Real Estate Investing - Getting Rich Quickly
If you are going to get rich, you may have to give up everything you ever learned in school and from your parents and start from scratch. Now that's not a definite by any means. You may not have to start over. If someone along the line taught you, for instance that it doesn't actually take money to make money, then you may already be on the right track.
Finding the Ideal Real Estate Agent
This article will offer tips on finding the ideal real estate agent for you. But first, we need to define the word "ideal" as it's used in this context.
The ideal agent is not always the one with the most sales under his or her belt, or the most years on the job. The ideal agent is one who (A) listens to you, (B) is easy to get along with, and (C) has the tools and skills to address you... Read real estate article
Low Cost Access To Law Firm
Everyone knows you should have a number of professionals on your team if you are serious about building a business or becoming wealthy.
Real estate broker
Mortgage broker
Banker
Accountant
Contractor
Lawyer
Lawyer? What you really need is a Law Firm! Just a you would not go to see a Proctologist for an eye injury, you would want a lawyer who specialized in litigation if you were sued!
Using myself as an example of a real estate investor, I have the following legal specialists available to me:
Real Estate Attorney
Litigation Attorney
Corporate Attorney
Landlord and Tenant Attorney
SEC Attorney
Tax Attorney
Now you may say that you do not need such an array of legal talent at this time and you may be right or you may be wrong. In fact, the number of business people, including real estate investors who do not have an attorney of any kind is shocking! Business is by nature a world of contracts, agreements, negotiations, options etc. trying to do deals without the proper legal counsel is like relying on home remedies when you need the care of a specialist. You are setting yourself up for trouble.
If you are sued, you definitely need a high powered litigation attorney. Being represented by a real estate attorney in a lawsuit is like bringing a knife to a gun fight.
If you need an entity such as a corporation or LLC set up correctly for you, you should have access to a corporate attorney. I know, you can set up a corporation yourself on the Internet; but suppose it is the wrong one, an LLC when you should have a C-Corporation for instance?
Do you really want to trust your real estate investment business, with tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions of dollars in liabilities or profits at stake to a home made corporation?
If you are audited because of your business activities, a very real possibility with the confusing array of tax laws pertaining to businesses, a tax attorney is the only sensible choice to defend you.
The problem with professional legal representation for most of us is cost.
The poor have public defenders to come to their aid.
It use to be that only the "Big Guys" could afford to have a law firm, with all of the legal specialties they needed, on retainer. Until now!
I belong to a "legal clinic" which allows me to have a major law firm on Long Island, NY "on retainer" for about $1 per day.
Many "routine" services are included in the low retainer fee:
I can call "my lawyer" with legal questions at any time
They will review contracts and leases of up to 10 pages
They will write legal letters on my behalf in case of business disputes
They will write legal letters for me to resolve credit or collection issues
Help in resolving Warranty issues with products or services
Help with Estate problems including a free Will and advice on estate matters
Help with preparation for appearance in small claims court, whether defendant or claimant
Advise on identifying and contacting the correct government agencies to handle my needs
Can you see how valuable having these services available to you for $1 per day can be? Now, you can nip problems in the bud before they get ugly, by getting the professional advice and assistance of a lawyer at the outset.
You can also establish a strong negotiating position by firing off a lawyer's letter early in the game when in a dispute or a negotiation.
Legal clinics act in the same way health care insurance operates. You have a number of routine services included in your base premium.
When you need more extensive services, they are provided to you at preferred rates, as much as 25% below the firms quoted public rates.
Can you see the difference it could make to your overall success in real estate or other businesses to have a law firm on your team? Wouldn't you be willing to pay $1 day for their services?
There are several legal clinics in operation, with varying geographic coverage, prices and programs. You can find them on the Internet by searching for "Legal Clinics."
When looking for the right agent to sell your property, one very important aspect of gauging his or her market knowledge and expertise can be found in how the agent approaches the Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) for your property.
Simply put, the CMA is intended to be an apples to apples comparison. CMAs prepared for sellers typically provide details on three or more nearby, similar properties. The CMA data is crucial, in fact the number one component, for determining the market value of your property.
Here are things to look for in the properties that the agent chooses as the comparables for your property. And don't be shy about asking the agent for details on each. A top-notch seller's agent will have conducted in-depth research in selecting the comparables to present in the CMA.
Terminology First, here is some basic CMA and property listing terminology.
Active: The property is actively for sale and there is not an accepted purchase contract. There may be an offer or negotiations in the works, but an agreement is not finalized.
DOM: The number of days the property has been on the market.
Active Contingent: A purchase offer has been made, the seller has accepted the offer, but there are buyer contingencies that may prevent the sale going through. The most typical contingency is financing - the buyer has yet to secure loan commitment. Other contingencies might be: the inspection period, either personal inspection, professional inspection or both; examination of financial records for income-producing properties; and/or the buyer's sale or closing of another property (the latter being less common). There might be one or more contingencies.
In some cases, Active Contingent status means that the seller is willing to take backup offers, should the current offer not go through or if there is a "kick-out" clause in the agreement (a kick-out clause is an agreement between the buyer and seller giving the seller the right to demand contingency removal within a certain number of days; if the buyer cannot perform within that time period, the contract may be terminated).
Pending: Terms of the purchase contract have been fulfilled and the closing of the transaction is near or nearly assured. Often a listing will move from Active, to Active Contingent, to Pending, and finally to Sold. If an accepted purchase contract is a cash purchase with no or minor contingencies, the status moves from Active directly to Pending.
Original List Price: The initial asking price of the property on the listing's start date.
List Price: The current asking price, either the same as the original list, or after price reductions or price increases from the original list amount.
Sold Price: The final amount paid by the buyer to the seller.
Back on Market: The property was temporarily off the market, usually because a purchase offer was accepted, but the deal fell through (e.g., the buyer could not obtain financing).
Subject Property: The property you are evaluating in a CMA, either as the seller or the buyer.
Comparable Property: The properties that are being used as the best-fit comparisons to the subject property.
Basic Features Similar or Identical
When the property was built should be about the same time as yours (built between 1999 and 2003 for example)
Overall square footage should be the same or very close to your property; be sure to check the under air square footage and total square footage
The construction type should match yours (for example, concrete block with stucco)
The roofing is similar in type and age (concrete tile about 5 years old, for example)
Space utilization overall should similar to yours: the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garage spaces, floor plan design (split bedroom, great room), number of stories, unit floor (condos), a family room (or not), formal dining (or not), lanai/patio...
For waterfront properties, it's also important to assure features such as seawall, boat dock, and boat lift are similar in quality, age, and size.
Overall Condition of the Property Ask about the how well maintained the comparable properties are. If yours is meticulously maintained, a comparable that "needs TLC" or that has roof damage is not a valid comparison. Also important are any upgrades your property, or the comparables, have undergone. If your kitchen is the original and is 15 years old, but a comparable property has an upgraded kitchen with granite countertops and new appliances, an adjustment needs to be made or a different comparable used. Location, Lot, and View
Lot size and type: in SouthWest Florida, the majority of lots are a quarter of an acre (.250). Corner lots, oversize lots, triple lots, and cul-de-sac lots typically command higher prices.
The comparable properties are in your geographic area, typically within a mile radius or so.
View and type of view are similar (waterfront, golf course, wooded area, Gulf of Mexico, bay, basin, lake, pond, parking lot, obstructions, etc.).
If yours is waterfront, pay close attention to the waterfront types of the comparables. Because there are so much variety in the waterfront properties in SouthWest Florida, especially in the canal systems, this is key. For example, a gulf access home that is an hour from the Gulf, even if similar in construction and other factors, is not going to command as much as a gulf access home that is 20 minutes from the Gulf. Likewise, a freshwater lot with a lake view is more prized than one on a standard freshwater canal. Intersecting canal views are valued higher, as are properties on wider canals (120-200'). Likewise, check out the details on comparables for the Caloosahatchee River views and Gulf of Mexico beach front views (frontage, direction, obstructions).
Adjustments Are Sometimes Necessary In some cases, it may not be possible to find nearby properties that carry all of the same features. For example, if the nearby properties are identical in square footage, layout, lot size, age and condition.... but yours has a swimming pool and the others do not, an adjustment can be made to the comparable properties. The adjustment is added (or subtracted) from the comparable. So if the comparable does not have a pool, and yours is brand new, the agent would adjust the comparable value by adding the value of the pool, say $40,000, to bring the comparable up to par with your property (the subject property). Sale Status and Dates The comparable properties should be ones that have recently sold, within the last six months or ideally the last three months. If sold data is not available (no similar properties have sold in the neighborhood), then next best is those that have recently gone pending.
Also pay close attention to the DOM, the number of Days On Market. This is calculated from the original list date to the date of closing (when title transfers to the new owner). This is an important factor: if the property sold quickly, you know it was priced right. If the property was on the market for 180 days or more (perhaps with several price decreases along the way), the pricing strategy that seller used is circumspect and provides evidence it was priced too high. (Other factors may have delayed the sale, but more often than not, DOM is an indicator of price point.)
2. Commercial Real Estate
Eastern Connecticut leads the State in job growth and likely will continue for the next tens years. Economic growth in Eastern Connecticut is booming with major projects underway or proposed. Half way... Read real estate article
3. Top Mistakes of Home Buyers and Home Sellers
2006 was an unusal year for residential real estate. The much over-hyped real estate bubble didn't pop. But, home buyers and sellers did a slow dance to determine who was going to be driving the bus. ... Read real estate article
4. Cheap Repossessed Mobile Home
Buying your own house requires much thought and research, even if it means that you have to buy repossessed homes because you cannot afford a new one.
5. Government Repossessed Homes
There is no better way to acquire you property than buying off from cheap government repo homes. This is simply a trend in the U.S. where people want to purchase real estate thru the help of the gover... Read real estate article
6. Bidding At Public Foreclosure Auctions
If you are wanting to own your own home or dreaming of investing in commercial real estate but are unable to do so because all the properties that you have been seen advertised are way beyond your bud... Read real estate article
7. Real Estate - Untold Secrets to Making Money
The term real estate can be attached to any home, dwelling, land, or other property. The area of real estate has many faces including those who sell it, those who buy it, lenders, agents, and investor... Read real estate article
One of the most important factors is to Stage your home for all prospective b... Read real estate article
9. Cheap Government Repo Houses
These days, the prices of houses are extremely high and unaffordable for people who've got a low or average income. And because the prices of houses are expensive, most families find their niches in a... Read real estate article
10. Real Estate Markets - Truth Revealed
Real estate markets are constantly subjected to a lot of fluctuations. However, a real estate investor who is well informed can still manage to make a lot of profit and not be affected by the fluctuat... Read real estate article
Low Cost Access To Law Firm
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