How To Make Money Renting

Although the residential real estate market has hit the skids, it is not as gloomy as it appears.  The market may be down, but it is not out.  And it never will be as people will always need a place to live.  You just have to be prepared for a long term investment in real estate and not panic.
If you own property or want to make money in the market today, the way to go is to rent out property.  We have always been a nation of renters.  Over the past 50 years, however, we gradually moved towards home ownership.  There are still many people, however, who rent and some people who prefer to rent.  Home ownership is a responsibility that not everyone wants to take on.
You can make money in the real estate market today by renting out property to individuals.  You can rent out your own home instead of selling it if you are planning on moving, or even purchasing property to rent to people.  If you are looking for a rental investment to buy, there has never been a better time.  Housing prices are lower than ever as are mortgage rates.  You can purchase a home or a condominium to rent to others and also be a long term investment for you.
Be careful if you purchase a condominium unit with the intent of renting that there is nothing in the bylaws that prohibits renters.  You should also make sure that you do your own market study of the area.  How much are other homes or condominiums being rented for each month?  You need to find out whether the rent will cover not only the mortgage payment, but also the taxes and insurance.
Do your homework carefully before purchasing property to rent to others. This can be an ideal way to make money in real estate today, but you have to make sure that you understand the market as well as the tenant laws.  Tenant laws usually favor the tenant, so make sure that you screen any applicants carefully. You should also take a good security deposit, especially if you are renting a single family home out.  The security deposit should be returned when the house is vacated and in the order as agreed to in the lease.
If you buy property now, you can take advantage of the low housing prices as well as low lending rates.  You can then hold onto the property for several years while renting it to tenants who will, essentially, pay your mortgage.  When the real estate market moves towards a sellers market, which it eventually will, you can have the property appraised.  Chances are that it will be worth a lot more than for what you pay now and by selling, you will get a sizeable return.
Making money in the real estate market today is not difficult if you are patient and willing to look for the long term investment.  Always look to the best locations in which to invest in property as they will tend to gain in value quicker than any other locations. 

·         Lisa Jones is a seasoned realtor affiliated with RE/MAX Bryan-College Station. She offers a one-stop source for real estate services and information about Bryan-College Station Real Estate. Visit her homepage for a complete list of real properties college station, and you just might find the home you have been dreaming to have.

What To Look For In Real Estate Investment Today

You have probably already figured out that the real estate market is in a little bit more than a slump.  Some call it a recession while others call it a full fledged real estate depression.  Housing starts are lower than they have been since the early 1970s and foreclosures are at an all time high.  There are many more sellers than buyers and housing prices in some areas has actually plummeted. 

There are some people who purchased their homes at the height of the boom when everything climbing sky high that actually owe more on their homes than the value of their home.  Because of this, many people have opted for foreclosure rather than pay for something that is not worth the money at the current time.  The crash in the real estate market is not new.  In the 1970s, it was also a very bad market for quite a few years and many people, especially those in the trades, were out of work.

The difference between then and now, however, is the interest rates.  Back in the 1970s, the interest rates for home mortgages were at 18 percent.  People not only could not afford to buy homes because of the bad economy, but also because  of the fact that the rates were so high.  In  the early 1980s,  when the interest rates dropped to 12 percent, people went wild.  New housing was booming as was everything else.  If someone put their home up on the market at noon, they would have it sold by 4 p.m.  It was a sellers market through and through and remained that way for a few years.  A lot of people made money on real estate investing during those times, especially new home builders. 

The real estate market is always fluctuating, just like the stock market.  You should not be frightened to own real estate.  To the contrary, you should be frightened not to own real estate.  Real estate is not only a solid long term investment that usually always pays off big, but also something that you actually need.  As you need a place to live, it is better to pay your own mortgage than that of someone else. 

If you are looking for real estate investments today, look for foreclosures.  Better yet, look for short sales that have not yet reached foreclosure.  In a short sale, you can save the owner from going into foreclosure and usually pick the property up for a lot less money than it is worth.  You can offer low and even offer to allow the seller to stay in the home, for rent, for a while longer so that they can get their bearings. 

You can find short sales by looking on the docket of the county clerk court list.  A judge has to issue an eviction notice in order for a foreclosure to commence.  This means the bank has already gone through the court system.  You can find this information out at the county courthouse.  Anything that goes through the court is public record.  The judge issues an order for the sheriff to serve eviction papers through the court system. 

Another way to find out about foreclosures is to contact banks and mortgage lenders for foreclosure listings.  You will only find out about already foreclosed upon property.  You can also put an ad in the paper stating that you are looking for people going into foreclosure and work with them in this manner.  The short sale is one of  the things you should look for when investing in the real estate market today.  

Lisa Jones is a seasoned realtor affiliated with RE/MAX Bryan-College Station. She offers a one-stop source for real estate services and information about Bryan-College Station Real Estate. Visit her homepage for a complete list of real properties college station, and you just might find the home you have been dreaming to have.

Real Estate Market Research

Start your real estate market research with the U.S. Census information about a town. You want to invest in a town that is growing, especially if you are investing in income properties. It's getting easier to do this now, with all the information available online. Just go to the official U.S. Census site at www.census.gov.

If you call the chamber of commerce, or the local department of economic development, they may have a packet of statisics they can send you too, showing population figures, employment mix, and more. These are a couple of the statistical tools and information that can help, but one of the easiest and most useful research tools, is talking. 

Real Estate Market Research - Choosing a City

Talking is a great way to research a town. I once called the  Chamber of Commerce of Deming, New Mexico. In the course of our conversation, the chairman casually commented that the city was using up the water faster than the aquifer was being replenished. I also learned that they had no back-up plan. That was enough to cross Deming off our list.

When you want to know more about a town, use the phone. Use any excuse to call anyone from a real estate agent to a random resident. Ask questions about crime, whether the local government welcomes new businesses, what the climate is like. Are houses sitting for sale for a long time, or do they go fast? Where are the good and bad areas? What are the good and bad things about the town?

Prior to moving to Tucson, Arizona, part of our real estate market research was to call people in potential towns to see if they owned a snow shovel. If they did, we crossed the town off the list. Two different places can both get 25 inches of snow per year, but in one it stays all winter, and in another it melts before noon. Our snow shovel question told us the truth behind the statistics.

That was just a personal thing with us, of course, but talking to people can tell you much that is more directly related to investing. In fact, a good local bar can be a great place to do your research once you are in a town. Patrons will tell you what big employers are about to move in or out of the town, how fast homes are selling, whether there are gangs, and much more. 

Ask which areas are improving, and which are getting worse. Listen for stories about noisy or animal-infested areas. This kind of information is important, but hard to get from the raw data. Of course, people do sometimes exaggerate, so try to verify what you hear. Still, talking to people of can be a great way to do real estate market research.

 

Lisa Jones is a seasoned realtor affiliated with RE/MAX Bryan-College Station. She offers a one-stop source for real estate services and information about Bryan-College Station Real Estate. Visit her homepage for a complete list of real properties college station, and you just might find the home you have been dreaming to have.