The First Steps In Real Estate Investing

With all the stories of people making tremendous amounts of money in real estate it’s no wonder why so many are looking at real estate as an investment vehicle. It offers more security than the stock market, provides great potential returns, offers tax benefits and let’s not forget; it sounds cool to be ‘in real estate’. Everybody can buy and sell stocks from their phone or computer these days. But real estate, now that’s something else.

One of the challenges that many are faced with is putting up the money to acquire a piece of property. Although in reality this is usually not the biggest obstacle. You might say “Hey, what do you mean, not an obstacle. I would love to invest in real estate, but I just can’t afford to!” The point is that hardly anyone who buys a piece of real estate has enough money in their account to pay for it. That’s where your banker comes in. Let’s face it. Do you know anyone that owns their own home? I mean truly own it? Probably not. Sure, you know a lot of people that have a house to their name, but wait until they get behind on their monthly mortgage payments and you will soon find out who really owns their house. That’s right, the bank. So if these people can use the bank’s money to buy a house, why can’t you?

Now ‘owning’ your own home may sound like a somewhat obvious way to get started in real estate, but it is also a very good way to do so. You might say “Duh…” But apparently this little step is overlooked by a lot of people. Just take a look at how many people are still renting a property instead of buying one. Now of course the relation between rent and housing prices varies from country to country and even from area to area. But wherever you go you will still find people renting, because in their mind “they don’t have enough money to buy a house.” In reality it would be much cheaper for them to buy!

When you rent, you are pretty much flushing your money down the toilet. Of course you are getting the pleasure of living, but the point is you’re not building anything long term. Every dollar you spend on rent is a dollar you will never see again. Whereas if you own your own home, instead of paying rent you would be paying for your mortgage. Even though there is a lot of variety in mortgages these days, the basics of practically all mortgages are more or less the same. Every month you make a payment which consists of two parts: interest and principle. The interest part can be compared to rent. Those dollars are gone with the wind and you will never hear from them again. However, the part of the payment that goes to the principle is money you keep. Every dollar that is used to pay off the principal is a dollar you put in your own pocket.

So if you’re thinking about getting started in real estate and you don’t ‘own’ your own house yet… Change it, and get some experience. It’s a great first step towards building your capital and in many cases, it just makes more sense financially. It can also supply a range of opportunities for accelerating the process of building your net worth. When real estate prices go up, so does the value of your property. Whereas the money you owe the bank, your mortgage, remains the same. In other words this helps you build your net worth. Compare this to people that are paying rent… Their net worth does nothing. However their landlord’s net worth is doing very nicely in this scenario and he or she will probably love you for it. So if you get a warm fuzzy feeling about making somebody else rich at your own expense… Keep renting. If you would rather build your own capital instead… Buy your own house!

Many home owners have accumulated more money through appreciation of their property than by working a full time job for many years. Now before you go out and buy the first property you lay eyes on, don’t forget that some security measures are in order here. As you may or may not know, real estate prices do not always go up, and certainly not in a straight line. Yep, this can be shocker to some people, as well as an ugly reminder for those who overlooked this minor detail in the past. If for some reason you would have to sell your home in a down market, it can be a costly adventure. You wouldn’t be the first to end up with a house worth considerably less than the mortgage resting on it. So make sure to keep some slack. In the long run real estate prices have always been on the rise, but in any cycle there are down periods. By keeping some slack and being patient you will be able to sit through these times and profit from the long term up-trend.

About the Author

Jim Mack is an expert on business, health and well being. He regularly contributes articles on these subjects. The Best Investing Tips

Real Estate Investing: Types Of Leasing Agents

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to collate enough resources to start an establishment or invest in interesting business ventures. However, a key concern before venturing out in any field is to have an appropriate place to operate from. In the present scenario when land prices seem to be soaring drastically, leasing out land for all purposes seems an apt solution. Perfect environment, the right location and the requisite size coupled with minimum hassles is the tenant?s dream. However, these dreams are often shattered and requirements compromised owing to the increasing pains associated with finding the desired space. Scant market knowledge and the vast area to be studied before taking the final call ends up giving much more pain than ever thought of.

Hiring Leasing Agents: All You Need to Know If you are running a business, than perhaps the key headache ought to be the various professional decisions and not the painstaking search of an appropriate land or plot for running the business. This issue is catered to by various leasing agents, who are endowed with ample market knowledge. Requisite educational background serves as a handy tool. So forget your real estate investment pains and devote the saved time on other important chores.

There are various types of leasing agents who are well accustomed to the real estate industry practices, and due to constant dealing in the field, they have enough market knowledge to guide you to the best. Leasing agents based upon your budget and suitability can more skillfully locate the best location.

These agents are divided primarily into two broad generic categories, with various sub divisions. The two categories are defined based upon the party these agents represent. They can be an owner?s representative in the deal who are looking for an apt tenant or could be a tenant?s representative looking out for the desired package. However, the agents specialize in any of the specified categories; a few tend to operate in both.

Both these agents are in constant touch with each other and act as an important source of information for each other?s client. Another bifurcation is between agents providing land for business purposes or investment purposes (known as investment real estate) or for residential purposes (referred to as residential real estate agents). The payment terms are often worked out as a proportion of the total fee. Another mode of compensation is by paying a basic salary plus incentives, which are performance based.

Their job entails all aspects starting from showing a property to the interested party to accommodating the tenants and handling their concerns. All paperwork and administrative concerns are also managed by these lease agents, who could either be self employed or associated with various firms acting as mediators.

Leasing agents can be a simplified solution to the complex real estate investment decisions however before hiring one make sure to check their and the associated firm?s (if any) license to operate in the said category.

Real Estate Investing : Gross Lease

People lease commercial real estate properties using either a gross lease or modified gross lease or a net lease. Residential properties are usually leased under a gross lease with the exception of the utility expenses. A gross lease is also referred to as a pass-through lease or a full service lease. When a tenant leases a property using a gross lease, he pays a gross rent and the landlord has to pay the operating costs of the building risking rising operating expenses over the duration of the lease. A net lease refers to a lease where the lessee is responsible to pay for the taxes, insurance and maintenance of the property.

Types of Gross Lease: Full Service Gross Lease: In this kind of lease, the landlord is responsible for the payment of taxes, maintenance, insurance and utilities. All these expenses are included in the base rent paid by the tenant. The lessee is responsible for any property insurance, taxes and utility expenses beyond the permitted building standards. The lessee has to agree to pay his share of any increase in the operating expenses of the building.

Modified Gross Lease: In a modified gross lease, which is similar to a full service gross lease, except that certain basic services such as taxes, maintenance, insurance, janitorial services, electrical services etc. are excluded from the lease. This type of lease is commonly used in multi-tenant buildings where there are different tenants with different needs.

Commercial Gross Lease: The lessee pays the landlord a fixed monthly rent and the landlord is responsible to pay for the operating expenses of the building and its maintenance. The lessee pays for the utilities, maintenance, operating expenses, taxes as well as janitorial services. Industrial Gross Lease: The landlord leases an entire industrial building to a tenant. The tenant has to use the building as per the agreement in the lease, manufacturing and distributing and maintaining an office in it. The landlord will be responsible to pay for the maintenance, operating costs, taxes, insurance, utilities etc. that will be paid for by the lessee in the base rent.

The landlord has to take precaution against lessees with deceitful intent and make sure they verify any information provided by the lessee before signing the lease. The lessee, especially in a commercial building, has to make sure to find out if the lease includes only his office space or also parts of common area such as, hallways etc. The lessee has to make sure that he studies the terms of the lease carefully to ensure he is not paying for something that is not connected with his office space as if a new hallway built in another floor!

There are firms that offer products as well as services to help budding entrepreneurs run a business smoothly.

Real Estate Investing: Types Of Leasing Agents

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to collate enough resources to start an establishment or invest in interesting business ventures. However, a key concern before venturing out in any field is to have an appropriate place to operate from. In the present scenario when land prices seem to be soaring drastically, leasing out land for all purposes seems an apt solution. Perfect environment, the right location and the requisite size coupled with minimum hassles is the tenant?s dream. However, these dreams are often shattered and requirements compromised owing to the increasing pains associated with finding the desired space. Scant market knowledge and the vast area to be studied before taking the final call ends up giving much more pain than ever thought of.

Hiring Leasing Agents: All You Need to Know If you are running a business, than perhaps the key headache ought to be the various professional decisions and not the painstaking search of an appropriate land or plot for running the business. This issue is catered to by various leasing agents, who are endowed with ample market knowledge. Requisite educational background serves as a handy tool. So forget your real estate investment pains and devote the saved time on other important chores.

There are various types of leasing agents who are well accustomed to the real estate industry practices, and due to constant dealing in the field, they have enough market knowledge to guide you to the best. Leasing agents based upon your budget and suitability can more skillfully locate the best location.

These agents are divided primarily into two broad generic categories, with various sub divisions. The two categories are defined based upon the party these agents represent. They can be an owner?s representative in the deal who are looking for an apt tenant or could be a tenant?s representative looking out for the desired package. However, the agents specialize in any of the specified categories; a few tend to operate in both.

Both these agents are in constant touch with each other and act as an important source of information for each other?s client. Another bifurcation is between agents providing land for business purposes or investment purposes (known as investment real estate) or for residential purposes (referred to as residential real estate agents). The payment terms are often worked out as a proportion of the total fee. Another mode of compensation is by paying a basic salary plus incentives, which are performance based.

Their job entails all aspects starting from showing a property to the interested party to accommodating the tenants and handling their concerns. All paperwork and administrative concerns are also managed by these lease agents, who could either be self employed or associated with various firms acting as mediators.

Leasing agents can be a simplified solution to the complex real estate investment decisions however before hiring one make sure to check their and the associated firm?s (if any) license to operate in the said category.

Real Estate Investing: Flipping Properties

A lot of people these days are preaching about the buying and holding method of gaining wealth with real estate. There indeed may come a time in your life or business when you?ll want to hang on to a piece of property, although you?ll only be interested in keeping certain types of property. If you?re just starting out, flipping a house may be an ideal way to get started.

Basically, there are three ways that you can flip a house, although each one has its own terms, motivation, and type of property. The first method is known as retailing. What this means, is that you buy a house in bad shape, do the repairs to fix it up, then turn around and sell it. There are a variety of houses in need of repairs out there, and several ways that you can quickly flip a house to net profit. All you need to know are the techniques that will get you the most money in the least amount of time.

The second way you can flip a house is though wholesaling. Wholesaling involves finding a home for sale then flipping it to an investor for a fast, yet small profit. To do this, you?ll need to know the real estate investors in your area, the types of homes that flip the best, and how to fund your property so you can flip it to them. If you live in a big area or a city, you?ll find that using the wholesaling method of flipping houses is actually easier to accomplish.

The third way to flip a house is by assigning the purchase. Using this method, you?ll commit to buy the house. Instead of closing the deal yourself, you?ll assign it to a real estate investor - of course for a small fee. The investor will take the contract over and close the purchase themselves - flipping the house. This can be very profitable, especially if you invest in the right home. You don?t need to have your contract worded any special way to be legal, although you will need to determine the assignment fee.

If you?re looking to break into the real estate market and make big bucks, you?ll need to learn all about flipping houses. Flipping houses is very profitable, especially once you have learned the basics. The first and third methods are the best, although they will both take quite a bit of work on your part. Restoring homes isn?t easy, and you?ll need to have a team qualified to handle any repairs. Assigning the purchase may be difficult when you first start out, although it will get easier with time. If you stay at it and do your best to make a profit - you?ll be an expert at flipping homes in no time at all.

About the Author:

Mark Estates writes for multiple real estate and foreclosure investing porgrams such as SharkBaitSoftware.com.

Avoid Rookie Real Estate Investing Mistakes

When Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad book series, bought his first property he was, of course, ecstatic. Finally, he had done it. He had taken that first important step in truly building his wealth that the man he called his ?rich dad? so often touted?investing. He knew it was very important to become an investor and make his money work for him.

The trouble was, the property he purchased was a losing deal for him. He didn’t see this at first, thanks to a smooth-talking real estate agent. But when he took the contract to his rich dad, he learned what a mistake he had made. According to that deal, he would be losing money each month. He thought it would be all right because he had been told that lost money was an investment in the future appreciation of the property.

He also was not aware that there would soon be major construction near the site, which would hamper access for quite some time. Who would want to live there?

What saved Kiyosaki on that deal was having a mentor like his rich dad, who made him go back and renegotiate the deal. The more experienced investor told him that you should never settle for losing money early in the deal, in the hopes that you will make up for it later. That is a bad deal.

Rich dad made him go renegotiate the contract and instead of losing money each month, he would be gaining $80 per month. His rich dad asked him how many of those losing deals he could afford at that rate. You can do the math. He couldn’t even afford the one. But at a gain of $80 per month, Kiyosaki’s reply to that question was, as many as he could get his hands on.

But many newbie investors fail to put themselves in the hands of a mentor, which his a mistake. It is good to have a trusted friend?not an advisor who stands to make a buck off of you, but someone who truly wishes to educate you?to keep them from making dire mistakes.

Another mistake that rookies often make is the very one that Kiyosaki made?they allow themselves to be talked into deals in which they lose money, after getting bogged down in mathematical ?if’s? that look really good on paper. ?If the property appreciates at this rate, then I can make up all the money I lost in the previous year and…and…? That is, IF the unit stays rented. IF the tenants pay you on time. IF you don’t discover a significant flaw with the property. IF the tenants don’t cause a significant flaw with the property…

The list goes on. It’s bad enough if you’re making money on the deal and something like that happens. If you start out losing money, you’re almost guaranteeing your own failure. Yet a smooth-talking professional can make it sound as though they are doing you a favor by taking your money.

And finally, newbies often fail to consider the environment within which they are making their purchase, just as Kiyosaki did. With real estate, unlike with other investments, the local financial ecosystem can seriously affect your investment, and so you have to stay on top of what is happening in the neighborhood and the rest of the city.

The thing is to educate yourself and keep your head at the negotiating table. If you do those two things then your deals will likely be just that?deals. For you.

About the Author:

Investment Property Specialist - Alex Anderson Helps Beginning and Intermediate Real Estate Investors To Build Wealth And Prepare For Retirement By Investing In Real Estate. Enroll In Her Free/Educational “Investment Property Program” At: http://www.GreatInvestmentProperty.com

Real Estate Investing: Types Of Leasing Agents

It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to collate enough resources to start an establishment or invest in interesting business ventures. However, a key concern before venturing out in any field is to have an appropriate place to operate from. In the present scenario when land prices seem to be soaring drastically, leasing out land for all purposes seems an apt solution. Perfect environment, the right location and the requisite size coupled with minimum hassles is the tenant?s dream. However, these dreams are often shattered and requirements compromised owing to the increasing pains associated with finding the desired space. Scant market knowledge and the vast area to be studied before taking the final call ends up giving much more pain than ever thought of.

Hiring Leasing Agents: All You Need to Know If you are running a business, than perhaps the key headache ought to be the various professional decisions and not the painstaking search of an appropriate land or plot for running the business. This issue is catered to by various leasing agents, who are endowed with ample market knowledge. Requisite educational background serves as a handy tool. So forget your real estate investment pains and devote the saved time on other important chores.

There are various types of leasing agents who are well accustomed to the real estate industry practices, and due to constant dealing in the field, they have enough market knowledge to guide you to the best. Leasing agents based upon your budget and suitability can more skillfully locate the best location.

These agents are divided primarily into two broad generic categories, with various sub divisions. The two categories are defined based upon the party these agents represent. They can be an owner?s representative in the deal who are looking for an apt tenant or could be a tenant?s representative looking out for the desired package. However, the agents specialize in any of the specified categories; a few tend to operate in both.

Both these agents are in constant touch with each other and act as an important source of information for each other?s client. Another bifurcation is between agents providing land for business purposes or investment purposes (known as investment real estate) or for residential purposes (referred to as residential real estate agents). The payment terms are often worked out as a proportion of the total fee. Another mode of compensation is by paying a basic salary plus incentives, which are performance based.

Their job entails all aspects starting from showing a property to the interested party to accommodating the tenants and handling their concerns. All paperwork and administrative concerns are also managed by these lease agents, who could either be self employed or associated with various firms acting as mediators.

Leasing agents can be a simplified solution to the complex real estate investment decisions however before hiring one make sure to check their and the associated firm?s (if any) license to operate in the said category.

Top Real Estate Investing Sites - What They Have To Offer And How To Find

Top real estate investing sites, among the thousands of the websites available on the Internet today, are those that offer you something of real value. Otherwise, most of the sites that boast of helping you in investing in the real estate are just a waste of the time. With more and more websites in this regard coming up every month it has become more necessary to be able to weed out that has nothing concrete to offer you and discover the really useful sites that can serve your purpose.

Quality Of The Content

The best way to describe the top real estate investing sites is these are the sites that offer you quality content. Whenever you perform a search on the Internet, you look for the content or the information related to the topic of your interest. A site is useful for you only when it can supply high quality information to you regarding real estate investment.

An important feature of the top real estate investing sites is that they offer you exclusive content. These are totally different from the sites where you can find only the rehashed work. There is no point in reading the reprint of the articles written by someone else when you can go through the content written by the original writers. So, sidestep these websites and look for the ones with unique content.

Helps In Achieving The Goal

Another important quality of the information provided by the top real estate investing sites is that it helps you in achieving your goal. These are much different from the websites that are just intended to make some sales without offering any helpful information. A quality website is not only useful for the investors but also for the forums, reports, blogs, articles and other product offerings.

These quality websites try to offer you the quality information in an attracting manner. Even the best of the content cannot entice you to take the action if it is not presented in a charming way. Presentation of the content can make a great difference to the appeal it can make to the reader. One more advantage of these good websites is that they suggest you the books, videos, coaching programs and courses so that you can learn better skills and build a successful career in the real estate investing business.

The good news for you that you can get almost all the information on the Internet that is necessary for real estate investing. Most of this information is available free of charge or at a very nominal fee. The more important thing is that you should know where to look for the required information and how to conduct the search so that you can get the desirable results.

Real Estate Investing Spy Secrets

I bet your wasting a lot of time and money on your real estate advertising that could be better utilized. What if I told you of a way to know exactly how to spy to see what you’re competitors are doing so you can outshine them every day of the week? What if I told you there was a way that you could position yourself totally different from all the other ‘We Buy Houses’ crap that you see out there?

See, here’s the deal: when I think of these guys, the first thing that pops in my mind is the investor handyman with a beat up crappy truck with all types of garbage in the back. No offense if this is you, it just happens to not be what I want for my life or my business.

These guys are in love with their work and most don’t have the slightest clue how to work a deal creatively. So what makes you different from all the other goons out there? I’ll tell you in just a moment, but first I have an exercise for you.

If you already have a property that you have control of or that you’re trying to sell, then call up every “We Buy Houses” ad that you see. Now, I want you to play dumb (I know that’s not to hard for some but amuse yourself- OK?) when you talk to the “We Buy Houses” guys. Act like a homeowner would that is trying to sell their house. Don’t let them in on your little experiment, just do it and play the role of the motivated seller- OK?

Also, call any of the people that are offering a Free Report on “How to sell your house”.

Now, I want you to document everything they did during the appointment. Document if they were late, if they didn’t show up, or if they didn’t even call. For those that are offering a Free Report, document everything they send you, the time period it takes for them to send you and any follow up they have with you. Keep up with all this in a binder, under each company’s information that you called.

I can here you screaming through the internet right now - “Wow, Derek, that sure sounds like a lot of busy work. Why in the heck do you want me to do all that nonsense?”

You’ll thank me when you’ve completed this little task because it’s one of the most down and dirty tricks that I’ll ever teach you. As a matter of fact, I don’t know anyone that has this clear type instruction for you to attack and spy on your market’s competitors.

So, what’s the freakin use?

Ok, Sherlock. First you’ve got to realize that many of the “real deal” investors in this business are not going to share with you openly what they know. They want to protect their market and many will flat out lie to you or will fabricate the truth just to keep you out of their market. Well, this little technique will show you exactly what their marketing approach is and how they conduct business with their entire marketing campaign at your fingertips.

Imagine knowing how to tap into their mindset knowing exactly what approach they take to real estate deal making.

What would you give to know exactly what your soon to be competition is doing?

Well, now you can because I’ve given you the exact steps to go about spying on other real estate investors. That’s powerful to be able to know exactly what your competitors are doing in terms of their marketing approach. As a matter of fact, you can sit back and watch what they do for several months to see who remains in business and who doesn’t.

Now, I’ve done this little task and the results are simply amazing.

Here’s what you’ll find: That most investors that are pouring in their hard earned money for advertising do one thing: Nothing.

They’ll fail to call you back, they’ll fail to keep the appointment, or they’ll be late.

Here’s what else you’ll notice:

They always take phone calls during meeting with the sellers; they fail to build any type of rapport, simply going in for the kill by immediately talking about the numbers. They appear more desperate than a high school boy on prom night.

As you sit back watching this dog and pony show, ask yourself if you’d be willing to sell your home to this idiot or would you be skeptical. You will quickly realize there is not as much competition as you initially thought. The only competition you have is yourself.

Let me ask you this, if your competition was doing this, then how hard do you believe it would be to smoke them, leaving them eating your dust?

The fact is that it’s the same way in all businesses. You only have a handful that seems to use their brain. You’ve probably been to numerous businesses or restaurants in the past few months or even weeks where you noticed the service wasn’t up to par. The same is true with investors as most piddle, waste time, and appear to be un-caring about the seller’s situation. Therefore, they don’t do deals, which in turn makes it easy for you to outshine the others.

Take time out to spy on your competitors and you’ll see exactly how you can bring more to the market than any one else.

About the Author

Derek Pierce, full time Real Estate Investor, shows
you the exact strategies to his success in his Free Book: “How I
Went From Corporate Guinea Pig To Real Estate Success”. Get
your copy and Real Estate Investing Tips by going to http://www.thereisecrets.com

Real Estate Investing: Adjusted Gross Lease

It is imperative that the lease structure of a property selected be just as suitable as the property. Commercial leases can be gross, adjusted gross or net leases. In a gross lease, the lessor is responsible for the payment of utilities, taxes, maintenance and the property insurance; the lessee has to pay the lessor a base rent, which includes all the charges. The lessee has to agree to pay his share of any increases that may occur in the base operating expense. In some cases, the lessee just pays a fixed base rent for the duration of the lease and agrees to pay for any increase in the operating expenses as well as the maintenance dues at the end of the first year of the lease. What Is An Adjusted Gross Lease?

A modified or adjusted gross lease is similar to a gross lease except that it excludes some basic services that are typically provided by landlords such as the responsibility to pay their taxes, insurance, maintenance and utility bills. In some adjusted gross leases, the landlord is not responsible to pay for maintenance; janitorial services, electricity, and these charges are not included in the base rent. An adjusted gross lease is very useful for multi-tenant properties as each of the lessee has different needs and keeps different timings, hence they would prefer to have separate meters to measure the utility usage such as electricity and water. Separate meters will prevent any dispute regarding the pro-rata share each has to pay. Like for example in a multi-tenant building, let us consider two of the tenants. A is operating a boutique and opens from 9 am to 9 pm, Monday to Saturday, where as B is a dentist who works from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday to Friday. Separate meters will ensure that one tenant does not end up paying a part of the expenses of another tenant. The tenants are responsible to pay for their share of the utility bills.

Base rent in an adjusted gross lease is usually higher than a net lease due to the pass through feature of the lease. Pass through refers to the method of making the lessee pay a proportionate share, to pay for any increase in the operating expenses at the end of a base year. The recoverable expenses will be borne initially by the landlord, which can be calculated based on dollar per square foot, or a pre-defined amount. An adjusted gross lease is more equitable than a gross lease. Lease agreements need to be understood clearly and the help of an attorney sought to comprehend its entire content. Make sure that the property selected and the type of lease suits your needs. There are firms that help businesses run successfully by offering their services as well as products.

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