The The Top Real Estate Agents Blog
11.12.2006Foreclosures can mean a new source for profitsIf you are an investor, you may already know that real estate offers many
exciting areas for revenue and profits, but unless you are considering
foreclosure properties as well, you may not be getting the most for your
property dollar. In general, a foreclosure is a real estate property that
has been repossessed, usually because the owner was not able to make
mortgage payments. Once the lender legally repossesses the property through
a legal process known as foreclosure, the property can be sold again to
investors and other property buyers. There are several sellers you can turn
to for a foreclosure:
1) The government. When a home owner defaults on a home loan insured by the
government, the government pays the lender for the money lost through the
loan. In exchange, the lender hands the home over to the government agency
and the government then sells the property in order to make up the money
that has to be paid to the lender. From the government, you can buy an HUD
foreclosure, a VA foreclosure, and a Fannie Mae foreclosure.
2) Banks and other lenders. When a home loan is not insured by the
government, the lender has all the responsibility of a bad loan. This means
that when the owner defaults, the lender repossesses the property and tries
to sell it themselves or through a third party.
3) The owner. When an owner knows that foreclosure is imminent, they still
have the option of selling the property as a pre foreclosure and paying off
the lender. This saves their credit and may give them some cash. Buying a
pre foreclosure can be risky but can also give an investor some great deals
in real estate.
However you buy a foreclosure, you can expect certain benefits. Most of the
time, a foreclosure is sold under it's market value, which means that you
can buy this sort of property very inexpensively. Since a foreclosure may
have been neglected for a while and since the seller wants to get rid of it
fast, you can expect savings of 5% to 50% and more when you buy a
foreclosure. This means that you enjoy instant equity you can use right
away. The low price also means that you can offer great deals on the
property to your own buyers and renters. Plus, the low price and equity you
get on a foreclosure can mean very affordable financing, so that you save
money all around, which an boost your bottom line.
With these benefits, you may want to buy a foreclosure of your own. Don't
look in your local real estate section, though - most foreclosure properties
are unadvertised. The best way to find a foreclosure is to subscribe to
quality foreclosure listings. Good foreclosure listings offer frequently
updated lists of foreclosures that are available for you right now. Online
foreclosure listings such FreeForeclosureDatabase.com make finding a
foreclosure a snap, no matter where you live. Plus, you can browse
FreeForeclosureDatabase.com for free. No registration is required, so there
is no need for you to pay big bucks to make money with foreclosure
properties. If you are ready to for the next level of real estate investing,
look for foreclosure opportunities with FreeForeclosureDatabase.com to make
your investing money stretch much further.
11.12.2006Rent to own home scams destroy dreamsRENT-TO-OWN HOME SCAMS DESTROY DREAMS
Amidst a red-hot Florida housing market, people desiring rent-to-own home opportunities must battle con artists who promise the world and steal the dreams.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA – Scammers in Florida steal more than dreams from people, whose misplaced trust in some “rent-to-own home specialists” leaves them without their hard-earned money and a home of their own.
“Caveat Emptor!” Let the buyer beware rings true in Florida during the state’s current blistering housing market, as people with damaged credit and unable to get their own home mortgages have turned to those offering “Lease-Option,” “Rent-to-Own,” or “Lease with an option to purchase” home ownership opportunities.
Sarasota’s Mike Payne, a Realtor with Horizon Realty who specializes in rent-to-own home opportunities through their website, www.asolution4you.com, claims it has gotten more challenging for people searching for a home to separate the good guys from the bad guys in the rent-to-own business.
“It’s horrible what’s happening to good people, who are making the mistake of trusting others to provide them with a fair deal on their new home. In return, many of these people are losing their money and, much worse, their homes to these con artists,” Payne added.
When done correctly, Payne mentioned, families achieve the American Dream of home ownership by renting to own for a fair price and enjoying their home during the lease term as if it has been their own home while resolving issues, i.e. credit, job history, etc, currently preventing them from getting their own financing.
Tragedy Strikes…
In Florida, however, fraud and greed have joined forces with tragic results for many “rent-to-own” deals. Just ask Ivan and Levette Wheeler of Sanford, Florida, who pursued a rent-to-own home opportunity from a company pretending to help people with damaged credit:
“…I finally visited (web) sites listing different companies willing to work w/ your credit blemishes. They all wanted your personal information and some type of fee to start the process. We actually got suckered into a scam and lost $1200 to a fraudulent company that promised us a home of our choice and price. After losing $1200, our trust level dropped significantly and we became very skeptical about the so-called ‘Lease to Purchase’ or ‘No Credit, No Problem – Own Your Home Today!’ schemes.”
As Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler tragically discovered, these scammers prey on people’s burning desire to get their own homes.
“We didn’t think our situation was so bad that banks would turn us down,” the Wheelers added. “What we learned was that our damaged credit required us to take a loan with an outrageous interest rate, a huge down payment, and excessive fees. We didn't expect the type of loan reserved for people with good credit, but we didn't expect to get hammered either. We looked at what that loan would've cost us and we couldn't believe it. We just couldn't afford the bank's monthly payment, their down payment requirement, or the fees they expected us to pay.”
For the Wheelers, losing hard-earned money did not destroy their pursuit of a legitimate rent-to-own home ownership program.
“We knew we wanted to be homeowners, not renters. We also knew that despite a bad experience with a company pretending to offer rent-to-own opportunities there had to be at least one reputable company out there actually helping people achieve their dream of home ownership,” the Wheelers added.
People dreaming of owning their own homes fall prey to the scammers' misleading and deceptive practices.
“Every day, I hear tragic stories from people who have been ripped off or about people who have been ripped off,” Payne stated. “It seems that everyone with whom I speak knows of somebody who has been ripped off by some person or company claiming to offer rent-to-own home opportunities. These victims are good people who simply have wanted their families to enjoy nice homes in nice neighborhoods. They do everything they’re asked to do with paperwork and money, and then some greedy person or company rips them off.”
Simple cause explains fraud…GREED!
Florida is experiencing unprecedented growth in its housing market. The report, “Median Sales Price of Existing Single-Family Homes for Metropolitan (FL) Areas,” released by the National Association of Realtors reveals price increases (% change) for the following markets during a one-year period from Quarter 3 (2004) - Quarter 3 (2005):
Quarter 3 - 2004
Quarter 3 - 2005
% Change
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
$194,800
$277,600
42.5
Ocala, FL
$114,900
$151,500
31.9
Orlando, FL
$180,500
$261,300
44.8
Palm Bay-Melbourne, FL
$159,300
$212,800
33.6
Sarasota, FL
$285,900
$353,800
23.7
Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater, FL
$167,000
$213,500
27.8
Greedy people pretending to offer rent-to-own home opportunities do not want to leave even one penny on the table for a family desiring future home ownership. To keep from leaving even one penny, these scammers will deceive, cheat, and steal from hard-working people who need a little time in a lease term before getting their own financing and their home in their own names.
Don't Get Ripped Off...
To avoid getting ripped off, Payne offers the following advice:
Confirm ownership of property offered as rent-to-own. Confirm clear title to the property offered by the "Mom and Pop" investors or investor-promoters. A common strategy today is for investors to call on "for-sale-by-owner" (FSBO) sellers in order to get a property under contract on a lease-option. The investor then turns around and "assigns" the option to a third party seeking home ownership. The investor does not own the property. In most localities, a person can go online to the County Tax Assessor's Office to search property tax records. Insist that the rent-to-own promoter produce evidence of property ownership, or you may encounter a legal battle to get title transferred once lease expires and you are exercising your option to purchase.
Don’t fall for the “We’re not Realtors” line paraded by those who are not licensed. If you actually find a traditional Realtor who specializes in rent-to-own opportunities, choose the licensed person instead of the unlicensed person. You will NOT pay for the Realtor’s services – and you will get the assurance that comes with working with a licensed person. It is more difficult, perhaps even impossible, to go after an unlicensed person who rips you off. If the person helping you with a rent-to-own home opportunity is a Realtor, that person is licensed by Florida and can lose his license if he misrepresents himself. As long as the Realtor specializes in rent-to-own transactions, you will benefit from the Realtor’s negotiating skills, contracts, MLS access, and real estate knowledge.
Beware of FSBOs (For Sale By Owners) Offering Rent-to-Own. If you are dealing with a homeowner offering rent-to-own terms, you must be extremely careful even if the homeowner has the best intentions. Unless you are absolutely confident in negotiating this type of transaction and absolutely confident in the contracts utilized to solidify this transaction, you are potentially inviting a horrible legal clash down the road. With an honest homeowner offerering terms, it is an inconvenience promulgated by the homeowner's and future homeowner's lack of understanding of all paperwork involved in a rent-to-own contract. With a dishonest homeowner offering terms, you will endure a legal nightmare and possibly worse. How well can people do something for which they are not trained and in which they have little or no experience? Still worse is the dishonest homeowner with the "honest and sincere" look whose contracts set you up for failure after you performed honorably and now must fight the legal system or move out of your home. Similar horror stories occur daily. We all want a "deal," but to what extent do you plan to "deal" with the horror resulting from your "dealmaking?"
Conversely, don’t fall for the “I’m a Realtor; I can help you” line. If the Realtor does not specialize in rent-to-own opportunities, that Realtor is doing what so many Realtors do – deceiving you. Some Realtors will exaggerate the market value of a property in order to get a seller to give them a listing, knowing they can always come up with an excuse to go back to the seller to get the seller to reduce the asking price. Some Realtors attempting to represent buyers employ the same deceptive strategies. The bottom line is that the Realtor must specialize in rent-to-own opportunities or it won’t matter how many nice homes that Realtor can locate on his MLS. If you can’t qualify to buy the home on which the Realtor is representing you, then you cannot buy the home.
Get the future purchase price in writing. It MUST be locked in and it must be in writing in the contract! Do NOT sign a contract with a floating future purchase price, unless you know exactly how the future price will be determined and you agree to the calculation.
Read all paperwork very carefully before signing anything. As logical as this appears, people desperate to get a home with rent-to-own terms somehow throw this important suggestion out the window. They seem to think that they have to take unnecessary risks to get a nice home in a nice neighborhood. Not true! If you do not understand every word of what you are asked to sign, take the paper to your attorney. If the person offering this home with rent-to-own terms refuses to allow you to have the paperwork reviewed, leave that person’s office – don’t do business with that person. A legitimate rent-to-own home specialist will not have a problem with an attorney, family, and friends reviewing the paperwork.
Don't Rush. Do not allow somebody to pressure you into signing paper or handing over money. Often, people out to rip you off attempt to create urgency – that if you fail to buy at the moment you will lose the opportunity. Even in Florida’s red-hot housing market, if you are not convinced a particular home is the home for your family, another home will come along. Remain patient.
Do the math. Another sleazy trick used by the RTO scammers is to advertise a ridiculously low monthly rent payment on the home being offered with rent-to-own terms. They know your credit and financial situation will not allow you to afford the home once you attempt to get the home in your names. They set you up for failure. While you make all on-time monthly payments and maintain the property, the scammers know you will not be able to get the financing and/or afford the monthly payment when you attempt to get the home in your own name. Request a mortgage broker or loan officer assist you in forecasting your future payment before signing any rent-to-own paperwork. Confirm that you will be able to afford the home you desire.
Separate the facts from the BS. Sometimes we hear and read things that even our wildest dreams cannot conceive. For instance, we recently heard from some customers that they had come across some "pretenders" offering rent-to-own opportunties with NO deposit; NO first and last or a down payment; and NO option payment of any kind in order to get the keys to a $200,000+ home. Okay, back up a moment and think about this. If we are to understand this correctly without getting our magnifying glass to read all the small print and the "Gotcha" clauses, we should be able to get the keys with zero out-of-pocket money. Right? Is that you would think when reading the "No Anything" happy talk? Do they think we are idiots? Do they think we will believe that total strangers can get the keys to a nice home in a nice neighborhood with no collateral, i.e. down payment money? Yeah, right! Would you even give the keys to your car, let alone a $200,000+ home, to a total stranger without collateral? No, neither would I. You see, these people offering such ridiculous claims must take us for idiots. There are no free lunches, and we learned that lesson before grade school. To protect both parties, an option or down payment amount should average 3% of the home's value. Don't be desperate and don't fall victim to outrageous claims.
Don’t fall for the “rent credit” scam. A monthly rent credit is nothing more than a forced savings plan in which you are overcharged each month in order to “reward” you at the end of the lease term with the money you have been overcharged. Do you require a forced savings plan? What these RTO scammers are doing is playing the numbers: they know that only 42% of all people on rent-to-own contracts ever make it to lease term. They’re hoping you are one of the 58% -- if you fail to make it to term, they’ll keep the money you’ve overpaid for your monthly “rent credit.”
Ask the “What if…? questions. Before signing the paperwork verifying the term, the conditions, and the future agreed upon purchase price, ask the following questions:
* What happens if I’m not able to get my own financing at the end of the lease term?
*What happens if the property doesn’t appraise for the future agreed upon price at the end of the lease term?
The moral of the story…
You really can avoid getting ripped off by the scammers pretending to offer rent-to-own home opportunities. Understand and employ the strategies presented above and you will avoid the tragedy of losing your money or your dream of future home ownership.
Mike Payne, a Realtor with Horizon Realty, specializes in providing Florida Rent to Own Home Lease Option Homes Florida opportunities. For more information, visit www.asolution4you.com.
11.12.2006New British tax rebates for South AfricansChanges to British tax laws in April 2006, will enable South Africans working in Britain to buy property in their home country at tax discounts of up to 40%.
International Property Update, Cape Town, November 26, 2005 -- The new system allows any person paying British tax to invest tax-deductible funds of his or her choice into self-invested personal pensions (Sipps). A whole year’s income may be invested this way and the money used to buy property or other assets in South Africa. All rent earned from the property will be tax-free.
An estimated 750,000 South Africans –most of them between 20 and 30 years old – live in London alone and will stay for an average of about five years. It is expected that the new tax incentive will encourage a large number of them to buy property in South Africa. When they return to South Africa they will have a tax-sheltered offshore trust to which they will be able to contribute until they are 55, if they reach this age after 2010.
Tax experts explained that the law is being changed because the British government, like other European governments, is concerned about the increasing pension burden it will be facing as people reach a higher age. The new system will enable more people to be independent when they retire.
About Evolvepro Marketing: Evolvepro is a Cape Town based Internet Property Marketing company showcasing Agents & Brokers property throughout South Africa.
For more information please visit Evolvepro Property Marketing
11.12.2006Setting goals for real estate successGoal setting is a frequently overlooked step in real estate investing. This is very unfortunate because taking a few moments to complete this simple task effectively can have a huge impact on your long term results but also on how seriously you are treated by professionals. This is incredibly important to your short term success and your confidence as you will need to establish strong relationships with such people if you are to succeed.
The power of goal setting has been well documented and communicated so before you skip over this point because you’ve heard it all before I’d like you to consider how well you are doing it. I’m a firm believer that you don’t truly understand something until you are doing it.
If you are an avid goal setter you will want to read this to learn some specifics associated with real estate investing. If you are not a frequent goal setter please read on and consider that setting goals really is a powerful tool, does have some magic about it, and is critical to your investing success.
Consider the following example. In 1953, researchers interviewed the graduating class of Harvard University about their career goals for the future. It was found that only 3% had written goals and specific plans for achieving them. Twenty years later the researchers re-interviewed the class of '53. They discovered that while all students had shared the best education money can buy, the 3% with written plans for the future were worth more, in financial terms, than the other 97% combined. Whilst this only examined financial or career goals I think it illustrates the true power of written goals.
I’m tempted to offer some goal setting basics here but for the sake of brevity, all I’ll say is that your goals should be: specific, measurable, realistic, in writing and have a deadline. Know also that they will evolve over time so you don’t need to worry about getting them perfect; just start with something!
With respect to real estate, you need to first figure out what your primary investing objective is:
i) quick cash / equity
ii) cash flow
iii) capital growth
Note: There is a discussion regarding the role of these different objectives in the handbook Investing Secrets of the Property Masters Revealed.
Let’s say, for the sake of an example, that you want to focus on cash flow properties. Consider the difference in the following goal statements:
I want to invest in some real estate that will supplement my income and help me retire faster.
or
I will acquire sufficient property in the next 12 months to produce an average of $4,000 per year of additional income.
That’s much better because it is getting specific, is certainly measurable and has a deadline. It is also realistic and in writing. But when you go to see a realtor or other people who will help you acquire that property they will ask things like, “in what area?” and “what type of property?” so as you learn more you need to add those details.
This is another very important point about setting goals for your real estate investing. Once you have these clear goals, people such as realtors will suddenly treat you much more seriously. Even if you don’t have all the answers; imagine walking into a realtor’s office and hitting them with those two goal statements. Which one will get you further? Even if you don’t know which area or what type of property they won’t treat you like a tire kicker. They will ask those important questions of you and you can learn from them and go away and make your goal even clearer before getting back in touch with them. And the next realtor you visit won’t even know that you hadn’t thought about that. They’ll just see someone who knows exactly what they want and will be able and willing to help out.
The final point I want to make about goals is more to do with the measurement part than with setting them. I know that sounds tedious but it can be really exciting. The most successful companies in the world track their progress against their goals because it is effective to do so. Imagine putting a simple graph on your wall that has the months along the bottom axis and the cash flow you’ve developed on the vertical axis. You can draw a red line across the graph representing your target of $4,000 per year and then you can draw an angled line that adds another $333 to the cash flow each month. This gives you some very good feedback as to how you are progressing and motivation while there is still time to do something about it. That’s obviously much better than just seeing how you went 12 months later and finding that you only acquired property that produces $1,000 per year. It’s a very simple and powerful tool.
If you are really disciplined you can take this one step further and use the same approach for the activities that produce the outcomes that we are measuring on the other graph. This really helps ensure the result. For example, if you know you need to evaluate 100 properties and make offers on 10 to acquire that amount of property then you could graph those drivers as well.
To your success,
Scott Roemermann
www.investing-secrets.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Scott Roemermann is the founder of Investing-Secrets.com, a website dedicated to helping consumers in their search for sound investing advice from honest and experienced professionals rather than self-proclaimed ‘real estate gurus’. Scott does not claim to be a guru or advisor himself, he says he’s ‘just an average guy’ who has also experienced the bewilderment and uncertainty of trying to get a good real estate investing education when starting out.
11.12.2006Guide to first time home buyersYou are living as an occupant for many years and used to spend most of the time in dreaming of buying a house in a good location with lots of both greenery and natural ambiance. But your inadequate financial resources have kept your dream home away from you always. A first time buyer mortgage can help you realize your dream and make your dream home your own. As the name indicates, first time home buyer mortgage are designed only for people who have an idea of buying their home for the first time. Buyers are obligatory for paying a part of the cost as down payment mostly in the range of 15 to 20 percent and the rest is being paid by the lender. For making the repayments easier and regular, the longer repayment period should bring the monthly installment amount to a lower side. And for every time your equity or ownership in the home will get increased with the repayments.
Home mortgage loan needs lot of thoughts and commitments for a long period of time and also offer advises for people to do their homework properly. They also need to judge their financial strength wisely and go for a loan amount which is convenient and affordable to pay. Buying a home on mortgage is not an easy task for the reason that it involves a long financial commitment and a huge amount to be repaid. Since the repayment period is very elongated, a slightly high interest rate can cost heavily to the buyer. Internet is an effective tool for information meeting since you get admission to more details in less time. One can easily log on to the websites of a multiplicity of finance companies by tendering mortgages and can also gather obligatory information.
Start by paying off your debt
Many people would undergo the mistakes of focusing on saving money as well as in paying for things with credit cards and other forms of credit. But the best approach that should be employed is using your cash for eliminating your credit-card and other high-interest debt, even if you have to put less down on your home. Credit card debt is the most expensive form of debt you are facing and they limit your ability to save money. The average interest rate on a credit card is around 13%, much higher than a 6% 30-year fixed rate mortgage and the lender will not agree to your monthly debt payments to exceed 40% of your gross income.
What can you afford?
Most of the lenders wish for your housing expenses that take in mortgage payment, taxes as well as insurance for remaining under 28% of your gross income. Also determine how much cash you have for a down payment, keeping in mind that you will have to pay for closing costs. The closing costs can also add up to 5% of your new home's total value. You should save a little extra for emergency repairs once you move into the home.
Different types of loans
Now you know how much you can afford, you are ready to start shopping around for the right loan. If you have a steady job and great credit, you may be able to put down as little as 3%. Rates vary broadly and low-down payment mortgages that have an interest rate of at least half a point higher than a conservative loan. The more money you can find for a down payment, the more options you will have. If you put 5% down, you may get qualified with a smaller salary than those who put 3% down. Private lenders have come up with countless programs that are being elected for first-time home buyers.
Piggybacking your loan is commonly increasing. This sort of mortgage is often referred to as an 80-10-10 totally. You simply place 10% of the home's value down. Then take out your primary mortgage, normally as a 30-year fixed rate, for 80% of the home's value. Finally take out the enduring 10% as a 15-year fixed rate second mortgage, at a less favorable rate. When you merge the two loan payments you can easily reach your total mortgage payment. The process is little more complicated and expensive than a traditional mortgage and has higher closing costs.
Down Payment Assistance
HUD allocates money to each state for distribution to low and moderate income families for housing assistance if you still can't find a way to come up with a down payment and most of the funding is used towards down payment assistance programs. Many young home buyers may get qualified for a grant or a loan of 3-5% of the sale price for down payment and closing costs and you can earn no more than 80% of the regions median income. No-equity loans are of high cost, high risk home equity loans that aren't advisable.
04.12.2006New website creates hundreds of opportunities for Real Estate agents and Realtors®TheTopRealEstateAgents.com
Lists the top 100 real estate agents and Realtors® in each state. This proves to be the best real estate directory on the web with an amazingly simple interface, through which people can look up the very best real estate agents in their state.
Real estate agents can now apply to be listed in the ‘Top 100’ list at a very nominal rental fee. Having just been launched, the site is proving to be highly successful as a large number of agents have already applied and have been listed.
The site features an extremely simple, easy-to-navigate interface. The site is ideal for anyone looking for home buyers and sellers. With only the best agents listed, people can rest assured of a great deal.
According to a company spokesman, "We found out that people are looking for a reliable real estate resource. So, we figured that if we could list the best real estate agents, the public would have a place they can trust. This would also be a great place for agents to list themselves. As more people visit our site, they can be sure of a lot of attention."
People have noted that the best thing about the site is its ‘no hassle’ approach. There are absolutely NO obligations in this site. Unlike other directories, which force visitors to fill out forms that collect their private information and generate bogus leads for real estate agents, this website has absolutely no forms to fill out. So, it’s fast, reliable and secure.
The site also provides great real estate tools to its visitors absolutely free. Tools include mortgage calculators, useful articles, utilities connection, information about schools and web search. The webmaster has announced that the site will feature many other useful tools in the near future.
There are many other great features to this site. It has revolutionized real estate advertising by featuring pixel advertising. Real-estate related websites can now rent up to 10,000 pixels to advertise using their banners for only $12.99.
Another great but absolutely free feature is MLS linking. Real-estate agents with direct access to their local MLS can now link his/her MLS to this website. The only obligation is that they put up a return link from their website.
Also, every subscriber is entitled to a FREE email account, powered by Google. They will get powerful email IDs of the kind, Name @TheTopRealEstateAgent.com.
Mr. Castro of Utah says, "I feel this site is the best real-estate resource on the web. I found a great agent in minutes and he’s helped my sell my house for $175,000. It was a greater deal than I would’ve expected. And I have to say, the real-estate tools offered in the site are definitely better than great."
The site is gaining popularity every day as more people are becoming aware of the great services it has to offer. Also, the number of real-estate agents listed is growing rapidly. With such sudden and explosive growth, the site is expected to become the #1 real-estate directory on the web.
20.03.2006TheTopRealEstateAgents.com is launched!March 20, 2006 this web site is officially launched.
What is the idea of this site?
For Homebuyers and Sellers:
Is to provide a free, no obligation, and easy to use site where The Top Realtors® and Real Estate Agents from across America can be showcased.
For The Top Realtors® and Real Estate Agents:
To create a hurricane of web traffic and the opportunity to present their services to homebuyers and sellers.
Who can advertise on this site?
Only real estate related companies are allowed to submit ads.
Thank you for visiting us. Pixels will be going fast, get your pixels and start getting traffic today.
Sincerely,
The Top Real Estate Agents Team.
Click Here To Reserve Your Large Ad Today
|
|
