Real Estate – Karen's Perspective

Real Estate is the Best Niche

I heard the greatest line from John Reese. John is a mega entrepreneur and regularly makes $1 million a day online. This is the type of person I seek out to learn from.

“Don’t look for niche markets – go where the money flows and get into the stream.”

Chances are, if you find a “niche,” there’s no money there or someone would already be doing it. Besides, why do you want to spend time creating a market and leading customers to it, when others have already taken the time to do that for you? Go where the success is.

Hence, my niche, real estate.

Everyone lives somewhere. Everyone works somewhere. Everyone shops somewhere. Our population increases every year and no more real estate is being made. Want to make a ton of money? Jump into the real estate stream.

08 / 04 / 2011
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There’s Never Been a Better Time to be in Real Estate!

So far this month of July, we have:

Picked up 17 more properties to manage
Got a short sale approved
Put 3 more properties under contract to purchase
Got a contract to sell one property that we partnered on with a student
Closed on a property we sold
Purchased 2 properties to flip
Finished one flip and got a sales contract 5 days later
Sold a property and ended up purchasing the house our buyer was selling
Hired an assistant for our property acquisition specialist
And, of course, maintained all the properties in our property management company

What’s happening in your business?

07 / 27 / 2011
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A Second Recession is About to Hit?

A “second leg” down in housing. Too much inventory. What do you think? And how will this affect your decision to buy or sell?

07 / 21 / 2011
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Interest Rate Discussion

When qualifying for a mortgage, of primary concern is your interest rate. The lower your interest rate, the lower your monthly payment and, ultimately, the lower the total cost of your home over time.

For example:
On a $100,000 30 year mortgage, with a 5% interest rate, you will pay $536.82 per month.
On the same loan with a 6% interest rate, you will pay $599.55 per month.

On a $100,000 30 year mortgage, with a 5% interest rate, you will pay a total of $93,255 in interest.
On the same loan with a 6% interest rate, you will pay a total of $115,838 in interest.

07 / 08 / 2011
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Determining Property Values

There are 2 main methods for determining property value:

1. Comparable sales – This is the most commonly used method to determine property value. Comparable sales (comps) include characteristics as similar to the one you’re pricing as you can find. These include: lot size, square footage, home style, age, location. Heads up; an older 3 bedroom brick one story may not be comparable with a new 3 bedroom 2 story, even if they are on the same street.

When possible, use only houses that have sold within the past 6 months. The more recent the sale date the better. Use houses in the same, similar, or nearby neighborhoods. Stay as close as possible to the house you’re comping. The more similar the houses you’re comparing, the better. Try to use houses built within 5 years and within about 300 square feet of the size of the house you chose. It’s also best to use similar ages, style and lot sizes.

07 / 07 / 2011
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What is an REO and Where can You Find Them?

If a foreclosed property does not sell at public auction, the lender, usually a bank, takes title and it becomes Real Estate Owned (REO) by the lender. Since the lender does not want a non-performing asset on its books, it will clear the title (get rid of liens against it), maybe do some cosmetic repairs to the property, and put it back on the market at a discount to get it sold.

The reason you hear about so many REO’s right now is that most of the properties up for sale at foreclosure auction are worth less than the total amount owed to the bank. Typically, the minimum opening bid at these auctions equals the outstanding loan amount, plus the accrued interest plus any fees associated with the foreclosure sale. These properties aren’t selling at the foreclosure auctions because the opening bid is just too high. The lenders get these properties back then sell them at a discount to move them quickly.

REO’s are often listed with Realtors and you can find them on the MLS. You can also find out about them at the courthouse, often before they’re listed with a Realtor, so you’re able to negotiate directly with the bank.

There are many ways to find REO’s. Here are some resources for you:

06 / 22 / 2011
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Looking for Motivated Real Estate Agent(s)

Welcome

Hey! We’re looking for one or two more highly motivated Real Estate Agent(s) for our All Property Solutions brokerage.

We have 1 year as a full-service brokerage firm and 13 years as a successful real estate investment company.

Our ever growing property management division today manages 100 properties!

And, 0ur newest focus is growing the full service brokerage division.

Interested? To find out more about us and what we have to offer, contact jim@allpropertysolutions.com for an interview.

You may also fax in your resume to 336-834-8863.

We look forward to hearing from you!

05 / 01 / 2011
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Open House – it’s time!

Open door

Happy Spring! And, if you’re planning to sell a property, it’s time to get ready for Open House.

The nice weather will bring people out and you want to have your home’s best face ready! Even if you’re not putting it on the market for another month, now is the time to be getting it ready. Here are some things you need to do:

1) Clean up the clutter! Clean out cabinets and closets. Throw out what you can; give away what can be passed on; box up what you want to keep that you won’t be using often. This gives your home a more open and airy feeling for buyers who will be coming through. It also gets you closer to being ready to move! Read: Cleaning Out!

2) Clean up the yard. Get rid of all winter debris – anything dead or dying. Rake the yard well and throw out new seed. Freshen up flower beds with bark or straw and plant flowering plants when the weather allows. Cut back overgrowth.

3) Exterior touch up. Make sure the front door looks fresh.