Real Estate in Austin, Texas

Originally posted 2011-09-02 07:41:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Real Estate Investing Is It a Cash Cow or Dud

Originally posted 2011-08-31 12:01:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Is real estate investing still a good way to make money?  To answer this question, we will examine what occassional debt  such as credit cards can do to your financial future.

Most people use a credit card like it is a never ending money tree and spend, spend, spend.  If this occurs, you will never achieve wealth.  Here is why.  If that credit card’s interest rate is eighteen percent, you are paying eighteen dollars, for every one hundred dollars you spend.  The latter is an example of “living rich while growing poor.”

The objective in growing rich is to use the concept that the rich use.  It is, use OPM, other people’s money, to become financial free.

The steps are simple.  Reduce consumer debt.  Next, build assets through homeownership, save money, and invest.  Third, borrow against those assets to increase your net worth.

A critical requirement of OPM is that the moeny acquired needs to be used to maintain and/or improve your wealth.  In other words, it is not wise to use your newly acquired funds to purchase stock because the stock may be a higher risk proposition than real estate.

After all, real estate can reduce in value, but it will never be worth zero, unlike stock.  Yes, real estate is always  worth something even if there is no structure on the land.

The land, the dirt, the trees, the air, is all worth something.  So, next time you have some extra money do your homework and consider real estate as your

Does Low Real Estate Inventory Signal Recovery

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The October report for the Charleston homes sales displayed continued improvement in residential real estate with record low inventory of real estate according to the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

October’s inventory declined to 7,524 from 7,792.  Interestingly enough, the inventory for the same month last year was 8,991.

There was 670 homes sold in the Charleston area last month.  The median price of those homes was $190,000.

I would be cautious to signify that the low inventory of homes in Charleston as a signal of recovery because the government has gotten involved to slow the foreclosure process for the sake of home owners.

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Indiana Property Tax Appeal for LaPorte County

Originally posted 2011-08-22 07:20:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Parkway Realty the Name to Remember When Leasing Office Space

Leasing office space can be a challenge if you do not plan.  Understanding what is the cost of the lease to not only you but to your potential clients is important to the sustainability of your company?  For instance, if the lease is $1000 a month, but you are not in the idea location for your clients to visit your location then the lease is useless, right?

The process of locating usable, accessible space is important to the success of your business, so hire a knowledgeable real estate agent.    Parkway Realty has such knowledgeable agents.    Not only does the company have knowledgeable agents, it philosophy is about “caring for its customers.”  The company prides itself own adding little touches to its properties such as, “flags, flowers,  and fixtures.”  These items give pride in ownership of  the establishment that your potential clients are visiting and it is the hope of Parkway Realty that it will cause you to continue leasing from the company.

Parkway Realty also provides the consumer with familiarity of market trends and prices in the potential areas that the consumer maybe looking to relocate or locate to.

The most important service that Parkway Realty provide is easy to follow lease agreements.    The latter is important because different office buildings may quote lease rates using different formats.  The formats may be:

• full service
• gross lease
• triple net lease
• modified gross lease
• percentage lease

No matter which lease is offered Parkway Realty offers a short concise version of the lease to make the leasing agreement as painless as possible.   Therefore, the next time your company is looking for office space to lease give Parkway Realty a try.

Tips for Buying Property During a Recession

Buying Properties During Recession: Do’s and Dont’s

Purchasing real estate is no laughing matter – whether the economy’s doing well or it’s experiencing recession. It’s a well-known fact that buyers are in a better position to purchase real estate during a recession. However, there are still some risks involved. So how do you make sure you’re still getting the best real estate deal during the recession times? Here are some tips that you can make use of:

Don’t come undone with your own expectations.

Determining whether you have gotten yourself a good deal in buying real estate, or simply just about anything, depends on your priorities. We all differ in priorities, that’s a fact. So if you’d like to make sure you satisfy yourself, get your own expectations in check. Creating a checklist can help you here. Finding a property to buy with a checklist handy can greatly facilitate the process.

Don’t be too you-you-you.

Sure, you were advised to know your priorities and to create a checklist to boot. However, flexibility can also get you a long way. Be objective with your judgments and take a hard look at the property you are planning to buy. Think hard and see if you are actually being too choosy to the point of being impractical. Would you like fancy or functional? Is it comfy or uber-elegant? How about trying to meet in the middle? Have you asked for suggestions from experts of family or friends with experience? Do they agree with you? Although you do not need to wipe your slate clean and accommodate all their opinions, are your expectations realistic enough and what about your budget? Remember it is recession.

Don’t be over-confident during a real estate recession.

Many think that since it is recession, they can just buy and buy and buy properties. Although many property sellers are usually on the lower part of the scale during these times, not all deals are the best ones. You still need to be as careful as ever in purchasing real estate.

Before pursuing a short sale…

Many would pursue a short sale trying to grab a good deal. However, before you buy a property with a price that seems too low for the location, asking your agent to investigate if it is a short sale won’t hurt. This is important since you should not just make an offer on a pre-foreclosure, short sale property.

Beware during recession since there are not too many fish in the sea
Er, properties to buy. Home sellers do know that during a recession, they may not be able to sell their properties for a better price. This means that they would have to wait longer to put their home out on the market. There may be properties for sale, but they get bought quicker, too. It would be helpful if you are prepared enough to make a purchase without dilly-dallying if you really are into it.

Recession or not…

Your decision should not be clouded in buying a property. Always shop for the lowest price, which fortunately is more attainable during recession for buyers. However, do not forget that the lowest-priced property is not necessarily the best one.

In summary, there are some advantages to buying a home during recession. However, if you do not really have the budget or are not that well-educated in the real estate industry, do not feel pressured to jump in.

Related articles

• Buying Real Estate in Another State, City, or Country. Is it Wise? (taylorbrownrealestatetalks.com)
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Tips to Not Allowing Your Fixer Upper to Be a Money Pit

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If you decide to become a real estate investor some time in your career you will purchase a “fixer-upper”. In today market, you find a lot of homes will need some work before they are habitable. Often you will purchase these houses at a bargain price. However, it should be noted that not every house that is available for a low price is a bargain. Sometimes, people only find this out after doing a lot of work. You do not have to be one of these people if you adhere to these tips.

First you need to realize what a  “money pit” is.  It is  a house which looks like a bargain when you initially buy it, but when you soon realize the extent of the renovations that needs to be done before the property is habitable you realize that you will have to spend a lot of money.  If you are selling the property, you may not make a profit.  If you plan to live in the property, you’d  spend more on fixing it up than you purchase the property for.   Of course, by the time you have found this out, it’s already a little late.

Before buying a house which requires work, it is always advisable to have a inspection of the property by the contractor that does your rehab work.   If the contractor you have do the inspection of the potential property is an employee or subcontractor that you use you may save money on purchase a property that you will have to put a lot of money into to make it habitable.

Therefore, the biggest piece of advice is hiring a contractor before hand, check his reference, and have the contractor bid on small jobs to get a feel for cost and establish a working relationship before using the contractor in your real estate business on a regular basis.

Related articles

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How to Fight for Your Home

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There is a lot of media attention on the lenders about the foreclosure crisis.  There is also a lot of media telling you fight for your home, but what I do not see is anyone telling you exactly how to fight for your home.  WELL, TODAY THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE.

The first thing that you must be equipped with to fight for your home is knowledge.  This post is guarantee to give you the knowledge needed to fight the lender.

Did you know that despite the fact that you are negoitating a short sale or a loan modification that you could still lose your home?  The reason is that the foreclosure that you are trying to avoid is a lawsuit filed by the lender.

The lender or plaintiff files a lawsuit in  court for the sale of the home to repay the mortgage.  However, what you may not have known is that as the defendant you can file legal documents to resolve the foreclosure.  The resolution can and may be the pending short sale or loan modification, but there must be proof of that information filed by the defendant.  In other words, the lender does not stop the foreclosure proceeding simply because you contact the company and tell them you want to apply for a short sale or loan modification.

The necessary documents that you needed to file can be filed with or without an attorney.  With the latter being said, I can not stress enough DO NOT IGNORE THE FORECLOSURE DOCUMENTS especially if you are working on a short sale or loan modification.

The documents are simple to prepare and file yourself. However, it is very important to know the deadline that the document must be filed to preserve your rights.  This will vary by state, but the deadline are on the foreclosure documents that you receive in the mail or from the sheriff.  In New York, for instance, you have 20 days.  In Indiana, you have 36 days.

Filing the answer for the foreclosure summons or complaint filed by your lender ensure that you receive all notices for future actions on the case.  Another important reason to file an answer is to keep the lender from getting an automatic deficiency judgement due to your lack of appearance or answer to the complaint.

To prevent the latter from happening, you will need to file an answer.  This post will instruct you on how to do just that by providing an example answer to mortgage complaint blog.

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What to Consider if You Are Thinking of Filing a Property Tax Appeal on a Commercial Property

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Has your Chicago property tax increased? Is your property commercial or industrial?   If it is either you may be interested to know that you may be eligible to file a property tax appeal.

You may be wondering how is my property classified as commercial or industrial.  If a multi-family unit has over 4 units, it is commercial. Commercial property also includes office buildings, industrial property, medical centers, hotels, malls, retail stores, shopping centers, farm land, multifamily housing buildings, warehouses, and garages.    Industrial properties, on the other hand, are factories, warehouses, heavy manufacturing buildings, industrial parks, light manufacturing buildings, and research and development parks.

Once you have ensure that your property meets the above criterias to consider a commercial or industrial property, you must understand several terms that appear on the property tax bill.

You may need to know what is meant by the term assessed value.  Assessed value is determined by converting the fair market value.  To convert the fair market value, the assessor applies the appropriate assessment ratio.  To determine the ratio, the assessor utilizes the internal sales divided by the available rental data for the area.  Then, there is a mass appraisal given for the area.  The mass appraisal for the area is equivalent to the mass appeal for the area.  It is important to note, that the assessor does not do a personal inspection of the property during this determination of assessed value.  However, if an appeal is filed the assessor has to do a personal inspection of the property to determine the error in the value.

The latter is one of the first items that you look at to determine if a property tax appeal is necessary.  It is especially important to determine the latter if you recently purchased the property.

Next, determine if the description of the property is correct on the property tax bill.  If you have an apartment complex and it states that there is a gas station on the bill then there is a reason to file an appeal.

Next, determine if the square footage of the property is correct.  You can look at an appraisal that you may have, the blueprints for the property, or have the property measured by a Realtor or a license appraiser.

Still yet, there may be an error in the lot size.  If the lot size is incorrect then that could also cause the property tax to be more than it needs to be.

If you recently had a decrease in tenants, then you may have a reason to file a property tax appeal.  This is a little tricky because the determination of this reason is if your decrease is 25% or more than the previous year.

If there was a hardship such as, road construction, flood , fire, looting,  new construction, that caused the loss of income and tenants then you may be eligible to file an appeal.  If any of the above reasons are applicable to your property then contact

• the Cook County Assessor Office
• the Cook County Board of Review
•  the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board
•  the Circuit Court of Cook County to file the appeal.

Related articles

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