What is Real Estate

Writen by Raynor James

Taking title to a home can seem like a boilerplate event during escrow, but it is very important. The prime question is how you take title.

Taking Title When You Buy

If you are a first time buyer, you are probably wondering what taking title refers to. It is not the act of accepting a piece of paper from the seller. Taking title refers to who is listed on the title and HOW they are listed. If you are not married and are buying the home alone, you can stop reading now because you simply take the title in your own name. If you are married or buying the property with another person, things get a bit complex.

Most buyers take title in one of three ways – joint tenancy, tenants in common or as community property. Here is a closer look at each.

Joint tenancy is a popular method of taking title. Joint tenancy simply is a co-ownership situation where the purchasing parties are both listed on the title. The advantage of this form of ownership is each person on title has the right of survivorship, meaning that if one of the owners dies, title passes automatically to the surviving owner. Joint tenancy also offers tax benefits in the form of a stepped up basis. It is beyond the scope of this article, but the general idea is that the surviving owner gets to step up the cost of the home, which saves on capital gains taxes.

Tenants in common are essentially partnerships to own a property. They are generally disfavored because of tax issues.

Taking title as community property occurs often, but the buyers often do not realize it. If you are in a community property state, such as California, you pretty much take title as community property unless you hire a lawyer to find a way not to. Community property states have an overriding policy that funds from a married couples estate, not to mention assets, are jointly owned by both regardless of anything in writing. There are, however, some advantages to this approach. Upon the death of one spouse, the other gets a major stepped up basis on the cost of the home. When the property is sold, this results in substantial savings on capital gains.

So, which title should you choose when buying a home? There really is not one correct answer. You simply need to analyze your specific circumstances to make the best choice.

Raynor James is with the FSBO site - FSBOAmerica.org - homes for sale by owner.

Writen by Carlo Caparras

In the recent years since the dawn of man, Real Estate property has been one of the utmost concerns of living beings. Even animals compete for Real Estate and man has developed a ways of Real Estate ownership. In spite of numerous wars and lawsuits over the 5000 year history over Real Estate ownership, technology and economics have made it into a powerful business industry.

In the USA in the last 10 years the online Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have provided Real Estate professionals the most powerful tool ever created since the "title". The MLS removes the need for the 6 degrees theory where someone needs to know somebody who needs to know somebody who knows somebody to make buyers and sellers meet each other.

The MLS has been such a huge success to Realtors in the USA that other counties have tried to emulate the concept the past few years but it never seemed to have enough funding or internet reach to achieve the success that it had in the states.

Recently the US has another innovation in the MLS; it's called an MLS only listing. MLS rules requires that only licensed REALTORS have access to place listings in the MLS a lot of Realtors allowed sellers to place their home in the MLS for a Flat fee and no listing commission

This is a pure list only service, using giving any seller the marketing reach of the MLS while allowing them to save on listing commissions. This irked a lot of realtors since the reduced service pertains to a lot of reduced professionalism in the industry. A lot of states seem to agree as they have implemented a minimum service law preventing the MLS only listing service concept from being served "as is".

Flat Fee MLS only service not only removes the professional in selling the home on one side of the table it also it gives more work for the buyers agent. But the question is. Does everyone really need to have a full service listing agent? It may be true that a lot of sellers are amateurs and require their services. Then if they can afford to pay the extra 2-3% for the seller side, then it's not a problem. But how about investors, developers, retired agents, people who sold properties before and banks that already know what they are doing. Is it necessary to have a Realtor on their end when they sell dozens of properties a month as their profession? A lot of Flat Fee MLS clients are Realtors themselves who let another Realtor list their property in adjacent MLS boards where they are not members. Is there really a natural competition between the 2 services? Or is it a just a whole new innovation to the time tested Real Estate Wheel.

People get what they pay for, more often than not. If they are aware of what they are buying, they will always make the right choice.

Carlo Caparras is currently the executive vice president for American Real Estate and Mortgage LLC. Overseeing day to day operations of the company and spearheading all the expansion and innovation projects. A background in Telecommunications, computers and psychology. The Author spends a lot of his free time as a Director of World Care international. A non-profit organization devoted to giving free education to Americans, Eastern Europe, and 3rd world countries.

Writen by Jimmy Sturo

Among the different real estate options in the market, one of the most popular is the condominium. This is because condominiums have distinct features that make them the ideal option for certain types of buyers, which include single people and retirees. Moreover, there are also a number of advantages in owning condos instead of stand-alone homes, which have also added to their popularity. However, as with other types of properties, there are also different types of condos that buyers can choose from that cater to different requirements and preferences. People who are considering buying a townhouse would do well to look at the different features that each type of condo has so that they can pick the type that would best fit their needs.

Types of condos

Some of the most common types of condos include condominium apartments, condominium townhouses, and freehold townhouses, which all differ with regard to their structure and the type of ownership regulations that come with buying them. One distinct difference is that with condo townhouses, people are given more "freedom" as compared to condo apartments, as some condo townhouses are built in a way that people get t have their own small yard and garage spaces. However, apart from these differences, almost all types of condos provide the same environment given that condominium living is all about communal living, which involve sharing common spaces and following common rules.

Evidence to this is the fact that almost all condominium properties have a homeowner's association, which is responsible for the maintenance of the units and the implementation of the agreed rules among unit owners. The only drawback to this kind of set up is that there are cases wherein homeowner associations tend to promote uniformity among unit owners, which makes it hard for some homeowners to personalize their homes because there are rules that discourage them from doing so.

Among the different types of condominiums in the market, one of the most popular is the condo townhouse, as it provides homeowners with more freedom as compared to condo apartments. However, apart from slight differences, almost all types of condos provide the same communal living environment bound by rules. Given this, homeowners also need to consider the rules that the homeowner's associations have put in place in the condominium property that they are interested in, as this can help them assess whether they can live with such rules or not.

Condos provides detailed information on Condos, Condo Townhouses, Condos For Sale, Condo Rentals and more. Condos is affiliated with Annuity Buyer Payments.

Writen by Sara James

To hold a note means you are accepting payments as a bank would from someone who has signed a promise to pay over a period of time for a certain amount of interest. There are many people holding Real Estate Notes that they never wanted to hold in the first place (ie..seller finance),or may need a lump sum of money due to unexpected expenses. Many people may need cash now to pay medical bills, settle a tax debt, pay for college tuition, or start a business. The list goes on an on.

If you fall into one of these categories and hold a Real Estate Note, but no longer want to get your money in small monthly payments and instead need a large lump sum of money there is help. There are many reputable investors willing to purchase Real Estate Notes at a discount. The investor is willing to buy because they know that they can make a profit from the discount. Without the discount there is no incentive. The seller is willing to sell because they need a large lump some of money for reasons already described.

But there is another factor that motivates individuals to sell their Real Estate Note and that is the factor of time. With time comes risk. The longer an individual holds a Real Estate note then the longer note holder has to wait for their money, and the greater the chances that they will receive only part of it, or even not at all. In addition, the value of money depreciates with time--$1 will buy more now than it will 15 years. That is to say money in hand today is worth more than the promise of money in the future. And the investors are more willing to accept the risk of the payor defaulting in hope to turn a profit.

And if you hold a Real Estate Note and no longer want the risk, but have no need for a lump sum of money you can still benefit by re-investing the money in a secure government bond or other secured investment.

Sara James is a publisher for Cash Note Marketing. Cash Note Marketing works with private individuals to liquidate their Real Estate Cash Notes. Cash Note Marketing has a network of investors that purchases privately held notes across the country. For more information, please visit: http://www.cash4cashflows.com/cashnotemarketing

Writen by Nancy Woodward

As a Real Estate Agent, I read articles from various sources. I read an article today that gave me reason to think. Is safety an issue when you are showing a house?

The article I read indicated the agent gets to an open house and hides the knives and sharp objects prior to hosting the open house. This agent is very safety conscious. She protects herself from the public as much as she can. Her point - I'm doing an open house. Everyone knows it is going on - see the sign and balloons. They know there is a potential to find a Real Estate Agent alone if there are no vehicles in the area.

This agent checks the sex-offender registry before going to an appointment with a potential client she is has never met. Agents in other areas have experienced problems in vacant houses.

Is she right? Well, I think that is a matter of opinion. I agree you must be safety conscious at all times. You must be aware of the potential, the crime rate in your area, the trends going on in the area you work, the neighborhood you are visiting and/or working in regularly. Use good judgment and mostly importantly "be aware".

Nancy Woodward is an Accountant and Real Estate Professional. She is online RealEstate

Writen by Paul Wells

Funding is a critical part of any business, whether it is a real estate investing business or some other type of business. In this article I describe some ways to fund your foreclosure investing deals.

A business won't last long without the funding it needs to stay afloat and to conduct business. In the business of creative real estate it's important to have that funding in place as quickly as possible and as accessible as possible.

Realize, though, that it will take time to find people so start now and remember it will take a track record to get your private money. That being said if you find the right deal you can find the money. The right deal would be 70% Loan-To-Value after repairs. There are many strategies to secure the funding you need to lock in good deals like that.

When I first began as a real estate investor I neglected the importance of having funding in place so I could pull the trigger on deals as they came up. Where was I going to find the money to fund the deals I would always ask myself? I saw many other investors doing deals and having the funding in place.

I went through the basic avenues of where to get money. Where is the one place that everyone thinks they can get money? A bank, right?

I came to find out that is the wrong answer. What is the preoccupation with banks in this country? I can only figure that is the way people have been trained. My thought is that there must be a reason why many of the tallest buildings in any given town have the name of banks on them. I don't want to fund those buildings or those names on them.

In my entire career as a full-time real estate investor I have never used a bank to fund any of my deals. There are other ways you can fund your deals besides a bank.

If your house has enough equity you can take out a home equity loan where you write yourself a check against the equity in your house. You can also open a line of credit on your house. You can create partnerships with other investors where you can share a percentage of the profits.

When I first started in this business my first investor would write the checks for any amount I asked him for--however, he charged outrageous fees. For example, if I borrowed $100,000 and we made $30,000 on a deal, my investor got his $100,000 plus 12% while the deal was in process, as well as half the profits at the back end. In the long term, we would split the profit and the investor would get half the profits, plus 12%. It was very, very high, but you know, I needed the money and I wanted to get my business started and I was willing to do it. Over time I learned that that was very expensive money so I began looking for other ways to fund my business.

One of the first ways you can fund your business is to look for creative funding or financing techniques with the sellers of the properties. A lot of times sellers that are motivated to sell their homes will do just about anything to make a deal happen because they want out of the house. As my business began to grow and the activity began to grow, I knew that the number one activity in my business was to find funding, particularly private money.

Paul Wells has been investing in foreclosures full-time for more than 5 years. For more foreclosure investing secrets like the one in this article, subscribe to Paul's Free Foreclosure Investing course here: http://www.FreeForeclosureInvesting.com

Writen by Kostas Lagopodis

Real estate investing is one of the most attractive ways of making good money (that is if you do it correct). Moreover, real estate investing is also a lot of fun. A lot of people practice real estate investing as their core profession and, in fact, make a lot of money that way.

Real estate investing is really an art and, like any art, it takes time to master the art of real estate investing. The key, of course, is to buy at a lower price and sell at higher price and make a profit even after paying all the costs involved in the two (buy/sell) transactions.

Generally, people are of the opinion that real estate investing makes sense only when the rates are on the rise. However, real estate investing for profits is possible just about any time (and as I just said, real estate investing is an art). Here is a list of tricks that can make real estate investing profitable for you:

1) Look for public auctions, divorce settlements and foreclosures (bank/FHA/VA): Since quick settlement is the preference here (and not price), you might get a property at a price that is much lower than the prevailing market rate. You can then make arrangements to sell it at the market rate over a short period of time. However, make sure that the property is worth the price you are paying.

2) Looking for old listings: The old listings that are still unsold may provide you with good real estate investing opportunities. Just get hold of an old newspaper and call up the sellers. They might have given up hope of selling that property at all and with a bit of negotiation you can get the property for a real low price.

3) The hidden treasure: A really old (and dirty) looking house may scare off buyers. But this might be your chance for real estate investing that can yield good profits. So, explore such properties and check if spending a bit on them can make them shine. You can get these at very low prices and make a big profit in a short time.

4) Team up with attorneys: There are a number of attorneys who handle property sales on behalf of sellers or in special circumstances (like the death of the property owner). They might sometimes be looking to dispose off the property rather quickly and hence at a low price. Be the first one to grab such real estate investing opportunities and enjoy the profits.

5) Keep tab on the newspaper announcements: Property sell offs due to deaths, divorce settlements, immediate cash requirements and other reason are frequently announced in local papers. Keep track of such real estate investing avenues.

For more information and tips about Real estate investing please visit our web site: http://www.3arealestate.com