Thursday, February 14, 2008

REAL ESTATE

When purchasing a piece of property there are so many things to consider What are you looking for Some are looking for a mountaintop piece of property with great views Others are looking for something in the city limits for convenience Then there are some that are looking for something in between The options are endless but you must decide where you and your family would feel most comfortable

In the old days people generally only bought land and improved Real Estate in the areas in which they lived or traveled often buying land,commercial property for sale,condos,for sale by owner,homes for sale,land auction,land for sale,real estate agent,real estate land,residential land,plots for sale,buying land plots Today thanks to the blossoming of the Internet one can purchase land all over the United States from the comfort of home While there are some cautionary measures to be taken the profits that can be realized are immeasurable. Unlike improved Real Estate IE a house on land raw land can be purchased for much less When you see homes appreciate what do you think is appreciating Is it the decaying materials used to build the home Is it the look of the home In fact the large part of the increase is because the raw land the home sits on has went up in value which is normally due to demand. Buying a home can be a very stressful situation For many this is not even an option because of large down payments needed and or credit and employment issues It is extremely common for raw land to be bought and sold on owner financing If you look around you will see millions of acres of land up for sale daily where the potential buyer simply needs to say yes and start making payments. Land comes in all sizes locations and prices You do not need to be a rich mogul to get started building your land portfolio In fact if you have a couple dollars to your name via cash or credit you can start right now. Every single day of the year land is being sold at wholesale prices on the Internet The Internet has made it easy for owners of land to sell their parcels and many offer their land under retail value for a quick sale The Internet is also full of sellers who own land and dont know the real value of their land I have seen parcels being sold for as little as 20% of their real worth

By purchasing land online you can gain land at wholesale prices thus gaining instant equity Additionally you can have enough room to sell that land at a discount to another party and still make money Cash is king so the more you have the better deals you will get However even if you have little cash you can still get super deals on land with owner financing

As with anything in life there are some risks associated with buying land online However you can reduce or practically eliminate your risk by doing some common things First make sure the seller is going to issue you a WARRANTY DEED on the land you are going to by Do not accept a quick claim deed Ask your seller if the title has any liens judgments or back taxes Sometimes the answer is yes This is not a bad thing though Simply figure in the amount owed into the purchase price Many times a seller will lower the price of the land to move it before more penalties are assessed

Many times sellers wont have pictures of the actual lot for sale but the general area This normally happens with parcels that are cheaper because the seller might not live in the area and it is not financially viable to travel there to take a picture When this is the case make sure the place exists first and then do some research on the area For example go to a search engine and type in the county city subdivision or other data that is identifiable like a lake.Land contracts are sometimes used by buyers who do not qualify for conventional mortgage loans offered by traditional lending institutional for reasons of poor credit or an insufficient down payment The legal status of land contracts varies from region to region Typical land contracts are easy to understand and usually only make up 35 pages Land contracts are common throughout the United States. Buyers are less likely to walk away from a land contract or stop paying on the installment sale contract if the buyer has made a big down payment Often times home buyers are in a financial position to afford the monthly payments associated with home ownership but they lack the down payment necessary to purchase a home In those cases it often makes sense for the buyers to consider purchasing a home or piece of real estate and have the owner seller provide the financing for the purchase. The owner carried financing can include an existing mortgage balance or the property can be free and clear Upon payment in full the Vendor hands the Vendee a deed to the property The basic difference between a land contract and a mortgage is the buyer does not receive a deed or clear title to the property until the land contract is paid off The company can then make the tax payments to your property assessor and you can be assured the taxes will be paid on time Consider including an acceleration clause in the contract which will allow you to make the Vendee refinance the property if the condition of the property becomes a risk to your financial investment This property may be improved or unimproved vacant or a home or a commercial building With a land contract a down payment is usually made then equal monthly installments are paid until the property is paid for or until a balloon payment is required

Likewise selling a home by way a land contract can prove beneficial to the seller in many ways In some states they are called Trust Deeds Contract for Deed Deeds of Trust Notes or privately held Mortgages but they all represent the same thing a way of selling property where the buyer borrows from or relies upon the seller for the financing rather than paying cash up front or borrowing from a bank.Land contracts vary widely from transaction to transaction Land contracts are often misunderstood and are frequently avoided in favor of other less preferred ways of buying selling real estate. The fact that the price of real estate is constantly on the rise is not really a surprise to anyone is it After all everyone knows that they stopped making land a long time ago In elementary school we learned about the famous Law of Supply and Demand As the supply shrinks the demand always increases Because the supply has been getting smaller and smaller since the dawn of time it makes perfect sense that the demand has been increasing significantly

As a rule of thumb the price of real estate doubles every 10 years So if you buy land today for $10 000 it̢۪ll be worth about $20 000 ten years from now Again this is a rule of thumb but historically it has proven to be accurate

One of the major reasons for the rising cost of real estate is the growth of our world population Take Phoenix Arizona for example In 1940 the population was a small 186 000 By 1994 the population had reached over 1 5 Million Las Vegas Nevada is another fastgrowing area Today the population is nearly 1 1 Million up from just 460 000 twenty years ago Yes the population more than doubled in twenty years. You dont have to look very far to see the effects of rising land prices How many times have you talked to an old timer who said to you Twenty years ago I had the chance to buy that place for only $32 000 And they just sold it for $250 000 These arent rare circumstances They are normal common everyday events

In the San Francisco Bay Area demand for new houses has sent land prices skyrocketing as high as 100% over the past four years Builders are scrambling for parcels One such parcel of ground just 4 7 acres close to the freeway in Del Mar California was recently offered at the stunning price of $6 7 Million. There are a few times however when land prices tend to stay flat or even decline Southern California in the early 80s is a good example During times of severe and I do mean severe economic slumps real estate values have a tendency to stay flat When the economy recovers and buyers builders and investors begin purchasing again the prices quickly increase. Inflation is another key to the rising cost of real estate Remember how a loaf of bread used to cost less than fifty cents Now its $1 99 or so The same is true in real estate The same dollar today just wont buy as much property as it did yesterday Inflation especially when combined with rising wages has created an environment in our real estate markets where the value of the dollar is diminished versus our buying power in times gone by

Buying land can be a very confusing ordeal There are many reasons to buy land Some people buy for investment some buy to live on the property No matter why you buy land we all want to make money with the property in the long run Here are a list of tips and tricks to help you in the process These tips are from Max Mosko Max Mosko has been buying and selling land for over 40 years

Make sure you have electricity in front of the property or at a minimum 1 2 mile from the property Its could cost over $2000 pole to bring power to your site

In most cases you can only build one home per lot Dont think that if you buy a 100 acre parcel you can build a whole community Check with your local zoning office on land use

Try to avoid buying swamp land Also try to avoid buying low land

One acre home sites can cost 90k 100 acre home sites could cost 100k Your better of buying the larger parcel One day it may be of great value

If you need to get zoning help see a local in town lawyer They have have extra pull in their township

If you live in a cold climate dont expect to sell you raw land in the harsh winter when its covered with snow

Dont invest more than 23 hours away from where you live It make every step of the buying selling process more difficult

Make sure you can build at least one home on your property otherwise it may not be of any value. A land contract is a contract between the buyer and a private seller of a property, wherein the seller holds the title or deed to the property until all agreed upon payments have been made in full. This property may be improved or unimproved, vacant, or a home or a commercial building. With a land contract, a down payment is usually made, then equal monthly installments are paid until the property is paid for or until a balloon payment is required. A balloon payment is a lump sum of money that is due at a specified time, in this case at the end of the course of monthly payments. A land contract can be compared to renting or leasing with the option to buy. Such options are different in that the agreement is usually filed and is a legal arrangement, giving the renter or lessee the option to buy the property at a prearranged time during the loan. Rent payments then become equity in the property.While this type of agreement is usually recorded, a land contract may not be, making the legal recourse of the buyer tenuous should the agreement be flawed in some way. For example, if the seller still owes a mortgage on the property, the buyer assumes that the seller will use his monthly payments to pay the mortgage as well as any taxes or other liens, keeping the title free of encumbrances. If this occurs, the buyer owns the property free and clear at the end of the contract. If the seller does not keep up with payments owed, there could be trouble for the buyer.

While a land contract can seem very attractive to a buyer that is unable to secure a conventional loan, there are pitfalls to such an arrangement. Many sellers don't file or record the proper papers, in some cases because their lender would not agree to a sublet agreement or land contract. The lender may have stipulated that the borrower must have possession of the property. Making an end run around this provision by refusing to file the land contract can cause problems if the lender becomes aware of the situation. The lender can demand payment in full of the loan, forcing you to procure a loan to pay off the mortgage if you don't want to give up the property. If you can't come up with the money, you'll lose everything you have invested in the property and be forced to move out. This can be especially painful if you have also spent money and energy improving the property. Even if there is no mortgage on the property, there can be back taxes or other liens that the seller owes, which could cause you to lose the property or force you to come up with extra money. If you decide to take part in a land contract, make sure the title to the property is clear. Make sure the seller intends to file the proper papers to insure that you have some protection.