Posts Tagged ‘Reason’
One of the most efficient ways to invest in residential real estate is to do a lease/purchase. The reason a lease/purchase is so effective, is because it provides a win-win situation for both the seller/landlord and the buyer/tenant. For the owner, it provides a potential buyer and a tenant that will be willing to take care of the home. For the buyer, it provides the right to purchase the home for a fixed price, and time to save money and improve their credit. Here is how it works.
The owner and the buyer enter into a contract whereby the potential buyer agrees to lease the home for a set amount of time. At the end of the lease, the buyer then has the option of buying the home for the price agreed upon in the contract. In order to secure that price, the buyer pays an option fee up front. If the buyer chooses to buy the home at the end of the lease, he can apply the option fee and any other money saved toward the down payment. If they choose not to purchase the home, the owner keeps the option fee.
For the owner, the lease/purchase offers several different ways to make money from the home:
- The goal is to buy the home for 10-20% below market value.
- The monthly rent you collect will exceed your mortgage payment.
- You can right off mortgage interest and other expenses on your taxes.
- You pay down the principle on your mortgage and build equity in the house.
- The price of the home will appreciate.
- If the potential buyer decides not to buy, you keep the option fee.
This is just a basic outline of how a lease/purchase works and the opportunities it presents. It is still a real estate investment strategy that is unknown by many and discussed by too few. For more detailed information, a recommended read is “Buy Low, Rent Smart, Sell High” by Scott Frank and Andy Heller.
To apply this investment strategy in a growing real estate market, visit http://www.buyandsellnorthtexas.com.
By: Michael Stazko
First, let’s cover how NOT to choose an agent because these are the 3 most common mistakes sellers make (but now you won’t).
1. You should not select a friend or relative just because you know them.
If they are going to do the best job marketing your home, then choose them for that reason, if not you need to do what is best for you.
2. You should not select the agent because they say they will get you the highest price for your home.
Your home is worth what a buyer will pay for it and the way to get the most money is to prepare the home to show as well as it can, pricing it correctly and marketing the home properly. The agent that does those things will really get you the best price for your home.
3. Don’t choose someone just because they tell you they have a potential buyer for your home.
When you list with the best sellers agent, any agent with a buyer can still show and sell your home, so that is not a reason to choose them to market it.
You want to choose an agent you feel comfortable with, but that is not the only criteria. The agent you select should be continually learning, you can tell this by their designations or certifications earned. How a home is marketed has changed drastically over the last few years, largely due to the Internet. You want an agent that keeps up to date. You also want some who is trained in the type of property you are selling, whether it’s single family residential, luxury homes, condos, commercial or investment property. They are marketed differently. Of course, the agent’s job is to effectively market your home so it sells. More than 80% of the time, the listing agent is not the one to represent the buyer. You are hiring them to market your property. Any agent can sell your home if it’s listed with another real estate agent, that’s the purpose of the MLS. Ask a potential agent about their marketing plan. It should include ways to market to the public and ways to market to agents.
Some agents want to sell your home themselves so they don’t have to split the commission and they don’t market to agents. This is a common practice, but is not in your best interest. No one has control of your homes location, neighborhood, incurable functional or external deficiencies, interest rates and the overall real estate market, but these things have an effect on the time it will take to sell your home and your actual selling price. You want an agent who has experience in the things you do have control over such as marketing, preparing the home for sale, and determining the most realistic asking price. The Internet has rapidly grown to be the most effective way of marketing a home. Choose an agent who is good at using the Internet to get maximum exposure. Other skill considerations are the knowledge and use of virtual tours, photography, ad writing and communication. Commission rates among brokers are similar and seem to average around 6%-7%. If you are asked for a higher commission, be sure you are getting the value for it in extra services. If you are offered a lower commission, be sure you know what you are giving up. It may sound like you will end up with more money, but if your home doesn’t sell or sells for a lower price because you gave up valuable marketing, you don’t end up saving anything. Better marketing and service usually result in better sales prices and may be worth the higher commission. Some properties such as luxury homes or investment property are more expensive to market and usually take longer to sell.
One of the most important jobs a real estate does for you is the negotiation after a buyer is found. This is difficult to know about. Look for a certification or additional training in negotiation. “A real estate agent has a high fiduciary duty – a duty of trust and confidence” Donald R. Brenner, professor emeritus at American University.
Consider choosing an agent who is a Realtor
Selling a property without an agent is not for everyone but for those with determination it can be the best way to sell a home. I give the top reasons to sell your home with out an estate agent.
1. No agency fees or commissions. This is the top of anyone’s list to sell your home yourself. You can save thousands of pounds or euros by selling your home privately without going through an agent.
2. You can value your home correctly, without the aid of an agent. This will take a little bit of research, but if you sell your home through an agent, many people will do this anyway to make sure the home is properly valued, and if they don’t, they should. Many agents do one of two things: Value your home too high to get your business; or Value your home too low to make a quick sale. Either way, you end up on the short end – it takes too long to sell, or you lose money on the sale.
3. Advertise anywhere you want – local print ads, national real estate websites and even international web portals. Depending on your home and where you live, you can target the ideal potential buyer. 4. You make the first impression – it takes only a few seconds to impress or turn off a potential buyer. You don’t have to worry if your agent is having a bad day, or wants to sell a bigger, more expensive home. You get to impress the buyer, which leads to the next reason.
5. You know your home better than any agent ever will. No matter how much time an agent gets to know you, he or she can never know all there is to help sell your property.
6. You know the neighborhood. Many agents are local and can do a good job of selling a neighborhood, but having lived their you certainly have an advantage in talking about all the reasons to move into an area.
7. You do the negotiating. For some people this is definitely a plus, and for others it isn’t. Those who like to get the best deal will be able to negotiate in their favor and get exactly what they want for the house. There is no one pressuring you to make the deal – so they can get their commission. It’s all up to you.
8. Choose your own solicitor. You will need a solicitor to close the deal, and you can choose whomever you want. There are plenty of good ones you can find for reasonable rates, and you don’t have to use the one the agent knows or steers your to.
9. Show your house when you want to. You don’t have to be at on an agent’s schedule – you can show your home whenever you want, depending on your schedule. Of course, the more flexible you are, the better chance you have to sell, but it’s your choice.
10. Set your own timeline – All too often, you are at the beck and call of an agent or solicitor when it comes to finalizing the deal and conveying the property. When you are the one in charge, you make sure the timeline works for you and your buyer. You can make sure everything is done in a timely manner, and that all parties are satisfied.
By: Nicholas Marr
Property management is one of the most important tasks that you might need to do if you are a landlord. You must always remember that this is tedious job and you need to run around a lot for this. There are different kinds of things that you need to do. This is the reason why private landlords these days are looking for good full management service.
With these services they can relax and they even do not need to run about from one place to other to manage their property. The essential works that need to be done for the property are quite a few in number.
First of all you need to advertise your property so that people know about it. Other than this, you also need to organize the required agreements and arrange for a viewing. Finally you also need to carry out maintenance work and regular inspections to make sure the house is safe.
But all these things can be done by the full management service. These services can really be very helpful because they know what to do and what not to. There are lots of property management consultants available these days. You just need to make sure that you choose the right company.
Other than this, there are various advantages of the full management service. If you can utilize them properly then you will not have any problem regarding your property. These companies are also known as letting agencies which offer a letting agent to take care of your property.
This kind of service is very much popular in the UK. If you are a landlord with a full time job for yourself then managing property can become really difficult. This is because a person who manages the property needs to be at it full time.
You just need to choose the letting agent who will work for you with the payment of a fee. The fee might vary from agency to agency. You just need to make sure the service you get from the agents is worth the money you pay. You must also be careful about choosing the best quality service.
The letting agent must effectively manage your property. To find the best deal you can perform a little bit of research about which is the best property management consultancy available these days. The full management service offered by the top companies will surely have their own websites.
The website must have all the services explained and must also have the customer testimonials to make sure the company is worth considering. So you just need to get the best full management service for your property to take away all your worries regarding your property.
By: Adam Labno
