Posts Tagged ‘real estate investing’

Government Tax Sale Properties Can Make You Serious Money

Mar 1, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Things happen, especially in a rough economy. People lose their jobs and can’t make ends meet. Unfortunately, sometimes people will lose their homes. If the homeowner can’t pay the taxes, sometimes the government will put a lien on the property. Eventually the government may foreclose on the house in order to have the taxes paid. Government Tax Sales Properties are becoming more and more common.

It’s not just houses that are foreclosed on. Sometimes a business can’t pay the taxes on the building that they own, and the business property can also be foreclosed on. Government Tax Sales Properties are becoming more commonplace for businesses as well.

So what happens to the property after the foreclosure? The government can auction it off to try to recoup some of the money that has been lost. Auctions for Government Tax Sales Properties are becoming very popular, individuals or organizations can buy the property for just a fraction of what it is worth. All property is sold as is, and it is up to the new owner to fix any problems that may be encountered, including structural damage of any type.

Many people think that foreclosed property is a great investment. Since the property is sold at auction you can go into it with a set price in your mind. If you’re lucky, you might pay less than what you had originally planned. Or you might not be able to get the property that you had hoped to acquire. There are no guarantees. You need to remember that when going in.

Sometimes the Government Tax Sales Properties that you might buy are in great condition. With the economy being so tough, some people have had to let their vacation home go. There’s a very good chance that these properties are going to be well taken care of and need very little work. Other properties might need extensive work. Sometimes people will go a little bit crazy when they realize that they are about to lose their home, and will purposely do as much damage to the property as possible. This doesn’t concern the government at all, the property was sold to you as is, and it is up to you to fix it however you chose.

It’s not just real estate that sold at government auctions. You may also find automobiles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles, anything that someone was supposed to pay taxes on but didn’t. The auction might be worth checking out. This is a great idea to pursue.

If you want to find out more about Government Tax Sale Properties, then visit No Risk Investor and see how to choose from among the best Government Tax Sale Properties.

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Tax Lien Foreclosure Properties: An Investment For All

Mar 1, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Most professionals agree that in the current economy the real estate market has been turned on its heels. The sale of new homes has been stagnant, property values have been falling like a stone, and the amount of foreclosures is on the rise as never before. Correspondingly there are a lot of homeowners that are delinquent on their property tax bills, meaning that there are now a lot of investors who are out there looking for Tax Lien Foreclosure properties and other real estate ventures.

Have you heard that about half of the states in the US are tax deed states? This means that if the past due taxes are paid by an outside investor during a tax sale then the property is owned by whomever purchased the back taxes. Unfortunately for outside investors, very few homeowners in tax deed states allow their taxes to go delinquent to the point that a foreclosure sale is necessary. BUt you can’t be too careful.

In most cases, Tax Lien Foreclosure properties are rarely more than just vacant lots or homes that are in such poor condition that they have little to no resale value, because very few homeowners let their property taxes lapse on anything of considerable value in states with tax deed laws.

Concerning the investor who is interested in tax lien certificates, they do not get possession of the property for buying the taxes but rather get entitled to the penalties and interest on the lien. This can be a solid investment and may even result in a tax lien foreclosure sale. Which is the desired goal.

Many of the services that advertise listings of Tax Lien Foreclosure properties also advertise them as a way to instant wealth. While they may be a solid investment, an investor should have realistic expectations of the return on investment. Research is an important factor when trying to choose a service to assist you with your investment.

If you are using the internet to locate a list of Tax Lien Foreclosure properties, you will probably want to begin your search in county records before using some other service. Public records are usually a lot less expensive than those from a private database. If you are a new to this type of investment, it’s most likely a better choice for you to research one of the various services available online.

Learn more about Tax Lien Foreclosure Properties. Stop by No Risk Investor where you can find out all about Government Tax Sale Properties and how you can profit by them.

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Buying Government Tax Sale Properties

Feb 28, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Since as far back as anyone can remember real estate has been considered a good investment, but with a shaky economy some people wonder if it still is. Paying full price for property doesn’t make sense, but there is still a very simple solution to buying real estate and making money off of it. Consider Government Tax Sales Properties for your real estate purchases.

Many Government Tax Sales Properties are being sold because of foreclosure. While it’s sad that someone lost their home, someone else is going to buy it, it might as well be you. Foreclosed properties can sometimes be bought for just pennies on the dollar of what they are actually worth.

So, if you’re interested in purchasing a foreclosed property but don’t know where to start, search for a company that can put you in the right direction. Don’t fall for the gimmicks of a late night infomercial, find a company yourself and check them out thoroughly. The Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General’s Office of the state that the property is in will be able to tell you if there are any complaints filed against a company. If there is any doubt in your mind, find someone else to help you out. Remember that if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. This is wise.

Once you’ve purchased your Government Tax Sales Properties, you need to figure out what you want to do with them. Foreclosed properties come in all different conditions. Expect your new property to need some fixing up. Some people will live in a house and fix it themselves, others will sell the house as is, making less on the sale but not having to sink a lot of money into it. Still other people will hire professionals to come in and update the house. The choice is definitely up to you.

After you’ve decided how you want to fix the property, if you’re planning on making money you need to decide what to do next. Some people will decide to live in the house themselves, others will rent several Government Tax Sales Properties out to others, and other people will sell the property. The choice is yours, but remember that selling in a tough economy can be difficult. Price the other houses for sale in the area and be willing to price yours lower. If you got a good deal you’ll still be making a profit.

You can decide later on if you want to purchase another foreclosed property. Many people make excellent money on them, you could be the next real estate millionaire. This is possible.

Learn more about Government Tax Sale Properties. Stop by No Risk Investor where you can find out all about Government Tax Sale Properties and how you can profit by them.

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Tax Lien Certificates: The Answer To Your Investing Questions

Feb 17, 2010 Real Estate Investment

From time to time, something happens and someone fails to pay their taxes. In many cases this is a simple oversight and they make arrangements with the government to pay their taxes and everything goes on as normal. However, in those situations where the individuals do not make good on the taxes that they owe, the government can (and usually will) place a lien on property owned by the person in question.

Generally the lien is placed on their home; however, any property owned by the person can have a lien on it. The government can hold onto the lien for as long as they want, or they can sell the tax lien certificate to an investor and allow them to do what they want with it.

Decisions can then be made about the property thanks to the tax lien certificate. In most cases, an investor will charge the person who owns the property with the lien on it a monthly fee until the price of the lien, plus interest is paid off. However, if they believe that the person is not going to pay what they owe, they are able to sell the property to get the money that is now owed to them.

The person who owes the taxes could find themselves in a bad situation. That is because no matter how little they owe, their house can have a lien on it and if the government so chooses they can sell the lien to an investor. For example, if you owe the government five thousand dollars and your mortgage is for three hundred thousand dollars you could lose it all if the smaller amount is not paid.

Though this is bad for the owner, its a blessing for the investor. While most investors will hold on to tax lien certificates and use them for long term investments, some do choose to demand payment if full and end up getting a home for the price of the taxes owed. Typically, however, this doesn’t happen. Most homeowners are relieved to have an opportunity to arrange payments and this makes for an excellent investment, even though sometimes it is rather long.

The next time you are searching for investment opportunities, then perhaps tax lien certificates are for you. Sometimes you can purchase a tax lien of a thousand dollars and end up with a growing dollar amount that was unheard of before.

If you want to find out more about tax lien certificates, then visit No Risk Investor and see how to choose from among the best tax lien foreclosure properties.

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Video Marketing - The Best Way I Know To Reap Amazing Profits With Web 2.0

Feb 3, 2010 Real Estate Investment

The success of the World Wide Web has attracted one and all. Real estate professionals, being a group among the lot have also tried to utilize the internet for marketing and promoting their business. This type of business is basically video based thus video marketing is something that is more useful and advantageous for it. Video marketing enables one to portray all the property listings in the form virtual tours on the net. The video content must have the capability to draw the attention of potential real estate buyers. But to make the best use of video marketing you have to effectively use video editing. Camtasia and Sony Vegas are two best resources of video editing.

Camtasia is highly appreciated as a video editing resource. Camtasia produces HD-quality video content for the internet and for devices that are mobile. Tweaks or interruptions are prevented on using Camtasia. It makes very good videos with file sizes that are compact in nature. With a single click, Camtasia has the potential to document all the activities on your desktop. This makes the compilation and saving of all your files very efficient.

Camtasia will facilitate you to convert your real estate videos onto pages on the web and work very well as a video editing tool. All your targeted traffic can be directed to your camtasia video production. The rates of conversion become substantially high as web surfers usually respond better to videos. The users can both watch and hear all that you are saying and showing and hence they feel they have a strong connection and relation.

Using Camtasia as a video editing device, you can get to do a lot of things. Producing multimedia presentations is one among them. This step incorporates all senses since using all of them lead to a hike in sales and your profit. Many cynical customers can also be easily influenced with this presentation. But your main motive should always be to create and submit a video that clearly shows how your product can be beneficial to the buyer.

Sony Vegas is another common and reputed name for a video editing tool. It is well known for being a good program and is said to have more capability and usefulness than other freebies. Since it has updated features and numerous benefits, many real estate agents have been using this software to generate the best of their videos.

The collection of Vegas Pro 9, the latest offer of Sony Vegas incorporates two potential applications that function effortlessly together for providing an intuitive and efficient environment for broadcast and video professionals of various streams and fields. This method of video editing is speedily gaining priority over many others available in the market.

Sony Vegas as a comprehensive suite provides the most progressive and robust platform that is available for content formation and production. With superior effects processing, complementary editorial tools, wide format support, incomparable audio support, the Pro collection of Vegas improves and augments your work flow. From acquisition to the delivery, from the basic camera to the Blu-ray Disc?, this collection provides all that you require from a good video editing software.

Therefore with the above-mentioned software for video editing, you can achieve outstanding results for your online real estate social marketing. With these software you can take your video marketing to greater heights in terms of success. Video editing is essential for good promotion of real estate listings. You can consider some other software as well if they match your requirements and budget.

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The Biggest Wholesale Real Estate Marketing Mistakes Most Investors Make

Jan 31, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Let’s be clear about something. Marketing is the most important aspect of any business. You will not make money without great marketing campaigns that generate highly qualified leads. But a lot of people have no clue how to market their business the proper way. There are a few mistakes that I notice are being made over and over again so here are the three you cannot afford to make when marketing your wholesale real estate business:

Mistake #1: Wanting to do everything themselves - Let’s face it. Your time is valuable. Even more than profits! If you are spending your time by putting up bandit signs or knocking on doors you are not properly leveraging your time. For tedious jobs like this it is best to outsource the work so you can focus on what is important to your business. Too many newbie investors want to do everything themselves. This is noble, but it’s foolish. Why not pay someone part time $6 or $8 per hour to do the grunt work and you can turn your attention to the actions that make you real money. Work smarter, not harder.

Mistake #2: Allowing failure to discourage - Many new investors just throw in the towel when something doesn’t go right. Smart investors look at what went wrong and take immediate steps to correct it. Then they try again and test the results. Success, just like marketing, is a constant tweaking of your results. Did you mail to an unresponsive list? Should have you mailed a letter rather than did a classified ad? Look at the possible reasons for your lack of results, make the changes and give it another shot. Then track your results. Always live by the rule that you can never fail if you learn something valuable that you can use next time.

Mistake #3: Being afraid to take risks - This one is HUGE. The bottom line is that marketing and real estate in general is a calculated risk. Sometimes you win and win big. Other times not. But staying educated and making smart decisions minimizes the risk and should bring your more successes than failures. Be confident in yourself, take calculated risks and be ready to keep your chin up if it doesn’t work out the way you planned. Remember… batting .300 gets you in the Hall of Fame.

These three mistakes are important to avoid in your wholesale real estate business. It’s not rocket science but something few people ever really understand fully.

If this sounds like the system for you, please visit Michael Kimble’s daily blog at Wholesale Real Estate blog to get started! Michael is currently giving away his 4 best marketing systems that bring in Wholesale Real Estate deals.

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How Can I Start Flipping Real Estate?

Jan 31, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Flipping real estate–or just ‘flipping’–is a process many people have found to be quite lucrative. Simply speaking, it is when someone takes a house or property at a low price and either waits for the market to get better before they resell it or they fix it up and resell it. Flipping can be extremely risky and much like the stock market. It is also a great deal of work which some people find that they love.

If you love home repair, interior architecture and design, and following the real estate market, then flipping might be the perfect job for you. And it IS a full-time job. The problem with many people who want to get into flipping is that it requires are large start-up cost. You must actually purchase the property in order to resell it!

You have to know when the market is going to be high or low. If you do not know this, then flipping is pointless. You want to buy the property when you can get it at its cheapest, and sell it when people will buy it at its highest. You have to follow the market closely to predict trends. You also will have to know when a house can be fixed for a good profit and when it cannot.

Above all, you must have enough money in your back pocket in case your project does not sell. Remember that you will have to pay for taxes and upkeep on the property until someone else takes it off your hands. In the current market people can sit on houses for years before they are sold. This is not a job to be taken lightly and many people have lost a great deal of money.

It can be a job of happy thrills and challenged, though. Some people have gotten quite rich from it. If you like painting and installing pieces of a house, if you like all the little projects with the lights and wiring and heat, then this could really be your calling. It requires more than just a passion, though. You need to understand everything about a house from the foundation up. You need to know how it was built as well as how it will sell. The smallest details could be major deal-breakers for some buyers.

There are other types of flipping, too. These mainly concern the ‘not for profit’ flippers who will fix up occupied and/or abandoned houses in a town. Charitable groups can do it and towns or cities may also use some of their money for this purpose. By doing so they make the area less likely to have crime and raise the property value.

This is good because people’s houses and quality of life can drastically improve. The houses will also have fewer problems in the future if they are all taken care of at once. It can really remedy houses that were built incorrectly. The only problem with raising the property value of an area is that the people who live there may no longer be able to fully afford it.

Are you targeting profitable pre-foreclosure deals for investing business? You can get all these crucial answers by going here Flipping Real Estate.

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Tips to Success in Real Estate Investing

Jan 30, 2010 Real Estate Investment

Flipping Houses is the best way to build fast cash in real estate investing. An estimated 90% of the world’s millionaires made their money through real estate investing. But how can an ordinary individual flip houses and make a substantial amount of money in real estate investing? What are the main things you need to understand before going to invest in a house? And why is it important to educate yourself before real estate investing? In this article I will go over several ways that will assist you in your real estate investing venture.

Step 1: Find Your Buyer

In order to profit in real estate investing, it makes sense to find buyers first. You can do this by calling we buy houses signs, building a buyer’s list, attending auctions, working with real estate agents and using the Multiple Listing Service as well as other simple strategies and tactics. The best strategy to use if you ask me would be to target buyers that have a history of purchasing properties for cash.

Tip number 2: Gather Necessary Information

After you find the buyers the next thing you need to do is find out what your buyers want. You can do this by asking them what areas of town they are investing in. How much they are looking to spend on their ideal property? What type of property they are currently buying? And how fast they can settle? Getting these questions answered will give you an idea of what to approach your buyers with.

Action Step 3: Dealing with Motivated Sellers

In order to make money in flipping houses you have to understand that working with motivated sellers is the way to go. What is a motivated seller? A motivated seller can be anyone who is financially distressed, or physically. An example of a motivated seller is someone who is getting a divorce, going into foreclosure, paying 2 mortgages, need to rehab their property but don’t have the cash, going bankrupt, and so on. Therefore, in order to get a great deal when flipping houses you have to find someone that falls within this category. You can find these sellers using various forms of advertising.

Action Step 4: Screen the Motivated Seller

When your advertising is working and the motivated sellers are calling, in order to really get a good house flip you want to get as much information from the seller as possible. You can do this by asking the seller for information on their house. You want to find out what type of condition the house is in as well as the asking price of the property, but the most important question you need to know is why the seller is determined to get rid of their property.

Tip number 5: Get Comparable Sales

Once you receive the information from the seller, the next thing you need to do is run comps to see if the deal will be a good investment property. You can do this by going to sites like Realquest.com, Zillow.com, Bank of America has a home value estimator and you can find it by going to Google.com and punching in Bank of America Home Value Estimator. You can also use sites like Eppraisal.com, or consult with a Realtor. There are many ways to run comps when you’re looking to find out what a house is truly worth.

Tip number 6: Working the Numbers

After you get the comps for the house the next thing you need to do in order to invest in real estate is work the numbers. You can do this buy understanding the MAO formula. The MAO formula is as follows: You take the ARV (After repair value) and you multiply it by 65% and that leaves you with the amount that you’re willing to pay for the house. Then you subtract the rehab cost, closing cost and overhead and that leaves you with the MAO or (Maximum Allowable Offer) that you can make on the house.

Action Step 7: Getting your Offer In

Once you have the Maximum Allowable Offer the next thing you do is make the offer. Your offer should be less than what your MAO is. The best thing to do in this case is to subtract and additional 10% off of the MAO and start you’re bidding with the motivated seller from there. Negotiating is critical when it comes to real estate investing so make sure that you’re sincere and very clear with the seller from the very beginning.

Tip number 8: Make Money

Once you get all of this done, you need to approach your investors list that fit the criteria of the particular property. Doing this will allow you to sell the property rapidly, being that you have pre-screen the buyers and you know that they can close fast! Once you have solid buyer then all you need to do is send the contracts over to the title company and wait for your check to come in the mail. The best strategy to use in real estate investing would be to sell the property for less than the market value without rehabbing it. This is called wholesaling the property.

Copyright 2010 Jamel Gibbs

All Rights Reserved

Want to find out more about Real Estate Investing, then you can get more real estate investing education here.

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Methods TO Find Great Deals In Real Estate

Jan 22, 2010 Real Estate Investment

With all this talk about how bad the real estate market is many people have been scared off. But you can actually get a lot of opportunities, especially for savvy investors, to make money in the current market. Many homes are way below the prices they were bought for just a few years ago. The first step is in knowing where to find these great deals. So in this article we are going to learn how best to find quality deals.

The first place which you should connect with is with a real estate agent. A real estate agent has access to a lot of information you won’t be privy to. This is the information which you should use to your full advantage. This is the information by which no one knows about but are really good deals. By having a partnership with a real estate agent you can at times be one of the select few to hear about a great deal.

The next place you can go to are real estate investing clubs. There will be lots of real estate investors in this type of club where you can solidify your contacts. By networking with many different people you can sometimes stumble upon some great deals. By being together with a network of investors you will surely get into some great deals.

The next place you can try searching for is through classified ads or online classified ads. In these classified you will sometimes stumble upon people who are more than willing to sell. These people will be able to provide you with some quality deals.

The next place you want to search for is in your local banks. This is due to the fact that a lot of homes are being foreclosed. These homes the banks are taking back that they are then selling for real cheap. By forming a good contact at a bank you can sometimes get access to great deals.

So there you have some great places to locate quality deals in today’s real estate market. By trying to unearth deals in those areas will give you a great chance of success in locating great deals.

Great deals can be found with us at our Dallas Investment Property company. Plus the foreclosure market is ripe with deals using our Dallas foreclosures.

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What Is A Reverse Mortgage?? Do I Want One?

Jan 17, 2010 Real Estate Investment

If you have already heard the term reverse mortgage, it still sounds a little odd. If this is the first time you are hearing the term, it will probably sound like some kind of shady deal. Reverse mortgages are becoming more popular these days, but are they scams or are they legitimate?Is it really possible to sell your house back to the bank and still retain the deed to it? Will the bank really pay YOU the mortgage payments? Let’s review what a reverse mortgage is so these questions can be answered.

The name is somewhat misleading. A reverse mortgage is a loan that is structured like a mortgage, with YOU as the lender and the BANK as the buyer. In the U.S., homeowners wanting to initiate a reverse mortgage must be at least 62 years old, and own all or most of their home. These backwards mortgages are usually performed through a bank or broker. The homeowner essentially sells his or her house to the bank, in return for receiving periodic mortgage payments. Sometimes the payments can be structured as a lump sum, line of credit, or a combination of the three methods.

So what are the benefits to a reverse mortgage? It provides a constant and dependable stream of retirement income. Most retirement plans such as 401(K) or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) generally increase in value, but are still tied to stock market. The amount of money they provide during retirement can vary. A reverse mortgage can supplement a senior citizen’s income. The amount depends on the homeowner’s age, equity of the house, interest rate on the loan, closing fees, and a few other factors.

One very common misconception about the reverse mortgage is that the bank eventually takes ownership of your house. This is not true! The deed remains in your name throughout the entire term of the process. Note that there is interest on the loan payments, but it is deferred until the loan is repaid.

The homeowner can remain living in the house during the entire term of the reverse mortgage. The loan becomes due when the homeowner moves out, or becomes deceased. At those times, the survivors/heirs can repay the loan themselves if they want to keep the house. (Repayment can also take place by selling the home to repay the loan plus the interest in full. The money paid to the homeowner as mortgage payments must be repaid to the lender when the loan becomes due.)

These mortgages can provide much needed financial support during retirement. It is a time when medical costs are likely to increase, as well as unexpected costs can creep up. Use a reverse mortgage to help yourself to gain the financial security in retirement that you worked so hard to achieve.

Doc Schmyz has invested all over the US. He built a free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find real estate information by state

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