2011/12/17

Orlando’s Real Estate Market Is Ripe With Opportunities

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , — Mallory Tinch @ 7:03 am

I have relatives in Orlando and I visit them about twice a year. It’s a nice city, although on the surface you would never guess that it is one of America’s cities with the highest crime rates. Not too long ago, it was in the top 25, and I don’t know how things have evolved since then.

One of the things that strikes me every time I go is the relative low prices of houses that are up for sale. I mean I’m talking about a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in a decent neighborhood for less that $150,000 dollars. In a city like New York, you don’t even start looking unless you’re considering spending at least twice as much.

Maybe the reason why houses are so cheap there is that there have been so many foreclosures. Almost everywhere you go, you see signs up for houses that are on the market. Locals say that the foreclosure situation has been really bad. But I see the other side of the coin: that means that houses can be picked up on the cheap! Depending on your time horizon and what you’re interested in if you want to invest in real estate, you can rent them out and enjoy the rental income, or you can buy them, fix them up, and turn them around for a quick profit.

Well about that last tidbit, judging by the number of houses currently on the market, you’d have to find a very special deal to come out with a healthy profit by fixing it up and selling it. But when it comes to rental opportunities, there is a lot of potential, if only because your time horizon is so much longer, and you still stand to benefit from the appreciation that is bound to show its head eventually.

Florida doesn’t have a great reputation right now, real estate-wise, because prices have plunged during the recession. But it now offers plenty of opportunities for anyone willing to step in and make things happen.

2011/12/05

Buying and selling homes on the Internet

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , , — Hugh Hoefle @ 7:17 pm

The spread and the reach of the Internet have drastically changed the manner in which homes are now bought and sold. Earlier, if you wanted to buy a home, you had to plow through hundreds of listings in print and the classified ads and then proceed to inspect a number of properties. Even after putting in all this time and effort, there was no assurance that the property that you finally chose was your dream home. Now all you have to do to save a lot of time and effort it is simply go online and reject unsuitable properties on the spot. You can check out the neighborhood and the amenities and take a virtual tour of the house in the bargain.

If you are selling a house, you have little choice but to list online because statistics show that up to 80% of prospective homebuyers shop online and 25% of these deals are concluded online. If you wish to list your home online, there are a number of websites which will allow you to list on their sites and direct traffic to your listing. The fees that you pay will depend on the services for which you are shopping. Some of these sites would also draw up a contract for you that is legal in your state, arrange for all the required disclosures and had help you to close the deal without involving a real estate agent.

You’ll always have the option of using a real estate agent for some or all of the process. If a real estate agent handles the entire process, be prepared to pay a commission of around 6% which is normally shared between your agent and the buyer’s agent. You may well find that the advantages of this arrangement outweigh the costs. You can use the Internet to find and interview real estate agents that you consider suitable for your requirements. All this is really no more complicated than stock market investing.

Rent To Own Homes In Florida

Filed under: Real Estate — Tags: , , , , — Ted Magwood @ 3:11 pm

There are a ton of listings in Florida for cash buyers and those with good credit that are pre-approved for conventional or FHA financing.

Buyers that are looking for rent to own homes in Florida may have a harder time finding listings through the traditional methods like the MLS system. Active websites that offer owner financed homes for sale have plenty of listings placed directly by the home seller in most cases.

You can also look and regular rental homes and ask the owner if they would consider selling on a rent to own or lease option contract. Most landlords view tenants that are looking to be homeowners as a higher quality. You may be able to strike a better deal this way.

You’ll want to try to get a credit towards the purchase price for some of your monthly rental payment. Make sure your landlord stays current on his mortgage payments. Start working on credit issues so you can purchase the home within 12 to 24 months.

Many families that are relocating to a new area find that a rent to own home gives them the option to get to know an area and it’s surroundings before taking that plunge of purchasing a home in a new area.

Websites like ownerfinanceleaseoption.com offer a wealth of information for tenant buyers looking to find a home with flexible terms.   

 

 

 

2011/11/17

Turn Your Home Improvement Knowledge into a Business

Filed under: Home Improvements — Tags: — Julio Gress @ 9:52 am

Do you consider yourself to be a handyman? Do you enjoy fixing up things around the house? Have you done big projects on your home and have your friend compliment you on a job well done? Perhaps you can use this knowledge to make some money. Tons of people each day look for legit work from home jobs in order to have the opportunity to have a job where they can be home with their family. So what exactly can you do with your home improvement knowledge?

One great thing you can do is start a website where you teach people how to do various repairs. Many people would really rather do fix ups themselves because hiring contractors can be very expensive. DIY books are good but they can sometimes be hard to follow. What you can do is create videos and post them on your site showing people how to do certain things like wiring, plumbing, fixing holes, putting down hardwood floors, and so on. So how do you exactly make money with this? There is a site called Ask the Builder where the owner does exactly this and makes most of his money with ads. He makes a great living showing people how to fix up their home, something he enjoys doing a lot.

2011/11/11

Myths about Investing in Foreclosures

Filed under: Foreclosure — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Julio Gress @ 10:38 pm

Many people are scared about investing in foreclosures, but it’s not really that difficult. Here are some myths about investing in foreclosures.

Myth#1 Foreclosures are in bad condition

Many people think that to buy a foreclosure takes a lot of money to improve the house for resale. The truth is, many foreclosed homes are in good condition and can be sold very quickly.

Myth #2 Investing in Foreclosures involves great risk

Buying property at the county clerk’s office auction is risky as you might have to pay unpaid taxes and liens. But buying from a bank owned property contains as much risk as a non-foreclosed property. There are many foreclosure listings freely available.

Myth #3 It takes money to make money

It actually takes knowledge to make money. It also takes discipline and effort to make money. You do need money to buy a foreclosed property, but you don’t have to use your own, you can use other people’s money.

Myth #4 If you buy someone’s house and resell it at a profit, you are a bad person

People buy and sell all the time, why should someone who buys and sells houses be a bad person? There’s no trickery and many times people are pleased to sell their homes as they don’t want the burden of a mortgage and debt. The best is when both seller and buyer are happy with the transaction, a win-win situation. 

Investment Property for Sale

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