Don’t Sell Your Home Without It

Real Estate

For most people, the prospect of selling their home can be positively daunting. First of all, there are usually plenty of things to do just to get it ready for the market. Besides the traditional clean-up, paint-up, fix-up chores that invariably wind up costing more than you planned, there are always the overriding concerns about how much the market will bear and how much you will eventually wind up selling it for.

Will you get your asking price, or will you have to drop your price to make the deal? After all, your home is a major investment, no doubt a rather large one, so when it comes to selling it you want to get your highest possible return. Yet in spite of everyone’s desire to get the top dollar for their property, most people are extremely unsure as to how to go about getting it. However, some savvy sellers have long known a little financial technique that has helped them to get top dollar for their property. In fact, on some rare occasions, they have even sold their properties for more than they were worth using this powerful financing tool. Although that might be the exception rather than the rule, you can certainly use this technique to get the most money possible when selling your property.

Seller carry-back, or take-back financing, has proven to be a surefire technique for closing deals. Even though most people do not think about when it comes to selling a property, they really should consider using it. According to the Federal Reserve, there are currently over 100 Billion dollars of seller carry-back (seller take-back) loans in existence. By any standard, that is a lot of money. But most importantly, it is also a very clear indication that more people are starting to use seller take-back loan techniques because it offers many financial benefits to both sellers and buyers. Basically, seller take-back financing is a relatively simple concept. A seller-take back loan is created when a property is sold and the seller performs like a lender by assisting in financing all or part of the total transaction. In effect, the seller is actually lending the buyer a certain amount of money toward the purchase price, while a traditional mortgage company usually funds the balance of the purchase price. A seller take-back loan is secured with the property. The loan then becomes the primary mortgage and is fully secured by the property. In most seller take-back financing transactions, the buyer repays the seller with interest in accordance to mutually agreed terms over a period of time. Usually, the terms call for the buyer to send the payments, consisting of principal and interest, on a monthly basis. This is advantageous because it creates a steady monthly cash flow for the note holder. And if the note holder decides to cash out, he or she can always sell the note for a lump sum cash payment.

Regardless of market conditions, seller take-back financing in Orange County makes sound financial sense; whereas, it provides both buyer and seller with flexible financing options, makes the property easier to sell at higher price and shortens the sales cycle. It also has the added advantage of being an excellent investment that generates a steady cash flow and high return. If you ever need immediate cash, you can always sell the note through our office. If you are planning to sell a property, then consider the many benefits of seller take-back financing.

Annual Rental Versus Short-term Rental

Real Estate

In running a property business, you will need to decide whether to lease the property on an annual basis or go for a short term rental (STR). There are many variables at play, and there are pros and cons to consider.
If youre still weighing your options, here are some of the benefits and drawbacks to annual rental vs short term rental

Annual Rental

Advantages
Income is more stable The landlord enjoys greater stability. He knows that the tenant cannot terminate the lease for the next 12 months. Since the lease term is long, income is more consistent than STR.

No re-rent after a month Given the length of the lease, you will interact with only one tenant during the year. Yearly tenant turnovers mean that you have more time to spend for other real estate investment prospects.

Usually comes with a penalty called Liquidated Damages If the rentee needs to terminate the lease early, they will have to pay you the equivalent amount of 2 months of rent.

Screen prospective tenants There will be times when a rentee will talk to you about renting your property at a future time when the current lease has expired. This can give you enough time to screen prospective rentees. You can conduct interviews with them, and check their credit status and their employment status.

Disadvantages
Cant get rid of current occupants If you have issues with your current tenants, you cannot remove them while the lease is still in effect.

Raising rent is unlawful You will receive the same payment every month as stated by law.

Less control over the property You cannot check the property often. Tenants do not welcome frequent checks by the landlord, and they value their space and their privacy.

Property is rented only once per year If you are allowed to rent your property only once per year and the tenants need to vacate the house, the property will remain vacant until the lease terminates.
Short-Term Rental

Advantages
Earnings potential Guests look for a comfortable home with many more amenities compared to a hotel. They will compare prices and if there is not much difference, they will opt to stay at a house which is bigger than a hotel room.

Less wear and tear Usually, guests will stay for a few days or weeks, because they are there in your property just to spend a short time on a vacation away from home.

Tax benefits You can deduct related expenses if you rent the property at a minimum of 14 days during the year.

Disadvantages
Gaps in income You cant be sure that there is always someone to get your property. It can be vacant in some months.

More time for management There will be lots of check-ins and check-outs throughout, so that will consume a lot of your time. You will clean the place frequently, correspond with incoming occupants often, and arrange details for a different set of requirements every time there is a new tenant.

5 Tips for Property Valuation That Will Make Things Simpler for You

Real Estate

Property valuation refers to the process where a professional determines the value of a property. Most of the time, a real estate agent visits the property and takes an assessment of it based on a number of factors. These factors are often the lot size, the house size, the neighborhood, etc.

Usually you won’t have a choice on who evaluates your property. However, you can always do something about how your property will be valued. This means that you can always do something to increase the value of your home which lessens the negotiating part when it comes to your property’s market value.

1. Do the necessary repairs.

You will get a higher value if everything in your property is functioning well. If they aren’t, then you should repair them before a real estate agent visits you. Don’t postpone repairs because the damage to your home might get worse and this will decrease the property’s overall value. Also, you should avoid telling your real estate agent that you will be doing repairs after the valuation. This is because the valuation happens when the real estate agent arrives and not after you are done with the repairs.

2. Make your property presentable.

If you really want a higher valuation for your property, you don’t simply make it look livable. You have to make it look beautiful that the real estate agent will be impressed. Present the property as if you are presenting it to a possible buyer. This means that you have to take note of both the interiors and the exteriors of your home.

3. Prepare all your papers.

It would be helpful for the agent and for you if you have all the papers ready. This will also help determine the market value of your home. While you’re at it, it would be great to have a copy of the most recent council rates and land valuations. This will help give the real estate an idea of the current prices for the area and other values that will help determine the overall value of your property.

4. Be honest.

Agents are fully aware of how a property valuation works. This means they know the tricks of the trade and they can smell it if you are trying to hide something. It will be a lot better if you just be honest with the current state of the property so that you avoid conflicts along the way. Fully explain to them the parts of your home and what you know the value is.

5. Don’t be too eager to ask for the price.

When you’ve shown the property to the real estate agent, don’t be too eager to ask them what the value of the property is. Don’t wait for them to be at the door to ask.

Knowing the value of a property takes time because it’s not just the physical property that is being assessed. Be patient, and give the agent enough time to come up with a value. And when the agent has given the value, you can ask for the rationale behind it.

Home Buyer Agents

Real Estate

Agents help home buyers find homes. Home Buyer Agents will help you to find property in a given locality that you like. They additionally ensure the buyer receives the best deal possible to make you cheerful, so you use them again and refer them to your companions. Keep in mind, agents just get paid from the seller if they find you that perfect home. That is their motivating force. Some buyer agents are elite buying agents because their mastery is finding homes and negotiating down sale prices. The listing agent then again serves the seller.
By and large, you call a homebuyer agent when you need to buy a home. This is because they are experts who simplify the convoluted process of home buying. They do all the legwork, stay up with the latest with the most recent listings, and help you find that perfect home.

Unfortunately, some individuals don’t know how to identify the best homebuyer agent. Usually, once they find a home from homebuyer listings they look for the main agent they see without any inquiries. It is shocking how most home buyers get in touch with agents who they barely know. Many times a Realtor has specialties, similar to home foreclosures, or buyers agents, or seller’s agents, or agents that exclusively work with seniors or in certain geographical areas. This article will help guide you in finding the correct type of homebuyer agent.
When you are property investing, it is important to know how to interface with homebuyer agents.

Here are some tips you may use when you are out there squeezing the flesh:
It is a major mistake to stroll into a homebuyer agent’s office and say, you are looking for a deal. When you are investing in property, the moment a homebuyer agent hears that you want a deal; they size up and conclude this person is not serious.

Remember, to a homebuyer agent there is no such thing as a deal. However, it is possible to buy at a wholesale price. If you are going to form an association with an agent, they have to know you are serious because these agents get many buyers every month or every 6 months, depending how bustling they are, coming into their office.
Homebuyer agents have dependably been a vital part of the property offering process. In any case, that’s all changing thanks to the Internet. More individuals than any other time in recent memory are swinging to the Internet to search for and offer up property for sale. What’s more, that trend is making many question the need to use homebuyer agents.

They represent the seller during arrangements. In many states the seller and the listing agent sign a listing contract that diagrams the responsibilities of the agent to the home seller. This contract is referred to as a Listing Agreement. What this usually means is that all the homebuyer agents represent the seller unless you sign an agency agreement with the buyer that states that they are working for you.

Many individuals don’t have a clue about this and will use any Realtor without signing the agreement of the buyer. This means a buyer agent is truly a listing agent working for the seller. Be careful and make sure you understand that! Since they are working for the interests of the seller, they are likely to go for the highest possible prices. Furthermore, they will get more compensation if they are paid commission, so they have every motivating force to keep the price high.

Note that agents have one commodity to offer, their time. I discovered this early while property investing. If a homebuyer agent has just 8 or 9 hours in the day, they want to get the best return on their time. It is the decision of the buyer to make it easy for the agent to make their money.

Of course, an agent will say they work for the seller, but the agents have spouses and children to support. While the agent may say they are working for the seller, quite regularly they are working for themselves, and you have to fit the agent’s desire to make a sale and use it to your advantage.

During the home buying process, there are standard forms that are involved, and as a home buyer you may not understand them. With the help of a homebuyer agent, you will have the capacity to go over those forms and understand them completely before you sign anything. If you start working with an agent that does not understand those types, make sure to relinquish him or her and look another one. You would prefer not to make any mistakes that may wind up costing you a great deal of money later on.

Working with a homebuyer agent will likewise be crucial if you are a home buyer because the agents know nearly every home in the market that is part of multiple listings. This means that an agent can show you any home whether it has been listed by its office or not. If you were to handle the home buying process all alone, you would likely find yourself confronted with different listing agents and this may be quite befuddling. So it will be vastly improved off if you have just a single trustworthy agent to work with.

Homebuyer agents should put the interests of the clients first before theirs. Therefore, with the help of an agent, you will stand a better shot of getting the property for the best price possible. Their commission is usually based on the final sales of the property. Therefore, they will work to ensure that they make the best deal for you with the goal that you don’t involve different agents in the process, something that will influence the commission that they are going to get. When you involve different agents in the buying process for feeling that the one you started out with is not being productive in helping you get the best deal, the commission will be shared among them.

So, Why Should You Work With A Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate Agent?

Real Estate

There is so much information that is available online which is why you may wonder if there is really a need for you to hire a Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate agent. However, even though this information is readily available, it is still important for you to take note of the fact that you may not really be able to sell or buy a home online if you do not have the right kind of representation. Even though there are some people who may do this and succeed, most of them dont. Below are some of the reasons as to why you should choose to work with a Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate agent as soon as possible.

* They have experience and education
You do not really have to take the time to know about real estate business if you hire a Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate agent. The trick is here is to make sure that you are able to find the right person which is why hiring an agent from Dr. Philips is a good idea. You should be sure that they are going to make use of all their experience and education to ensure that you are able to get the best possible deals. They will also work to ensure that you are going to be able to get exactly what it is that you are looking for.

* Agents at Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate are known to be buffers
What this means is that these agents are going to work to ensure that you get the deal that you deserve. In the case that you are a new home seller or a buyer, then the agents will work the very best to keep everything at bay with the main aim or ensuring that all your interests are protected. They will also work their magic and ensure that they are able to get hold of serious buyers or sellers who are going to write for you an offer as soon as possible.

* These agents have the right knowledge of the neighborhood
Hiring a Dr. Phillips Florida Real Estate agent may be very beneficial to you especially if you are planning of either selling or buying a home that is In Florida. Since they understand how things around them work, they are going to identify all the comparable sales that are in that area and give you all the information that they are going to collect. They are also going to point you to a direction whereby you will be able to find the necessary data in regards to the crime rate, schools available as well as the demographics of the area.

Services Offered by Real Estate Agencies

Real Estate

A real estate agency is a vital player in the real estate sector. These agencies help people to sell or buy homes. They use their vast experience to ensure that their clients get the best deals. In their daily operations, real estate agents carry out several activities.

Working in the real estate profession offers the opportunity to meet a wide range of people while carrying out a variety of different tasks and responsibilities. It can be very satisfying to assist people with important decisions such as buying, selling or renting a home or investment property.

It takes a special person to work in real estate: someone who is committed to providing exceptional customer service. Developing the skills necessary to be confident, capable and successful takes dedication and application.

Although there are many exciting things about working in real estate, you should not go in with your eyes closed: the hours can be long with late nights and weekend work, and employment can be subject to a fluctuating market and intense competition.

Source : https://reia.asn.au/training/a-career-in-real-estate/

Pricing properties

First, a real estate agency can help individuals to price their properties when they intend to sell. As a result, they can set prices that will easily attract buyers while retaining profitability to the maximum. For instance, people who set their prices at double the market value will not make a sale. On the contrary, setting lower prices will see them make losses. A real estate agency is aware of the market value of homes in specific regions and can thus help individuals to make informed and profitable decisions. They also get valuable data from their many subscriptions and vast marketplace knowledge they have accumulated over the years.

A real estate agent’s primary focus is winning the contract to sell your property. In comparison to getting your business, selling your home can be easy.

So, bearing this in mind, who should you believe when you ask agents to assess your property’s value? You can expect the agents to give a range of opinions about the market value of your property, particularly for unusual properties or those in rising markets, but how much of this is genuine disagreement and how much is part of the sales tactics?

Source : https://www.choice.com.au/money/property/selling/articles/guide-to-selling-your-property

Marketing properties

Individuals who want to get good deals for their homes should market their properties. Unfortunately, advertising is the most expensive marketing activity that people may have to deal with. This is where a reputable real estate agency comes in. These agencies provide an efficient avenue through which people can market their properties. The agencies can easily reach prospective buyers through open house exhibitions or via appointments. In addition, they can use their many contacts to identify good buyers who may offer good deals. Finally, they have access to restricted advertising sites that can provide a ready source of buyers.

Using a real estate agent can be expensive, and many sellers think selling a house themselves is a great way to save money. A seller may save a commission by selling a house themselves, but trying to sell a house without an agent may actually cost them more money than the commission they saved. People will claim they saved thousands by selling their home without an agent and they even sold it in one day! There is a reason they sold it in one day, they left a lot of money on the table! A great real estate agent could have more than made up for the commission they charged by pricing a house right and working for the seller’s best interest. While real estate agent’s commissions may seem high to some, it is important to know they are negotiable. Real estate agent’s are able to charge so much because they provide a great value to homeowners, and usually get them much more money than they could on their own.

Real estate agents are experts in marketing, educated in the sales process and know how to value a home. Many think agents make too much money for the time they spend on houses, but they are not paid just for the time they spend selling your house. They are paid for all the licensing courses, continuing education they must take plus their experience marketing and selling homes. They can charge a lot of money for these services because good agents make their clients much more money.

Source : https://investfourmore.com/2014/04/16/always-use-real-estate-agent-sell-house-2/

How Brexit affects Real Estate

Real Estate

It all came as a shock to everyone when Britain announced that it was leaving the European Union. This was not just a statement because there are ripple effects being experienced all over.

Before the Brexit vote, most European real estate was holding its value, with the biggest exception being high-end London condominiums and mansions. Now, more widespread price declines are expected, with London office property leading the list.

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In all, London could lose 100,000 jobs to Europe, according to an estimate from Jefferies International Ltd. Green Street Advisors, a real-estate tracker, estimates that weakening demand will push London office values down by 15% to 20% over about 18 months.

In China, some investors considering London properties see Brexit as a buying opportunity. Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group, which has multiple investments in Europe including property, said it would “proactively grab opportunities for value investments.”

Meanwhile, investors around the world are likely to watch and wait.

“Nobody is rushing to do anything,” said Craig Hughes, global real-estate leader at accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Brexit “has brought huge risks, but also major opportunities.”

Sourced from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/brexit-vote-roils-real-estate-markets-1467146797

Foreign investors are moving in. they are taking advantage of the tumbling pound, a situation that makes the exchange rates affordable.

Overseas property buyers are snapping up London property after the shock decision for the UK to leave the EU, even as domestic buyers, spooked by uncertainty, pull out.

Estate agents in the UK have been swamped with calls from Chinese, Middle Eastern, Italian and Spanish buyers looking for a bargain after the pound tumbled to more than 30-year lows, making the exchange rate very favourable for foreign buyers.

Sourced from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/london-property-house-prices-brexit-overseas-buyers-first-time-eu-referendum-housing-market-a7108026.html

The decision to exit the European Union does not only affect European countries but other countries around the world as well. The global markets are shaken and especially the global real estate markets. One good example of a country that is already feeling the pinch is Canada.

Interest rates will remain low

The immediate impact of the post-Brexit vote on Canada’s economy will be pressure to keep interest rates at historically low levels, explained BMO chief economist Douglas Porter and senior economist Robert Kavcic in a report last week. This is, in part, because other segments of our country’s economy would feel the impact of the Brexit fall-out, such as the nearly $16 billion in products we export to the U.K.

Expect fewer Brits on our shore

This uncertainty, and its impact on the British pound and the Euro, could prompt a portion of the 725,000 Brits who travelled to Canada last year to rethink their vacation plans, explains Walter Melanson, founder and lead analyst at PropertyGuys.com. “That doesn’t mean Canadians with vacation rentals should expect a loss in income, as the uncertainty in Europe has certainly helped the U.S. dollar and that could mean more visitations from our neighbours down south.”

Sourced from: http://www.moneysense.ca/spend/real-estate/income-properties/how-brexit-could-affect-canadas-real-estate-market/