First the bad news: the number of homes sold in Bellingham in November of 2008 was down 41% from November of 2007 and down 38% forWhatcom County as a whole. Average prices were down 16% in both Bellingham and Whatcom County. The average prices were impactedstrongly by softness in the upper end of the market, as was indicated by the smaller change in median prices – down 10% in Bellingham and 12% in the county as a whole.

Residential units sold in Bellingham by month through 2007 and 2008 saw less bounce during the typical “selling season” and in November declined considerably below the level at which it began in the first quarter of the year. This is not typical of the normal sales curve, which tends to end the year at about the same point where it began. The next 2 months should tell us if this is an aberration or an indication that the 2009 sales curve will be lower still.

Bellingham Average Prices

Average sale prices have been rather sticky, dropping just 3.8% year-to-date from 2007 to 2008. October and November saw this trend change, at least in part due to softness in the upper end of the market. While these numbers reflect Bellingham sales, they typically constitute approximately 50% of total Whatcom County sales, and the trend lines are very similar.

Inventory levels, particularly in Bellingham and Sudden Valley, are definitely lower than a year ago, at least in part due to little new construction. Sudden Valley is seeing fairly strong sales due to the new construction inventory available there, and contractors have been discounting prices fairly heavily.

Another bright spot in the local real estate scene are current interest rates. Most lenders have FHA programs and rates that are very attractive with as little as 3% down. I received an e-mail notice from a local mortgage broker this week with 30-year fixed rate home loans available at 5% interest, no points, 20% down. The key to that one was a credit score of at least 740. That is the best I have seen, but there are a number of good loan opportunities out there and they are changing constantly, so stay in touch with your lender if you are planning to buy.

I was asked today if people are still moving here, and the answer is yes. We are also seeing investors coming into the market, which is a good sign. So what is coming for Bellingham/Whatcom County real estate? Probably more of the same for some time, although I think the contraction in inventory and lack of new construction will be with us for a while, which will serve to help hold the price point.

To review this information plotted on a chart, refer to our web site which is referenced below.

In any type of real estate market it is important to know what is going on before you jump in as either a buyer or a seller. We track many segments of the market so that our clients have the knowledge they need to make good decisions. It’s one of those services that we consider essential, so if you have a need to know, contact us at 360-527-8766. You can meet us on the web at Johnson Team Real Estate or view or Blog

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Home Page > Finance > Real Estate > Real Estate Investing Made Easy

Real Estate Investing Made Easy

Edit Article | Posted: Nov 02, 2010 |Comments: 0 | Share

In today’s housing industry, finding a house in foreclosure will be as easy as basically opening your eyes inside nearly any area in America. Many individuals are taking advantage of this case and buying properties in different phases of foreclosure to utilize a long-expression investment opportunities. Although this is a sure approach to make money, there are many ways to take advantage of the homes that are at present in foreclosure and that’s through bulk reo purchases.

Bulk REO is the purchase of attributes that are at present in foreclosure, but in bulk rather than one property at a time. Using bulk reo’s are usually an excellent way to buy foreclosed homes due to the fact you can get a much deeper discount on your obtain than if you were to get one home at a time. Financial institutions benefit greatly because they get many homes off of the books at one time and also you benefit because you can turn them into leasing properties for a long term investment opportunity, otherwise you can put them back on the market for a couple thousand more than an individual paid for them and still make a profit.

The one problem that many people face with volume reo investing will be that it takes a lot of capital to purchase properties in bulk, also when they are to be had at a deep discount. The bottom line is that even the least expensive purchase option, you will nonetheless need several hundred thousands of dollars to make a package. If you want to make certain you make the most funds, ideally you will have your personal money rather than coppied money simply because an individual avoid the extra cost of bank fees, interest and so forth.

If you want to be involved in bulk reo investing and you don’t have the amount of money to start investing on your own, you can also consider becoming a dealer for companies in which invest in mass REO. These companies employ and train individuals like you to find the right investments for them. They will pay you any fee for your providers but they take on all of the risk that comes with investing of any kind.

The simple truth is that bulk REO investments are very profitable and anyone are capable of doing it as long as they have the capital. Because of so many houses in property foreclosure, banks are simply more willing to permit houses go with a much lower expense than ever before. Discover, how to make money with the current economy with Freedomsoft

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Net Lease Real Estate Investments

Passive real estate for both the investor and the investor’s heirs

By David E. Sobelman, Vice President, Calkain Realty Advisors and Benjamin R. Hanan, Shareholder, Abel Band, Chartered

Experienced, savvy and sophisticated real estate investors typically are inundated with decisions of what to do with their existing assets as they plan their estates. In many cases, individuals holding various types of real property may want to simplify their portfolios for the next generation for ease of administration and enjoyment.

Net lease investments (“NLIs”) are one of the most passive forms of real estate investment. Under an NLI arrangement, the investor purchases the real property subject to a “triple net” lease. In such case, the tenant is responsible for paying all of the taxes, insurance, and most importantly, the maintenance of the real property. By divesting of current real estate holdings and purchasing an NLI, the investor can ultimately simplify the investor’s real estate portfolio and have the ability to transfer assets to the investor’s beneficiaries with the comfort of understanding that little to no real estate experience will be required in order to manage the NLI. Additionally, depending on the type of asset purchased, the investor can assist in providing the investor’s heirs with (a) an income stream that extends into the future; and (b) an appreciating capital asset.

Investors concerned with the potential tax burdens associated with the sale of their existing real estate investments may consider taking advantage of the tax-deferred exchange provisions of Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 in order to effectuate their diversification into NLIs. Through the implementation of a properly structured tax-deferred exchange, investors can sell maintenance-intensive real property investments, defer the taxable gains on such sales and reinvest the proceeds in an NLI. Throughout the remainder of the investors’ lives, they can continue to enjoy the income stream and appreciation afforded by an NLI. Should a particular investor continue to maintain their investment in the NLI until death, the investor’s estate will receive a step-up in basis in the NLI to its fair market value as of the date of the investor’s death, thereby eliminating all of the deferred income tax on such real estate investment. Thereafter, the investor’s beneficiaries receive the following benefits: (a) a real estate investment; (b) an income stream subject to the terms of the NLI; and (c) an asset in which they possess a relatively high basis such that if they sell the NLI in the future, they can minimize the taxes paid in connection with such sale (or, if properly structured, such taxes can be deferred through a subsequent 1031 exchange).

Case Study:

Situation

For over 40 years a private investor had amassed a portfolio of New York real estate encompassing over 3,800 multifamily units. Over the four decades, the investor had personally managed and operated the portfolio with a small team of staff and advisors. Now in his late 60′s and with no heirs willing to undertake the management-intensive nature of the holdings, the investor was looking to gradually simplify his assets while maintaining a level of passive income that could be easier to pass on to heirs.

Problem

The size of the investor’s portfolio made it more challenging to find one single buyer since the assets are valued at approximately $420 million. Additionally, the sale of the assets, if not properly timed, would have triggered a substantial capital gain that would have drastically affected the net proceeds for the investor.

Solution

Staggering the sale of the assets within the portfolio to allow for much smaller dispositions and encourage an ultimately higher sale price, due to increased competition, would allow the investor the opportunity to use the 1031 tax deferred exchange code in order to find like-kind assets to purchase. The assets found for the exchange were real property occupied by tenants who signed long-term triple net leases, were priced in the $2 ” 10 million range and had a large scope of geographic diversification. Therefore, the passive income attained from the newly acquired assets coupled with the use of the 1031 tax code allowed the investor the comfort to plan for future generations’ passive income as well as eliminated the immediate capital gains taxes he would have realized.

Authors’ Biographical Information

Benjamin R. Hanan is a Shareholder in the Business & Corporate Counseling, Personal Services & Planning and Employment Law Practice Groups at Abel, Band, Russell, Collier, Pitchford & Gordon, Chartered. Also a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Hanan focuses his law practice on corporate law and business transactions involving individuals, physician practices, and other entities, including entity formation, operation, business sales, mergers and acquisitions, employment arrangements, buy-sell arrangements, and equity owner agreements. Mr. Hanan also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to estate planning and family wealth transfers.

Mr. Hanan earned his Juris Doctorate degree, with highest honors, from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. Mr. Hanan attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned an undergraduate degree in accounting, with highest honors, and a Masters degree in professional accounting.

David E. Sobelman is Vice President of Calkain Realty Advisors, the private markets division of Calkain Companies. Mr. Sobelman focuses on single tenant retail, industrial, and office net leased investments. Mr. Sobelman is regularly sought out for his opinion on the national and regional commercial real estate trends and has been highlighted in prestigious periodicals including Retail Traffic, Commercial Property News, Northeast Real Estate Business, Globest.com, and many others.

Mr. Sobelman earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida and is a former Presidential Appointee in The White House.

With the gradual increase in property prices every year, the real estate business market is flourishing well. Buying a home is not an easy task as it requires a lot of research on selecting the right property as per your specified demands. The financial budget serves to be an important aspect here because you are required to invest a hefty amount of your income on purchasing either commercial or industrial properties. For some people it takes an entire lifetime to accumulate funds and then make their purchase. Therefore it is very essential to acquire the right value of property and deserve the best home that is completely incredible. On the other hand, the Commercial Real Estate is slowly crawling out from the burden of inflation and economic crisis.

There is a difference in acquiring a new home and resale ones. Properties that have just been newly constructed offer numerous benefits to potential buyers in terms of providing them with efficacies of newer appliances, home maintenance and repair costs that are predictable. The most significant benefit are the builders’ assurance. While opting for resale properties, you get the provision of lower pricing as compared to brand new houses. You also get the convenience of staying at an already established neighborhood that comprises various facilities. Hence while purchasing a luxury home or acquiring resale properties it is best to sort out your requirements and take decisions according to your decided budget.

It has been observed that generally buyers reply to the real estate agent in order to supply them with necessary information. But what they don’t realize is that at times you can become victims of deception and fraud. Therefore, it is always advisable to locate licensed and qualified agents who offer required knowledge on property prices and guides you on making a valuable purchase.

Generally, every potential buyer needs to go through various procedures before making their final decision. One important factor that should be made while investing into property, a residential or an office space purchase is this step: property search. For a buyer, it is indeed a strenuous and challenging job to select the most appropriate and reliable home for them. There are certain aspects that require suitable attention. Firstly, while searching, you need to expand your scope and acquire a fair idea of other alternatives available. Secondly, you should make a comparison of property prices in order to gain information on basic infrastructure, civic amenities available, and the transportation system in order to check whether there are good connecting roads for comfortable traveling. Lastly, it is considered to be extremely vital to verify the government valuation of property prices that would give you useful insights on the current rates and other respective information that you wish to acquire.

With the above mentioned information, you would definitely understand that opting for residential real estate properties involves a long procedure. The best place to look out for property information is to browse through various real estate websites that have established itself in the online market for years. Surf such sites and locate the best attractive deals!

Quote of the Day:
“Without promotion something terrible happens Nothing!”
P.T. Barnum
In order for you to make money as a Real Estate investor you need your phone ringing off the hook (or your inbox full of leads), each and every day so that you can make offers for properties and cater your offers to your buyers. The great thing is these Motivated Sellers and buyers with cash in their bank accounts are actually looking for you because you can provide solutions to their problems.
But guess what typically happens They can’t find you. Why? Because You’re not marketing yourself. OR if you are marketing you are not marketing correctly. Working harder does not always bring the best results unless you are also working smart.
Did you just hear about the investor in your local RE club that closed on a deal netting them $20,000 and they didn’t even have to lay a hand on the property? Or what about the person that just bought that rental house on the same block for 40-60% less than what you paid for yours? Are they just lucky? Or are they working smarter than you?

The best place to be is a little bit of both. Somewhere in between luck and chasing deals is where you should be in finding truly motivated sellers, or rather helping them find you.
Have you ever heard when someone is ready to shoot a gun at a target say, “Ready, Aim, Fire”?
I have. And in shooting a gun, that is appropriate. However for marketing we want to change that line up a bit. The following goes over some basic Marketing principals following Ready, Aim, Fire, and Talley the Score.
1)AimWho is Your Target Market?

The most important element of any marketing to be done is to assure that what you are saying AIMS directly to your target market. Who are you trying to market to? If you are advertising “I buy Houses”, What types of properties and real estate opportunities are you seeking? If you are advertising that you have houses for sale and are looking for buyers, what does your advertising say to bring in the most promising prospects for you? The more narrow your focus and marketing efforts, the greater success you will experience. As an example, I am a REI coach and trainer. In the past, I had been marketing to “real estate investors” and “real estate investing coaching and training”. Now you will find my marketing more niche focused – Flipping is my niche. I focus on turning profits for quick profit. Not that I can’t teach on anything else. I just decided to pick the niche that best suits me and go for it.
WHO are you aiming at? Who is your target market? In Aiming, you want to first look at who it is that will bring you in what you are looking for in your business. You might need a buyers, sellers, a power team, money sources, referrals, etc. for every ad you place, you will want your marketing message to be, first and foremost, clearly directed at who/what it is that you are attempting to reach/sell/buy. And you will want to know the ages, gender, nationalities and locations for the majority of your target market.
WHERE are you pointing your gun. In other words where are you advertising to reach your target market? The second consideration when Aiming is to assure the type of ad you are placing is they type of medium your target market will see. Wherever you are advertising, be sure and verify historical numbers for who is paying attention to that medium whether TV, newspaper, online, billboards, etc. Make sure the mediums you use are those that those who are your target market will see.
WHAT ammunition are you using? What are you saying in your ads by the words and graphics used? Is the copy enticing enough to make you stand out? What is your USP (Your unique selling proposition) What makes you special? Many people pay copywriters to write their ads, (yes, even individual real estate investors), in order to assure what they are saying is the right way to put the message across. If writing effective ads is not your cup of tea, you might want to reach out for help. You can have the right medium, pointing to the right target, but you if you don’t say something appealing, then you wasted your time and money.
2) Ready.Your Marketing Plan

Your Marketing Budget: You will want to create a marketing plan starting with a budget. We all have basic living expenses that need to be paid. If you are just getting started and short on cash, could you cut back on the budget anywhere to find a little money to create a small advertising budget?
List the marketing mediums to be used: In addition to the budget, you will want to make a list of the mediums you will use that meets the criteria we have discussed in Aim and Ready sections in this book.
Consistency is Key: You simply DO NOT have to have a large marketing budget to be effective to grow your RE business. One 42 cent letter netted me $70,000. It’s all about consistency. You will want to be realistic about your monetary constraints to start out and then incrementally build your marketing program as you experience more and more success. It is vital that you don’t base all your decisions on one attempt. Consistently do marketing to same target market using the same medium for at least 1 month 1 X week. Often people need to see repetition in order to the idea to call you to sink in to where they take action.
3. FireDo your marketing plan!
So many people spend too much time telling themselves all the reasons they haven’t done marketing, mostly revolved around their lack of time and money. However, to run your real estate investing business effectively and profitable, (or any business for that matter), you must get the word out to let others know what you do. There are many low cost and limited Fire at the target and see the results!
3) Talley the Score How many times did you hit your target?

Did you receive a return on your advertising investment, (Often referred to as an ROI)? We miss the boat on this one so much. When you are incorporating bandit signs, direct mail, flyer campaigns, into your marketing etc… it can start to get confusing where and if your success rate justifies the money and time put into the marketing mediums you are using. You will need to mainly pay attention to one thing was money you profited higher than the money you spent to get the lead to call you. You will want to pay attention to two elements in tracking your responses.

When someone calls, be sure and ask where they found your phone number and track the “response rate”. for each particular form of advertisement. This will tell you what ads hit the target! From this information, it is easy to track the return on your investment to see how much money you make from each response and adding those dollars up. Tracking your responses and closures of deals by how they found you is necessary so that you can identify areas that need to be tweaked or worked on. If you are not getting response, you will want to evaluate if that is the correct medium or if what you are saying is not working. If you are getting response, but not closure, you will want to change your ad to bring in more focused leads.

And when you find out that great mailing list is really working or the flyers in a particular neighborhood is getting tremendous feedback….then increase your marketing in that area! I mean when you are measuring success and can track it effectively, it allows you in full financial confidence to justify any increase in marketing expenditures that is bringing in more than you are spending.

My hope is for you to realize that marketing for the real estate investor is the lifeblood of his/her business. Great deals rarely knock on your door to find you without some kind of influence to do so. Marketing is key.

Over the next few weeks I will provide details on several types of marketing I have used in my real estate investing business with some success. For your marketing plan, you will want to put into place no more than 2 or 3 of these marketing strategies at one time, amending your plan depending on the results. Watch for more to come!

Most importantly, whatever strategy you use, follow these steps:
Aim, Ready, Fire and Talley the score!

To Your Massive Profits,
Tamera Aragon

Sounds like it should be a title for a movie, doesn’t it? With all seriousness though you can and should be using this strategy especially in a nasty bear market. Lets face it, who really knows when we are at the bottom? Stocks that look like a bargain today can have their values halved in a short period of time. Does that mean you sit on the sidelines and wait for a recovery? The answer is yes, but that is a lot easier said than done. Very few people will invest at the bottom of the market. In fact most people wait till it’s too late to get into the market. With this simple plan you wont have to wait, and you wont have to worry about whether you purchased the stock too early or should have waited. If you follow the strategy as outlined you will be able to purchase a stock at a discount to the current market price and if not still make a return that is above average expectations. Did I get your attention?
A short while ago I wrote Bottom Fishing With the Bears outline a procedure of investing in bad markets. Now I would like to show you another strategy to use for bear market investing, in fact it will work in all kinds of markets as long as you are an investor with realistic return expectations. At this point I would like to urge you to read Bottom Fishing With the Bears, both strategies can be used simultaneously and have the potential to become an important part of your investment planning. Don’t kid yourself serious investing requires planning! Anyone can buy shares in a company but overlook the second and most important part of investing–proper money management.

Bottom Fishing With the Bears used a fictional company trading on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) under the symbol DOG. This illustration will use an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) which is composed of the largest DOG companies in the United States and trades under the symbol (you guessed it) DOGS. Keep in mind that although the stock is fictitious the actual illustration is based on an actual ETF comprised of DOGS and it does trade on a major U.S. stock exchange. We want to keep the strategy as real as possible without giving any specific investment advice. It’s the plan that I would like to focus on and leave the investment decisions and selection in your capable hands. Yes I know I’m stroking you a bit, but since you took the time to read this far you demonstrated that you are open to new ideas and do have enough common sense to decide for yourself.

Back to the Simple Plan: Buying shares at a discount to the current market price. How is it done? Though the concept is simple, take sometime to reread the strategy since some of the instruments used can be complicated and require full understanding. Don’t rely on anyone else, learn it yourself before you begin implementation. There are three things you will require immediately before you begin. They are money, cash brokerage account and an options account. While the first two are obvious having an options account may be unfamiliar. However, you will need all three.

Having everything in place and your account funded with $10,000 in cash, I would not recommend that you should use this strategy with less. We are buying quality investments not speculating. Anything less and your return will be diminished by commission costs. At the $10,000 level the commission costs are almost insignificant, depending which financial institution you have your account. Now that you are ready to go, lets see how and what you would do to buy shares at a discount in the ETF of DOGS.

As of this writing DOGS ETF closed at $8.24 per share. Remember though it’s for demonstration purposes only it is based on an actual trading ETF. Since DOGS is composed of some of the largest U.S. institutions beaten down by the current market conditions, this may be a good time to jump in and invest. Since the market is bad you are not sure whether the shares will go even lower or whether they bottomed out at this level. Your obvious choice is to go out and purchase 1,000 shares of DOGS at $8.24 for a total investment of $8,240 before commission. The rest of the illustration will be based on costs before commission. That’s one way and most of us are familiar with this method. Nothing new here. However, let’s look a little deeper and see what we uncover.

At the time the shares of DOGS closed at $8.24, its 6 month $8 PUTS were trading at $2.34 per PUT. What is a PUT? Good question, I’m glad you asked. A PUT is an option giving the owner the RIGHT to SELL 100 shares of an underlying instrument at a specified price by a specified period of time. In our example for instance the owner of a PUT with a strike price of $8 has the RIGHT (not an obligation) to sell 100 shares of DOGS to the seller of the PUT (also called the writer) at $8 per share at anytime during the 6 month period regardless of the price of the stock. On the other hand the seller or writer of the PUT has an OBLIGATION to purchase 100 shares of DOGS at $8 per share during this 6 month period regardless of the price of the shares. Got all that? If not read it over again before I show you how you can benefit.

Rather than outright purchasing 1,000 shares of DOGS at $8.24 you place your funds into a high yield money market instrument. Then sell (or write) 10 six month $8 PUTS on DOGS for $2.34. Since each PUT represents 100 shares and you sold 10 PUTS you are now OBLIGATED to purchase 1,000 shares of DOGS at $8 per share. For this OBLIGATION you will receive $2,340 ($2.34 x 100x 10). These funds are yours to keep. During the next six months three possible scenarios can occur with DOGS. The price of the stock can go up, down or stay the same. Correct? Well let’s see what happens with each scenario.

The shares of DOGS go up in six months. In this case your upside potential is limited. You are limited to the price you would through ordinary method purchased the stock plus the premium on the PUTS you received ($8.24 + $2.34=$10.58). Anything above $10.58 is your cap. However should this happen your return by using the simple plan is 28.3 percent in six months. This does not include the interest earned on your original capital of $10,000. All in all a pretty good return, a 57 percent annualized rate of return. Should the shares of DOGS remain at $8 or any amount above your return will be exactly the same as above.

On the other hand should the price of the stock drop below $8 per share during this 6 month time period the owner of the PUTS will sell you 1,000 shares of DOGS at $8 per share and you will be OBLIGATED to purchase the stock at $8 per share or $8,000. However since you received a premium for selling (writing) the PUTS your actual cost for 1,000 shares of DOGS is $5,660 ($8.00-$2.34 x 1,000= $5.66). As long as the stock is $5.66 or higher you haven’t lost anything. Had you purchased the shares outright at $8.24 and the stock is trading now at $5.66 your loss would be $2.58 per share or 31.3 percent as opposed to zero. Also, keep in mind that you now have 1,000 shares of DOGS at a cost of $5.66 per share. Any increase from this point is a profit in your pocket.

Think of this strategy as an alternative to outright stock buying. It’s a great way to bottom fish. As I have mentioned before, very few people know when we are at the bottom. Some of us get lucky and buy at the bottom, but this is an exception and not the rule. Investing requires careful planning, luck happens but should not be relied upon. I am reminded of a saying that a broken clock is right at least twice a day. However, I prefer having once that runs. What about you? Apply this Simple Plan to your investment ideas and workout the possible returns. It’s worth the effort.

Many people dream of buying a new home for their family. Yet this is not the only reason why there is a growing trend for the purchase of property. Such people invest in real estate as a means to make money. In fact there are many who make a living by buying ugly houses and then selling them for great profits after a few months. This has been adopted as a serious profession, and there are people out there who make millions out of it.

But the question is how can anyone do this? There is definitely a set of rules that they follow, and those are the basics of flipping a house. Flipping is done when you buy a house that is in need of repairs for a price that is much lower than the market value in order to sell it once you had renovated it. This would probably explain why many ugly houses seem to be selling like hot cakes. By flipping houses, you can easily bring them to the market standards, which could yield a high price upon the resale. Yet flipping houses is not as easy as it may seem, and it’s certainly not so for everyone.

You have to get acquainted to some rules before you decide to start flipping houses. That way you can get some good money by investing in real estate. Anyway, here are the rules:

- Buying ugly houses at the right price is crucial in making a profit. If the market prices are constant, then it’s not the selling price but rather than of the buying is what indicates your profit (remember, you make the money when you buy). It’s only the realization of the profit that comes after selling it. If you consistently use the formula for this, you will be able to make better decisions about the potential of certain ugly houses. This will significantly improve your buying decisions.

- An important task in the flipping process is finding an experienced Real Estate Wholesaler. If you wish to buy ugly houses, then you need to find a local Real Estate Wholesaler who specializes in finding the best and most profitable deals in your area. NOTE: Not every Wholesaler is suitable for you if flipping houses is your goal.

- For buying a run down house, you should be capable of taking advantage of leverage. Leverage is the use of borrowed money to increase your profits to many folds while buying an old house. By investing no money from your side, you can still get some handsome profit on someone else’s money OPM (Other People’s Money). – The houses you have bought will demand some repairs. Yet avoid going overboard with them. Remember, you are not the one to live in those houses, so it should appeal to the buyer. After a little survey, you will be able to know their likes and dislikes.

Flipping houses is one of the ways you can get high profits by buying ugly houses. It’s common knowledge that most millionaires around the world have started earning their first million through real estate. So, are you interested in doing the same?

Real estate and stock market investments are often treated as two of the best ways of investing money. However, what you are looking for is not just any investment, but investments that can give you good returns. So the most important part of good real estate investment is to get hold of such properties which can give you good returns. Now, how can you get these potential profit-making deals?

Real estate investing is really an art and, like any art, it takes time to master the art of real estate investing. If you want to accelerate your results, just follow someone who has already mastered the art. If you are you struggling wrapping your brain around a specific investing strategy, here is a list of strategies used by masters at the art of real estate, that can make investing profitable for you:

1. One strategy is to incorporate wholesaling into your real estate business plans. What is Wholesaling? Wholesaling is quite simple. A wholesale investor is the middleman. It is simply finding a bargain property and passing it on to a bargain hunter. That bargain hunter will be an investor who will either purchase the property to resell it or purchase it to hold it for rental income. Wholesaling real estate is quickly emerging as one of the hottest investing options in today’s market because it is risk-free and it has the potential to be an enormous cash cow.

2. Another strategy is short selling property. As the closure is high, the short-selling is still a popular investing strategy. This strategy works well, as the seller is in financial hardship and looking to close the deal as quickly as possible. Also short selling the property may be preferable to alternatives, such as foreclosure or “deed-in-lieu of foreclosure”.

3. One more strategy is to purchase non performing paper and defaulted notes from banks at a discount. By buying non-performing paper and defaulted notes, you can become the bank. The homeowner then makes their mortgage payments to YOU instead of Bank of America. The key to investing in foreclosures is to start early. You want to procure them without bidding against the hordes.

With any investment, you must know your exit strategy when you buy. What do you plan to do with the investment? Knowing this allows you to make all types of decisions, from how much to offer, to what kind of financing to use, and more.

Don’t let the many ways to make money with real estate investing be one of the excuses that stop you from getting started. There many strategies to consider but if you are a beginner it’s important that you understand all of your options and then narrow it down to an investing strategy that best suits your needs.

And now I invite you to learn more about how to master the art of real estate investing. Get FREE Instant Access to a special video training series when you visit http://www.CashFlowManagementSecrets.com

From EarlvinHarris.com/blog and CashFlowManagementSecrets.com

For anyone who is looking to buy a home or has one to spare you have a lot of decisions to make. It may seem weird to think that someone can have an extra home lying around but you would be surprised. Because of the record number of foreclosures there are thousands of homeowners who are able to buy a second home because they have paid off or nearly paid off the one they currently live at.

They see it as an investment property, especially because they can get such a great deal on it and the same goes for any investors. The problem is that you can not just turn around and sell a property for a large profit anymore; people are not buying homes right now unless they themselves can get a steal on it too.

The smartest thing you can do is to rent out the home and have the payments cover the monthly mortgage costs. That will allow you to hold on to the house for years as you wait for the real estate market to rebound and sales rates to go up. This also saves you money each year not having to pay for the physical house yourself and that increases your profit margin when you sell.

The important thing is that you chose a good tenant because a bad one will not only fail to pay the rent on time but they will also take poor care of the house, costing you thousands of dollars in repairs. Many owners like to run a credit check to determine who the best applicant would be and that is a smart idea. If you are worried about the popularity of credit repair companies and how they make scores high in weeks, the experts say not to. Credit repair can fix anyone’s score fast, but no one will do it unless they are serious about keeping their score high, and would be a good tenant.

By David George
http://creditrewind.com

Development and implementation of real estate marketing strategies is an important part of buying and selling houses. Without some sort of marketing plan it is virtually impossible to locate realty for sale or buyers ready to purchase. Whether trying to buy or sell residential homes, commercial properties or raw land, marketing is the key to success.

The first stage of real estate marketing involves developing an overall plan. Marketing plans help investors establish their target market and identify buying habits of potential clients. Individuals interested in residential properties will have entirely different needs than those buying commercial real estate.Retired couples will have different housing needs than newly married couples or families with children. In order to sell properties investors must gather as much information as possible about their clients and the market.

One of the most common mistakes investors make is to gear marketing materials around their own successes. The first rule of thumb for any marketing campaign is to remove the marketer from the equation.

Although it is true that clients might be impressed that an investor possesses 20 years experience or closed mega-million real estate deals, they really want to know how investors can solve their problems or help them buy or sell property. Therefore, realty marketing materials should address how investors solve problems and overcome challenges.

The best way to start is to compose a list of common problems buyers often face. After identifying these challenges, create a list of how your investment company can solve each problem.

These might include addressing financing options for buyers with bad credit and those who have filed bankruptcy or lost their home to foreclosure. Realty marketing materials can help investors establish trust and build relationships by demonstrating how they can solve problems.

Another important aspect of marketing plans is to develop follow-up strategies. People rarely make important financial decisions simply by reading a marketing brochure or sales letter. In most cases, it takes an average of five to seven contacts with a person before real estate deals transpire.

Realty marketing plans should encompass the various tools investors can use to attract buyers. These might include developing a website; sending out letters, sales flyers, or postcards; follow-up marketing strategies; and advertising strategies such as billboards, signage, park benches, Internet marketing, or Classifieds ads in local newspapers or realty magazines.

Real estate marketing is an on-going process, so investors should plan to review their marketing efforts on a quarterly basis and make necessary adjustments. Technology is constantly evolving, so investors must make an effort to stay abreast of market trends.

Investors should consider hiring freelancers to help with marketing materials. These can include copywriters, graphic artists and webmasters. While hiring others initially costs money, having professionals design real estate marketing materials can save money in the long run.

The Internet is a great resource for locating freelancers and obtaining marketing advice. Consider joining investor forums, social networks, and real estate clubs to network with other professionals. By taking time to network, investors can find the resources and buyers necessary to develop a successful business.

Simon Volkov shares investing secrets and insider know-how of buying and selling investment properties through the development of a solid real estate marketing plan. Sellers and investors are encouraged to list their real estate investment properties via the “we buy houses” form at www.SimonVolkov.com.