If you?re looking at buying a house or investing in property and real estate, the U.S. government is a source for getting the necessary money for it. Being rich or poor is not the criteria for getting these government grants; it is awareness of the grant programs that are available that is most important.
Many people do not know about these grants that the Federal government is giving away. It could be for funding women?s issues, entrepreneurs, office rentals or real estate financing. Real estate investment includes homes, land, offices, hotels, and industrial, mini-storage and retail properties. There are a number of personal assistance companies who will walk you through the red tape required to receive these grants. You can get as much as $8,000 to $800,000, or even millions, to buy real estate. They also provide information about the inside workings of a government financial venture, new developments and loan grants. They can also aid you with direct applications for these grants. Low interest rates have made these loans easier to obtain, regardless of past bad credit or your income.
Government grants have made it easier to be able to buy that dream home or invest in real estate. The grant opportunities for real estate are vast. Homes for AIDS patients, public housing, rural community developments, housing repair for very low income groups, tribal universities, and Hispanic housing are a few among the many. There are also times that the government puts up land for sale to the public when it no longer requires it. This is the kind of real estate that is identified as excessive for the government’s needs, and is considered more suited for private needs.
Online websites can help you shop for real estate, and even prove useful in giving a detailed explanation on how government grants for property investment function.
By: Eric Morris
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Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 6th, 2010. 
Many people would like to get into the world of real estate investing, but have many questions. While real estate can be a lucrative place to make money, history teaches us that it is also a place to go bankrupt. One of the most key questions that must be answered before entering into an investment property is, “how will I finance this property?”
Should I Finance At All?
Many people decide not to invest in real estate until they have considerable savings with which to do so. This leads them to question whether they should finance at all. While exposure to leverage can be dangerous, it is usually a necessary component to make real estate investing work. Real estate investing is keyed around appreciation and if an asset is appreciating, you would like to obtain it for as little cash as possible. If your property isn’t appreciating, then you have entered into a bad investment to begin with.
Seller Financing
Almost all bold claims about making a fortune in the real estate market are predicated on the notion of “seller financing.” In this model, the person who sells you their property accepts a small or no down-payment and allows you to make your monthly payments to them. This of course would be a great bargain, but it is very rare in the real world. While some people may be looking for an investment opportunity when leaving their house, most would rather put their equity into a more secure vehicle than loaning money to a stranger.
Realistic Financing
If you want to run realistic, reproducible financing numbers, it is best to assume you will have to put 20% down on your property. Banking institutions are immediately leery of lending money to real estate investors, but at that rate, even if you default they will probably make their money back. While this won’t allow you to achieve the kind of ludicrous returns many “Investment Programs” claim, it will put you in a leveraged position to make gains in a positive real estate market without over-extending yourself. Managing risk is an important part of any investment strategy.
There are many more considerations when considering investing in real estate. Much care and consideration should be invested before deciding to purchase property. While real estate can be a valuable part of a diversified portfolio, it is not a “get rich quick” scheme and requires careful planning.
By: Bradley A Johnson
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Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 6th, 2010.
Unlike traditional residential real estate mortgages, real estate investment financing is way more creative and offers more options than you think. The golden rule in real estate investment is OPM (Other People’s Money).
I have enough money; shouldn’t I buy my real estate investment for cash? No, I absolutely advice against investing large sums of cash into a single real estate investment. There are two reasons why not. First, you give away most of your profits by not leveraging your real estate investment. Second, it is far too risky to put every egg into one basket.
Let me explain the leverage issue for a moment. I will give you an example of a $100,000 investment property that typically increases its value (appreciates) by 7% average a year. Maybe more, maybe less depending where you live. Paying all cash for this property will yield in a 7% appreciation profit plus the net profit from renting the place. Now you’re looking at roughly 15% of returns.
If you’re conservative with your investments you might be satisfied with this kind of a return. These days you might get equal or better returns with other conservative investments minus the hassle of being a landlord. But you don’t mind being a landlord, because you understand and utilize the leveraging method with financing your real estate investment.
With the example above you will make roughly $15,000 a year in profits from your investment. Now let’s take a closer look at what leveraging can do for you. Today a typical real estate investor can get financing as high as 95% – 97% of the purchase price. Occasionally 100% financing is available as well. But this would be totally unfair in this example to compare this with all cash purchasing.
15% return sounds like a lot, but wait till you see this. Let’s assume that the rental income will cover all your expenses including the mortgage payments. Taking the same example from before your net return would be the 7% appreciation profits of your property. This would translate into a $7,000 a year profit. With a 95% financing in place you would get $7,000 return on $5,000 (your 5% down payment) invested. This is a whopping 140% return on investment.
With the same $100,000 you can go out there and get 20 investment properties, finance 95% of it and make an amazing $140,000 profit a year. This beats the projected $15,000 profits with an all cash transaction any day.
Of course you will have a lot of trouble to get financing for 20 properties in a single year. Typically 5-6 new rental property mortgages are the maximum lenders will allow these days. This is the signal to get creative with your financing structures.
In this case sellers financing would be your key to achieve your goal of maximum leverage of your investment dollars. Despite the message from all these late night infomercials, seller financing is harder to get than they want you to make believe it is.
It all depends on the seller’s ability to offer seller financing and the seller’s motivation. Only about 1 out of 20 properties for sale are able to get seller financing. That means that there’s no mortgage balance on the property. From this narrow selection the seller must be motivated to sell under these conditions. This could be tax reasons, time constraints, personal reasons and many more.
As you can see this translates into a lot of work to achieve your goals. But let me tell you one thing. This separates the tire kicker real estate investors from the real go-getters. Wouldn’t you agree that a little bit of hard work and determination is well worth it to build a real estate empire?
I think it is well worth the trouble and hard work. At the end of the day you keep building your real estate investment portfolio and sooner than later you will be able to cash in.
Sincerely,
Peter Dobler
(c) 2005
By: Peter Dobler
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Read more on Finance Your Real Estate Investment Properties…
Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 4th, 2010.
Residential investment properties can be great “bullet-proof” investments if you do your research. Below are three fundamental steps to follow before making a plunge in the property market.
1. Find a mentor and network with other investors
This need not be a scary process. Meeting other investors and experts in the area can help inform your decisions and take the guesswork out of buying a residential investment property.
Find out about local associations in your area, such as local branches of the National Real Estate Investors Association. Join a local group and attend meetings and seminars.
Stay away from “get rich quick seminars”, as you can get the same (or better) advice for free/minimal cost. If someone is charging for a seminar on investing, you have to wonder why they are making money from their seminars, rather than in the market.
2. Make sure your finances are strong
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have all of the cash required in the bank. You should just make sure that equity in your existing assets such as your home can be leveraged to purchase a suitable property and you have enough cash flow to cover repair costs.
You have to have a strong financial base with buying an investment rental property than you do a property that you want to live in because defaults on investment properties are generally higher. Therefore, the interest rates you are paying are often reflect this and you need a higher down payment.
However, the silver lining is that down payment of 20% or more attract a lower interest rate.
So, altogether, you need to make sure that you can cover that down payment, other purchase costs such as inspections and loan fees which can add up to a sum between three and 8% of the purchase price.
3. Choose your investment property carefully
With owner occupied properties, you make a profit when you sell. With rental investment properties, you are making your money when you purchase.
So you need to choose your area quite carefully. Many first-time investors are afraid to get out of their comfort zone and, instead, purchase a property in an area near their home. This may not be the best choice from a pragmatic investment perspective.
A smart buyer considers the demographics first and often chooses properties outside of their district to get the highest possible return.
For more advice about choosing a residential investment property, see My Residential Investment Property.
By: Melissa Freasier
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Read more on Three Steps to Owning Your First Residential Investment Property…
Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 4th, 2010.
Land investment in the UK is huge business and it is touted as the best land investment you can do but the reality is different from the hype and many investors are taking heavy losses.
Before you attempt land investment in the UK read the facts in this article.
The case for investing
The UK is heavily populated and land is needed for building:
1. New homes to replace an old housing stock.
2. To house migrant workers that have accelerated population growth.
3. To provide for more people than ever choosing to live alone.
4. To provide cheap housing for first time buyers.
5. The UK Government is committed to a huge building program.
Well this all sounds great as brown belt, green belt and even farmland is snapped up for urban development but there is a problem – Planning permission.
Why you need to be careful
Many companies are using the above statistics to get speculators to buy land (normally with a huge mark up on top i.e their profit) this means that they are already at a loss and need planning permission to realize a profit from their land banking investment.
Many of these companies then sell the concept that planning permission is “guaranteed” or a “formality” which if it was they would not sell the land to you!
They would keep quite and make the money from UK land investment themselves but they know by appealing to greed, they can make a huge profit (they have the mark up) regardless of what happens to your UK land investment.
Picking a good investment opportunity
The key here is common sense.
Yes, there are big gains to be made in UK land investment, but find a company check how long they have been in business and other projects they have completed in UK land investment at a profit.
There are reputable companies around so take your time and find them.
Even if you do find a good broker to sell you parcels of land, keep in mind this is a long term investment that can produce big gains but planning permission is never a formality.
Other destinations
There are other destinations in the world that offer better investment opportunities where Land is cheaper and planning permission is easier.
Costa Rica is a good example.
It has had a booming land market for years, as US investors buy beach front property at up to 70% less than in the US.
This has to be built on land and buying land near expanding urban areas and infrastructure is a making many small investors’ big profits and here planning permission here is a lot easier to obtain.
Its all about risk reward
So if you want to try UK land investment, then the above tips will help you.
If you want other alternatives where planning permission is easier, look at the new dynamic economies of the world such as Cost Rica, Where investing is simpler cheaper and can offer huge rewards.
By: Sacha Tarkovsky
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Read more on Land Investment UK – Don’t do it Until You Read This!…
Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 1st, 2010.
Costa Rica land investment has been making savvy investors triple digit profits with low downside risk for years.
Will this growth continue and how do you get involved in land investment in Costa Rica?
Let’s find out.
Why land values are soaring
The reason is simple demand is high and the reason demand is so strong is, people want beach view property.
With prices at up to 70% less than in the USA, Americans and other foreigners are investing in Costa Rica Property and it needs to be built on land.
Buying land in the right location and selling it to developers therefore can yield huge gains and gives investors low risk.
The property boom in Costa Rica has been in place for several years but their looks to be no sign of a decrease in investment, as Costa Rica remains the number 1 choice for investors in Central America.
Unlike many other Central American countries there is a large expat community and by its very nature this attracts more foreigners.
The community is well established, continues to grow and land buyers here get the following advantages:
1. The same rights as residents when purchasing
2. They can buy easily and the Government makes it easy
3. It is very tax efficient
4. Many popular locations offer triple digit gains with low risk
5. Unlike many countries Costa Rica is stable and democratic with a history of encouraging foreign investment
Where are the best locations to buy?
The best locations are on the Pacific coast and around the popular town of Jaco is a great area.
It has a booming local economy and is popular with foreign investors for its low risk and high reward
Baby boomers drive the market and more gains expected
The baby boomer generation will help land investment in Costa Rica continue to be a good investment as the continue to move to or buy property in Costa Rica.
Baby boomers are buying property just 3 hours from the US but up to 70% cheaper than in the US in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
It really is an affordable slice of paradise and astute land investors are buying land in popular locations and making big gains.
Check out the facts for yourself and see how you can target triple digit annual gains with low risk and you may be glad you did.
By: Sacha Tarkovsky
About the Author:
Read more on Land Investment – Why Investing In Costa Rica Could Make You Rich…
Filed under Real Estate by on Sep 1st, 2010.
The American Sunshine State of Florida has always been one of the favourite destinations for travellers around the world. The alluring tropical weather, pristine beaches, and inviting landmarks in the State are too good to resist for the locals and the visitors alike. The relaxing lifestyle of Florida’s coastal culture adds to the charm of a retired life the Brits yearn for during their entire youthful life. Due to diverse hotspots, Florida is not just popular with the retired brigade, but also with the kids and youth alike.
What Makes Florida a Hot Investment Destination?
Florida could be termed as the southernmost State of the United States of America. Surrounded by Sea and Ocean, Florida is every bit a coastal State that has natural richness of beauty and some scenic glory. Florida beckons with hundreds of pristine sandy beaches lined with towering palm trees and affording the best environs to relax your woes away. With year-round tropical sun warming the Floridan air, the weather in Florida presents the best of America to the world, and is a major reason for property investment in Florida.
It’s not only the weather that gravitates people from all over the world towards Florida, but the overall living standards enhanced by the recreational facilities in the State and its vicinity that are the USP of Florida. The State is home to the world famous Disneyland or Walt Disney Resort in Orlando – a favourite among children and adults alike. Besides, you get to enjoy a plethora of activities in Florida, like golfing, fishing, dining and theatre etc.
Florida is the fourth most populous State of the USA and home to nearly 16 million residents. The ever-increasing popularity of Florida as a dream destination for first and second homes is further contributing to the riches of this giant peninsular State.
Florida is not a single-community State. Thanks to its all-round beauty and better standards of living, the State attracts people from all around the world and this makes Florida a truly multicultural paradise on Earth. Further, Florida boasts of different kinds of lifestyles in different regions. For instance, the coastal lifestyle may not be the same as that of Central Florida. The Gulf Coast towns and cities are known for being more relaxed, while the East Coast of Florida is a little more fast-paced.
Florida is flocked by tourists all the year round, which makes the demand for property – both rental and disposable – in constant demand. You can easily earn regular rental income or just stay during holidays or permanently make Florida your next permanent destination.
Florida is very well connected both within and outside the country with regular flights to and from the State. With an elaborate road and rail network to support the airways, you can look forward to easy accessibility to the Florida state.
The availability of different kinds of properties to suit every kind of taste and preference is another important factor that works in favour of Florida real estate investment.
Though the legal process governing the real estate transactions in Florida is a little tedious and cumbersome, every effort is worth the time and energies spent, as you’d hardly find a place under the Sun that is so perfect in terms of living standards. Moreover, if you are prepared to hire an attorney for all the documentary spadework and other tax hassles related to owning a property in Florida, chances are that you won’t be troubled by all the legal formalities.
Hottest Investment Destinations in Florida
You can easily find different properties for sale all around Florida. However, there are certain regions and cities that are more preferred by investors for obvious reasons.
For those seeking out a flurry of tourism-related activities around, the town of Kissimmee offers the best bet. Situated in Osceola County, Kissimmee’s close proximity to the Disney World makes it a real estate magnet in the region. Property in Kissimmee has a rich heritage and an enviable landscape with close proximity to some of the world’s premier holiday attractions. The town is within eighteen miles of Orlando and is ideally located to go further west and explore the golden beaches of Clearwater or the Space Coast to the east.
Miami is every bit a modern city with a vibrant lifestyle, world-class hotels and restaurants, some fabulous beaches and a buzzing nightlife. If you want the real thrill of Miami, don’t forget to invest in the beachfront property here, which range from villas to apartments to nice residential homes.
Tampa and Orlando are other big cities in Florida that are always in the pink for the real estate investors. The cities offer choicest options for some great rental income from apartments, villas, luxury, and holiday homes. Orlando’s world famous theme parks have a unique charm of their own that is so very irresistible for the adventurous Brits.
In all, Florida is a combination of everything you want irrespective of the kind of lifestyle you are looking for. From relaxed to adventurous to youthful to exuberant to childish, you can enjoy almost every activity under the Sun.
By: Les Calvert
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Filed under Real Estate by on Aug 27th, 2010.
There are numerous countries you can choose for land investments, but how do you pick the best one?
This article will give you some tips on picking the best land investment locations, without losing heavily.
If you buy investment land in the correct country and the correct location, you can look forward to doubling your money in a year! However, get it wrong and you will lose heavily.
Here are six tips for buying investment land for highest profit potential and lowest risk.
1. Buy A Growing Market
There are a lot of overseas land investments that are touted as the next “hot one” and you should get in quick.
The downside with many of these overseas land investments is that, prices never take off and you’re left with a loss!
We have seen new locations touted such as Romania!
Sure, it may take off, but don’t hold your breath.
The best way to buy land investments is to buy an established overseas land market that has a record of good growth which is likely to continue.
A great choice is Central America where countries such as Costa Rica and Panama have been providing many astute investors with triple digit gains on investment land every year, yet prices remain cheap in global terms.
2. Don’t buy cheap competitively priced land
Don’t buy investment land just because it’s cheap, it can always get cheaper, buy land investments that are competitive in price and have the potential for further growth.
Land is all about location and to get growth you need to buy close to the infrastructure being built, while more expensive, you have to see upside potential to risk.
Don’t look for cheap investment land for the sake of it; look for best upside to downside risk.
This is normally land in a growing market, that is ******* in new investment and has a track record.
Again central America is a great location for this
3. Look At Long Term Prospects for Land prices
Take a look at the future long term prospects for the country that your land investment is in.
There is no point risking your money in a land investment overseas that has the potential to be unstable politically or economically.
Many overseas property investments advertised are in economies that are poor and where the government and political situation is fragile.
Take Nicaragua:
A hot new location, but the Sandinistas have a real chance of getting in power again, so what will happen to foreign investment? Don’t bet against it being taken back!
4. Look at Up & Coming Locations in the country
If you want to make more than the average growth rate from your overseas property, then look for new and up and coming locations, within a growing economy.
As locations become established, they become more expensive and growth potential drops.
Look for the next “hot area” and look at the coming infrastructure to see hwere it will be. If you can take advantage of buying near important new developments: Like roads, airports or marinas. Chances are your investment will soar as these near completion and the herd arrives. You are in ahead and can sell at a profit.
5. Rights and Ease of purchase
Many countries don’t give favorable purchase rights to overseas investors and this can mean you could be in for a shock later on.
Take Eastern Europe, you may buy investment land and find someone has a claim from before the war! Due to shifting economic boundaries this happens a lot.
6. Overseas property investment – do your homework!
Don’t fall for sales hype and buy land investments in locations that may look good in the future with no track record, but locations that look good already ( have a track record of rising investment land prices ) and have potential to grow.
This may not be the cheapest land, but offers the best in terms of risk reward.
Make sure you do some research on the country you wish to purchase your land investment in so you have all the facts and get local help to assist you with any purchase or advice you on your rights.
Above all use common sense when buying overseas land investments, look at the facts and don’t fall for any sales hype.
Double Your Money Quickly With Low Risk!
If you follow the tips above and pick your overseas land investments carefully, you could be doubling your money every few years.
There is no better way to build wealth with low risk than overseas land investment in the right location.
By: Sacha Tarkovsky
About the Author:
Read more on Investment in Land – How To Make Huge Profits & Avoid Common Mistakes…
Filed under Real Estate by on Aug 13th, 2010.
Investment in rental property can be a risky proposition if the investor has not done his/her homework. But for the investor who has taken the time to research, it can be very lucrative. Probably the one thing most investors want to know more than any thing else is how they can become wealthy in the shortest period of time investing in rental property.
Most investors are busy concentrating on flipping single-family houses, when they should be concentrating on investing in multi-family units. With a single-family house if you lose the renter you have lost 100% of your income, which could be your profit for an entire year. If you have a four-family apartment and lose a renter, you have three other families giving you checks to pay your expenses. The bottom line is cash flow and cash flow is greater with multi-family units than with single-family units.
Let’s talk economics. If you have invested in several single-family rental properties you will more than likely have to travel to several different locations to collect payments, or to check on the property. With one multi-family unit you save time, gas and wear and tear on your auto by only having to travel to one location to collect several payments, or to check on your property. With today’s economy it could cost from $2000-$7500 depending on where in the country it is situated and the size of the house. Multiply that by six and you’re talking a very large amount of money. Repairing a six-family roof would cost between $5000-$10,000. You do the math.
There are a lot of real estate guru’s with infomercials abdicating the money to be made from flipping houses. They make it seem easy. But have you ever watched some of those programs on TV? Watch ‘Flip that House’ sometime. You will soon see it can be very costly rehabbing a house, especially if you don’t check the house exceptionally well before buying. Not only costly, but very time consuming. Not to mention the different contractors you have to deal with. That’s another problem; taking the time to interview and research all those contractors. After all, you want someone who knows what they are doing, don’t you? Once you find a good contractor and he has done work for you, don’t think they will always be ready to jump when you call them. After all, they are business men and they can’t sit around waiting on your calls. They have other irons in the fire like all good business people.
Don’t get me wrong, investment in rental property is a good business. Single-family houses are good investments. But they can also be a means to investing in apartments. If you know of anyone who is making money flipping houses, odds are good that he or she also has some apartments in their portfolio. Flipping houses is fine for the person who wants to do it, but investment in rental property is the better investment. And there is a huge market for apartment investing. After all, the guru’s are teaching everyone to invest in single-family houses. Investment in rental property is a sound business. Good luck.
By: Candis Reade
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Filed under Real Estate by on Jul 21st, 2010.
Refinancing investment properties is a great way for you to gain several benefits out of a growing real estate market. When long term interest rates are at lower levels than the ones you currently need to pay, you have to really consider refinancing. By making investment property loans you are offered different benefits that look very well at a given point in time. As time passes we can find even better offers than we had at the beginning. This is the basics of refinancing investment property mortgage although different other factors also need to be taken into consideration. When refinancing investment property mortgages you can leverage the equity of the property, thus lowering the monthly payments you are forced to stick to while increasing general cash flow.
As time passes equity is built in the property and this can be turned into cash via cash-out refinance. By refinancing at lower rates or increasing the period of the loan you can lower monthly mortgage payments while increasing cash flow even more. Different offers will be available while the market changes and you need to be on the look out for the one that best suits your personal needs. This means that you will need to consult different mortgage brokers or renegotiate terms with the current one.
The most popular use to refinancing investment property mortgage stands in the need of funding improvements to that property. This is usually done in order to increase the market value of the property and thus raising the rent for the people that live there. Cash out refinancing will mean that you can build additions to increase the living space, upgrade the furnace or central air, replace the roof, paint or re-side the house in order to give it a better exterior image, upgrade doors, kitchen appliances, floors and/or remodel the bathrooms. You can of course modify different aspects of living conditions that will justify an increase in rent.
Refinancing a property loan is also used in order to purchase another investment. This can create a nice evolution circle that can only lead to gaining more every single year. The equity in your property will be higher each year that the mortgage is paid down. Any increase in the value of the property can be capitalized through refinancing investment property mortgage and using the cash out refinance amount in order to purchase a new investment property or finance the purchase of a new investment property.
Utilizing financial investment property for personal benefits is also possible. The best thing is that you can basically do whatever you want with the money you gain. Using them for different investment possibilities is just one solution. You can use the money to go on the vacation of your dream or to boost your retirement savings. No matter what you will use it for, it is all up to you to decide what should be done with the profit coming out of refinancing investment property mortgage. Cash out refinances offer a very easy source of cash that comes from the fact that you decided to take an investment property mortgage in the first place. This is why you have to take advantage of the benefits offered from refinancing investment loans as well.
The only thing that can stop you stands in your decisions. The real estate market changes from day to day so you never know how long the lower interest rates noticed will remain a reality. This is why you need to move quickly and refinance investment property mortgage as soon as possible while paying attention to the various opportunities available from different mortgage brokers.
By: Lindsy Emery
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Filed under Real Estate by on Jul 18th, 2010.