How to Invest Using Creative Property?

Know your exit strategy

When you are doing creative property transactions you need to be aware that sometimes it is better to make just a small amount of money and move a deal on quickly rather than try to put the deal together yourself. In these circumstances you need other people who form part of your team.

I call them property partners. These are people that I can refer business to and I have an arrangement with them that if I send them business, then they pay me a referral fee. For example, a real estate agent, pest and building inspectors or accountants etc.

Before you go into a creative property transaction you need to have a good idea of what your exit strategy will be for that particular transaction. You may or may not have a 100% exit strategy at this point but you need to at least have a rough idea. For example, you have found a person who wants to sell their property. They have already had it with 1 agent and they come across you from your marketing.

You send them to your Property Partner who is a real estate agent in that particular geographic area. You have already agreed with the agent that you will receive $1,000 once that agent sells the property.

So in this case you have a clear exit strategy. It is, once the agent sells the property then you get paid your $1,000 commission on the day that the property settles.

Now let's look at another example where the exit strategy is not so clear. You have found a person who wants to sell their house. But they won't sell unless they get the price that they think the property is worth. The seller has the property on the market because he wants to put some money into a new business venture. He comes to you through your marketing and you send him to your Property Partner who is a real estate agent.

Again you have already agreed that your commission fee will be $1,000 paid on settlement once the property has sold. If the property sells then your exit strategy is clear. But what happens if the property doesn't sell? Does that mean that you don't get your commission? If this situation happened to me and the seller was about to take the property off the market, I would approach the seller and suggest to him that he may be able to keep his property and get the money he needs for his business.

I would suggest to him that he may want to consider refinancing his property. I would then suggest that he calls a mortgage broker that I know who is a good operator. (The mortgage broker would obviously be my Property Partner, who has already agreed to pay me a commission).

The lesson here is to make sure that you are as clear as possible on how you are going to exit the transaction, when will you be paid and how much commission you will get. Also you need to learn when to pass a deal on and when it is worth keeping the deal for yourself.

Ready for Your Search to Be Over Hiring Home Builders

Have you seen the television shows where a prospective home buyer has spent many months looking for the perfect house? Every time they come across it, as soon as they submit their bid for it, they end up disappointed because someone else ended up buying the home. No one wants to invest time and energy into house shopping if they are only going to end up getting their hopes up for nothing. Since the real estate industry is a buyer's market, it is only natural to assume that no one should have a problem finding their dream home. One reason there is so much competition for the properties that are available is because the prices are at an all time low. This s making it easier for more people to qualify for properties that they may not have previously been able to buy in the past. Also, some areas are more concentrated than others. This means more competition for the same properties. Since many people in highly desired areas are not willing to look elsewhere for a good house to buy, they simply offer the seller more money on hopes of being the sole owner of the house.
One way to avoid turning your home buying process into a long and drawn out one is to consider having your dream house built. You may think that it is cheaper to purchase a piece of property that is already constructed, however, if you were not thinking about purchasing a newly constructed house, then you need to contact a team of home builders. When you purchase used and foreclosed properties, you are also purchasing any problems that have not been resolved. The longer a property has been on the market, the more likely it has some things that need to be repaired. If you have a bottomless budget for your real estate investments, then you might not have a problem with coming out of pocket even more. If you happen to be working with a limited amount of funds, then you would be better off having your house built by a team of reputable and qualified home builders.
The best part of hiring home builders is that you can specify how you want your new house to look. Your house will be a new model that has been constructed in accordance with the regulations and guidelines for building codes in your state. Before you rush out to hire just any team of home builders, you need to do your research first. You may want to contact your local association of home builders if you need to find a reputable company for the job. Make sure you pay attention to any plans that are being made for the construction of your house. Before any work begins, make sure that both sides are clear and in agreement about what needs to be done and how it will be done. Payment schedules and material guidelines should also be included in any contracts before they are signed by both parties.

How Things You Should Know About Purchasing Real Estate?

If you are getting ready to put your purchase a home that is up for sale in the real estate market, there are some things you should do to help prevent you from being a victim of shady sales tactics. In order to educate and protect yourself, you need to do some substantial research on any property you are interested in before you consider buying it.

Everyone loves a fresh new coat of paint. In fact, statistics show that properties that have recently been painted tend to fare much better in the real estate market than those that don't. Instead of assuming that the house you are looking at was painted because it was in need of a paint job, make sure that you take some extra time to read all of the disclosures regarding that particular piece of property. You never know when the previous owner is just trying to get rid of a money trap. That new paint job could be hiding a whole host of problems for the next owner to deal with. If you purchase a piece of real estate without knowing what all the problems are, you are still responsible for them if they were listed in the disclosure agreements. Always look before you leap.

If you decide to purchase property and there are some structural problems like leaking windows or flooding basement and there wasn't anything in the disclosure agreements about any work being done or any problem with leaking and flooding but there was some kind of work done in the past that was related to the situation, you may have some legal recourse available. You need to talk to your agent and do some more homework to make sure that nothing was disclosed about those problems at any time except upon the repairs. It is up to all parties involved to have arbitration and come to an agreement as to how things should be handled. In most cases these types of situations can be settled out of court with the previous owner taking responsibility for any repairs to rectify the situation. If the previous owner does not take responsibility and action, you have the right to file a lawsuit.

Even if you read all of the disclosure agreements and don't come up with any problems, it is still in your best interest to hire an independent inspector to come out and make sure that everything is in order and up to code. You don't want to purchase a piece of real estate now only to find out years from now when you go to sell it that you are responsible for a problem that was never reported and existed from the previous owner.

Rental Home Management Services

Many home owners prefer to have a rental home management firm take care of their properties. The reason behind this is the usual efficiency and professionalism that comes with a reputable and renowned firm. Many of these companies have established rules and guidelines with which they base their transactions with their clients and their tenants. Some also have a variety of services which they can and have customized for their clients.
Services
Among the different services that a rental home management firm offers its clients, matching up a dwelling and a tenant may be one of the more difficult. This is also one of the most important and the initial steps to having satisfied clients. For the most part, both the owner of the house and the would-be tenant always has preferences which they will tell the company representative. These preferences are the bases of what each side wants from the other. For this part, it is imperative that the specifics of the owner of the dwelling be followed because it is the property that will be leased out and will be under the care of another person for the duration of the period of time indicated. Problems will abound if there are violations which are against what was initially stated in the contract.
Another service that a rental home management company may do for their client is to collect the monthly fee from the tenant. This is pretty straightforward in terms that the contract will always state the fixed amount of rent that the tenant is expected to give the firm at a specific date every month. There may be other specifics connected to the payment and this can be worked out before any signing of the contract is done. The signing of the contract is legally binding which is why it is important that the person who wishes to rent the property understand each and every stipulation that is stated in it. The same thing goes for the owner of the domicile that is to be rented out. Reading the fine print never hurt anybody and can enlighten those involved in the contract signing. There are many different preferences which will be stated with regards to the paying of the rent and these should be followed in order to have a hassle free stay in the dwelling. Owners should also stick to what has been agreed in the contract, especially regarding the maintenance of the place.
The scheduling of the maintenance and repairs of the property is also part of the services that a rental home management firm extends to their clients. This goes both to the person who owns the property and to the person leasing it. Since the firm manages the property and all things related to it. It is understandable that they also keep a lookout for whatever needs repairs or maintenance. The usual procedure is to set a regular maintenance schedule to check on things. Any complaints from the tenant regarding repairs should also be looked into as soon as possible.

Improve Your Chances of Finding the Best New Homes

You may think that shopping for older and foreclosed homes is a bit time consuming, but did you know that shopping for the best new homes requires a bit of time as well? If you are tired of searching a place to call home, then you may want to consider a few of these pointers to help make your task easier.
First to improve your chances, you need to know where the best new homes are. You may see new properties popping up everywhere but that doesn't mean that all of those locations are good places for you to call home. You need to take into account the neighborhood and the other properties that are located near the new homes you are interested in. For instance, one common complaint is noisy or disrespectful neighbors. Even though it is hard to know if your new neighbor is going to be a potential problem, there are some things you can do to help you weed out the worst offenders. Visit the neighborhood on several different days. Observe for any unusual occurrences. If you visit during the daytime, you may not get a chance to see all of what normally goes on when everyone is home. You may want to visit during the evening hours and on the weekends to get a better idea of what the neighborhood is like.
Another way you can find the best properties is to look around. Some prime pieces of real estate may be so new to the market that they haven't been listed yet. If you drive around, you may see construction going on or the final touches being put on some new homes. Don't be afraid to ask who the realtor is. You can get the heads up on property before anyone else does and that may give you the opportunity to pick where to your new place will be. Ask your friends and relatives if they know of any property that is going up for sale. Chances are someone in your inner circle knows of places you should look at before you choose a house.
If all else fails, go to a broker and use their service to help you find a new place. The more resources you use to find the best new homes, the better you chances will be to shorten your search. Even though you may feel that you want to speed your searching up, keep in mind that you have to be willing to make some sacrifices in order to find the perfect place. Look in the newspaper; you never know what kind of real estate you may find being advertised. Once you have found several properties that have caught your eye, take someone with you and let them be a constructive resource to help you choose between them. Use your head and not your eyes when it comes time to decide what properties to purchase.