| |
| |
|
Real Estate |
|
|
|
Articles and Information about Real EstateNetFinancial | Institutions | LoansColleges and Universities | Search Engines Buying and Selling Distressed Houses for Maximum Profit (Update)
If you want to become a real estate investor, find a "fixer-upper" owned by an anxious seller. Finding distressed houses at bargain prices, fixing them up, and then selling them on a consistent basis can make you a multi-millionaire. Why Sellers Sell At a Discount Home owners' problems often prevent them from staying on top of their home's upkeep. Factors such as job loss, divorce, serious illness, various addictions, or other personal problems quickly overwhelm distressed home owners, forcing them to sell. These sellers can't make the needed repairs because of financial or physical limitations, and when that happens, their home becomes a low priority and sometimes will go into foreclosure. Look for the "Triple D" Home sellers with three problems give beginning investors a great opportunity. A "Triple D" is a Doghouse, involved in a Divorce, and in Default. The label "doghouse" comes from Southern California Realtors who used this term to describe the worst fixers. These houses maybe "tired" and need only cosmetic work in order to favorably compare with other homes in the area. What to Look for in a Doghouse The hardest house for a homeowner to sell is a "doghouse," "dump," or "fixer-upper." These run-down houses scare off most buyers, who don't have the money to cover the down payment, closing costs, new furniture, carpeting, appliances, roof repairs, and other deferred maintenance required to bring the home back into top condition. As you look through the classified ads or at Realtor listings, keep an eye out for terms like "handyman special," "as is," "fixer," or other tell-tale words. Also have your agent use similar terms when scanning the Multiple Listing Service for your target area. Once you've found a property that you can turn from doghouse to dollhouse, find out the seller's problem and then offer a solution. Distressed sellers frequently experience financial problems and need cash as soon as possible. Therefore, if you're ready to close quickly, you'll be set to negotiate a lower sales price. How to Close Quickly Find an experienced lender and get yourself not only "pre-qualified," but also "pre-approved." Taking that second step assures worried sellers that you already have your loan in place for their property, and this puts you well ahead of other potential buyers. How to Know When "Bad" Is Good When you first start out in the real estate "fixer" business, you'll want to look for "ugly" houses needing only cosmetic work. Look for entry level fixers that just need some cleaning up, painting, and carpeting. When you're new to the fixer business, always remember your limitations and use caution when considering houses needing structural repairs. My husband replaces structural beams, sub-flooring, walls, plumbing, and electrical systems, but he acquired those skills after years of experience. If you find a house with structural problems, get estimates from reliable contractors to do the work. Experience teaches you how to do more over time. Until then, rely on experienced professionals to do the repairs. Take professional estimates into account before deciding whether or not to purchase an investment property. The Easiest Houses to Sell A dollhouse, located in a popular neighborhood, sells the quickest. For instance, we once sold a home we named "Orange Tree Cottage" in just three hours! To qualify as a dollhouse, a home must be in a location that buyers want and must offer the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and amenities they're seeking. Beyond the price, however, buyers purchase the house that meets both their basic requirements and their emotional needs. Filling Buyers' Emotional Needs After many years of investment experience, we've found that using Design Psychology and Marketing Psychology techniques greatly increases our profits. Both concepts go far beyond "curb appeal." For instance, we use colors that target our prospective buyer's income level and match the selling season. Generally, buyers of higher-priced homes prefer complex colors. And using cool colors during hot weather and warm colors in cold seasons makes buyers feel like they've found an oasis or sheltering haven. We also paint the front door a happy color and entice buyers into the house by placing potted plants on the porch. Once inside, we use home staging strategies to create a buyers' dream home. We don't use a lot of furniture; just a few accessories to suggest happy activities. The idea is to make the buyers believe that if they buy your home, they'll enjoy a new lifestyle. Over the years, we've bought and sold dozens of distressed properties. By using caution and common sense, as well as following a few simple rules and using Design Psychology strategies, you, too, can become a wealthy real estate investor! (c) Copyright 2005 Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars: Using Design Psychology to Increase Real Estate Profits, Sell Your Home for Top Dollar--FAST, Home Staging, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, newsletters, and blogs for your questions, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Real-Estate - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Negotiating and Sales Skills Are Critical When I first started getting active in creative real estate, my skill set at negotiating was very weak. I had done the telemarketing thing for American Express as a financial planner and had studied and learned a few techniques. The Many Ways To Profit From O.P.P.s Multiple Cash Streams In a previous article we introduced you to the concept of O.P. Burn, Baby, Burn! Luxury homes are lots of fun to inspect. Sure, the pay is better too, but mostly it's just fun to see how the other half lives! I also get to meet those people who have reached such a level of financial success that they are buying a home that seems like it could have been a boarding school!One of the fun aspects of inspecting large and expensive homes is seeing furnishing and interior design work at the highest level. Getting Ready to Sell Your Property We all have had the experience of someone important coming to the house and whether the visitor is an in-law, an old friend, or business associate you know the drill: Have the house in "show" condition.For investors the situation is much the same: First impressions count!!!! Even though you may not be able to tell a book by its cover, you'll probably pay more for a book if the cover is inviting, and attractive. How to Make Money in Real Estate Without Doing the Scrunch Work If you don't have the time to invest working on fixers or if your tired of working on fixers to make money investing in real estate, try this method.Many real estate investors make thousands of dollars on brand new homes with little work. How to Decrease the Value of Your Own House Owning a house is part of the American Dream. Depending on where you live in the US - home ownership can be around 70%. How to Get the Best Price for Your House The best price to sell your home is always determined by how you compare against your competition, the house down the street. If your property looks better than the next guy's the customer will buy yours. The New First Impression in Home Selling As an ASP Home Stager I know how important curb appeal can be in making that critical first impression when selling your home. However, with the growth of real estate advertising over the web, there is another first impression that you should consider when marketing your property. Real Estate Investment - Why it is Big Business? When examining the different asset classes, real estate is generally far less volatile than shares and real estate tends to be the haven that investors flock to when other asset classes are suffering.It is true to say that investment properties can have many benefits in terms of building long-term wealth, but we must never forget that this wealth is not guaranteed!Following the global real estate boom of the late 1980's many investors learnt this hard lesson when they found their properties were worth far less than they had actually paid for them and the bottom seemingly fell out of the over-inflated market. Why A Final Inspection Is Necessary In the sales contract, the sellers of your new home agreed to leave all the light fixtures, custom blinds, and refrigerator. When you walk in the home on moving day, to your surprise, all of those things are gone. Investing in Real Estate Vehicle for Wealth Building Real estate is one of the best vehicles of building wealth. Historically real estate has outperformed other asset classes like stocks or bonds, and is reasonably predictable and less volatile. Inspecting Your New Home - 17 Areas You Must Inspect Before Taking Possession Congratulations! You've made your decision; you've chosen your new home and your builder. So what needs to happen next? Once you have a firm contract and you have selected the features that will go into your new home, it is time for the builder to turn your dream into reality. Searching For Maui Beachfront Houses? Who wouldn't want to move into a Maui beachfront house?From the custom architectural jobs done on many Maui homes,to the beautiful beaches and other natural attractions inMaui, you're bound to find something you will love aboutMaui beachfront houses. However, like any home buyingprocess, you'll need to make sure several things are inorder before you make your move into your new Mauibeachfront house. Real Estate Bankruptcy Although real estate bankruptcy cases no longer dominate the bankruptcy courts' dockets as they did in the early nineties, but they continue to be filed with great frequency in UK. At its essence, the real estate bankruptcy is a two party dispute between mortgagee and mortgagor. 4 Dangers In Flipping Real Estate If you have recently purchased some real estate for investment purposes, you are in good company. Recent reports suggest that as many as 25% of these purchases are made by those who plan on using the property for investment purposes only. Real Estate Investing Contracts on Toilet Paper Even if your real estate contract has been written on toilet paper, it's valid.Content of your real estate investing contract is what's important. What Can I Realistically Earn In A Lease Purchase Business? If you're looking at Lease Purchasing as a business, you'll obviously want to earn much more than the $20,000 per year in our "How To Give Yourself A $20,000/Year Raise Without Asking Your Boss" article. Let's review the numbers from that article: For every 100 calls Sue makes on For Sale By Owner property, she either speaks with or leaves messages for about 60%. Bulgarian Property Market Insight GOLF GRABS BULGARIA!At the present time there are only three golf courses in the whole of Bulgaria: one at Elin Pelin, near the capital, Sofia, and two owned by Air Sofia. These are located at Ihtiman, opened in 2000, 40km from Sofia, and at Sliven, opened in 2004, 90km from the Black Sea. Real Estate Inspection - Do Your Own Why should you do your own real estate inspection? To get a better deal. It isn't necessary to learn building codes, and you probably should use a professional inspector in any case. Yes But, How Do I Evaluate Buying Undeveloped Land And Get Into The Business? These real questions on buying undeveloped land are answered by a US Master Builder and myself after receiving them from readers of my e-book, "Residential Development Made Easy."Question 1.
|
|
Currency Trading | Investing | Leadership | Negoatiation | Real Estate | Stocks and Mutual Funds | Taxes home | NetFinancial | Institutions | Loans | Colleges and Universities | site map Search Engines | EZmatic | 0pops | GetSonic | TrafficFish | Health |
| © 2006 |
