What is Real Estate

Writen by Henry Schlee

Everyone has a property investment story, and in Western Canada the stories often have a pretty strong Whistler element. Whistler has in the past offered spectacular payoffs for property investors. You could in 1980 have bought a prime waterfront property on the lake in Whistler for $10,000. Today the land alone would command $2m upwards, and other plots of land can sell for $3-4m. Add a house and you could be looking at up to $20m (the – ludicrous - price being asked for 'The Couloir', a ski-in, ski-out location on Whistler Mountain. Prices have at least doubled in the last 5 years. Talk to realtors in Whistler and you will invariably be told that there is still considerable upside. Is there any mileage in buying in at these prices?

The quick answer is: probably not. Rental yields in Whistler are currently hovering around 1% net, with many people not even making enough to cover their taxes, let alone make a positive return. Add debt into the financing structure and you are looking at an asset which costs you significant money every month you own it. You are essentially speculating on either a continued decline towards 0% in the yield that other investors are willing to accept, or a dramatic turnaround in occupancy levels and rates to compensate. There is no reason to believe in either of these events.

The facts are that while the rest of the property market in British Columbia stagnated for years, Whistler grew like crazy, peaking at about the same time that the rest of the BC market bottomed out, circa 2002. The market is almost entirely divorced from the factors which drive prices in the rest of the province (interest rates, unemployment levels, wages, general optimism about the strength of the economy). Rather, the market is linked to demand for Whistler skiing from the international community which can afford the elevated prices that Whistler requires. And this demand has declined precipitously, made up for by demand from the local (Vancouver) market as well as the Seattle market. So while visitor numbers are up, the value to be extracted from these visitors by property owners is well down, since local visitors stay for less time and are way more price sensitive.

So the canny investor should continue to stay out of the market. Economic fundamentals suggest that this market will stagnate or decline for quite a few years to come. However, that is no reason to avoid visiting Whistler, which continues to offer fabulous skiing and excellent restaurants, as well as all its other attractions. If you're looking for accommodation try this link for a range of Whistler chalets in all parts of the resort.

Author is the owner of Holiday Whistler which has an extensive range of chalets, condos and townhomes for rent, from one to seven bedrooms. Try this link to explore their range of Whistler lodgings, or, if you are still interested in buying into the property market, try this one for information on Whistler property management.

Writen by Luigi Frascati

In general lines, terror endangers life such that the value of the future relative to the present is reduced. Hence, due to a rise in terror activity, investment diminishes and in the long run income and consumption go down as well. This is, in a capsule, the experience of the countries where terror and its derivatives were the least aimed at: Islam.

To counter the negative effects of terrorism, Islamic Governments such as those of Saudi Arabia and Egypt have tried to offset terror by putting tax revenues into the production of security. Facing a rising tide in terror, so was the idea, a government that acts optimally increases the proportion of output spent on defense. Thus, when terror peaks, given the scarcity of available economic resources, the long run equilibrium is of lower output and diminished welfare. Which, as many Muslim countries have discovered later on, results in a drop of aggregate demand and a general economic slow down as well.

European Union members, on the other hand, have and are experiencing the economic impact of terror in a different fashion. Here too, as the massacres in Madrid and London have demonstrated, terror, among other things, endangers civilians' lives. Fears, bewilderment, and different types of uncertainties proximately created by terrorist activities have been responsible in Europe for altering and redirecting individuals' economic choices. Insecurity manifests itself in the daily life by increasing uncertainty such that, as terror or even just the threat of terror increases, life itself becomes less certain. In reaction to the rise of insecurity levels, European Governments too have tried to offset the threat of terrorism by increasing defense spending. Thus, the total cost of terror has emerged from both the individuals and governments response to terror. Individuals have changed their consumption and investment decisions in response to the change in their perceived sense of security. Governments have responded by increasing defense expenditures. And in many member States, counter-terrorism measures carry what economists call a "security tax" - higher costs associated with longer waiting times, additional shipping charges and other ways of making the economy less efficient.

By contrast, this is not what happened in North America. Whereas, in fact, defense spending in Europe has been kept down to minimal levels for decades, even during the times of the Cold War, defense spending has taken invariably a substantial portion of the American budget. As a result, therefore, European countries had to allocate resources ex novo to guarantee the security of their citizens and safety of their institutions, while instead all America simply had to do was to shift already existing and available resources for different purposes.

Surely enough, also in North America consumers had to redirect their economic decision-making processes, but to a far lesser extent. Besides the debate of a few years ago involving restrictions of civil liberties, a closer scrutiny on who is coming in and going out of the country, the plan announced by the Bush Administration of eavesdropping on people's private telephone calls and the 'infamous' ban on carrying nail-clippers into aircraft, North American consumers cannot say they have been subjected to much else.

Since safety does not come for free, governments must use real resources to 'produce' security and, unless they run the risk of magnifying their defense budgets specifically to address security concerns, governments must take those real resources from the private sector. Therefore, the decision of governments about how much to spend on defense is based on comparing the social costs of resources, i.e the costs of forgone consumption and of forgone future consumption (investment), which are used to provide security, with the benefit that emerges from making life safer, that is the benefit of reducing terror. This decision, however, is much less drastic when the private sector already has plenty of resources that can be allocated for security purposes.

And, in fact, the privatization of security, always under government's supervision, serves as a catalyst to domestic economic activity and growth. It is an undisputed fact that market economies, in Capitalism, are moved by the supply and demand for goods and services. Specifically as it relates to capital markets such as real estate, furthermore, the production of output depends essentially on the accumulation of capital. This is so because the propensity to invest in production (construction of new inventories) depends a lot on expectations of future profitability and on the present perceptions of market risk.

Growth is derived by the equilibrium of capital and investment with labor and employment. And since production is in direct function of consumer spending, which increases as unemployment falls, it follows that capital accumulation increases as employment rises and capital accumulation decreases as employment falls. The development of and privatization of security, therefore, has worked in North America as a stimulus to growth by increasing employment levels and subsequent consumer spending, as proven by the levels of the Index of Consumer Confidence reported by the Feds in recent years, which levels remain very high. Since Capitalism is commonly understood to mean an economic system in which the means of production are predominantly privately owned and operated for profit, and whose primary objective is to promote capital growth, North America's response to growing terrorist threats has had a beneficial effect on capital markets, including real estate.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Writen by Jeanette Joy Fisher

Even if you're counting on rising property values to eventually make a profit on an investment property, it's far more desirable to have a positive cash flow each month. If you're losing money on a property every month, it may not take long until your future profits will have been lost. Owning investment property is much more enjoyable if you're making money along the way.

Here are a couple of ideas for keeping your investment property cash flow in the black:

If you don't already own your own home, your first goal should be to live in your first "investment" property. Interest rates and down payments are considerably lower for a primary residence, and you won't have to deal with finding and managing tenants or absorbing the cost of an occasional vacancy.

Once you begin looking for your first "official" investment property, you'll want to concentrate your search for less expensive homes, because they're generally easier to rent for a profit than higher cost houses. You can also purchase two or three smaller homes for about the same cost as one larger one, thus giving you an even greater cash flow.

One of the easiest ways to achieve a positive cash flow is by obtaining a loan with a very low interest rate for the first several years. One example is known as a "payment option" loan, although these types of loans may not be available in all states.

These loans allow you to set up an optional minimum payment, which can result in low monthly payments, often for the first five years. During that period, your minimum payment will increase by a small amount every year, although it's usually no more than a factor of 1.075. During the minimum payment period, your interest will still continue to accrue at whatever rate you've agreed on (such as 4.5%), but the interest that your payments don't cover will be deferred. At the end of the first five years, that deferred interest is then added on to the loan, and the loan becomes a standard variable rate loan. Normally, that's not a problem, however, because the property's value probably will have increased enough to cover the deferred interest.

Another way to minimize monthly interest payments is through an interest-only loan. The period of most such loans is usually 5-10 years, during which time, you'll be paying only the interest on the loan. To make this type of loan work most effectively, it's best to sell or refinance the property by the end of loan period.

There are many other ways to realize a positive cash flow on your investment properties, depending upon the financing options available in your area of the country. But regardless of where you live, it's always desirable to have your investment properties pay for themselves, and can move you a long way toward your goal of financial success as a real estate investor.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher and Robert S. Kramarz. All rights reserved.

Jeanette Fisher, Design Psychology Professor, is the author of "Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars: Using Design Psychology to Increase Real Estate Profits," the only book to reveal interior design secrets on how to make top dollar investing in real estate. For real estate and interior design psychology books, articles, tips, and newsletters: http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com.

Robert S. Kramarz is a loan officer for a major loan brokerage. He has over 20 years experience in finance and business management and comes from a family a long background in real estate investing and banking. He specializes in providing financing for purchase of investment real estate. He can be reached by email at MrFunding@22cv.com. Further information is available at the website http://www.sweetloan.info.

Writen by Vince Barnes

When you have located your property, agreed a price and satisfied yourself (or your solicitor) that the property is free from all encumbrances and debts and or planning problems, it is structurally sound, bank guarantees are issued if it is a new build and that you are getting a good deal, then it is time to draw up a private contract.

This is a document that states in simple terms that you agree to buy and the seller agrees to sell the property as mentioned. It also stipulates the terms and conditions of the sale, what the price is, what is included in the price, when the completion date will be, what the amount of the deposit will be, how this will be paid, what the total amount to be paid is and how this is to be paid and anything else that is deemed important. Your solicitor will either draft this up for you or the agent will have drafted it so you need your solicitor to check it out.

Now then one piece of advice well worth heeding.

If the purchase of the property is dependent on anything – anything at all - ensure this is in the contract. If you need a mortgage and you cannot purchase the house without it – and you subsequently don't complete because you couldn't obtain a mortgage – You LOSE your deposit. In total.

I have seen it happen only once – the gentleman in question bought a house without having sold his first. He was convinced he would easily sell his house. He had bought cheap, and done lots of reforms to it, it was in a good location. But he took too long to complete the reforms and put his house on the market – in the meantime the UK market fell considerably affecting the Spanish Market and he couldn't sell his house. His 5 months (an unusually long time from private contract to notary) was up and he lost in the region of €40,000.

Had he have listened to advice and stipulated in the contract that the purchase was dependent upon the sale of the house (something the seller would have agreed to at the time) then he would have been safe. But he didn't listen and thought he knew best.

Let me repeat this just once more.

IF THE HOUSE PURCHASE DEPENDS ON ANY FACTOR – PUT IT IN THE PRIVATE CONTRACT

Once the private contract is signed you will then pay the 10% deposit (or whatever the deposit agreed is). Failure to meet the conditions of the private contract will lose you your deposit.

If the seller backs out then he must pay you your deposit back plus the same again.

If you want more useful advice about buying property in Spain - including how you can potentially reduce the cost of your proeprty by some 3-25%, then go visit www.spanishproperty-direct.co.uk/book.htm. For more interesting articles on buying in Spain visit www.spanishproperty-direct.co.uk/articlepage.htm

Vince Barnes is the owner of http://www.SpanishProperty-Direct.co.uk – a website aimed at informing buyers about the process of buying in Spain and keeping up to date with news and regulations affecting the Spanish Property Market. He has also just published the book – "The Insiders Secret Guide To Buying A Property In Spain – The Book Estate Agents Don't Want You To Read" – available at http://www.spanishproperty-direct.co.uk/book.htm

Writen by Colm Dillon

In Real Estate "Time" is a Wealth Development Tools

Real estate wealth,

From The Desk Of Colm Dillon

Hello, Colm here ...

In this report I use figures from my area of the world ... I know they don't apply all over the world, but they should encourage you to get the figures for yourself.

After all no report is going to make your money grow ... it's the knowledge you gain and "Your Application Of The Knowledge" that makes your financial wealth Grow.

In another report I gave you a concept I borrowed from Phil Ruthven, a truly wonderful speaker on economics, on how he looks at Home Ownership.

Now I want to look at the Tools we have available to help us Grow!real estate wealth,

So folks, if you want Real Estate Development, you must use all the tools available to you to get some. Of all the tools you have, the single most important one is TIME.real estate wealth,

1. Time is your greatest friend. Time to buy good investment property and let it double in value every 8 to 10 years or better.real estate wealth,

2. Federal Government Real Estate Investment Tax Deductions are another tool the Government uses to tell you in Words, Dollars and Cents that they want you to get wealthy so you can look after yourself to your final days. real estate wealth,

3. Correct Financial tools are also vital to your wealth development. See my report of Finance. I will go into some further detail in this section on the use of Evergreen Lines of Credit and how they work.

4. Good Real Estate Management is the next tool. Well-managed and well-maintained real estate investments, that houses good quality tenants is also essential. Trying to do this work yourself, is a mistake. See my report on Property Management. real estate wealth,

In Australia, it has been instilled in our consciousness, that we must all own our own home. And there is nothing wrong with the concept. It's just that we should have been told to rent it out; Don't live in it.

By buying a house TO LIVE IN, while we are young, we are wasting the wealth creating tools of Time, Double Income, (if married) Property Income and Tax Deductions. No wonder so many people have to play catch up later in life. real estate wealth,

So the first clue to Real Estate Wealth Development is don't buy a residential property for you and you partner to live in. You buy a house as an investment and you rent elsewhere.

Growth Tool No. 1 – Time

Time is your greatest friend. Real Estate is a long-term investment and by being loyal to it, the real estate will reward you handsomely all through your life. real estate wealth,

You can prove this to yourself, as I did, by getting the figures of average house sale prices, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for Brisbane, the largest City in Australia.

To save you the trouble I got the figures and I painstakingly went through them in order to validate the old wives tale that, "real estate doubles every seven years."

Well, it does better than that, you'll be pleased to know.

I was able to get the figures from 1973/74 to 1994/95. I think I started there because that was when I arrived in Brisbane on transfer from Melbourne. real estate wealth,

That is a twenty-two years period, during which we had several credit squeezes, a few recessions and a few good times as well.

In 1973/74 an average house price for the whole of Brisbane was $23,234.00. That average includes the best and worst house and suburb.

Seven years later, in 1980/81, it was $43,470.00 an increase of 87%.

However by the next year, the eight-year, it had risen to $56,757.00 giving an increase of 144% from 1973/74. So you see that it more than doubles by the eight year. real estate wealth,

Going on a further seven years from 80/81 to 87/88, the $43,470.00 went up to $83,679.00; a further 92%.

Interestingly, going on one more year to the eight year, it had again increased to $113,917.00 giving an increase of 162% from 1980/81.

A further seven years from 87/88 to 94/95, the price of the average house in Brisbane went up to $163,325.00; a further 95% increase. real estate wealth,

Unfortunately the Bureau amalgamated the Shires of Logan and Caboolture into this statistical base and I could not extract the figure for the eight year.

However on the evidence of the previous 22 years I believe it is safe to assume the increase would be at least 5% making it an increase of 100%. real estate wealth,

So these figures prove that over a period of 22 years the asset has increased by seven times its original value and all you would have to do is buy it at the beginning.

I hope this gives you some idea of why TIME is so important to growth. And remember that I am talking about average prices, I am not talking about hot inner suburbs that will obviously do much better.

If you REALLY understand these figures; you should ask yourself why you are willing to miss out on buying good real estate by stopping negotiating for the sake a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. I've seen this done many times because of stubborn-ness. Crazy! real estate wealth,

For goodness sake it's the Real Estate Asset that is in short supply; not money. If you have found real estate that fits your criteria; BUY IT!
real estate wealth,

The Real Estate Development Coach

Copyright Colm Dillon, October 2003
All Rights Reserved.

Colm Dillonauthor of "Residential Development Made Easy" the only 'How To' Become a Developer eBook, selling in 38 Countries, has developed $1.2 Billion worth of real estate - read more on his web site http://realestatedevelopmentcoach.com/realestatedevelopment.html

Writen by Luigi Frascati

Hey boys, stop watching the hockey game: I have got news for you. In fact I have got a good news and a bad news. The good news is that you are still classified as the family breadwinners. The bad news is that you don't get to eat any bread no more. And there is a really, really bad news boys – but I am going to tell you last, because I am packing up …

A recent study conducted by Canada Housing Mortgage Corporation indicates that women across Canada have now more purchasing power than ever. Canadian women, although not paid quite at par as their male counterparts, nevertheless make more money than ever before and are closing the income-gender gap very fast. They also show more remarked entrepreneurial skills and are more likely than men to sign an offer to purchase, especially one involving residential real estate. They also make more responsible property owners and are three times less likely to be foreclosed upon than men. Overall, Canadian women represent an increasingly powerful key market group and are a major force in the Canadian housing market.

More specifically, Canada Housing Mortgage Corporation details the following trait characteristics of ladies buyers:

[ ] Single women are now twice as likely to buy a home as men and they have an expensive taste too. Women are the largest condo buyers by dollar volume in downtown sections of large metropolitan centers, typically Toronto and Vancouver. They love luxury condominiums and, in any event, women will stretch their purchasing capacity to the limit. They believe that, when it comes to real estate, more expensive is a better investment in the long run.

[ ] Women are buying at a faster rate than the general population and are more likely to hold on their capital assets than men. Moreover, Canada Housing Mortgage Corporation reports that young ladies, whether married or not, believe in long term investments, thus proving outmoded the previous finding that the typical Canadian household changes home every seven years.

[ ] In total, all women (single, married, divorced and widowed) control a whopping eighty-five percent of all residential purchase decisions. This includes not only decision making as it relates to cosmetics such as the style of a home, colors and location, but it involves such factors as 'important' financial decisions the likes of type and length of financing, amounts of down-payment and terms of contract of purchase and sale – previously the almost exclusive domain of men.

[ ] Canadian women are twice as likely as men to have a credit rating from good to excellent and will go the extra length to keep it that way. For this reason, women are beginning to replace men as the 'preferred customers' of bankers and mortgage brokers alike.

And there is also a fifth trait characteristic of ladies purchasers, a real bad news, boys – but I am going to tell you last because I am packing up …

At the roots of this substantial change in the real estate landscape is the fact that in the period from 1994 to 2004 the number of males earning more than CAD $75,000 gross per year has increased twenty-five percent, but the number of women earning more than CAD $75,000 has increased sixty-two percent over the same period. This is the main reason why, according to the report, women want to get the best possible investment. They want to build up equity rather than paying rent and a landlord's mortgage – a concept that men seem to begin to underestimate.

But wait to hear the real bad news, boys – I will tell you in a second, because I am pretty much finished packing up …

Furthermore, men are increasingly losing score in a field that has been their own exclusive domain for ages. As Home Depot (Canada) knows very well, fully fifty percent of purchases made there are from women. Canadian women appear to be more and more skilled at such typical 'manly' tasks as sheet-rocking, plastering, fixing plumbing and electrical and even window-framing. Overall, they are no longer intimidated by repairs and maintenance.

There it is. I am finished packing, now. Before I go to the airport to catch my flight, here is the fifth news, boys:

[ ] There are 32,764 single women in Canada who own more than two properties, thirty-eight percent of which are … lawyers.

That's it. I'm moving to South America. Hasta la vista, baby …

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Writen by Sue And Chuck DeFiore

For those of you who were not psychology majors the "psyche" is someone's  mind. What motivates them. What are they thinking. How can you better understand them. All of which is important to those of us in lease purchasing. In fact, it is important to any business person. The ability to know what motivates your customer, how your customer thinks, and tapping into their "psyche" is what makes some businesses successful and why others fail.

For those of us in lease purchasing when we make our calls we find out what motivates our sellers. We ask pointed questions to determine why they are selling their home. We build rapport with that seller. By the end of our telephone call we have an insight into  what that particular sellers' wants and needs are.

Sometimes you need to educate the seller. For those of us in lease purchasing we can explain the various advantages of lease purchasing. The advantages we emphasize will be determined by that particular sellers' psyche. We can find out what is in a seller's psyche by how she or he has answered the questions that we have asked them. Their answers to our questions is what gives us a pretty good feel for that seller.

In general, of course, a seller has a particular mind set. He or she wants to sell their home. They want to get a particular price for it. Their emotions are strong. They have very strong attachments to what they are selling, especially if they have lived there a long time.

Depending on what their reasons for moving are: divorce, death in the family, birth of a child, job transfer, etc., remember they are going to be feeling certain things. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if you were in their place?

If you can not get inside the psyche of your seller you are not going to do deals. You must have empathy with the seller. Be a good listener. Ask questions and let the seller talk. This will give you the best insight into   what the seller is thinking and what is motivating them.

While many of the above points are going to carry over into getting into the tenant buyers psyche there are also other considerations. You have to be able to understand what it is like to have credit problems, possibly a bankruptcy, medical problems, divorce, and a multitude of other bad things that might have happened to that tenant buyer. If you cannot relate to these issues, you will have a problem connecting with the tenant buyer's psyche.

Tenant buyers are looking at a dream. You have to feel that dream with them.

So to truly be successful in business you need to learn about the "psyche" of your customer.

For those of us in lease purchasing that means the "psyche" of the seller and the tenant buyer.

If you want to learn more on how to deal with sellers and tenant buyers check out our Lease Purchasing As A Home Based Business Manual at:
http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/products/LPHB%20Manual.htm

Copyright 2002 DeFiore Enterprises

Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach: mailto:subscribeHBS@homebusinesssolutions.com