Historic Property Tax Breaks and Grants
We all enjoy the classic beauty and stately architectural features of an historic home, and if you have dreamed of owning one yourself, you may find that the government is willing to help you reach that goal in some supportive ways... [click to read more]
How to Avoid Environmental Hazards
Although 10 or 20 years ago many dangerous health hazards were ignored, nowadays they represent the main targets of many serious efforts to clean up the environment and protect people from health problems related to environmental waste, contamination, and other hazards... [click to read more]
Condo Ownership
A friend recently moved into a new condo she had purchased, but soon found out that the experience was much different than her previous home ownership, when she lived in her own house, with no neighbors and no condo association rules and regulations. ... [click to read more]
Home Improvements that Pay You Back Dollar for Dollar
Before you jump into a major do-it-yourself project, or hire contractors to make some improvements or additions to your property, you would be wise to look to the future ... [click to read more]
Multi-family Units
If you are a newcomer to the business of real estate investment, you may want to consider buying a multi-family unit, because the potential for monthly income is often greater than it is for a single family unit ... [click to read more]
Mobile Home Parks
Although many real estate investors overlook the opportunity that owning a mobile home park can provide, others who buy them know that they can be one of the best real estate investments of all, for several reasons ... [click to read more]
Using Management Companies
There is plenty of money to be made in the real estate business, but to really succeed it is necessary to spend an adequate amount of time cultivating your business and taking care of your properties ... [click to read more]
Leasing to Tenants with Pets
Pets are adorable, but sometimes they are a bit too unruly and wild to adjust to life within an upscale condo, a well-furnished vacation house, or an urban apartment that lacks a cat or dog door. Problems arise for landlords, involving everything from noisy dogs who bark and keep neighbors awake to pesky kittens who mistake the carpet for a play toy and rip it to shreds. ... [click to read more]
Buying and Selling Farm Land
Many of us grew up in the country, where our families may have worked the land for generations. But the nature of the agricultural business has changed drastically over the past decades, and now many family farms seem more profitable when sold as real estate investments... [click to read more]
Vacation Property Investments
One of the most interesting and enjoyable ways to try your hand at real estate investment is through the ownership of vacation property you can use for your own holidays, or to generate income as rental property... [click to read more]
Tips for Finding Deals
Looking for deals in the real estate market is not quite as easy as finding them at your favorite department store, but they are out there and you’ll find them if you have a plan and are willing to invest the time and energy in your search... [click to read more]
Dealing with FSBOs
FSBO – or real estate speak for “For Sale by Owner” – sometimes presents challenges to buyers and makes sellers curious. If you are buying a home that is for sale by owner, don’t be intimidated... [click to read more]
Working with Realtors
When working with a Realtor, you will pay a commission based on the price of the house that is bought or sold. Most often, if you are the one selling, you’ll be responsible of paying this fee, because seldom do buyers have to pay their Realtor... [click to read more]
Advertising to Find Investment Deals
Looking for good deals is half the battle for those who want to make steady profits from real estate, and by investing the time and energy in canvassing for bargains, you can improve your chances of success tremendously. Here are a few ways to mine for golden deals that you may not have thought of... [click to read more]
Tips for Cosmetic Makeovers
If you are going for a job interview, you’ll first dress sharply to make a good first impression. And if you’re going out dancing or to the movies with a date this weekend, you may have already gone shopping for clothes so that you can look your best... [click to read more]
Contract Tips
If you buy or sell real estate, you will encounter quite a bit of legal language in rather complicated contracts. But those documents are intended to help ensure that both the buyer and the seller are treated fairly and are able to communicate clear to each other during the real estate transaction. Contracts are your friend, and the best way to understand them is with the help of a lawyer... [click to read more]
Appraisals
An appraiser is someone certified and trained to determine the value of a piece of property, which they do by examining the property, comparing it to other properties, and then writing an analytical report to explain the value of the property... [click to read more]
Marketing Property
Here are five tips on marketing your property to buyers, without spending a lot of advertising money in the process... [click to read more]
Owner Finance Your PropertyOwner Finance Your Property
Lots of people who want to own a home would do so if they could just qualify for the loan. But many people have some bad credit in their credit history – maybe because an ex-spouse filed for bankruptcy or because they themselves were not wise about budgeting when they were younger – and for this reason they have difficulty getting a loans... [click to read more]
Making Money in a Bear Market
During times of rapidly rising real estate prices, you have to go out of your way to actually lose money selling houses. You can make money hand over fist, in spite of yourself. And many people do... [click to read more]
Traditional Retirement Planning Dwindling Away
I have spent my life as a human resources professional, with graduate degrees and certifications in my field. A major part of my career had been dedicated to educating people in the work place on employer sponsored retirement planning vehicles. This typically included 401k, 403b and pension plans. Having worked for several major corporations and associations throughout the DC Metropolitan area, I started noticing an increasing trend... [click to read more]
African American Female Investors, An Untapped Market
Ladies, it's old news that we as black women have risen to become what is considered affluent among our community. According to the 2005 African American Active Investor Study, an increasing number of black investors are actually female, young, and single when compared to other prosperous Americans. Did you also know that an astonishing 58% of affluent African Americans are actually women? ... [click to read more]
Five Ways To Profit In Real Estate Investing
Using the systems that I teach, there are basically five ways to profit in real estate investment. These quick turn transactions fall into five main categories: 1. rehabbing and retailing; 2. wholesaling; 3. getting the deed; 4. lease options; and 5. options... [click to read more]
Construction Loans
You may own a vacant lot and wish that you could add value to it by building a house on it, but you just don't have the funds. Or maybe you do... [click to read more]
Business Partners
Many friendships end when friends become business partners. But many love affairs end with marriages that turn into divorces, too, but that doesn't mean that we should abandon our pursuit of friendship and love. In business good partnerships can be valuable, and when choosing business partners, it is important to keep the focus upon two things: 1) interpersonal compatibility 2) what the partner brings to the table in terms of business assets ... [click to read more]
Advantage of Incorporation
If you're going into the investment business, incorporation is not mandatory, but may be prudent. Most companies exist in order to either organize their financial affairs and taxes, or to shield their participants from liability... [click to read more]
Estate Sales and Auctions
Estate sales and auctions are an often-overlooked source of investment property, and part of the reason that they are not so well known or covered may be that they are a bit obscure. Whereas most property is sold in conventional ways, by advertising in the multiple listing service or local newspapers and magazines, estate and auction property is generally sold with less exposure, or with exposure to an audience that may not include many investors...[click to read more]
Foreclosures
Foreclosure happens when a homeowner stops making payments to their mortgage company, for whatever reason, and the mortgage company repossesses the property according to legal rights signed over when the loan was first established...[click to read more]
Using Staging Companies to Sell Property
A staging company has nothing to do with stagecoaches, and very little to do with theatre productions. But it does have some similarity to theatre, in that staging a house is sort of like turning it into a Hollywood set, for a short period of time. Just like TV and movie sets that look permanent but are not, a staged house is one that is given an interior decorating makeover, long enough to attract attention and close the sale...[click to read more]
Lease-to-Own Contracts
Lease to own contracts are not frequently used, but they still hold a special place within the world of real estate buying and selling. They are especially attractive and functional for those who own property as landlords, but may want to sell it eventually. And they work well for their tenants, who may be saving up to buy the home they are renting...[click to read more]
Interest Only Loans
Interest only loans are back, after being out of favor and pretty much nonexistent for decades. Originally popularized during the Roaring 20s, these loans are structured like an ordinary loan, except that the borrower does not have to pay any principle - only interest - for a set number of years...[click to read more]
Get Rich on Ugly Houses
We are conditioned to think that the wealthy real estate moguls got that way through glittery, glam, and gilded mansions. In reality, many of the world's rich and famous arrived via the ugly ducklings in the multiple listing service. Buying ugly houses is profitable, for those who know how to see beyond the blemishes and cosmetic flaws...[click to read more]
Highest and Best Use of Property
Sometimes the way you intend to use a property can stand in the way of your investment goals, whether you realize it or not. Highest and best use - a term used by real estate professionals - refers to the concept that every piece of property has potential, and to maximize its potential is the goal of an astute investor...[click to read more]
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