Things To Know Before You Invest In Real Estate

All real estate investors are looking for options that have high returns and as low a risk as possible. This is only possible if you know how to make smart choices. The following three things make for an excellent real estate investment to help you get started.

First of all, you want to get a return on your investment. Real estate is an illiquid asset that require you to take money out of your liquid assets. You need to strive to get a return rate that is the same as what it was on your liquid assets. In other words, you are looking for a property with potential cash flow, rather than a money pit.

Applying this to real estate investment, what you are looking for is not appreciation, but rather cash flow. Calculating your cash flow means you need to work out how much money from your rental is left after you have paid for all the necessary expenses. What you should do is leave your cash flow alone, and keep that as savings as much as possible. Your cash flow will also go up as rent prices go up. Best of all, your mortgage payments should stay the same. A good cash flow is at least 20% of the money you get in overall. There are some great online resources in terms of calculating your cash flow.

You could also look for REITs (real estate investment rrusts). Although this means you don’t need as much money to get started, it also means the returns are smaller. When you sign up with a REIT, your money is invested in real estate corporations. Hence, you could invest in anything from an apartment block to a retail park. You can keep track with the performance of a REIT through the NASDAQ and stock exchange. A REIT, essentially, is like a mutual fund that only looks at real estate. Before you start, however, you need to think about a few things. The economic conditions of the key holdings is one. Find out how the REIT has performed in the past. Additionally, their future plans are very important. Also, you need to look into who manages the REIT and how they have performed. Last but not least, consider what the real estate market looks like and how this could affect how your REIT will perform.

Ideas When Thinking Of Selling a Property Described

Comparing Rudimentary Particulars On The Top Reasons To Find Selling a Property

Plenty of people are investing in real estate so if you’d like to sell your house, you have to do this now. The only issue today is that it will be very tough to sell a property. You might have seen some articles saying that selling a property is quite easy or there are advertisements that may claim that they can help sell your house in just a few weeks. It’s going to be quite easy to sell a house if you planning to bring the price down, but this will not be a good suggestion. In the real estate market, the supply completely surpasses the demand, but you may find techniques to make the house appealing. We’ll give you some recommendations to help you with this.

Pay Attention to Curb Appeal

First impression lasts so your house needs to have that certain impact when a buyer sees it the very first time. You must place yourself in the shoes of a customer and appraise the curb appeal of your house.

You should have a look at your property very carefully to view all of its shortcomings. You need to make certain that it’s appealing enough to leave a good impression to potential customers and verify everything that need maintenance.

The possible buyers always see the exterior of house firsthand and most of them are always paying attention on how their new home would look like in the outside. You need to get everything ready and repair everything.

Make Some Improvements In Your home

If you would like to draw in the possible customers, you need to make upgrades in your house. You have to improve the interior and exterior of the house so it will probably be visually appealing to the potential customers. If you really want to sell your home, you need to check everything that needs fixing and make the required enhancements. Even so, you must never over improve since there are upgrades that will not make a difference.

Enhancements will surely raise the value of your property along with its odds to be sold, but you cannot make improvements that will not pay in the long run. You must make your own research and only invest on things that would offer the best return.

Eliminate Personal Items and Displays

If you say clutter, these are actually the things that you must get rid of from the house when you’re selling it. You need to eliminate all your personal items, collectibles and art works because it won’t help in selling your home. Remove all the things which are not essential and just leave the furniture to make the rooms larger. The objective is to help the buyers visualize what they need to do in your house when they bought it. When they enter your home, they will begin to visualize what they need to add so you should get rid of the unnecessary and personal items inside the house. It’s going to be tough for them to do this if your personal items are still inside the house.

Place a Reasonable Value

If you’d like to sell a home in Queens, make certain that you put a competitive price for the house. If you put a lower value, it’s going to be similar to leaving money on the table and if you put a high price, the buyers will ignore it. When you are referring to home buying, the buyers will probably be looking at the houses which are similar with yours and compare the costs. If your home is too costly, they will not buy it.

You have to remember that the majority of the customers are counting on home financing so they will not really think about a house that is too expensive. If the value is low, you can sell your house faster, but your investments won’t be returned to you.

Look at a Real Estate Agent

You must understand that it’s quite difficult to sell a house without the help of professionals and it’s going to also be a bad idea to simply do this on your own. You do not really have the knowledge and experience to deal with this so it will not be a great idea to sell your home without considering a professional real estate agent. If you’ll try to do this on your own, there is a big chance that the house will not be sold or you will not get a great deal for it. You may get lucky to find a great deal for your home, but you have to remember that selling a house is not about luck since huge money is at stake.

You must look at the help of an agent and let them do everything for you. You’ll need to pay them for their services, but it’s better than getting a poor deal.

If you’re likely to sell your house, it is best to follow these simple guidelines so you will not make any mistakes. They are very basic, but you could assume that these suggestions will help you sell your house quickly.

How to Ace a Home Showing: What Sellers Can Do to Prepare For Prospective Buyers

Selling a home can be stressful, as you don’t know when or if it is going to sell. That is why, when you do get a prospective buyer, you must make sure that the viewing goes well. Once you are able to get them in the door, the hard part is keeping them in it. Showing a home should be a pleasant experience for the buyer. That being said, the first thing you should do is not be present. Home owners should not still be lingering around agents arrive with potential buyers to see the home.

You may think you’re being helpful by being there, but you aren’t. No one wants a seller walking around with them while they are trying to decide if they like the home. First off, it puts a lot of pressure on them. They may feel as though they have to act like they love your house, even if they don’t. Always be prepared to have your home shown at any moment. This means it needs to be kept clean and presentable at all times. 

Another party that should not be attending the viewing are your pets. Think you can put your dog in a crate? That is actually even worse. The dog is likely to bark throughout the whole viewing. And, if he is uncrated, he’ll probably be jumping all over the buyers. Not to mention the fact that many people are afraid of pets. So, no matter how nice your dog is, please be sure to take all pets out of the home temporarily, while the home is being looked at.

Be sure that you don’t cook anything directly before your home is to be shown. No one wants to smell fish, peppers, or eggs. If you are a smoker, definitely be sure that no part of the house smells like cigarettes. Same goes with pets. The home should not smell like “dog.” The home should smell like nothing other than the scented candle you should light for the buyers. If your carpet smells, replace it. Anywhere that odor is coming out in your house needs to be handled. 

If any of your doors open the wrong way, or any rooms need to be painted, make those repairs and changes. If you have a second bedroom that you’ve converted into an office, restore the room to its original use, as buyers can get confused.

Never leave your dirty laundry lying around the house; same goes for dirty dishes, or dingy bed linens. The house should be spotless. If cleaning isn’t top-priority to you, don’t be surprised if your house sits on the market for a few months. If you don’t have the time to clean, hire a housekeeper until your home is sold.

Aside from helping your counters look cluttered, another reason you should remove all mail from sight is that it isn’t safe. You don’t know the people who are looking at your house. Identity theft occurs every second these days. Plus the fact, it might give buyers a leg up if they see your bank statement for example. If it shows that you’re broke, they’ll know they have an advantage and that they can offer much less on your house, and that you’ll probably take it. 

Always make sure that your home is well-lit. Don’t be hesitant to open the blinds and draw the curtains. Unless, of course, it highlights scuffs on the floor and walls. In these cases, you’ll want to use a staging technique, which is to keep the blinds shut, and keep the lighting internal with floor and table lamps, which will minimize the appearance of the damage.

If you have any disturbing photos on the walls, remove them. Many agents have told stories of photos in clients houses, that when they went to show it, were pretty embarrassed. You never know.

Here’s a helpful article on, Should Our Seller Agent Be At All The Showings Of Our House? As well as another on, Sellers That Do Not Allow Showings Unless They Are There

Are You Having Trouble Selling Your Client’s House? Here’s Why, and How to Go From “For Sale” to “SOLD.”

It’s no secret that clients want their home sold as quickly as possible. For this reason, it is important as their real estate agent to make sure that your marketing game is on. Buyers look to the internet these days when it comes to shopping for houses, so you should already (hopefully) be internet-savvy.

If you aren’t, now is the time to learn. Exposure is the key to selling a home, and since most potential buyers shop online, your listings better shine.

Put Your Best Foot Forward. Photos of the interior (and exterior) of the home are the most valuable part of the listing. While professional photos can be expensive, persuade your clients to spend the money. It is worth it, and you should let them know that. Pictures are what spark buyers’ interests. If the pictures are horrible, they aren’t going to be calling you to come see the house. Spend extra time organizing the photos as well. You want the best photos to be first, as you’ve only got about 3-4 photos before the buyer decides to keep looking at your listing, or move on. 

Incorporating a video in your listings cannot be stressed enough. Also put the video on YouTube. It is possible that your home doesn’t photograph well, but it videos well. Add a video to your listing. Be even more creative, and add music to it. It will make the presentation more enjoyable for the buyer than listening to silence.

Add a Little Extra To Your Listing Descriptions. During the home buying process consumers will search through the same listings over and over again in hopes that they will stumble across the perfect home. Don’t let your listings go stale! Switch up your photos from time to time, and highlight different features of the property; always note price reductions because even the smallest change could mean a world of a difference to someone who was/is interested in your home. Many online platforms have a box buyers can click when they want the site to notify them of a “price drop.” 

Always Respond Immediately. We live in a world of instant gratification. When a buyer sees something they like online, they want to ask questions immediately. You should always have your phone on you. If the buyer does not hear back from you within a few hours, they’ve likely already moved on to another home, with an agent who did answer their call right away. During the time you take to call them back, they could have already gone to view a house and fallen in love with it.

It is so important to return calls, emails and text messages as soon as possible, even if it’s just to say hi and to set up a future time to chat. Fulfilling an immediate need shows you are available and easily accessible to the home buyer.

Read this article on how Even ‘Stale’ Listings Are Finding Buyers by Realtor Magazine, as well as this article, Listing Gone Stale? 6 Ways to Land a Home Sale.

Forget Aesthetics: What Buyers Should REALLY Be Looking For When Viewing a Prospective House

Be on the Lookout for These Red Flags When Purchasing a Home

Home sellers may not always disclose the whole truth about the condition of their home. Instead of paying for five inspections on different homes, here is a great DIY pre-inspection list that can help you from unforeseen problems after you’ve purchased the home.

Pay close attention to foundation issues. Examine the foundation on both the interior and the exterior of the property. What you will be searching for are any cracks larger than 1/2″ which usually indicate that there may be some major structural problems; a sloping house, on the other hand, almost always represents water damage in the basement.

Keep your nose in the air. Pay attention to smells in each room of the house. If a home smells heavily of cleaning products, the seller is likely trying to hide a big problem. Remember, the house, and all of its problems are yours after the sale.

Be on guard for mildew and mold. You do not want to purchase a home with mildew problems. They’re very expensive to fix; besides the fact that they are major health hazards. Check for signs of mold when you view the house, espec
ially in the basement. Mold in the basement always indicates that there was at some point, excessive water damage.

Pay close attention to the roof. Be on the lookout for any missing, or falling shingles. Also be sure to check chimney. When you’re looking at the chimney, what you are searching for is any indication of settling from the house.  

Always check (and double check) the plumbing. Plumbing issues are very costly, and you don’t want to buy a house that has them. Check the water pressure by running the sinks and flushing the toilets at the same time. Low water flow indicates possible corroded pipes.

Doors that won’t open. If more than one door won’t close or swings open by itself, it may indicate a structural issue, such as a foundation that has settled or framing that is caving.

Locked doors. Inquire about any doors that are locked or marked “off limits” during your home tour, as this can include “secret” problems.

Wiring. Ensure all the switches and outlets in the house function properly. Flickering lights, circuits that don’t work and hot outlets or faceplates are all obvious indications of wiring problems. 

Water Tanks. Water tanks should be 18″ off the ground if in a garage. It is important that the water tanks are up-to-code. It isn’t a bad idea either to bring your designer with you to inspection, as they are familiar with all of the codes as well.

Windows. Open and close all windows to make sure they work, and be sure to check for cracks and water in between double-paned windows.

Potential Hazards. This is extremely important. You want to buy a home that is safe. Look at the furnace for cracks and rust, which can leak carbon monoxide. Furnace flames should be blue. In older homes in particular, check the for asbestos wrapped vent pipes on the furnace. See: Environmental Hazards on the Mind of the Buyer.

Changed Your Mind, and Want to Keep Your House? Here’s How Buyers Give You Opportunities to Back Out Without Realizing It

There are times when a seller decides that they no longer wish to sell their house, however, they are already smack in the middle of the selling process with a buyer. You should know, that there are many loopholes in the contracts that will allow you to get out of the sale. For example, buyers unintentionally give you opportunities to do just that in the contracts.

If you’ve already signed the offer, there are still a few things that you can do. If it hasn’t been given to the buyer yet, ask your agent to destroy the copy that you signed. If they have already gotten the signed document, and the property does go formally under contract, your options will become much more limited. If this is the case, you should contact a real estate attorney who will give you a legal exit-strategy. You don’t want to get sued over a house. Never let the buyers know that you are trying to cancel the contract.

All buyers have the right to an inspection. Usually, after an inspection, buyers will compile a list of complaints in relation to the inspection results. This is where they try to manipulate the seller into taking less money. You are able to decline their requests, which will thereby cancel the contract. 

When the buyer adds a contingency regarding the appraisal into the contract, he has to take action in a specific amount of time. If he doesn’t do so by the said date, you are able to refuse to sell the house to him. Similarly, if an all-cash buyer doesn’t present the cash by the agreed-upon date, you don’t have to sell to him.

However, the law requires that you send them a “reminder.” After they receive the reminder, they still have so many days left to pay after that. So you do have to wait another few weeks from the reminder date before you can reject the buyer. If the buyer does everything correctly, and there is no way for you to get out of it, you can decide to just tell him you changed your mind.

Of course, this is breaching a legal contract, and the buyer is able to sue you. Generally, though, the court does not order the seller to sell to the buyer. However, you may end up having to pay commission to the broker. You could also suggest to the buyer that you will pay a specific sum of money to him to keep the house, provided that they keep the situation out of court.

If the buyers didn’t ever meet your terms, then you will not owe his agent commission. It is only if you breach the contract on your own. Tip: Check out this article by Zillow on The Anatomy of a Buyer’s Offer for more information.

What is “Sellers Remorse?” Why Do Sellers Sell, Even if They Love Their Home So Much?

Buyer’s remorse is the term to describe when a buyer regrets purchasing a house after the fact, or walks away from a deal before it is finalized, and then regrets it later on. This actually happens very often in the current market. However, sellers remorse is an important topic, as they experience regret, too.

The general assumption is that sellers are happy when they find a buyer, as this is always the goal, and is why the internet is full of ways to find a buyer. However, some sellers change their minds about selling for reasons other than the current state of the market.

Some think that if homeowner is experiencing seller’s remorse, it is probably because he or she is really not motivated enough to sell, which is not always the case. Here are the top reasons homeowners decide to sell:

1. Their house was what they needed at the time, but is now too small for their growing family
2. To upgrade, as they want a more expensive, bigger home than they wanted or needed the first time around
3. To fix their original mistake of buying a home that wasn’t what they needed
4. They got a job offer in a different location
5. Have experienced a failed romantic relationship
6. The neighborhood has taken a turn for the worst
7. Their children have grown
8. They want to be closer to their family
9. They want to be further from their family
10. Are now retiring, and want something either smaller or in a different place

Some other reasons are: 

Another reason a seller might sell is that they don’t want to have to deal with fixing things anymore, and so they’d rather just buy a brand new home. On the other hand, you have people that love to fix up homes. After the home is fixed up, they simply grow bored and no longer have interest in it anymore. 

If you are a buyer, you should realize that not all contracts today force the seller to sell the house if he changes his mind. Though a listing agreement is binding, there are many loopholes a seller and his agent can take if they truly want out of the listing without any repercussions.

However, they likely will still have to pay a commission to the broker, for the amount that they would have gotten if the home had sold for that amount. Unfortunately, if a seller changes his mind, there isn’t much you can do about it, other than accept it and find a new house. It is always upsetting when this happens, but that is why you should always consider a few homes at one time rather than relying on one specific house. Tip: Check out this article on Buyer’s Top 5 Regrets.