Real Estate Journal

It sure would be if you manage to always hit the earnings button. But as we all know, this always isn’t the case for there are too many hidden factors that may affect the outcome of any project, but hey that’s part of the business. Recognizing a property that has potential is the first key and there are not too many people who have that eye for potential.
Risk management is part of the overall game and as you may have seen on the many feature shows on TV, it rarely goes according to plan. There is a lot of profit in such investments if you have the right people who are the bread and butter of your business. Working in harmony is the key and having conflict is part of the game as a way to iron out the kinks. Necessity is the key to innovation and often results in some of the best ideas making a crazy project into a true gem.

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The second most common myth in real estate investment is: you must start with small deals, big investments are very risky. Generally, mortgages on smaller properties are usually secured through the the buyer’s own earning capacity and personal wealth. On the other hand, a bigger investment loan, is protected by the value of the property itself – more like the property itself is being used as a collateral to the loan. Now, that means lesser risk to you. The value of your rental property like your house for example will increase through the years, depending on the kind of neighborhood you bought into. You can increase the value of your property a bit, like when you do some renovations, but the increase will not be that much. So it pays to buy into the right if not ideal neighborhood. However, on rental properties such as apartments, the increase in its value will depend on how much income it actually generates.

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契約書への署名前に以下の事項を考慮しましょう。

• 賃貸物件候補の厳密な点検を行った際に複数の問題を発見した場合、 実費でこの問題を解決することを家主に伝え、この問題を家賃値引きの交渉材料として使いましょう。 家主の多くは、住人に責任感があり物件状態を良好に維持できるという印象を受けた場合には家賃の引き下げに応じます。
• 家主に家賃の支払期限と延滞家賃の処理について尋ねましょう。 また、支払延滞金に対する追加料金の有無を確認しましょう。
• 前金と敷金の金額、 また、どれが払戻し可能なアイテムであるか確認しましょう。
• 物件に子供の住居が許可されているか確認しましょう。
• 訪問客の宿泊が許可されているか、 また、親戚の滞在が許されている期間を確認しましょう。
• ペットを飼うことが許可されているか、また、ペットの種類に制限があるかを確認しましょう。 （蛇やトカゲなどや、大型動物、騒々しい動物は普通は禁止されています。）
• 家賃以外の別途料金があるか、 また、住宅所有者組合や警備、駐車場にかかる料金があるかを確認しましょう。 また、プールの使用料金やプール使用に関する月々の支払いがあるかを確認しましょう。
• レンターズ保険に加入することは義務的であるか、また、その加入にかかる金額を確認しましょう。
• 契約書の一部を必ず保管すること。 契約内容の確認の際に、また契約内容に従うに当たり有利になります。

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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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