Brandon Cornett asked:


Buying a home is often the largest personal finance transaction a person makes in his or her life. So it’s critical that you make the right preparations and do the proper research. Regardless of unique situations and special circumstances, there are ten things you must do before buying a home.

1. Study the home buying process.

This will allow you to make better decisions and act confidently. Home buying lingo is a big part of this, so be sure to read through a few home-buying glossaries before you get into the thick of things.

2. Obtain your credit report.

Get a copy of your credit report and review it for errors. You can get copies from all three credit bureaus at once by visiting www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Mortgage lenders will review your credit with a fine-toothed comb, so you should do the same … before they review it.

3. Fix credit errors quickly.

If you find an error on your credit report, go to the company’s website where the report came from (TransUnion, Equifax or Experian) to contest it. It can take time to clean up an erroneous credit report, so get started as soon as you spot the error.

4. Check your debt-to-income ratio.

Mortgage lenders like to see a borrower’s debt at (or below) 20% of net monthly income. If your debt exceeds 20% of your net monthly income, try to pay it down for applying for a mortgage loan. You’ll have an easier qualification process and will likely qualify for a better rate.

5. Determine your budget.

Use an online mortgage calculator to get an idea of how much you can afford to pay each month, and what that equates to in terms of a home price. This will give you a budget to work from, which will help you weed out the homes that are beyond your comfort zone.

6. Start saving your cash.

This is one of the best things you can do before starting the home buying process, for a couple of reasons. First of all, mortgage lenders like to see that you have some cash reserves on hand. Secondly, you’ll need cash reserves for any unexpected fees or costs that might arise (which is common).

7. Get pre-approved for a loan.

During pre-approval, a mortgage lender will review your credit, finances, debt, etc. and conditionally qualify you for a certain amount of mortgage. Sellers will take you more seriously if you have a pre-approval letter, and the process also helps identify any problems with your credit or other qualifying factors.

8. Avoid new lines of credit.

Try to keep your financial situation as “stable” and favorable as possible. It’s a good idea to pay down some debt (see item #4 above) and to save up some cash. But the worst thing you can do is take out a new loan / line of credit. At best, this could make the qualification process take longer. At worst, it could tip the debt scales into the “greater than 20%” zone, which will make it harder to get a loan.

9. Validate the asking price.

It’s called an “asking price” for a good reason. No asking price is set in stone, and everything in real estate negotiable. So don’t accept an asking price as being reasonable until you validate it through careful research. Compare the home / price to recent sales in the area. Your real estate agent can provide a comparative market analysis (CMA) to help you with this step.

10. Get a home inspection.

It is never — I repeat, never — wise to skip the home inspection. A house is a sizable investment, and the last thing you want is to find a bunch of things wrong with it after you’ve taken ownership. Home inspections are very affordable, and you cannot put a price on the peace of mind you’ll have as a result of your inspection.

home buying tips

Leslie Collins asked:


In order to successfully flip real estate contracts whether you’re involved with potential rehab projects or pre-foreclosures you need to have a solid investor network to present your ‘package’ to.

It is imperative long before you lock up any property that you can, within a few phone calls, contact active and willing investors who will consider your offer.

The key to successful real estate contract flipping is making it easy for your upstream investor group to quickly resell properties you’ve assigned to them. Consistently providing well priced deals that your investor group can turn over quickly gives you the credibility you need to flip contracts on an ongoing basis.

Many rehab investors have more money than time so by you doing the legwork you are providing them a valuable service.

Here are FIVE tips that’ll help you gain credibility with potential investors looking for properties:

1.) Accurate repair estimates – Investors don’t like surprises. When evaluating a property be able to estimate the repairs by a margin of about 20%. If you underestimate your repair cost, your investor will have to re-evaluate whether or not the property is really a good deal or not.

2.) Accurately estimate the Market value of the property – Don’t base your property value estimate on the asking price of other houses that similar in spec. You need to base your value on similar houses that have been sold in the area in the last 30-60 or 90 days.

3.) Understand the impact of holding costs – Know the average ‘Days On Market’ (DOM) for properties selling in that area. This will have a critical impact on your investors holding costs and ultimately your profit. If the average DOM is 90 this means the investor can expect to pay out 3 months of loan payments, most likely borrowed from a hard money lender at somewhere between 12-14%.

Of course if you know the average DOM is 15-30 days your deals will be all the more attractive to outside investors.

Again due diligence in the form of market research on your part will insure you are credible and are communicating the most accurate information regarding DOM to your investor group.

4.) Research the property – be prepared to examine and communicate to your investor group issues regarding deed problems, structural records, comps, zoning status, insurability report, and other key details that would affect closing and or re-sell. Again no surprises.

5.) Be serious and know your role – in other words, treat this as a real business. You are providing a service, a specialized niche that requires a combination of negotiating skills and knowledge of the real estate market. If your assignments turn over or ‘flip’ quickly and at the right price you will be getting weekly calls from investors providing you endless business.

Summary

The good news is flipping real estate contracts can be learned; there are some really good methods in the form of e-books available which are not very expensive. Successfull real estate contract flipping involves a mix of knowledge and experience, and probably the best way to get your foot in the door making money in real estate. Why not start the learning process? Most realize there’s nothing to lose and opens the door to acquiring wealth.

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Mathew Butka asked:


Selling your home is not an easy task and sometimes the hidden costs are enough to send the meak running away with tears in their eyes. However, there are creative and cheap ideas that can be used to help sell your home quickly. This will cost money but with a little bit of know-how and forethought, it can work to be cheaper in the long run and the investment and time put in can reap higher profits if applied properly.

Here is what you should consider when trying to sell your home quickly without spending a ton of money.

Home Value – maximizing your profit is your goal but the trick is to evaluate all the surrounding homes in the immediate neighborhood that have sold recently and are comparable in appearance and quality to your own. This is what real estate agents refer to as “the comps.” Then do some research what improvements should be done to your home that are in keeping with the neighborhood. The key here is to make your home more attractive than the competition in order to reach your target price. Get your home valued by a real estate agent as it is now and then again after making any improvements; set the price at the highest price given, allowing for the lowest price you will sell for as being the median between the original and new valuation prices. Be your own advertiser – take quality photos of the best features of your home and advertise them on zillow.com and realtor.com; put a for sale sign in your yard with contact details; create and print your own fliers, distributing them yourself from home to home, in store windows, at gyms/grocery stores/restaurants/cafes and bars; and advertise your home in the same ways in a neighborhood that is also one step up from your home as many people are willing to invest in up and coming neighborhoods. Take a real estate agent’s course or study for free online – learn all the tricks and tips needed to know to sell your own home and avoid the cost of hiring an agent, as well as the pitfalls that you should be aware of; consult with agents on a friendly basis for tips and trends; and be prepared to invest time into showing your home yourself, but if this is too much then hire a real estate agent that gives quality for money. Make your home stand out from the neighbors – clean up the yard, paint the inside a neutral tone, fix all damage or faults, fill in holes and clean the grease in the driveway, paint the outside and fences, get rid of internal clutter and replace old furnishings that are eyesores, mow the lawn, trim/prune/weed, and invest in bedding plants and hanging baskets; and most of all keep it spotless. Only improve what needs vital improvements – never invest in major renovations or improvements unless absolutely necessary; state-of-the-art is not necessary, but fixing things that have worn out are vital; paint cupboards instead of replacing good ones; replace carpets yourself or put in slotted wood flooring yourself; and buy a DIY and home improvement book that shows use the basics of plumbing, decorating and other things to avoid hiring contractors. Invest your improvement money in home preservation versus luxury – spend your funds for home improvements on keeping the home in good order, repairing damage and deterioration, and upgrading wiring or things that could threaten the price as well as the safety of the home. Fix the driveway yourself – fill in major and minor cracks by purchasing a spreader and asphalt re-sealer from your local hardware store, but do not hire a contractor. While you are at it, be sure to clean up the stains on the driveway from dripping oil from engines. Keep up the style of the neighborhood – fix your home to be in keeping with the neighborhood and not to become the local palace in a dumpy area; and do not upgrade unless the overall internal styles are impractical or too outdated to make it workable or live-able. Hold your own open house – prepare brochures and specs ahead of time by downloading free templates for your word processing program on your computer and insert good quality photos that you can take yourself with a digital camera, detailing the main features, local amenities and special things about the neighborhood and your home that make it worth investing in; prepare a tour by emphasizing all the best aspects of your home and how it has allowed you and your family to have a happy home to live, but do not give any negative aspects; and as an added bonus, offer free coffee, tea, juice and homemade cookies to make the whole experience more inviting.

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Donovan Carter asked:


Sometimes the market is sluggish and at other times homes simply don’t sell. The longer a house sits on the market, the more it languishes, becoming less attractive to agents and their potential buyers. If your home isn’t selling, you can fix it. For tips and tricks that will help you sell your home, keep reading.

1. Focus on Curb Appeal

When you pull up to your house, are you wowed or sorely disappointed? Prospective buyers usually make a decision on a house within seconds of their arrival, meaning curb appeal is crucial.

Some inexpensive steps you can take to improve your home’s curb appeal include power washing the house, painting the deck, repaving the driveway, updating fixtures, repainting your trim and investing in landscaping improvements.

2. Check Your Price

Is your home competitively priced? Keep an eye on prices in your neighborhood to make sure your home is priced commensurate for its location and amenities. Sometimes a price reduction can help spark a house sale.

You can also invest in a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA), which is a professional assessment of your home’s value.

3. Dress for the Stage

Staging a home means focusing on small, inexpensive cosmetic changes that can help your property get sold faster. Whether you hire a professional staging company or do it yourself, staging has been shown to decrease sale times by as much as 50 percent.

When staging a home, focus on repainting tired walls, getting rid of personal clutter, updating fixtures and freshening the space with new accessories. Staging a home also means minimizing furniture clutter in order to make the space look bigger.

If your house is overcrowded, think about moving some of your personal effects and extra furniture to an off-site storage space.

4. Cover Buyer’s Cost

Particularly in a sluggish market, offering to cover some or all of a buyer’s closing costs can be a real incentive for potential home buyers. Whether it’s paying for the inspection, covering mortgage fees or even funding financing, wooing buyers is a sure-fire way to attract offers.

5. Offer an Agent Incentive

By offering an agent’s incentive for the buyer’s agents, you’ll get a lot of agents in your area highly motivated to show your home to their buying clients. Offer an additional percentage point incentive to attract agents.

Sellers can also offer their own agents incentives based on performance.

For example, a realtor’s contract might include a clause that rewards a selling agent with an extra percentage point if the house is sold within a certain time frame and above a particular price point.

home selling tips

Raynor James asked:


When buyers look at homes, the tedious nature of the task can result in all the properties looking the same. Here are some tips you can implement to make your home stand out.

The number one way to make your house stand out is a painting strategy. Happily, it is also one of the cheapest options. In this case, we are talking about the interior paint. By taking some small steps, you can make the interior of your home look strikingly different.

The first issue to consider is molding. If you have beautiful molding, you want to highlight it. The best way to do this is to paint either it or the walls in a contrasting color. This will “frame” the walls with the molding and buyers will definitely notice it.

More and more homes these days have large open space plans. Creating a distinct look for such homes is often done with a unique furniture layout. Of course, you don’t want to go spend $20,000 on furniture for a home you are going to be moving out of. A better approach it to isolate a wall you want to highlight. Now paint it a strong color. This will draw the focus of the room and potential buyers to the wall. Controlling the focus in open space floor plans is the key to making an impression.

Smell. This is the cheapest tip you will ever find, but it really works. When you are expecting someone to view the home or are going to have an open house, bake cookies or something that smells great. People viewing the home will make an emotional connection to both food and see themselves living in the home. Flowers do not work as well.

Our fourth issue to consider is the lighting. For some reason, sellers tend to close blinds or at least do so partially. Do not! There are very few buyers that are looking for a dark, dank home to live in. Open the blinds and even the windows if it isn’t to noise, etc. By opening the home up, you let light in.

Our final tip is to create space in the home. Get rid of your junk! Walk around and ask yourself why each piece of furniture is where it is. If you don’t have a good answer, throw it out or stick it in storage. Try this and you will surprised how many things in your home are there because that is where you put them when you moved in!

The key to selling your home is taking the extra steps your competition does not. With these tips, now you can.

Buying A Home?

Juliet A Johnson asked:


We have all heard the real estate principle Location, Location, Location. But what if your budget didn’t afford you the luxury of all the space, bells and whistles you wanted in a perfect location? A busy corner, a noisy road, power lines along the property border… it happens.

If the home you’re trying to sell is in a less than perfect location, it will likely take longer to sell than comparable homes that are better situated. There are ways to temper a “bad” location so that your home can appreciate appropriately and tempt buyers in more ways than just being “cheaper”.

1. Invest in landscaping so that you’re offering a haven, a sanctuary and additional living space. Consider:
tall, thick trees a water feature, like a loud fountain fencing

2. Make sure the Home’s interior sparkles appealingly.
up-to-date & neutral – Each room should look neutral in terms of colors, style and decor. The more up-to-date the interior looks, the more maintained your house appears. clean – A clean house is a lot more enticing than a filthy one. A dirty house is more depressing, it’s an offput and costs you money. People see it as wreck and bid accordingly. (Which is usually not at all!) fresh smelling – Fresh and clean spells inviting in most buyer’s books.

3. Noise Busters
music – an outdoor stereo system is not only a nice-to-have feature, it’s a great way to temper road noise table-top fountains – the same with fountains, both in-ground and on a table top. The soft trickling of water not only soothes the spirit but also blocks out much ambient sound wind chimes – the same as above, really.

Bonus Tip

Don’t forget the additional square footage of a basement. Is yours finished? If not, open, cleared, cleaned spaces can often be decorate to replicate or at least suggest a rec room, remarkably inexpensively. It’s worth consideration and goes a long way to propping up the value of a home.

The real estate principle of location can be tempered by making your home a great value. A place that’s fun to live in, with lots of bells and whistles other homes in the price point don’t have. Never give up hope, always look to add value.

Selling A House?

Bruce Swedal asked:


So, you have decided to sell your home. It is on today’s market, you have a trusted agent of real estate – now what? You need to sell your home next. Here are several tips to benefit the potential selling and marketability of your house.

Normally, possible buyers will initially see the very front of the house. Therefore, the goal would be to make it highly attractive and very inviting. The first impression is vital. Making positive first impressions is even more vital. The key would be to ensure that everything looks clean and neat. Pull out weeds, cut the grass, plant flowers, trim the bushes, etc.

Ensure that your house is clean. This would include mopping floors, steam-cleaning carpets, dusting areas that are hard to reach and cleaning windows. Possible buyers will be picky and, because of this, they will inspect everything that they can.

Try to maintain neutral styles and colors. The key would be not to try and influence buyers with your personal style. Somebody may come in, see a black wall, and be instantly turned off. You should try and have them visualize their own colors. Keep things neutral to solve this predicament.

Check the lighting. Obviously, nobody wants to see homes that cannot be seen. Sadly, a lot of people overlook this. Check light bulbs and ensure that they work. Concern yourself especially with darker house areas which might need artificial lighting. This would include locations like bathrooms and the basement. It would also be a great idea to keep the curtains open. Basically, natural light is better.

If necessary, make repairs. This would include fresh coats of paint, fixing holes on the walls, etc. Your buyer needs to feel as if your home is taken care of to give you a big fat bonus.

Avoid clutter. It would be bad if buyers end up feeling boxed in. Try to keep clutter down. Get rid of unnecessary items like tons of accessories and pictures. The goal would be to have the house feel like home while keeping it organized and spacious. Buyers need to get a great sense of this space and visualize themselves in it.

Lastly, it would be essential to remember that these tips will not guarantee a sold home, but it will definitely help. Everybody is different, so other variables need to be considered. Your ultimate goal should be making your house feel inviting, so potential buyers can visualize it as theirs.

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Michael K. Houston asked:


If I were to ask if you ever thought about investing in real estate, my guess is you would answer “yes.” Many have dreamed of purchasing investment property to supplement their income, build wealth for retirement, or fund their child’s college tuition but have sat on the sidelines watching their dreams turn to mere wishful thinking. Well, now more than ever is the time to get off the bench and onto the real estate investing playing field. We’re experiencing a rare golden market for acquiring cash flow real estate property that we may not see for many years to come (or ever see again)!

How is this so? It is so due to a combination of historically low interest rates, drastically fallen home values and stable rent prices. A few years ago when home prices were skyrocketing by the day it was nearly impossible to buy a home, rent it out and receive a positive cash flow. Yet the tide had turned, and now it’s very possible to do just that! In the summer of 2008 I helped an investor client of mine find and purchase a deeply discounted renovated bank-owned townhome in Prince William County, VA and a few weeks later secure a tenant for her which provided her a substantial positive rental cash flow. And the beauty of this transaction is that as the real estate market rebounds over the long-term she will enjoy the equity appreciation, tax benefits, and monthly supplemental income while her tenants are paying for her valuable asset.    

I truly believe that real estate is the cornerstone for building generational wealth.  I have enjoyed the benefits (although not void of challenges) of owning cash flow rental property  for 11 years and have made it my professional mission to help renters become homeowners and homeowners become successful real estate investors.  The current real estate market provides one of the greatest windows of opportunity to begin that journey towards long-term wealth accumulation.  If you are ready to experience it for yourself, I recommend the following steps:  

Schedule a consultation with an investor-friendly real estate agent knowledgeable and experienced in finding and structuring profitable cash flow real estate investing transactions. This initial consultation will provide you an opportunity to share your goals and get professional guidance on developing a plan of action to bring your vision to reality.  Get pre-approved for investor financing. Your real estate agent should have a team of investor-friendly lenders experienced in financing investment property purchases and consulting buyers on the best loan options, down payment requirements and loan terms to achieve your goals. Lenders now have more stringent credit and down payment requirements, thus making this a critical step before hitting the pavement to see homes.  Start looking for your first, or next cash flow property.  This is the exciting part! Your real estate agent should be diligent in finding homes that will yield a positive rental cash flow within your loan approval amount.  This home search process should include analyzing recent sales comparables to determine the current market value and appropriate offer price, and recent rent comparables to determine how much you can charge for rent.  With this data you can perform a quick rental cash flow profit analysis by using this formula:  Monthly Rent – Monthly Debt Payment (principle + interest + taxes + insurance + pmi) – HOA/Condo fees – Other Recurring Costs (property management fees, maintenance) = Monthly Rental Cash Flow Secure a tenant. Once you have purchased your investment property your real estate agent should help you secure a tenant, if needed, so you can start receiving your monthly rental cash flow.  Plan to hold the property long-term. Wealth accumulation in real estate historically comes from significant equity appreciation that occurs over time. 
Note: For tax and legal advice concerning real estate investing matters consult a tax professional and attorney respectively.

Selling A House?