Real Estate... Answered

Free Report: Outbid This! 6 Secret Strategies for Making Irresistible Offers on Foreclosures

Administrator — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 23:51:06 +0000

Would you like to make money in foreclosures, but you can’t figure out how to convince the bank to accept your offers? This free guide will show you how to:

Make one simple change to your purchase contract that will dramatically increase your acceptance rate

Calm the bank’s biggest fear with one simple but effective tactic

Talk the bank into accepting your offer, even if someone else is offering more money

Fill out the form below to download this FREE 13 page report. Your e-mail address and name are completely confidential.

If I have equity in my home, should I use it to finance a real estate investment?

Administrator — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:04:33 +0000

When you’re getting started in real estate investing, one of the first realizations most people have is, "You need money to do this." Only, you might not have $20,000 in savings or a rich uncle that can loan you a fortune. So you think, where can I find the capital to buy my first real estate investment? Then it occurs to you: your home.

Maybe you invested all of your savings into a large down payment, your neighborhood has appreciated, or you’ve been diligently paying down the principal over the years. So, you have some equity. Instead of just letting it sit there, you can put it to work for you and buy another real estate investment. But should you go deeper into debt by pulling a second mortgage or equity line?

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How can I perform a double closing, despite the potential risks?

Administrator — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 23:07:08 +0000

In my last post, we uncovered three potential problems with double closings. Generally speaking, they are a overcomplicated, difficult, and occasionally dangerous technique. You can almost always use a different strategy to flip the property, such as an assignable contract or a simple purchase. Both strategies are far easier, especially for beginners.

But sometimes you have no choice. You might have an assignable contract but a buyer that’s short on cash and needs to finance your fee. Or, you might run across an unbelievable deal that you can’t afford to close, but you know an investor that would buy from you immediately. Whatever the case, you can still perform a double closing. Just follow these best practices:

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When should I use a double closing to flip a house?

Administrator — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 02:23:33 +0000

Double closings are the hottest selling silver bullet for investors interested in flipping houses. They allow you to:

Get around financing requirements by quickly moving money from one account to another
Keep your purchase price secret by never exposing your contract
Work with less liquid buyers because the "assignment fee" is financed

Sounds perfect, doesn’t it? When a double closing works out correctly, it’s a beautiful thing for the seller, the buyer, and you, the intermediary. The only problem is they almost never work out correctly. Before trying to arrange a double closing, consider the following problems:

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When flipping a house, how do I get around seasoning requirements?

Administrator — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 21:27:44 +0000

Financing is always a problem for house flippers. Because of recent problems with mortgage fraud, many lenders have instituted seasoning requirements. They require you to wait 3-6 months before selling the property or a higher value than your purchase price. When you’re trying to flip a house, this is a big problem. Here are a few tips for getting around it:

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Can I flip a house without selling to an investor?

Administrator — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 04:14:19 +0000

Yes! You can flip a house to an average home buyer. It’s called "retailing." In fact, because of the price range that I operate in, I retail all of my properties. Your money moves a little slower, but the profit margins and reduced man-hours are much more rewarding. Here are a few tips for flipping your house to a retail buyer:

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How can a landlord raise rent without losing tenants?

Administrator — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:53:14 +0000

If you’re like most landlords, you love the idea of raising rent but fear losing all of your tenants. It’s a difficult decision. By raising the rent, you might dramatically increase your income, or you might lose everything because all of your tenants leave. Fortunately, there are solutions. Here are three strategies experienced landlords use to raise rent and keep their tenants happy:

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying foreclosures at auction?

Administrator — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 00:37:16 +0000

Foreclosure auctions — are they good or bad? Before hunting them down and taking the (considerable) time to attend a foreclosure auction, you should know the advantages and disadvantages. Here they are:

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Why are rich people happier?

Administrator — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 00:41:33 +0000

Over at Free Money Finance, there’s an interesting post about rich people and happiness. To quote:

Happier people have a better outlook on life, they think the impossible is possible, they dream, they work well with others, and on and on. Let’s face it, happier people simply have more of the qualities that our society values — and in a free-market economy a monetary value is placed on these qualities — a value that’s higher than that of people who do not possess these qualities. Hence, happy people make more and are wealthier.

I agree, but I think it begs the question, "Why are rich people happier?"

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How do foreclosure auctions work?

Administrator — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 00:12:34 +0000

When you talk about foreclosures, most people automatically assume you’re referring to bank owned properties. But not all foreclosures are owned by banks. Sometimes, a homeowner is unable to negotiate a settlement with the lender, so the property goes to auction in an effort to pay off the liens. As an investor, you can go to these auctions to buy foreclosures and quite possibly walk away with some excellent deals. In this post, I’ll explain how it works.

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