Real Estate Journal

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Think of/ask the following before you sign on the dotted line

• A thorough inspection of the prospective unit to rent revealed a few problems. Use this or these to negotiate for a lower rent saying you will be spending your own money to make up for these. A number of owners will agree to a lower rent if they sense that you are a responsible tenant who will keep the unit in good shape.
• Ask the owner about rent due dates and how do they deal with late rent payments. Do they have surcharges on overdue payments?
• How much advance payment and deposit is required? Which is refundable and which is not?
• Are children allowed in the units?
• Are overnight guests allowed? What is the length of stay allowed for relatives?
• Are pets allowed? Are there restrictions on the kinds of pets allowed? (Snakes and other reptiles or large animals or animals that make too much noise are normally prohibited).
• What other fees are there aside from rent? Are there homeowners association, security and parking fees? Are there charges for the use of swimming pool or is there a monthly fee for that?
• Is it imperative for you to have a renter’s insurance and how much would a policy cost if you take out one?
• Be sure to have your own copy of the contract. It pays to know and keep your end of the bargain.

For first-time homeowners, the decision to rent or to buy your own home can be a difficult dilemma. Both has its pros and cons that is equally valid. Almost always, it’s better to own your home rather than to rent. Owning your own home allows you to build equity. You even get to write off your mortgage interest and may be eligible for a tax breaks. On the other hand, owning your own property means fees to upkeep the place and property taxes. Buying property in today’s market may also mean that you should be prepared to hold on to your property for a while, else you lose your principal. With the high interest rates and deteriorating property values, it may be a better idea to rent for a while.
Renting your home, however, you run the risk of annual rent increase eventually outpacing inflation. On the plus side, it’s less expensive initially, and gives you more flexibility to move. The bottomline will always be your financial capability and stability to be able to afford buying your own home.

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When going to buy or sell a home, your first step should be finding an honest and hard-working realtor. You can find a real estate agent by keeping an eye out for advertisements, calling your local real estate broker, or through the internet.

The role of a real estate agent is to represent your best interests in a real estate transaction. They work off of a commission, normally 6% of the sales price of the home. In most cases, that commission is split equally between the realtor representing the buyer and the realtor representing the seller. For a person buying a home, the service of the real estate agent is free, because commission is paid by the seller. The buyer, however, is responsible for most of the closing costs. The closing costs will be explained to you by your realtor and will be on the documents you sign when you go to the title company. Closing costs can also be negotiated on during the contract process.

Is non-refundable earnest money good or bad? Yo will say, it is terrific if you are a seller. But what if you are a buyer? It’s far less exciting if you are a buyer.

Sometimes, problems arise from the use of non-refundable earnest mone.

For instance, what if the home inspection shows significant problens that the seller did not disclose earlier? What if lender cannot fund the money anymore? What if the buyer can no longer qualify for financing or loses his or her job? What if the transaction fails by the specified date? What if the other party is injured or dies, or gets a divorce?

Well, these things happen!

So, it is up to the buyer and the seller to negotiate, if indeed the non-refundable money will still be considered as such.

Banks and other financial institutions usually auction off foreclosed assets. These are of two kinds: bank foreclosures and house auctions.

Most people think that real estate auctions are just for assets that banks or financial institutions have foreclosed. This is not always the case, though. There are times when owner-occupied properties also go on the auction block. This is best done when the property being sold is unique or difficult to sell. So rather than going to a realtor to have a property sold, the owners let the buyers pitch their best valuation in an auction!

Real estate investing is hard. Anytime you place your hard earned money into something, it’s a bit of risk. Is investing in the US real estate market, profitable these days? Not yet, but as it was reported before, this is just a cycle and the market will rise again.

In the meantime, check out the following tips in investing:

For those with poor credit history and those who cannot outright buy a residential property, the best selection for you would be the lease option. It’s like rent-to-own, but you’re still given the option to either rent or buy the property.
Here are the benefits:

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As we reported multiple times a few days ago, the US real estate market is down but not yet out. However, some companies see this event as an opportunity to do good things. For instance, the Los Angeles real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis just closed a $2.1 billion investment fund. The money will be used to buy properties nationwide.

Through this fund, the firm will be buying both properties that are only in need of minor repairs and those that need more improvements. The latter will fund real estate development.

CB Richard Ellis Investors is an independently operated affiliate of Los Angeles-based CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., the world’s largest real estate brokerage.

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In order to survive, one must adapt. This is one thing the insurance agents of today have learned. What they used to keep near their chests are now out in the open for everyone to see. They have now freely posted previously withheld information in the Internet. This information provides the brokers with just enough information to give buyers a one-site stop for all their real estate needs.

“It’s a natural evolution of competition and what consumers want,” said C. Robert Hale III, chief executive of the Houston Association of Realtors, which operates the area’s M.L.S. “The consumer wants to see everything.”

Will this change the current way agents and brokers sell? We’ll know in a few months.

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There’s been bad news brewing in the US real estate market. Instead moaning about it, one should rise above this problem and do something about it. So how does one sell despite the doom and gloom around us? According to Jennifer Allan, real estate broker, author and consultant, here are tips on making sure that what you sell won’t be sitting on the list forever:

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