KievCityGuide

Rob Norquist, a real estate agent admits that Newport Beach is as active as it used to be, with some good record sales. He also agrees with the fact that a property, should never be considered deprecated, and as a seller, you should never give up and use the low end price. It is true that, during a certain period of time, depending on the real estate market, client’s desire, real estate auctions, there may be moments when a property’s price drops, but not forever.

Other cities such as, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Irvine or Mission Viejo – are considered among other 25 cities as being the ones with the best real estate property values, with average values of $680,000 and more. The national average value in 2007 was $194,300.

However, some property values are based on subjective answers from residents living in a certain home, so the given numbers , and real estate evaluation may be hanging on a wishful thinking instead of a real appreciation . This is where real estate auctions come in picture, to inform potential clients about the property, and the investment possibilities, giving them a clear image of the real estate’s worth.

Even though some buildings such as Orange County properties , dropped their values in 2007, but they recovered extremely well after. So this is another reason why as a seller, you should never fear if you observe a temporally value drop, because it is normal from time to time.

For instance, about 81% owners, sellers, agents, trusted in 2007 that their estate property values were over $1 million, against 75% in 2006. So things are for the best and it would appear that most of estate agents have finally understood what this business is really about. It takes a lot of patience and ability to maintain your property’s value among top ones on real estate market.
But Norquist, trusts that many Newport Beach arguments are near the mark, sustaining that this city has survived the “housing slump” better than other locations. However, the unexpected surprise attacked more on sales, which he admits that they are on a falling edge right now, but there is still hope for better times.

Newport Beach is very well known for its highest-valued real estate properties in the U.S., being a perfect place for real estate business . It’s location and proximity to the water, and the beach front view increase it’s real estate value considerably. Auctions in this area are very interesting and those who are interested in real estate business domain should never miss them. You can learn a lot on such events.

Experienced real estate agents or even friends will surely advise you that as a buyer you are very likely to come across many real estate properties in foreclosure having perhaps no equity,being over priced . In such moments, lenders sometimes choose to accept a smaller amount than the initial.So you get in the negotiations process. As a hint, when you realize the over pricing phenomenon, you have to understand that this happens when the real estate agent , or seller is aware of the real estate property’s value, and he tries his luck in a raising price. So watch out! The negotiation can become a difficult process especially when reasonable terms are not agreed by both sides: owner and buyer. Negotiations can occur privately or in public, where real estate auctions come in the picture. Of course, a real estate auction is safer and more trustful than a private one. Private negotiations occur especially when the agent is a close friend or relative to buyer’s, and because of the friendly environment some details regarding even the real estate transaction may be skipped. So in situations like this be careful.

Even as a friend, for a real estate agent , money comes first, and friendship after. Of course, during such a negotiation, there can be all sort of problems, such as mortgage value, real estate market, all sort of official formalities, conflict of interests in a particular area etc. Moreover, time a very important issue when real estate auctions are involved. As a general rule, and as an advise for a potential buyer, negotiation process should not be extended on a long period of time, because, as I said before, in time, real estate properties drop their values, and the client’s interest together with it. In this case, not only does the buyer loose, but the real estate agency as well. Why?Because if a property’s value drops, the price must drop as well, if you ever want to sell it again. In this case the under priced phenomenon appears. This is why short sales are preferred. Many Realtors, and clients started using this strategy, because they faced the problem regarding their property’s value.So they decided the selling process should not take too long.

Another important issue refers to the well known “acceleration clause” , which is an official word met in any mortgage document, meaning that the lender, after the real estate property is sold, can demand the payment of the remaining balance for the loan. Realtors can provide more information about this contractual right. If this clause is good or bad for a real estate transaction, it is hard to say, because it has its advantages and disadvantages. Buying a real estate property which has already a mortgage loan represents a pretty raised risk. Why? Because first of all, if the mortgage loan was contracted for many years, depending on the interest’s rate, and marketplace evolution, you may come to pay the house’s price 3 times more. However, if you have experience in monitoring the market place, and find a right moment when every interest’s value drops, you could go for it. It’s kind of a gambling in this business, and Realtors, or individual real estate agents know it best.

Realtors and real estate agents are here on the real estate market, to help clients understand how they can value their houses, what should they look for when trying to sell or buy a house, how to negotiate, and how to win a real estate transaction. Some may say that buying or selling a real estate property is easy, but the fact is that pricing a house is a very difficult process. Many real estate agents, brokers, have suffered many defeats before their first good business, so do not expect their job to be an easy one.

Unfortunately, a concerning price and sales gains of these past years have determined in many cases quitting the real estate business. Many real estate agents who have seen the future preferred to do something else than real estate business. The credit market is also in a critical position, as many Realtors have observed. Mortgage values are also a result of real estate market position right now. Real estate investors have diminished their participation number to real estate auctions, as a sign they have seen it too.

However, as we all know how media does it, you have to understand that reporters have latched onto these issues, focusing only on its negative effects, and they have succeeded in putting fear in anyone who is interested in real estate business. For more of this business go to [http://www.modfind.com] my real estate business specialized website.

Neguletu Octavian

Most real estate professionals flunk within the first few months of trying to create a business enterprise out of real estate investing. The trick begins with a beneficial marketing plan and then practicing a disciplined effort to the marketing plan on a even basis. There is a lot more required to succeed, and you will encounter more tips, tricks and unique real estate marketing techniques in this article.

Is there anyone in your town that doesn’t recognize that you buy homes or that you are a real estate professional? If so, you aren’t performing as well at marketing or rendering real estate investing information about your real estate investing business enterprise as well you could be. I find out real estate investors telling all the time that they aren’t receiving seller phone calls and subsequently aren’t receiving the leads they need to find the real estate business deals they require to earn a living. I say increase the marketing and the sellers will Call. Not only that but if you are canvassing the world (or at least your area) that you buy problem real estate holdings, eventually you will be acknowledged for what you do and sellers will telephone you strictly on your reputation. this is what is called cost effective marketing.

One real estate professional was in a home, garden and hardware store a few calendar weeks ago and went past a couple of guys in an aisle. A conversation was heard while he walked by, I overheard one state, “That is the real estate man”. Now I had never known either of those men and have no idea who they are but that experience lets me acknowledge that I must be doing my business at letting the world to recognize my business is buying real estate in that area. There are many ways to let the area know that you are in the real estate investing profession and getting information out there that helps people realize you buy foreclosures, distressed real estate, do real estate short sales and have got a lot of real estate information and experience to flip properties. Some methods are cheap and some are more expensive. You are going to have to attempt many things and acquire a feel for what brings about for you the best results in your region to get the calls you require to transact real estate deals. I have tried many forms of marketing methods for real estate commercial enterprises of all varieties and have come back to a few that consistently create enough leads for me to purchase the 2 or 3 real estate holdings and houses I want to purchase every single calendar month. They are as follows:

Classified Ads

The classified advertisement in the most prominent newspaper in the region is by far the heaviest producer of leads for local real estate investors that I have determined. I understand it is costly and I understand there are instances it does not generate phone calls but if you are going to persist in the real estate investing business sector just place it in there and leave it. Get used to it making up part of the toll of performing the real estate business. You may expend about $350.00 a calendar month for my 4 line ad and that is the commercial range. I’d consider running it 365 days a year to constantly cue everyone that you are a real estate professional and you purchase real estate in their region.

Over the past few or so years I have watched many “real estate investor” ads come and go. Most folks put them in for a many or even just a couple of calendar weeks and then remove them or try just placing them in on the week ends. Real Estate Marketing just simply does not work this way. Put your real estate ad in the paper and leave it in there. It will more than make up for the price, trust me, and you will see after you finish your first deal. If you are distressed because there are real estate investors ads from many other investors in there, don’t be. They are there because they are getting responses. Just be sure to and actually answer your cell phone and keep it on all the time otherwise you’ll be squandering money.

When a fresh ad for real estate investor information shows up in my newspaper, I will always call on the advertisement. 9 times out of 10 I get a message device or answering service. This is a significant turn off to somebody who needs a resolution to their real estate trouble now. They want to speak to a person who can quiet their anxiety over their current issues with their home and tell them everything is going to be ok. Your answering device won’t do that, they need a human being. As for what to put in the advertising, you will have to work on this one. I have tried various idea and the one I have now hast not changed for over 4 years. I haven’t switched it because I get responses. My ad is:

We Pay CASH FOR HOMES In 24 Hours! Any area, price or condition Call xxx-xxx-xxxx

Now I have had other real estate professionals jockey for place and interchange their ad copy to be leading of mine in the column but it has not made whatsoever difference, at least as far as I can discern. Don’t worry about those things, just get the advertising out there and leave it. It could possibly take a bit of time, perhaps a several weeks to get going but sellers will telephone. As soon as you have your classified advertising running, then you should start working on your other marketing techniques right away. If you only go through one idea a week, within a few weeks or a couple of months you will have a significantly powerful real estate purchasing process.

Ads in the “Freebie” Papers

You might also run advertisements in the freebie papers in your local region or the region you want to conduct real estate investment deals. These are the “Thrifty Nickel”, or whatever they are named in your region. We run both a column ad and a display in this newspaper and expend about $175.00 or so a calendar month for these ads. They pull in seller leads reasonably well and have always rationalized the costs. Remember that these guys are usually open to talking terms on your rates and you will probably get a better rate if you commit to a longer advertising agreement.

Bandit Signs or Road Signs.

Bandit signs are great. They are some of the best lead producing tools around. I have yet to put out a bunch and not be bombed with calls right after I arranged my marketing. I just don’t position them out that often. I might place out a few to a half dozen or so a calendar month and the ones that continue and don’t get taken down continue to pull in phone calls. At an average price of less than $4.00 per sign, they are one of the greatest real estate marketing and advertising values available. Check the net for sign manufacturers for discount signage costs. I use 18 x 24 signs and set them at high traffic crossings around the town I wish to purchase houses in.

I also position a sign in the front yard immediately after purchasing any house. I have purchased several homes in the same regions as a result of marketing this way.

You can either use wood stakes or the wire stakes with your signs. I like the wood stakes because they do not bend like the wire ones, in addition, they are more less expensive and you can find just about any reasonably sized stick of wood or stake at your local hardware store for a really good value. Just get long lengths and trim down to fit. Then just nail the sign to it with the roofing nails with the orange or green plastic tops or you can use screws. There are many variants on what the wording on the sign can say. Keep in mind that traffic will be moving so you want to keep your message short and simple so it may be read. Plus your telephone number must be big, large and easy to read.

If you search the sign advertisement content, you will discover that it is same resemblance my paper ad. I like to brand my advertising because I believe that helps with identification that is probably why the two guys noticed me as a Real Estate Professional..You want to have contrast, so a white sign with dark blue letters usually is the best draw. Some folks swear by black on yellow or black on orange. Again, I say it’s not what or how you say it rather simply that you’re out there marketing and placing out signs that counts. You’ll build a ‘brand image over time if you stay logical with your real estate marketing endeavors. When dealing with bandit signs, be sure that your local code enforcement laws are aware of them. In some areas or counties they can lax on them but a few miles down the road in another county or city, they can be super strict and will ticket you in a minute, pull the signs down and lead off looking for your next posters to go after you again. Some retail merchants in high tax areas can’t put out any A board signage without having them sized and then fined.

Flyers and Bulletin Board Postings

Flyers and related collateral are another cheap way to get the word out that you are a real estate investor buy property, foreclosures or distressed properties. Just create a flyer with any one of the free on-line flyer software internet sites telling people that your are a real estate investor and how to get in touch with you. Make copies for few cents apiece and you have some really inexpensive real estate marketing and advertising. It really is that simple. Then place these flyers on every bulletin board in your Town or region you would like to buy your property, foreclosure or distressed home.. I also recommend that you place some of them in those plastic sheet shielders so the rain won’t ruin them and put them up on phone poles around neighborhoods I like to buy property in.. While not as prominent as the bandit signs, on poles actually in the neighbourhood they still attract phone calls. I carry a file with me in my automobile and put them up whenever I stop at a grocery store or major discount shop or really wherever. Some of the other area to put them are:

· Laundromats
· Taped to the inside of telephone Booths.
· On the counter of any business organization that will let you place them at.
· Bulletin boards at any local or major rebate store (lots of traffic)
· Grocery store bulletin boards
· Fax to Mortgage agents, call first
· Fax to Real Estate Agents, call first and they may get a lot of these.
· Take them Door to Door in target regions
· Employment centre Bulletin board
· County Courthouse or public office Bulletin board

These are just a few illustrations. Any place that will allow you to set one is a good place. You can never let too many people know that you are a real estate investor and are in the foreclosure market.

Imprinted and/or Promotional Items

Optimum Real Estate Investor Marketing Ideas – These no-lose ideas are sure to get you top hits on leads and calls for your Real Estate Investing occupation.

These are some of my favourites and most fun. While they are not the top producers of leads or the least costly, they will sure position you apart from the average investor.

Pen Knives – These tiny Swiss army knives are the neatest things. They are actually key chains etched with your content, mine being: WE BUY HOMES – All cash or take over payments within 24 hours! Call xxx-xxx-xxx I assure if you give one of these to somebody they will hold on to it it and if they conceive of selling, they will think of you. They are about $1.75 each.

Key Chains – I give these to all my buyers with the keys to their new house on them and leave them all over the place. They come in the shape of a house or #1 or whatever style you like and have your message on them. You can guess what mine says. Cost – about $. 25 cents apiece.

Pens – I use these all the time. Whenever I sign a sales receipt or anything I leave my pen. I cannot tell you how many outcries I have gotten off of these things and since I often need one, I always possess one to give away. My attorney even has a supply on his closing table. I possess two types printed. One for sellers says “We Buy Homes!” and one for buyers says “Everyone Qualifies”. Cost – about $.26 cents per unit.

Coin Holders – These you hardly find anymore so everyone is surprised when I have them. I leave these things everywhere. Mine are bright yellow with blue letters and my message. Cost – about $.30 cents apiece.

I leave all of these promotional items everywhere, on the top of gas pumps, on end-cap displays in grocery stores and in department stores. I look at it this way, if I give away 100 pens, 50 knives and 50 coin holders a month, that is only a little over $100 bucks a month. That is still cheap advertising. And with the money you can make in a real estate deal, it is ‘no cost’ marketing strategy. You can get any of these promotional advertising products at many major promotion marketing manufacturer, and you can find companies online as well.

Business Cards

I order business cards by the 1000’s and you should as well, there are a lot of great places online that can print up nice (and cheap) cards for you and that specialize in real estate as well. As for business cards, well, they are cheap, mine are about $50.00 for 2000, and I pass them out and leave them everywhere I possibly can. I leave my cards everywhere, in pay phones, on restaurant tables, my kids even have their own supply to pass out. Try to get a box a week out. The card doesn’t have to be fancy, in fact the simpler the better. My card is bright yellow with blue letters and says:

WE BUY HOUSES Foreclosure? Need Repairs? Bad Tenants? Divorce? CASH IN 48 HOURS! OFFERS MADE ON ALL CALLS! XXX-XXX-XXXX

Car Magnetics

Magnetics are one of those things where you spend once and get use for a long time. Mine cost about $75.00 and are yellow with blue letters. They say:

WE BUY HOUSES! FA$T CA$H XXX-XXX-XXXX

or

SELL YOUR HOME FAST WE PAY CA$H XXX-XXX-XXXX

I have gotten several deals from these signs. Remember to order a smaller set for the back of your car/truck. People have more of a chance to read the message when they are riding behind you.

Clothing

I like golf shirts and oxford dress shirts with my logo on them. There’s plenty of adverting houses that will help you design a logo if you don’t have one or use the one you already have. There is no charge for set up and all items ordered include your embroidered logo free.

I pass custom imprinted hats out to everyone I know who wears one and have given away many shirts as well. They really look nice and present a nice image for your business.

Other Advertising Tools

There are many other shapes of advertising, some I have tested in the past such as billboards, door hangers, yellow pages, television and radio advertisement. I even have a traveling billboard, an old SUV painted bright yellow with blue WE BUY HOUSES! and my telephone number that I drive around and park overnight at dissimilar places. It brings the calls! Get the marketing going and let the world know who to call when they have a house to sell, a pre-foreclosure, distressed property or someone who just wants to get out of their house.. If that phone isn’t ringing, you aren’t making money so you need to get a good marketing strategy going and stick with it!

I sincerely hope these tips will help you in your next real estate marketing efforts and get you the real estate investing deals you’re after.

Find out how to invest in Foreclosure Properties check out: [http://www.RealEstateInvestingInformationSource.com]

The All-Money-Down Technique

So how does the all-money-down technique work by purchasing a home with cash? First of all, let me repeat that I really didn’t have any cash, but I had a significant amount of equity from Terry’s home and several homes that I owned put together to give me a substantial cash down payment. Banks and mortgage companies alike will accept money from a home-equity line of credit as cash to purchase a home. At least they did in 1997 under the financial guidelines of the day. What you must remember about mortgages and lending is that the guidelines change constantly, so this technique I used in 1997 may or may not be able to be used in the future. Whether it is or isn’t able to be used again doesn’t really matter to me as I believe that there will always be a way to buy real estate with limited money down sooner or later. There will always be a technique to acquire real estate but exactly how that will be done in the future I’m not completely sure.

I began purchasing homes in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia with the prices in the $30,000 to $40,000 per home price range. I would purchase a home with three bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor with a kitchen, dining room, and living room on the first floor and a basement. What we call a row home in Philadelphia would consist of a porch out front and a backyard the width of the home. Most row homes in Philadelphia are less than twenty-two feet wide. For those of you who are not from Philadelphia and can’t picture what a Philadelphia row home looks like, I suggest you watch the movie Rocky. Twenty-two homes on each side of every block will really test your ability to be a neighbor. Things that will usually cause an argument with your Philadelphia neighbors often stem from parking, noise your children make, where you leave your trash cans, parties, and the appearance of your home.

In 1998 my girlfriend and I moved in together and to the suburbs of Philadelphia called Warminster. After living on a street in Tacony, much like Rocky did, I really looked forward to having space between my home and my next-door neighbor. I told Terry not to even think about talking with the people who lived next door to us. I told her if one of them comes over with a fruitcake I am going to take it and punt it like a football right into their backyard. I believe I was suffering from Philadelphia row home syndrome. My new neighbors in Warminster turned out to be wonderful people, but it took me eighteen months before I was willing to learn that.

So you just bought your row home for $35,000 in Mayfair, and after $2000 in closing costs and $5000 in repair costs, you find yourself a good tenant who wants to rent the home. After renting the home with a positive cash flow of $200 a month, you now have an outstanding debt of $42,000 on your home equity line of credit that will have to be paid off. When purchasing the home, I did not get a mortgage as I just purchased a home for cash as it is said in the business. All monies I spent on this house were spent from the home-equity line of credit.

The move now is to pay off your home-equity line of credit so you can go do it again. We now go to a bank with your fixed-up property and tell the mortgage department that you want to do a cash-out refinancing of your real estate investment. It helps to explain that the neighborhood you purchase your property in should have a wider range of pricing as the neighborhood of Mayfair did in the mid-90s. The pricing of homes in Mayfair is quite unusual as you would see a $3000 difference in home values from one block to the next. This was important when doing a cash-out refinancing because it’s pretty easy for the bank to see that I just bought my property for $35,000 regardless of the fact that I did many repairs. I could justify the fact that I’ve spent more money on my home to fix it up, and by putting a tenant in, it was now a profitable piece of real estate from an investment standpoint.

If I was lucky like I was many times over doing this system of purchasing homes in Mayfair and the appraiser would use homes a block or two away and come back with an appraisal of $45,000. Back then there were programs allowing an investor to purchase a home for 10 percent down or left in as equity doing a 90 percent cash out refinance giving me back roughly $40,500. Utilizing this technique allowed me to get back most of the money I put down on the property. I basically paid just $1,500 down for this new home. Why did the mortgage companies and the appraisers keep giving me the numbers I wanted? I assume because they wanted the business. I would only tell the bank I need this to come in at $45,000 or I am just keeping it financed as is. They always seemed to give me what I wanted within reason.

This whole process took three to four months during which time I may have saved a few thousand dollars. Between the money I saved from my job and my investments and cash out refinancing, I had replenished most or all of my funds from my home-equity line of credit that was now almost back to zero to begin the process again. And that is exactly what I intended to do. I used this system to purchase four to six homes a year utilizing the same money to purchase home after home after home over and over again. In reality, the technique is a no-money down or little money down technique. At the time maybe I had $60,000 in available funds to use to buy homes off of my HELOC, so I would buy a home and then replenish the money. It was a terrific technique that was legal, and I could see my dream of being a real estate investor full-time coming to an eventual reality even though I wasn’t there yet.

During the years from 1995 to 2002, the real estate market in Philadelphia made gradual increases of maybe 6 percent as each year went on. I began to track my net worth that was 100 percent equity, meaning I had no other forms of investments to look at when calculating my net worth. Generally speaking, the first five years of my real estate career did not go well because of the bad decisions I made purchasing buildings and the decline in the market. Furthermore, my lack of knowledge and experience in repairs made it a rough. The second five years of my real estate career that I just finished explaining didn’t make much money either. I supported myself primarily through my career as a salesman, but I could definitely see the writing on the wall that down the road real estate was going to be my full-time gig.

Realty Professionals of America

I own an office building that has a real estate company as a tenant called Realty Professionals of America. The company has a terrific plan where a new agent receives 75 percent of the commission and the broker gets only 25 percent. If you don’t know it, this is a pretty good deal, especially for a new real estate agent. The company also offers a 5 percent sponsorship fee to the agent who sponsors them on every deal they do. If you bring an individual who is a realtor in to the company that you have sponsored, the broker will pay you a 5 percent sponsorship out of the broker’s end so that the new realtor you sponsored can still earn 75 percent commissions. In addition to the above, Realty Professionals of America offers to increase the realtor’s commission by 5 percent after achieving cumulative commission benchmarks, up to a maximum of 90 percent. Once a commission benchmark is reached, an agent’s commission rate is only decreased if commissions in the following year do not reach a lower baseline amount. I currently keep 85 percent of all my deals’ commissions; plus I receive sponsorship checks of 5 percent from the commissions that the agents I sponsored earn. If you’d like to learn more about being sponsored into Realty Professionals of America’s wonderful plan, please call me directly at 267-988-2000.

Getting My Real Estate License

One of the things that I did in the summer of 2005 after leaving my full-time job was to make plans to get my real estate license. Getting my real estate license was something I always wanted to do but never seemed to have the time to do it. I’m sure you’ve heard that excuse a thousand times. People always say that they’re going to do something soon as they find the time to do it, but they never seem to find the time, do they? I try not to let myself make excuses for anything. So I’ve made up my mind before I ever left my full-time job that one of the first things I would do was to get my real estate license. I enrolled in a school called the American Real Estate Institute for a two-week full-time program to obtain my license to sell real estate in the state of Pennsylvania. Two terrific guys with a world of experience taught the class, and I enjoyed the time I spent there. Immediately after completing the course at the American Real Estate Institute, I booked the next available day offered by the state to take the state exam. My teachers’ advice to take the exam immediately after the class turned out to be an excellent suggestion. I passed the exam with flying colors and have used my license many times since to buy real estate and reduce the expenses. If you are going to be a full-time real estate investor or a commercial real estate investor, then you almost have to get a license. While I know a few people who don’t believe this, I’m convinced it’s the only way.

I worked on one deal at $3 million where the commission to the buyer’s real estate agent was $75,000. By the time my broker took a share, I walked with $63,000 commission on that deal alone. With the average cost per year of being a realtor running about $1200 per year, this one deal alone would’ve paid for my real estate license for fifty-three years. Not to mention all the other fringe benefits like having access to the multiple listing service offered too many realtors in this country. While there are other ways to get access to the multiple listing services or another program similar to it, a real estate license is a great way to go.

Some of the negatives I hear over and over again about having your real estate license is the fact that you have to disclose that you are realtor when buying a home if you’re representing yourself. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see this as a negative at all. If you’re skilled in the art of negotiation, it’s just another hurdle that you have to deal with. I suppose you could end up in a lawsuit where a court of law could assume because you are realtor you should know all these things. I don’t spend my life worrying about the million ways I can be sued any more than I worry about getting hit by a car every time I cross the street.

The Addict
From his first investment property over 20 years ago to his relentless search for the next great deal every day, Falcone is a non-stop real estate investment machine!

Get Addicted
Sometimes addiction is a very good thing. In this book Phil Falcone, the ultimate real estate addict, will show you how to achieve amazing success as a real estate investor:

• Delve into the details of actual deals he negotiated and learn why his methods were so effective
• Discover why his residential to commercial real estate strategy will create ultimate wealth
• Learn how he used apparent liabilities (OCD, insomnia, and workaholic behavior) to help him achieve his goals
• Explore why he can’t stop investing in real estate, and how you can start controlling your own financial destiny through real estate

Frank, funny and informative, Addicted to Real Estate will inspire any investor to achieve higher levels of drive and success in the rewarding world of real estate.

Phil Falcone is a Philadelphia area full-time real estate investor who started in the business at the age of 23, and whose portfolio today includes commercial offices, apartment buildings, and residential homes. As the owner of Falcone Real Estate Holding Corporation, he prides himself on his non-stop real estate focus and determination, his ability to be a great coach and mentor, and on his fun, outside-the-box approach to real estate.

http://Addicted2realestate.com
http://Executecsuites.com

Real estate has traditionally been an avenue for considerable investment per se and investment opportunity for High Net-worth Individuals, Financial institutions as well as individuals looking at viable alternatives for investing money among stocks, bullion, property and other avenues.

Money invested in property for its income and capital growth provides stable and predictable income returns, similar to that of bonds offering both a regular return on investment, if property is rented as well as possibility of capital appreciation. Like all other investment options, real estate investment also has certain risks attached to it, which is quite different from other investments. The available investment opportunities can broadly be categorized into residential, commercial office space and retail sectors.

Investment scenario in real estate

Any investor before considering real estate investments should consider the risk involved in it. This investment option demands a high entry price, suffers from lack of liquidity and an uncertain gestation period. To being illiquid, one cannot sell some units of his property (as one could have done by selling some units of equities, debts or even mutual funds) in case of urgent need of funds.

The maturity period of property investment is uncertain. Investor also has to check the clear property title, especially for the investments in India. The industry experts in this regard claim that property investment should be done by persons who have deeper pockets and longer-term view of their investments. From a long-term financial returns perspective, it is advisable to invest in higher-grade commercial properties.

The returns from property market are comparable to that of certain equities and index funds in longer term. Any investor looking for balancing his portfolio can now look at the real estate sector as a secure means of investment with a certain degree of volatility and risk. A right tenant, location, segmental categories of the Indian property market and individual risk preferences will hence forth prove to be key indicators in achieving the target yields from investments.

The proposed introduction of REMF (Real Estate Mutual Funds) and REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) will boost these real estate investments from the small investors’ point of view. This will also allow small investors to enter the real estate market with contribution as less as INR 10,000.

There is also a demand and need from different market players of the property segment to gradually relax certain norms for FDI in this sector. These foreign investments would then mean higher standards of quality infrastructure and hence would change the entire market scenario in terms of competition and professionalism of market players.

Overall, real estate is expected to offer a good investment alternative to stocks and bonds over the coming years. This attractiveness of real estate investment would be further enhanced on account of favourable inflation and low interest rate regime.

Looking forward, it is possible that with the progress towards the possible opening up of the real estate mutual funds industry and the participation of financial institutions into property investment business, it will pave the way for more organized investment real estate in India, which would be an apt way for investors to get an alternative to invest in property portfolios at marginal level.

Investor’s Profile

The two most active investor segments are High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) and Financial Institutions. While the institutions traditionally show a preference to commercial investment, the high net worth individuals show interest in investing in residential as well as commercial properties.

Apart from these, is the third category of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). There is a clear bias towards investing in residential properties than commercial properties by the NRIs, the fact could be reasoned as emotional attachment and future security sought by the NRIs. As the necessary formalities and documentation for purchasing immovable properties other than agricultural and plantation properties are quite simple and the rental income is freely repatriable outside India, NRIs have increased their role as investors in real estate

Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in real estate form a small portion of the total investments as there are restrictions such as a minimum lock in period of three years, a minimum size of property to be developed and conditional exit. Besides the conditions, the foreign investor will have to deal with a number of government departments and interpret many complex laws/bylaws.

The concept of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is on the verge of introduction in India. But like most other novel financial instruments, there are going to be problems for this new concept to be accepted.

Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) would be structured as a company dedicated to owning and, in most cases, operating income-producing real estate, such as apartments, shopping centres, offices and warehouses. A REIT is a company that buys, develops, manages and sells real estate assets and allows participants to invest in a professionally managed portfolio of properties.

Some REITs also are engaged in financing real estate. REITs are pass-through entities or companies that are able to distribute the majority of income cash flows to investors, without taxation, at the corporate level. The main purpose of REITs is to pass the profits to the investors in as intact manner as possible. Hence initially, the REIT’s business activities would generally be restricted to generation of property rental income.

The role of the investor is instrumental in scenarios where the interest of the seller and the buyer do not match. For example, if the seller is keen to sell the property and the identified occupier intends to lease the property, between them, the deal will never be fructified; however, an investor can have competitive yields by buying the property and leasing it out to the occupier.

Rationale for real estate investment schemes

The activity of real estate includes a wide range of activities such as development and construction of townships, housing and commercial properties, maintenance of existing properties etc.

The construction sector is one the highest employment sector of the economy and directly or indirectly affects the fortunes of many other sectors. It provides employment to a large work force including a substantial proportion of unskilled labor. However for many reasons this sector does not have smooth access to institutional finance. This is perceived as one of the reasons for the sector not performing to its potential.

By channeling small savings into property, investments would greatly increase access to organized institutional finance. Improved activity in the property sector also improves the revenue flows to the State exchequer through-increased sales-tax, octroi and other collections.

Real estate is an important asset class, which is under conventional circumstances not a viable route for investors in India at present, except by means of direct ownership of properties. For many investors the time is ripe for introducing product to enable diversification by allocating some part of their investment portfolio to real estate investment products. This can be effectively achieved through real estate funds.

Property investment products provide opportunity for capital gains as well as regular periodic incomes. The capital gains may arise from properties developed for sale to actual users or direct investors and the income stream arises out of rentals, income from deposits and service charges for property maintenance.

Advantages of investment in real estate

The following are the advantages for investing in Real Estate Investment Schemes

• As an asset class, property is distinct from the other investment avenues available to a small as well as large investor. Investment in property has its own methodology, advantages, and risk factors that are unlike those for conventional investments. A completely different set of factors, including capital formation, economic performance and supply considerations, influence the realty market, leading to a low correlation in price behaviour vis-à-vis other asset classes.

• Historically, over a longer term, real estate provides returns that are comparable with returns on equities. However, the volatility in prices of realty is lower than equities leading to a better risk management to return trade-off for the investment.

• Real estate returns also show a high correlation with inflation. Therefore, real estate investments made over long periods of time provide an inflation hedge and yield real returns

Risks of investment in real estate

The risks involved in investing in real estate are primarily to do with future rental depreciation or general property market risk, liquidity, tenancy risk and property depreciation. The fundamental factors affecting the value of a specific property are:

Location – The location of a building is crucially important and a significant factor in determining its market value. A property investment is likely to be held for several years and the attractiveness of a given location may change over the holding period, for the better or worse. For example, part of a city may be undergoing regeneration, in which case the perception of the location is likely to improve. In contrast, a major new shopping center development may reduce the appeal of existing peaceful, residential properties.

Physical Characteristics – The type and utility of the building will affect its value, i.e. an office or a shop. By utility is meant the benefits an occupier gets from utilizing space within the building. The risk factor is depreciation. All buildings suffer wear and tear but advances in building technology or the requirements of tenants may also render buildings less attractive over time. For example, the need for large magnitude of under-floor cabling in modern city offices has changed the specifications of the required buildings’ space. Also, a building which is designed as an office block may not be usable as a Cineplex, though Cineplex may serve better returns than office space.

Tenant Credit Risk – The value of a building is a function of the rental income that you can expect to receive from owning it. If the tenant defaults then the owner loses the rental income. However, it is not just the risk of outright default that matters. If the credit quality of the tenant were to deteriorate materially during the period of ownership then the sale value will likely be worse than it otherwise would have been.

Lease Length – The length of the leases is also an important consideration. If a building is let to a good quality tenant for a long period then the rental income is assured even if market conditions for property are volatile. This is one of the attractive features of property investment. Because the length of lease is a significant feature, it is important at the time of purchase to consider the length of lease at the point in time when the property is likely to be re-occupied. Many leases incorporate break options, and it is a standard market practice to assume that the lease will terminate at the break point.

Liquidity – All property investment is relatively illiquid to most bonds and equities. Property is slow to transact in normal market conditions and hence illiquid. In poor market conditions it will take even longer to find a buyer. There is a high cost of error in property investments. Thus, while a wrong stock investment can be sold immediately, undoing a wrong real estate investment may be tedious and distress process.

Tax Implications – Apart from income tax which is to be paid on rental income and capital gains, there are two more levies which have to be paid by the investor i.e. property tax and stamp duty. The stamp duty and property tax differ from state to state and can impact the investment returns ones expected from a property.

High Cost Of Investment – Real Estate values are high compared to other forms of investment. This nature of real estate investment puts it out of reach of the common masses. On the other hand, stocks and bonds can now be bought in quantities as small as-one share, thus enabling diversification of the portfolio despite lower outlays. Borrowing for investment in real estate increases the risks further.

Risk Of Single Property – Purchasing a single – property exposes the investor to specific risks associated with the property and does not provide any benefits of diversification. Thus, if the property prices fall, the investor is exposed to a high degree of risk.

Distress Sales – Illiquidity of the real estate market also brings in the risk of lower returns or losses in the event of an urgent need to divest. Distress sales are common in the real estate market and lead to returns that are much lower than the fair value of the property.

Legal Issues – While stock exchanges guarantee, to a certain extent, the legitimacy of a trade in equities or bonds and thus protect against bad delivery or fake and forged shares, no similar safety net is available in the property market. It is also difficult to check the title of a property and requires time, money and expertise.

Overall keeping an eye on market trends can reduce most of these risks. For instance, investing in properties where the rentals are at market rates, also, investing in assets that come with high-credit tenants and looking for lease lock-ins to reuse tenancy risk are simple guidelines to follow.

Future Outlook

The real estate market is witnessing a heightened activity from year 2000 both in terms of magnitude of space being developed as well as rational increase in price. Easy availability of housing loans at much lesser rates has encouraged people who are small investors to buy their own house, which may well be their second home too.

High net worth individuals have also demonstrated greater zeal in investing in residential real estate with an intention of reaping capital appreciation and simultaneously securing regular returns.

In the wake of strong economic growth, real estate market should continue to gain momentum resulting in falling vacancies in CBD areas and more development in suburbs; it is unlikely that commercial property prices will rise or fall significantly, beyond rational reasoning.

As the stamp duty on leave and license agreements has been further reduced, it should further attract to deal in this manner encouraging the investors and the occupiers.

With current budget focusing on infrastructure, it will attract quality tenants and add to market growth. Heighten retail activity will give upward push for space requirement.

Further, the proposed introduction of REMF (Real Estate Mutual Funds) and REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) will boost these real estate investments from the small investors’ point of view. These foreign investments would then mean higher standards of quality infrastructure and hence would change the entire market scenario in terms of competition and professionalism of market players.

Looking forward, it is possible that with evident steps of the possible opening up of the REMF industry and the participation of financial institutions into property investment business, it will pave the way for more organized investment in real estate in India, which would be an apt way for retail investors to get an alternative to invest in property portfolios at all levels. Overall, real estate is expected to offer a good investment alternative to stocks and bonds over the coming years.

Shobhit Agarwal is Joint MD, Capital Markets, Jones Lang LaSalle India, the Indian operations of the real estate consultancy, Jones Lang LaSalle.

With an extensive geographic footprint across ten cities, the firm provides investors, developers, local corporate and multinational companies with a comprehensive range of services including research, consultancy, transactions, project and development services, integrated facility management, property management, capital markets, residential, hotels and retail advisory.

Investing in real estate is as advantageous and as attractive as investing in the stock market. I would say it has three times more prospects of making money than any other business. But, But, But… since, it is equally guided by the market forces; you cannot undermine the constant risks involved in the real estate. Let me begin discussing with you the advantages of real estate investments. I found the advantages as most suited and really practical.

Advantages

Real Estate Investments are Less Risky

As compared to other investments, less of misadventure is involved in a real estate property. I will not get away from the fact that just like any investment you make; you have the risk of losing it. Real estate investments are traditionally considered a stable and rich gainer, provided if one takes it seriously and with full sagacity. The reasons for the real estate investments becoming less risky adventure primarily relate to various socio-economic factors, location, market behavior, the population density of an area; mortgage interest rate stability; good history of land appreciation, less of inflation and many more. As a rule of thumb, if you have a geographical area where there are plenty of resources available and low stable mortgage rates, you have good reason for investing in the real estate market of such a region. On the contrary, if you have the condo in a place, which is burgeoning under the high inflation, it is far-fetched to even think of investing in its real estate market.

No Need for Huge Starting Capital

A real estate property in Canada can be procured for an initial amount as low as $8,000 to $ 15,000, and the remaining amount can be taken on holding the property as security. This is what you call High Ratio Financing. If you don’t have the idea as to how it works, then let me explain you with the help of an example. Remember that saying… Examples are better than percepts!

Supposing, you buy a condo worth $200,000, then you have to just pay the initial capital amount say 10% of $200,000. The remaining amount (which is 90%) can be financed, against your condo. It means that in a High Ratio financing, the ratio between the debt (here in the example it is 90% Mortgage) and the equity (here in the example it is 10% down payment) is very high. It is also important to calculate high ratio mortgage insurance with the help of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). If needed, you can also purchase the condo on 100% mortgage price.

Honing Investment Skills

A real estate investment, especially when you buy a condo for yourself, will be a pleasurable learning experience. It gives you the opportunity to learn and when I went ahead with my first real estate property, I was totally a dump man. Ask me now, and I can tell you everything, from A to Z. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. I had the necessity to buy the property and so I tried with it, and I was successful. I acquired all the knowledge and skills through experience of selling and purchasing the residential property. Thanks to my job. It gave me the experience to become an investor.

Not a time taking Adventure

Real estate investment will not take out all your energies, until you are prepared and foresighted to take the adventure in full swing. You can save hell lot of time, if you are vigilant enough to know the techniques of making a judicious investment in the right time and when there are good market conditions prevailing at that point of time.

You should be prepared to time yourself. Take some time out, and do market research. Initiate small adventures that involve negotiating real estate deals, buying a property, managing it and then selling it off. Calculate the time invested in your real estate negotiation. If the time was less than the optimum time, you have done it right. And if you end up investing more time, then you need to work it out again, and make some real correction for consummating next deals. You have various ways and methodologies, called the Real Estate Strategies that can make it happen for you in the right manner.

Leverage is the Right Way

The concept of leverage in real estate is not a new one. It implies investing a part of your money and borrowing the rest from other sources, like banks, investment companies, finance companies, or other people’s money (OPM). There have been many instances where people have become rich by practically applying OPM Leverage Principal. As I had discussed under the sub head – No Need for Huge Starting Capital, the high ratio financing scheme gives an opportunity of no risk to the lenders, as the property becomes the security. Moreover, in case the lender is interested in selling the property, the net proceeds resulting from the sale of the property should comfortably cover the mortgage amount.

Now consider a situation, where the lender leverages the property at too high ratio debt say 98% or even more, and all of the sudden the market shows a down turn, then both the investor as well as the lender. Hence, greater is the mortgage debt, more is the lender’s risk, and it is therefore necessary that lender pays higher interest rates. The only way out to ease the risk from lender’s head is to get the mortgage insured. Two companies authorized to insure your high-ratio mortgage debts are CMHC (www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca), and GE mortgage Insurance Canada (gemortgage.ca).

Letme explain you with the help of an example… supposing, you are buying a real estate property worth $ 200,000 at three mortgages, with the first one of $100,000, the second of $75,000 and the third one of $25,000. Possible percentage of interest rates charged can be 3%, 5% and 7%. The last mortgage amount of $25,000 will be accounted, as riskiest; as it would relatively be the last mortgage that you will pay when you finally make a selling deal.

On the contrary, if the first mortgage representing almost 90% of your property price is insured against getting default or as high ratio mortgage, then in the above example, the basic interest rate would be 3%.

Let me explain you the leveraging concept by taking another example.

Supposing, you are buying a real estate property worth $200,000, and made down payment of 10%, equitable to $20,000, while financed the rest amount of $1,80,000. Over the year’s time, the value of your property appreciates by 10%. In this case, what would be the total return that you’d incur on your down payment of $20,000? It would be 200%. Yes 200%. Putting in simpler words, the down payment of $20,000 made by you has an appreciation of 10% over it, i.e. (10% increase of original home price of $ 200,000), 200% return on your down payment investment of $20,000.

On the contrary if you invest all the money in buying the property of $200,000, and in wake of appreciation of 10% over the year ($20,0000 would then be accrued to as 20%.

Synonymous with leveraging is pyramiding, where you borrow on the appreciated value of your existing property. Pyramiding applies the principal of leverage that enables you to purchase even more properties. This appreciated value over the real estate property in some selected areas results in accumulation of rich financial virtues.

Real Estate Appreciation

An appreciation is an average increase in the property value over original capital investment, taking place over a period. There are some neglected real estate properties that have an appreciation below the average mark, whereas, some of the properties located in maintained geographical areas, showing high demand, have an above average appreciation. In such centrally located and high demand areas, the average appreciation can reach up to 25% in a year. I will discuss appreciation in the chapter on real estate cycles. For now, for general understanding, appreciation is what goes up.

You Make Your Equity

As you gradually pay your mortgage debts, you are creating your equity. In other words, you would be reaching to original house price on which you have no debt. Your equity is absolutely free of percentage increase in appreciation. From the investor’s perspective, in real estate market, equity is the amount that is free of debt and it is the amount that an investor holds. When you sale your property, then the net money you get, after paying all the commissions and closing costs, becomes your equity. Lenders don’t want to take risk by allowing a loan on over 90% of equity. Therefore, in this manner, the lenders take the safety measures in wake of their loan being defaulted.

The Federal Bankruptcy act says that all the first mortgages of over 75% of the appraised or purchase value must be covered under high-ratio insurance schemes. However, there are certain conditions, wherein, CMHC offers the purchasers of real estate property qualifying the insurance, a mortgage of up to 100% of purchase price over your principal house value. In the wake of an event where borrowers want more money from the lenders, they would ideally settle for second and the third mortgages.

Low Inflation

Inflation is the rise in the prices of the products, commodities and services, or putting it another way, it is the decrease in your capacity to buy or hire the services. Supposing, a commodity was worth $10 a decade back, will now cost $ 100 as the result of inflation. For people who have fixed salaries feel the real brunt of the dollar, as the inflation rises. In Canada, the inflation rate varies and it varies every year. There was a time when Canada had a double-digit, but it was controlled to single digit, after the regulation of policy.

If we analyze closely, the land appreciation value for the residential real estate is 4% to 5% higher than inflation rate. Therefore, when you invest in real estate, then you are paying mortgage debts in high dollar value. Now as you are getting more, salary to pay less amount than the amount that you had paid in the original mortgage.

Tax Exemptions

You get various tax exemptions on your principal and investment income property. The tax exemptions available in real estate property investment are more than available in any other investment. In other investments, you lose terribly on the investments in your bank in the form of inflation and high taxes therein, but in real estate; you don’t actually have such hindrances.

Various tax exemptions available are:
•The interest receivable from your bank account, term deposit or guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) is completely taxable as income. A little math here will do the magic work for you. Supposing, if you get an interest of 8% on the deposit, and the on going inflation rate is 5%, the Real Return Rate will come out to be settled at 2%.
•You get completely tax-free capital gain on principal amount of your residential real estate property.
•You have the opportunity to ward off principal amount of your residential real estate property against the home expenses incurred by you.
•You can easily ward off the property depreciation against your income.
•You can cut the expenses incurred in real estate property investment through your income
•Tax rate reduced to approx. 50% of the capital gain.
•And many more

Net Positive and High Income is Generated

If taken in right direction and played seriously, a real estate investment can be your virtue making endeavor now and in times to come. You will not only be having additional assets building in your favor, but also with positive cash flow, your real estate property value will increase automatically.

High Return on Investments (ROIs)

Real estate investment gives you potentially high ROIs before and after the taxes levied on your income. In fact, investing in real estate gives you high ROIs after the taxes.

Demand for the Real Estate Increases

As a natural instance, when the population of a region increases, the total usable land decreases, and this provides the impetus for high real estate prices. There are many communities that can or cannot have growth and development regulations, thereby, resulting in limited land available for use. Therefore, the real estate prices of the area shoot up. Remember housing is the necessity of an individual and therefore it is much in demand than any other single commodity taken. Furthermore, there are people who purchase additional houses for their recreation, recluse or as a past time. This in turn increases the demand for land.

Ravinder Tulsiani is a published author who has written about personal finance, real estate, self-help and online marketing.