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Home Buying For Dummies, 4th Edition (Paperback)

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Home Buying For Dummies, 4th Edition

Now updated America’s #1 bestselling home-buying book! Want to buy a house, but concerned about the market? Have no fear this trusted guide arms you with Eric Tyson and Ray Brown’s time-tested advice and updated strategies for buying a home in current market conditions. You’ll discover how to find the right property, make smart financial decisions, and understand the latest lending requirements and tax implications. New to this edition new and expanded coverage to help homebuyers take advantage of low home prices, understand the subprime mortgage crisis, obtain a mortgage, and improve credit scores To buy or not to buy? weigh the advantages of owning versus renting, get your finances in order, and know how much house you can safely afford Handle financing understand your credit rating, navigate the different types of mortgages, and complete all paperwork Play the real estate game find the righ (more…)

Your Raw Food Life

Commercial Real Estate Investing For Dummies (Paperback)

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Commercial Real Estate Investing For Dummies

Thinking about becoming a commercial real estate investor? Commercial Real Estate Investing For Dummies covers the entire process, offering practical advice on negotiation and closing win-win deals and maximizing profit. From office buildings to shopping centers to apartment buildings, it helps you pick the right properties at the right time for the right price. Yes, there is a fun and easy way to break into commercial real estate, and this is it. This comprehensive handbook has it all. Youll learn how to find great properties, size up sellers, finance your investments, protect your assets, and increase your propertys value. Youll discover the upsides and downsides of the various types of investments, learn the five biggest myths of commercial real estate investment, find out how to recession-proof your investment portfolio, and more. Discover how to: Get leads on commercial property investments Determine what a property is worth Find the (more…)

Real Estate Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

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Real Estate Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Real Estate Investing For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is completely revised and updated to help you overcome the challenges and and take advantage of the opportunities in any real estate environment, including a down market. But Eric Tyson and Robert Griswold’s core message remains as relevant today as it did upon the initial publication of Real Estate Investing For Dummies — investing in real estate is time-tested vehicle to build wealth in the long term. Tyson and Griswold don’t tell you how to become a millionaire overnight. Instead, they offer proven, practical, and actionable advice so that if you chose to invest in income-producing properties, you can do so wisely and confidently.

From the Back Cover

Now updated your guide to building long-term wealth through real estate Want to be a successful real estate investor? Eric Tyson and Robert Griswold present their proven strategies, along with updated tips for easily riding out downturns i (more…)

Be The Best Landlord You Can Be for Better Renters

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When buying a house or apartment with the intention of letting it out to tenants, you may well have in mind one thing only that day every month when the money transfers into your account and, for the privilege of letting people live in a property you own, you make a profit. However, if you are the landlord of a rented property, life is very rarely that simple. It is not necessarily a bad life at all, but it pays to be realistic at these times. If you are prepared for what you will face, it is always much better.

Often, you will go for months without hearing from or about your tenants. The principle of no news is good news is one that many people subscribe to. There is good reason for this. Mostly, people just want a quiet life and will go about their business in a way which does not infringe upon anyones time. However, if there is a problem which could threaten the liveability of the property you are renting out, then it can end up costing you money and ruining the living conditions of the people living there. It is essential to keep in contact with tenants.

Having a good relationship with your tenants is something that will pay off. You dont need to send them a Christmas card every year or attend their kids ball games, but being prepared to meet them halfway on certain matters will benefit you in the long run, as they are prepared to continue paying the rent, and will leave it in a good condition when they vacate

When You Buy To Rent – You Must Know This

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One of the most popular ways of making money in the past few decades has been the boom in buying houses in order to then let them to tenants. Some investors do this by purchasing a house and then redeveloping it into apartments. Others simply buy the house and then let it exactly as it is or with minor renovations. Either way, it is something that a lot of people have chosen to do, and it can be profitable.

Think about it this way when you look at the amount that is charged for rent on a property, it is almost invariably a lot higher than you would be paying monthly on a mortgage if you had taken one out and bought the property. Therefore, there is a potential profit margin in doing the latter and letting other people do the former. Just bear in mind that the mortgage is not the only cost you will be paying as a landlord.

If you are looking to buy to let, then it is essential that you scrupulously check the property for any necessary repairs, and that you allow money for those repairs should they be needed. You will also potentially have a higher level of tax to pay on income from rent, and you may also be expected to pay maintenance costs on the property depending on the level of rent you are charging. However, if you can get the costs to stack up in your favor, there are always people willing to rent so it can be a big money maker for you.

Home Renovation – What You Need To Know

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It is important when renovating a house to bear in mind that there is a big difference between a loose plan and a final certainty. You may have ideas about what the house is going to look like and how much money it is going to make you, but those ideas can only become reality with a lot of work. Dont get carried away by the seemingly foolproof nature of your plans.

You should always make sure that you comparison shop every decision you make. You may need to pay builders and other workmen to do the renovation work. You should consult as many different companies as you can before contracting one to do the work check them for references and price. Do the same for materials and for any other service that will be required.

It can be tempting to walk away from a development, even temporarily, because you have just reached a point where every decision is difficult and you are second-guessing yourself on everything. You may just want to give up. At these times, you need to show steely reserve and keep in mind that time is very nearly equal to money.

Finally, you should always be ready to take the opinions of others on board. By going with your own gut on every decision you make it is possible to develop tunnel vision. You dont have to run every decision by someone and agree with all of their points, but it can be useful to ensure that you are looking at the plan from a more detached angle as this is what potential purchasers will be doing

Timing is Everything When Renovating

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When you buy a house for the purposes of renovating it, there may well be a simple equation in your head. Money spent on buying house + money spent renovating = total spend. Resale price total spend = profit. Simple! Isnt it? Well, maybe not. You see, on top of this you do need to consider what else is going on while you are renovating. Renovating a house is not something you can do in dead time, so you also have to look at how you live in the mean time.

After all, if you need to be present for the work because you are helping to do it or because you need to monitor the project then this cuts into time that you would ordinarily spend working and making money. If you have sold your house to buy the new one, then you will also need to take care of resettlement costs, whether you are renting or have found another solution. It is hard to live in a house which is in the middle of renovations, as anyone who has done it will tell you.

You may need to work into your budget an amount which will cover the costs of your time spent on site and your temporary accommodation. If you have borrowed in order to buy the house, you will need to at least service the mortgage on it, too. Therefore it is essential that you have a plan, and that that plan is realistic. Many people get carried away thinking of the profit that they will make, but it is important to think about the difference between gross and net profit

Beware: THE MONEY PIT!

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The fixer-upper is a grand tradition of real estate. Many houses go on the market needing some work before they are truly habitable. Whether your intention is to live in the house or to fix it up and sell it on for a profit, you will need to do some work one way or the other and because of the work involved, often these houses are available for a bargain price. However, it should be noted that not every house that is available for a low price is a bargain. Sometimes, people only find this out after doing a lot of work.

A money pit is a house which looks like a bargain when you initially buy it, but when you come to realize the extent of the renovations that need to be done before it is even habitable you realize that you will have to spend a ludicrous amount of money. If you are selling, you may not make a profit. If you plan to live there, youd have been better moving in to an already suitable house and paying the extra money up front. Of course, by the time you have found this out, its already a little late.

Before buying a house which requires work, it is always advisable to have a survey carried out on the property to find the extent of work that needs to be done. You may be pleasantly surprised, or you may get a warning that you should not proceed with the purchase. Although it costs money to have a survey done, it is still immensely preferable to buying rashly and then spending time and money putting that decision to rights

Recognizing Loss as an Opportunity

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If you were offered a deal that sounded as though it was unbeatable, and it turned out that there was no risk involved for you, youd surely take it, wouldnt you? Most of us, if not all, would. But then throw this variable into the equation: You can only have this deal by taking advantage of the fact that a couple with three children are divorcing after one of the parents lost their job. They will sell for just over half of what they paid for the property because the bottom fell out of the market and the repayments are crippling them.

How do you feel now? Still thinking of popping open a bottle of champagne and toasting your good fortune? Well, you may well be. The fact is that there will always be misfortune in this world, and if you feel that it is excessively unkind to profit from someone elses misfortune then there will be countless other people out there who are not at all bothered about taking that step. Obviously you would be well advised not to celebrate your good fortune in front of the family who are losing their home, but they need to sell it, and you will not be helping them by opting out of the decision.

This is how many people make their first step on the real estate ladder. Equally, others will buy houses from seized-property auctions without considering that the work that went into those homes may have been funded by drug dealing, and buying from a repossession auction is also a way of profiting from anothers misfortune if you wish to take that view of things. Its all relative, and you are not the bad guy

Owning Real Estate in the Tough Part of Town

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Most of us have heard someone often our parents, but probably more often a character in a TV show describing another individual as being from the wrong side of the tracks. It is one we hear, and repeat, without necessarily giving any thought to what it means. We as humans, have a tendency to do that but what does it mean?

Well, to make a long story short, it was realised some time ago that people who could afford to choose where they lived would pay for a house in a location that was peaceful, clean and sedate. Too much through traffic means a lot of pollution, and can also cause structural faults, and also an increased number of strangers something we were always taught to dread.

Poorer neighborhoods, with higher crime rates and naturally a less desirable kind of person living there, as a result, were often positioned close to public transport links such as railways and (in larger cities) airports. Anyone living in that area would be considered bad news by the richer families who intended to maintain a spotless reputation and if the son or daughter of a rich was seen to be consorting with someone from those areas, that could mean social suicide.

This kind of reputation still persists for many people. However, there are also advantages to living and buying in what might be considered a poorer, grottier neighborhood. Prices are lower, but sound investment does mean that you can still make a decent profit. After all, proximity to public transport links also has its benefits.