Archive for the 'Real Estate Investments' Category
For many individuals, the single largest “investment” of their lives will usually be their home, as opposed to investing stock, bonds, mutual funds or certificates of deposits (CD’s). This is because purchasing real estate is less risky than investing in the stock market and can be more rewarding than changing CD interest rates.
US investment property has been enticing foreign investors since the 1970s, and has become extremely attractive since 2008 based on the weakening of the US dollar. Many financial institutions in this country are reluctant, if not somewhat skeptical, of providing mortgages to foreign investors who want to finance real property here in the US.
So far, I’ve never heard the same commotion in the market and the media unlike earlier this year when the US economy earned an embarrassing downgrade.
Perhaps, with all the Thanksgiving Holiday frenzy and the Black Friday storm that took place, almost everyone doesn’t care a whit about the surging US debt and is just looking forward to inflate personal spending. Well, that isn’t the case in Washington though. Democrats and Republicans are currently at a stalemate as to the best way to reduce the US debt, which now tops the $15 trillion mark from its $5.6 trillion level in 2000 according to usdebtclock.org.
Sales of Freddie Mac REO homes took a dip in 3Q11 compared to the first two quarters of the year as nonperforming loans surged consistently over the previous quarter.
The number of repossessed homes plunged to 25,300, falling by 13.5% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) or approximately 30,000 units in 3Q11. REO sales also stumbled from 31,600 in 1Q11, the highest number recorded in the government sponsored enterprise’s (GSE) history.
In 3Q11, Freddie Mac thrust back 24,300 homes into its current inventory while disposing 25,300 REO properties at the same time. At the end of the quarter, the mortgage capital provider has already accumulated 60,000 REO properties on its books, down by 25 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) as a result of newly completed foreclosures.
Real estate is one of my absolute favorite areas in the tax law because there is so much flexibility in how to do things to legally maximize the tax benefits available.
Real estate is also one of the most complex areas of the tax law. This makes it easy to overlook important steps, which can lead to missing out on tremendous tax savings.
I recommend reviewing your tax strategy throughout the year, particularly as it relates to real estate. This makes it much easier to make adjustments timely, minimize oversights and reduce stress at the end of the year and tax return time.
With the end of the year approaching quickly, it is an ideal time to implement a year round strategy to review your tax strategy as it relates to your real estate.
Start with my year-end checklist for rental real estate and adapt it to use throughout the year.
Here are a few items from the checklist my team and I use:
Half of all homeowners may be paying too much. Here’s what you can do about it.
Home prices are still going down in many markets. But your property-tax bill might well be going up.
The good news: There are ways to fight back.
Property taxes across the U.S. have increased by nearly 20% from 2005 to 2009, the most recent data available, according to an April study by the National Association of Home Builders. The median annual real-estate-tax payment was $1,917 in 2009, up from $1,614 in 2005.
Over the same period, home prices in major urban centers fared badly, decreasing 31%, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index.
Property taxes don’t move in lockstep with home values because local governments typically don’t measure values every year and some have limits on annual property-tax increases, says Natalia Siniavskaia, a housing-policy economist at the home-builders group. That means your current property taxes might reflect your home’s value when the market was healthier. Property-tax adjustments lag behind changes in home prices by an average of three years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
USA investment property is becoming very popular these days, and many foreign investors, especially from the UK, Australia and Europe, would prefer purchasing properties in this country.
There are several economic reasons that are responsible for the US property market to work well, where investors can make large profits from relatively small investments. It is important therefore to comprehend the crucial elements that contribute to the unparalleled opportunities which are available now, as the country is fast becoming one of the top property investment locations.
Economy – Even with the economy still in recession, the USA remains the largest national economy in the world that is complemented by its huge land mass and population. The country has an appraised GDP of more than $14 trillion with a relatively low cost of living, and an advanced market with contemporary infrastructure consisting of large finance and private sectors.
Property taxes can be a major expense for investors, but understanding how this tax works could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
The first thing to learn about property tax is that property is divided into two categories: real and personal. Real property includes land, buildings and permanent property attached to land— such as a well. Personal property is everything else, including clothes, books, electronics, furniture and financial holdings. Personal property is further divided into either tangible property or intangible property. Tangible property is anything you can touch, such as a sofa or a blender and intangible property includes abstract possessions like stocks, bonds and patents.
We just released our latest real estate investment opportunity in Atlanta, Georgia. These are fully refurbished single family homes within the greater Atlanta market. The properties are delivered tenant occupied and managed by our professional management firm.
The properties provide investors with a positive cash flow of $300 to $500 per month (assuming a 40% down payment). They also have capitalization rates starting at 10% providing investors with solid returns.
As good as this investment is, the “kicker” is our exclusive NO qualification seller financing.
Our No Credit, Stated-Income Investment Program is a unique real estate acquisition system enabling investors who cannot or do not want to qualify for conventional financing to purchase our refurbished and rented single family properties. By removing all the “big bank” financing restrictions, investors can purchase an unlimited number of our income properties without any credit or income qualifications.
Though the current economic climate has left many people without homes and jobs, smart and determined real estate investors are finding great real estate deals in the Cleveland housing market. Our new Cleveland investment property is an excellent opportunity for those that want a great deal of cash-flow and long-term appreciation potential.
All properties are extensively rehabbed with up to $25,000 in work per property. All properties are tenant occupied and managed by professional management Properties range from 3 to 5 bedrooms, 1-3 baths, and up to 2 car garages.
Cleveland’s cost of living is 15.5% lower than the U.S. average. It has also been undergoing major revitalization in all sectors. The Economist has repeatedly voted Cleveland as one of the most livable cities, not only in the U.S., but in the world.
If you’re serious about beating the hard economy and making a great investment in cash-flow real estate then you should evaluate our latest offering of Cleveland investment property.
In real estate, there is a saying that you don’t make your money when you sell, you make your money when you buy. The name of the game is finding amazing deals and then either keeping them for the long term or turning around and flipping for a handsome profit.
Of course, if great deals were that easy to find, everybody would be doing it. The forces of supply and demand would inflate the price of properties to the point that there would be no deals left!
Naysayers claim that this is true of today’s housing market. But in reality, there are endless deals to be found almost anywhere at almost anytime. Finding these deals takes experience and talent, but this is a head start for novice investors – or a refresher course for old pros.
Distressed Owners Make for Distressed Properties…
…and vice versa. What is a great deal? Quite simply, it’s when you buy a property for well below its actual value and/or with favorable terms. The only way this can happen is for the seller to be ignorant of the market, completely uninterested in profit motives, or extremely motivated to sell.
Your chances of making a career out of finding homes owned by people who don’t know any better or who don’t care are slim, so it’s best to concentrate on identifying motivated or "distressed" sellers.
Florida is back!
We just released our latest real estate investment in Jacksonville, Florida. These are fully refurbished foreclosures within the greater Jacksonville market. The properties are all tenant occupied and managed by a professional management firm.
The properties provide investors with a positive cash flow of $100 to $250 per month (assuming a 20% down payment), generating a cash-on-cash return of 9.4% within it’s first year of operation.
Additionally, all our properties are 25% below market value. And many are up to 30% below market value. That is a tremendous return on your investment of 20% down.
These investment properties are 3 and 4 bedrooms single-family homes, with 2 to 3 baths, and up to 2 car garages located in desirable neighborhoods. The fact that they are like-new and fully refurbished makes them an attractive turnkey real estate investment for novice as well as seasoned investors.
Download the Free Investment Report here: Jacksonville Investment Property
Leave it to the government to take a crippled housing market (which they helped destroy) and make it worse by prolonging its recovery.
Regulators have taken a loose and passive role watching the housing bubble inflate. Now, true to their nature, regulators are making the problem worse with their slow response and lack of real-world solutions.
Real estate investors, in my opinion, have been unfairly squeezed by the ever tightening underwriting guidelines. We are dealing with larger down payments, higher credit scores, larger cash reserves, and lower debt-to-income ratios.
As a real estate investor, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac require you to have a bullet proof credit profile to even be considered for financing. When you consider that investors put up a larger down payment than most home buyers, require better credit, and typically research and buy investment property with a cash-on-cash return, lenders and regulators should be more willing to finance these solid transactions. They would also help solve the housing crisis by reducing the excess foreclosure inventory sought by rehabbers and wholesalers.
We are pleased to offer investors our latest great deal. You can buy Atlanta investment property with only a $5,000 down payment and start with a 25% instant equity position plus positive cash flow.
This turnkey real estate investment caters to investors who want to own investment property but do not have the time, the resources, or the experience to get it done. This tremendously reduces your risks and saves you money throughout the process.
INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Positive Cash Flow on Every Property: Get gross positive cash flow on every property without having to use an interest only loan or pay down large sums of cash. Invest in one of the few markets in the country where this is possible.
- 25% Equity in Every Property: This instant equity strengthens your financial balance sheet from day one and allows for multiple exit strategies.
- Easy, Permanent Financing with our Preferred Lender: Deal with a lender who understands our business and gives you the best rates and closing costs on the market for investment properties.
- FREE Tenant Placement: The builder pays your 1st tenant placement fee, which is equal to one month’s rent (approx. $1,000).
- 90-Day Warranty on Repairs and Maintenance: The builder stands behind their rehabs. They will pay for all rehab-related repairs and maintenance including unforeseen plumbing and electrical issues for 90 days.
- 1-Year Builder’s Warranty: Included with every purchase.
- Property Management Included
Download the FREE Property Report here: Atlanta investment property.
We are pleased to announce our second Dallas investment property offering within the great state of Texas.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and the state capital, Austin, make up what many call the Texaplex: a densely packed triangle with each side measuring about 300 miles. This triangle is home to roughly 80% of the state’s population of 24 million people (second only to California’s 37 million). It also containing America’s third-largest airport (Dallas-Fort Worth, aka DFW) and its second-busiest sea port, Houston, (despite being 50 miles inland).
Dallas offers investors a very stable housing market that has weathered the housing bubble of years past. The Case-Shiller home price index recently reported that Dallas home prices rose 1.9% between April and May 2009. This was the second highest price increase behind Cleveland, Ohio for the same period.
There is a fantastic 10-page special report in the July 11th, 2009 issue of The Economist. that covered the Texas market along with the many benefits it offers it’s residents and businesses. The same benefits that are attracting new migrants from all over the U.S. You can read the article online here: Texas Special Report.
Our new Dallas investment properties offer investors strong cash flow with capitalization rates from 7.5% to 9.0%. First year ROI starts at 115%, both assuming a 20% down payment. . There is also strong appreciation potential given the dormant state the real estate market has had over the years coupled with the current growth in jobs and population.
Find out more about our current investment opportunities by clinking the links below:
Dallas Investment Property [Single Family Homes]
Dallas Investment Property [3-Bedroom Duplexes]
The syndication process is simply the aggregation of capital from a group of investors to acquire property.
Real estate syndications are seeing new popularity as real estate is increasingly viewed as a fourth asset class in addition to stocks, bonds and cash.
Real estate investment trust (REITs), many of which have dividend returns of 6 percent or more, are an attractive way to invest in real estate but their publicly traded shares are subject to a significant degree of price volatility that many investors seek to avoid. By contrast, shares in a private syndicate, typically a real estate limited partnership (RELP) or limited liability company (LLC), are not priced to market on a daily basis and in addition offer the possibility of higher returns than publicly managed REITs. Finally, private real estate syndications offer some tax savings unavailable when investing in a public company.
Advantages of Real Estate Syndication
While investing in a real estate syndicate has certain disadvantages as compared to direct ownership of real estate, syndicates do offer significant benefits. These include the following:
