biosman2's Blog

The first thing you need to do is ask yourself if you had plans to move before you heard about the house prices dropping in value. If you plan to stay in your home for years to come, then you shouldn't be as worried as someone who needs to sell their home. You have the advantage of time. You see, all markets are cyclical, meaning they all go up and down. The reason for this is they self-adjust. What we have been seeing is some of the markets where prices went up very fast and high are now coming down. This is where most of the foreclosures are happening. The areas were not able to sustain the growth that occurred. The market is balancing itself and house prices are coming back down to what the market can sustain. In general, real estate prices go up over time. That does not mean you will see an appreciation every year. But, if you look at the prices in the area over the last 10 to 20 years, prices will have increased over that time. If you do not have plans to sell your home, then you shouldn't be losing sleep about house prices in your area. Yes, it's a concern that prices have fallen. For you, it's not an immediate concern because you don't need to sell. If you owe more than your house is worth, your income has remained the same, and you are able to make your monthly mortgage payment, then you should not worry. Yes, it's annoying that people around you are looking for loan modifications because they can't afford their home. Many things in life are annoying. If you are someone whose income has not been impacted by the current economy, then you should continue to make your mortgage payment. Now, if you are someone who has a loss of income and can no longer make the mortgage payment, you have some decisions to make. The first is to look at all of your finances to determine if you should sell the house. If you decide to keep the house, you need to look at where you can save some money. Maybe you need to sell the new car, the flat screen TV, or shut off the cable. You are obligated to make your mortgage payment. People who have the income to support their mortgage payment should keep making their mortgage payment. Yes, even if the value of homes in your area have dropped recently. Think about it this way, if you bought stock in a company and the stock price then dropped, that company does not come back to you and bail you out. You shouldn't expect to be bailed out of your mortgage either. You are obligated to make your mortgage payment. If you are one of the many homeowners facing foreclosure, and you can't make up the back payments, and the bank won't work with you, then you know that you must sell the house. By selling the house, you avoid having a foreclosure in your credit history, you'll only have missed payments which will eventually come off your credit report. There are many investors who will buy your house when you are in foreclosure. Investors have creative ways of buying houses when others will tell you "no". Real estate agents may not help you because they don't see how they can get a commission. That's why you need to contact a real estate investor. Real estate investors have creative ways to buy the house so that you can move on with your life.

When it comes time for you to sell your home you have two options; you can hire a Realtor to do the selling for you or you can tackle the task of going ‘For Sale by Owner, or FSBO.' Of course if you sell the home yourself then you will avoid the commission that is charged by a Realtor and that can equate to a good bit of money. But is it worth it? Either way you decide to go the point is to sell the home, so how do you decide what is right for you? There are several factors that should be looked at before you decide whether or not you want to hire a Realtor or not. These factors include: •Your time: If you plan on selling your home yourself then you need to be sure that you will have enough time to do so. Selling your home without a Realtor requires you to be at the ready in order to answer any and all questions regarding the home and be available to show the home at a moment's notice. If your job and day allows you this freedom then you may want to consider a FSBO experience. •Your knowledge: Selling a home is more than just agreeing with someone on price. There is a whole multitude of paperwork that must be filled out and filed as well as title searches and many other nuances involved with selling a home. If your knowledge of all of this is very minimal then it may be in your best interest to hire a professional. There is no point in trying to do it yourself and save if you are going got lose the sale due to your ignorance on the subject. •How well you can qualify a buyer: This is a big one that many FSBO participants fail to realize. If you have a buyer that is not qualified but says that they are, your home could be tied up for several weeks before you realize what is going on. Realtors tend to pre-qualify buyers so that you know an offer on your home is a legitimate one and thus less time is wasted and the home is not tied up in a ‘pending' mode which will discourage others from looking. •The buyers: Believe it or not, there are many buyers out there that will only work with a Realtor. This is because they like the comfort of knowing that a professional is going to oversee the sale and handle all aspects of it in a timely and accurate fashion. Sometimes going with a Realtor will actually increase the number of hits you get on your home and that usually equates to more offers and more money in the end. When it comes right down to it whether or not you decide to hire a Realtor is a personal choice, but it is one that should be considered greatly. If you have limited knowledge of the real estate industry and limited time, then you are better off just biting the commission bullet and hiring a pro to help you get the job done right.

Your relationship with your Property Manager is key to the success of your Commercial Property Investments. This relationship starts with your Contract AND we have found a lot of Property Managers Contracts are heavily weighted in favor of the Property Manager. These dangerous contracts are often presented as if they are "standard" ... Not True. You get what you negotiate. The last thing you want is to be locked into a contract with a poorly performing Property Manager ... and no easy way out... OUCH. Contract Red Flags: ====================== The One Year Contract The typical version is a Contract with a one full year term and you cannot replace the Property Manager until the year is up. Never sign a contract with anything more than a 30 day dismissal period. Termination Fee Are you kidding. You fire your Property Manager and then you owe them money. Heck, if they performed poorly enough to get fired, they should owe you money. Lease Signing Bonus paid to the Property Management Company This is a big conflict of interest. They get paid to do a poor job of Tenant Retention. The higher the turnover, the more fees they make AND the less money you keep. Right to Represent the Property at the Sale Or First right of refusal to purchase the Property at the Sale These are an even bigger conflict of interest. If your Property Manager runs the project into the ground and you are forced to sell because the investment failed ... they get to purchase or represent the property when you sell. Please ... this is a recipe for disaster. Clauses that limit the Property Manager's Liability The Property Manager is at ground level, performing the day-to-day actions of management and maintenance of the Property. They are fully responsible. Your Contract needs to make sure they hold the liability ... NOT You. What to Always Put Into Your Property Manager Contract:  30 Day notice to terminate the Contract If you want to change Management Companies, you only need to give your current manager a 30 day notice. Specific Performance Clauses If you need to have the 10 fire damaged units in your Apartment Complex rehabbed and ready to rent in 90 days ... put that in your Contract with your Property Manager. If they fail to meet this specific performance goal this becomes grounds to get out of your Contract. Ideally you and your Property Manager jointly developed this Asset Management Plan, so getting them to agree to be held accountable should be relatively easy. NOTE: Even if you have one Property Management Company for your entire portfolio of Properties, make sure you have individual contracts for each property with Property specific performance clauses. Remember, negotiations occur in all phases of your Commercial Property Investment ... not just with the Seller. Make sure you negotiate a Property Management Contract that protects you and your Investors and makes it relatively easy to change Managers if they do not perform. Here's to your investing success.

Most likely, buying a piece of real estate is going to be one of your biggest investment in your life. You will certainly want to have a team of professionals working with you throughout the buying process. After all, you wouldn't want to cut your own hair or hire the cheapest doctor when you really need the best… Let's see who needs to be on the bus. The Real Estate Agent Your Realtor will play the most important role in helping you to find the right home. His job is to be the quarterback in the game. Some of the main parts of his responsibilities are: •Discover what's important to you. I.e.: price, location, size, upgrades, etc. •Help you to find the right home. •Draft up an offer that is favorable to you. •Negotiate on your behalf to get the best price and terms for you. •Provided you with important information about the community that may be imperative to your decision making. •Supervise the home inspection and to save you time where ever he can. Be sure to ask plenty of questions before settling for a Realtor to represent you. If you can, why not compare one Realtor to another? Find out their previous track records, how long they have been in the business and most importantly, how do their sales number compare to the average Realtor? Once again… I am sure that you wouldn't want to hire the average brain surgeon if you would need it, look for the best and minimize your risk. When you are buying real estate, typically it won't cost you anything to have a Realtor represent you. However, before signing any piece of document, find out or read the print to discover if there are any obligations on your behalf. The Bank or the Mortgage Broker One of your initials steps is to get a mortgage pre-qualification in place. This piece of document will assist you a couple of ways. Firstly, you will know how much you can afford exactly and you won't be wasting anyone's time, including yours if the bank won't approve you for the mortgage. Secondly, you can use it as a negotiation tool once you find the right property. Many home sellers are very skeptical of removing their properties from the market for a period of 1-2 weeks for you to complete your due diligence. If you have proof in your hand that you are very much so pre-qualified, than it helps to ease the edges during the negotiation process, and allows you to focus on things that might be more important to you. You should definitely shop around a bit to find the best lending institution as there are many of them. As an example, here is a few of them: banks, trust companies, credit unions, pension funds, insurance companies and finance companies. Be on the lookout for the terms and the options they will provide. Getting in touch with a mortgage broker may be a wise decision for you in order to save a lot of time. Mortgage broker don't work for a specific bank, rather they work for you and the best part is that the banks pay them. Their job is to find you the best lender with the terms and rates that will best suit the buyer. The Lawyer Many times there could be legal issues attached to the particular property that you are looking at buying. Your lawyer will make sure that before the purchase is completed that you are not going to have any building or statutory liens or charges or work or clean-up orders associated with it that you may inherit. Having a lawyer to compete the transaction sure gives you a piece of mind. The Home Inspector Home inspectors are doing this everyday for a living – identifying problems that may cost you a lot of money in the future. It's not even a question of you should do a home inspection on the property that you are going to purchase. Just like in any other profession, experience and reputation makes a huge difference when selecting the home inspector. The home inspector's job is to point out any defects of the property and inform you of its current condition. He will inspect the following areas: •Doors and windows •Foundation •Attics •Roof and exterior walls •Plumbing and electrical systems •Heating and air conditioning systems •Ceilings, walls and floors •Insulation •Ventilation •Septic tanks, wells or sewer lines •Overall opinion of structural integrity of the building The Insurance Broker Lenders will insist on having current property insurance in place prior to them advancing the mortgage funds. Your property will be their collateral for their investment or your mortgage. Property insurance will cover the replacement cost of your home, so premium may vary depending on its value. The Appraiser Quite often your lender will order an independent appraisal report to make sure that their mortgage is well protected. You may also order an appraisal's report in order to find out how much your property is worth and helps you to ensure that you are not paying too much.

You are now settled into your new home, you have unpacked all your belongings, and the mover in Seattle is gone. After a few days of rest from the strenuous physical efforts involved in a move, it is time to start thinking about adding worth to your new home. As it turns out, landscaping is an investment as well as a way to beautify your surroundings. Beautiful landscaping can add around five to fifteen percent in value to a home, and once the house is resold, the owners earn back 100% or even 200% of the investment. If you remodel the kitchen, you will get around a 75% return, but landscaping, which can be done little by little, as your budget allows, is a simple way to add worth to your home. The expenses due to landscaping are considered capital improvement, and can be added to your house's basis to decrease the taxable profit once you sell. Then, how should you do it? First, make a plan. Draw up your house and yard, including utility lines. Identify the areas with a lot of light and shade, and confirm that your yard is draining rainwater well. Mark the drainage and lighting patterns on your plan and define areas for sports, playing, recreation and parking. If possible, take the soil for testing. Make a list of the plants you already have in the yard and the plants you would like to incorporate. Ask a landscaping professional if these plants will work well and what soil treatments you require. Check the prices on the plants you want and go home to evaluate what you can afford now and what will come later. When purchasing the plants, check them well. Do not buy sick plants. Keep the roots damp and in the shade before planting them and keep the plants healthy. Follow the watering and fertilizing instructions, and prepare correctly the soil and beds, otherwise, you will lose your money. You must buy a tree; consider it an investment. Trees start increasing in value as soon as they are planted. A young tree of around $50, will be worth between $1000 and $10,000 once it is mature. Besides this attractive characteristic, trees reduce the house's temperature by as much as 9 F (40 F in attics), saving you more than $250 per year in air conditioning. Landscaping has lots of benefits for the environment too. One tree can remove, annually, 216 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere; this is equivalent to 11,000 miles of car emissions. One acre of trees removes, per year; 13 tons of damaging substances from the air, and one tree offers enough oxygen to supply one family of four per day. How about that? If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They'll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don't forget to mention www.psmoving.com as the original source).

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