Month of February , 2007

For first time investors I have a fairly simple plan of attack. Everyone you meet that is involved in Real Estate investing seems to have a fairly differing opinion on what is the correct way to make money in Real Estate. The truth is that there isn’t just one-way to Invest and do better than others. There are several different ways and some work better than others with some dependence on current market conditions. Here is an Idea for the first time investor.  read more »

Have you ever visited a site and said, “Wow this is amazing!” This is one of those sites. Other sites, like Zillo.com, don’t even copmpare. This is more accurate and does so much more.  read more »

Sometimes it takes vision to create wealth. Vision is something that Bill Gates had even in the face with a huge company like IBM telling him he was wrong. The type of vision I am speaking of is seeing a property for what it can be not what it currently is. IBM told Bill Gates that there wasn’t a market for personal computers. The vision you need to have in working with rehabs will not face the scrutiny that Gates did however, it may feel like it at times.  read more »

1. Letting the seller know your level of interest. The less the seller knows about your level of interest the better off you are in negotiating with them. This holds true in all purchases! Keep your excitement to yourself and you may be able to save thousands of dollars.  read more »

Ever since I started working in Real Estate people have been asking me about foreclosed property. Most people understand that their are some good deals in buying foresclosed properties. The biggest problem with foreclosures is that most people know little or nothing about them. In this series of articles I will touch on the foreclosure process, how people can make money buying them, and how to avoid being foreclosed upon.

The foreclosure process:  read more »

In a recent newspaper article the Star Tribune reported that home prices were expected to rise 4% for the year, and home prices had risen in the Twin Cities 7 county area by 2% for the year. Statistics can be used to show a favorable light on just about anything. How is it that we have low inflation every year and yet the price of everything seems to keep heading higher? The truth is in most housing markets prices are headed lower, and if you want to sell your home in this market there are a few tricks you can use that I haven’t seen everyone try just yet.  read more »

Rehabbing property is a great way to make money in Real Estate. Two essentials to making money are knowing where to budget money for the project (what will give the greatest return?), and how to analyze the home and market conditions. Refer to my article “Before you Buy Do This…” for information on property and market analysis. The topic that I want to briefly cover is where to spend money to get the best return on reading.  read more »

There are several essential elements that need to be brought together when making your first home purchase. The first place you should start is picking a Mortgage broker to work with. This is unquestionably the most important part of the puzzle when purchasing a home.

The person and company that you pick to help you get a loan on your home is more important than any other relationship that you will have. Most people think the Realtor or Real Estate Agent is more important. While they play an important role the Mortgage Broker or Loan Officer is more important.  read more »

Prior to your Real Estate purchase make sure to make the most out of your Realtor. Most people think the limited access they have to their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) gives them a lot of information. In reality Realtors and agents using the system have access to information that can be worth tens of thousands to buyers. Before you purchase property make sure you do a statistical analysis of the area and property you are purchasing. To give you an Idea of the importance of this analysis I have included the information of an area I studied.  read more »

Its no secret that people have become Millionaires using Real Estate as their vehicle to wealth than any other method. It is said that McDonald’s is not in the food business they are in the Real Estate business. If you look at their property and the property values you’d agree. Before becoming a Realtor and an Investor I communicated with a number of wealthy people across the World, and the one thing that almost everyone of my wealthiest clients had in common was ownership or past ownership in Real Estate. With my point being made the issue for you becomes how do you make money yourself?  read more »

Everywhere you look you see articles on the housing market. With the rise in interest rates and other economic factors housing markets across the U.S. are taking a beating.

In the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St.Paul the number of homes on the market compared to buyers is currently at a 8 to 1 ratio! That is an all-time high. The ratio was 5 to 1 a year ago and 3 to one two years prior to that. The trend for the U.S. as a whole is similar in the glut of property on the market.  read more »

One of the least understood parts of a Real Estate transaction is Earnest money. The initial purpose of earnest money is to give something that makes the offer more appealing to the seller. It is also rewarded to the seller when the buyer does not follow through with their end on the agreement.

There are many thoughts on what should be given as earnest money. In the past buyers have given everything from farm animals and vehicles to jewelry. It is possible to use things other than money as earnest money today, but it is not something that happens often.  read more »

Today I had an interesting situation come up with a home owner. My client wants to sell his four bedroom split-level home on five acres of wooded land. He had listed the home with another agent that had failed to sell the property in the past year. When it came time to agree upon the price he was surprised that I was actually raising the price over last year=s asking price. He was a bit confused because the price went up fairly significantly when home prices in the area have flat-lined over the past year.  read more »

Assess your home for different negatives that people will remember. Write down those negatives that you find, what your Realtor points out, and even enlist a friend that can give honest opinions.

The more negative aspects of your home that you can remove the more people will concentrate on the positive attributes of your home. This will only add to the likelihood of making an offer.  read more »

The horror stories that are told about renters are all true! Yes people leave in the middle of the night without paying rent. I’ve seen them do it! Yes people have stolen copper plumbing and built-in woodwork and they even kick and punch holes in the walls as a present for you to see once their gone. All of those ugly stories are true, and somewhat painful to deal with. There is a savior to landlords, and it is the various tenant check companies that exist. They won’t stop all of your problems, but they will increase your likelihood of getting good renters.  read more »

You see a couple dressed in Hawaiian shirts sipping cocktails poolside. They smile and say “we made $70,000 on our first deal and haven’t picked up a finger since.” Another guy holds up an over sized check for $125,000 and gushes over his latest deal. Flipping properties and rehabbing and selling is always a hot-topic when it comes to Real-Estate investments. The late-night TV gurus have been selling people on this concept since the conception of Cable TV. As is true about every investment avenue people make money and people lose money.  read more »

For most first-time investors, and a number of experienced investors two great avenues for locating deals are often overlooked. The first is a great Realtor or real estate agent. As an investor you need to do your homework in finding the right person to work with. Your first rule is that you should work with more than one person. Most agents may not want to do this, but if they are skilled at finding properties that make financial sense to investors they shouldn’t be against it. Most Realtors and agents will want you to sign an agreement for exclusively working with them.  read more »

As a Realtor most people would think that I would say absolutely under no conditions should you ever sell your home on your own. Only use a Realtor. I do feel that a majority of situations warrant the use of a Realtor or licensed agent. However, there are certain situations that warrant “By Owner” sales to make sense.  read more »

PRESERVING THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME  read more »

The Cleaning Process

When the time comes for preparing your home focusing on a few key areas will pay big dividends. First off the cleaner your home is the more people it would appeal to. People that aren’t real big on keeping their own homes clean seem to notice everything in other people’s homes. Areas that need to become clean and be kept that way include the entryway, bathrooms, kitchen, and windows.  read more »

Home inspections have become increasingly popular in the United States. The American Society of Home Inspectors estimates that 77% of all homes in the U.S. are inspected prior to the sale. My question is what are the other 23% of home buyers thinking? In my experience as a Realtor and Investor only two of my clients have ever not had an inspection. I stressed the importance of an inspection to them, and now one of the two really regrets not heeding my advice.  read more »

When shopping for a home or investment property buyers often miss an important part to getting the most for their money. Often times they don’t realize the potential pitfalls of a Mortgage. I have worked with several Mortgage brokers and have been able to save my clients thousands of dollars when creating a mortgage. The best way to get a great deal on a mortgage is to have an understanding for the different ways that your lender or broker make money. Once you know how they make money you will be able to easily compare offers a pick your best deal.  read more »