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The number of house flipping shows we see on cable tv today really points to the popularity of real estate flipping. House flipping can be the perfect way to grow one's investment and even earn a living. However, there are some recent changes in FHA house flipping laws which can effect how you do business. These new laws have been created because there are also a lot of scammers out there trying to con anyone investing in flips. There are an incredible number of people out there loosing their homes these days. So much so that there are now some FHA rules in effect to protect the market. The new FHA House Flipping Laws are pretty involved reading but here's the basic points: Property sold within 90 days purchase won't be able to get financing with FHA mortgages using HUD insurance. Those selling a property within 91 and 180 days of purchase must record the resale value if it's selling for more than the last purchase price. If the property is selling within 91 days an...

Let's call him John. A bright and hard worker just trading time for dollars at his regular job. His first house flipping experience could have been a lot better. John was watching "Property Ladder" on the A&E network one day and got the bright idea to flip a house himself. After all, those people were making money. A complimentary show "Flip This House" confirmed that money could be made, lots of money. If you haven't seen Property Ladder, it's a television show that features first time home flippers. Usually in that show the inexperienced flipper, egged on by Kirsten Kemp, make almost a year's salary or more by fixing up an old house and selling it. Kirsten Kemp is a veteran of flipping houses and is a bit too pretty to be mistaken for Bob Vila. John figures that the people featured in these shows are not all that bright and certainly he could do as well. With a bit of nervousness John put a 10% down payment on a home that needed repairs and ...

There are a lot of things to consider before getting started. One of the most important is finding the right kind of property to flip. You have to really research a house before making an offer. One thing you need to know are the comps of the neighborhood. Find out what the other houses in the neighborhood are selling for. Also check for the most recently sold and how much they sold for. You then need to compare other features of the houses such as square footage, land square footage, condition of the house, etc. Another beginning step is to figure out how you will pay for it. This needs to be decided before you make an offer. You hear a lot about no money down deals and creative financing but those methods will not work in all cases, so you need to be prepared with alternatives. One of the methods of financing is getting a mortgage loan for the property. This can be long and drawn out and you will need to have good credit and show your ability to handle the note until you ...

Flipping is the term used to describe buying a house at below market value, fixing it up and then selling it for a quick profit. Flipping is a method many beginning real estate investors use to make money that they can use in other forms of investing. Flipping has become popular recently with the HGTV television show called "Flip This House." The best way to find a property to flip is to find one that needs a good amount of repairs. Homeowners realize that their house will take a lot of work so they are more willing to sell the house at a substantial discount. The best houses are the ones that simply need new paint and carpet as well as other minor repairs in order to make it look brand new. When you find houses that need repairs, be leery of houses that have structural damages or other expensive repairs. You want to avoid spending tens of thousands of dollars to fix problems before you will have the house ready to sell. These expensive repairs can eat up all your potentia...

Real estate investing, whether doing house flips or commercial, follows the traditional axiom of "In order to make money, you need to have money." Or so it seems. This article will showcase how this isn't necessarily the case, and provide you options to acquire real estate with no money down, or with bad credit. Note that these are not guarantees, they're techniques. Like all techniques, and most advice in real estate investing, they won't do you any good unless you follow them carefully, and know when not to follow them to suit the deal you're brokering. First and foremost, you need to ask the classic question, "What's my motivation?" Or, rather, you should know your motivation already - you should be asking yourself what the seller's motivations are. These provide the key to understanding what the seller really needs (rather than what they want) and will provide insight into how to make the deal happen, even under less than ideal c...

Buying a house on installment terms or through mortgage always poses a problem of coming up with a down payment. To ease the burden of down payment some sellers offer what could be termed as split-down payment or staggered-down payment over short period of time. They offer this scheme especially if the buyer has expected source of funds that should cover the down payment within a short period. The problem of down payment arises when a buyer can afford the monthly mortgage but has no way to raise the buyer's equity required by the mortgage company. There are some ways to go around the equity required and here are three of them: 1. The Seller's selling price is way below current market value or appraised market value. Mortgage or financing companies usually give out home loans 100% of market or assessed value. If the seller's price is say 80% of the 100% loan amount, then you have 20% available as equity. The seller must agree that the loan amount is the selling price and ...

Many people are dreaming about making money in real estate. For most people this will forever stay a dream, but some individuals are able to make their dreams come true. Fact is - even the less experienced individual can make money in real estate if following some basic rules. One way to make good money in real estate is to "flip houses". What is house flipping? Can you actually learn to flip houses? We all have read stories about of someone that made millions in real estate. But how have they done it? Here is a quick guide how to make good money real estate. It is easy to follow and you can verify each step if you spend additional time to research it and to verify it for accuracy. Let's assume you live in an apartment or your own house and your income allows carrying an additional mortgage payment for a few months. Keep in mind - you do not plan on keeping the objects you deal with forever. 5-year mortgage terms or ARM's with 1-3 year terms will work for our advan...

You can't sleep so you watch television and see all those advertisements about making money with real estate. What do you think of those commercials? Many think of them as scams. If you think these commercials are scams, you might be right but house flipping is still a huge opportunity to make money. Actually, some may say this is the best way to make money. Now that the trends show the real estate bubble is bursting, there will be a lot of foreclosures for people to buy, fix, and sell. Before you go into this kind of business, you will have to think about a few things like what to look for in a good property, what to stay away from, and how to make a profit. When looking for a house to sell you must follow certain accepted aspects of the business. Firstly, make sure you find a house that is in a neighborhood being improved. This drives the price of the land up. In addition, look for a house that's been on the market for a long time. Chances are these homes will have sellers...

Other than a very small "Earnest Money Deposit" of $ 100.00 or less, the Wholesale Investor never spends another dime putting profitable wholesale real estate deals together! Wholesalers are NEVER the "end-users" of the r.e. that we put under contract with motivated sellers. So, wholesalers avoid ALL of the typical real estate investing costs that the "end-users" will have to deal with. Such as: 1.) Holding Costs 2.) Repair Costs 3.) Closing Costs Successful Wholesalers NEVER pull a dime out of there pocket after the sales contract is finalized between themselves and the MOTIVATED SELLERS, PERIOD! As wholesalers we are just transferring the interest in a real estate contract between the original seller and ourselves, directly over to the "end-users". The end-users are our Investor/Buyers that want to take ownership of the property that we have under contract with the Motivated Sellers. The end users are the ones that will be buying-fixing sell...

Real estate investment terms - today's topic Cash Flow…cap Rate…cash on cash return… Is it enough to blow your mind, eh? We have compiled this primer for our readers the most frequently asked questions, our customer service team encounters. Use our investor members to important real estate terms define and help you navigate our website articles, see our real estate investing articles library day in, day out. So today, we focus on three important words that need to know real estate investors: cash flow, Cap rates and cash on cash return. You are subscribed to our blog? Don't miss our blog posts - add us to your reader or subscribe by email. Check out top right on your screen right now and choose the option that best suits you! CASH FLOW Annual net operating income is also often called cash flow . This is the annual income or loss of the investment actually to collect a years worth of rent and generates the payment of annual expenditure relating to ownership and operation of pro...

Buyers have 30 now until September, complete transactions to contracts signed by April 30. Late Wednesday June 30th the Senate approved the measure only a few hours before the original June 30th period, and only a day after House approval of the action. On Friday July 2nd President Barack Obama endorsed on HR 5623, otherwise known as "Homebuyer assistance and improvement Act 2010". This extends the expiration date 2010.the legislation will create a for federal purchasers of home buyer tax credit as of June 30th 2010 additional 3 months to September 30th of seamless expansion, though the Bill was signed a few days after the original expiration date into law. This law not anyone help to buy a House. Buyer must have a contract to have signed by April 30 for the tax credit, to qualify for the first time homebuyers until Sept. 30 close on your purchases and receive a tax credit of $8,000. Qualified existing homeowners (purchasing a replacement primary residence) have until Sept. ...

It's time for investment property properties beyond your own backyard search? The Wall Street Journal reported that July a 9.6% increase in new home showed turnover, seal the deal on a fourth month of a faster pace in the housing industry. Is there reason to panic? Have we missed the boat if we still haven't bought? We don't think so. While picking up to residential real estate business area, there are many offers anywhere in the United States to be had must be ready to do the math and think beyond the county or state lines. When is your own back yard on the rise and prices are picking up pace, why not consider shopping outside your local market? If it rates a rental property in a prime location with low (throw in turnkey to boot), it makes sense to keep dollars are working on the Bay could because you can do no drive-by your investment on a Saturday morning? For the do-it-yourself landlord Yes. Property the State lines, self-manage is a task without a doubt. But if you...

The first time home buyer tax credit has an effect, the Government determines on the market, but clearly not to the extent or where. Affordability softness has due to lack of home buyers and general market remains desirable cash flowing properties in well located to access markets investors and extensively purchased.  Note the most dynamic markets in the run up by 2007 (per sample below) now trend too oversold. Less home buyer could loans to qualify for owner occupied and have less credit because the banks processed in able to deal with origination volume, short sale requirements, amendment and REO disposition loads. You are essentially drinking from a fire hose, using the same "Tin Cup" went to the Feds with and as a result not new or existing loan needs maintenance. The silver lining in this economy is that the fear of a flood of REOs beat the market in a short time is unlikely, as it would values trash. This would not help the banks, seller or broker ©. Fear subdues price...

Following two days scheduled housing reports show, the lowest home sales for both for new and for existing homes, public and Wall Street's marketing engine is the bad news trumpets.  The unspoken assumption is that ' lemming investors "are a few alternatives for your nest eggs but shares, bonds and funds links." If you read the news or see the tube to go back under the covers his time crawl!  Hardly! The message could be better for wise property investors. Even "House values wet blanket" is Dr. Bob Shiller warns overreaction to this data. Dr. Bob to the rescue? Shiller (by the perceptive S & P marketed fame Fiserv Case Shiller MacroMarkets index) is telling people read too much into the data "Let us to this most recent sales recorded overreaction," Shiller, co-founder of S & P/Case-Shiller home price index, Bloomberg said. "July is an anomalous month." But last month survey of forecasters through his MacroMarkets company showed y...

It's no secret - real estate is a great investment. People investing in real estate and sometimes don't even know. Many employer-funded retirement plans have REITs as investment opportunities and are included in this (2025 retirement model, such as a boilerplate investment models and as á la carte options that people inevitably click. But what most people however don't know is that you can have a home in your IRA. Or even an apartment Building…land…a condo. It's all possible-you just have to think outside the brokerage account. Real estate is what is called a uncorrelated asset. In other words, its performance with the performance of equity and fixed income markets is dictated. So, it is a valuable Diversifier for your investment portfolio and act to offsetting losses of stock and bond markets haywire should go. Using properties in your IRA was allowed by the IRS since the 1970s, so why don't more people know about you (and why is your broker tell about it?)? Well,...

How long are you willing to wait until a tenant? Your rental home sits freely and are links, pay the tab on the mortgage and anything else that comes along. Sure, expect a month or two the vacancy every year, but it is empty! Or houses are around your in the same boat, there are certain steps you can take bicycles getting schnappte-Up off craigslist as $20 to drastically increase your property views and reduce the likelihood of longer than necessary vacancy periods. Photos. Blurry cutting not. And if you have photos to your listing, this is even worse. Photos are the difference between the viewer and tenants. Take the time to hire some great photos of your home. Great backyard for dogs? Take a picture. Hardwood floors? Take a picture. New appliances? Take a picture! Incentives. If your property more than 45 days has been free, it is likely that on the threshold of your estimated vacancy rate are. Time is creative, and thats where incentives. What are get ready to do a tenant in the ...

All Klosowski (K2 Photo Studio), Josh Mishell (flying dog brewery), Erika Napoletano (InvestorLoft.com), Janie Gianotsos (Food Bank), Josh Clauss (Tuggl.com) and rich Chirco (Food Bank) - photo by Scott Lawan Some people ask: what can you really say in 140 characters? The answer might surprise you. At InvestorLoft we prefer questions what we feel, a better question is: What can you do with 140 characters? InvestorLoft has been actively involved in the Twitter online community for November 2008 (you can follow our feed and take the conversation here). It is here that we in with other real estate industry professionals, real estate investors and members of our local Denver community and beyond connection.  Is a Denver-based business, there is no lack of enthusiasm we have for this city that we at home, and we are always looking for a way to give back. Last night InvestorLoft was proud to be by participating in the monthly Denver Tweetup a part of the largest live collection of Twitter ...

Buyer leads InvestorLoft get in your market Broker - hard have worked and long to get a local expert in your market. Know sales trends, great neighborhoods, to avoid those and the in the outs to make offers on short selling. It would be great if you know and could expertise buyers share InvestorLoft's Investor? You can! If you are a real estate agent that meets the following criteria, you are allowed to be a local market experts InvestorLoft and r eceive leads from the unrepresented buyer members shopping in your area ! Criteria our experienced success team members need to join our lead network: Must have at least three (3) years experience as a real estate ProfessionalMust have a minimum of five (5) Investor TransactionsMust treated have a clean ethical professional record without ethics complaints against your professional licensure Now…just what can expect if you plan to join our lead network as a success team member? If you become a InvestorLoft success team member for an are...

Search luxury real estate bargains with ease If you are looking for real estate investment property, it is good to know where your markets of choice. The prices rise? Fall? There are areas should consider pull (but still not for some reason)? We thought Forbes.com hit the nail on the head with your interactive housing map. Most of our blog readers and website visitors are on the hunt for real estate bargains across the country. This card, you can search by zip code (awesome!) and see whether your zip code made choice of top 500 most expensive zip codes. It will then let you know the information in the market (median home price income percentage reduction in prices, stocks). If a primary buyer of home buyers looking for a luxury House or maybe help a real estate investor who are looking to get a bargain in a high-priced area, Forbes.com's interactive map you your search to start. Check if you find an area you like and see what prop InvestorLoft.com Scout investment property search ...

In Tom Peters’ most famous book, In Search of Excellence , he mentions a great principle: S tick to the knitting. In other words, stick to the business you know. Warren Buffett often talks about things he’s does not know.  When he doesn’t know something he is apt to point it out.  That seems simple enough, but there is tremendous wisdom in that.  In life, as in business, it’s important to know what you know and know what you don’t know.  As Warren often says, know where your parameter is and when you’re getting close to it. In the heyday of real estate many general contractors (GC’s) left working for other builders and started developing themselves.  Instead of just making their GC fee (a percentage above cost) why not develop for themselves and get the upside.  That was easy in a bull market – a rising tide lifts all boats . Low and behold, when the tide goes out you see who’s swimming naked. When the market fell, many builders instantly went bankrupt, even before they filed notice...

How to Buy a Short Sale – or a Foreclosure in King County It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I apologize for that.  My recent preoccupation with an investment property is to blame.  I’ve been in contract to purchase a short sale in Madison Valley and the negotiators are working with the bank to get final approval before the property goes to auction this Friday.  Meanwhile, I thought it’d be nice to share the process as it’s fresh in my mind, and perhaps you will glean something from it for your next real estate investment project. My Target Neighborhood I’ve been targeting a few neighborhoods that I think will yield the best opportunities.  One of them is Madison Valley in Seattle, WA.  In general, if you want to find a “deal”, focus on neighborhoods where there is likely to be mispricing. This is a fundamental principal that all great investors exploit like Warren Buffett, George Soros, Peter Lynch and Julian Robertson. New neighborhoods or cookie cutter neighborhoods usually ...

A New Focus for The Intelligent Investor As some of you can probably already tell, The Intelligent Investor has been going through somewhat of a whirlwind since it was started early January. When I first started I posted everyday about real estate.  Then I got a tip from Jon Morrow (the associate editor of Copyblogger) suggesting that I write one article a week that was at least 1000 words long – again, all real estate focused.  The goal was to write resourceful content that my readers could go back to again, and again. After leaving my full-time, salaried job (amidst the economic recession) at a private equity firm that built their funds around real estate, I decided to work as a realtor and blog full-time.  I wanted to eat and breathe real estate – and blog about it.  Upon reflection, I realized that I just love making money in general. Whether money is earned through stocks or real estate, it doesn’t matter.  Money doesn’t know its source. Since Warren Buffett didn’t restrict hims...

Book Review: The Little Book that Beats the Market What if you heard there was a “Magic Formula” that said you can beat the market.  You were told that the little guy has a chance to outperform stock market analyst and portfolio managers?  No need to just invest in index funds and wait mindlessly while your investment grows (or diminishes). In his latest piece, The Little Book that Beats the Market author Joel Greenblatt goes through a simple strategy and explains in plain English how to achieve higher returns than average by just running through a formula and adjusting your positions quarterly.   He calls this the “Magic Formula” that would’ve gotten you 30% annual returns from 1988 – 2004. Before you write-off the “Magic Formula”, let me inform you the person that devised the strategy is the author of You Can Be a Stock Market Genius , a popular and well known investment book.  And even more impressive, he was founder of Gotham Capital that had an annual return of 50 percent from 1...

Whether you’re an active or passive investor, you need to understand the premise of the stock market.  That is, allowing the average person to buy and own stakes in corporate America.  In the market, there are winners and losers, and those who understand the market can and ought to stake a claim for themselves. Let’s take a look at a simple example. Jimmy is a financially inclined seven year-old.  He buys gumballs for 20 cents at the grocery store and sells them for 25 cents to his classmates.  Every day, his main priority is to sell gumballs (not grades or girls).  He sells 25 gumballs a day and makes (25 x 0.05 =) $1.25 per day.  Not bad for a seven year-old.  Let’s assume he sells 50 gumballs every day, rain or shine.  When the weekend rolls by or school is on vacation, he can be found at the local park slanging gumballs.  Over a year he makes $456.25. Money makes him smarter, so he decides to get a gumball machine.  His uncle happens to have one and rather than let it rust in the ...