How can you find Dripping Springs foreclosures for sale? The best way to do so is on the internet when you are looking for properties in Texas that are bank owned. Bank owned real estate is where you will get the best deal when you are looking for property values. In addition to Dripping Springs, you can also take a look at Wimberley foreclosures as well. Both of these properties are listed right online where you can view them and even make arrangements to see them in person through the realtor.

Before you make up your mind to purchase Dripping Springs foreclosures and Wimberley foreclosures, you should have all of your ducks in a row, so to speak. Unlike buying other types of properties where you have the option of putting a financing contingency into the contract, you do not have this option when you are purchasing Dripping Springs foreclosures or Wimberley foreclosures. You should have your financing ready and be ready to close once the bank accepts your offer for the property.

In addition, you want to be sure that the property you are making a bid on is the property that you are getting and that there are no problems regarding the title such as back taxes, liens or unrecorded instruments. This is called due diligence and should be done prior to making offers on Dripping Springs foreclosures or Wimberley foreclosures. An attorney who specializes in real estate transactions can take a look at the title of the property in question as well as a survey to make sure that there are no legal encumbrances that will prevent you from full enjoyment of the property.

Wimberley foreclosures and Dripping Springs foreclosures are listed right online and usually are designated as foreclosed properties. Most of these are sold as is, so it is a good idea to do a housing inspection on the premises before you commit to buying to make sure that there are no real problems with the property that can end up costing you quite a bit of money to repair. In most cases, when it comes to purchasing foreclosed property, there are cosmetic repairs that need to be done on the property, as is usually the case when you purchase any property that has been owned by others. You should be prepared to make all the necessary improvements to the property so that it is in live in condition when you make your purchase.

If you are looking to own a home of your own, now is the best time to buy as there are many properties on the market today including the Dripping Springs foreclosures as well as the Wimberley foreclosures. Take a look online and view the properties to see which fall into your price range and then make arrangements to see the properties with a realtor who will show them to you upon appointment. Those who are ready, willing and able to make a purchase can get real estate bargains when they go online and take a look at the foreclosed properties that are for sale in Texas.

Related Real Estate Drip Marketing Articles

by UggBoy♥UggGirl [ PHOTO // WORLD // TRAVEL ]

Top 10 Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors
Part 4 Win-Win-Win with Realtors
It’s tangible, it’s solid, it’s beautiful.
It’s artistic from my standpoint.
I just love real estate.
Donald Trump

Building relationships with Real Estate agents is vital to any real estate investors success. Why?
They bring you buyers. They bring you sellers. They bring you leads before they hit the market. They present you to other realtors for offers. They teach you how to get your offers accepted. They are one of the most important members of your power team.

Important to work with Winning Agents
The old 80/20 rule applies. 20% of Agents will be handling 80% of the best whole sale properties. Its important that you get out there and meet them! Here are some ideas to get to know who the movers and shakers are in your area:
1.Join Local Realtor Association
2.Call local associations and ask who their REO specialists are
3.Scan The Internet to see who is putting up the best listings. Examples:
www.Realtor.com
www.zillow.com
www.ziprealty.com
Google MLS online in your city to see all properties online
4.Drive the area you are interested investing in. Look for agents who have signs posted in the areas you want to invest in.

What do you need to say when you meet them?
Most importantly do not make the about what they can do for you, make it about what you can do for them!
Get Them On Your Team By Meeting Their Needs.
Ask them questions.
Get to know them.
If you are not comfortable with approaching new contacts, you might think about buying the book by Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People. This is the best book on the logistics of how to do just what the title says.

I am going to focus on 2 specific strategies you can work with Realtors to grow both your businesses.

Realtor Partnership Strategy 1: EXPIRING LISTINGS: This one consists of Realtors Contacting agents holding listings that are about to expire.
This marketing is an easy way to discover untapped discount properties. Do you agree that Realtors and sellers might be much more motivated to accept discounted offers when their listing is about to expire. As you know the Realtor will make no money for all their efforts if this happens. Plus the seller wants to sell the property and it wont be sold.
Steps for working with realtors to contact listings about to expire:
1.Contact Realtors looking for those who you can work to support each others businesses. I follow a script when looking to build these most vital contacts.

2.When you meet Realtors excited to support you, set up a system to do the following:
a.Realtor e-mails you list of all listings expiring in 30 days on a weekly basis. Excel format is best. You just need basic info address, beds/baths/ sq feet/ notes from MLS. Most important info is the listing Realtors name and e-mail address
b.You go through and chose those you would like to make offers on. Make an offer that is sure to include all your costs after buying and make a profit for you. To be sure your offer is where you need it to be, you would want to run the numbers through The Bottom Line Calculator. Either your Realtor OR You will e-mail your purchase agreement to the sellers agent along with a cover letter, proof of funds, and copy of your earnest money check. (Who does it will be up to you both. Its a lot of work so it would be best if you would encourage your Realtor to allow you to do this tedious task.)

This system is a great free and easy way to reach out to motivated sellers.
Here is a Sample email content/cover letter for your Realtor to send on your behalf to Realtor who has expiring listing:

Hello,
My client has asked me to forward the attached purchase agreement (offer). Thank you for discussing with your clients their consideration of it. In making this offer, I represent serious investors who have access to cash that will allow them to close on your sellers property quickly if necessary. Feel free to call me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Your Realtors Signature and Contact Info

Realtor Partnering Strategy 2 – SHORT SALE LEADS The Second way to Partner with a Realtor to help them make double their commissions is handling Short Sales for both your buys and your sales.

This strategy works great with open-minded Realtors who understand the law and see that this is a creative, but perfectly legal strategy that does not break anything inside the Realtors Code of Ethics. You will occasionally hear from unknowing, negative, close-minded people that when a Realtor is representing a seller, they cannot also represent you, the buyer, and also seller for after you buy it. They may say this is not legal. However, as of the time of this writing, as long as proper paperwork is filed and all is disclosed and agreed to by all parties involved, nothing about this strategy is illegal. However, due to new laws coming out every day, be sure and run this strategy by a qualified attorney prior to using it. Keep in mind, they do not have to represent you to find buyers, however if they would like, it is just another way they can profit 3 ways with 1 property. If they are not comfortable helping you to find a buyer for a property not yet closed, you will find buyers in other ways. Have you looked at this incredible online system. www.cashbuyers4flips.com ?

SIDE NOTE: Whenever anyone tells you something is illegal or legal, ask if they can tell you where to find that information in writing. You will run across many nay-sayers in your walk as a real estate investor. Its important you are swayed only by the facts and the law, not by well-meaning, yet unknowing, concerned individuals.

You would want to provide Realtors very easy instructions and explanations to read for how you would want to partner with them on your short sale deals. This information is on my own Easy I Buy Houses Website. (See http://www.tamerabuyshouses.com/ibuyhouses/realtors.php ) BTW! This 17 page website can be customized and used by you too. If you do not have a web presence, go here to get this ready made real estate investors website. (very cheap, hosted and ready to go in minutes). I highly recommend you take a look! (www.EasyIBuyHousesWebsites.com)
Heres How We Work Together to Create A Win/Win/Win/Win/Win/Win Situation!
1. A WIN for the Seller: Relieve overleveraged homeowners from the pain of foreclosure and having their credit report badly damaged. They can now start a new chapter in their life.
2. A WIN for the Lender: When I handle the short sale with the bank, our packets go to the lender in perfect order so that they can process and negotiate the short sale in the most streamlined way possible. A successful short sale brings them greater financial return than the alternatives of an auction or REO.
3. A WIN for the Realtor: Collect a FULL commission and do what you do bestbuying and selling real estate. By using our services you will not get bogged down with the paperwork, phone calls and interactions coming from overwhelmed loss mitigation departments. Plus – If you bring a new buyer to us, you then receive commissions on both the buy and a sell transaction 6%
4. A WIN for Us: We might end up purchasing the home ourselves and making a larger profit margin from a subsequent sale.
5. A WIN for the new Buyer when I sell it: Now that the propertys price has been appropriately discounted for the market, it is much easier to attract a new homeowner when you put it on the market for me to sell.
________________________________________
Here are the steps to make this work:
1.First and most important, sellers, lenders, title companies everyone involved in this transaction, receives full disclosures in writing from the beginning, communicating our intentions to buy and sell this property for a profit should the bank agree to accept our offer.
2.You market to find owners who are behind in payments or in foreclosure and who are interested in a short sale to avoid foreclosure and save their credit.
3.Contact us when you find a solid candidate for the program. If it looks good, we will submit an all cash offer.
4.We will then personally confer with you and the seller to explain the process and coordinate preparation of the required short sale documents. All intentions and plans are disclosed and agreed upon in writing with notary.
5.I , along with my short sale negotiation team, are available to prepare, submit and negotiate the short sale package, driving the entire process for all involved and request they postpone the foreclosure auction if necessary. (If the sellers agent would prefer handling short sale directly with bank instead of my team , that is great as long as they have a track record for success in this area).
6.While the short sale is being worked on, you work with me and my company to find a new end-user buyer. You create listing agreement with me as the seller and re-list house at agreed upon price. Full disclosure of entire process disclosed will be in writing up front to current owner.
7.The lender orders an interior BPO or appraisal to obtain an as is value.
8.We prepare a repair estimate, a terms and descriptions report along with our own comps to give to the lenders BPO agent when we meet with them at property. (As an investor, I can let them in the house to assure BPO agent notes all its flaws)
9.We seek to find out what value the BPO agent gave to the house. We negotiate with the lender to find out their bottom-line price.
10.If the price makes sense, we will negotiate as needed and purchase the property with a 30 day close.
11.If the price does not make sense for me or my company to buy; you, as the Realtor still come out way ahead! The process has given you some very important information in order for you to sell the house to anyone else you choose. By knowing the lenders bottom-line acceptance price, plus some potential buyers you have reached out to for us, you are now in a position to sell the property quickly at an attractive price to those buyers or anyone else on the market at a agreed upon price.
12.However, if the price makes sense for us to buy, or we have an offer from an end buyer, as promised we will purchase the property with quick cash closing as promised. Keep in mind, our purchase contract will stipulate that the lender pays buyers closing cost, seller concessions and full real estate commission. No money is ever requested from the seller.
To close the transaction we use title companies that are familiar with the sometimes more complex title and escrow work in transferring our new property to a new homeowner in a short period of time.
You may enjoy a complimentary video training on this strategy here: www.CoachingU2Profits.com )
Expired listings and short sales are just 2 of the many ways in which a good Realtor and you can support each others businesses. There are many other strategies you may learn as well. I have over 24 exit strategies I teach my students in just one part of my 11 part training and coaching program, in addition to how to scripts to follow when calling every member of your much needed investors power team. If you think you could use a down to earth, step by step plan, to quick profits through real estate investing, go to www.Coachingu2profits.com to see if this is right for you.
In the mean time, the most important thing you can do for your business is Get the Word Out! Marketing yourself is the key to your success.
Spread the news!
Tamera Aragon

Top 10 Marketing Strategies for Real Estate Investors
Part 1 -Aim-Ready-Fire- Talley The Score
Part 2 – Networking
Part 3 -Business Cards

John Rymer's Aberdeen Realty helps lenders build sales after a bust
By Mark Puente, Times Staff Writer The president of Aberdeen Realty and Rymer Strategies, a Tampa real estate advisory and research company, specializes in relaunching sales programs in lender-owned housing developments and condominium projects after …
Read more on Tampabay.com

It іѕ qυіtе difficult tо ѕоmе people tо invest іn real estate аѕ tһіѕ іѕ considered νегу risky. People һаνе tһе misconception tһаt putting аӏӏ уоυг hard work іn ѕυсһ а property іѕ nоt а good idea. Tһіѕ іѕ true іf errors аге done. Wһеn уоυ tгу tо avoid аnԁ fix tһеѕе errors, іt wоυӏԁ Ье tһе opposite. Onе оf tһе retirement plans tһаt offer great benefits іn terms оf tax аnԁ profit аnԁ considered оnе оf tһе greatest іѕ real estate IRA. Investing іn real estate соυӏԁ give уоυ tһе Ьеѕt оf уоυг golden years іf ԁоnе properly. 
 
If уоυ аге а fігѕt time investor оf real estate IRA, investing уоυг fund іntо а small property іѕ аn ideal step tо make. It wоυӏԁ lessen уоυг chances tо lose а high amount оf money іn аnу case іt wоυӏԁ nоt work оυt оn уоυг fігѕt try. Mаnу investors start wіtһ large properties ѕіnсе tһеу tһіnk tһеу wоυӏԁ аӏѕо gеt large income Ьу ԁоіng so. Wһеn starting businesses аnԁ investments, уоυ mυѕt nоt base аnу actions fгоm speculations. Plan еасһ аnԁ еνегу detail оf уоυг real estate IRA. Investing іn real estate һаνе critical rules ѕо іt requires great knowledge. 
 
Wһеn purchasing real estate, іt соυӏԁ Ье ԁоnе ѕоmе place nеаг уоυг property. Tһіѕ way, уоυ wоυӏԁ Ье аЬӏе tо fully concentrate оn аn area tһаt іѕ close tо уоυг home. Emergency cases ӏіkе plumbing issues ог lighting fixtures wоυӏԁ Ье rectified аѕ early аѕ possible. Tһіѕ wоυӏԁ lessen ог еνеn avoid complaints fгоm tenants аnԁ bad reputations іn tһе future. Yоυ wоυӏԁ аӏѕо һаνе а Ьеttег understanding оf tһе local real estate market іf tһіѕ іѕ done. 
 
Bеfоге уоυ invest IRA іn real estate, уоυ ѕһоυӏԁ search fог а qualified real estate broker. It wоυӏԁ Ье Ьеttег іf уоυ search fог tһе top brokers аnԁ acquire аѕ mυсһ information аѕ уоυ can. Tһеу receive salaries оn а commission basis ѕо remember tһаt tһе mоге sales tһеу make, tһе mоге money tһеу get. Avoid һаνіng transactions wіtһ brokers wһо оnӏу wаnt уоυг money. Wһеn уоυ invest IRA іn real estate, уоυ mυѕt аӏѕо expect mistakes tо happen. Lіkе аnу оtһег business establishments, Ьеіng іn tһе real estate industry соυӏԁ Ье а failure ог а success. Yоυ соυӏԁ соnѕіԁег tһіѕ wһеn уоυ invest IRA іn real estate. 
 
Tһе expenses mυѕt аӏѕо Ье learned іn real estate IRA. Investing mау require а large amount оf money аnԁ ѕоmе соυӏԁ nоt afford ѕυсһ а property. Search fог unfavourable properties аnԁ turn іt іntо ѕоmеtһіng better; а simple word оf advice. Tһіѕ іѕ ӏеѕѕ expensive tһаn оtһег properties. Uѕе оf уоυг brilliant minds аnԁ creativity tо соmе υр wіtһ а solution tо wһаtеνег issues уоυ find. Tһіѕ wоυӏԁ ԁеfіnіtеӏу catch tһе interest оf mаnу people еѕресіаӏӏу fог tһе оnеѕ wһо υѕеԁ tо pass Ьу tһе appalling area. Yоυ mυѕt аӏѕо ӏооk fог аnу роѕѕіЬӏе expenses іn real estate IRA. Investing requires tһе initial price оf tһе property, mortgage interest аѕ wеӏӏ аѕ tһе rental income уоυ wоυӏԁ get. Otһег factors ѕυсһ аѕ maintenance cost аnԁ vacancy rates affect tһе cash flow. 
 
Examples оf plans tһаt accept real estate аѕ investments іѕ ѕеӏf directed IRA, Sеӏf directed Roth IRA аnԁ 401k plans. Yоυ mυѕt Ье νегу careful іn Ьоtһ dealing wіtһ brokers аnԁ соnѕіԁегіng аnу expenses nо matter wһаt retirement plan уоυ possess. In order fог уоυ tо Ье successful, уоυ mυѕt avoid tһеѕе common mistakes.
 

by Ravi Karandeekar

Investing in real estate market involves less risk than many other types of investments. But investing in real estate without having sufficient knowledge on the market can be risky. A savvy investor can make large profits in the property market, despite the fluctuations. Similar to the stock market, investing in real estate can fluctuate widely, and there may not be rapid price declines of the night.

The economy is a key role in determining the property value. Because when the economy suffers, so property values ​​will also be down. When the number of properties have been offered a good price for the property market, so it’s a good indicator of changes in market trends.

If the number of properties listed on the market should be low, then prices will rise because of supply and demand theory.

Price fluctuations in the housing market occurs seasonally. The critical factor in the real estate investor is to be careful when making a decision about buying or selling a property. The investor should analyze the value of the property before he / she decided to buy the property. A real estate investor should plan the strategy for the purchase or sale in the housing market. There is no room for speculation in real estate.

The real estate investment strategies are:

• Pre-Close Features: This is a method of buying real estate where the owners are in arrears with their mortgages and the foreclosure process reported.

• Post-Execution Properties: These properties were officially seized and confiscated by the lender or the lending banks.

• Distressed properties, distressed properties are below market assessment are available on the market. Be knowledgeable about the price of its labor market and the real financial costs, repairs, maintenance and sale before venturing into this type of transaction.

• Sale New Development: This is a strategy that involves buying homes early in the first phase of a new housing development. Again, this strategy will be to your advantage if you’re in a real estate market with rapid real appreciation.

• The purchase of land for construction: This method requires economic resilience and knowledge you can make big gains by buying land and then build a house. One of the best scenarios is to buy enough land to build and sell houses or apartments finished.

• Buy and hold: buying homes or more units and keep it long enough to be the strategy ensured the victory. But it is necessary to analyze the impact of the funding for the cost, the factors of messages, taxes, real estate, management, maintenance, etc.

• Flip Strategy: Buy a house for a quick return strategy is also a regular. With this method, you have the flexibility of a little cheaper; it will not be holding the property for a long period of time.

Although there are many strategies, not all real estate strategies to work successfully in all markets. You must arm yourself with knowledge and tools to implement the strategy for your particular market.

More Real Estate Investing Marketing Articles

by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden

When investing real estate transactions you most likely want to see standard sales agreement forms being used. These forms are commonly used by agents to simply the process and usually contain all the necessary information. However, any sales agreement can be written on stationary or even a napkin and can be the basis for a legally binding contract.

A written contract is a must

A legally binding contract is something in which two parties come to terms of agreement such as the legal transfer of real estate. This written agreement can also consist of other considerations like the purchase price of the home. You may think that there must be some kind of standard form that solidifies an agreement but the fact of the matter is that there isnt one.

One thing you should definitely avoid is making verbal offers as this can quickly lead to disagreements between the two parties. You should absolutely make sure to get everything in writing as this will help to prevent any uncertainties. The benefit of using a real estate agent for these transactions is that they will prepare the necessary forms and ensure that nothing is left out.

What written agreements must include

If you plan to write up a contract with details on a property then there are several important considerations. One important component is the consideration which is essentially the final price of the home with details of a small deposit to show your seriousness. If you back out for any reason then you typically do not get the deposit back.

There are many other factors that go into a contract like the sales price, legal address, description of the property, details of the deed and statement of terms and conditions. If you plan to write your own agreement then it absolutely must encompass the above factors. However, you may want to hire an attorney to create a legally binding contract on your behalf.

by nep

Real estate includes land in all the forms. These forms of land include land such as trees, water, and permanently attached items to it which includes fences, building and among others. The term Real Estate is directly related to land. It is used widely in the context of retailing, offices, manufacturing, housing, farming, worship, houses and among others. We could include all the activities related to the property under Real Estate. People who are involved in the real estate sector aim to value add the land by developing it or adding structure to it. These tricks are to enhance the value further of any given property. Since ages the Real Estate Sector has existed however in the recent few years the Real Estate industry in India and across has witnessed boom. It has grown as a second largest employer. With its revenue close up to US $ 12 billion, it further aims to grow estimating up to 30% per annum. The statistics above proves that the Real Estate sector is emerging as an important source of income in the economy today in India and across. The Real Estate sector has provided employment not only in the field of Real Estate but also to various other fields like; developers, constructors, architects, designers, landscapers, engineers, market researchers, financial analysts, construction workers, sale & leasing personnel, and among other fields that are aligned or work closely with the Real estate sector. This proves Real Estate sector as a boon in today’s economy providing employment to various people who specialize in the relevant field. However strong the Real Estate Sector is which is proved from the above data, it has its own flaw. The Real Estate sector proves to be sensitive to any fluctuations in the economy in India or across. The slightest of the fluctuation, can either create wonders or hazels for this sector. This is due to the simple fact that complete transaction of the property is directly depending on the common people who in turn are affected by the fluctuations in the economy of a country. In spite of the flaw mentioned the fact remains that the Real Estate Sector is the second largest sector growing in the Indian economy. It strongly aims at the expansion of the land by developing various office buildings, hotels, apartment buildings, or houses in any particular area. While talking on the job opportunity the Real Estate sector has provided opportunities and with the major responsibility lies on the Real estate consultants and Real estate agents. They aim to provide a complete solution to the investor and new clients in the field of Real Estate. The increasing progress in the field of Real Estate and various constructions the end-result of the Real Estate sector is to provide the space being well constructed for sales and lease, impacting the complete transaction of the property. Thus Real Estate sector proves to be a boom not only to the people but also to the economy of the nation.

US Real-Estate Market Shows Strength
The US housing market, a notable soft spot in the nation's weak economy for the past four years, is becoming less of a drag on the recovery. Real-estate markets are showing signs of life as falling prices spur buyer demand, lifting home sales and new …
Read more on NASDAQ

First things first, vertical rising real estate development can be categorized into single family, multifamily and commercial, either for sale or for lease. Among the three, the multifamily real estate investing and commercial development are closely related except that the former is primarily residential and the latter is institutional. Although this may be arbitrary, real estate investors, developers and brokers generally refer to the multifamily real estate investing in terms of units. Residential apartments with a minimum of 10 units and more are already categorized as multifamily; and so with units of duplexes and high rise condominiums taken as a whole project and not on per unit or single duplex bases. This includes the horizontal land these structures are built. Commercial real estate investing, on the other hand, generally, is malls, shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, hospitals and educational buildings. The structures could readily be converted to residential units but as they are, they serve other purposes primarily not for human abode.

Real estate marketing technically is highly capital intensive because of the lead time between the selling start up and the final negotiation for contract signing, which means, the property is certified sold. Real estate marketing, however, is a one and done transaction. Negotiate and consummate one transaction and large cash flow is created deducted with minimal expenses, net of profit is already realizable. In particular, between commercial and multifamily real estate investing, the latter is considered more alluring to invest because of its marketing differentiation and segmentation. Demand for structures of abode covers a wide market differentiation and segmentation because the entire population strata are the target. Commercial properties are limited to the niches of the business investor community when compared to residential structures. Taking everything else constant, it is easier to sell or lease apartments than a hospital or a school. Between the high rise condominiums, taken as a whole, and a mall, turnover rate is faster for the former than the latter. Then, taking into consideration the economy of scale when multifamily properties are grouped as a whole, profit in the final analysis is greater as unit cost decreases for every multifamily unit built which commercial properties do not have such advantage.

Multifamily real estate investing stakeholders are lured by this business because of the economy of scale and one and done principle. The fact that the per unit costing decreases, the spread of risks is wider as well. Leeway of defaults in multifamily property transactions is created which is unlikely in commercial or single-family properties. Multifamily marketing strategy can be subdivided into a gradated retail sales or wholesale. This is almost impossible in selling commercial properties, too, since hospitals and schools as an example cannot be sold piece by piece.

The fact that retail sales is a strategy, anecdotal reports of success stories are plenty in multifamily real estate investing. Retail selling can be done on a part time basis. Undergoing the one and done principle, cash flows are accumulated more than enough to launch the follow up deal.

by Joe Mac Stevens

I often get the question, “What do I look for in a neighborhood?”

My answer is always the same.  “Easy.  Value!”

I usually get a strange look, but it’s true.  In a neighborhood, I am looking for clues to assess the value of the property, plain and simple.

Well, maybe not so plain and simple, I know.  So let me explain.

Normally, my rehab properties are not in the expensive areas of town.  It’s rare that you’ll find a rehabber meeting his or her investment goals buying in the expensive parts of town.  There are generally fewer homes needing rehabbing and the fixer-uppers that are there are going for top dollar.  It’s safe to say the bulk of the investor activity is taking place in the mid-to-low range of home prices.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t look in, or buy in, the swank neighborhoods.  Occasionally there are bargains to be scooped up there, but not with enough regularity to focus on.

But, there are some places I definitely WON’T invest in.

I won’t TOUCH the urban war zone.  Let me describe what I mean.  

“You don’t go there because it’s common knowledge that you shouldn’t.  If you happen to wander in that area, you are given suspicious looks by all the folks walking the streets and sitting outside their houses.  Your car definitely doesn’t belong there!  It seems nobody takes any pride in their dwelling, and trash seems to be a normal part of the décor.”

Do you know of places like that?  If you are living in a town of any size, you probably know of a neighborhood that fits the above description.

Watch out for is neighborhoods in serious decline.  If the area looks like it soon WILL BE an urban war zone, pass on the deal.  You don’t need a property that is hard to rent or sell.  The holding cost can take your good investment into the red!  You can drive through and pick up many clues in this regard.

-  See if there seem to be a high number of “for sale” signs. If a mass exodus is in progress, you DON’T want to be where everyone is trying to get out.  

-  Check crime statistics with the local police

-  Check recent real estate sales if you can get a peek at the MLS.

-  Ask an appraiser about what values have done in that area over the last couple of years.  Areas in decline usually stand out in your appraiser’s mind, so an appraiser can be a wealth of information.

-  Talk to other investors and wholesalers.  

-  Talk to your title company contact…they often know trends for a given area very well!

Another tactic is to work it the other way.  Find out what’s hot before you start driving and looking!

Talk to your investor friends, wholesalers, appraisers, and title company contacts about what areas are hot for investors these days.  That way, you start learning positive areas and you have the benefit of someone else having gone before you.  Of course, do your own checking but find out where investors are putting their money will give you clues about where you want to invest.  

I would recommend against asking family and friends not related to the real estate industry about neighborhoods.  This is often the worst assessment of value you’ll ever find.  The reactions you’ll get to areas from uninformed family and friends will often be negative based on hearsay.  Get your information from reliable sources and ensure it is based on fact.  

True enough, there are LOTS of neighborhoods that are much better than war zones, yet not in the expensive areas of town.  That’s where my best investments live.

So, what do I mean by value?  

If a property is in an area where you WILL invest, it comes down to the deal itself.  For me, the better the deal, the less I worry about the neighborhood.  As a refresher, here are the basics of property analysis:

-  What can I buy it for?
-  What will it be worth all fixed up?
-  How extensive is the rehab?

Those are the basic questions that must be answered in an individual property analysis, but that’s an article…perhaps a book…for another day.  

In conclusion, determine whether you will invest in a neighborhood, then evaluate the deal itself.  You will probably find that there are some neighborhoods where you won’t invest unless the deal is a home run.  By the same token, there will likely be areas that you feel confident enough about that you’ll take an average deal because you like that particular area.  

You are the investor, and these are the kind of exciting decisions that investor get to make!  Isn’t that what makes this fun!

It seems like everyone is talking about appraisals today and a lot of people have questions about the whole process. So what’s an appraisal anyway? An appraisal is what determines the fair market value of your property. The appraisal is performed by a licensed appraiser who provides a professional opinion of the value of your property based on a variety of factors. Its an important part of the mortgage process that needs to happen before the transaction can be finalized. It’s easier to understand the whole appraisal process by breaking it down into three main parts. There’s the Real Estate Inspection. The Comparables. And The Final Report of Value. The real estate inspection will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes based on the size of your home. The appraiser will record things like square footage, the dimensions of your property and the number of rooms in your home. He’ll verify his findings with information provided by third parties such as the real estate multiple listing service and county records. The next step is for the appraiser to evaluate Comparables. Comparables are recent home sales in and around your neighborhood. Analyzing these recent past sales helps an appraiser determine the current market value of your home. And when I say recent, I’m talking 3 to 6 months. This is important because comparable sales from many years back may not reflect true home values today. When selecting comparable properties, the appraiser is looking for some very specific things …
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by Ravi Karandeekar

There is a debate amongst economists, REALTORS and other analysts regarding the stabilization of the real estate market in 2011. According to a report in Major Metropolitan Market Forecasts in 2011 the St. Louis real estate market ranks 21 out of the 230 markets included in the House Predictor results released at the beginning of the year. Although this period continues to be very trying for home sellers it presents great opportunities for those looking to get into the St. Louis housing market.

Some argue that the real estate market in St. Louis may not bottom out in 2011, while others predict that it will take another year or two before the real estate markets stabilize. The reason for the debate is that there are number of factors, both localized and nationally, that are used to evaluate market conditions and establish forecasts. Things like the volume of home sales, mortgage lending statistics, new home construction figures, regional economic growth and development, commercial building starts, employment levels, historical trends and consumer confidence are all taken into account.

Last year the St. Louis Association of Realtors hosted an event in which the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors Dr. Lawrence Yun was the feature speaker. His Housing Market Outlook projects the following:

5.6 million resale houses will sell this year (up 0.3 million from 2010)
570,000 new houses will sell this year (up 170,000 from 2010)
There will only be a 2-3% increase in house values (compared to 0-2% for 2010)
If there is a double dip in the market it will much milder than the first one

In a recent article by the St. Louis Business Journal St. Louis home prices were compared to previous area statistics. The figures paint a bleak picture indeed. Overall home sales (including distressed sales) dropped by nearly 8% in November of 2010. Even when the figures were analyzed to exclude the distressed transactions (which include foreclosures, short sales, bank and real estate owned properties) the year-over-year home prices were down 3%. Nationwide figures are not much better. Overall sales figures (which include distressed sales) fell 5% while figures which exclude the distressed sales still fell 2%.

The St. Louis real estate market first appeared to be stronger in the spring and summer of 2010. The majority of this was due to the $ 8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers which according to Tim Logan of SLToday.com had an outsized influence in a modestly-priced markets like ours. Dr. Yun takes it a step further and claims that 1 million of the buyers would not have purchased a house without the tax credit while 3.4 million buyers would have bought a house regardless. He credits the program for reducing the inventory of houses for sale by 1 million and helped bring about the early stages of stabilization.

Since psychology is one of the driving forces behind the real estate market today the unemployment rates and population figures are a valid determining factor in market projections. Using these and other figures Dr. Yun predicts the short term inventory conditions will look very unfavourable. The reason being that there are basically the same number of jobs today in the U.S. that there were 10 years ago, but we now have 30 million more people than then.

According to Dr. Yun several factors will continue to affect the St. Louis real estate market. The high unemployment rate is taking its toll on the area and it is predicted that it will take 4 to 6 years to get the unemployment rate back down to 5-6%. Short sales and foreclosures account for 35-40% of house sales (they should only account for about 5%) and these rates are expected to remain for about two more years.

Furthermore, new housing starts have not increased with the population. This means that although the population has increased the demand for housing has not. This is due to the fact that many people cannot comfortably afford to go it alone. More and more frequently people and families are doubling up either by taking in room-mates, living with parents longer and helping them to pay their mortgages; senior parents are choosing to live with grown children.

There is a significant decrease in the number of people who are moving inter-state and with the unfavourable employment figures inter-stators are reluctant to relocate to areas which are experiencing the brunt of the financial turmoil. Even within the state there is a modest decrease in the number of people who are moving.

Economists continue to debate as to when the St. Louis real estate market will stabilize and with so many local and national factors to consider, it is a very daunting task indeed. The Clear Capital One-Year Metro market Forecast claims that the wild spikes that the market experienced in 2010 will likely be replaced with more gradual price trends for 2011. The current St. Louis real estate market is being driven by psychological factors and the high ratio of short sales and foreclosures and the rather dismal unemployment statistics are not instilling residents with a great deal of consumer confidence.

As 2011 progresses above average foreclosure rates and low interest rates should promote buyer activity in the St. Louis area. You can expect a St. Louis real estate agent to have some very attractive offers for a buyer. This will help offset some of the prevailing doom and gloom sentiment created by an uncertain economic forecast, above average unemployment and high foreclosure rates. A full St. Louis real estate market recovery is heavily tied to the national economic outlook and will not experience a full recovery to economic confidence is developed on a national level.

Savvy homebuyers can capitalize on the St. Louis market environment by realizing housing values that may not be seen again for generations. Working with good St. Louis Realtors should help them get great deals. Home sellers unfortunately will look forward to long sale times, lower prices and lots of competing properties. Those homeowners that are currently struggling are unlikely to find help in 2011 as support for homeowners is limited at this time. Without speedy government intervention foreclosure rates will continue to rise as the year goes on. You can know more at http://agentsranking.com

Harbor Properties, Inc., Formally Announces New Partnership with Urban …
SEATTLE, Mar 14, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Harbor Properties, Inc., one of Seattle's preeminent multifamily real estate developers, formally announced today the closing of a new partnership with Urban Partners, LLC, and AREA Property Partners.
Read more on MarketWatch (press release)

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by Casey Serin

Wholesale real estate investing is all the buzz right now and rightfully so it should be. These types of investors make the residential real estate world work. In this overview you’re going to learn exactly what wholesale real estate investing is and you’re going to learn the steps involved so you can decide for yourself if this is a strategy you should pursue.

Let’s get into it…

In it’s simplest form someone wants to sell a house and someone wants to buy a house. As a wholesaler you bring the two together and profit from the deal. This type of business exists and these types of transactions take place all day long on any and all goods you see in a retail store, we’re just apply the same concepts and strategies to real estate investing.

Instead of dealing with small items you would find in a store we’re talking about real estate.

The ante is upped and the profit is huge and the money you can make from one successful wholesale deal can be life changing.

Here’s How It Works

As a wholesaler you’re usually looking for properties in distress, a property that your average homeowner isn’t going to want to buy and live in. The competition is low and the sellers motivation is high because the property has become a burden.

For whatever reason it may be the house has been neglected and the seller needs the house sold so they can move on with their life. Working with these types of sellers is where you want to be. You’re not going to be able to wholesale a house where the seller is in no hurry to sell and they’re looking for full retail price.

Through your marketing and advertising efforts you come across this type of property after conducting your research to see what the property is worth after it’s fixed up you negotiate with the seller a purchase price.

This is done after you’ve taken into consideration the fixed up value of the house, the estimated repairs, the purchase and your wholesale fee (we’ll cover this in a second)

You sign a contract showing your intentions of buying the property and also locking up the property so no one else can buy it and take the deal away from you.

As Low As Possible!

Of course you want to buy as low as possible because the lower you buy the more you’ll make when you turn around and wholesale the house to a house flipper – someone who’s in the business of buying, fixing and flipping houses.

Now that you have this property under contract you show this property to house flippers.

These are the investors you as a wholesaler need to network with. They have the cash and the experience in buying, fixing and flipping houses.

They will pay you a wholesale fee and then you bring them to the seller and present them as one of your house buying associates. They purchase the house from the initially agreed upon price with the seller and the house is sold and you get paid.

They look for your type of deals all the time and will pay you a wholesale fee for bringing them these kinds of deals. This wholesale fee isn’t some small fee like $ 250 but is in the thousands. Depending upon the circumstances as each property is different you can expect to earn $ 5,000 – $ 10,000 – $ 20,000 or more on each and every wholesale deal.

The more potential profit there is in the deal for the house flipper the more you’ll make.

Here’s Exactly What You Do

Here’s the overview of real estate wholesaling…

1 – Market for and find properties in distressed conditions

2 – Evaluate your deals and conduct your research

3 – Negotiate and secure your deals with a contract

3 – Collect your wholesale fee by assigning your right to buy to the house flipper

Find More Wholesale Real Estate Investing Articles