There are many different ways to invest in Real Estate. Many people understand the importance of investing, especially in Real Estate, but don’t know the many different opportunities that are available in this magnificent field.
Every week there are many more Real Estate deals that show up at my office than either I or my staff can handle. It is like sifting for gold. Many are discarded. The possible deals that are left have preliminary research performed and the gold starts appearing. If the deal doesn’t fit my buying criteria, I will sell the Purchase Agreement to another investor who will end up owning the property. Of the deals that I close on, I package some of them up and sell them to other investors with seller financing in place.
All these properties will need to be financed. Some investors don’t want anything to do with the “hands on” aspect of Real Estate but have money available in retirement accounts, savings accounts, or mattresses that are not producing good returns. Most people don’t realize that these assets can be invested in mortgages on Real Estate with annual returns ranging from current bank mortgage rates to double figures. Actually, there are many more people who invest in Real Estate Mortgages than those who find, repair/renovate, and/or rent for income. It is a great passive way to have your money working for you as you pursue other goals and enjoy a more luxurious life. The best thing about this type of investing is that it can be totally “hands off”. Your IRA, 401k, or other retirement account funds can buy or place these mortgages – without paying income tax and other penalties for withdrawal of the funds. If you have a Roth IRA, an added benefit is that all the income made on these mortgages is tax free! read more…
Is There Anyone Who Is Not Worried About The Sub Prime Mortgage Lending Meltdown?Well according to some so-called facts appearing in a recent New York Times article (by B. Stein), that meltdown is just is not happening. It is all a mass hallucination experienced by a falsely alarmed and grossly misinformed public. The article declares that of the ten-plus trillion dollars in outstanding mortgage loans, only less than fifteen percent of them (less than 1.5 trillion bucks worth) are subprime loans. [I.e., Subprime: Loans offered at an interest rate above prime to those unfortunates who are less than qualified for prime rate borrowing, in other words, sub prime borrowers, not sub prime loans.]
Subprime mortgages may carry interest rates of perhaps only 0.1% to 0.6% higher than prime, which seemingly tiny difference translates to thousands of dollars in additional costs to borrowers and higher profits to lenders). The bulk of all mortgage loans, the article goes on to insist are not subprime and therefore have a much lower foreclosure rate. I guess the conclusion drawn here is that if only half of the sub prime loans are in, or headed for, foreclosure…why worry about a measly little forty or fifty billion dollars being ripped from the country’s coffers? read more…
Inner city regeneration projects are becoming easier to fund with property development finance as the mainstream lenders are starting to realise that the profit levels on these types of scheme can be very high.
Regeneration opportunities are usually found in central locations and if selected carefully can represent up to 20% discount in similar property in fully developed areas. The most competitive property development finance is available for good quality regeneration schemes surrounded by good quality housing stock and local amenities. However investors still need to do some careful research and check there is a well-funded renewal plan in place.
Areas such as Stratford East in London, parts of Manchester and inner city areas of Cardiff all have regeneration schemes in place and are proving irresistible to investors and buyers. A good example of the perfect regeneration project would be an area like Stratford in London with the 2012 Olympics being hosted in the area. The levels of applications for property development finance, specifically for regeneration areas are exceeding all records.
There is no doubt that developers are realising that brownfield sites represent the best opportunity. This is because it is far easier to develop a brownfield site than go through all the hassle of applying for planning permission to develop a greenfield site. Finance for property development in regeneration areas is often calculated based on the anticipated increase in overall value once the whole scheme is complete. read more…
