Article by Dustin Hahn

Are you interested in making profits from investing in real estate? Did you know that purchasing properties from delinquent real estate taxes can be a profitable investment? If you don’t know the basics yet about tax liens, then it is time to check this out.

Even with a limited capital, buying real estate from tax lien certificates proves to be a worthwhile time. Counties normally assess taxes properties from owners every year. They allow payment of these taxes through a certain date. The dues are assessed based on real estate value and can range from hundreds up to a few thousand dollars. If the properties are not paid within the due date, they become delinquent and the county or local municipality can charge interest to the owner.

Before making an investment though it is advisable to thoroughly research the property to confirm its market value. Make sure also that the property value far exceeds the tax bill of the county. Keep in mind that the value must be at least ten times the amount owed; consider this as a general rule of thumb. Furthermore, it’s very important to realize the steps and procedures because it differs greatly by county. Take note too that not all states participate in tax liens because there are others that only conduct tax deed sales. Do always remember that there is a difference between those two.

Some of the investors attend the sale in person but with the advent of internet technology, it is now very possible to bid online. This makes it easier for an interested investor to register and bid on tax lien certificates at an auction. Check out the county’s website in order not to be left out.

After the auction, the winner of the bidding pays the county for the amount of delinquent taxes. He also earns their return when the property owner pays the bill. Then, the investor who owns the tax certificates that haven’t been paid or redeemed yet by the property owner for two years, are qualified to apply for a tax deed sale. That is why an investor can buy a property for only a few hundred dollars when in fact it is actually worth thousands. This allows tax sale investors to earn big profits backed by real estate.

Now that you have learned the basics on tax liens investing, it’s time to search for the nearest sale in your neighborhood. You can also call your local county office and ask for details about it. There are also numerous websites in the internet that offer listings to these tax sales.

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by cliff1066™

Article by Simon Macharia

No matter what you market, testimonials are the leading factor that convinces people to buy what you sell. In real estate investing, you will end up buying more houses if you have believable testimonials you can present to motivated sellers.

You should be getting testimonials from everyone you work with – Realtors, motivated sellers, tenants, etc.

So how do you go about getting testimonials and how do you use them?

Never wait longFirst, it is important to remember you should never wait long before asking for a testimonial. If you wait for a few days, you will be forgotten. The best time is when the excitement is still high, for example as soon as you close a deal.

Get a video testimonial, take pictures When they have a check in their pocket, it is very easy to ask for a testimonial. You can ask them to write it down. If at all possible, take a picture of them.

You now have a hand-written testimonial with a picture. This carries more credibility than a typed testimonial.

Better still, have a video recorder with you at all times. These days you can use your smart phone to get a video testimonial.

You get more credibility with a video testimonial and they only take two minutes to get.

Of course if you do not have a video recorder, you can use a voice recorder in most smart phones.

Send a letter and / or emailOnce you close a deal, if you do not have the opportunity to get a testimonial in person, immediately mail a letter the same day. Send them an email as well.

The letter should be something like this:

Dear Mr. SellerThank you so much for allowing us to serve you. It was a pleasure working with you and seeing the deal through to completion.

I was wondering if you could do me a quick favor? Could you write a short testimonial for me? I would really appreciate this as it would help me help more people looking to sell their houses quickly.

Please use the attached piece of paper and return envelope for your testimonial.

Thank you in advance and please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Sincerely,Your name here

Enclose a blank sheet of paper with a heading “Write your testimonial here”. I prefer a yellow paper with the heading written in a red pen. It prompts them to write the testimonial right there and not keep it for later.

Also, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope so they just have to drop it in the mail.

Most people will not respond, but some will. Always ask for testimonials. You will get more testimonials if you ask everyone.

Your business will be more successful if you use these testimonials.

How to use testimonials They really boost your credibility kit. Make sure you put them on your real estate investor website. Especially video testimonials.

Put them in a file or credibility kit and carry them in your car at all times. When you go to see your houses, show them to your motivated sellers.

The result is that you will end up buying more houses.

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Video Rating: 5 / 5

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by dbking

Buying property is all part of one, building a home or building requires a written agreement. This is a well known real estate sales contract or a contract of sale. It is called the Statute of Frauds in the United States that all financial transactions, including immovable property may be in writing enforceable.

A purchase contract signed by both parties a buyer and a seller. Be the beginning of the transaction, both of their names and signatures must appear on the document.

Other important information, which is defined in the agreement are as follows:

Description

Name and address of the property. This should include the physical condition of the house and its specific location.
The purchase price the buyer offers.
An amount of repayment has also asked for a deposit or down payment and kept it during the transaction. Normally, a lawyer is acting as escrow agent. A condition can be both direct the refund of deposit if the sale does not penetrate because of the failure of the buyer to obtain a loan.
The time required to respond to the offer 24 hours or 48 hours. The buyer can specify what to keep the seller to accept additional bids from other buyers.
The party responsible for keeping the deposit and complete the transaction. The closure can be processed either by the lawyer or estate agent if it is approved by both parties.
The items included or excluded from sales. They relate to the equipment and furniture that the buyer may decide to keep or delete the property, such as carpets and lamps.
Home Warranty. This assures the buyer that the seller will give you a clear title to the property at the time of closing. The document can be either an abstract of title, certificate of title or title insurance.
The group will pay the closing costs. Many producers will shoulder the cost of closing an incentive for buyers. Depending on both sides, but the costs can be shared.
The section of the inspection and evaluation. Buyers often ask for a home inspection to ensure that the products they are buying are in good condition. The inspection also aims to find the defects and the presence of parasites, if any. The assessment, in turn, is to determine the real value of the housing market.

Emergency Mortgage

This can be specified by the buyer as a guarantee that the buyer obtains a mortgage loan before closing. This can also release the buyer’s offer if he or she fails to obtain a loan.

The agreement to purchase real estate is initiated by the buyer but not all the time that the seller accepts the offer in its entirety immediately. What usually happens is that the seller responds with bid-cons who propose several changes to the conditions of the buyer. Negotiations begin when the buyer and seller agree to terms and conditions of the contract.

Find More Real Estate Sales Contracts Articles

by elycefeliz

Article by Bryan Pearl

Many developers, builders and REALTORS have expressed that there is a lack of understanding when it comes to marketers of real estate.

Maria with Legacy Homes Group in Madison Alabama expressed this sentiment recently to Pearl Real Estate Marketing. Pearl Real Estate Marketing is a company specializing in all aspects of the real estate process.

With 85% to 90% of home buyers beginning their searches online, it is important to have your business established online. We, Pearl REM, work very hard to produce results. There are many web companies and general advertisers who don�t understand the needs of real estate professionals. We have been providing services to the real estate industry for more then five years. We also became a licensed real estate team and we understand the needs and limited budgets of our clients.

What makes us specialized?

1) We understand that it doesn’t matter how many leads we produce, if they don’t convert to sales the service is still worthless.

2) We work hard to eliminate duplicate processes. Many times the architect, web designer, graphics designer and ad designer all want to get paid for design services. We combine the graphics design, ad design and web designer into the same person. This saves our clients thousands of dollars. When we need an ad designed we use it as newspaper ads, email blasts and printable brochures. We manage the level of graphics design. Some things need to be provided by architects and professional engineers and others don’t. Let a less expensive graphics designer manage the non critical graphics.

3) We speak the language of our clients. General advertisers just don’t understand the real estate world. They charge by the households they reach and can’t directly measure results. We measure individual lead conversions to sales. Because of our understanding of the process we don’t need to ask a lot of questions. We don’t need to learn the industry, we already live it.

4) We manage the online marketing process. Most real estate professionals don’t understand online marketing and don’t have the time to manage it. They need a certain amount of knowledge about the process to make good decisions but that is all. A really good real estate business hires out the online marketing.

5) We educate our clients and consult them on how we will drive the qualified leads. We help you understand the fraudulent methods of some online marketers. There are many out there who promise you top ranking for $ 50 per month. Sounds like a great deal, right? What if there is no traffic for the term where they have placement? We streamline the online marketing process and guide you to sucess.

Pearl REM first provides a service with integrity. We cut through the fog for you in this relatively new industry. We show you what is important and what isn’t. We provide transparency so you can watch the entire process, monitoring your investment in the process.

Point2 Announces US Trademark Grant
Point2.com ) provides real estate marketing and lead management software to brokers and agents in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa, as well as listing data aggregation and syndication solutions to real estate MLSs (Multiple …
Read more on MarketWatch (press release)

by RON SOMBILON MEDIA, ART and PHOTOGRAPHY

Article by Jim Lockerby

Gone are the days of advertising real estate through classified ads. Back then, you had to find a good listing in the paper, follow up with a phone call inquiry, and arrange an in-person. Thankfully, the information age offers countless real estate marketing tools for distributing property information online. The savviest real estate agents now create a virtual home tour for each of sale properties; this saves time for agents and buyers alike.

Of course, this is only the most obvious advantages for creating a virtual tour; we list a few more below.

1. Virtual tours are easy to share online.

It is easy to share a virtual home tour across blogs, social media sites, and listing databases. The best virtual tour applications even provide HTML code for easy posting to online databases like Craigslist.

2. Fun and easy.

Too many real estate marketing tools feel like hard work; they are boring and time consuming to use. However, it’s easy and fun to make a virtual tour. You don’t even need a video camera. Simply fill out a few property details, upload photographs, and select your animation and music. That’s it!

3. Describe a property’s personality.

A virtual tool will definitely provide the kind of basic information that consumers need to make a rational choice about whether this could be the right property for them. The number of bedrooms, the neighborhood, nearby schools – these are the facts buyers need, and a virtual home tour should include all of this information.

However, a virtual home tour can also reach buyers on a “gut feeling” level. Indeed, a tour video can quickly convey a property’s “personality.” Those who depend on real estate marketing tools to earn their keep can tell you that intuition, emotional reactions, and gut instincts play an important, influential role in property sales.

4. Forward-thinking real estate marketing.

Technology expert Cisco has estimated that videos will represent 80 percent of Internet traffic by 2015. By creating up virtual video tours today, you will be better positioned for tomorrow’s real estate marketing trends.

5. Increased volume of high quality inquiries.

The bottom line is that you will get more high-quality inquiries if you create a virtual home tour for each of your listings. Buyers are more likely to pursue a property if they have the kind of rich information that a virtual tour conveys.

As you can see, there are plenty of advantages to using virtual tour videos as one of your real estate marketing tools. However, like all marketing tools, virtual tours can be more or less successful depending on your technique. Create a powerful tour video by following these tips:

Insist on excellent lighting. Humans are naturally drawn to light; if the property photos in your video are well-lit, you will receive more property inquiries.

Choose universally appealing animation and music to accompany each virtual home tour. You may be a big fan of Nirvana, but that doesn’t mean you should put “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as your background tune for a new condo listing. Choose lyric-free, upbeat music and limit the number of sparkly animations you choose.

Share with past clients. Remember that referrals are the best form of advertising, because they’re free and effective. Include a few links to virtual tour videos for current offerings in your newsletters to past buyers.

by Marcia Todd

Article by Joan Rose Castillo

Short sale in real estate is when a lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to financial difficulties of the borrower. Then the borrower sells the mortgaged property less than the outstanding balance of the mortgage loan and the proceeds of the short sale in real estate are turned over to the lender as payment of the debt. In short sale in real estate the lender has the right to approve or disapprove the intended sale. There are homeowners who prefer short sale in real estate to stop home foreclosure or avoid bad credit or bankruptcy. If you are facing foreclosure right now and you opted for short sale in real estate rather than the options that are available to you, you should learn to protect your interest especially in terms of the short sale in real estate. Here are some suggestions on how to protect yourself and interest when you choose short sale in real estate:

* Before entering into a short sale in real estate, be sure to get a legal advice from a lawyer, preferably a lawyer who has an expertise in short sale in real estate.

* A discussion with an accountant is also advisable because a licensed CPA could advise you on the probable consequences if you choose a short sale in real estate, an accountant could also discuss with you the short sale tax ramifications.

* When you have reached the stage where you are really decided to enter into short sale in real estate agreement, calling the lender is your next step, however, be sure to talk to the person-in-charge like a supervisor that could make the decision with regards to the short sale in real estate.

* Letter of Authorization containing property address, loan reference number, your name, date and your agent’s name and contact information should be submitted to the lender so that the lender could talk to those interested people about the loan.

* You should also prepare a preliminary net sheet or an estimated closing statement which indicates your expected sales price, unpaid loan balances and other related data.

* A hardship letter should also be prepared; this letter describes your financial situation, why you opted for a short sale in real estate. This letter makes a plea to the lender to accept less than the usual payment, if your situation involves an accident or a medical illness, you have to include that in the hardship letter for you to be considered for a short sale in real estate. Bank statements should be prepared as well, so that when you explain why you have unaccountable deposits or large cash withdrawals, you will have a basis.

* When the short sale in real estate is finalized and an agreement to sell with a prospective buyer is reach, copies of the purchase agreement and listing agreement should be prepared, because the lender will ask for a copy.

Part 1 – In this video we define what a short-sale is and dig into the pro’s & con’s of this type of real estate transaction. This will help anyone looking to either sell their current home as a short-sale or buy one of the many short-sale homes available in today’s market.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

by Ravi Karandeekar

What are all the rich guys you know investing in? Real estate tax sales. If you’re smart, you’ll get in on it too – regardless of if you’re rolling in the dough. All that stands between you and a real estate empire is knowing what property you should buy, and how and when to get it for as little as possible. What’s this “secret” property? Real estate tax sales property… but only bought after the tax sale.

But first, understand why investing at tax sale is such a losing proposition – especially for beginners. You’ll pay close to market value this way, due to the immense competition. In addition to that, if you do win, you’ll have to pay every cent of it right there at the auction. Again – tax sale is a waste of your time. 95% of the time, the owners redeem their property out from under you anyway.

Don’t worry – there’s a much easier and less risky way to get tax property. Wait until a few months before the end of the redemption period – that’s your “hot” zone. The prospect? The tax delinquent owners themselves. People that still haven’t paid their property taxes at this point probably just don’t want the property anymore, and are letting it go.

This is the best source of cheap, easy property You’ll find a lot of heirs, landlords, and people who just bought the property thinking maybe they’d do something with it one day. All of them no longer want the headache of maintaining the property. By simply asking if you can have the deed, since they’re letting it go, you’ll be amazed how much property you can get. If you offer a few hundred bucks for their time, they’ll almost always agree. Once you have the deed, you can pay the taxes, or just sell before the end of the redemption period.

Admit it… this is the best way of getting real estate tax sales property that you’ve heard of to date. Now’s the time to get involved, with a bigger tax sale property inventory than ever before.

If you thought that was cool, you’re going to love this. generally, when a property is bought at auction for more than the taxes, the extra amount belongs to the owners. More often than not, the owners don’t understand their legal right to the money. They’ve often moved, and thus don’t get any notice that’s sent to the tax sale address. After a year or so, legally, the money becomes property of the government, and the owner loses it forever – even if it’s $ 50,000.

Here’s the loophole for you: in most places these funds aren’t subject to state finder’s fee laws. That means that by helping these owners collect their forgotten money, you can charge up to 50% as a finder’s fee. That means some nice paydays, since real estate overages are often $ 10,000 or much more.

by Jeffrey Beall

Article by Vicente Wilder

.Now we have vacationed in the Texas Panhandle, Walton County particularly, for twenty years — and like it so much! World-class beaches — fair prices — great bistros — terrific beach buildings to lease! So we are looking forward to the locale — but then why not the economic realities involving real estate in Florida — today? The Florida panhandle features a vibrant and steady tourist business, with minimal joblessness. The new Panama City International airport, which is projected to help open in first one fourth 2010, will make the region quickly accessible from virtually anywhere in the uk and Europe. The airport is expected to provide a major boost into the region’s economy, and should enhance demand for real estate investment. We believe the Florida panhandle is mostly a solid place to invest in real estate, and that home values, though flat right now (January 2008) will move sharply upward, particularly for seaside and Gulf of mexico view vacation homes. Still that’s our opinion! Listed below are some other opinions on the spot. CNN Money. com (Feb. 12, 2007) selected Panama City, Florida as the #1 place to purchase real estate in the country. American Express says which the Florida panhandle is one among its Top Ten vacation destinations in north america. The Florida panhandle is usually second behind the Orlando, fl area in Florida travel related. Emerald Coast beaches can be world-class, attracting over seven trillion tourists annually — over any other East Coastline vacation area. Realtors in Walton County consider that prices are only during the peak year or so of 2005. But they’re just looking to 2008 for sales to show upward, as more properties come on the market. Many homes are priced at less than the cost to produce. “If you are buying property to hold upon for the next 5 years, the time to buy is today. We are nevertheless very undervalued compared to the areas of Florida. “The St. Later on Company (NYSE: JOE), headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, will be largest landowner in this Florida panhandle, owning more than 718, 000 acres of prime development land — part of it within ten miles with the coast. It has been a large player in the region for many years, beginning as a solid wood company but realizing recently that the value in its landholdings was much more as resort and production property. So now E. Joe is in the house or property development business, with main activity focused in Walton State. According to St. Joe’s Investor Relations Department however long it takes outlook for Florida panhandle home is very strong. Long-term economic and demographic trends go on to favor Florida, whose country’s economy is fundamentally strong plus diverse. Florida’s population is supposed to increase by three-fourths (to 28. Joe Co (JOE) — Florida’s biggest private landowner — as a rare opportunity. “In the rapidly changing financial state, it is important to research and ask questions well before making any investment option. Yet the truth is definitely that Northwest Florida is usually a rarity, with a enjoyable climate and stunningly gorgeous, mostly empty beaches. Just like you sit on the clean up, white sand with the feet in the sparkling apparent Gulf water, with pelicans and gulls flying overhead and dolphins hanging around by – you realize we now have some significant intangibles the following.

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by Coca-Cola Art Gallery

Mr. Joy, the mascot symbolizing the refreshed brand identity of MARG ProperTies, the real estate arm of MARG Ltd., amongst India’s fastest growing infrastructure organizations, bagged the “Innovative Real Estate Marketing Campaign of the Year Award” in the prestigious ‘Realty Plus Excellence Award 2012’. The award was presented at a grand ceremony in Bengaluru on March 2, 2012.

Mr. Joy, the brand mascot of MARG ProperTies was a breakthrough idea not just because of its uniqueness but also because of the fact that this carefully designed mascot in the form of a home has a brand personality that stands for traits that generate consumer goodwill and confidence.

Mr. Joy comes across as a friendly & trustworthy neighbourhood that always has some valuable expert advice at hand. Mr. Joy has successfully amplified the MARG ProperTies brand positioning of “Joy of ownership” by creating a distinct platform that helps in better brand recall. In a nutshell, Mr. Joy exemplifies the qualities of a mentor, friend and guide towards helping customers to make the best use of available choices.

Commenting on this path-breaking campaign, Atul Raja, Group Vice President & Head of Corporate Communications at MARG who spearheaded the campaign said, “Brands today are faced with myriad challenges as they grapple for customer attention and mind space. As the real estate market evolves, brands are increasing becoming clones of each other. The customer, hence, is given little reason to make an easy choice. We cannot afford to get lost in the sea of sameness.  With MARG ProperTies having a no. of customer centric and unique features, it is imperative that the same is communicated to the customers effectively and Mr Joy is a platform for the same. The importance of differentiated branding in today’s keenly competitive real estate market is paramount. The Mr. Joy campaign clearly succeeded in creating a brand differentiator in an otherwise cluttered category and gave MARG ProperTies a unique identity that is instantly recognizable.”

Touted as a thought led category innovation, this awarded campaign was adequately supplemented by a carefully woven media mix at launch which focused on the high cost print advertising and more rationalized cost approach of PR, outdoor and other BTL ground level activities. The innovation of putting up Mr. Joy lit inflatables on hoardings & pole kiosks and lit cut outs on bus shelters took the entire city by surprise. This was supplemented by other unique BTL activities like human backlits, mall promotions and lit branding on tri-cycles.

S Ramakrishnan, CEO, MARG ProperTies further added, “Mr. Joy perfectly blends with the brand that is known for its excellence in terms of expertise, delivery and its strong customer-friendly approach that infuses joy in the lives of its customers. The friendly demeanor of the mascot has built strong and instant ties with the target group and would continue to give a shot in the arm to the brand. With this joyous ride we hope to enrich and further strengthen our ties with our loyal base of customers.”

Mr. Joy is synonymous with the MARG ProperTies brand and its ethos, values and personality looms large over an ever increasing customer base, continuously striving to meet expectations and achieve customer delight.

Mr Joy is today and iconic brand in itself and is an oft discussed branding initiative in the real estate category. A key factor for the success of the Mr Joy campaign is that this was one marketing initiative that was sustained over a period of time with great passion, intent and strategy. As a result the brand recall attained was very high and Mr Joy is an integral and omni component of all MARG ProperTies marketing initiatives now.

Website organization 201: Taking it to the next level Linda Fanaras …
In my last column, I discussed the importance of producing email campaigns featuring links to web sites, blogs, and social media pages to complement real estate marketing strategies. These campaigns are a critical piece of a successful web site matrix.
Read more on New England Real Estate Journal Online

by matteopenzo

The real estate market is said to be beginning its rise back from the doldrums but the problems that people faced during that rather sad period are still very much around. While there are different kinds of options that homeowners can choose from when they are faced with difficulty in paying their mortgages, not all of these options are viable.

Sadly, many homeowners are forced to either declare bankruptcy or allow foreclosure proceedings to be initiated. However, there is another option that homeowners can avail of in for loans related to real estate—short sales. It is important to discuss this difficult decision with their lenders because there needs to be approval on their part since agreeing to short sales will mean that they will be accepting a loan payment that is less than what is actually owed to them by the homeowners.

They also need to meet the requirements set by their lenders and submit whatever documentation is asked of them. Once they are deemed qualified for short sales, real estate agents can begin to market the house and let people know that it is available for purchase. The homeowners may need to inform their lenders of who their real estate agents are in order to create a smoother transition during the short sale process. Some of the documents that may be asked of homeowners applying for real estate short sales are

1.) a preliminary net sheet, which is a statement that clearly shows how much the homeowners are expecting to receive upon the sale of their property, any outstanding debts and fees, and other financial matters,

2.) a hardship letter, which is considered a statement of facts that underscore why homeowners are facing the financial difficulties they find themselves and why they have been forced to pursue short sales,

3.) proof of income and assets, which is a factual document disclosing your finances and assets to clearly show that the homeowners cannot afford to meet their mortgage payments, and

4.) bank statements, which present the deposits and withdrawals homeowners have made using their bank accounts.

Once a prospective buyer places a viable offer on the table, homeowners need to send a copy of the offer to their lenders. The offer will need to be studied and decided upon and lenders have the option to refuse an offer and