Skyrocketing hike in the price of automobiles and real estate has made them beyond the reach for public. But banks and other lending institutions have brought these assets under reach of public by lending money on payment of monthly mortgage.
More: continued here
Yes, I said it. There are still things to be thankful for in Real Estate. With that bold statement here goes:
More: continued here
Purchasing real estate with the intent of turning it into an apartment or a house for rent can be an excellent financial decision. When you buy real estate with the intent of renting it, however, there are several factors you should take into consideration.
More: continued here
When you decide to buy a piece of real estate in order to pursue a business as a landlord, you are making an exciting and potentially financially-freeing decision. After all, simply owning real estate is an excellent investment.
More: continued here
Good news for the real estate builders, who have been facing a slowdown in buying activities at least for the past 18-24 months.
More: continued here
Like any other investments, investing in real estate has its upsides and downsides
More: continued here
Illinois foreclosure listings are more than a growing list of potential investment targets; they are an invaluable home buyer’s guide to opportunity. Where many desirable towns and communities across the state have average family home prices beyond the reach of first time and lower income home buyers, the foreclosure listings display the available affordable homes in those locations.
In common with cities nationwide, the growth in foreclosures in Illinois has always been greater among the lower priced property; more so in 2007 as the impact of adjustable rate mortgages extended in the last few years to home owners who did not have deposits or credit standing to qualify for prime 30 year loans has hit hard. Of the monthly rate of new foreclosure filings has reached 6,000 state wide, just over half have been in the Chicagoland area, more than 75% have adjustable rate mortgages. With the overall real estate market in the doldrums homeowners in pre foreclosure have found their opportunities for selling their homes become very limited and falling prices have resulted in the loss of any equity, making refinancing impossible for many.
The housing market is not so obviously in favor of the buyer outside the Chicago metro area. Just 20 miles away the young village community of Woodridge is known to keen golfers and an outstanding school system attracts young families. The average price of a single family home at $328,000 is daunting to first time home buyers, who may be able finance and bear the monthly payment schedule of the discounted value foreclosure home. South Elgin has a train commute link to Chicago, and a growing reputation for sound government, an outstanding environment attracting new residents every year. Libertyville with its strong rural character and historic district is yet another sought after location within commute distance of Chicago, and has affordable homes in polder areas of town; a foreclosure deal will make that extra- affordable!
Springfield, the state capital, has so much to offer its residents and newcomers; for some years it has rated high among the top affordable cities in the nation. It has a steady housing market; while foreclosure savings may not be, on an average, as high as in the other Chicago satellite cities mentioned, your investment is guaranteed to gain in value steadily and immediately.
So use the foreclosure listings as your introduction to a potential first home in a desirable location in this great state. Search the listings without leaving your desk or your home. This winter, this buyer’s market is as good as it gets. The saving from the market in your favor plus the saving from a foreclosure deal adds up to you in your first home sooner than you ever imagined.
No money down real estate investing is a concept that has been around forever. Investing in real estate with no money down is straight forward and really refers to the fact that the lead investor has none of their OWN money down in a deal. This often means there is still a down payment involved but it may have come from another investor or through creative financing.
Doing the research up front is critical when you want to invest in real estate with no money down. You’ll want to know more than a little about purchasing and selling real estate. The real estate investor should be familiar with the laws, rules and regulations which vary by locality and are essential to know.
A key issue is finding a seller that is interested in seller assisted financing. The key to being able to invest in properties without down payments, in fact, is the seller. The hardest part of finding properties that you can purchase without a down payment is finding this seller assisted financing.
Seller assisted financing can come in many forms. A common method is to ask the seller to provide the down payment amount required by the financing source. For example, if the purchase price is $111K and the bank requires a down payment of 10%, you will request the seller provide the down payment amount of $11K. The end result of this successful method is that you effectively purchase the property for the mortgage balance of $100K.
If you are looking for seller-assisted financing, one method is to lease the piece of property from the seller instead of buying it. Instead of sending a monthly payment to the bank, you would instead be sending it to the property owner. The advantage of this is that it lets you circumvent the bank’s normal down payment requirements and you are free to renovate and update the property in order to sell or lease it to another person.
These varying approaches to investing without a down payment can be very profitable. They have permitted many individuals to begin investing in real estate without great amounts of money typically needed for up-front costs like initial closing costs or down payments.
A good means of finding investing information is to look on the internet. Many websites exist that contain valuable, and free, information. To utilize one of these websites to get the information you need, try the search string - real estate investing no money down.
No money down real estate investing is a good way for investors without access to start-up funds to enter the real estate market. The key to real estate investing no money down is doing research up front, such as learning the local regulations. The most difficult research endeavor will be to find a seller who is interested in seller-assisted financing.
There’s a whole slew of ominous terms being bandied about these days when people talk real estate. With some northern US towns hit so hard by the housing downturn that over 30% of their houses are empty, the increase in anxiety is no great wonder. But homeowners need not panic, there are alternatives to foreclosure.
Getting in over your head financially doesn’t have to mean walking away from your home investment. As a first step, you should always try to work things out with your bank. Contact them as soon as you’re having trouble with your payments. Banks don’t like foreclosures and you may be able to make a deal that will make your payments bearable and allow you to keep your home. There are also some programs though HUD that can help you stay put until the market balances out.
Of course working out a deal isn’t always possible but saving your credit rating is. Once you’ve exhausted your options, you may want to try to negotiate a short sale.
WHAT IS A SHORT SALE?
When your home is worth less than its mortgage ti’s known as an upside down mortgage. When a lender agrees to absorb the difference in a sale, it’s called a short sale. Like a last exit before foreclosure, short selling your home won’t make you any money but when your debt is more than you can handle, negotiating a short-sale may rescue your credit rating and let you avoid the embarrassment of foreclosing.
In order to qualify for a short sale:
1. Your loan must be in default at least two months
2. Your house must be worth at least 63 percent of what you owe and sell for at least 82 percent of the “as-is” appraised value.
3. You must sell the house within three to five months
4. You must convince your lender to assume the cost of the short sale:
THE COST OF SELLING = Real estate commissions + Taxes + Closing costs + Title fees + Liens of record + Balance of all loans on the home including interest and late fees
THE COST OF THE SHORT SALE = Cost of selling - Appraised value
Once these figures are delivered to the bank, the lender can take up to 45 days to balance the cost of the short sale against the cost of a foreclosure. Not every lender will agree to a short sale though, which is why hiring a realtor may be the best way to negotiate this kind of deal. Contact a realtor in your area that’s experienced in negotiating this type of arrangement. They may have more leverage with lenders and be able to guide you through the process. They will also be able to help you find a buyer.
Bank foreclosures get their name because the bank lender with a defaulted loan has, at the end of the foreclosure process, ended up with title to the property. Banks, along with other lenders this year, find themselves as managers of an increasing inventory of REO or Real Estate Owned property. These repossessed properties must be offered for sale as soon as possible in order to avoid a range of problems from security factors to the sheer holding cost of deteriorating assets These properties, which cover the spectrum of real estate assets from commercial to residential, from vacant lots to former speculator and investor assets are now flooding onto a cold sellers market in competition with similar properties, some with owners facing financial pressure to sell, others in pre foreclosure.
Some real estate investors and a few knowledgeable home buyers see the current market as the best opportunity in years to buy well. The home buyer’s intention is to stay put for a while. Buying to hold while housing prices correct themselves is likely to mean staying in your home for anywhere between 3 and 7 years depending on the state, county and metro location. Buying a bank foreclosure is one way the home buyer gets a double benefit from a down market – the benefit of buying now at a discounted price, then building equity in the home faster as he rides out the market bottom and prices rise once more.
So, are bank foreclosures a good deal? Property selected carefully with attention to the very specific factors contributing to that deal, has the potential to yield more space for your investment dollar, or a move up into a more prosperous neighborhood, or simply affordability. Specific factors are the “as is” nature of the property offered by the bank, the likelihood that the property has been in the foreclosure process and then in the bank’s hands for a while, the bank’s pricing policy and attitude to conditional offers. Most bank owned property is offered for sale through agents, the bid and counter offer process can be protracted, and vendor financing, rarely possible, is a completely arms length affair. Having said all that, watch this space; as the year wears on there can be no doubt that bank inventories of repossessed homes will rise to record levels in some foreclosure stricken states; bulk REO auction sales, aggressive marketing, enticements and deeper discounts will be required to move those bank foreclosures off the bankers’ hands. It’s always going to be up to the potential buyer to do the due diligence, researching the condition of the property before making your offer is vital to ensure you get the bargain you intend.
