Real Estate Investment: The Benefit of Investing

The successful real estate investor never makes a real estate investment because it’s romantic. Real estate is not purchased, held, or sold on emotion for it’s neither love nor beauty that compels. As one real estate investor put it, “Only women are beautiful.”

Real estate investing is about the return on investment. And real estate investors trying to decide whether there is a potential benefit to purchase, hold on to, or to sell rental income property rely on four basic returns inherent in real estate investment property to make that decision.

Understanding these investment decision basics, where they come from, and how to calculate them is what fuels real estate investment success.

1. Cash flow. All real estate investment property ebbs and flows with a stream of money coming in from rents and other income, and money going out for operating expenses and debt service (loan payment). Cash in minus cash out results in cash flow. When more cash comes in than goes out the result is positive cash flow, and when more is spent than received the result is negative cash flow.

The goal of course, especially for the small investor without deep pockets, is to be sure the property always produces enough cash to pay the bills. Before making the investment, prudent investors should always run the numbers and look for the benefit of positive cash flow.

2. Appreciation. Another benefit of real estate investment is the tendency for real estate to grow in value over time in what is known as appreciation. Future selling price minus original purchase price equals appreciation. Straightforward enough, but smart real estate investors don’t leave appreciation to chance–they follow the income stream.

Smart investors understand that other real estate investors buy the income stream of rental property (as they do). The more income stream they can sell, therefore the more they can expect their property to be worth; the faster they can increase the income stream, the sooner the property will most likely appreciate.

Thus, successful real estate investors consider market and economic conditions, physical improvements, and operating expenses to determine the likelihood of increasing property value. The result of a favorable location, a positive shift in supply and demand, a good probability to demand higher rents or lower vacancies, or an opportunity to reduce wasteful expenditures are all issues that could effect appreciation and are carefully considered by thriving real estate investors.

3. Loan Amortization. Amortization means to reduce periodically and hence, loan amortization suggests a periodic reduction of the loan over time. Therefore each time tenants pay the rent they provide cash to pay down the debt and benefit real estate investors by virtually helping them to buy the property.

4. Tax Shelter. Real estate investment also provides an investor the benefit of being able to legally reduce annual or ultimate income taxes.

As a general rule, most costs incurred at the time of purchase are deductible in the year of purchase. All expenses you incur in the operation of the property are deductible. The IRS allows you to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage. The IRS also assumes that your buildings are wearing out and becoming less valuable over time and therefore allows you take a deduction for that presumed decline in what the tax code calls cost recovery (i.e., depreciation).

Of course there are nuances and exceptions in all tax matters, so real estate investors should always check with a tax expert to be sure what the current tax laws are for the investor in any particular year.

Successful real estate investors are a testament to the benefit of making money with real estate investment property. You can benefit, too. Just be sure to run the numbers, either on your own, with good real estate investment software, or with the help of a real estate professional. Remember, real estate investing isn’t whimsy, its business.

Best of all, real estate investing is profitable when it’s done correctly.

About the Author

James R Kobzeff is an active real estate broker and developer of ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software - ProAPOD Real Estate Investor Software - real estate investing solutions that put rental property analysis at your fingertips!

Beginning Real Estate Investing - Understanding Leverage

This is one of a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. One of the fundamental concepts to understand as you are beginning real estate investing is the concept of leverage. Leverage is the ability to move or control something very large with a very small object or force. Leverage as it applies to real estate investing is the ability to control high value properties with small amounts of your own cash.

To understand why this is important, and why leverage is so valuable, an example will help. Let’s assume you are just beginning real estate investing and you have $20,000 cash to invest. The exact amount is really unimportant, so long as you understand the principle involved. To illustrate the power of leverage, let’s assume you are faced with three possible choices of how to invest your $20,000.

Choice one is to purchase a small single family home with a purchase price of $20,000. The market rent for this home is $250 per month, or $3,000 per year. For purposes of this illustration, let’s pretend there are no such things as taxes, Realtor fees, or any other costs involved with purchasing a piece of property. Wouldn’t that be nice? As a you are beginning real estate investing you’ll soon learn otherwise, but for now let’s indulge in a little fantasy.

Choice two is to purchase a duplex for $40,000 by putting our $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $20,000. The market rent for this duplex is $500 per month, or $6,000 per year. The monthly payment on our loan is $200, so positive cash flow is $300 per month, or $3,600 per year. Not too bad, considering we are just beginning real estate investing.

Finally, choice three in beginning real estate investing is to purchase a multi-unit apartment building for $140,000 by putting $20,000 cash down and borrowing the additional $120,000. The market rent for all the units in the building totals $1,500, and our monthly loan payment is $1100, leaving us a positive cash flow of $400 per month, or $4,800 per year.

Let’s see which of these three situations best demonstrates the power of leverage. To do this we need to make a simple calculation, called Return On Investment (ROI) for each choice. This is a very important calculation to learn as you are beginning real estate investing. ROI is calculated by dividing the amount of return we get back in a year’s time by the amount of cash we have invested.

In choice one, $3,000 return divided by $20,000 gives us a Return On Investment of 15%. Not bad, considering we’re just beginning real estate investing, but let’s see if we can do better. Choice two gives us a return of $3,600 per year for the same $20,000 invested, so our ROI is $3,600 divided by $20,000, or 18%. That’s excellent, but we still have one more choice to look at.

Choice three gave us a return of $4,800 on our investment of $20,000, so our ROI is a whopping 24%! Why so big? Because even though we’re just beginning real estate investing, we were able to “move” or control a much more valuable piece of property with a very small “lever”… in this case, our $20,000. What gave us that leverage? The ability to use Other People’s Money (OPM), but that’s a topic for another article.

Until next time, I’ve written another in-depth article called Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Real Estate Investing For Leverage

The term leverage in the world of finance is defined as borrowing money to purchase a company and relying on it to produce enough capital to cover the interest payable on the loan. This is the type of leverage that investment in real estate properties provides.

You do not have to be rich to invest. The goal, of course, is to make money for the long term. The principle is rather simple: spend a little to make a lot. Take the $10,000 you have accumulated in equity, use it as a down payment on an investment property that has a positive cash flow, use the cash flow to pay the mortgage and your investment will appreciate into ten times the original amount over time.

It is interesting to note that after you have invested in a property; your net worth has increased substantially from your initial investment. Let?s take that $10,000 and buy a piece of property with a fair market value of $100,000. The $10,000 is 10% of the value and makes a nice down payment. The mortgage is now $90,000 and you have equity of $10,000. Your net worth has increased by $90,000.

Let?s say the property produces a cash flow of $900 per month. The monthly note on a 30-year loan at 7% is only $598. Your positive cash flow is $302. If you paid all the cash flow into the monthly payment, and if you bought the property in 2006, you would have the property paid off in 2019 ? 13 years ? and the interest you save would be over $121,000.

There are two directions you could go. One is to buy and hold. This means that you buy this property and you hold on to it with everything you have. It absolutely should increase in fair market value. You should see increases in cash flow. You could add these increases to your note and then you could be realizing in a short period of time a nice, regular income from this piece of property. That retirement nest egg would be actively working for you over numerous years until retirement and through retirement.

If you think you do not have the time between now and when you want to retire, think again. The other direction may be for you. You could build some equity in the property we talked about above. Then you could trade up using the equity you built in making double payments and investment tax incentives.

You should always trade up in value or equal in value in order to benefit from the tax savings. When you take this route, you will actually be raising your net worth by much more than equity because you will be steadily increasing your net worth by more than just the cash flow from your investment.

If you were to take the fast-track accumulated equity you have built by paying double or triple the principle each month and trade up to a property worth $200,000 rather than $100,000, you could double your cash flow and pay off the mortgage in 16 years. That would give you a hefty cash flow at retirement with a very small initial investment.

About the Author:

Investment Property Specialist - Alex Anderson Connects Real Estate Investors With High-Quality Investment Properties. Get A Free Copy Of, “The Investor’s Rental Guide” at: www.GreatInvestmentProperty.com

Real Estate Investing For Leverage

The term leverage in the world of finance is defined as borrowing money to purchase a company and relying on it to produce enough capital to cover the interest payable on the loan. This is the type of leverage that investment in real estate properties provides.

You do not have to be rich to invest. The goal, of course, is to make money for the long term. The principle is rather simple: spend a little to make a lot. Take the $10,000 you have accumulated in equity, use it as a down payment on an investment property that has a positive cash flow, use the cash flow to pay the mortgage and your investment will appreciate into ten times the original amount over time.

It is interesting to note that after you have invested in a property; your net worth has increased substantially from your initial investment. Let?s take that $10,000 and buy a piece of property with a fair market value of $100,000. The $10,000 is 10% of the value and makes a nice down payment. The mortgage is now $90,000 and you have equity of $10,000. Your net worth has increased by $90,000.

Let?s say the property produces a cash flow of $900 per month. The monthly note on a 30-year loan at 7% is only $598. Your positive cash flow is $302. If you paid all the cash flow into the monthly payment, and if you bought the property in 2006, you would have the property paid off in 2019 ? 13 years ? and the interest you save would be over $121,000.

There are two directions you could go. One is to buy and hold. This means that you buy this property and you hold on to it with everything you have. It absolutely should increase in fair market value. You should see increases in cash flow. You could add these increases to your note and then you could be realizing in a short period of time a nice, regular income from this piece of property. That retirement nest egg would be actively working for you over numerous years until retirement and through retirement.

If you think you do not have the time between now and when you want to retire, think again. The other direction may be for you. You could build some equity in the property we talked about above. Then you could trade up using the equity you built in making double payments and investment tax incentives.

You should always trade up in value or equal in value in order to benefit from the tax savings. When you take this route, you will actually be raising your net worth by much more than equity because you will be steadily increasing your net worth by more than just the cash flow from your investment.

If you were to take the fast-track accumulated equity you have built by paying double or triple the principle each month and trade up to a property worth $200,000 rather than $100,000, you could double your cash flow and pay off the mortgage in 16 years. That would give you a hefty cash flow at retirement with a very small initial investment.

About the Author:

Investment Property Specialist - Alex Anderson Connects Real Estate Investors With High-Quality Investment Properties. Get A Free Copy Of, “The Investor’s Rental Guide” at: www.GreatInvestmentProperty.com

Real Estate Investing Myths - Busted

Myth 1: It is too late to invest. I?m too old to wait for an income.

Fact: It is never too late. The focus should be on positive cash flow and not on the mortgage pay off date. It is easy to own several rental properties that will pay you enough to not only pay the mortgage, but also give you a nice income.

Myth 2: I can?t afford to buy property now. I?ll wait until my house is paid for, then I?ll look into it.

Fact: Your house has equity in it already. You can use that equity as a down payment on an investment property and realize a positive cash flow from the rent.

Myth 3: The Real Estate bubble will burst and I?ll be left holding an empty balloon.

Fact: It is possible that interest rates will rise causing fair market values to lower, but that isn?t likely. The economy has been very stable. Rent rates have been predictably low in most markets. As markets correct themselves there will be some areas that rent inflation will occur and can only mean more money in your pocket. The key is finding the right location for investing.

Myth 4: Interest rates must rise and keep rising.

Fact: The Federal Reserve Board has been doing an excellent job in keeping inflation at so low an incline it is almost flat. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the recent spike in oil prices have caused a slight increase in rates, but the tide turned in the oil prices and inflation seems to be checked. Without going into complicated economics, the Federal Reserve has been keeping inflation clipped by tiny hikes in interest rates. The job market and labor force has maintained balance, therefore the slight increases are actually good for the economy and for investment security. Consumers are utilizing equity loans for their spending and huge spikes in interest rates would basically collapse the growing economy.

Myth 5: I don?t have any extra cash so a $0 down payment loan is the best route to start my real estate investment career.

Fact: If you don?t use any of your own money, your mortgage will be higher. $0 down means 100% of the loan equals 100% of the value. That kind of ratio means a negative cash flow. While negative cash flow is not a huge problem for someone who has available cash, negative cash flow for someone who lives from paycheck to paycheck is financial suicide.

Myth 6: A fixer-upper is a cheap way to riches.
Fact: A fixer-upper can put money in your pocket but there are so many pitfalls that you need to be very careful. Buying well below market value for a house that needs a new roof will only be profitable if you just put the new roof on. Thinking that you need to not only fix the roof but put in another $20,000 of refurbishing to make it perfect is not good strategy. The more money you pour into a fixer-upper, the less profit you?ll realize when you sell it. Buying a fixer-upper, making it perfect all for under market value, then renting it is a better way to make money on that type of project.

Real Estate Investing Myths - Busted

Myth 1: It is too late to invest. I?m too old to wait for an income.

Fact: It is never too late. The focus should be on positive cash flow and not on the mortgage pay off date. It is easy to own several rental properties that will pay you enough to not only pay the mortgage, but also give you a nice income.

Myth 2: I can?t afford to buy property now. I?ll wait until my house is paid for, then I?ll look into it.

Fact: Your house has equity in it already. You can use that equity as a down payment on an investment property and realize a positive cash flow from the rent.

Myth 3: The Real Estate bubble will burst and I?ll be left holding an empty balloon.

Fact: It is possible that interest rates will rise causing fair market values to lower, but that isn?t likely. The economy has been very stable. Rent rates have been predictably low in most markets. As markets correct themselves there will be some areas that rent inflation will occur and can only mean more money in your pocket. The key is finding the right location for investing.

Myth 4: Interest rates must rise and keep rising.

Fact: The Federal Reserve Board has been doing an excellent job in keeping inflation at so low an incline it is almost flat. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the recent spike in oil prices have caused a slight increase in rates, but the tide turned in the oil prices and inflation seems to be checked. Without going into complicated economics, the Federal Reserve has been keeping inflation clipped by tiny hikes in interest rates. The job market and labor force has maintained balance, therefore the slight increases are actually good for the economy and for investment security. Consumers are utilizing equity loans for their spending and huge spikes in interest rates would basically collapse the growing economy.

Myth 5: I don?t have any extra cash so a $0 down payment loan is the best route to start my real estate investment career.

Fact: If you don?t use any of your own money, your mortgage will be higher. $0 down means 100% of the loan equals 100% of the value. That kind of ratio means a negative cash flow. While negative cash flow is not a huge problem for someone who has available cash, negative cash flow for someone who lives from paycheck to paycheck is financial suicide.

Myth 6: A fixer-upper is a cheap way to riches.
Fact: A fixer-upper can put money in your pocket but there are so many pitfalls that you need to be very careful. Buying well below market value for a house that needs a new roof will only be profitable if you just put the new roof on. Thinking that you need to not only fix the roof but put in another $20,000 of refurbishing to make it perfect is not good strategy. The more money you pour into a fixer-upper, the less profit you?ll realize when you sell it. Buying a fixer-upper, making it perfect all for under market value, then renting it is a better way to make money on that type of project.

How to Make Money in Real Estate Investing

Raja” Ahluwalia

Lower Your Taxes
Tax incentives for real estate investors can often make the difference in your tax rates. Deductions for rental property can often be used to offset wage income. Tax breaks can often enable investors to turn a loss into a profit.

Lower Your Taxes
Tax incentives for real estate investors can often make the difference in your tax rates. Deductions for rental property can often be used to offset wage income. Tax breaks can often enable investors to turn a loss into a profit.

For which items can investors get tax breaks? You could claim deductions for actual costs you incur for financing, managing and operating the rental property. This includes mortgage interest payments, real estate taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, property management fees, travel, advertising, and utilities (assuming the tenant doesn”t pay them). These expenses can be subtracted from your adjusted gross income when determining your personal income taxes. Of course, these deductions cannot exceed the amount of real estate income you receive. In addition to deductions for operating costs, you can also receive breaks for depreciation. Buildings naturally deteriorate over time, and these “losses” can be deducted regardless of the actual market value of the property. Because depreciation is a non-cash expense — you are not actually spending any money — the tax code can get a bit tricky. For more information about depreciation and various tax alternatives, ask your tax advisor about Section 1031 of the U.S. Tax Code.

Have a Positive Cash Flow

There are two kinds of positive cash flows: pre-tax and after-tax. A pre-tax positive cash flow occurs when income received is greater than expenses incurred. This sort of situation is difficult to find, but they are usually a strong and safe investment. An after-tax positive cash flow may have expenses that outweigh collected income, but various tax breaks allow for a positive cash flow. This is more common, but it is generally not as strong or safe as a pre-tax positive cash flow.

Regardless of what kind of real estate you choose to invest in, timely collections from your tenants is absolutely necessary. A positive cash flow — whether it is pre-tax or after-tax — requires rental income. Be sure to find quality tenants; a thorough credit and employment check is probably a good idea.

Use Leverage

One of the most important factors in determining a solid investment is the amount of equity you are purchasing. Equity is the difference between the actual worth of the property and the balanced owed on the mortgage.

Benefit from Growing Equity

While investing in real estate is relatively complex, it is often worth the extra work. When compared to other financial investments, like bonds or CD’s, the return on investment for real estate purchases can often be greater.

The key to real estate investing is equity. Determine an amount of equity that you want to achieve. When you reach your goal, it’s time to sell or refinance. Determining the proper amount of equity may require the assistance of a real estate professional.

(c) Copyright 2005 Madan Ahluwalia. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Great Source of Private Money For Real Estate Investing

How would it be to have access to over a million dollars in private money for real estate investing? That?s just what a good friend of mine stumbled into when he did a very simple thing? something you can do in an afternoon.

My friend, Jim, has been investing in real estate for several years. One day, after a family get together, he decided to let his family know about his investing. He had been pretty successful with small apartment buildings, so he decided to send out a simple postcard to all the members of his family, telling them to call him if they knew of anyone wanting to sell rental property.

Lo and behold, Jim got a call the very next week from an uncle he barely knew. The uncle didn?t know of any property for sale, but he expressed curiosity in what Jim was doing, so the two men made an appointment to get together for lunch.

At lunch, Jim explained his investing strategy, and outlined some of the successes he had enjoyed. He talked about the simple things in his business, like buying value, and looking for positive cash flow. He enjoyed talking about it, and Jim?s uncle seemed genuinely interested.

Then Jim got the surprise of his life.

As they were leaving, Jim?s uncle leaned into the car window and said, ?Could you use a silent partner to help with the financing end of things??

Jim says, ?I think my heart skipped several beats before I answered.?

After Jim?s heart started again, he told his uncle he?d be happy to put his money to work. It turned out that Jim?s uncle was sitting on nearly $1,000,000 in liquid assets, assets Jim has used over and over again during the last few years to build a rental real estate empire.

The funny thing is, Jim didn?t set out to find relatives with money. He was just looking for some property, and along the way he found one of the greatest private lenders I?ve ever heard about.

What can we take away from this story? Well, you may not have a relative with anywhere near the available cash Jim?s uncle has, but the question is, how do you know? More importantly, how easy would it be to find out? My guess is, pretty easy. Could you find a creative way to ask, and let your family know what you?re doing? Of course you could!

#1 Real Estate Investing Mistake Of 2005

Over the past few years, real estate investors, hungry for break-even or positive cash flow rental properties, purchased income properties out of state. California investors bought houses in Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma. Florida investors purchased houses in Louisiana. Texas investors purchased in Las Vegas. Many of these investors made millions of dollars because of the appreciation in hot markets.

On the other hand, in 2005, some beginning investors lost their hard-earned investment capital or only made a meager profit because they failed to do their homework on the out-of-state area’s real estate market and customs.

If you ‘re thinking about buying investment properties in a different state than you’re accustomed to, beware of these five surprises.

Surprise # 1 - ‘These (extra) costs are the norm in this state!‘

Besides extra closing costs like pricey surveys, common in Florida but rare in California, other surprise costs included higher transfer fees and taxes. Property taxes in Florida cost much more for investors in Florida than in California. On the other side of the country, out-of-state investors were shocked by California’s state tax held in escrow: 3.8% of the property’s SALES price, no matter the actual profit made. In other words, an investor who made a quick profit of $20,000 on a fast flip could have more than the profit held until the next year’s income tax filing.

Surprise # 2 - ‘You can’t lease this property!‘

New home developers and many Homeowners’ Associations (HOA)s prohibit property owners from leasing their properties. Some of these restrictions got passed, without the investor being notified, during the property purchase phase. You must read the fine print to see if any clauses prevent the rental of the property. Home builders, to keep the value of the neighborhood up, added restrictions requiring the purchaser to occupy the home as a primary or secondary residence.

Surprise # 3 - ‘This house will only rent for $750 per month, not $1200!‘

This was one of the top mistakes made in 2005. Large real estate investing groups, selling out-of-state properties to local investors, inflated the rental income. Because so many houses were purchased in a limited area by investors, a rental glut lowered the expected income. This created hardships for investors who suddenly had to pay out hundreds of dollars a month instead of reaping promised profits.

Surprise # 4 - ‘You can’t sell this house, now!‘

Some investors who couldn’t rent the out-of-state property decided to sell because the values did rise significantly while the house was built or during the purchase time. However, many investors were stunned when they were told they couldn’t sell the property within the first year after purchase. Restrictions prohibiting real estate investors from quick-turning their properties is a trend that is growing increasingly popular with some developers.

Surprise # 5 - ‘Houses don’t appreciate 30% per year here!‘

Perhaps you’ve attended or been invited to a high-power investment seminar that promotes out-of-state real estate investing. Some of these ‘investor clubs’ really are promoters who receive kick-backs in real estate commissions, property management fees, mortgage loan fees, and even fire insurance premiums. They tell stories of huge appreciation gains, which are probably true. However, not all areas enjoy significant appreciation–year after year.

Don’t make the costly mistake of not fully researching the complete market customs and restrictions in the area where you’re thinking about investing. If you can’t afford to go check out the area in person, choose another area that you can visit.

Copyright ? 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

About the Author: Jeanette Fisher offers FREE “How to Start Real Estate Investing Teleseminar,” free ebook, “The Truth about Making Money Flipping Houses” http://doghousetodollhouse.com