If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Who ever said Real Estate investing was easy was probably not investing, but those who have stuck with their dreams and have developed a system that works in up and down market conditions will more then likely come out a winner.

In the US 1 in 8 homes are overdue in their payments. When late payments increase, the foreclosure proceedings will also increase, and when foreclosures increase properties will be available at a discounted rate. When properties are sold under these conditions the struggles are far from over.

It has been forecast that 48% of mortgages held in the US will owe more money than their properties are worth before the end of the housing recession (Deutsche Bank report). Also the forecast for the percentage of borrowers in the United States owing more than 125% of their properties value will be increasing to 28% of all mortgage holders.

With these factors unfolding it could lead to further US housing declines for several years to come.

Hans Anderson

Subscribe in a reader

Becoming a Real Estate Rehabber by Alexis McGee

I’ve been talking a lot lately about the “Investors Flip Feast” going on right now. With an Investor’s Flip Feast you contract a great deal with a homeowner and then assign your contract to another investor for a quick finder’s fee. It’s a great way to get started in foreclosure investing without needing any of your own cash or credit.

Once you’ve mastered “assigning deals” to investors for quick paydays, you are ready to make some serious money in real estate by buying a property at a discount, fixing it up, and selling it on the retail market. This is also known as “rehabbing” or “retailing.” This is a great way to see the results of your work immediately and build wealth quickly. It works in any market, any time. And it is working especially well right now with all the great fixer foreclosure opportunities everywhere around us.

Our many foreclosures.com successful rehabber clients focus on fixing up “entry level” family properties and make $30,000-$60,000 or more on every deal. Doing two or three houses like this a year can provide great extra income for college and retirement expenses, while doing six or more deals a year can provide you with a great living and be your ticket to firing your boss.

Cosmetic vs. Structural Repairs

When looking for a great property to rehab, keep your eyes open for fixes that will make a big difference, but not necessarily cost a lot. Less really is better in the retailing business. Look for houses that need cosmetic changes such as:

· New paint

· New carpet

· New fixtures

· New landscaping

· Minor clear termite repairs

Until you become an expert at rehabbing, avoid properties with structural problems such as foundation issues or severe dry rot. Major rehabs can be extremely profitable, but you must refine your job-costing skills first or you can get stuck in a money pit.

Buy It Right and Everything Else Falls in Place

It’s often said that real estate investors make their money when they buy, not when they sell. This simply means that when you get in for the right price, you are guaranteed to profit when you get out.

So what is a good deal? You want to have at least a 30% margin PLUS repairs to ensure that you make enough profit. For example, if a house in perfect condition will be worth $200,000 fixed up, you must get it for $140,000 LESS the cost of repairs. If repairs are minimal and only $20,000 then you need to buy it for $120,000. In this scenario, when including repairs, you are actually buying the house at 40% off.

Out of that 30% margin, 15% goes to buying, holding, and selling expenses and 15% goes to your profit. In the same example, your 15% profit on a $200,000 retailed house will net you $30,000. The higher the resale, the more money you make. If the house is smaller than $200,000, I pencil in a minimum of $30,000 flat (rather than 15% percent) to make sure I get my minimum payday for my time, effort, and risk.

Also remember that the bigger the repairs, the bigger the discount (I’ve been known to buy at more than 50% discount on bigger projects). Remember, you’re dealing with motivated sellers–typically fixer uppers–which means the houses you buy will NEVER be in perfect condition.

Make Sure You Get it Right

To make every deal as profitable as possible, you must prepare in advance and estimate all your costs properly. The biggest risks in rehabbing property are:

While you can make a great deal of money in rehabbing, it can be frustrating and time-consuming if you don’t do it right. On the other hand, you don’t have to deal with tenants, you can see the progress being made every day, and you’re updating housing and improving a neighborhood. It’s rewarding to drive by houses you’ve bought, rehabbed, and sold. And your new neighbors love you.

If rehabbing houses interests you, try doing one or two while maintaining your current job. If you enjoy it, and it makes you enough money, perhaps you might try going full time as an investor. Fixing up houses for new buyers is one of the most satisfying things you can do in real estate, and the most profitable.

Sign Up Today for ForeclosureS.com’supcoming Webinars and Calls!

* Search Foreclosures in Your Neighborhood, FREE 7-Day Foreclosure Lists Trial

* Don’t miss Alexis Live via Teleconference, Toll Free on Wednesday, October 14, 2009

* Gain Practical Step-by-Step “What to do and How to do” Foreclosure Investing Instructions.

* Enroll in our Interactive Hands-On Investor Tutoring by Alexis and her Proteges.

* Hire your own Foreclosure Investor Personal Coach

Copyright © 2009 Foreclosures.com.
This article is available for free distribution under the following terms:
a) You may not edit, delete or add any content to this article.
b) You must maintain all links to Foreclosures.com.
c) This article must be distributed free of charge.
d) This Resource Box must stay intact.

Subscribe in a reader

Foreclosures tax sales are the product of homeowners who fail to meet their tax obligations and lose their homes to the government. The government often sells properties that it has acquired through tax foreclosures to people who can pay the taxes that are owed. They are sold in proceedings during a tax foreclosure sale (or tax deed sales). Government tax sales were created to recover the taxes that the original homeowner did not pay.

In selling these properties under tax foreclosure, the government offers the liens (the unpaid taxes, the interest for those amounts, and the selling costs involved) to interested investors in a public auction. In case there are many prospective buyers of these liens, the winner is awarded the properties in any of the following methods:

-Bid Down the Interest Method – The government fixes a maximum rate of return and the bidders have to stay within that rate limit specified. The investor accepting the lowest rate of return among the bidders is declared winner of the tax foreclosure property. In cases of ties on the bids, the impasse is resolved through a random or rotational method.

-Premium Method – In the premium method, an investor who is willing to pay the highest premium on the lien amount is declared the winning bidder. This method of selecting the winner in an auction is used and preferred in some parts of the country

-Rotational Selection Method – The investor listed first in the list of bidders gets the first offer of the liens in the rotational selection method in the auction. In case he declines, the offer is made to the investor next in the line and so on. The first bidder, who declined in the first round, is offered another lien only after an equal chance is given all potential investors that are included in the list.

-Random Selection Method – In this method in an auction, the potential investor gets selected through a random process usually done through the use of computers.

-Bid Down The Ownership Method – The lien in this method given to the bidder who buys the property at its lowest cost. If he buys it at 90% of the property cost, and in case of redemption of the lien by the original owner, this investor would only be eligible for 90% ownership and the remaining ownership of 10% would go to the original owner of the property in question.

Not all liens get sold right away in an auction and when this happens, the unsold liens remain in the hands of the government entity that conducted the auction. It could conduct another auction later. In the meantime that the liens are unsold, the unsold liens are called “struck” liens.

The last thing you want is to miss out on a good investment because you don’t understand the auction procedures. Make sure you fully understand the type of auction you are going to. If your new to investing you might want to consider joining a real estate investment club

Hans

Subscribe in a reader

This article goes into some of the ground rules that need to be set up prior to starting your investment club. All members should be made clear of these rules before becoming a member and not have accumulated a large number of debt loans.

Starting your own investment club should not be anything which gives you worries. Since you’ll be working with your family and friends you should be at ease with those around you in your club. You can be assured of having a successful club if you follow a few general and commonsense rules from the beginning.

One of the biggest mistakes that a lot of new club founders make is that they do not tell the club members upfront that they may lose money with their real estate investments or trades that they make, in the beginning. Not every real estate investment or trade that the club will make will be a winner, and this is especially true during the first few months of the club. Since many of the investment clubs which are created do not have many members who are familiar with buying real estate or making stock trades, it is a learn as you go experience for the majority of the club members. You must inform potential members before they join that the money they put up for investment should be money that they can stand to lose, and not suffer any hardship because of the loss.

While we are discussing money, you need to make sure everyone agrees upon what the contribution will be for each member on a monthly basis. The amount of the monthly contribution should not be more than what any one member can afford to put in monthly. If all of your members but one can afford to put $100 into the club account, and the one can only put $75 into the club account monthly, then everyone should only put $75 into the club account. All monthly contributions must be equal to sustain the equality of the group and its integrity. The most common monthly contribution amount used for investment groups is $20 per month, but you and your group are not bound by this amount by any means.

Make the club official by partnership agreement and have everyone who wants to be a member of the club sign the agreement. It is crucial to the success of the club for everyone to know what is expected of each individual, and the group as a whole. By having a signed membership agreement and a copy given to each member, there can be no disagreements later about what the club was built upon.

Do not try to start a large investment group. Having too many members can cause many problems, such as a greater risk for arguments and fragmentation of the group. For your group to work as a team, you need to keep your team to a manageable level of no more than fifteen. Most investment clubs do not exceed 10 members.

Starting your own investment club should not be something which makes you nervous or causes undue concerns. Concentrate on starting with people you know and trust and create a group that can get together and have fun, and you will see that your club will be a huge success.

These rules are the basic rules that need to be implemented into the club. If you have any other rules that you deem necessary make them aware to other members before you begin your investment club.

Hans Anderson

Subscribe in a reader

Your team of professionals becomes very important when evaluating deals in your area. Your real estate agent will be able to provide comparable properties for the investment property you are interested in.

The real estate agent will use the MLS listings to compare similar properties that have been sold in the last 6 to 12 months. Obviously the closer the comparable properties date is to the present time, it will show a more accurate reflection of current prices.

When doing a comparable lay the information out in front of you and then figure out what amenities one property has that the other properties don’t. You then add or subtract value of the amenity or lack of it.

As an example lets say we have two properties that are very similar. Both properties are the exact same in every way except one has a two car garage and the other has no garage.

The property with the garage sold 6 weeks earlier for $85,000. The other property without the garage has an asking price of $80,000. We now know that a two car garage would give the property an extra value of $5,000 and that the property without the garage is priced accurately.

Make sure you get a home inspection or a very reliable handyman to go over the property and get a preliminary title report as part of you property valuation.

Create a financial analysis of the property. Once you have established the fair market value of the property multiply that amount by 70%, then subtract your estimated costs for repairs. Your total would be the price that you would offer. Try to get a 20% profit (more is okay).

To calculate the offer price on the $80,000 property (fair market value).

$80,000 x 70% = $56,000

Now we will say that the repairs are $6000, subtract that amount from the $80,000.
For this property our offer would be $56,000-$6,000=$50,000. If you put in an offer of $50,000, your profit would be $30,000. A very nice profit.

Hans Anderson

Subscribe in a reader