Are There Any Grants For Real Estate Investing?

Capital is one of the biggest requirements for real estate. So many people want to get started in real estate investing, but do not have the money to do so. Sometimes it can seem like a Catch-22 kind of situation. You want to invest in real estate to make money, but you need money to invest. Many people wonder how they will ever be able to get started if they are unable to come up with the money to do so. You may have previously heard that there are grants available for people who want to start their own businesses. Naturally, this leads you to wonder if there are grants for real estate investing.

The simplest answer is that there are grants available for almost anything you want to do. That answer would translate to mean that there are indeed grants for real estate investing. The key to getting grants for investing in real estate is first finding these grants.

If you have ever tried to search for grants, you might have noticed that the process is a lot like searching for college scholarships. There are plenty of grants for investors out there, but many of them have very specific requirements. For example, the requirement for a grant might be phrased as something like Must be a descendent of George Washington living the state of New Mexico. That example might be a little overboard, but you get the hint.

After looking at the requirements for so many different grants, you might think that there is no hope of ever getting a grant. Of course if you give up, you will never know if you can receive a grant for real estate investing or not. You cant succeed in getting grants if you dont first try to get the grants.

To obtain grants for real estate investing, you must first know how to write a grant proposal. This is not a skill that is inherent. While you might be effective at other kinds of writing, grant proposals have their own format. This format must be followed if you want to receive a grant for investing in property. If you are not aware of the format for grant proposals, you can find information on the internet or through purchasing reference material from a bookstore. Alternatively, you can hire someone to write grants for you.

To improve the odds at receiving a grant, you should apply for every grant you come across. If you think you meet the criteria in even the slightest way, it is worth a try to write the grant proposal. In the case that you are paying someone to write your grant proposals, chances are you dont want to spend the money to have more than ten grant proposals written for you. You can pay someone to write a few, and then use those as a guideline for drafting your own.

The key to finding grants for real estate investing is persistence. Continue trying until you have exhausted your resources, you may find that it pays off in the end.

What Is A Real Estate Purchase Option?

A real estate purchase option is a document that gives someone the right to purchase a piece of property at a fixed price during the term that the real estate purchase option is in effect. During the option period, the owner can not sell the property to anyone else and must sell the property to the purchaser of the option if the purchaser desires the property. The purchaser has the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the property. The purchaser can let the option expire without purchasing the property. Your only lose, in this case, would be the price you paid for the real estate purchase option.

There are three things you must determine at the time that the option is created for the property.

1. How much will you pay for the property if you decide to purchase it? It does not matter if the value of the property goes up or down during the option term, you will be able to purchase the property for the price agreed upon in the option. If the value goes up, you win, but if the value goes down, you should let the option expire and just purchase it for the going value at the time. Your maximum loss is the amount you paid the owner for the real estate purchase option.
2. How long is the term of the option? The term is a fixed amount of time and depends on what you and the owner will agreed upon. Most option contracts have a one or two year term but it can be any amount of time that you agree.
3. How much are you willing to pay for the option? You must purchase the option from the owner of the property. This money belongs to the owner no matter if you decide to purchase the property or let the option expire.
   

To prevent the owner from selling the property while the option is in effect, you can record the real estate purchase option with the county courthouse. However, you may want to consider the consequences of this action as some mortgage companies will call the loan due if they see a purchase option for the property as they consider it a sale. You should use your judgment for this.

Once you own a real estate purchase option, you control the property. Also, the real estate purchase option is also an asset that may be sold, or assigned to another person if you wish. Look for the next article to see what you can do with your property now that you have secured the purchase option. Source: articlecircle.com

Should I Choose A Real Estate Agent Or A Realtor?

Whether you are buying or selling a property, many people employ the services of a real estate professional. This person’s duty is to offer help, professional expertise and generally make the real estate experience easier for you by guiding you through the process.

What Is The Difference Between An “Agent” and a “Realtor?”
The words ‘real estate agent’ and ‘realtor’ are used interchangeably but there is actually a difference between the two. A real estate agent is salesperson licensed by the state, and given legal permission to represent consumers in the sale of, or purchase of homes on the open real estate market.

A Realtor is a real estate professional who is an active member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) - a key supporting real estate organization. The NAR offers ongoing education, legal information, contractual updates, information on governmental regulations affecting the real estate industry, etc. Realtors might consist of appraisers, property managers, loan officers, and brokers. Therefore, not all Realtors are real estate agents.

Is One Better Than The Other?
Some Realtors have lots of success in helping consumers, while some Agents struggle to satisfy their clients. At the same time, many Agents can be extremely efficient, while some Realtors can find themselves unsuccessful. Association with any national organization can’t guarantee anything. Some people prefer Realtors because they have a preference due to the national accreditation of NAR. Also, all Realtors must comply with the standard set by NAR, which in part gives the client some additional assurance of ethical conduct.

What Are The Qualities Of A Great Real Estate Professional?
It’s important that you select a qualified agent that you feel comfortable working with. Choose a person who has worked with someone you know, or a person who has a positive reputation within the community. A high quality real estate professional will make your transaction as smooth as possible and be forthcoming and honest about the details. That person will ask you questions, listen to your answers and recognize what you’d like to accomplish. Then will guide you towards obtaining your goal in a strategic, organized and successful way. Source: articlecircle.com

A Slice Of Success: Ways On How To Succeed In Real Estate Business

With a relatively increase of the everyday commodities, more and more people are finding ways how to earn additional sources of income so as to compensate their expenses. That's why most people who look for alternative ventures resort to real estate business.

However, even if real estate business appears to be lucrative to many, it still needs a lot of effort and skills to survive in the industry. So, for those who want to succeed in real estates business, here are some tips to ponder:

1. Set practical and sensible objectives.
Just like any venture, the key to a successful real estate business lies beneath a sound and sensible target. This will serve as the guiding principle of those who wish to make it to the top. Through these objectives, people who are involved in real estates business can focus more on areas that need concern like the market, clients, and strategies that will make their business profitable.

2. Choose the right real estate strategy.
The key to a successful real estate business is to come up with a certain strategy that will supplement the objectives stated on the entrepreneurs' business plan. This strategy will also provide the right moves to take based on the kind of profit the real estate entrepreneur wants to achieve like an express cash or wealth establishment.

3. Entrepreneurs should acquire the characteristics of an ideal real estate agent.
In order to succeed, people involved in this kind of business should acquire the characteristics of an ideal real estate agent. He or she should be adept in finding the motivated seller, determine the value of properties, and knows how to negotiate with their clients.

4. It's a must to know the laws.
Part of being successful in real estate business is to know the existing laws of the state such as tax laws. Such that, if a real estate businessman does not know the laws, he or she may end up losing a lot money or worst end up in jail.

5. It is important to hire a reliable accountant.
This is extremely important to almost any type of business. This is, in reality, significant in order to succeed in real estate business because the transactions involves money, and one of the person who is skilled to analyze and interpret monetary information is a certified accountant. Through the help of an accountant, people behind the real estate business will be able to track the ebb and flow of the market.

Licensed Brokers Dominates Real Estate Investment

Why Real Estate?
Anyone can be rich in real estate. That is why many individuals are engaging themselves in such type of investment.

Investing in real estate does not necessarily mean that you must be an investment banker or a hotshot executive. You just need to be dedicated to your goal and commit to it.

Real estate can lead you to great wealth. It is not just another get-rich-quick system. You need to learn its most vital principles, and then wisely put them to practice in the real world.

So are you ready to be a real estate broker?

Role of a Real Estate Broker
Their role is to find sellers for those who want to purchase properties and finding buyers for those trying to sell properties. They assist sellers in marketing their property and selling it for the highest possible price under the best terms. They also assist buyers by helping them purchase property for the best possible price under the best terms. In United States, a person who wants to be a real estate broker is required to have a license just like other professionals.

Real Estate Licensees and Realtors

There are two levels of real estate professionals licensed by the individual states:

1. If you are licensed to become a real estate agent, you will have a real estate sales person license from the state where you will practice. To have such license, you must pass some specific coursework and then pass a state exam on real estate sales.
2. After getting experience in real estate sales, you may decide to have a real estate broker license. More coursework and a broker's state exam on real estate must be passed.
   

Upon getting a broker's license, you may continue to work for another broker to become in charge of your own brokerage and be able to hire other salesperson licensees.

Becoming a Real Estate Broker
In order for you to succeed in real estate investment, you might consider getting your real estate license and later on, your broker's license.

Having it is not as difficult as you might imagine. Each state have its own set of regulations, but the process is much similar to different states.

The benefits you can get if you have a real estate broker's license can be classified into four categories.

Commissions that can be earned

Having an access to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) can help you locate properties easily and quickly. You can also use the data obtained from the MLS for your market analysis of the property.

You can gain more control of the transaction. Once you are a licensed broker, you will not rely on the services of a third party to search for properties, execute documents, or generally guide the transaction.

Properties can now be listed for sale under your control. If the time comes for you to dispose a property, you would not need to rely on another person to list it on the MLS. It will also gain you commission savings as well.

Obtaining a broker's license will give you the advantage in real estate investment. The effort in obtaining such a license will be rewarded with the very first transaction in which you earn a commission. Source: articlecircle.com

Basics of Real Estate Law

Real estate is such a broad topic. This topic covers almost the whole world and every individual has concerns regarding this.

Like any other things in this world, certain laws govern real estate, the so called real estate law. Nevertheless, to fully understand what real estate law is, it is necessary to define real estate. What is real estate?

Real estate is a legal term that includes land along with anything permanently affixed to the land such as buildings, fences and things attached to the buildings, such as plumbing, heating, and light fixtures. The properties not affixed are regarded as personal property.

Just like real estate, the real estate law is such a broad topic as well. If you are going to discuss it in a very simple way, real estate law is only the law, rules, regulation and other legal matters that governed real estate.

Real estate law entails things like owning real property, the typical restrictions imposed on owning real property, the common forms of property ownership and many others. As said earlier, it is very broad.

In this article, real estate will be discussed through the basics of real estate law. The basics of real estate law include understanding real property, the ownership, the restrictions, and the forms of property ownership. The basics discuss the topic regarding ownership of real estate.

Understanding its basics, you will definitely have the right thought about real estate law.

One of the basics of real estate law is real property. What is real property? Real property is simply the real estate. The real property is used interchangeably with real estate.

However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from the real property, referring to ownership rights over real estate.

Real estate also entails about owning real property. What is owning real property about? Owning real property allows you the right to do with the land as you please aside from those subject to restrictions imposed by real estate law.

Owning a real property means you can do anything with it such as use it; give it away; sell or transfer it; use it for a collateral for loan; bequeath it to intended beneficiaries or let it sit where it is without doing anything to it. In other words, owning real property is having total rights on a land and no one can ever question you for it is yours.

In owning a real estate, some typical restrictions are being imposed by law. There are countless laws that restrict what you can do with the real property. It may be federal, state, county and local laws. The enforcement of these laws resides with the various agencies.

The most common restrictions imposed by government are zoning. It is an environmental hazard, public easement, right of way.

If there are restrictions imposed, there are also forms of property ownership. These are joint tenancy; tenancy in the entirety; sole ownership; tenant in common and community property.

In joint tenancy, two or more people own the property at the same time in equal shares. In tenancy in the entirety, some estates have especial form of joint tenancy when the joints are husband and wife- with each owning one half.

In sole ownership, the property is owned entirely by one person. Two or more persons own common tenants' property at the same time. Meanwhile, community property is only recognized in the estates. It is a special form of joint tenancy between husband and wife, each owning one-half of their properties. Upon death, the decedent's interest passes in a manner similar to tenants in common.

The basics of real estate are the best information needed in order to understand real estate law. With this basics information, although real estate is very broad, you have the capabilities of understanding it into its deeper sense. Source: articlecircle.com

How To Make Money Flipping Real Estate

Making money with real estate flipping is very possible. It is not the easiest thing in the world to do, but with a bit of skill and knowledge you can become a success in this niche of the real estate industry. The thing that you need to remember is that investing in any type of real estate is a risk. If you expect to come out on top every time you are not being realistic. And this holds true for making money with real estate flipping in particular.

The way that you make money by flipping real estate is quite simple. The first step that you will take is purchasing a piece of property for a low price. But do not just search by price. If you do this you may end up buying something that has no potential at all. From there, the next step is to fix the property up in order to make sure that it meets all of the codes, and that somebody would actually want to purchase it. Finally, the money making step of the process. You will sell the property for as much money as you can. In order to calculate your total profits, all you have to do is subtract the buying price and the money you put into the home from the selling price. This will tell you how much you have made with the particular transaction.

Those are the three basic steps to making money with real estate flipping. Even though there are many more details that go into it, if you are aware of the three basic steps you will at least know where to start.

Before you begin attempting to make money by flipping real estate you will want to learn as much as you can about the industry. Try to find information online, in books, and by speaking with people who have experience. This way you will not be left out in the dark when you get started. Some people make the mistake of being blinded by all the money that can be made. Even though this is a good thing, it should not be the only thing on your mind.

Overall, making money with real estate flipping may or may not be right for you. You may become a millionaire with real estate flipping, but at the same time you may lose money on some properties; it is impossible to say until you actually give it a shot.

Real Estate Marketing Flyers; 24/7 Marketing

A real estate marketing flyer box is a "24 hours a day agent", and is standard equipment among high producing real estate agents.

And what do you suppose you do with them? Stuff them with real estate marketing flyers, of course! And as you may know, real state marketing flyers are the bread and butter of the real estate indusrtry.

A good, informative real estate marketing flyer has enough information on it to get the most desireable response; a phone call or email message to you. The rest, as the say, will be up to you.

The flyer should at a minimum have your full name, address, and phone number(s), your photograph, a photograph or two of the listings, price, property description, and description of the location, neighborhood, and amenities.

A good real estate marketing flyer will also be attractively designed, neat and devoid of clutter. It should also be done in clear and easy to read type fonts. Although color copies are relatively expensive these days it is still a good idea to have at least a splash of color.

Perhaps your real estate marketing flyer can reflect the happenings in your community, such as a photograph of the local sports team, an attractive park in the area, or a scenic view. Let the flyer sell you and your listings for you!

And as implied above, real estate marketing flyers are no longer restricted to placement inside homes. Additionally, you can place them outside homes and have them market your listings 24/7.

Many real estate marketing flyer boxes come equipped with easy reach business card dispensers. Some all-weather-resistant construction boxes will hold over one hundred single sheet flyers in a upright fashion. No slouching, no bunching! The self-closing lid and ventilation system keeps the real estate marketing flyers just like new.

So, if you're not marketing via real estate marketing flyers, or if you are not marketing with outside flyer boxes you may want to consider stepping it up a notch or two. Afterall, the more successful agents are marketing 24/7! Are you?

Source: articlecircle.com

Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent

Buying or selling your house is one of the most important financial decisions you will have to make. It is very important that you think it through first before deciding. You can either buy or sell the house yourself or you can hire a real estate agent to do the work for you.

What is a Real Estate Agent?
Real estate agents are salespersons. They are licensed people who work to negotiate and manage real estate sales.

Choose a Good Real Estate Agent.
People usually use real estate agents to sell their house instead of buying one. You basically do not need a real estate agent when you are buying a house but they can be helpful if you are interested in looking for a specific kind of house. A good real estate agent can spend a lot of time in the field to look for a house that you specified.

Before hiring a real estate agent, keep in mind that there are good real estate agents that are willing to work with you and there are the bad real estate agents that are only interested in your money.

You should also interview real estate agents in person to get the feel if you are comfortable with them or not. Personal interviews can determine if they are serious about the business or just in it for the money.

Try to get recommendations first from family and friends, and then locate their recommendations to set up your interview. You can also look for real estate agents in the internet.

Good real estate agents are committed people who try their best to get you the best deal possible. They should advise you about the real estate laws and tell you about the neighborhood the house you are buying is located. They will usually include details like schools, parks, malls, church and more essential for people's everyday lives.

Here are examples of bad real estate agents:

• A bad real estate agent would get easily irritated if you rejected the first house they present to you. It would look like they are only interested to get the commissions than giving you more criteria for a house.
• Another example of it is that bad real estate agents are the ones who require a fee before they even start to show you the houses. This fee is used to guarantee themselves that the buyer is will only buy a house through them.
  

Here are examples of good real estate agents:

• A good real estate are often patient when you reject a house after the other. This would mean professionalism and can mean that they want you to have the best deal possible.
• Another way to determine if you hired a good real estate agent to sell your house is that they make the house look presentable as possible. They do what they can to sell the house as soon as possible and looks everywhere for prospective buyers.
  

To choose real estate agents, ask people about the agent's reputation. They should have a lot of success in selling houses with the best deal possible. Keep in mind that good real estate agents have many houses listed. Bad ones may only have only few houses listed. Look in your local home classified magazines about the listing of houses.

Do not rush in to hire real estate agents. Take your time and you will find excellent real estate agents to work for you more efficiently. Remember that buying or selling a house is one of the biggest and important decisions you will ever make.

The Saga Of An Ideal Real Estate Agent

Skills, strategies, and marketing tools will all go to waste if the real estate agent does not have a solid assessment of his or her own personality.

Consequently, a successful real agent is honest in his or her endeavors especially those that involves transactions with a client. If, in the first place the real estate agent is not being true to himself or herself, then the real estate agent will most likely have difficulty in dealing with other people.

This all boils down to the fact that an achiever is a believer not of any other thing, but in himself.

3. Optimism.
A lot of people who succeeds in life are optimistic. This means that a person has always a positive outlook in life. An optimistic person believes that there is no such thing as failure. And an ideal real estate agent knows this too.

4. Motivation power.
An ideal real estate agent knows how to motivate or move people into action. It's that unique power of every sales person to device a strategy that can motivate their clients to buy the product he or she is selling.

5. Awareness of the value of properties.
To become an ideal real estate agent, one should be aware of the ebb and flow of the cost of the properties. These should be taken into consideration with utmost care and skill.

6. They should not price.
To be an ideal real estate agent is to be considerate with their client's purchasing capability. They should be sensitive enough to detect if the price of the real estate is reasonable enough to hit their market.

7. An ideal real estate agent does not engage into hard selling.

8. An ideal real estate agent knows how to make a pleasant showcase of the property.

Source: articlecircle.com

Getting Into The Real Estate Business

You have probably heard that getting into the real estate business is a great way to make money. Thousands of people have joined this real business in order to make money. And a lot of these people have turned themselves into self made millionaires. I know you will like to be next in line? The good thing is that making money in the real estate industry is more than possible. If you know how to get started and make the right decisions, you can make tons of money.

Before you get too involved as a real estate agent, you need to ask yourself what you want to do. There are many ways to make money with it but you will need to plan your route early on.

Real estate investing can be done in two ways. First off, you can buy a piece of real estate, fix it up and then resell it for a profit. This is a great way to make money if you know how to manage what you are doing. Also, you can buy a property and then rent it out. The advantage to do this is that you will have a monthly income coming in from each property that you own. If you have enough property making you money each month you will never have to work again and the only thing you will have to do is make sure each property is well kept.

Unfortunately, getting started is not quite as easy as it may sound. Sure, all you need to do is buy a piece of real estate but after that things can get a bit tricky.

After you have a piece of real estate in your name the real fun starts. You will need to get it up to par and then make a decision on what you want to do with it. Either way, the property will have to be in good enough shape to sell or rent out. For this reason you will probably have to do some repairs. Are you handy enough to make these repairs on your own? If so, you can save yourself a lot of money. But if you are not, you will have to hire somebody to help you out. This is not a problem but it can cut into your overall profits.

Getting into the real estate business is one of the best ways to make money in todays day and age. Many people have turned to this industry as a full time job. And a lot of these people have made millions of dollars. If you want to be next, jump into the real estate business today. You never know what could happen.

Buyer Beware: Bed Bugs Can Squash Real Estate Deals

An ancient human scourge has returned to cause panic among home and property owners, home buyers and realtors. Bed bugs have invaded every state in the U.S. and reports of infestations have increased exponentially nationwide over the past few years. In a national survey of pest control companies conducted by noted bed bug authority Michael Potter for Pest Management Professional, Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. Only 37% said they encountered bed bugs more than 5 years ago.”

Until a few years ago, most pest control companies said it was unusual to receive even one or two calls a year about bed bugs. Since 2004, however, bed bug complaints have grown exponentially with pest control companies nationwide now averaging between 10 and 50 calls a week. In major metropolitan areas, some companies are fielding 100 or more bed bug complaints each week. Some experts are predicting that 2008 will be the Year of the Bed Bug. Cindy Mannes, spokesperson for the National Pest Management Association, said bed bugs have become a serious problem in every state, noting, “There are some who call it the pest of the 21st century.”

Bed bugs are an equal opportunity pest. Infestations have occurred across the country in the tony co-ops of the rich and famous, in fashionable condominiums, in luxury apartments and in upscale suburban homes. Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not caused by filth or dirt. Like lice and fleas, bed bugs are creatures of convenience. A nuisance insect, they are not known to carry disease, but they can cause considerable discomfort, both mental and physical.

All but eradicated in the U.S. following World War II, the banning of powerful DDT-based pesticides, coupled with increased international travel, has brought about a nationwide resurgence of the annoying insect. Potter, an urban entomologist at the University of Kentucky, calls bed bugs the pre-eminent household pest in the U.S., on a par with cockroaches and rats. “This is one serious issue,” he recently told the New York Times. “This will be the pest of the 21st century – no questions about it.”

If you’re buying a house or looking for a new condo or apartment, take to heart the old adage Buyer Beware. You may be moving into a home that has been invaded by bed bugs. Most states require home sellers to provide buyers with an accurate statement disclosing the property’s condition, including pest infestations. However, there are loopholes that should serve as a red flag to home buyers and their realtors.

Most real estate disclosure statements are fairly broad and do not specifically ask about bed bug infestations. If any pest disclosure is specified, it’s likely to be termites. Because bed bugs haven’t been a problem in the United States for so many decades, few current state or municipal codes address them specifically. In many states, sellers can choose not to fill out the disclosure statement and instead pay a penalty which is credited to the buyer. For sellers with a bed bug problem, a several hundred dollar penalty may seem an acceptable price for making the sale.

Buyers and realtors should be aware that real estate disclosure laws that apply to home sales often don’t apply to co-op and condo owners. Before you buy, check with the local building and health departments to find out what the regulations are in your area. Although some states are now considering adding specific bed bug regulations to their realty laws, at this point common law is generally on the side of the seller. As real estate attorney Edward Sumber of New York told the New York Times, “Under the doctrine of caveat emptor — let the buyer beware — the seller has no affirmative obligation to reveal circumstances about the apartment to the buyer.”

However, disclosure laws in most states require the seller to answer honestly if specifically asked whether his home or apartment has been infected by bed bugs or other pests. Additionally, real estate brokers are usually obligated to reveal a bed bug problem to the buyer if they know about it. Unfortunately, in most states sellers are not required to tell their real estate brokers about bed bug problems. Essentially, that means buyers must rely on the integrity of sellers and landlords anxious to make a sale.

Many buyers shopping for a new home, apartment or condominium are now hiring a pest control company with an expertise in bed bug elimination to inspect the property before they buy. Some realtors are recommending that sellers have their homes inspected for bed bugs before putting them on the market as both a reassurance and inducement to buyers.

What are bed bugs?
Evolved from bird and bat nest parasites, Climex lectaularius, the common bed bug, is a tiny nocturnal insect that hides in dark crevices during the day and feeds on human blood during the night. Their oval bodies are flattened and wingless and a light to reddish-brown in color. Adult bed bugs are 1/4 to 3/8 inch long or about the size of an apple seed. Before feeding, the bed bugs are as flat as paper, becoming dark red and bloated with blood as they feed, much like a tick. As they puncture the skin to feed -- usually for 3 to 10 minutes -- they eject an anesthetic that can cause an allergic reaction and the symptomatic itchy, red welts that bedevil their hosts. However, welts may take a day or two to develop and not all bed bug sufferers react to their bites, which can delay detection.

A female bed bug can produce up to 500 eggs during its average one-year lifespan, laying about 5 eggs per day. Difficult to detect without magnification, the eggs are whitish, pear-shaped and about the size of a pinhead. The female lays her sticky eggs in bedding and carpets or cements them into cracks and crevices near the bed to ensure a food source when the nymphs hatch. Nymphs, which are lighter in color and look like slightly smaller adults, hatch in 4 to 12 days and begin to feed immediately. Bed bugs progress through five nymphal stages, molting after each stage. The whitish carapaces they shed are a telltale sign of bed bug infestation. It takes 5 to 8 weeks for nymphs to reach maturity. Since several generations of bed bugs can be produced in a year, all stages of growth can be found in an infested room.

Bed bugs feed every 3 to 5 days and must feed at least once to develop to the next stage and to reproduce. They often void while feeding, leaving telltale rusty or tarry spots on sheets and in hiding places. Bed bugs can survive for 1 to 7 months without a blood meal and have been known to live in an abandoned house for as long as a year. They give off a distinctive musty, sweet odor often likened to ripe red raspberries or coriander.

Bed bugs will readily travel 10 to 15 feet to feed but have been observed traveling more than 100 feet from their established harborage to feed on a host. Once established, infestations can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms or units through crawl spaces, wall voids and electrical and plumbing conduits. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs can easily enter your home on clothing, bedding, luggage, used furniture, cardboard boxes, etc. They can be brought home from a hotel stay or by sitting in a car, cab, bus, train or plane recently inhabited by an infested person.

What to look for
Bed bugs may be tiny but they leave telltale traces. Look most closely near beds and in bedrooms where bed bugs feed. Look for these telltale signs of bed bug activity:

A heavily infested room may have a characteristic musty or sweet odor like the scent of fresh red raspberries or coriander; however, the odor may not be obvious.

Look for active, crawling bugs on bed linens, carpet and furniture near the bed.

Look for dark fecal and blood stains on bed linens; carpets and carpet welting; and in the seams, creases, tufts and folds of mattresses and box springs.

You should also look for fecal smears or pea-sized pearly egg deposits behind headboards; along baseboards and door and window casings; around electrical plates; in plaster cracks; and under loose wallpaper, paintings and posters.

Look for whitish nymph molts and old exoskeletons under area rugs, at the edges of carpets, and in under-the-bed storage containers.

Beware of bats in the attic or eaves. Quite often bed bugs feeding on bats in the attic of a house will migrate to the living area in search of an easier food source, humans.

Buyer beware!
Bites, odor and voiding smears are indicators of a bed bug problem. However, these insects often go undetected when symptoms are not obvious. Bed bugs are also easily confused with other nuisance bugs like carpet beetles, bird and rodent mites, shiny spider beetles, parasitic wasps, even lint by the more paranoid, making definitive diagnosis a job for bed bug experts.

Before you buy a new home, ask the owner if there has ever been a bed bug problem. In co-ops, condos, apartments and any multi-unit residence, ask the property owner whether bed bugs have been reported in any unit. Before they buy, many home buyers are now requiring a pest inspection by a bed bug expert in addition to the traditional home inspection. When it’s buyer beware, it makes sense to protect yourself. (source : articlecity.com)

Helpful Team Players for Your Next Real Estate Purchase

Buying a house is a major financial and legal process that typically encompasses a wide range of smaller transactions along the way. A single real estate sale – no matter how simple – will usually involve a smorgasbord of different specialties, professions, and areas of expertise, not to mention the potential for myriad emotional and psychological demands and reactions. For most consumers a real estate purchase does, in fact, represent the most comprehensive and complex deal of an entire lifetime.

Those who venture into such undertakings can help ensure their success by enlisting the support of a talented and educated team of pros, and here is a recommended list to use as a starting point when recruiting help for your big home purchase project:

Real Estate Brokers and Mortgage Lenders
Ask friends for recommendations, and when you interview potential brokers and lenders ask them about their experience and track record. Also find out what particular area of real estate and neighborhoods they specialize in, because this can be incredibly important. If you’re buying a downtown condo, for instance, you want someone who knows that market, not somebody whose experience is primarily in listing and selling suburban houses or mountain lodges. Communication is essential, so only choose those with whom you have a comfortable rapport. If the interpersonal chemistry doesn’t feel right, keep looking.

Building Inspectors
Just as when you have a question about your car you go to a trusted mechanic, when buying a house or condo you should have a reliable building inspector on your team. But keep in mind that there are different kinds of inspectors. You’ll want one to check for termites and other pests, and another to check for environmental hazards such as radon gas and asbestos. For a general inspection, you’ll hire a licensed general building inspector to study the mechanical and structural components of the house, such as the electrical system, appliances, foundation, roof, and plumbing.

Building inspectors are also the best source of information about how to properly maintain your home. Follow them around as they check your home, and ask them to teach you how to do your own routine inspections after you move in, to look for potential problems before they happen.

A Real Estate Attorney
Real estate is a specialized legal field, and when buying a house you should enlist the services of someone who only practices real estate law.

Contractors
Contractors are the ones you’ll call to actually get repair cost estimates and do the work. Folks such as house painters, carpenters, landscapers, and plumbers can help you estimate how much to negotiate with the seller for repairs, and they can also provide insight into how to approach any improvements, updates, or remodeling projects that you might envision.

Get competing bids, but remember that the cheapest bid doesn’t always guarantee the best work. The main thing to look for is a stellar reputation for exceptional quality and attention to detail, and your contractors should all carry appropriate insurance to cover themselves in case they are injured while working on your premises.

Chimney Sweeps
If you have a chimney, you’ll also need a certified chimney sweep to check it for cracks, leaks, or potentially dangerous build-up of flammable residue. Thanks to modern tools, those in this old-school trade can now snake a tiny video camera into your chimney and make a thorough visual examination of every nook and cranny, no matter how ancient or narrow the air passageway may be. The best chimney sweeps also have powerful vacuum cleaners – often mounted on trucks – that are especially designed to let them capture dust, ashes, and soot without letting any of it escape and settle on your fine white rugs and draperies.

This list is by no means complete, and you may or may not need all of these experts for your particular purchase. On the other hand, you may need to add to the list to bring others on board. For instance, if you are buying property in an historical neighborhood, you might need to hire someone who knows old-fashioned plastering techniques. If you’re looking at farmland, you could need a well digger or an agricultural consultant. Buying a cool urban warehouse loft? You may very well need to call that guy in town who knows how to fix antique elevators or the woman in the neighborhood who sells steam radiators that come in different Crayola crayon colors.

Buying a home can – and typically does – have significant repercussions that last far into the future. A house purchase influences the personal and financial lives of both you and your partner, so it is always wise and prudent to approach the event with as much information, guidance, insight, and reliable professional support as possible. (source : articlecity.com)

How to Set and Achieve Your Goals in Real Estate

I want to ask you two questions. One, do you have a Will? And two, do you have written goals for the next one, three, five and ten years? If you answered yes to the first question but no to the second, you are planning more for your death than you are while you are here. Think about it. I want to challenge you to start setting some goals, but remember if a goal is not in writing, it is simply a conversation. It must be in writing and it must have a deadline. Here are a few guidelines for setting goals. Oh, by the way... you need a will also.

Goals Must be Specific
I want you to be specific and include details but start rough. When you start rough for example, you want a Mercedes. You do not have to get into the details about what color, what options, that sort of thing, just write it down. Make your list huge, what kind of home do you want, what you want for your family, college education, spend more time, travel, anything you can think of. You can come back later and prioritize them and set them up as to what you want in one month, three months, six months, twelve months, then three, five, ten, twenty, thirty year goals. The more goals you have, the happier you will be, the longer you will live, and the more prosperous you will be.

Goals Must be Believable
Remember this, your goals must be believable, by you, or you will not pay the price. They must be believable, they must be just out of your reach, but you must know you can reach them, if you really strive to do it.

Goals Must be Measurable
You cannot set a goal to be financially independent. There is no way you can measure that. You need to set a goal for the amount of income you want per month, per year, the amount of equity that you want in properties – one, three, five, ten and twenty years. It must be measurable. That way you can break it down to what I call “reduce it to the ridiculous”. If you know you want to earn $100,000 a year, you know that is $8,333 per month. That’s just one deal a month where I live. One of the things I have learned is, successful people set their goals quickly and they make adjustments as they go along. Just like successful people make decisions quickly, they do not vacillate in indecision or what I call sometimes; get mixed up in a funk of negativity.

Goals Must be Congruent
Your goals must also be congruent with your actions. You cannot set a goal to work harder, longer hours AND a goal to spend more time with your family. Those are not congruent. They must be congruent with your actions.

Visualize What You Want
Another good thing that will help you with your goals is to visualize what you want. If you see yourself as already having achieved the goal, you will fake out your mind and your mind sees the goal as already having been achieved. It’s called “fake it till you make it”. I used to do this all of the time. Just take a minute or two each day and think about life as it is with your goals already accomplished. It’s really easy when you get used to it.

Work Your Goals
The next thing you want to do is work your goals, work on the priority that moves you closer to your goals every day.

Number Your Goals
Number your goals in the order of importance. Not only is the goal important but so is the reason. Sure your want a car, but why do you want the car? Sure your want more money, but why do you want money? You want to be able to spend more time with your family, you want to be able to travel, you want to buy a Hummer, and you want to have an ocean front condo or send your children to the best college. Whatever it is, the reason must be there. The reason is more important than the goal itself.

Review, Monitor and Make Adjustments
Another thing you need to do is review, monitor and make adjustments on your goals. You have to be flexible. Some things are not going to happen, you have to face that; but you need to continuously strive to get better every day. If you will work harder on yourself than you do on your job then you will always be growing. Remember that last sentence and write it down as it is worth repeating.

The Goals Must Have a Deadline
As I mentioned first, your goals must have a deadline. A goal without a deadline is just a conversation. When beginning to set your goals, I want you to set your goals in four basic areas:

Financial
You will set goals based on income, equity or net worth and cash flow. All of these are financial goals.

Fitness
This is your health. If you don’t feel good, chances are that you are not working at your maximum capacity. So, I want you to set some fitness goals to stay healthy. Remember “an apple a day”? What if this is right and you are not doing it? Start small though, you don’t try to tackle all of these at once; but you need to be healthy not only for you but for your family as well.

Family
Set family goals. What is an example of a family goal? Maybe you want to take four vacations a year. Maybe you want to visit a new state, three times a year or five times a year. Maybe you want to go see the Grandparents two or three times a year; but maybe not. Anyway, you get the point.

Faith
You need to set some spiritual goals, some faith goals. I am not going to get into a lot of detail about that but that will help you along your way. Remember, if you slip in one area of your goals, you are probably slipping in some other areas. Another thing I want you to think about is the people you associate with. Take a minute and think about this. If you think about your ten closes friends annual salary and divide it by ten, then that is pretty close to what you make. I’m not telling you to get rid of your friends, all I’m saying is whom you associate with, is who you are like, so please keep that in mind. Don’t get rid of your friends, just get some more that are where YOU want to be financially. Most of the people I hang out with now, we all make over $500,000.00 a year. That just blows me away. I never imagined I could make that kind of money…. Well I guess I could, as we are talking about goal setting and visualization aren’t we? (source : articlecity.com)

Real Estate Investing Or Landlording?

Real estate investing is the classic wealth vehicle that has taken people from living hand to mouth to the pinnacle of wealth. It's the vehicle of choice because it's accessible to all of us. Everone has a least rented a house or apartment, and most of us have bought a house. So knowing what it's like to be renter or homeowner we have first hand knowledge of our customers when we set out to be real estate investors.

The classic real estate investing model is buy a bunch of houses, rent them out and in 30 years the mortgages will be paid off, the properties will have at least doubled in value, the rents will be twice what they were when you started ... with no loan payment.

The goal sounds inspiring. Imagine having 10 properties you bought 30 years ago, each for $80,000, now be worth $350,000 apiece as a result of a average annual appreciation rate of 5%. You would have a portfolio worth about $3,500,000. Monthly rents, on the low side, of $1,200 per house would give you gross monthly rents of $12,000. After T&I you probably put $9,000 in your pocket.

I think you would agree this is an extremely modest goal, but what a payoff!!

What a payoff indeed ... for those who actually stick with it. You see there's a problem with the above scenario, and that is the early years are really tough.

Cashflow is slim, expenses are high, and most investors who take this on don't make it through.

They run out of cash.

The short-term solution is to change your focus from buying and holding to quick-turning houses for cash. Quick-turning houses, getting them under contract super cheap and flipping them to another investor for $5-20,000 or more will take care of your cashflow needs today while you hold your rental properties for long term growth. This is great ... money, cash!

But you are not out of the woods yet.
Your new short-term problem is management. If you are buying houses to hold for the long term you must be prepared for the fact that you will be managing them yourself, whether you take on that job as an individual or create a management company to do it. The fact remains that at some point your occupation will change from real estate investor to landlord.

And I'm afraid gentle reader, landlording is dirty, smelly business. One you do not want to be in.
There are worse things in life than being a landlord, most definitely, but that's not why you got into real estate. You got into real estate because you want the big dollars. The really big ones. The 'buy your own island' big dollars, the 'house on each continent' kind of dollars. The nine figure net worth.

Didn't you?
That net worth is available, in fact it's waiting for you to claim it, but you won't achieve the growth necessary to get there buying single family homes. As a growth vehicle they are very inefficient.

>From a real estate investing standpoint the purpose of a single family home is to give you experience doing deals, and to take care of your immediate cash needs.

After you've paid off all your debts, have 12 months living expenses in the bank, and have a kitty of say, $100,000 to $200,000 there isn't much further use for single family homes.

Unless, of course, you want to be a landlord.

As soon as you are debt free and have some starting capital you should move straight into buying apartments.

There is all kinds of leverage to be achieved by changing your wealth vehicle from single family houses to apartment buildings.

• from a value standpoint when buying apartments you are dealing with much bigger dollars, so as the years go by, you make more through appreciation.
• apartments have a much higher rent per square foot compared to houses, so property management can be brought in take management out of your hands in a cost effective manner.
• apartment buildings make sense from a business standpoint so it is no difficult to attract partner capital. - there is an abundance of apartment financing available from lenders up to 80% loan to value.
• there are many profit centers, like repairing units and increasing rents, filling vancancies, that can be capitalized on to capture upside value.
  

Also, because apartments are not reliant on your personal attention and can be effectively managed by property management companies you are not restricted to buying in your own local market.

By becoming aware of market cycles and tracking them closely, you can buy quality properties in any market in the US at the bottom of a cycle, and ride the appreciation to the top of the market, where you sell (or exchange out) and take huge profits.

Of course, providing you live in a market (like CA) that appreciates rapidly in an up cycle, you can achieve this with single familiy houses too. But which property would you rather have appreciating at 15% a year, a $300,000 house, or a $10,000,000 apartment building.

After 10 years a $300,000 house will turn into $1.33M. Nothing to sneeze at. But during the same 10 years in the same market a $10M apartment building will turn into $44.4M.

Which would you rather have?
It's an easy choice, and one you simply need to make. (source : articlecity.com)

How to Start Commercial Real Estate

In my Commercial newsgroup and at seminars, people often ask me, “How I start my career dealing from small to larger properties?” The inquiry is frequently followed by a recital of how the depositor has tried and failed to acquire a bigger property or is uncertain of the steps needed to acquire larger revenue properties. Some have yet to do their first transaction and be unsure if they can initiate in commercial real estate without first acquiring smaller properties.

Realtors first start their profession by buying a rental house, then small flats or apartment building. More quickly, they capture their position in the market. The “wall” is when you are bank tells you they cannot give you any more single-family mortgages or that your range is outside their lending parameters.

It is a common aspect and a real trouble. Realtors have too big to transact with the residential lending individuals and they are like a “man without air” when it comes to know how to move toward the commercial side of the bank.

The other familiar aspect is that the realtors who deal in an income property deal, perhaps assumes the present mortgage or negotiates seller financing. The property proves to be a successful; the realtors fetch a nice profit, and then look for another deal.

Why you feel easy when the first property proves difficult to reproduce. Then you ask, “How to know the worth of the property?” “How to trust the seller that he is telling the truth about the cash flow?” “How to raise down payment?” These uncertainties are irresistible.

The realtor wakes in the middle of the night setting problems in his dreams. When he wakes up in the morning, his eyes still fuzzy with sleep and sees in the alarm clock flashing “SALE”

Real estate is the best ways for everyday, people to build wealth. Real estate can create whatever life you desire, but it swallows you if you are not aware of what you acquired and how you acquired.

As we know, experience is a right one every body needed. I read the law of accidental consequences. Since life is uncertain, we never know what happen, but we can shrink the downside by forecast for the unforeseen.

Through many years, I have a great chance to see many plans come to reality. The deals I made turned out great profits and it fetches a good reputation in the market. Lastly, I learned that the higher attention paid, will bring success in our life at the end

When you are just starting, trying to get superior, or even trying to get away, the job becomes easier through the lots of choices, when you have proper guidance. Preferably, that guides you personally, leverages your strengths, and desires by avoiding your weakness. Shortly, strategy is defined as, “A plan of action projected to achieve a particular goal”. If we wish to have a particular outcome, then we must be eager to work, to think in all way before we begin. We should start the goal, by identifying it.

A four-intelligent point to investing

To build considerable wealth investing in commercial real estate, you require time to think things through. Recognize that the real estate is generally is a kind of business where one can get rich lastly, and for that one requires planning, patience, and persistence.

Guiding without a strategy obtains an undesired result what we never think. How does such a strategy look like? It is easier than you may think.

Firstly, obtain your personal financial house. Adjust your financial dealings to serve your purpose of building wealth. Lacking capacity with an opportunity is an illusion one.

Then form criterion for assets type, size, and location. Each type needs a different set of skills and offers different levels of return. It is better to make the property fit to the investor, than trying to make the investor fit the property.

There is no general real estate market. By observing your local market you can identify the opportunities within your capacity to act on.

If you recognized a possible transaction, learn perfectly to value a property based on its condition, your return necessities and borrowing power.

Finally, learn to develop the deals and make good offers. Prepare yourself not only to obtain the profits, but also how to invest the profit in a proper way. The best key factor of building wealth is Tax planning and asset protection.

The above four steps are the four modules topic in my new book, to Guide Commercial Real Estate. This book has been printed for the investor who failed and looking for another way around it. The book has been printed for the realtors who want to move to or start with bigger properties. (source : articlecity.com)