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

New Homes Benefits of

New Homes : ENERGY STAR What is ENERGY STAR? | Newsroom Search What are ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Features of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Benefits of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes Homebuyer Resources New Homes Partner Locator For Residential Building Professionals PRODUCTS HOME IMPROVEMENT NEW HOMES BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT PARTNER RESOURCES -- Home > New Homes -- -- ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes A new ENERGY STAR qualified new home performs better for the homeowner and the environment thanks to a variety of energy-efficient features. What are ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes? ENERGY STAR qualified new homes are certified to meet strict energy-efficiency guidelines set forth by EPA. Features of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes ENERGY STAR qualified new homes use tried and true technologies and construction practices. Benefits of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes ENERGY STAR qualified new homes are high quality, comfortable homes that cost less and are good for the environment. New Homes Partner Locator Find local partners that build, market, and promote ENERGY STAR. All States Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Dist of Columbia 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 Just one ENERGY STAR qualified new home can keep 4,500 pounds of greenhouse gases out of our air each year. Do Even More with ENERGY STAR: Lighting Advanced Lighting Package Appliances Home Entertainment Home Office Products | Home Improvement | New Homes | Business Improvement | Partner Resources Newsroom | Privacy | Contact Us | Site Index EPA Home EPA Search DOE Home DOE Search

home for sale, historic

Historic Homes for Sale, Historic Real Estate & Property for Sale in the United States @ PreservationDirectory.com Historic preservation homes for sale, historic home for sale, historic house for sale, historic property for sale, historic real estate for sale, and preservation home for sale. Last Updated: December 23, 2005 View wonderful historic homes and property for sale and rent throughout the United States by clicking on the map below. Each historic property for is listed on its own page, complete with multiple photos, full description and history of the property, complete contact information for seller/rental organization, and much more. For information on listing your historic home(s) for sale, please click here . NEW - Historic rental properties are now being listed. Now you can view historic apartments and homes for rent, historic event rentals (for weddings, business meetings, and other functions), and office space for lease. To view the historic rental properties, please click the link next to the map below. The listings for historic homes & real estate for sale and rent in the United States & Canada are currently divided by region - to view listings, please click the geographic region header or appropriate area on the map below: * New Listings Click above to view new listings added in the last 2 months! 1. Northeast : CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT 2. Mid-Atlantic: DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV 3. Southeast : AL, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC 4. Mid-Central: KY, OH, IL, IN, MI, TN 5, Upper Midwest : IA, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI 6. Lower Midwest: AR, KS, MO, OK, TX 7. West : AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY 8. CANADA : View listings for Provinces in Canada * Historic Rentals Click here to view historic rental properties. Click link below for information on listing your historic property for sale or rent CLICK HERE FOR CANADA LISTINGS Featured Historic Home for Sale: The Allen-Beville House Douglaston, NY (click link to view) Historical Holiday Gala...See the Beville House dressed for the holidays...Candle light tour with cocktail reception culiminating at a second historical landmark...This fundraising event to raise preservation awareness is planned at the Estate on December 11, 2005 from 5:30-8:30pm EST. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Douglaston Little Neck Historical Society. To read the full event details, please click here . Interested in receiving regular email updates of new additions to the "Historic Real Estate for Sale & Rent" directory? Receive an electronic newsletter each 6 weeks that will display the new historic homes and buildings for sale that have been recently added to PreservationDirectory.com. CLICK HERE to be added to the "Historic Real Estate for Sale & Rent " Email Update List. Feedback from those listing their Historic Property on PreservationDirectory.com: "I think your site is unique among what I was able to find on the Web, and a great service. Not everyone wants a historic house with the accompanying challenges. Your site helps house owners seeking to sell or rent their property a means to directly target the audience that will recognize the unique charms of a historic property." - Mary Traeger Pascale, Waterview Historic Gem, Keyport, NJ " PreservationDirectory.com provides a unique venue for owners to build visibility and identify qualified, willing and able buyers in this specialty segment of the market that few real estate organizations can match." - Andrew Bulla , The Stone House in Pine Valley, McKnightstown, PA Thanks for all your help. Please put a sold sign on the ad so we will stop getting calls. They're still coming in. Your site has been a huge help to us. We really appreciate what the site did for us. Thanks again. - Debbie Ward, Prudential Carolinas Realty "Thanks for your quality editing and presentation. My listing with you has yielded much more interesting and serious prospects than my more expensive listing with [other prominent online services]. I am recommending PreservationDirectory.com to others I know. It is an excellent website and all of the seriously interested responses came from this connection, and some traveled long distances to see the house." - Nancy Stillians, The Stillians House, Villisca, IA " Thanks for your help. The website is a good one and I have advised several people to use it. I think it offers a quality alternative to other online services. I really appreciate the professionalism represented in the website and I especially enjoy the "depth" of listings and the history they represent. " - Frank Brough, Hale's Riverfront Homestead, Mosheim, TN "It was definitely a positive experience dealing with your organization. I have had numerous hits from your site. I sold it through a local realtor, but feel your website was very successful in getting responses. Thanks again!" - Robbie Blake, Blake Real Estate, Bronson, FL What qualifies a home, lodge, warehouse, mill, lookout tower, etc. as being a historic property? The only universally agreed-upon criteria appears to be the property being 50 years old or older, which is what we are using for this directory. The degree of further "historical significance" then depends on a multitude of factors, including if the structure is representative of an architectural style, its association with a locally or nationally famous event or person, or being located within the boundaries of a local or national historic district, to name a few. Using various methods of research, information can be gathered that will help to piece together the story of your home. For more information on your home and researching its history, contact your local historical non-profit organization or the Local, State or Federal government department that is charged with historic preservation and/or cultural resource management. These preservation groups and programs may be listed in our "Preservation Organizations" directory Please note: As more historic real estate is added to the directory, the categories will become more specific (ie. by State, rather than a large geographic region). Also, we will soon institute a more comprehensive search capability, allowing you to search by such elements as architectural style, sell price, date built, house dimensions, etc. Please note: All information provided on each listing has been provider by the seller. We cannot verify the information provided - please contact the seller/agent with all questions you may have about the historic home or property for sale. Map courtesy of Collectics Antiques & Collectibles Email: preservationdirectory@comcast.net Best Viewed at 800x600 pixels in Internet Explorer 2000-2005 PreservationDirectory.com, All Rights Reserved.

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Texas Land Trusts: Regional Index 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 Dir Regional 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 Texas Land Trusts: Regional Index Panhandle Plains Prairies and Lakes Pineywoods Gulf Coast South Texas Plains Hill Country Big Bend Country Land Trusts Region American Farmland Trust Statewide The Archaeological Conservancy Statewide Bat Conservation International Statewide Bexar Land Trust Hill Country / South Texas Plains (6/5) Big Thicket Natural Heritage Trust Pineywoods / Gulf Coast (3/4) Cibolo Conservancy Hill Country / South Texas Plains (6/5) Coastal Bend Land Trust Gulf Coast (4) Connemara Conservancy Praries and Lakes (2) The Conservation Fund Statewide The Cradle of Texas Conservancy Gulf Coast (4) Ducks Unlimited / Wetlands America Trust Office Statewide Galveston Bay Foundation Gulf Coast (4) Hill Country Conservancy Hill Country (6) Hill Country Land Trust Hill Country (6) Hudspeth Directive for Conservation Big Bend Country (7) The Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust Statewide Katy Prarie Conservancy Gulf Coast (4) Legacy Land Trust Gulf Coast / Praries and Lakes (4/2) National Trust for Historic Preservation Statewide Native Praries Association of Texas Statewide Natural Area Preservation Association Statewide The Nature Conservancy of Texas Statewide Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas Statewide Rock Art Foundation Big Bend Country (7) Texas Audubon Society Statewide Texas Cave Conservancy Statewide Texas Cave Management Association Hill Country / South Texas Plains (6/5) Texas Ornithological Society Statewide Texas Parks and Recreation Foundation Statewide The Trust for Public Land Statewide The Valley Land Fund Gulf Coast / South Texas Plains (4/5) Westcave Preserve Hill Country Wetland Habitat Alliance of Texas Statewide Wimberley Valley Watershed Association Hill Country (6) 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: July 29, 2005, 4:03 pm

Colorado Real Estate

REcolorado.com - brought to you by Metrolist Inc. -- Welcome to REcolorado - Colorado's Premier Public Property Listing Website Find A Home Required Fields Property Type: Residential Condominium Income Land Sort Order: Price City Square Feet Bedrooms Bathrooms Street Name Optional Fields Price: (default $0 to $999,999,999) From To Finished Square Ft: From To Bedrooms: From To Bathrooms: From To Car Spaces: From To Address #: From To Street Name: City: ALL AGATE AGUILAR AKRON ALLENSPARK ALMA ARVADA AURORA BAILEY BELLVUE BENNETT BERTHOUD BLACK HAWK BOULDER BOW MAR BRECKENRIDGE BRIGHTON BROOMFIELD BRUSH BUENA VISTA BUFFALO CREEK BYERS CALHAN CANON CITY CARBONDALE CASTLE ROCK CEDAREDGE CENTENNIAL CENTRAL CITY CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE COALDALE COKEDALE COLORADO CITY COLORADO SPRINGS COLUMBINE VALLEY COMMERCE CITY COMO CONIFER COPPER MOUNTAIN COTOPAXI CRAIG CRESTED BUTTE DACONO DEER TRAIL DELTA DENVER DILLON DIVIDE DRAKE DUMONT DUPONT EAGLE EASTLAKE EATON EDGEWATER ELBERT ELIZABETH ELK SPRINGS EMPIRE ENGLEWOOD ERIE ESTES PARK EVANS EVERGREEN FAIRPLAY FEDERAL HEIGHTS FIRESTONE FLAGLER FLORISSANT FORT COLLINS FORT LUPTON FORT MORGAN FOUNTAIN FOXFIELD FRANKTOWN FRASER FREDERICK FRISCO GARDNER GEORGETOWN GILCREST GLENDALE GLENWOOD SPRINGS GOLDEN GRANBY GRAND JUNCTION GRAND LAKE GRANT GREELEY GREENWOOD VILLAGE GROVER GUFFEY HAMILTON HARTSEL HENDERSON HIGHLANDS RANCH HILLROSE HOEHNE HOT SULPHUR SPRINGS HUDSON HUGO IDAHO SPRINGS IDLEDALE INDIAN HILLS JAMESTOWN JEFFERSON JOHNSTOWN KEENESBURG KEYSTONE KIOWA KITTREDGE KREMMLING LA SALLE LA VETA LAFAYETTE LAKE GEORGE LAKEWOOD LARKSPUR LAST CHANCE LEADVILLE LIMON LINDON LITTLETON LIVERMORE LOCHBUIE LONE TREE LONGMONT LOUISVILLE LOVELAND LYONS MATHESON MEAD MEEKER MERINO MILLIKEN MOFFAT MONTROSE MONUMENT MORRISON NATHROP NEDERLAND NIWOT NONE NORTHGLENN NUNN ORCHARD OTIS PALMER LAKE PARKER PARSHALL PEETZ PENROSE PEYTON PINE PINECLIFFE PLATTEVILLE PUEBLO RAMAH RED FEATHER LAKES ROGGEN ROLLINSVILLE RUSH SAGUACHE SALIDA SAN LUIS SAN PABLO SEDALIA SEIBERT SEVERANCE SHAWNEE SHERIDAN SILVER PLUME SILVERTHORNE SIMLA STEAMBOAT SPRINGS STERLING STRASBURG SUPERIOR TABERNASH THORNTON TRINIDAD TWIN LAKES VAIL VICTOR VONA WALDEN WALSENBURG WATKINS WATTENBURG WESTCLIFFE WESTMINSTER WESTON WHEAT RIDGE WIGGINS WINDSOR WINTER PARK WOODLAND PARK WOODROW WRAY YODER Zip Code: County: ALL ADAM ALAMOSA ARAPAHOE ARCHULETA BENT BOULDER BROOMFIELD CHAFFEE CLEAR CREEK CONEJOS COSTILLA CROWLEY CUSTER DELTA DENVER DOLORES DOUGLAS EAGLE EL PASO ELBERT FREMONT GARFIELD GILPIN GRAND GUNNISON HINSDALE HUERFANO JACKSON JEFFERSON KIOWA KIT CARSON LAKE LARIMER LAS ANIMAS LINCOLN LOGAN MESA MOFFAT MONTROSE MORGAN OURAY PARK PUEBLO RIO BLANCO ROUTT SAGUACHE SEDGWICK SUMMIT TELLER WASHINGTON WELD YUMA Subdivision: -- MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: MLS Number: Terms of Use Privacy Policy Fair Housing © 1998-2005 Metrolist, Inc. All rights reserved.