contract price. In total you should allow 10% of the purchase price for costs. It is often the case that the buyer also pays the sellers fees. Check this at the point of enquiry and it is often possible to negotiate. Banks may also charge an opening commission for mortgage loans. Annual Costs The local town hall charge IBI which is an annual real estate tax. The previous owner is obliged to give you copies of previous bills. Community charges apply when you buy a property on a community development. These cover things like maintenance, swimming pools, gardens etc. You will also be liable for a wealth tax, payable annually and based on the value of the property and a property owners income tax based on your income from the property. You should clarify these in detail with your estate agent at point of enquiry . Finance See our mortgages section here Many developers of new properties are now offering up to 80% over 20 years for non-residents. Local banks will offer anything up to 60% for European residents. Most loans are long-term and secured on the property. When seeking a loan, make sure you are aware of the interest rates and if they are fixed or floating. Banks will ask for passports, residence permits, payslips, sale contracts and copies of the title deeds. There are many advantages to taking out a loan to purchase your property, in the form of tax allowances. We have not listed them here as they are subject to fluctuation. You may need to transfer money into Spain and you need to protect yourself: When you buy a property in Spain, you will know the price of the property in Euros but you will not know the actual cost until you buy all of the currency to pay for it. This means that the property could either cost you more than you had planned (if the Euro strengthens) or the property could become cheaper (if Sterling strengthens). Recently Sterling has fluctuated more than 10% against the Euro within a matter of months, so this does deserve careful consideration. On the basis that you are buying a property and not speculating on the currency markets, it is worth fixing the exchange rate for all of your future stage payments to the agent / developer. How to fix the exchange rate: 1/ Buy all of the currency now on a "spot contract". Hold the currency on deposit and send payments when they are due from your Euro account. To do this you need to have full funds available. 2/ Buy as much currency as you can afford now (e.g. for the first 2 payments) and reserve an exchange rate for the remaining payments. To reserve an exchange rate you need to buy a 'forward currency contract'. In effect you are buying currency now but paying at a later date when you have the funds available. The exchange rate that you achieve on a "forward contract" is not quite as good as that for a "spot contract" but it does guarantee that you know the cost of the property. You will be required to pay 10% of the value immediately and the balance by the date that you have reserved the currency for. Use a specialist currency broker : As a result of extensive research idealspain are pleased to offer preferential currency transfer rates for all their clients and visitors, click here for more information . It is also advisable to speak to your new bank with regards to High Interest Sterling Accounts where your mortgage payments can be taken directly and converted on your behalf. Approx cost to buy a home at 128,000 euros or (80,000 pounds) IVA 7% Spanish VAT payable on declared property value 8,960.00 Legal fees Searches, preparing deeds and translation etc 900.00 Notary's fees Preparing escritura, registering and stamp duty 600.00 I.A.J.D Spanish tax of 0.5% of the declared value 640.00 Connection charges Water, gas, drainage, electricity etc 300.00 Plus Valia Capital Gains Tax on increased value of plot since last sold. Levied by the Town Hall 60.00 Total Approx 7,355 pounds €11.460.00 Currency Converter Legal Matters Most properties in Spain are in fact NOT registered. Most of the re-sale properties are sold by Spanish ....still.... since they earned about 100 a year from selling fruit and veg they would certainly not pay 300 to pay for their property to be registered. The only way someone may find out if how many square meters is legally theirs to sell is by investigating at the Catastral Department and Town Hall. If they have ever declared that there is a property at all. A great deal of families have never informed the Town Hall that a senior family member has deceased and therefore many sales take months to proceed to completion. There are many families with complicated backgrounds, most children believe they actually own what is and sometimes what once was their parents, sometimes resulting in an Expediente Dominio where there can be no proof of title at all. A great deal of the beautiful villas you see advertised are not registered by the builder and therefore the purchaser pays for the first registration, sometimes no licences have been issued and the seller is required to pay fines to the Town Hall. Many many properties are then registered with less than the actual square meters of built area, and a great many are not mortgageable. Most urbanisation properties now being built are of course registered first because there is a compulsory registration system in Spain for new developments but this is Urban land - not countryside. Most of the old village properties have no Title Deeds. The seller of a second-hand home should provide the following documents: The title deed of the property Receipt of payment of the real estate tax for the last year Receipt of payment of the tax on the increased value of Urban Land Certificate that any community charges (if applicable) have been paid up to date Latest copies of domestic bills so that you can take over the services such as electricity and water The seller or developer of a new property should provide you with: Deed of declaration of new construction Occupancy permit Certificate of rateable value of the property Normally, before the purchase of a property is made official, there is a prior agreement drawn up between the buyer and seller. This document will identify the two parties and set out the terms of purchase. You must seek legal advice before signing this and you must be sure that this is the property you want to buy. You can lose any deposit you have paid if you pull out of the purchase and there is a penalty clause in the contract. In the case of the seller defaulting then he has to pay twice the amount. When it comes to signing the contract, this has to be before a notary, in the form of a public deed. This ensures that the details are entered onto the public records. Insurances Fire insurance is compulsory by law when taking out a mortgage. Comprehensive household insurance is available to protect your home and contents. Life insurance can be taken out to guarantee payment of the loan in the case of death. The cost of property - trends Official figures for the Costa del Sol state that property prices will increase this year by 12-15%. It is claimed that an average new property with two bedrooms in a block now costs 241,000 euros (around 2,000 euros per square metre). An average villa costs 388,100 euros. On the Costa del Sol there are around 20,000 homes for sale, 40% of which is in the Marbella area. 75% of home buyers on the Costa del Sol are foreign. The increase in prices is leading to an increase in the number of smaller, cheaper municipalities springing up, away from the coast. Tax advantages for property owners If you spend more than six months a year in Spain, you are obliged by law to apply for a residents permit.* This law is currently being abolished. There are however, several tax advantages for residents of Spain that do not apply to non-residents. Inputted income tax is an annual tax on an imaginary income resulting by virtue of ownership of a property and is charged as 0.5% of the catastral value. If you are a resident you will not be charged this on your principal home. Wealth tax is a tax on all assets in Spain and is charged at 0.2% of the catastral value of any house owned. For residents the first 108,000€ is exempt and for a joint ownership this would apply to each partner. These two taxes are paid annually as long as you own the property. Non-residents do not receive any relief so therefore have to pay 0.7% of the catastral value every year. When you come to sell the property, capital gains tax will be charged on any profit you have made. This is 35% for non-residents but only 20% for residents. A further concession for residents is that if you are over the age of 65 and have lived in your property for at least three years, you are totally exempt from capital gains tax. Finally, if you are 60 years of age or more and have lived in your property for at least three years, you can bequeath your property to your spouse or children and avoid paying inheritance tax on 95% of the valuation. The inheritor must also be a resident of Spain and agree not to sell the property for at least ten years. WSI - Start Your Own Business and Profit from the Internet! Now in its 10th year of business, WSIs systems are used by over 1000 franchisees in 87 countries around the world. Currently rated the "#1 Fastest Growing Business Services Franchise" and the "4th Fastest Growing Franchise in the world" , WSI has established one of the most profitable Franchise Opportunities in the world today with a Proven Business System! Home or office based. Complete Training and Support. No Business experience required. For your free information package & CD please visit: www.wsicorporate.com . Learn Spanish Today for FREE! Learn Spanish the interactive and fun way! Our web site will help you learn Spanish free of charge. Not just a few Spanish verbs, but over 500 words of the Spanish language, including complete Spanish phrases and sentences. Watch our free online demo that plays the first 15 minutes of a lesson. In this demo, the in program manual is displayed on the screen. spanish-online.co.uk Spanish book, cd and cd-rom publishers. User-friendly material for complete beginners to intermediate level. To make the most of our great offers, use the promotional code IDEALSPAIN on our online shop. Intasure - Insurance for your holiday home in Spain - Property insurance for expatriates in Spain - Comprehensive golf cover 365 days of the year which covers theft of equipment, medical expenses, travel, public liability and even hole in one cover - Low, low cost travel insurance. Avro is the UK's leading charter flight-only company, selling over one million seats every year. We have recently expanded and now offer scheduled flights to destinations worldwide, with flights available from over 70 of the world's leading airlines. Bookings.org - The best selection of Hotels, at great prices, throughtout Spain... View Special offers here & 5,166 Golf courses in Europe - Find golf courses in Spain, view pictures of all courses with maps. Book nearby hotels online . Car Hire Booking Centre Online together with IdealSpain.com - Created with one main objective; to offer clients the best vehicles with the best service at unbeatable prices. Why pay more when BOOKING CENTRE ONLINE offers MORE THAN THE REST, CHEAPER THAN REST? Car hire throughout Spain, the Canary & Balearic Islands . Hotel Club - The fast and secure service offering savings of up to 60% on your accommodation. To view Specials click here . PHA Travel has been offering independent advice on Health and Travel Insurance since 1995. Now in our 8th year this site provides our best selling value for money Travel Insurance from a range of reputable travel insurance companies. All policies are underwritten at Lloyds of London or through international travel insurance providers. You can obtain an instant quotation for your travel insurance, and you can buy online with a generous discount. RatesToGo.com - Last minute hotel reservation service. The fast and secure service offering great savings on your last minute hotel reservations - up to 20 days in advance. To book more than 20 days ahead click here . Related Links View agents and information for specific areas of Spain: Choose an option Property for sale in Spain Costa Almeria Costa Blanca Costa Brava Costa Calida Costa de la Luz Costa del Azahar Costa del Sol Costa Tropical - Granada Canary Islands Golf Properties Mallorca New developments Rural properties UK Based Agents Private Property Sales Commercial Property Home Improvements Mortgages Main guide to buying Guide to renting Holiday rentals Private Property Rentals a Property for sale in... a Spain a Costa Almeria a Costa Blanca a Costa Brava a Costa Calida a Costa de la Luz a Costa del Azahar a Costa del Sol a Costa Tropical - Granada a Cordoba, Andalucia a Huelva, Andalucia a Jaen, Andalucia a Seville, Andalucia a Canary Islands a Mallorca a Tenerife a New Developments a UK Based Agents a Rural Properties a Golf Properties a Private Property Sales a Businesses for Sale a Home Improvements a Property to Let in Spain a Private property rentals Related Links a Buying Property - Guide a Buying a finca - Guide a Buy a business-Guide a Buy a bar in Spain-Guide a Renting Property - Guide a Mortgages a Mortgage Calculator a Money Matters a Foreign Currency Services a Legal Matters a Hotels in Spain - A-Z a A-Z of Places a Holidays in Spain a Moving to Spain a Sport Home Page Relevant features Teach Yourself Spanish Relocate to Spain Working in Spain Costa Jobs Driving in Spain Tourist Offices The Culture Healthcare in Spain Legal Matters Banks in Spain Making a will Teach Yourself Spanish Schools in Spain Tenants rights If you have a property you wish to sell privately, you can advertise it on idealspain.com for 150 euros until sold. Click here for details Need to transfer money to Spain? Save money and stop making the banks rich. click here for details NEED A MORTGAGE? Advertise with us Step by step guide Site Stats About us | Terms of use | Contact us | Site Map | Advertise with us | Latest updates Buying Property in Spain | Schools in Spain | Healthcare in Spain | Finance | Move to Spain | Work in Spain | Culture of Spain Airports of Spain | Hotels in Spain | Weather in Spain | Nautical Spain | Geography of Spain IdealSpain.com - Tel: (+34) 952 198 832 - Email: info@idealspain.com All content and images 2000-200 5 idealspain.com Visit our other websites : www.perfectbulgaria.com - www.idealcroatia.com www.iberianimage.com - www.fiestaproperty.com - www.fiestapropertymallorca.com

Foreclosure Property

Investing in Pre-foreclosures and Foreclosed Property THE SOURCE FOR INFORMATION ON FORECLOSURE OUR MOST POPULAR PAGES Bank Foreclosures - REO Pre-Foreclosure Homes Foreclosure Help Foreclosures Discussion Real Estate Investing Sites FORECLOSURE ARTICLES Ready to Invest? Foreclosure Investing 101 Foreclosure Investing 111 Buying at Trustee's Sale Finding Foreclosures Determining Property Value Real Estate Foreclosures FORECLOSURE RESOURCES CA Foreclosure Time-Line Investment Tools Sources for Comps CA County Resources Real Estate Definitions INFORMATION & LINKS Foreclosure Industry Links Avoiding Foreclosure Scams Equity Buyout Scams Trustees and Posting Co.'s "How To" Information Curb Appeal Importance HOME MAIL Investing in Pre-foreclosures and Foreclosed Property Would you buy a house for $150,000 if you could buy the house next door in the same condition for $100,000? If you are a smart investor, I'm going to bet you wouldn't. If you are just beginning as an investor and need information, how are you going to get it and how much are you going to pay? THE SAME CONCEPT APPLIES! You can easily get a basic understanding of the stages of foreclosure, how to purchase property at each stage of the process and ways to obtain financing for your purchase for free or at a very nominal cost. Libraries, bookstores and many websites all offer free or low cost information. Obtain the basic information, read it once, then continue reading it until you KNOW all the material. Your success is not going to be handed to you, you have to become an authority on the investment approach you choose. The confidence and knowledge you will obtain are essential keys to success. No seminar or course costing hundreds or thousands of dollars will put the confidence and knowledge in your mind, YOU have to make the decision and effort to get it there. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS! Seminars Books and Courses Cash Investors Personal Counselors Recommendations Avoiding Scams Seminars An easy way to spend a lot of money. The personal motivation inspired by the speaker will always last long enough to provide you time to buy the books or courses. If you are truly motivated to become an investor, you don't need a seminar. On a positive note, if you are an active investor and have already bought a course to increase your knowledge, a seminar is one way to allow the author or presenter to expand on their printed material. TOP Books and Courses Available at Libraries, Bookstores and Websites. Balance the cost against the information presented. You can't really argue the benefits of a twenty dollar book against a seventy dollar book, both undoubtedly have good points and bad points. Try to find the most appropriate information for your situation at a reasonable price. Courses costing hundreds of dollars or more should not be purchased by a new investor. When you have the basics down solid and want additional information or specialized information, then consider additional courses. Remember, your success will not be determined by the size of your library, but by your motivation and knowledge. TOP Cash Investors Take our course, we'll back you up financially! Great sales pitch and I'm sure it would happen if the property could be purchased cheap enough, but anyone can find a cash investor. The hardest part is finding the property. You don't know any cash investors? Look in your local Yellow Pages under Real Estate Loans. Look for ads that say "All Credit" or "Any Credit", typically these are hard money lenders(cash lenders) who have investment money. Can't find any? Look in your local newspaper for real estate ads saying "We Buy Houses", these will often be cash investors. Still can't find any? Look in your local legal newspaper for Notices of Sale. A location will be listed where properties in foreclosure are going to be auctioned off. Go to the location at the time specified and talk to the investors who show up. These are investors used to dealing with properties in foreclosure, find out their requirements, get phone numbers and you are all set. TOP Personal Counselors Sign up with us and we'll provide one-on-one help for as long as you need it. Oh, I'm sure they have experienced investors just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. There are newsgroups where you can have your questions answered, but your best source of help is going to be investment clubs. Clubs are comprised of local investors who will share information and resources with you. They will have a good grasp on area values and should be able to help you more than anyone else. Plus, if you haven't found a cash investor yet, this is a good place to find one or get referred to one. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Clubs","Associations","Real Estate" or various web sites have lists. TOP Recommendations Take a deep breath, relax and plan your success. You'll need information, resources and knowledge. Find a local investment club, ask where and when they meet, go to all the meetings, absorb everything you can and make contacts. Evaluate the books and information you have seen, pick a source and start reading. Follow the web site discussion groups, print articles that have resources or solid information and save them. Read all the articles you can find on different web pages, it will add to your knowledge. Consider completing a Real Estate Licensing Program Many established real estate companies provide subsidized Real Estate Licensing School. If you do not have a background in real estate, this is a fairly inexpensive way to get an education regarding the technical processes involved, what is necessary to sell a home plus all sorts of additional knowledge. Many companies charge a higher fee if you do not get your license and work for their company, so be sure to shop, an independent school might be cheaper. Look in the Yellow Pages under Real Estate Schools. Keep in mind that if you actually obtain your real estate license, you have different legal considerations than if you are unlicensed. Even if you don't actively sell property full-time, when licensed, you are considered a real estate professional. Go to Open Houses Every weekend houses are held open by Realtors. Go to all the open houses in your area every weekend. You'll learn what sells, what doesn't, what the price ranges are in different areas and start to build a knowledge base of property in your area. It takes gasoline and time, but it's the best way to get a feel for what values are in a given area. Build your Resource File Organize your information and file it. Individual properties will come and go, but six months from now, you don't want to find a property that suits a cash investor's requirements and discover that you cannot find the investor's phone number. Or you were supposed to check back with a property owner this week, but you can't find the paperwork and don't remember the address. The only way to keep track of everything is to have organized files that you use. Understand it doesn't happen overnight. Honestly, the first few times you try to put a transaction together, I would expect problems. It's part of the education process. As long as you don't make the same mistakes again, you'll only get better at what you do. Education is the first big hurdle, the second one is experience, and there's only one way to get that. To just do it. TOP When everything is looked at, MOTIVATION is the base for all of it. You have to be motivated to get the education, you have to be motivated to get the experience and you especially have to be motivated to keep on doing it through the times where nothing seems to be going right. ARE YOU MOTIVATED?