Selling Your Property Without An Estate Agent

Writen by Don Suter

It is possible to save

Community Renewal | Low Costs for High Gains

Writen by Jeff Garrison

Are you concerned with the lowering value of real estate caused by job loss, businesses shutting down and abandoned properties?

Despite the economic growth in major cities across North America, smaller communities are facing this downgrading and becoming targets for increased crime, lower quality of life and depreciating real estate values leading to more foreclosures on properties.

The NAR (National Association of Realtors) as well as the University of Western Sydney and others, have not only been watching the trend, but studying the effects of abandoned properties and learning how to rebuild these communities. Several case studies have been performed and were instrumental in creating a basis for teaching community leaders and realtors how to create sustainable and thus higher value, communities. This attention to communities as a whole is breathing new life into neighborhoods which were slowly depreciating and losing necessary financing.

Education on Community Renewal

Education is needed about the growth opportunities these dying communities can provide. Properly trained realtors can play a positive role in planning the rebuilding of fading communities. They need to be asking; what urban development program could be implemented? How are underserved retail and minority groups able to take advantage of the market? How can older suburban areas be upgraded? Can foreclosed properties be used to attract investors?

Realtors are on the frontlines. They see buildings being closed down, unsold and properties foreclosed. They are constantly made aware of the state and value of the communities they work in. Realtors play a part in attracting or distracting investors from an area. Because of this they are in a position to partake in the rebuilding of neighborhoods by learning about community planning and making efforts to implement their plans.

Encouraging News for Investors

When a community is working to rebuild, investors can take advantage of low prices, such as foreclosures, with an eye to develop in a rising market.

By working with the community plan, which will lead to increased property values, they can choose residential and commercial developments which will support, rather than defeat, the renewal plans. They can find ways of helping communities develop sustainable businesses and attainable housing. This conscientious involvement from the investors will help turn the tables on abandoned properties and displacement.

Creating Plans with the Community

Organizations such as NAR are now making grants available to realtors who are actively looking to partake in this urban renewal. Arranging for seminars and workshops, these realtors and their communities can work together creating a plan. Their plan will take into account bringing needed businesses into the area, upgrading residential areas and marketing city owned properties with a focus on improving the livability and value of the community.

Realtors can learn how schools, transportation, public parks and affordable housing affect the neighborhoods they serve. They can also learn how to find investment partners that are willing to work with the programs they’ve planned and attract them with the low investment costs.

Looking Forward

Urban and community renewal projects are taking place in many areas of the country and are targeting both the community leaders as well as the public for increased support in attaining their goals. Buying properties in these low valued areas and working with community renewal programs can truly alter the life quality of residents, encourage minority businesses and create sustainable communities that attract investment into the community.

Visit our site for one of the only real estate foreclosure blogs on the web, or peruse free foreclosure listings and learn about alternative real estate investment methods such as multi housing investment and foreclosure mitigation.

Real Estate Investing: An Introduction to Market Analysis

Writen by Patrick Leblanc

How do you know what’s a good market for multifamily investing? How do you know what market cycle a market is in?

Buying apartment buildings is like buying any other product. Prices are a result of supply and demand. With apartment buildings you need to analyze the supply of and demand for both the rental of the apartments and the supply of and demand for the apartment buildings for sale.

What variables impact the supply and demand of rental units?
• New rental properties being constructed.
• Changes in number of jobs and resulting changes in population.
• The type of jobs present in a market and a family’s average income.
• Rental units being taken off the rental market (i.e. condo conversions.)
• Number of vacant rentals and changes in the rental vacancy rate.
• The cost of entry level single family houses.

What variables impact the supply and demand of apartment buildings for sale?
• New rental properties being constructed.
• Rental units being taken off the rental market (i.e. condo conversions.)
• Interest rates and the relative health of the stock market.
• Favorable press for a market and last year’s market appreciation.

What other factors are present?
• What is the government doing to affect economic development and the quality of life?
• What is the ratio of rental income to apartment cost and what are the average apartment rental expenses?

What are good sources of this information?

• www.City Data.com
• www.ofheo.gov/HPI.asp (Office of Federal Housing Oversight House Price Index)
• www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html (HUD Fair Market Rents)
• www.chamberofcommerce.com (Local Chamber of Commerce Directory)

Patrick Leblanc is the president of Reflex Investors Inc. and has been investing in real estate since 1991. Reflex Investors buys multifamily properties by offering investors a fixed 10% return in private mortgage notes. Patrick can be reached at http://www.Reflex Investors.com and http://www.Solid Return.com.

Home Inspections or Home Warranty?

Writen by Wallace Conway

Homebuyers are a curious lot. They routinely ask thought provoking questions. A common question is, “If I get a home inspection, should I still get a home warranty?” Then there’s always this question, “If I get a home warranty, do I still need a home inspection?”

The choice between having a home inspection and purchasing a home warranty is a question that I frankly do not understand. Each is intended to serve a separate purpose and ideally work together to protect and reduce the risk of homeownership.

Maybe an analogy will make the matter clear. An individual has just had a complete and through physical exam. The results of the exam and all associated lab tests are that the individual appears to free of all disease or illness. They are presently the picture of health!

Would it be prudent or responsible for the doctor then to recommend to the patient, due to their fine physical condition, that it is a waste of money to continue to pay for health insurance? Of course not!

None among us would consider the doctor even sane, let alone responsible to make such a recommendation. But, is that not the same situation to someone feeling that they need not purchase a home warranty because they just had a home inspection?

And let’s view this same scenario from the opposite direction. Would we expect that our life insurance carrier would recommend to us that we forego the expense of regular physical exams, because, after all, we now have life insurance! Insanity!

The life insurance companies, in fact, feel so strongly that a physical exam is such an important part of risk reduction that a physical exam is often required to secure a life insurance policy, or at least has an effect on the insurance rate.

If insurance companies want to have you “inspected” prior to assuming the risk of your passing, it certainly makes sense for the homebuyer to have the home inspected prior to purchase. Doesn’t it, therefore, make similar sense to warrant unforeseen failure with the home warranty?

When buyers fully understand risk and the cost effectiveness of risk reduction tools, they almost always want all of the risk reduction tools available. It is in everyone’s best interest to reduce risk by every cost effective means possible. Buyers love to be educated about understanding and reducing risk, and everyone loves a happy homebuyer!

Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.

About the Author: Wally Conway is President of Florida HomePro Inspections, and is featured regularly on HGTV’s “House Detective”. As a speaker, writer, instructor, and host of The Happy Home Inspector radio show every Saturday at 3 PM on WOKV 690, Wally blends the right amount of up to date information with just the right amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real world application. Visit http://www.wallyconway.com and http://www.gohomepro.com for more information!

Fear of Buying a Home

Writen by Julie Jalone

Buying a home is a major decision. For most of us it is the largest financial transaction we have in our lifetime. Based on those comments it is easy to see why some potential buyers have a hard time pulling the trigger. Some questions they may be asking themselves include, can I afford this, what if I lose my job and can’t make the payments and do I want this responsibility? After writing that, I feel like I should sell my house! But let take a look at the situation because I really don’t think buying a home is risky.

Rather than address some of the many benefits of home ownership such as the potential appreciation, tax benefits and the ability to customize and make it “your place,” I want to address the reasons some individuals do not buy.

Can I afford to buy a home is not a fear it is a question that can be answered very easily at most banks and for sure by mortgage brokers and lenders. Most first time home buyers are pleasantly surprised to learn they can qualify and even more astonished by what price of home they can shop for.

What if I lose my job and can’t make a payment? Why is that so different from, what if I can’t pay my rent? The renter who can’t pay the rent is out on the street looking for another place to live long before homeowner is forced to move. Evicting a delinquent renter can happen in days depending on where you live. Ever try finding another place to rent after you have been evicted for not paying rent? Would you want to rent to that person, especially if they don’t have a job? If you do find a new rental it will require a significant dollar deposit that if you had you would have used to pay the rent at the last place. As you can see this is not a very pretty scenario.

Homeowners have some advantages when it comes to capacity to make payments. Landlords want to evict and get a new renter; lenders do not want to foreclose unless they have no other alternative. Lenders are more apt to work with a borrower who is having temporary financial problems because the foreclosure process is expensive and generally end up with some dollar amount being exposed to loss. Most lenders will not even start the foreclosure process until you are 60 to 90 days delinquent in your payments. In many places around the country and particularly in California where we have experienced rapid appreciation over the past five years, this time given by the lender allows the homeowner to find solutions including selling the home. Often the sale even results in the homeowner making a profit.

Just because I have said the mortgage lenders are willing to work with delinquent borrowers, don’t misread that as it will be a delightful experience and they are happy to “roll over.” It is not a fun experience and is generally a very expensive process but it does protect homeowners by providing time to seek solutions that renters don’t have.

So if buying a house can provide security why don’t we all want to own a house? Do I want the responsibility of being a homeowner? There are some responsibilities and clearly expenses associated with home ownership that renters do not have. As long as individuals understand the risk factors this decision comes down to determining if the extra security and other benefits of owning your own home is worth the added responsibility. In California over the past few months there is another growing group of individuals who are not buying homes even though they have made decisions they want to be homeowners. The media “Bubble” proponents have many people wondering when the right time to buy is. After five years of record appreciation, will prices fall like some think? If you are buying a home for speculation reasons I think this is a good question and deserves some careful thought. On the other hand if you want to own a home for the security and other benefits this is the time to buy.

Julie Jalone is an experienced professional Realtor serving the need of buyers and sellers of residential real estate in the Greater Sacramento area including Placer, El Dorado, Yolo and Yuba counties. Some of the communities served by Julie include Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Granite Bay. Julie is a wife and mother living in Rocklin. For more information see her website, http://www.jalone.com, which includes listings, local real estate market analysis, news, resources for buyers and sellers and her daily weblog, “Keep it Real in Sacramento.”

Retiring Abroad - 5 Reasons You Should Consider Moving Abroad

Writen by Sacha Tarkovsky

More Americans are buying their second homes or retiring abroad than ever before.

Here we will look at the advantages and how you can obtain a much better standard of living than you can in the US and do it easily.

So what are the advantages of retiring abroad?

1. Proximity

Many Americans are looking at Central America and with good reason, its just a few hours from the southern States of the US, flights are frequent and their cheap.

So, you can have all the advantages of a higher standard of living and still be close to home.

For Americans retiring abroad Costa Rica remains the number one destination of choice and we will look at all the advantages here:

2. It’s Cheaper your lifestyle is better

You can buy houses at up to 70% cheaper in Costa Rica than in the US Southern states, you also get a better standard of living and when you retire abroad here and you can live comfortably on $2,000 a month

3. Its beautiful and peaceful

Imagine stunning beaches, volcanoes, rolling hills, rainforest and beautiful wild life in a country where the people are friendly, serious crime is rare, people have time to talk and there’s no traffic, when retiring to Costa Rica you get all this and more.

4. You have the comforts

You would expect you would have at home including great communications, entertainment, nightlife and many shops your familiar and of course you can enjoy a leisurely round of golf or maybe a rain forest tour.

5. Retiring in Costa Rica is easy!

People retiring here is one of the main reasons the economy is booming and the government makes it easy for foreginers to retire to Costa Rica.

You get the same rights to land and property as Costa Rica residents, there is no tax on your social security and there are plenty of specialist companies that make retiring easy.

It’s only a three hour flight, so you are ever far from home and the communications are excellent with broadband and an excellent phone network.

Ask yourself this question

Do you want the high prices of the South coast of the US or do you want to maintain and increase your standard of life be close to home but have all the benefits of paradise?

Well, retiring to Costa Rica gives you all the above and much more and as it’s the number one retirement destination of choice for Americans. You wont feel out of place with a large and booming expat community.

Like many Americans you may be concerned about inflation, high prices and maintaining your standard of living when you retire. Retiring to Costa Rica not only allows you to main your standard of living but improve it!

You have worked hard all your life and now its time to enjoy yourself, so retire to Costa Rica and do just that.

For more free info on retiring to Costa Rica a free guide and chance to enter FREE holiday draw visit http://www.net planet.org/costarica.php

Time Share Types

Writen by Stephen Kreutzer

Time shares are one area of real estate that people like or hate. Time shares have often gotten a bad reputation, especially since there are a variety of types of time shares and they are usually grouped under the name time share when being described as a bad idea. Before deciding against a time share, a person should look into the types of time shares. They may be surprised that not every time share is the same. They may even find one that suits them.

Time shares are real estate investments where a group of investors all own the property. The time share is shared amongst the group with each individual allotted a specific time when they get to use the property. Most time shares are used as vacation spots. The upkeep and maintenance responsibilities are also shared among the time share ownership group. There are many variations on the time share.

Types of time shares differ in many ways. Some have different ownership rights while others have different usage rights. The differences may seem subtle, but they can also mean the difference between a time share working well for a person and not working for a person. The following outlines each type of time share and the main characteristics of each.

Fixed week time share: Each buyer owns the rights to the property for a specific set time period and date each year.

Floating time share: Buyers choose when they want to use the timeshare. Unlike the fixed week time share, this type of time share is not contracted out.

Right to use time share: This type of time share is not owned by the individuals, instead the “buyer” actually rents the property for a specific time each year. A contract stipulates when and for how long the rental agreement stands.

Points club: This is where various groups of time share owners participate in a points earning club. These points can be used to use timeshare property of group members based on reservations.

Time shares are not the useless real estate that some make them out to be. In fact, if a person does not want to get tied down to a piece of real estate there is the right to use time share option. Time shares are a great for people who vacation on a regular basis. Even if it isn’t to the same spot a time share like the points club time share, might still benefit them. There is a time share for everyone, so the best advice for anyone considering a time share is to look into the options before writing it off as a bad investment.

About the author: Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides time share resources on Just Time Share!

Euro Pounds Currency Exchange How This Affects Your Spanish Property Purchase; II

Writen by Toby Fisher

Sterling Holds Gains

Sterling rose to within a whisker of last week’s seven month high versus the dollar on Monday after stronger than expected British retail sales and upbeat mortgage lending numbers dampened talk of a rate cut.

The dollar weakened against most major currencies after the Group of Seven industrialised nations on Friday stepped up rhetoric to say that China must let its currency rise to help cut its growing trade surpluses with the rest of the world.

But sterling extended its gains versus the greenback and also rose versus the euro on news that retail sales rose by a monthly 0.7 percent in March, more than double forecasts.

Separately, data also showed that underlying mortgage lending growth jumped in March to its highest level in nearly two years, according to the British Bankers’ Association.

“They (data) came in a bit stronger than expected that would take away some of the arguments for a cut in UK interest rates,” said Geraldine Concagh, economist at AIB Group Treasury.

After the data, sterling rose as high as $1.7931 , just short of last week’s seven month high of $1.7935. But it found resistance at those levels and pared gains. By 1026 GMT it was changing hands at $1.7909, up half a percent on the day.

The euro was down 0.17 percent versus sterling at 69.14 pence, off a post data session low of 69.04 pence.

Some economists expect that slowing growth will prompt the Bank of England to cut interest rates from the current 4.50 percent in coming months. However upbeat economic data supports those who argue that rates will stay on hold.

But Gavin Friend at Commerzbank said sterling was likely to remain under pressure versus the euro as the European Central Bank is expected to tighten its monetary policy steadily.

“There is no reason why sterling shouldn’t continue to lose ground steadily versus the euro because although the market is looking less for UK rate cuts, the point is that the rate differential between the UK and the euro zone is going to continue to narrow this year,” he said.

Interbank rates
GBP/EURO - 1.4420
EUR/GBP - 1.4469
EUR/USD 1.2342
GBP/USD - 1.7812
USD/GBP 1.7822
GBP/AUD 2.3940
GBP/NZD 2.8100
GBP/CAD 2.0200
GBP/CYP 0.8300
GBP/AED - 6.5350
GBP/ZAR - 10.71
GBP/CHF - 2.2620
GBP/PLN - 5.5740
GBP/CZK - 40.65
GBP/THB - 66.170

Toby is a senior FX manager who writes daily articles concerning the Euro Pound currency exchange markets and how this affects the Spanish property market.