Article by James Klobasa

Investing in real estate is proving to be a lucrative proposition for most people but real estate investment without any proper research and planning can sometimes prove to be counter productive and prone to financial losses. It is, therefore necessary that proper knowledge should be acquired before investing your hard-earned money and real estate investing courses can provide this knowledge. Given below are a few tips on how to find the best real estate investing course.

Indulging in any business without proper training and knowledge regarding the intricacies of the business is the best recipe for financial disaster. Real estate investment can also boomerang if you do not do your homework properly and invest recklessly. In order to avoid such a situation, many real estate investing courses are available that can train you in this sphere of business activity. However, it is necessary that you should choose the best real estate investing course so that you get comprehensive and effective knowledge that would prove to be useful to you when you invest your valuable financial resources.

How To Select The Best Real Estate Investing Course

When you are looking for a real estate investing course, you should try to find out the reputation and experience of the person who will be conducting this course. You should select the course if the teacher has an established standing in this field with many years of relevant experience. Moreover, you should first identify your interest in the real estate investment business, which could either be in investing in commercial real estate or foreclosures or in any other aspect. You should then check up whether the real estate investing course provides pertinent knowledge regarding your area of interest and whether you will be able to generate wealth quickly and without much effort, with the help of the knowledge gained through that course.The real estate investing course that you choose should offer a flexible and comfortable learning environment without being very expensive. Normally such a course should not cost more than $ 500. Moreover, you should also be able to get reading material, case studies and opportunity to indulge in live calls within the scope of the course fee.

Online CoursesA great way of learning about real estate investment is to attend online classes and workshops as you can stay at home and learn about the ins and outs of this business. These courses can help you in making your own investment portfolio irrespective of whether you are new in this line or you have plenty of experience. Apart from real estate investment, some courses also help you to tackle risk management, financing and relevant taxation aspects. You have to find the course that will impart the basic competencies so that you can make the correct decisions at the right time so that your investment grows effectively.

While choosing the real estate investing course, you should ensure that you can gain access to databases of various properties and of countrywide foreclosures. Moreover, it would be ideal if you can receive the latest data trends and news regarding various aspects of real estate. You would be able to gain many competencies if you can find a training program that would offer individual tutorials so that you can get personalized attention.

Last but not the least, the real estate investing course that you choose should be backed with proper testimonials and a good track record so that you can be assured of gaining maximum competencies and abilities in this field. A real estate investing course that provides fun along with the potential for making effective profitability on your investment would be the ideal one for you to choose.

Detroit real estate investor who flipped homes, committed fraud is sentenced
By Tresa Baldas A Detroit real estate investor is going to prison for 40 months and has to cough up more than $ 2 million in restitution for running a mortgage and tax fraud scheme that involved flipping houses, the US Attorney's office announced today. …
Read more on Detroit Free Press

Article by Michael Clough

One of the coolest and most exciting things I’ve ever seen in the last few years, besides the Internet itself, is Mobile Text Marketing. Where else can I get a message from my favorite restaurant telling me about this great new dish they have or a special on a great steak that I enjoyed last week?

It’s because I “opted in” allowing them to send me updates on what they are offering. And for them, they are keeping in constant communication with one of their loyal customers who loves to eat!

Or, I can receive a message from a store that carries my favorite brand of shoes, clothing and shirts. Plus other stores that carry household items that are necessary to daily living (groceries, etc).

And I also can receive these alerts from my Concert Promoter, Car Dealer, Mechanic, Day Spa, Realtor, Hair Stylist, and a host of other services that I use. The possibilities are endless.

Mobile Marketing is by far the quickest and most popular way to increase your businesses revenue in an instant! This is the marketing of the future and the future is here!

Mobile Marketing is a direct link for all businesses and organizations to be in constant direct contact with consumers at all times. It is estimated that over 84% of all Americans now carry a mobile device with them at all times. The market place has gone mobile and billions of dollars of products and services are purchased with mobile devices constantly, and will increase exponentially.

Not to mention, if you own a local business, you can text all your customers with specials, discounts, events, happenings or any other relevant news pertaining to your company. This is all “permission based” marketing and your customers will have “opted in” to receive these texts.This type of marketing gives you a leg up on your competition.

97% of all text messages are opened and done so within 20 minutes! Emails are dwindling down now to a 19% open rate.

So, who needs Mobile Marketing?

RestaurantsFast Food / Pizza, BurgersDoctors/ DentistsRetail Shops – AllCar DealershipsSpas and ResortsReal Estate ProfessionalsEntertainersConcert VenuesGolf CoursesChurchesSki ResortsPolitical CampaignsCharitiesSchoolsFinance ProfessionalsCelebritiesCoaches and ConsultantsCasinosAuthors/ PublishersFitness TrainersNight ClubsAntique CollectorsTravel AgenciesAnyone with Repeat CustomersANYONE doing a promotion

The Mobile Text Marketing platform is very popular for repeat customers, however I am seeing uses across all genres.

With this marketing, you have the ability to greatly increase sales the exact same day that your message is sent. Very often new sales can be at your door in under an hour or you can even market to customers already use your business. It is a fact that new mobile messages are read in an average of 14 minutes while the average time for someone to read an email is 7.4 hours.

If you were doing coupon marketing, your customers would have to wait until they are in front of a computer to read it, then go home and print out the offer to bring it in to redeem it. With this type of marketing, the customer just has to show the message to the business to redeem the special being offered.

You along with 4.3 billion people worldwide have mobile phones. 87% of all Americans own a mobile phone. 68.7% are frequent text users. 96% of ALL text messages are OPENED.87% of text message are opened within the first hour.1.58 trillion text messages were sent in the USA last year. That’s tripled since 2007.

53,084 text messages are sent every second.

This is why Mobile Text Marketing will explode in the next several years, and why you should position yourself to cash in on it now!Fact: People are now shifting over to Mobile devices instead of relying on their computers and laptops. Email is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Not totally gone, but not as important anymore.

TEXT MESSAGE MARKETING GLOSSARY

This glossary is a handy reference guide for the business owner who is interested in text message marketing. If you are sick of slick sales rep talking over your head, or being frustrated trying to decipher sales material, this glossary is for you.

It will break down some of the common terms associated with text message marketing. This will allow you to more easily understand any promotional materials you are checking out.

Text Message: A text based electronic message sent from one mobile user to another mobile user. There is usually a limit of around 160 characters.

SMS: Stands for Short Message Service, it is another name for text messaging.

SmartPhones: The new style of cell phone that offers mobile users advanced capabilities. This often means personal computer type functionality.

Opt-In: In text message marketing, this term means that someone has willingly added themselves to “Your List”. This is usually done by texting a keyword, to a short code number.

Your List: This is your list of people who have opted-in. In text message marketing this will be a list of mobile phone numbers from the people who have joined your list. This is who you now can directly market to.

Permission Based: Permission based marketing is based around the general concept that you first get people to give you permission to market to them through the opt-in process. This increases your return on investment, and customer satisfaction.Keyword: In text message marketing this is the term that people will text to a certain number to join your list.

Short Code: Short codes (also known as short numbers) are special telephone numbers, significantly shorter than full telephone numbers, that are used for text message marketing campaigns. This will be the number that people text the keyword to.

Subscription Based Pricing: This is a pricing structure that text message marketing vendors use. This method is based on the number of subscribers and usually includes unlimited messages.

Message Based Pricing: This is a pricing model in which you will be charged per message you send. It usually works out to pennies a message. Opt-In Offer: This is the offer that you use to entice people to opt-in to your list. For most business this will be some sort of freebie, coupon or discount.

Characters: When text messaging, this term means all of the numbers, letters, symbols and spaces of a text message. Anything you input is a character and most text messages are limited to around 160.

Analytics: Your text message marketing vendor should provide you with some kind of reporting system that will give you an idea of how your texts are being sent, opened, how many unsubscribes etc… These tools are sometimes known as Analytics (Metrics as well)

SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard for electronic mail (e-mail) transmission. This is a much slower and less reliable way to send text messages.

SMPP: The Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol is a telecommunications industry protocol for exchanging text messages between yourself and your list. This is a much much more effective choice when text message marketing.

Provider: This is the company or vendor who provides the back end and technology for you to run your marketing campaigns.

Carriers: Carriers are your cell phone providers. Some providers only work on certain carriers. An example of a carrier would be Sprint in the US, and Bell in Canada.

Blast: A blast is when you send a message to everyone on your list. This can be an update or an offer designed to get people in the door.

http://MobileTextMessageMarketing.net

Jennings Social Media Marketing Incorporates QR Codes & SMS Into Services
The company represents publicly traded to medium-sized businesses across the US and overseas including technology, sports, sustainability, entertainment, travel, financial, health care and real estate ( www.jenningssocialmedia.com ).
Read more on MarketWatch (press release)

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Article by Trevor Clark

My name is Christian Aouad and I want to talk with you about the risks attached to real-estate investment. I am not looking to discourage you, there is serious money to be made but there are also serious risks. The biggest mistake you can make with any type of investment is walking in with your eyes shut. The great thing about acknowledging risk is that now you can do something about it. You can look at risk minimization strategies and you can also mentally prepare yourself for risk. This might be a good indication of what level of risk you should be taking and therefore what type of investment you can make. If you cannot wrap your mind round the idea of losing all your money and perhaps then some and just dusting yourself off and starting again I would seriously avoid flipping. If you go over time and over budget you can end up with an albatross around your neck that you do not have the finance to finish and is costing you money every single day.So what are a few of the general risks within real estate investment?1. The threat of losing all your money. Like I said before, this is a possibility. In fact this is the possibility with any type of investment. You are speculating on something you think may come to pass and that is never a sure thing. Obviously there is no way to completely minimize this risk, but you can do things like not investing more than you can afford to. Or making sure your research is top notch, which will improve the likelihood of your investment being successful. There are many other ways you can reduce this risk but I would always keep in the back of my mind… how much can I stand to lose? Can I bounce back after losing more than that? Think about these questions seriously before proceeding.2. External factors. As the housing sector within the U.S has seen within the past few years, when the bubble bursts, the bubble bursts. Sometimes external economic factors like the devaluation of currency or a military coup in a country that supplies lots of oil can have a huge impact on the housing market.3. Background checks – This can cover a host of areas. You need to be doing thorough checks into the background of any developer that you plan to use. You need to be doing a lot of checks on any land / property for any hidden issues and costs they may entail. Taking your time and doing extra checks into everything you can is essential. If you can get outside professional advice, or independent evaluations, even better!So, like I said before, any type of investment has risk, but you can minimize or remove this risk by making smart decisions. The key is being aware – aware of hidden costs, time delays and any issues that will cost you money. With this knowledge you can decide whether the investment is for you and not end up with a property or development that is beyond your financial capabilities. For more information and Christian Aouad articles have a look on my site.

Related How To Real Estate Investing Articles

Real estate newsletters which are powerful real estate marketing tools are publications issued by a specific real estate firm or real estate association. It is geared towards a specific readership population, of a certain State, buyer preference or for the general real estate consumer. Such publications contain various information about the industry and its related fields, as well as about new products and services that the specific firm or association is promoting. Here are the top seven reasons why you should use the real estate newsletter to find good real estate leads.

1. Free Information

Newsletters are free. For that reason alone, active real estate buyers and investors should be on the mailing list of major real estate firms and associations. Most newsletters will definitely have sections on “free tips” in the intent of firms to show that they have a genuine concern to help consumers and in a way, demonstrate their company’s expertise in the field. Such free articles are also a way to attract readers, and get them hooked to read on to the sales pitches, which is the primary intent of issuing the newsletter. Nevertheless, anything that is free and informative at the same time should always be the searcher’s first stop.

2. Credibility

In general, newsletters have more credibility than the usual ads. The real estate firms that publish newsletters use it as a venue to establish their company’s leadership and authority in the profession. Thus, they most likely will publish reliable, well-researched and relevant real estate market information, geared towards the benefit of the consumer, in order to maintain their credibility. Get historical real estate market trends, sound predictions and reliable leads through information in the newsletters.

3. In-depth Information

Real estate newsletter articles provide more in-depth information than real estate ads. The intent of real estate newsletters is to have a venue to better educate consumers about real estate details that are not covered in advertisements like construction quality assessment, safety, after move-in support, etc. Having such information will allow you to look into more details about the property that you intend to buy.

4. Financial Information

Aside from real estate leads, newsletters also provide other information that are related to the industry. Financial information such as mortgage rates, mortgage calculators and bank or lending institutions contact information are among the additional information that you can get from a newsletter. Occasionally, real estate newsletters will publish full-length articles on financial information such as “How To Compute Amortization” or “The Benefits of Refinancing.” Watch out for those articles and make sure to clip them for future use, unless you are into the habit of compiling the newsletter itself.

5. Locations

Aside from financial information, real estate newsletters also feature full-length articles and facts on hottest real estate locations as well as uncharted lands that have yet to join the boom. Depending on the profile of the property you intend to buy, such information will be beneficial for your search.

6. Seminars and Viewings

Information on real estate seminars and property viewings are also in newsletters. As a buyer, this is your opportunity to have first-hand experience on the property or the real estate firm without any financial commitment from your end. Most seminars and viewings are free, transportation and meals included and at times, discounts are handed out for the select who signed up. Now that’s one opportunity you should not pass up!

7. Testimonials

Testimonials are an essential part of real estate newsletters. Use such actual consumer experience to understand the capabilities and extent of service of the real estate firm. If, based on the published first-hand experience by actual customers, their profile or the rundown of their properties fit the portfolio of service you are looking for, then the company should be able to support you and give you good leads.

Modern day newsletters are already issued electronically; the e-newsletter, sent via e-mail or downloaded from the publication’s website, but offers the same useful real estate information without the hassle of piling paper. Whatever form you prefer, real estate newsletters are definitely real estate marketing materials of the informative kind. As a consumer, you should take advantage of all the available information, which can help you in the search for real estate leads.

Return to Real Estate Marketing and Real Estate Leads

Charlotte, North Carolina is now considered to be one of the busiest and fast stretching cities in the United States of America, and when you take a visit over there you’ll probably see why. It’s a city full of history and culture which you won’t find anywhere else in the US, a place of travel and happening, and, simply put, just a terrific place to reside in.

The real estate industry in Charlotte is flourishing by the minute, so if you’ve come to take a gander at some real nice properties to make your own, be aware that it can be a time-consuming and stressful process. It’s tough competition trying to get your own house in this city, as many tourists and immigrants from outside the country have sought solace here mainly because of several attractions such as Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the Appalachian Mountains, and others, apart from its night life, which is filled to the bounds with several bars and clubs that’ll surely whet your appetite for partying.

Need not worry, however, as Real Estate in Charlotte NC is here to provide you with the best service available in getting you a place of your own without much hassle and make it an pleasing experience for you, akin to a trip to Universal Studios, only without the Jaws shark or an animatronic King Kong coming at you, but fun nonetheless.

It’s no question that you’re already salivating at the thought of living in NC, but there will most likely be a number of concerns you would like to raise, such as the latest mortgage rates, the current crop of properties popping up in the city, and the conditions of the real estate industry, among others. Rest assured that with us, choosing property can be an easy task, as our real estate agents will provide you with all the help you need, answering your questions about real estate and which property suits you best for the best rate possible.

In selling a house, it is vital to remember that the main idea behind doing so is to sell it at the highest financial value possible without any encountering any hassles or troubles in return. This applies to both real estate agents and the home owner. It is very important for the home owner to dictate the right amount of information in his advertisement in order to get the most attention from potential buyers and at the highest possible buyout rate.

The years of experience in buying and selling real estate in the city has given us the title of being the best candidates for your real estate needs. Nobody knows the city of Charlotte better than we do, and we have provided ample, if not excellent, assistance to buyers of property in the city and we have the utmost confidence in our abilities that we can do the same for you.

If you’re extremely interested in searching for a good location to reside in, feel free to visit our website below and we’ll be happy to provide you with answers to all your real estate questions. Real estate in Charlotte NC has never been better, that much we can guarantee you.

Real estate in Charlotte NC

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) M Damodaran on Wednesday said the regulator was considering proposals to allow real estate investment trusts (REIT) in India.

Speaking at a conference on capital markets organised by the CII, the Sebi chief also said the rules on listing and trading of securitised debt market instruments will be finalised by December.

The regulator had put out a consultative paper on securitised debt in June this year. The draft regulations proposed a system of registration of special purpose distinct entities which were planning to offer securitised debt instruments to the public or seeking the listing of such instruments issued earlier. Damodaran further said that select companies could opt for fast track issuances.

According to the fast track share issuance programme allowed by Sebi in August this year, companies with a 3-year track record on NSE and BSE, and with free-float market capitalization of at least Rs 10,000 crore, can raise funds through rights and follow-on issues, without having to wait for the market regulator’s clearance.

Sebi, at its board meeting in June 2006, had approved guidelines making it mandatory for REMFs (real-estate mutual funds) to be listed on the stock exchanges. But the absence of valuation norms delayed the introduction of REMFs in the country.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was looking into the valuation issue and once it clears the norms, Sebi will be ready with the rules, M Damodaran said.

“It is not going to be a REIT versus REMF issue. Consultations with people who have a better understanding of these products have commenced and we will shortly write the first set of proposals,” said Damodaran. REIT is a better product, but we will ensure that both products are introduced over time, he added.

The Sebi move comes amid plans by a clutch of companies to raise funds from the Indian market for listing REIT-like vehicles on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX).

The Bangalore-based developer Embassy group, Ascendas, provider of business space in Asia and the Delhi-based DLF and Unitech have announced plans to list their fund structures, mainly REITs, on the SGX, banking on its recent easing of norms.

REMFs will be close-ended funds and will invest directly in real estate properties in India, mortgage (housing lease) backed securities, equity shares/bonds/debentures of listed/unlisted companies which deal in properties and undertake property development, and in other securities.

Following the curbs on participatory notes (P-notes), Sebi has received a large number of applications from overseas investors seeking FII registrations, Damodaran said, without providing figures.

The regulator is planning to launch a nationwide campaign for investor education in 2008 and encourages the market participants to take their role as self-regulatory organisations (SRO) seriously.

Nimesh Kampani, Chairman, CII National Committee on Capital Markets and the head of JM Financial Group also stressed on the need to develop SROs for financial intermediaries.

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November 21, 2007
Fortis Invest eyes Japan pension funds
Filed under: India Real Estate News Updates, Real Estate Funds, New Development ” Administrator @ 3:05 am

TOKYO, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Fortis Investments, the global assets management arm of the Fortis group, is eyeing Japan’s multi-billion dollar pension funds as key investors for its two new investment funds next year worth a combined $745 million, its real estate chief said on Wednesday.

Fortis Investments, which has about 130 billion euros ($190 billion) in assets under management, will launch two new “funds of funds” ” funds that hold a portfolio of other investment funds ” focused on European and Asian property.

“We were very Europe-specific when we started two years ago but have diversified outside of Europe since,” Bart Coenraads, chief investment officer and head of real estate for Fortis Investments, told Reuters at the sidelines of a conference in Tokyo.

The firm currently has two Europe-focused fund-of-funds vehicles and a third invested in Asian assets.
Coenraads said he was particularly keen to attract Japanese pension fund investors as their allocations for real estate were minuscule relative to other asset classes.

“A lot of Japanese pension funds already invested in Japanese real estate now see opportunities in Asia ex-Japan,” he said, adding that Fortis Investments had already obtained a $40 million commitment from a Japanese pension fund investor for an existing fund of funds focused on Asia ex-Japan property.

Japan’s pension funds have traditionally parked their money in low-risk corporate and government bonds but are raising their investments in riskier assets such as equities and property to boost returns for the country’s ageing population. Fortis Investments has about 2.5 billion euros in global real estate exposure ” 25 percent of which is run through its fund-of-funds vehicles. The remaining 75 percent of its property-related holdings are in publicly traded securities.

“Many pension funds don’t have the internal capabilities to get the sort of exposure that they can get by buying into a fund of funds,” Coenraads said.Coenraads plans to raise about $300 million for the new Asian fund of funds, about half of which will be invested in Japanese funds. The remaining portfolio will be invested in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, India and Singapore assets.

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Omaxe may tap West Asia as Indian real estate market cools
Filed under: India Real Estate News Updates, Commercial, Residential, New Development ” Administrator @ 1:26 am

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New Delhi: Real estate company Omaxe Ltd has decided to develop properties overseas in places such as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the real estate market in India starts to cool and profits get squeezed.The developer plans to build commercial and residential properties in Dubai.

“Last year was very bad for developers,” Rohtas Goel, chairman and managing director, Omaxe, said. “Prices declined by 10% and even by 30% in some locations, which has forced developers to look at overseas markets for expansion,” he added.

The company has decided to enter the Dubai real estate market as the average yearly return on an investment in Dubai is slightly better than in India, Goel said. “It is also easier to do real estate business in Dubai compared to India,” he added.

Omaxe will float an offshore development company to enter the Dubai market. Goel declined to say how much money Omaxe had earmarked for overseas development.

The company will develop real estate through joint ventures with a local real estate developer. Omaxe has to find a local developer to market property in Dubai in keeping with regulations of the UAE government. “We can acquire the land on our own, but to market the property we need a local partner,” Goel said.

Omaxe is in talks with several developers from Dubai for a possible tie-up. But nothing has been finalized yet, Goel said. In the last seven to eight months, the real estate market in New Delhi and its suburbs has seen a decline in demand mostly because of the high interest rates on home loans, which are at a five-year high. The interest rates have increased to 12%, compared with 9% just a year ago. That, coupled with the rising value of land, is making homes more expensive and less affordable”keeping buyers at bay.

“A few developers might be looking at overseas markets because of the high cost of land in India,” said Ganesh Raj, head, real estate practice at audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young India. “As return is a function of price of land, given the present cost of land, developers probably feel that returns in the overseas markets will be better. However, very few developers have actually started real estate development in offshore markets,” Raj added.

Omaxe’s plans to go global comes in the wake of similar efforts by other developers. Parsvnath Developers Ltd has decided to venture into real estate development in the UK, Singapore, UAE, Muscat and Mauritius. DLF Ltd is looking at international acquisitions, and Ansal API Ltd has a partnership with Malaysia’s UEM Group to bid for government projects in Malaysia.Investors are not willing to buy residential properties any more as the interest rates have shot up and it is costlier to buy homes on borrowed money.

Investors are gradually exiting the real estate market, say developers. While investors constituted 70% of the buyers last year, it is now the reverse, Goel said. “Now the actual end-users constitute 70% of the buyers,” he added. Omaxe is present in 30 cities and nine states in India. The company operates across residential, commercial and retail verticals. Omaxe made an initial public offering of shares in July and raised around Rs600 crore.

A good real estate agent will always give you what you need. They will get the most for your current home and find you the perfect new home for your family. Your wants and needs, your interests and preferences and your financial abilities are all taken into consideration when locating homes in your desired locations.