Monday, May 11, 2009

Buying a Home

Real estate has always known to be a good investment. Buying a home in todays real estate market is a big investment. The home buying process can seem complicated, but if you take things step-by-step, you will soon be holding the keys to your own home.

The first thing that comes in the buyers mind is loan options to choose from, among the other things because buying a home is one of the biggest financial and lifestyle decisions you will make. There are some tips that one must have to follow while buying a home:

  • At first, you must have to hire a real estate professional that helps you find your dream home and fine-tune your financial expectations.

  • Always shop for mortgage rates and turns because a difference of even half a percentage point can mean a considerable savings over the life of a loan.

  • You will have to pre-qualified fro your mortgage loan which determines how much you can afford.

  • The next step in buying a home is to create a realistic idea of the property you'd like to buy like what type of features are more important to you.

  • Visit the properties and keep a track of the properties you had seen because this will helps you lot when you have to select a particular home for yourself.

  • After touring each home, write down what you liked and didn't like and also rate the houses you tour.

  • Once you've pinpointed your dream house, it's time to get serious about the financial and contractual side of the purchase.

  • After your offer is accepted, set up a home inspection. Your real estate professional can help find a reputable inspector, and will negotiate to get you the most for your money once the inspector's report is final.

  • Before your closing date, make sure you've made all necessary deposits and completed the paperwork - including mortgage, title, home owner's insurance and any other paperwork required by local or state governments when buying a home.

Real Estate Agent and Mortgage Brokers

Real estate agents and mortgage brokers often work evenings and weekends and usually are on call to suit the needs of clients. One of the most complex and significant financial events in peoples’ lives is the purchase or sale of a home or investment property. Because of this complexity and significance, people typically seek the help of real estate agent and the mortgage brokers when buying or selling real estate.

When selling property, mortgage brokers and real estate agents arrange for title searches to verify ownership and for meetings between buyers and sellers during which they agree to the details of the transactions and in a final meeting, the new owners take possession of the property. Agents and brokers spend a significant amount of time looking for properties to sell. They obtain listings, agreements by owners to place properties for sale with the firm.

Mortgage brokers are also be needed while refinancing your mortgage. As mortgage brokers will refinance your mortgage without marking up your interest rate for a commission. Most mortgage brokers offer retail interest rates to their customers. They do this by marking up the rate you were approved to get a commission from the lender.

Most real estate agents and mortgage brokers sell residential property. Agents who sell or lease industrial properties must know about the region’s transportation, utilities, and labor supply. Brokers and agents do the same type of work, but brokers are licensed to manage their own real estate businesses. Agents must work with a broker. They usually provide their services to a licensed mortgage broker on a contract basis. Brokers, as independent business people, often sell real estate owned by others; they also may rent or manage properties for a fee.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Real Estate Mortgage Modification

A mortgage is a transfer of interest in the property to a lender as security for a debt, usually a loan of money. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is the lender's security for a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower.

Financial enterprises similar to real estate investment trusts, except they invest in mortgages rather than real property. There are a lot of folks with commercial and home mortgage notes who are just now beginning to discover that they are not quite up to the task of managing these notes and frankly, would not know what to do if they had to foreclose and resell the property.

The mortgage modification re-adjusts the interest rate, reducing it back to an amount you can deal with. By reducing the interest rate you can reduce the amount of the monthly payment and overall interest paid drastically. Sometimes this is only for a limited period of time, such as 5 years. This may be just long enough to allow you to survive in the short term and provide you with time to gain strength for the future.

Mortgage modifications are usually for those that have the ability to get back on their feet. If you are in such disarray that the lending institution cannot realistically picture you recovering, then you most likely will not be granted a modification. However you should never allow the situation make you loose hope. If you think your financial situation can be saved then by all means, pursue a mortgage modification, and if at first you get turned down then you may want to find a source that may be willing to help you succeed.

Why do a Real Estate Wholesaler Need a Website

A real estate wholesaler is someone that purchases or takes control of properties that have a lot of equity in them and sells the properties to investors for a profit. The real estate wholesaler will always have some financial obligation in the properties. The real estate wholesaler may have purchased the property outright or will have purchased an option on the property to purchase the property at a specified price by a specific date.

Fundamentally a real estate wholesaler is looking for properties that have a lot of equity, and for some reason the seller are selling the property below market value. These could be homes that are in foreclosures, tax sales, bank sales, builders, tired landlords, estate sales and inherited properties with out of area owners and so on.

There are some factors that has to be considered the why a real estate wholesaler needs a website:

  • Wholesalers must build a database of rehabbers who are looking for wholesale deals and that database could be placed on the website. This would give an idea to other wholesalers or to the buyers that which property they can buy.

  • Internet is convenient for the user and highly cost-effective for the real estate wholesaler.

  • A good website will be your showroom and greatest marketing opportunity, expand your market reach, stay in contact with buyers, and signal to potential clients that you are serious about your business.

  • Your website will provide the best possible platform for your real estate, other than visiting the property in person.

  • The wholesalers website will save potential buyers valuable time by displaying all real estate properties you have available at their fingertips.

  • If a real estate investor from across the country is interested in entering your market, your website will provide him or her with valuable information about your locality.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Finding the Financing Owner

Financing owner is a person from whom a buyer can borrow the money in case, when part or all of the purchase price will become less the payment fixed by the seller. Sometimes it is also done when buyer cannot qualify for a bank loan for the full amount.

The biggest benefit of owner financing is that it can be simple. The buyer makes a down payment and the seller provides the first mortgage to the buyer. The repayment terms can be negotiated between the buyer and seller in order to make the transaction work. It is difficult to find an owner that's not so full of his own swagger. There is a strategy that you might employ while finding a financing owner, especially if, first, you're looking to buy a home to live in with your family, and second, you've been in your community for a long time.

There can be several advantages to owner financing because many owners simply like the idea that they can receive a monthly income from a property even after they have sold it. The financing owner can charge the buyer interest on the money that the owner is lending to the buyer. For starters if the owner is financing all of a sale then a borrower does not have to qualify for a loan at a traditional financial institution. Even if the seller only finances a portion of the loan the borrower benefits by having to qualify for a smaller loan from a traditional mortgage source.

When offering owner financing, you eliminate some of the stiff requirements, the financial obligation of paying for the home or business is really no problem for a large number of buyers. These are the people you should be selling to, yet the banks are the barrier standing in the way. Owner financing blasts away that barrier.

Rental Property Grants

Rental property grants can help real estate investors get the financing they need to buy rental properties and multifamily units. The government provides many different kinds of real estate grants for real estate investors because they are a major player when it comes to a stable housing market.

The rental property program is designed to increase the availability of affordable, quality rental housing for low income families within the city limit. Once an real estate investor obtains rental property grants, they may be able to receive these funds over and over again. And because these are not loans, applying for this free government money does not require a credit check, a cosigner or any kind of collateral. This is cash that is provided to the real estate investor from the government and never has to be paid back.

The rental market is extremely strong at the moment with continued uncertainty in the market and low levels of mortgage lending. Grant Management provides a full property management service inclusive of sourcing tenants, tenancy management, handling property safety and legal issues, as well as repairs and maintenance.

Whether you choose to invest in rental property as your primary source of income or as a sideline, there are certain pitfalls that you should be aware of:

  • Real estate investors find a rental property that they like and buy it without doing their due diligence, but you should have a plan first and then find a property that fits this plan.

  • Determine the highest price you can afford and don't go above that number. If you think that rental properties are simply "rent it and forget about it" investments, your real estate may be the next one up for foreclosure.

  • Investing in rental property can be immensely profitable but only if you know what you're doing. Take your time to understand that ins and outs of managing a rental property.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

What are the Qualities of Good Property Manager

Property managers have a lot on their minds. There are board meetings to attend, legal issues to wade through, phone calls to return, emails to answer and a constant parade of maintenance issues to contend with at any given time.

A property manager should know how to listen and communicate effectively. They are your representative when dealing or negotiating with the clients. Professionalism is another thing to look for a property manager. They handle their schedules efficiently solely for the purpose of the tenants and property. A good property manager knows how to advertise. In order for people to know that the place that they manage does exist, they should put the place on the map, so to speak.

A good property manager should have good communication with the owner. This would ensure that the owner gets what he wants and the property generates the income that they both need.

Essential qualities of property manager:

  • Strong leadership ability

  • Ability to develop people

  • Excellent communication skills

  • Good interpersonal skills

  • Problem solving skills Time management skills

The property manager establishes ongoing communication with the customer to keep the customer informed and to determine whether there are any changes in expectations.

Responsibilities of Property manager:

  • Property manager clearly defines the property objective and then reaches an agreement with the customer on this objective.

  • Property manager should be a good organizer. Property manager should decide which task should be done in the house and which the consultants should do.

  • To control the property, the property manager implements a property management information system designed to rack the actual process and compare with the planned progress.