How to Stage for an Open House

In order to make money in real estate investing, you first have to sell your investment property at a price that secures a good bit of profit. Some of this profit will go in your pocket, some of it will go to cover lingering project costs, and the rest will be reinvested into your next project. With your profit being channeled into so many different funds, it doesn’t take long to figure out why it is important that you secure as much profit as you possibly can on each property investment that you make.

The approach to securing profit in real estate investing is two pronged. First, you need to try to keep expenses down so that they do not eat away into your profit. Secondly, you need to sell your property for as much as you possibly can; this means marketing your house in such a way that you attract multiple buyers who want to make your property their new home.

One of the best ways to attract multiple buyers and make money in real estate investing is to hold an open house. An open house lets potential buyers tour the property, ask questions, and even make an offer if they feel passionately about the property.

It is not uncommon for successful open houses to have multiple offers and a buyer, complete with deposit, on the line before the end of the evening. If you want to sell your property quickly, this is the kind of open house that you want to have.

Before holding an open house, many investors choose to stage their property so that those interested in the property can see the true potential of the home. If you have never staged a home before, here are a few tips to help you out:

Be sure to furnish large rooms so that people will feel at home in them. Large empty spaces do little to show potential buyers the way that a home will look when it is inhabited. In some cases, you can get a local furniture store to let you borrow pieces to stage a home in exchange for a little advertising at the event.
Be sure to stage spaces that have no apparent use or function in the home. A great example of this would be a small corner in a kitchen. By putting in a small dinette set, you can show people how they can use this space when they purchase the home.

Don’t forget greenery and accessories. Always use decorative touches when staging a home. Often it is these small touches that set off all of the hard work that you have put into the investment.

If you’re having problems in the creativity department, decorate the home as if you were going to move into it. While staging a home for real estate investing purposes does not require as much attention to detail as your own home does, adding that personal touch could add a good bit to your bottom line.

James Klobasa
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/how-to-stage-for-an-open-house-105590.html

Sell Your House Miami | How to Sell Your House Fast in Miami

Sell Your House Miami | How to Sell Your House Fast Miami FL! Selling a house in Miami now-a-days is a huge challenge, GRAB this FREE Report, "How to Sell Your Home Within 7 Days in a Bad Economy ! " via instant download @ www.sellyourhomewithin7days.info

Duration : 53 sec

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A Simple Process to Sell Your Houses Fast in Today’s Troubled Market

So you’ve gotten into the real estate market. You found a motivated seller who was really feeling a financial pinch brought on by the economic crisis. They reached the conclusion that their chances of saving their home was next to zero, so they chose to take the consolation prize: to walk away under their own terms with their pride intact and their credit report in better shape than they expected.

Because of your real estate investing education you were able to purchase their property with a subject to transaction. Knowing the smart money was on purchasing their property through a land trust, now you’re ready for the next step – finding a buyer in today’s market. The chances of quickly flipping the property for a profit are relatively low, so what can you do – short of renting it out and playing landlord?

Let me give you a better option.

What if I told you that instead of simply renting the property out for market rent you could find a tenant who might want to buy the property in the future for much more than it’s worth now, is willing to give you a substantial “down payment”, will pay a premium rental rate, and will agree to pick up most of the maintenance expenses? I don’t need to pinch you; you’re not dreaming.

Instead, I need to explain how you can step into a real estate investing goldmine. I’m referring to the lease option strategy to real estate riches.

The lease option is two agreements, although a lot of novice investors think it’s just one. The first part is a standard rental agreement, while the second part is an option agreement.

The rental agreement lays out the terms of the rental – how much they’ll pay each month for the privilege of living in your house. You’ll also spell out all of your rules, explain their deposit, etc. It’s a simple agreement. Even though you’re a real estate investor who may just be starting down your personal pathway to prosperity, you’ve probably seen one of these agreements even if only as a tenant.

Where this real estate investing strategy becomes a work of art, though, is by incorporating a second agreement into the transaction: the option agreement. Don’t be afraid of the lease option – it’s not scary. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a worthless piece of paper that says “Bachelor’s Degree” to understand lease options; in fact, you’ll spend less time overcomplicating the concept if you don’t have one. Here’s how it works:

l Your tenant-buyer pays you an option consideration fee (generically referred to by some people as a “down payment”). The amount is based on your comfort level – and your tenant-buyer’s ability to pay, but is generally between $2,000-$10,000. This money will be credited back to the tenant-buyer when they finally decide to purchase the property. If for some reason they decide to walk away from the agreement or can’t complete the purchase within the alloted time, they’ll lose this fee.

l In exchange for the option fee, the tenant will have the right to buy the property for the amount that you negotiate before they move in. This price is always more than the property is worth today, which guarantees you a nice profit margin when they exercise their option. They’ll have a fixed amount of time – usually 12-36 months to exercise that option.

l For every on-time rental payment for the term of the agreement, you’ll grant them a rental credit that will also be deducted from their closing costs when they exercise their option.

l Because a lease option is further up the real estate food chain then a simple landlord-tenant relationship, the tenant/buyer will often agree to pay all maintenance expenses less than a certain dollar amount. Anything more than that you’ll pay. What this does is help guarantee they’ll be proactive in letting you know about problems quickly and it gets you out of midnight plunger patrol calls for clogged toilets.

When the tenant buyer decides to pull the trigger and exercise their option they’ll receive credit for the option consideration fee and any rental credits they’ve earned along the way. If you agreed to a purchase price of $175,000 and the tenant gave you an option fee of $10,000 and they were to pay $1,500 per month with a rent credit $500 per month for three years, they would only need to bring $147,000 to the closing table.

The lease option is a tremendous tool for you to use in establishing yourself as a real estate investor, but it gives you another benefit you can’t easily put a price tag on: It gives your tenant the pride of ownership. They have money tied up in their house, so they’re going to be much more willing to pay their rent on time and prevent damage from taking place.

Recent market changes have shaken up the way the lease option works. Knowing this will keep you from making a mistake that could potentially strike a devastating blow to your transaction: lenders have added what are called “seasoning rules” to real estate transactions. All this means is that they’re stating how long they want the house owned by a party before they’ll approve a loan on that property. This is generally 12 months; since most tenant buyers won’t exercise their option within the first 12 months anyway, it’s a moot point. However, since you’ve purchased the property yourself with a subject to transaction and you placed the property in a land trust, you’re covered regardless.

So get your real estate investing career off on the right foot by using the lease option in conjunction with a subject to transaction to quickly shove yourself down the pathway towards prosperity. You’re gaining a valuable education in real estate; take your profits and invest them in your future by buying even more property creatively. The real estate world is your oyster; let your profit potential increase your drive to prosper in 2009!

Sean Flanagan

Sell Your Property Online

The UK housing situation is considerably frantic at the moment, with reported house prices falling in succession. Is it the perfect time to invest in property and snap up a bargain or should we be selling quickly before prices fall further? This predicament will inevitably reap huge rewards for some, at the expense of others.

Whatever your take on the housing market quandary, buying and selling property online is an exciting alternative to the norm. Traditional estate agents simply cannot compete on price with specialist property websites gaining much more exposure at a fraction of the cost. Additionally many sites online have fixed fees, instead of costly percentage commissions charged by high street agents.

Buying anything online is considered by many as risky, especially second-hand items or items that you have not scene in the flesh. The thought of buying a house online then is therefore ludicrous, however this might have been the case a decade ago, but in 2008 this is a somewhat ignorant and naive attitude. The government is in fact helping reduce properties being sold without the buyers being informed of potentially costly problems, with the introduction of Home Information Packs.

Home Information Packs, known as HIPS, contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Properties marketed for sale from 14 December 2007 in England and Wales need a Home Information Pack. The benefit for sellers is primarily security. Providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home. The benefit for buyers is that the pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.

Apart from the financial benefit of online property selling, another key benefit is the exposure your property will acquire. Traditional advertising methods involved for sale signs, posters in estate agent windows and listings in magazines, newspapers and publications. This seems very old fashioned and laborious compared to using the latest technology to market a property globally with a click of a button.

Computer wizardry enables buyers to log on anywhere in the world, find the right property for them based on their requirements, find out everything they needed to know about the house and its history, even how much the seller paid for it. The buyer can now even get a feel of the property with multimedia presentations showing it off to its full potential, including floors plans, 3d walkthroughs and even panoramic views inside!

In conclusion no one is sure what is going to happen to the property market in the future, but certainly if you are struggling with mortgage repayments and want a quick sale, the traditional estate agent approach probably wont be the quickest or cheapest option. Think outside the box, why not embrace the wonders of new technology and let the internet do the hard work, or alternatively why not sell your house and rent it back, eliminating costly mortgage repayments and not forcing you to leave your home!

John Mce
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/sell-your-property-online-448827.html

Join us for the Real Estate Event for Getting Houses SOLD!

Go to http://HomeSellingSuccessSummit.com to register for your FREE pass to join me June 28-July 2, 2010 when I interview an amazing line-up of the most innovative and creative marketing strategists for getting houses SOLD in today's real estate market.

Duration : 3 min 9 sec

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How to Use Your Hard-Earned Money to Quickly Reach Your Goals

So you have a few dollars to save, payoff debts, or invest for the future. What do you do with the money, so you can reach your goals in the quickest and easiest way possible – and not waste time or money on poor decisions?

Step One: Your Emergency Fund

You have received an inheritance of $50,000. What do you do with the money? Yes, you could buy that big screen TV and sound system, and take a major vacation – but what if you wanted to make huge progress on your goals, and not let the money waste away, bit by bit?

You have $500 left after your monthly bills and other fixed expenses are paid, and you set aside money for gas, food, clothing, and other necessary expenses. You could spend this money on little luxuries, pay extra on your mortgage, or save for retirement. How do you make the decision?

The first priority should be setting aside money in your Emergency Fund. Yes, even before you pay off your credit card debt (unless you are in default or delinquent on your bills – then first pay them enough to bring them up to date).

Regardless of how much credit card debt you have, the first step in creating a prosperous future is to change your habits. When the unexpected bill comes (and it always does), you should have money in your Emergency Fund to pay that bill, to avoid racking up additional credit card debt. If you have spent every extra dollar attempting to pay off your debt & have no money set aside, when something unexpected happens, you will rack up even more debt and be right back where you started.

Your Emergency Fund should contain three to six months of your actual bottom-line living expenses. Or more … I have some clients with up to one year of cash set aside; typically, they are generally risk adverse, are self-employed, or have a fluctuating income stream. Your amount is not three to six months of your salary – it is the bills and necessarily expenses you would have if you were unable to earn income. These funds should be maintained in a cash account, typically a savings or money market account. The Weinstein family Emergency Fund is in an ING Direct Orange Savings Account.

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) does not count. Yes, you could use a home equity line, or take out a loan on your house, if you were unable to earn income or had emergency expenses. But, it would just rack up your monthly expenses and debt even further. And, since interest rates have risen, even the tax deduction does not compensate for the high expense of using the HELOC.

Once you have a well-established habit of saving money each month, and have your Emergency Fund set aside, we can move to the next step – prioritizing debt and your life goals.

Action Step One:

Open up a dedicated savings or money market Emergency Fund account. Set aside a fixed amount of money each month – whether it is $50, $500, or $5,000 – until your fund is at three to six months of your living expenses.

Step Two: Pay Off “Bad” Debt

You’ve set up your Emergency Fund, and created a wonderful habit of saving $50, $500, or $5000 each month. We don’t want to let that habit disappear … so where do we put your money next?

Step 2 is to pay off any “bad” debt. What that means really depends upon the person, and your tolerance for debt. Some people are not particularly bothered by debt, so their only “bad” debt are those with high interest rates, or minimal tax advantages (non-mortgage and non-student loan debts).

There are two situations where I may ignore the interest rate, and recommend the client pay off the debt ASAP.

(1) Loans from family or friends. These loans, while low interest, may be eating away at the relationship, without you even knowing it. They may reduce the relationship to a formal, strained, money-based transaction, instead of a loving, friendly, supportive bond. You may know the debt is a problem, or ask other relatives to see if the debt is a problem in culture of the family – if so, pay it off quick.

(2) Debt that is keeping your up at night, or making you feel unsuccessful. Debt may be the new “American way” – but it is not right for everyone, or even most people. Monthly payments, or even the idea that you could be repossessed or foreclosed upon, may be eating you up at night. You may feel venerable, or like you have never achieved any of your goals until that debt is paid off.

If this is you, then your debts may become a high priority, even over other goals, like college funding or purchasing a new home. Whether your debt should be paid off as a high priority, depends not just upon the interest rate, but upon the mental and emotional interest rate you are burdened with each month you are making loan payments.

Action Step Two:

Take a personal inventory of your debts, and how much they are costing you in mental and emotional energy. Do they bother you? How much? If so, regardless of how low the interest rate is, paying them off should be a high priority. Start today – pay an extra $10, $100, or $1000 on the principal each month. Even better, set up automatic bill payments in your online bank account bill-pay system to make automatic regular extra payments each month or quarter.

Step Three: Goals Funding – Base Level

Now you have set up your Emergency Fund, and paid off your “Bad” Debt, including a loan from a family member, a high-rate credit card, and an old debt from college that was really bothering you.

You have a bunch of goals – retirement, paying off your mortgage, buying your next house, launching a new business, and sending the kids to college.

Which comes first? Retirement? The kids? Paying off your debts? How do you decide?

Step 3 of Where to Put Your Next $1 is to fund your goals, in order of priority, at the base levels – the amount of money you need to satisfy the minimum requirement of your goal.

For example, how much money do you need to pay your bills in retirement – not live an extravagant lifestyle, or play golf every day for 20 years, or travel the world – but how much to keep out of a cardboard box and live comfortably?

How much money do you need to save to send the kids to State College, as opposed to Ivy League? How much would it cost for the house you need, as opposed to the house you want?

Then fund the minimum, base level of those goals in order of priority. This may mean you start by contributing to your retirement plan or IRA, then contribute to a 529 Plan for the kid’s college education, then set aside money in a CD to start a business in 3 years, and then, finally, invest to raise funds for a bigger house.

How do you decide the order of priority? First, determine if there is another way to pay for the goal, besides your own savings – if so, then it is probably a lower priority than goals for which you have no other alternative. For instance, there are loans easily available for college education, but not for retirement (with the exception of a reverse mortgage). Also, you could obtain investors or take out a loan to fund a new business, and pay them off with the new income stream.

Second, evaluate if you are giving up “free money” by not utilizing pre-tax or matching savings or retirement plans. If you can save pre-tax, the federal government is contributing to your goal (since you don’t have to pay those taxes), and if you don’t take advantage of this each year, you are leaving money sitting on the table. Similarly, if you are lucky to be employed by a company who matches a 401(k) plan, you may want to contribute at least the match, to “let” your employer help fund your retirement.

Action Step Three:

Make a List of Your Goals, in order of priority. Look at your #1 Goal – is it really your most important, or is it just first in order of time? Any special types of accounts or matching available for this goal? How much will your goal cost? What’s the base level for that goal?

Set aside money each month to fund the base level of your #1 Goal – use your automatic savings or investment plan help you execute this week’s Action Step.

Step Four: Above and Beyond …

You’ve maxed out your Emergency Fund, paid off your “bad” debts, and funded the minimum levels of your most important life goals. Great job! What’s next?

Step 4 is to fully fund your goals, in order of priority. For example …

* Max out your Roth IRA, if you are eligible.
* Max out your 401(k) and IRAs (yes, you can do both, the IRA just might not be deductible).
* Purchase ESPP stock (and don’t forget to regularly sell and diversify).
* Contribute to a 529 Plan and/or taxable investment account for college education.
* Invest in taxable or tax-advantage accounts for miscellaneous future goals, or additional retirement funds.
* Buy investment real estate and/or rental property.
* Pay off your mortgage.
* Purchase CDs or Bonds for specific, time dated goals.
* Leave money sitting in your Health Savings Account, invested and tax-deferred, until you can roll it over to an IRA in your retirement.

Wow, do you still have money sitting on the table? Wonderful! If your goals are already funded, then don’t forget to enjoy your money now. Take a first-class vacation, hire a errand service for a few hours each week, buy a new sound system, or make a significant donation to your favorite charity. Balance saving for your future goals with living life now.

Action Step Four:

Choose your highest priority goal from Step 3. Have you fully funded this goal, to achieve your ultimate dream? Evaluate whether you have funded the minimal level of your other goals. If you have, then choose an action step from the list above … and enjoy your prosperity!

Elizabeth Potts Weinstein
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/how-to-use-your-hardearned-money-to-quickly-reach-your-goals-113681.html

Sell Your House in Temecula

Sell your house in Temecula. We buy houses in any condition, any location, any price and pay all cash!!!

Duration : 52 sec

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Selling Quickly

There is a simple truth in the world of real estate. It is ideal for a home to sell quickly. When homes languish on the market for months the home’s attraction decreases and people begin to wonder why the home has not sold yet. Have you ever noticed a home that has been listed for months? Sometimes through several different agents and companies? It is unfortunate that this happens as the home’s selling potential is severely decreased by this process. Homes that stay on the market for too long acquire a stigma of being problem homes. This is a bit of a misjudgment as one of the main reasons that homes don’t sell quickly is that they are overpriced.

It is easy to see how this happens, people have a strong emotional attachment to their homes and occasionally they price their home according to this link. Unfortunately for these people, home buyers do not take this into consideration when purchasing a house. When deciding on a price for your home, there are several factors which should be taken into account. One of the most important things to consider is the location and what homes have been selling for in the area. No matter how fabulous a home is, it is unlikely to sell for $500,000 in a neighborhood where the average home is worth $200,000. Buyers expect certain things out of certain areas, there may be a few exceptions but this is true of most neighborhoods.

The CMA is still the best tool to use in the pricing of a home. The CMA compares your home to other homes that have similar traits and are of similar size that have sold recently in the area. From this baseline a good realtor will be able to guide you to the correct asking price based on the additional assets that your home has or things that the home lacks. If you are mindful of these things then your home should end up priced properly. Also remember that homes that are on the market for too long have trouble selling even with an adjusted price. So make sure that your home has the right price tag when it is listed.

Eddy Kicker
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/selling-quickly-140565.html

Sell my house help – repossession

Sell my house help help you to sell you house quickly, even if you are facing repossession.

Duration : 6 min 12 sec

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Get Answers Before Your Make an Offer on That House

You’ve found a property that has all the important items on your checklist. You’ve researched and done a comparative market analysis to determine a fair asking price. While you’re well prepared to make an offer, there are a few questions you need your real estate agent to answer before you present an offer to the seller.

1. Why are the owners selling the home? The owners may be going through a divorce, relocating to a new area, struggling financially, or are looking to either upgrade or downsize from their current property. Alternatively, they could be selling in order to get out of the neighbourhood because there are noise or crime issues.

If there’s a problem with the house or the neighbourhood, you definitely want to find out about it before making an offer. If the owners are selling due to personal reasons, they may be motivated to sell quickly. Sellers who want to sell fast are much easier to negotiate with, and you could end up getting an excellent deal on the property. If you don’t ask about the seller’s motivation for leaving, you could end up offering more than you need to.

2. When would the owners like to sell by? Like question one, this ascertains how desperate the sellers are to close on the house. If they have no problem staying in the house for another year, you know that they’re likely to be firm on the asking price.

3. How long has the property been listed for? Homes that sit on the market for months leave their owners feeling anxious, especially if they’re carrying two mortgages. The longer a home has been on the market, the better position you’ll be in to negotiate.

4. Have the sellers ever reduced the listing price? If the property has been on the market for a while and there have been no price reductions, it’s clear that the sellers aren’t ready to negotiate the price. In this situation, you’ll need to offer close to asking price for your offer to be considered. If the owners have made some price adjustments, then you’ll have a bit more room to make a deal.

5. Have any offers been made on the house? It’s good to know how many offers have been brought to the table, and what happened to them. Again, if there have been no price reductions, but there’s been offers made, the sellers are making it clear that they’re standing firm on the selling price.

6. Have the owners completed any repairs or renovations to the property? Knowing about any major issues is vitally important for buyers. Even if a problem has been repaired, there could be residual problems that turn up down the road. Just as you want to know the accident history of a car you’re thinking of buying, you’ll want to know about any flaws of the house—both past and present.

7. What is the neighbourhood like? Is it a busy place full of young professionals and university students? If so, there may be lots of parties in the area. If it’s a family oriented area or there are lots of seniors, the neighbourhood culture will be quite different. You need to make sure that the community as a whole will serve your needs, and provide a climate that’s compatible with your personality and lifestyle.

8. Are there any problem neighbours in the area? This information is difficult to acquire unless the sellers are asked directly. When you’re just touring a home, you don’t get a true sense of the neighbourhood dynamics. Having a loud or inconsiderate neighbour can make your life miserable, so make sure you’re informed about this kind of thing before taking the plunge.

9. What items are included in the listing price? If the fixtures have you swooning, you need to make sure that they’ll be included in the sale. Rugs, window treatments, and appliances may not be included, so find out for sure before settling on a price.

10. What will the owners miss most and least about the house? If the seller’s answers match your own likes and dislikes, you’ll know whether you’re likely to be happy in the home or not.

Justin Havre
http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/get-answers-before-your-make-an-offer-on-that-house-732535.html

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