Is home buying a good investment?

You can make money on a home purchase if you do it right. Even in this mortgage melt down market, it is possible. Their is probably not very many people talking about it. I think you still can get it done.

I am going to give a example of this. I am going to use the current market as an example of this. First we need to get all the information as far as the cost of purchasing a home. We want to get all the information for this.

Since about 90% of all the loans right now are FHA loans. We will need to use FHA loans as the example because the will probably be the type of loan used.

We are going to talk about the down payment. Right now lenders are requiring a down payment of three percent. i am going to give a example of a one hundred thousand dollar house. So we are going to need a down payment of three thousand dollars.

Their will be other cost besides the down payment. This would be for the closing cost of the loan. Their will be certain charges to get get a mortgage. In our example we will use twenty five hundred dollars. Bringing out total to five thousand five hundred dollars.

We need to all so take in to account that the US government is giving a credit for eight thousand dollars. So it will not actually cost you five thousand five hundred dollars.

So our total now is going to be $3000. What about the property payment? we are still going to have a mortgage payment of eight hundred fifty dollars. but you have a rent payment to. So no matter what we are going to have a payment.

We all ways want to think of these home purchase in the long term. we need to look at this for at least 10 years. So were are we going to be at with our $3000 in ten years?

Since we are looking at this house purchase as long term We should expect the home property to be double the price we bought the home for. So we can add that to the $3000 we had all ready should be up.

Now their are not very many investments that can do something like this in 10 years. We are going to be up about $103000 in the full ten years. That is not a bad investment. Since we were up from the very first day!

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After you have picked out a home to buy, you’ll likely order a home inspection. During the home inspection, the home inspector will inspect the exterior components of the home for defects and signs of structural damage. Here is a list of seven areas inspected on the exterior of the home.

1. Trim and Eaves – The home inspector will examine the trim work and eaves for wood rot and other damage. This is typically done with a ladder or with a set of binoculars. The inspector will also evaluate the gutters, if installed, to determine any defects.

2. Exterior Wall Covering – The home inspector will report what kind of the exterior wall covering is installed on the home. The most common kinds are include wood, vinyl, stucco, and brick. The home inspector will report on the condition of the wall covering.

3. Paint and Caulking – The home inspector will report on the general condition of the painted exterior areas like the siding, windows, doors, porches, etc. In addition, the caulking will also be examined around the doors and windows.

4. Doors and Windows – The doors and windows will be examined to determine the material they are made of. The home inspector will discuss any defects and overall condition of the doors and windows.

5. Screens and Storm Doors – The home inspector will document any missing or torn screens. If the home has exterior storm doors installed, the home inspector will document any defects to the storm doors.

6. Patios, Balconies, Porches, and Decks – The home inspection report will include the overall condition of the decks, patios, porches and balconies affixed to the home. Some of the common problems exist with the steps, railings, and wood to soil contact.

7. Additions – Many homes, particularly older ones, have had additional square footage added to them. The home inspector will comment on the connection of the main home and the addition and any defects that exist in the structure where the two sections meet.

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So you decided to sell your home, you have picked the a real estate agent, and have listed your home. You have held several open houses and got some interest and you have finally received an offer. How do you tell if this is a good offer or not? Of course, your agent will help in that department, but, remember, they are there to sell your home they don’t have any idea what will work for you and your family.

First thing to look at is the buyer’s financing. Are they able to get a loan or are they just hoping to qualify? The best case scenario would be that they are pre-approved which means that a bank/lender has taken a look at their income, credit, and down payment and has agreed that they would qualify for a certain amount of financing. This is a good indication that the loan will go through. Sometimes, the offer will not include that the loan is pre-approved, but if the buyer really wants the home, they will include a letter of pre-approval to help your selection along. As a buyer, you or your agent has the right to contact the bank and make sure the information presented is correct and that the bank has verified income, employment, and down payment funds.

Next,consider if the buyer has put down a substantial down payment. The larger amount, the better for the sale to go through. The more money the seller has invested in the contract, the less likely they will be to back out. It also shows how “heart felt” the buyer is on the property.

Watch out for special conditions within the contract that you cannot meet or control. For example :If a buyer must sell his home first before purchasing your home.This condition requires you to factor in other questions. Does he have any offers on his home now or any approved buyers? He does have his house listed with an agent, doesn’t he? If there are any clauses that you do not understand, you must clarify them in writing. Be sure you understand every word on the sales contracts…if your not sure of the terms used make sure you ask your agent.

One other thing that you must realize in the real estate contract you will receive is there are dates and deadlines that must be reviewed. There is a certain rhythm for things to happen. For instance, there should be an inspection, appraisal, loan approval, and the closing date. These items should not have excessive time allotted to each by the buyer. For example, the closing date must allow time for the bank process to be completed including the underwriting, appraisal, and paperwork. The inspection date should be close to the contract date to allow time for any problems to be resolved quickly by the seller so the contract can be completed.

Any of the above mentioned items can void your contract. Be sure you understand all that is being asked of you, make sure the terms listed and set in all the documents make sense to you, before you complete the sale.

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Being aware of what to put your money into when handling real estate activities will set the stage for a good or poor deal. If a good deal is reached, it signifies that the seller, buyer, and realtor all go away with a feeling as though they have been victorious, or made a good barter. Here at Property Berkshire this is what we strive for.

When it comes to making a good deal, make sure that you know what you want. Who is involved in the action that you are taking and how can you run your transaction? What is the best loan that you can find that will help you and what kind of requirements do you need to adhere to to make sure that everything goes well.

Consider how the interest rate is going to figure in. If you are a seller, remember that ideally, the buyer should feel as though they have gotten a deal that they could not get anywhere else. How can you make them feel as though they have maximized their profits?

What does the money look like, and how can you make sure that you are giving out good charges and good interest rates. Some dishonest lenders will hid charges or fees that are not found out about until later, and this is a poor game to play.

Being aware of those costs will aid you in avoiding the extra expenditure associated to the primary loan. You can make certain that this portion of the deal is good by looking into various lenders to find who gives the best rate.

What shape is the property in? Many people find that the property needs to be well maintained and well taken care of if it is going t shine. Keeping the property clean and replacing anything that has been soiled or broken over time will make it much more attractive. Good maintenance is important, so see what your options are going to be.

A real estate manager or inspector may need to look at the property to see if everything has been properly cared for. If it is not in good order, the investments in repair need to be made before the final deal is made in order to fix the problematic areas.

When you are ready to sell your home, or if you are ready to take on a new home, remember that the best bargain is one that leaves everyone feeling like they won. There are good expenditures and bad ones and at the end of the day, playing everything above the board and being able to say that you have a good property for sale is essential. Know what you are getting into and what you have a right to demand when you want to get a property that suits you!

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Thinking about buying a vacation home is a big deal with many different choices available. In recent years a new concept has emerged called fractional home ownership where owners share both the ownership and the responsibilities of a vacation home.

Fractional home ownership is similar to timeshares, but its differences make them standout. In a timeshare, the owner is purchasing a block of time that can be used annually at the resort. This block of time, generally 2 weeks, can be traded with other timeshare owners for vacationing at other resorts inside the group.

With fractional home ownership you are partnering with other families to purchase a home. These partnerships are divided into shares. For, example if you by a 1/2 share in a property all the way down to a 1/13 share in the property.

For example, if a lake home is divided in the 13 deeded pieces, each buyer would get to use the lake home 1 week a season for a total of 4 weeks a year. Other popular options are properties divided into 4 pieces where each owner gets to use the home 1 week a month and only share expenses with four other owners.

Most fractional ownership homes are situated in resort areas with private gates and private security services. Many of the homes have several amenities such as pools and spas. Some communities provide fractional ownership with condos and townhouses where the owners will share the amenities with other owners that may be vacationing at the same time.

Fractional ownership homes will have a homeowners association formed. The owners then pay HOA fees to a property management firm that is contracted to ensure the property is cared for and things like the utilities, insurance, taxes and maintenance are paid.

Fractional home owners cite many reasons why they purchased using this method. Many could afford to buy the home, but felt the fractional ownership met their needs. In addition they liked the concept of not having to care for the home, pay someone to clean it, check on it weekly, etc. They still have a deed to a the property that will appreciate in value.

Closing Comments

If you are thinking of buying a vacation home, maybe fractional ownership is a way you can get into a property that you otherwise may not have been able to afford.

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700 Acres, Pitt Lake – BC Waterfront Real Estate for Sale at …
Type: Investment Seller: NIHO Land & Cattle Company Company: -Contact Details Below- Property Price (Starting Price for Developments): CAD $ 6900000. Address: Pitt Lake, BC GOOGLE_MAP_only_if_address_is_present … There are a number of small mountain creeks on the properties that run into Pitt River. Some of the shoreline along the river is truly beautiful especially after spring run off where areas along the river have formed white sandy beaches. …  read more…

Lots and Land for Sale in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan $59900
12 lots from 8 – 10+ acres in beautiful natural setting of rolling hills and trees on the West bank of the river. Location is 5 miles East on Hwy 11 at Duck lake; 1 hour North of Saskatoon; half hour South of Prince Albert; …  read more…

Tips For Selling a River Condo | Lake Land and Lots
Thank you for visiting Lake Land and Lots. Our daily blog entries provide information from around the web from news sources, internet articles, and blog entries related to land and lots. We invite you to review our entries and post your …  read more…

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Anchors Landing, Lake Hickory, North Carolina – Waterview Lot $99,900
Anchors Landing – Lot 223 – Waterview Lot on Emerald Lake – $99,900

1 Acre – Wooded

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Riverbend At Lake Hickory, Granite Falls North Carolina – NC Lakefront Real Estate Information
Riverbend at Lake Hickory, Granite Falls North Carolina is a beautiful and exquisite waterfront community. This luxurious community will include large estate style lots and houses built by some of the…  read more…

Homes More Affordable in 2007 Sales Still Historically High
Sales in nearly every market in 2006 were below 2005’s record setting pace (in some cases far below). Taking the long view, David Lereah, chief economist with the National Association of REALT…  read more…

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Living on Candlewood Lake (The Brookfield Journal)
Since its creation in the late 1920s, Candlewood Lake has been a major freshwater attraction for locals and visitors from New York. Because the lake lies at the intersection between two counties, five towns, dozens of communities and thousands of individuals, its geography has guaranteed its continued success and importance as a social and recreational keystone.  read more…

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A U.S. district court judge recently dismissed a lawsuit challenging a decision that cleared the way for a St. Peters business park to be built in what used to be a flood plain.  read more…

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Resolved Question: Is anyone looking for land or a home in north central arkansas?
We are located 2hours from the university of arkansas 11/2 hrs. from branson mo. Also close to a newly built ASU campus in Mountain home Ar. Friendly people many clean lakes and rivers, mountain views. And our taxes and weather here always attract many people. The Realty I work for has complementary cabins for customer use while in the area looking at listings. Feel free to e-mail me info. on what your looking for or for more info. on our area. missykeeter@yahoo.com
Hello Mr. Godzillasagoodman, There is a reason it’s so cheap here. There’s a few good clowns here who know what they’re doing. Were not exactly advertised as the richest state in the u.s, but as far as economy goes i’d rather be here selling real estate than in one of those other places where i’ve been talking to people who can’t sell there homes there to come here, and are dying to because of the lower crime rates and low taxes.I’m doing great here! If people only knew how beautiful it is here and had actually been here and knew before they spoke. But keep right on spreading the bad misconceptions. We’ll live here cheap, enjoying the good life while the good godzillas of the world are guessing starve anmd shrink to mere lizzards. Lets keep it a best kept secret just how goooood it is here! Thanks!

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There must be a seller for each buyer and a buyer for each seller. If there is so much market demand to buy above a resistance level or sell below the support, the broker acting as the market maker has to absorb all these orders. However, you must know that the market maker is not a fool.

Most of the retail traders being new or inexperienced individual investor like to trade the breakouts! The new traders learn technical analysis. They tend to most eagerly follow trade recommendations based on certain chart patterns recommended in the technical analysis courses.

Most of the successful traders are contrarian in their trading approach. The seasoned traders do exactly the opposite of what the crowd is expected to do. They prefer to fade breakouts.

Trading is a zero sum game. For every loser, there is a winner. Most of the breakouts fail. Breakouts fail because the institutional or the seasoned traders take advantage of the crowd psychology of the retail or inexperienced traders and win at their expense.

Lets understand the tricks that can be played by the institutional dealers and traders. Market markets mostly the forex dealers and brokers can fade breakouts. Their game plan is simple. They will make money from the majority of the crowd who thinks that prices will rally happily after an upside breakout or decline dangerously after a downside breakout.

Whether you like it or not, market makers have to take the opposite side of your trade. They are the pricing counterparties to the retail traders like you and me. Suppose most of the retail traders have placed their stop entry orders at a certain price above the resistance level anticipating a breakout.

Market makers spend some of their money to bid up the price to that level where most of the stop entry levels have been placed. Market makers reach into their pockets. Now they can sell to most of the traders who are desperate to buy. They make some decent profits from this trick that they had played on inexperienced traders.

By selling to the retail crowd, the market makers get the chance to close their long positions. Now they begin to short and try to overwhelm the buying crowd. This pushes the prices down, below the breakout level, where many stop loss orders have been placed by the retail traders who wanted to trade the upside breakout.

By buying from the retail traders who are selling to close their losing breakout trades, market makers happily offload their short positions now. Market makers have the information of their customers orders from their order book. Thus a potential conflict of interest exists. Retail traders must know how to protect themselves.

Market makers often go on the stop hunting spree. False breakouts maybe the consequence of that! Retail crowd thinks that the false breakout is due to the sudden turning of the market. These false breakouts are most likely the direct result of the games market makers play.

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In a down real estate market, finding foreclosed homes is easy. To make your search easier, here is the list of the places where you can find foreclosures.

Auction Houses

Auction companies hold a large inventory of properties, sometimes selling as much as 100 homes or more in just 1 day. Since the bidding is relatively quick and houses can be sold in a matter of seconds, prices of real estate can go over the board but you can find really good properties in their inventory.

Major Bank Web sites

Most major banks maintain a list of foreclosed properties that they now own. Visit bank web sites and check out the foreclosed properties listing. More often then not this is a great method to find good solid investment property…just be warned…banks take FOREVER to move on a sale if your offering below what they feels is “Fair market value”.

Online foreclosure companies

There are a few companies online that specialize in selling foreclosed homes. A small,one-time membership fee is charged to anyone who wishes to access the list of foreclosed properties. Once you join you will normally have access to a list of property from across the nation.

Buyers agents/Real Estate Agents

These agents are either maintaining personal web sites or are under real estate companies that sell foreclosed properties. You can search them online or browse through yellow page listings. Major cities have real estate offices where you can inquire into possibility of acquiring foreclosures.

Real Estate Signs

You don’t need to look anywhere else because you can find foreclosure signs around your neighborhood. Homes with signs like foreclosure, bank repo, and bank-owned are for you to consider. These signs contain address and contact information of the agents you can visit or call. The best thing about considering homes with real estate signs is that you can actually check the condition of the house on-site. And with one phone call, you can arrange with the agent the date when you want to see the interior of the house.

Government Agencies

Department of the Treasury and other government agencies have a list of real estate properties for sale. Usually, when buying a house from these agencies, you are required to acquire the services of a real estate broker or personally submit an offer. Go to any of the government agencies web sites for more information. VA forclosed homes, Fannie Mae foreclosure homes, Housing Urban Development, Small Business Association just to name a few.

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Part of the home inspection will warrant an evaluation of the homes attic. The following five areas that the home inspector will look at in the attic.

1. Attic Access – The attic access location would be located by the home inspector. Before accessing the attic, the home inspector will document the condition of the access door and if there is an attic ladder. The home inspector will also determine if the ladder is safe and if the feet sit firmly on the floor.

2. Insulation – Inside the attic the home inspector will document the kind of insulation present and the approximate depth of the insulation. Insulation comes in various forms, the two most popular being roll fiberglass or blown insulation. The home inspector will also determine if the insulation is relatively even or if bare spots exist. Covered attic areas will be documented as not visible.

3. Ventilation – It is recommended that the attic have two sources of ventilation to allow the free flow of air. There are four types of ventilation. They include soffit vents, gable vents, ridge vents, and roof vents.

Soffit vents are located in the eaves. If a home has soffit vents, daylight should be visible from the eaves. With soffit vents, baffles should be installed that maintain the air space and hold back the blown insulation.

Gable vents are found below the corners made by a gable roof. Gable vents are slated vents with a screen backing that helps keep birds and bats out of the attic.

Ridge vents are located across the top of the roof above the ridge beam. These are usually found on hip style roofs where no gable is present.

Roof vents or fans are installed through the roof sheathing in between the rafters on the sloped portion of the roof. These are generally installed along the back portion of the roof for cosmetic reasons.

The two vent sources ought to be from two opposite origins. For instance, gable roofs have both gable and soffit vents. Where hip roofs will have ridge and soffit vents. Elaborate roof formations will possess multiple vent opening.

4. Structure – The roof should not have any loose, broken, or cut framing members. The home inspector will also comment on the condition of the roof sheathing.

5. Roof Leaks – The home inspector will analyze the vents and roof penetrations for evidence of roof leaks such as water staining and rotted wood.

There are some limitations to the attic inspection. Any area that has head room of less than three feet does not have to be inspected. In addition, the home inspector is not required to inspect an area with hazardous materials.

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No matter the reason you are selling your property, whether you are moving or you buy and sell houses to make a profit, presenting the home in the best possible manner is ideal to selling it quickly. When potential buyers come into the home you want it to feel warm and comfortable and you especially want the buyer to see the perks and benefits the home has to offer. Barren empty rooms, boring long hallways, and dull dreary colors are not helpful to peoples imaginations, and many times will dissuade people from buying. Apart from deterring away buyers, empty homes also push real estate agents away also due to the fact the homes are harder to sell.

Ironically, instead of lowering a listing price, spending some extra cash on the home can make a bigger difference in selling it. Planning ahead is the key to this. If you know when the next open house will be, something as simple as renting furniture can give your house some energy.

If you are a property flipper, you may want to consider buying furniture from a second hand store or yard sale that can be used over and over. This saves money over renting, and there is no search to find the right things. Try to purchase matching furniture whenever possible, and don’t buy things that don’t fit the home you are selling.

Your real estate agent is a really good source for information on staging a home for resale, and can make suggestions that are quite useful. There are professional staging services that can come in and assess the home, tell you what is needed, what color of paint should be used in which rooms, how to arrange things in the best way, etc. Many of these companies can even provide their own people to come in and make changes that are needed.

Many people think the inside of a home is the only part where staging is possible or important, but they are wrong. First impressions are always important, and as people walk up to the house the first thing they will see is the yard and exterior of the house. Keeping the lawn mowed and pulling weeds can do wonders to the look of a house, and other things such as painting garage doors can do the same, but will also raise the value of the home.

If the property is presented as a family dwelling, then it may be a good idea to stage the exterior to look more child or pet friendly. Setting up a small cheap playground, a few well placed toys, are all good ideas. Buying a cheap kennel or a dog house could make pet owners say things like; “look, even Fluffy will have his own home.” This will draw people in, and make them feel themselves living there.

There are many other tips and advice for you online, or from any local real estate agent. Not only can they help suggest improvements you can do on your own, but what professional services are available for your needs. With a little staging, the home you are trying to sell will make more warm and friendly, and will probably sell much more quickly then emptier ones of the same value.

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