With the commercial real estate sector’s vital signs stabilizing, indexes of real estate investment trusts have posted big gains this year
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An effective business plan, for most business, can help you think about the business and get to know it fully. It also helps you to strategically plan for the different aspects of the business. Such plans let the investor know what will be pursued as well as provide a clear road map for the management to follow.
Savvy investors always put together a business plan for each property investment. It is important therefore, that you take your time to plan each real estate investment you make.
In writing your plan, you have to identify the areas for improvement and the strategies for increasing the value of the property.
For first-time investors, it is important that you ask the following questions before writing your plan:
1 Why am I going into real estate business?
2 What challenges are involved in real estate? Can I handle them?
Taking time to answer the questions may prevent you from making costly mistakes which make this type of investment a disaster for many people.
Real estate investment comes with its own challenges and it is important that you know them and have a plan for resolving each of them. For most that are bringing in investors to look at your plan, the investors will want to see that you have experience in acquiring and managing real estate – strong enough to face the challenges involved. They want to know if you are emotionally and financially capable of handling tenants who do not pay and refuse to leave. They want to know if you are capable of handling the maintenance of the property and the contractors involved.
Strengths and competitive advantages are also points you should note though they are less important in real estate than in other businesses. You many want to talk to local brokers who know the market and can give sincere and honest advice.
What about insurance and tax reporting? You must be able to source for the right insurance coverage on your property. You must make sure all dues are paid in taxes and your accounts balanced. If you are not very good at this, you may consider getting if done through consulting.
Partnership is also an important issue in real estate investments. If you consider bringing in partners or investors, you have to look at securities law issues and investor communications. You must be ready to provide the reports and financials at intervals determined by the investors,or state laws. Most investors like to see quarterly financial reports.
Writing an effective real estate business plan, even when you know about the business, helps you to know it better. Put yourself in the investors’ shoes when writing your plan. Think about what they want to see and hear and address such.
Above all, writing an effective real estate plan requires getting all the available information you need in putting the business together.
Author: Oyinlola Akinsanya
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Buying a home is a big-time real estate investment and has to be done with great prudence. Knowing where not to buy a home is as important as are the dos and don’ts of buying a home.
Of the many top ten lists on CNNMoney.com, there is listed the top ten overvalued cities in America where it is better not to buy a home for the next two years or so. The report states a variety of reasons for the unfavorable market conditions.
Five cities in California – Bakersfield, Fresno, Merced, Sacramento and Stockton, figure among the top ten cities that have the least possibility of home price appreciation. Home prices have reached a new high (by nearly 60%) in these areas over the past two years. With an economy driven by agriculture and relatively higher unemployment rates anticipated for that area, the real estate market is predicted to slump in the region.
Although three cities in Florida are recommended as good real estate buys, the report also cites four others in Southwest Florida that fall among the very bottom of the list. With home prices here expected to plummet very soon, cities like Fort Myers, Naples, Punta Gorda and Sarasota are those that one would do best to avoid for a year’s time or so, while buying a home or a condo.
Market prices are expected to decline in the Jersey Shore (New Jersey) area that saw a radical boom in the last two quarters. Although home prices in the third quarter have rebounded from the slight drop during the second quarter, the bubble is expected to burst soon and the overpriced market is likely to stabilize. The popular seaside cities of New Jersey, Atlantic City and Ocean city are anticipated to fall under the unfavorable list.
In Phoenix, Arizona, a hot favorite among investors last year, sliding home prices may to be an unavoidable occurrence in the next 12 months. With home prices dropping by more than $100,000 in some residential developments and investors trying to sell off their property, it is safer to wait for a year or longer before investing here.
Economists at Moody’s Economy.com also predict a sharp decline in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, California’s Inland Empire.
The bottom ten cities that are likely to see major drops in median home prices during the coming year are Stockton, (leading the list with a predicted fall of 9.7%), Merced, Reno/Sparks, Fresno, Vallejo/Fairfield, Las Vegas, Bakersfield, Sacramento, Washington, D.C and Tucson.
Given these fluctuating real estate market conditions, one should exercise a great deal of caution when investing in real estate. It makes sense to get the expert advice of a real estate agent to advise you about your next home purchase, since agents often have access to the most up-to-date real estate market data and neighborhood pricing trends.
Despite a recent slowdown, the U.S. real estate market continues to be a popular investment destination for foreign investors. Attracted by a desirable return on investment, many foreign nations continue to invest heavily in the U.S. residential and commercial real estate markets. In fact, in 2005, foreign investment in U.S. real estate reached 1.83 trillion.
To evaluate the impact of foreign investment on the U.S. real estate market, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) produced a 2006 report entitled ‘Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate: Current Trends and Historical Perspective.’ The report provides insights into the trends in foreign real estate investment, its impact on the U.S. economy, and the major countries that participate in U.S. real estate investment. Below are some highlights from the NAR report.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the top seven countries that had significant holdings in U.S. real estate as of 2005 were:
Germany – 13 %
Latin America – 13 %
Australia – 11 %
Japan -10 %
United Kingdom – 10 %
Canada – 6 %
Netherlands – 6 %
The U.S. economy is wide open to foreign investors. Both investors and Americans significantly benefit from all this foreign investment. The NAR study estimates that without foreign investments in the securities market, the long-term lending rates would be four percentage points higher than the current rate, which would adversely impact the U.S. real estate market.
Foreign direct investment into the U.S. not only creates more jobs but also contributes to the demand for U.S. real estate. In fact, foreign investment may be responsible for creating two million U.S. jobs by the end of 2006, which further bolsters the demand for U.S. real estate.
Permanent and temporary immigration of foreign-born workers into the U.S. further bolsters the demand for real estate. According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, 1.2 million net immigrants are expected to arrive in the United States annually. This immigration pattern is expected to offset the decrease in housing demand by post baby-boomer generations.
In summary, the impact of foreign investment and immigration into the U.S. will continue to play a major role in the U.S. real estate market.
Real Estate Investment in Whangarei New Zealand
Real estate business may be focused in so many aspects as an investment and as a method to earn money from. You can be a real estate agent and enjoy earning money while on the other hand, there are those who have the capital to earn being an investor in the buy and sell arena for a real estate business. In Whangarei New Zealand, however, there is a lot of available real estate business investment that you can get in to if you want to earn a significant amount of income from it.
Whangarei Real Estate Agent Marketing Tips
A Whangarei real estate agent in New Zealand may earn through real estate business by selling real estate property in so many ways and methods but so far, there are a few tips that I would like to give you to be able to earn good in this business. To be able to market a real estate property, you have to know where you can make such move or where to post your for sale property using the internet because we all know that the internet is the best medium there is if you are selling anything today. A few good ways to seek refuge for your product are forums and classifieds. Today there are a lot of free classifieds that you can post your for sale product. Forums can also be a good way to sell real estate. You can also try to market your real estate property using social media sites where you can post to multiple people who might just be interested to buy a real estate property in Whangarei. So far these are just a few ways and I know that there are a lot out there.
Different Real Estate Property Investment and Sale
In a real estate investment, there are a lot of different types that you can sell for interest of those who might be looking for the perfect type of property. Different people have different preferences for a real estate property that they wan to buy or rent or even lease for a period of time so to be able to allow your target clients to get a glimpse of what is there in the real estate industry in Whangarei Nez Zealand, you must have access to the different types of real estate properties being sold in the market today and make a list of them all. This is for the purpose of having each type under your profile just in case you have to present a client the different types of real estate property that you sell for choosing.
To get you an idea of what is in store if you are looking to sell real estate these are a few types. Coastal real estate, farmland real estate, northland real estate, beach real estate, resort real estate, ridge real estate and more. So far these are just a few but always feel free to make it more appealing and diverse for your clients. We all know that selling a real estate property either if it is for rent, lease or total sale depends on the choices that you can offer for your clients.
Once you purchase a real estate rental property, you virtually become the CEO of your own small business. Sure, you feel good about becoming a landlord and owner of your own private money-maker, but unless it’s raw land, your work has just begun.
Now you must manage the property. As a real estate investor who has chosen the renting of apartments as a business, your goal now is to keep the units full, and at the highest rent per square foot possible.
So let’s consider the big picture of property management and look at some rental management basics every real estate investor should be aware of inside real estate investment.
Many real estate investors simply turn read more…
My phone doesn’t ring often, but when it does, it usually means something very important is about to happen. This time it rang during a workshop that I was attending. I needed to keep my phone on since I am attempting to sell a house. This process has taken about 2 ½ years, and I was going to finally arrive at the closing table. Knowing that an actual closing was taking place gave me much needed relief. After I hung up the cell phone, one of my colleagues commented that oh that will mean big bucks. I looked at him, “Not necessarily sometimes it means breaking even.” My contract in which I signed with full agreement stated that I was to receive $3,000.00. This sounds like quite a bit of money, unless you know the whole story. Real Estate is somewhat riskier than mutual funds, CD’s and stock. In fact the few things that are more risky are valuable minerals such as gold or silver. This information came to me from my financial advisor who was helping me with my retirement investments, and borrowing money to help me become debt free.
I purchased my first home for $55,500.00 and it appraised for $66,000.00 which gave me nearly $11,000.00 in equity. This is good according to the real estate brokers, agents and my mortgage company. The house was a cute little cottage style brick and wood frame house in a small town in Oklahoma. This is one of the reasons the purchase price seems so good. Everyone told me that this was truly a great investment. I purchased the property with a nervous tick inside my gut, and all the time believing it was a case of new buyer’s jitters. In reality, this house became a true money pit.
From the moment I moved into this house till the day of closing this property has only taken from me. I spent quite a bit of money replacing the main water line, to fixing a leak inside the house, and adding a French drain to help with diverting water away from the back door, and the side yard when it rained. When the main water line had to be replaced two huge Sycamore trees had to be removed. I even took time to upgrade the bathroom, which was not an easy chore. read more…
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