Real Estate Investing Blog

Why is Kansas City (KC) not in Kansas? Why are there two towns of the same name in two different states? Is the town’s BBQ as great as everybody says? Keep reading and you’ll the answers to all of these in more as I provide a brief of the real estate nearly a half million people call home in Kansas City.

Early History

Today, KC is the largest city in Missouri. Incorporated in 1853, the territory sat square on the border between Kansas and Missouri. Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, a French explorer, was the first documented European to visit the land.

Interestingly, Bourgmont had an order out for his arrest for desertion starting in 1713. However, by 1718, having never been captured, Bourgmont was recommended to receive the Cross of Saint Louis award for service to France because of his efforts to document the areas that make up modern day Missouri and Louisiana.

After the U.S. obtained the land from the French in the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition camped temporarily at what is today the Kaw Point riverfront park.

By 1821, Missouri had gained statehood and joined the Union. The city was incorporated in 1850, while the town of the same name on the Kansas side (commonly referred to as KCK) was formed as a “satellite city” in 1868.

Modern History

After beating out a neighboring city for the construction of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad bridge, completed in 1869, the town’s population would quadruple over the next 50 years. In 1926 the Liberty Memorial, home to The National World War I Museum, was dedicated by President Coolidge.

Famed residents include Walt Disney, Harry Truman, and J.C. Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards.

The city is also known as BBQ Town thanks, in part, to Henry Perry, creator of KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce. The town is well known for their great barbecue, which makes living on a piece of Kansas City real estate delicious too.

Now is the best time to acquire homes as the house prices are still practically less. However, the prevailing financial and credit crunch is limiting the cash reserves and liquidity. Thus, many homebuyers would need to first dispose or sell their existing homes so that they can have the money to buy the homes they like. The problem is, it is logically harder to sell homes these days.

Homebuyers are raving about a revolutionary and innovative concept in home selling and buying. To ease the troubles, why not resort to house swapping? With the advent of new and non-traditional media and communications, swapping is becoming a popular trading scheme. It has been in use for trading just any product or item bought and sold across the market. You can easily trade your 3G mobile phone with an iPod. Somewhere in the market, there surely is an individual who wants to trade his or her iPod for a 3G phone. You should meet.

That is also the basic framework in home swapping. Your home can be traded or swapped with the home of another homeowner. To get into the process, you should first determine your likes and preferences. What do you like in a house? Where do you want to own a residential unit? What design and theme do you prefer? If you have set your preferences and requirements, it is time you search around for houses that match your standards.

In the process, you should also assess your home. How aesthetic and appealing is it? What is the prevailing design and where is it located? You should post these data into the market so that prospective seekers can be reached. There are many online and conventional firms operating to facilitate house swapping. These companies are aiming to match you and your dream house and then find someone who wants your home. In the end, you will have to surrender ownership of your home to be able to secure and get ownership of another one, probably your preferred and dream type.

Craigslists are good online materials that can facilitate house swapping. You can also post your ads in the classifieds or in other sources. There are trading firms that seek homeowners like you so better open your eyes and senses when they roam around. Viral marketing can also be effective as well as peer recommendations and feedbacks.

House swapping transactions are basically most recommended for young growing families, empty nesters and vacation home owners who want to swap vacation assets. Homeowners who are relocating are also the most common house swappers. Some owners who just itch to get and own a new house are also much delighted and satisfied with house swapping transactions facilitated in the market.

As for the quality of homes swapped, there is no need to fret. Traders and mediators make it a standard to inspect homes for swapping. You can as well inspect the home you are eyeing very carefully and thoroughly before the swapping transaction is started and closed.

Dubai is well known for the real estate developments occurring here and also for the most innovative technologies and concepts implemented for it’s developments. Investing in Dubai’s real estate sector is considered to be safer and most lucrative way to double your money.

Reason behind the sudden growth in Dubai real estate sector is the changes in laws made by Dubai government, which allows foreigners to own, rent out and sell properties in Dubai. Some of the real estate development companies are offering habitation visa for those who purchase properties from them. Several multi national companies are now setting up their branches in Dubai, which in turn made Dubai an excellent job market for professional and skilled works around the world. More people attracted towards Dubai due to it’s attractively high and tax free salary and have created an huge demand for accommodation and office spaces. Laws in Dubai related to real estate are very clear and formalities are very minimal.

Dubai has become shopper’s paradise because of it’s open port policy with low import duties and superb logistic facilities. Dubai has a world class facility for exhibition and conference, it hosts many international events and exhibitions. The Real estate sector in Dubai is witnessing massive activity in the form of investments from private, public organizations which includes world’s tallest building, largest amusement park, largest man made islands etc.

Dubai’s real estate sector is growing day-by-day. Now Dubai has started breaking it’s own records by introducing more innovative and ground breaking projects.

The next few decades are bound to see some big waves of development which have the potential to turn America’s metropolises into mega cities bursting with opportunities at the seams.
How?

Since the past decade, people have been buying plots of desert land in states like Arizona which was witnessing a veritable building boom. Phoenix was one of the cities raring to go. Speculators who took the bet with Phoenix have been laughing all the way to the bank. Today, Phoenix is still going strong with a building boom which has seen more than 500,000 homes being built here alone.

Investors have been buying acres of land for building ranches and farms and many are spread over an area which is probably double the size of Manhattan. Interstate 10, which is presently housing 15,000 farmers, is about to take off in a major way with housing colonies emerging on either side. Brokers here say that the region will be completely transformed into a metropolis comparable to Phoenix itself.

As the population increases, these fast growing areas will represent lucrative business making opportunities. Growth trends are rife already in Oregon and Washington, and it is estimated that by 2030, the cities of Portland and Seattle might just merge and form one big megapolitan area. Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham are two other cities which in the light of things today may also be joined by transportation, banking, and biotech.

While Americans in the southern and western parts are trying to cash in by buying pieces of land in the proposed boom towns, others elsewhere are speculating on parking lots and underutilized land trying to locate the cheapest property which may yield great returns. Companies like Target and Wal-Mart, which will always head towards areas with growth are also looking at speculating on land and creating a whole host of opportunities.

While land everywhere is being eyed with passion, few territories possess the potential to make a profit and create that storm for growth. Arizona offers building worthy land at low prices and given the continuous water supply from underground rivers, aqueducts, and mountains the new inhabitants can all be taken care of.

However it is silly to speculate on land under conditions prevalent in the congested suburban metros like Chicago, Los Angeles or even Washington. Spiraling fuel costs and trying commutes zoning disasters and delays in approvals can be hazardous to the developers. But the latest trend is to hedge bets on parking spaces given that America has 30 per cent more parking lots than it needs, which may be a reason why many developers believe they’ll deliver the biggest returns.

A burgeoning Latino immigrant population is also a potentially good bet. At a time like this, one does not need to capitalize on the development boom by just grabbing land. One can also start businesses catering to a burgeoning immigrant Latino population which will soon become the fastest-growing ethnic group and the fastest growing group of buyers of services.

FSBO stands for “For Sale by Owner”. Quite a few homeowners suppose it’s not big deal to sell a home on their own, the FSBO way. They assume they can net thousands of dollars more at closing than if they hire a real estate broker and pay sales commissions. Many homeowners choose to sell their home without the aid of a real estate broker and do just fine; others find out the hard way how much help a real estate broker can be and how they can actually help to net more cash at the end of the negotiations. Selling your own home can sound attractive, and it can save you thousands of dollars if you are up for it. It can also cost you thousands if you go about it the wrong way.

Here in Spokane Washington, the FSBO market cycled through many ups and downs. Most recently the seller’s market that ended a couple years ago it was certainly easier to sell your home without the help of a broker. Recently however, the market has shifted into a more balanced market. Many experts say that it is now a buyer’s market as the number of expired listings has shot way up along with the total number of active listings. As of last week, Spokane had over 5,300 active listings in the Spokane Association of Realtors MLS. There we also 2,711 residential sales that closed in the last six months. At the current rate of sales with this number of listings it would take over a year for them to all with no new listing being added to the MLS. With nearly 2,000 real estate agents actively marketing these homes, someone working on their own seems to be at a definite disadvantage in today’s market conditions. Of course, Realtors, real estate brokers and Agents are experts in their field and expect to get paid a reasonable fee for their services.

Any homeowner who decides to take on the job of selling their own home is taking on an enormous amount of work and responsibility, but there are some potential benefits and challenges to doing it yourself.

The main motivation for someone to sell their home FSBO is to avoid paying a sales commission and keep that money themselves. Real estate brokers typically require 5%-7% of the total sale price as their fee. If your home is worth $200,000 then this fee is $10,000 to $14,000! This is money that you could possibly keep in your own accounts by selling your home yourself. Conversely, if you make a mistake by underestimating the value of your home, leave it on the market for too long, negotiate details of the transaction poorly or prepare the sales contract incorrectly, you could lose even more.

If you decide to sell your home FSBO you must analyze the potential savings and compare it the value of your time and effort it’s worth. In the process of selling your home by yourself you will necessarily invest enormous amounts of time researching legalities, technicalities in sales contracts, negotiating strategies, comparable properties and the current condition of the local real estate market. These are all things that a Realtor stays current with in the course of running their business. If you do not have the time for this, you may be better off with a real estate professional.

It is possible to market your home simply and without the assistance of a real estate professional. Posters, signs, fliers and newspaper ads can be effective marketing tools and they are available to anyone. Employing these marketing strategies will start to eat into the money you were planning to save though. When using a real estate professional, the agency will often absorb the costs of marketing.

Realtors sometimes make use of all the marketing options the FSBO sellers do but hey have access to the biggest marketing tool available and it’s not available to someone selling on their own. Real estate brokers have access to the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. This is a computer database service that instantly publishes the information about available property to other all the other Realtors and agents that are corresponding members of that particular MLS. Additionally, with recent syndication agreements the information on these listing are pushed to hundreds of other web sites that offer searchable information on homes for sale around the State and even across the country and around the world
When someone sells their home FSBO they take on the all responsibilities of selling the home. These include not only for the costs of the various professionals, but the time and effort in finding and screening them for quality of service and professionalism. Realtors have an established a network of related professionals and agencies that will help you through the process. As a FSBO seller you are working from scratch.

Selling a home can be an emotional experience. After all it could be where you have lived for years and it may be the place of your most precious memories. Home buyers tend to be very critical of homes they look at to purchase. Having a potential buyer who is a stranger come into your home be very critical can be a trying experience. This is a very important aspect of being represented by a real estate professional. As an agent they represent your interest and shield the homeowner from direct confrontation in the negotiations. Realtors are expert negotiators. A real estate professional see selling a home as a business transaction, there will be low-balling, offers made that are never meant to be accepted, etc. Remember that the buying party may be a better negotiator than you, or they may be working with a negotiating real estate professional themselves.

Real estate contracts are complicated. There is a lot of legalities involved in the sale of a home. Most every state has laws protecting consumers. Some of them concern proper disclosure, lead paint, radon, inspections, and so on. Many sellers may violate state laws without ever intended to. If you are determined to sell your home without a real estate professional, have a lawyer look over any contracts involved. This is an area in which even one misplaced word can undo all of your hard work. Realtors pay for “Errors and Omissions” insurance to protect them and their clients in the case of a mistake like this. In most cases, Realtors use preprinted legal forms that have been reviewed by attorneys and have been determined not to favor one party over another.

If you have the time, patience, money and desire to sell your home by yourself, then by all means go ahead and give it a try. But be aware of what you are getting yourself into first. There is a good reason that real estate agents exist; buying and selling property is not easy. Realtors provide valuable service and earn the commissions by serving their clients well. In the end, you may decide that your time and happiness is worth more than the commissions you could save. Know yourself, research your options and choose wisely.

The Miami real estate is one of the best selling real estate markets. These days, more and more investors are setting their sights on it and are considering it as a good investment. Above all, purchasing a Miami real estate property gives them a chance not just to get their won property but also to enjoy other benefits and advantages, of course.

For once, beautiful beaches are always nearby when you are at Miami. To add to that, the diverse lifestyle and culture in the place successfully captivates people from all walks of life. In fact, there are a lot of tourists who have fallen in love with the place and have decided to establish their residences there by purchasing a Miami real estate.

But of course, while investing in Miami real estate has its big potentials, we are not saying that it is perfect and do not have any disadvantages at all. Since Miami real estate has risen as one of the top real estate markets these days, the population is steadily increasing in there. This population increase denotes that you will have only a few choices when you look around for a Miami real estate.

For entrepreneurs and business people who have already purchased a Miami real estate, this is an advantage actually. Nevertheless, that somehow makes it harder for potential buyers to get options that will be affordable for them since the market really has a lot of competition and the properties are really in demand.

Because of the strong market for Miami real estate, the prices are also beginning to shoot up. Careful observers of the market can readily see that the properties being sold these days are becoming really expensive that there are those that sell for millions of dollars already.

One more warning for those who wish to purchase property and permanently establish their residences there is that Miami is an area that typically encounters its share of hurricanes and many other natural calamities. There is a ready solution for this however, since you could always invest some money for insurances. But of course, it would be safe for you to assume that these insurance rates aren’t cheap and could cost you a lot of money. Nevertheless, it is really wise to spend some money for that since it is one of the best ways so you could protect your properties, as well.

You can still be assured though, that despite these disadvantages, the Miami real estate market will continue to boom and that a lot of people will still want to buy their own property there. The market is really strong in the place that it leaves no doubt to predict otherwise. Simply stated, constant demand is equivalent to a steady market. So despite the price increases, there are still a lot of people who will want to invest for it in the end.

With these things in mind, you can then decide for yourself if investing in a Miami real estate is really the best for you. If you will take these considerations seriously, you will know that you can make the right decisions.

Property auction is taking place for more than 160 years. It not only benefits the seller but to the buyer also because it is simple, open and efficient method of purchase. In England and Wales around 2.5% of properties are sold through auction.

Speed
If a person wants to sell the house quickly, property auction is considered best. The timeframe is much shorter compared to real estate agent.

Price
In property auction the seller may get a much better price through competitive bidding. The bidders may increase the price of the property.

Integrity
Through this method the final price will be decided and there would be no chance of negotiation.

Marketing exposure
The property will be marketed in local and national newspaper. With the help of internet the interested buyers will know about it.

Chance of success
The property auction zone is able to sell about 90% of the lots offered. If the seller wants a particular sale value then he should go to the auctioneer.

Competitive bidding
Competitive bidding is done so that the prospective buyers can bid against each other.
Through competitive bidding, the seller can get the best price.

No fall-through
Once the hammer has been hit the buyer is legally bound to buy the property and cannot change his mind.

No re-negotiation
Re-negotiation cannot be done once the property has been sold. The buyer should have seen the property before taking part in the auction.

Continuing tenancy income
In investment properties, the vendor will be receiving rent till the auction date and after that the purchaser will be receiving income.

Open house viewing days
The auction team sets a day when the prospective buyers can have a look at the property and their questions can be answered. The auction team will know who are the prospective buyers and it will be helpful in setting up a reserve price.

If this process is followed then the property can be sold very quickly; first the auctioneer is called who will help the seller in knowing the process of selling. The auctioneer will tell him about the necessary paper work that is needed, like the tenancy rights, architectural plans etc. Then the auctioneer will make a marketing material and show it to the seller so that he can approve it. The material can be viewed on the website or in local newspapers and national newspapers. The open days are kept when the prospective buyers can come and have a look and ask any queries related to that property. On the auction day the time is allocated for the event to take place. The bidding takes place between prospective buyers and who does the highest bidding; the property would be sold to him. The sale document is signed and a 10% amount is deposited. The selling process is completed.

In today’s world, online auction is the easiest method. The prospective buyers do not have to visit places; they can know where the auction is taking place through internet.

Many Utahn’s have concern about the housing market in the Beehive State. Believe it or not, but real estate values are down throughout most of the Wasatch Front. Utah is not immuned too real estate down-turns and is no different than the rest of the nation, we are just a step slower. With a nationwide housing slump, and increased foreclosures, the question is, how long will it last?

On the bright side, Some Utah Real Estate markets like Logan and Ogden have had a more gradual appreciation, and are not in need of much correction. During the boom years when real estate values skyrocketed in other states, Utah’s appreciation was almost non existent. When the other markets began to tank, Utah boomed, and a little too fast..

Part of this booming was created artificially by out of state investors who purchased properties they never intended on living in. They didn’t want to invest in their own declining markets and invested in UT Real Estate instead. This drove demand way up and prices increased by as much as 20% annually. Loose lending standards also plague the health of the real estate market as many undocumented borrowers were able to get mortgage loans and buy Utah Real Estate they just couldn’t afford.

The Utah Economy is still fairly strong. There is still lots of demand for employees for many good paying jobs. The market for homes priced in the lower ranges should return to normal by about the end of next summer, and prices will most likely continue to drop in most of Northern Utah.

A real estate bird dog is an important person of a real estate investment plan. As you may be aware, the main duties of a bird dog is to locate property lead for real estate investors who are willing to work with them. In return, investors will pay a fee to real estate bird dog for their effort for finding property for them.

So, how exactly that one can become a real estate bird dog? It’s simple. I will show you a 3 steps plan in order to become a successful bird dog:

i) First and foremost, you have to look for real estate investors who are preparing to accept your offer to work with them and find them profitable property leads. Investors are everywhere and it is easier to find one in a local investment club where they are normally gather together for exchanging views and knowledge of real estate investments

ii) Once you found an investors, you are basically ready to start your real estate bird dogging. Treat bird dogging as a business and learn the rope of it from scratch if you do not already have the relevant experience in real estate investment.

iii) Present the information that you have gathered to your investors in a concise and accurate manner. Information that are normally submitted by a real estate bird dog for investors’ evaluation including but not limited to location of property, purchase price, title particulars, background of landlord, indicative selling price and so on.

In order to become a successful real estate bird dog, it is important to constantly improving your knowledge in real estate investing. In fact, the hardest part of this business is not finding real estate investors or looking for a profitable deal for investors, but the determination to continue learning the rope of the business.

Real estate property, like any other good for sale, comes in all conditions. But the average home or real property costs 8-10 times or more the amount of other high ticket items. That’s what makes it an investment rather than merely a purchase. Essential to ensuring it’s a sound one is getting a thorough inspection. Write right into the deal that any offer is contingent on a satisfactory inspection. And what constitutes ‘satisfactory’…?

Assuming the property contains wood, first and foremost is a separate termite and pest inspection. Most ‘home inspectors’ don’t check for this, concentrating instead on mechanical and others aspects. Termites, carpenter ants, even mice can weaken walls and floors, chew through wiring, and ruin attics and shelving.

Professional inspectors check every aspect of a property and structure.

Starting with the foundation, they look for large cracks (almost all have minor ones), check for level ground, and influx of water. Evidence can show up as efflorescence ?a white powdery material which indicates penetration points, mold or mildew (black stained areas). Some will use lasers to check level and cracking and some even use meters to check for radon gas concentrations.

Houses sit on top of foundations and that flooring has to be inspected for proper joints, angles, and materials used. From those floors rise walls which are similarly subject to incorrect framing and potential water damage. Inside the walls, plumbing and electrical systems are inspected for damage, non-code compliant construction, or simple age or wear. Any leaks are noted and pipes inspected for rust, lead, or other chemical concerns. Flow rate and pressure are sometimes measured.

Electrical systems get a thorough review, checking for faulty wiring, uncovered switches or receptacles, incorrect grounding, inadequate circuit breakers, or bad GFCI trips. The latter are those little red buttons often seen in the middle of outlets. They are somewhat like miniature circuit breakers built into the receptacle itself.

Working up to the attic, framing is checked for angles and strength and the area checked for air or water leaks or damage. The underneath of the roof is examined for tears or holes in papering and proper seal where vent pipes protrude outside.

Up on the roof the inspector will check for holes, loose tile, bad flashing or any other weakness that leads to lack of protection against the elements.

Around the house outside all faucets are tested for leaks and proper flow, inside all heating and air conditioning systems will be checked for duct leaks, filter condition, and adequate capacity and flow. Thermostats get a thorough going over.

Any inbuilt appliances, such as stove and water heater are checked for compliance with standards. Installed propane or wood stoves and piping are checked for physical integrity and proper function.

Carpets are checked for inappropriate levels of wear or damage and tested for mold or water damage. Any paint damage, particularly due to water infiltration, get noted.

All these items, and many more, are noted on a report available to whomever ordered and paid for the inspection. To the potential buyer, defective items can be used as bargaining chips when negotiating price and other terms of sale. But the inspection can also benefit the seller by allowing for the opportunity to repair or improve items before putting the property on the market.

To either party, an inspection for a few hundred dollars can save thousands during the process. Information isn’t just power, it’s money, too.