Crazy Age of Real Estate Investing

What's an Investor to Do? When CNNMoney.com posts an article about the King of Real Estate cashing out of his US holdings it's hard not to pay attention. Real Estate investing used to be easier in the US that's for sure. It used to be a new investor with some guts,education and motivation could make a killing in real estate investing. But things have changed rapidly over the last two years.

The biggest change in the arena of investing has got to be the amount of investors out there chasing the deals.

As Tom Barrack says in his CNN article "there's too much money chasing too few deals, with too much debt and too few brains". The internet has changed things in a big way also. With those two big changes an investor has to have a bigger better tool box to succeed in this era of incresed competition. Over the course of the next two weeks I'll be sharing some of the tools I use to find the deals. So come along for the ride and see if you can grab some new tools for the investor toolbox. The three biggest factors responsible for changing real estate investing are: 1. The internet 2. The stock market fallout from 2002 3. California investors with lots of equity/money One of the ways I invest in real estate is to look to markets all over the US. I use the website ofheo.gov as one of the tools for my research. OFHEO stands for Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. When you go to their website click on House Price Index, then click on House Price Index for the 3rd Quarter,{or whatever the most recent quarter is} and then scroll down to page 15 and 16 for appreciation by state. There you will see how each state compares in appreciation. Go to page 26 for the top MSA's, {Metropolitan Statistical Areas} to see which has the highest appreciation. Some investors target the top appreciation MSA's for investing. This can work well as long as you get in before things start leveling off. Just ask an investor who got in too late in Las Vegas for the huge run up in appreciation in 2003/2004. I know of several investors who are dontwanters there because they got in too late. That's not to say there aren't any good deals left in Vegas, it's just that before 2004 it was pretty much a slam dunk if you bought there. The other way to use the ofheo website is to go to page 27 for the bottom appreciating MSA's. Some investors watch these types of markets very closely for signs of a turn around. These are markets that offer huge upside potential. Investors who got into the Denver market in 1995 reaped huge gains from this strategy. I suggest looking at both ways and decide which way you feel more comfortable using in yur real estate investing strategy and read other parts from the website to find other information that is useful. Next time we will look at another internet tool for real estate research in markets outside of your geographical area.

http://rwre.blogspot.com ofheo.gov ecodevdirectory.com realtor.com Article Submitted by That Article Guy

The Risks and Rewards of Investing in Foreclosures

There are many different things to invest in these days. One investment route which individuals take is with regard to foreclosures. Foreclosures occur when the current homeowner of a property fails to pay their monthly mortgage and the property is repossessed by the lender. There are various risks and rewards which go along with investments of this type and some of these will be discussed below.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Buying Pre-Foreclosure Properties

One type of property sale which relates to foreclosures is the pre-foreclosure sale. A pre-foreclosure sale occurs when the lender allows the homeowner with past due mortgage payments to sell the home on their own and pay back the lender what they can from the sale of the home. The lender often agrees to this so that they do not have to get involved with possessing then reselling the home and the homeowner likes this option because it prevents foreclosure. The investor also benefits from this type of sale as well.

Some advantages to purchasing an investment property via pre-foreclosure sale include discounted price, speedy purchase and wonderful profit opportunities. As for the disadvantages, the investor who buys property by way of a pre-foreclosure sale may find that the homeowner is hard to contact and/or unwilling to sell, the research is cumbersome and there are other potential buyers who wish to purchase the property.

For those who wish to purchase property via a pre-foreclosure sale, they should do their independent research, approach the homeowner in a courteous manner and ensure that they make an offer that will not cause them to lose money in the end. By doing so, the investor may find that buying a house by pre-foreclosure sale will work to their advantage.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Buying at a Foreclosure Auction

Another way to purchase foreclosure property is through a foreclosure auction. Auctions of this type are usually held at the local courthouse of the county where the property is located within. This is a common way for foreclosed properties to be sold and this too has its pros and cons.

The main advantage to purchasing property at a foreclosure auction is the reasonable price for which one can bid on a property. Although there will be other bidders, the resulting price is usually one that is quite attractive. Another advantage relates to the profit which the purchaser will see when they resell the home. Since the home was won at a reasonable amount, when the highest bidder goes to resell the property they will most likely see a good profit margin from that sale.

With regard to the disadvantages, purchasing a home at a foreclosure auction has a few which are tied in with it. The first disadvantage to buying a home this way relates to the inability to inspect the property. As auction homes are usually sold as is, the bidder who wishes to adequately inspect the home beforehand will be unlikely to do so. Another disadvantage to purchasing a home via auction is that the purchase price and deposit is due via cash or cashier's check in many instances which may be difficult for many investors to obtain on short notice.

Advantages and Disadvantages to Buying Real Estate Owned (REO) Properties

One last type of property purchase which relates to foreclosures is real estate owned properties, or REOs. An REO is when the property returns to the exclusive hands of the lender and then needs to be sold from that point. The lender is looking to sell their newly acquired property as soon as possible since they do not want to be in charge of the property and its necessary maintenance. The lender will then look for potential buyers of the property.

Some advantages to buying an REO are that they usually have good title, property taxes will be up to date and repairs may have been made to the property by the lender to ready it for sale. As for the disadvantages, those who purchase REOs may find that the savings which they see by purchasing an REO are not as great as they could be and therefore, the profits may not be as great as well.

Conclusion

When purchasing property in any of the previously mentioned ways there are a few things to keep in mind when doing so. It is extremely important to do independent research with regard to the properties and purchase methods, ensure necessary funds for purchase and inspect the property whenever possible. This will help to ensure that the buying process goes as smoothly as possible.

please visit Foreclosures Information to learn about foreclosures. Buy Pittsburg CA real estate.

Peak and Valley Theory in High Yield Investing

After a long run of many good HYIP's out on the market, there has recently been a sharp increase in scams and failed programs. We have charted the past two and a half years in terms of program longevity, payouts, and failures. A pattern has emerged.

When graphing the performance of various HYIP's it seems as if they follow a Peak and then a Valley orientation. Each peak and each valley represent respectively the up turns in the HYIP market and subsequent down turns in the HYIP market.

Each upswing in the market usually lasts about 2-3 months, followed by a downturn which can last anywhere from 1-4 months. The reason for such a pattern is probably a consequence of many factors.

#1 The closure of a major HYIP that involves millions of $'s influences the market greatly. There are hundreds of HYIP's that rely heavily on such programs. A collapse of a major HYIP can slowly bring down hundreds of smaller HYIP's. In contrast, the emergence of a reliable stable HYIP will do the opposite, helping out many smaller HYIP's.

#2 It's possible that the upturns and down turns are partially caused by general market conditions. Gold Prices, Stock Prices, and the economy in general can influence the HYIP market greatly. The trick here is to be able to tell when an upturn in the HYIP Market will begin.

Member of http://www.talkgold.com/forum & http://www.TheHyipForum.com Hyip money making communities Reviewing http://www.Becomehated.com

Three Skills Necessary To Be Successful In Real Estate Investing

Success in real estate investing is all about knowing what to buy and how you approach the deal. Real estate investment therefore requires some specific skill sets that can be developed and honed. This article highlights three skills that you might want to develop to be more successful in your real estate investing business.

Firstly, interpersonal skills are important in real estate negotiations. What breaks or makes a deal usually is whether you have good interpersonal skills and are able to make the other party trust you. Spend time establishing rapport when you meet prospective sellers and then try to apply the win win formula so that they feel the value in doing a transaction with you and maybe recommend their friends to sell property to you in the future.

An example of this was when John talked to the seller of a large factory, the boss told him that what they needed now was cash flow and they did not want to move out of the property. So John did a sell and lease back transaction with the boss and today he has a good tenant and owns a factory building which he bought at a reduced rate.

Secondly, to be successful in real estate investment, you need to be able to do simple maths analysis of the monthly cashflow and analyze the longer term appreciation prospects of the real estate investment property that you are interested in. Spending time to analyze your buying price relative to similar units in the area is important and buying it at an under value is always good.

Alternatively, when buying properties that you want to improve, always spend time doing the sums on how much the repairs and renovation will cost and if you are new to the fix and flip real estate sphere, bring your contractor and architect along to ascertain whether the deal is feasible.

Thirdly, real estate bargain hunting requires persistency as you might have to look at hundreds of properties before you find a property that you think can yield good rental returns and is suitable for you to buy. Remember that similarly, not all foreclosure and auction sites represent bargains. Make an appointment to go down to the property and physically examine it to satisfy yourself that it meets your requirements. Staying persistent in your search for the right real estate investment is thus key to making a good real estate acquisition.

In conclusion, take some time to examine whether you have the three skills sets mentioned above and then take massive action to start looking for your next real estate bargain. Believe in yourself today and focus on achieving your real estate investment goals. Carpe Diem!

Joel Teo runs a real estate investing website. Visit our {a href=" http://www.realestateinvestment101.info/Success_Series.html"} real estate investment success series today at the online Real Estate Investment Guide

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