What is Real Estate

Writen by Cecilia Sherrard

There are probably few things in life that are as exciting--or as nerve- racking--as the search for a house. All the good emotions and the bad emotions seem to converge when the house hunting begins. Don't worry, this is a normal reaction, and is found in seasoned home buyers as well as those who are looking for their first home. Buying a home for the first time can bring many questions. Ideally, it would be best to meet with me in my office or even go over your questions on the phone before starting the process. I have put this page together to explain the beginning stages.

Many first time homebuyers go through the (Renting vs. Owning) process. If you're currently a renter, you certainly are aware of the money that you spend monthly and the fact that none of it comes back to you. You also know, when the water heater goes out you just make a phone call! There are pros and cons of course. Owning your own home brings new responsibilities along with a positive financial outcome. It's a long-term investment. You can take advantage of tax credits, appreciation, and your home's equity down the road. When I rented my first home, I remember wanting to do certain things to the home including changing the carpet color. My landlord said 'no' They wanted to keep it 'neutral' for a future tenant.

I also remember going to the local animal shelter to get a kitten. (I already had one cat, which was okay. I was lucky to have that.) The shelter had to phone my landlord for permission! There I was holding this kitten and already falling for it, only to be told 'Sorry your landlord said no.' I had no idea the shelter required owner's permission, and I had never talked with my landlord before about getting a 'Second cat.' So I gave the cat back, and was completely humiliated. I felt like they were calling my parents! Yes I was young, but I knew then, I needed to have my own home. Freedom was my deciding factor. I now have a boat on my front lawn, hot pink carpet and 37 cats. (Okay, I don't really have a boat.)

One of the first decisions you need to make is whether you want to do your house hunting on your own. If you decide to go it on your own, you won't be represented and may not be seeing ALL the homes on the market. If you contact agents for a particular home either by the sign out front, in an ad, or going through an open house, remember, the agent selling the home represents the seller's best interest not yours. If you decide to use an agent, have your own (Buyer's agent.) You certainly wouldn't call upon the prosecuting attorney to represent you in your defense or answer your questions. The more I know about your situation and needs, the better I can assist you. There is no contract to sign while working with me. No fees, no strings attached. That is why it's important to utilize my negotiating skills and knowledge of the market.

Once the decision to buy a home has been made, take the time to prepare before you go on your home search. Yes, it is very tempting to rush out and actually look at houses, but to do so without full preparation can be both disastrous and expensive. You will find that "house hunting" is down on the list.

Get your financial affairs in order first! I can't stress this enough--it will save you an enormous amount of time, aggravation and heartache. Determine what your budget will comfortably allow and stick to it. Don't spend yourself into a 'house poor' situation. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. This will not only give you a clear idea of how much a lender will approve you for, it will make your home buying process a great deal easier (and save a lot of time later). I can provide you a list of reputable trustworthy lenders. (There are a lot of lenders out here, not all created equal.) I often hear people mentioning pulling their credit and worried about losing points, when they aren't even sure they will be buying a home. With so many loan programs out here, people sometimes don't realize that they can actually afford more or less than they thought. Having your credit checked can also bring up any mistakes/errors that you can start to fix now and have solved before purchasing.

Get familiar with the different housing types available to narrow your search. Determine your minimum requirements as well as any desired additional features and your needs and wants. Prepare a 'Must haves' list.

Take note of any items that you don't want in a house. Determine the desired location (schools, work, public transportation, etc.) It's important to narrow down the areas you are interested in as much as possible. Drive around, check the cities local websites, look into area schools and tax rates.

As you are looking, use a scorecard to compare homes. A scorecard is a great tool when it comes time for comparisons (and for remembering which home had which features!)

When you find something you like, your agent should pull recent comparables (Similar homes that have sold) and research the property. This way you know the true value and what an appropriate offer would be.

Maintain your perspective--and your cool! You may find your perfect house on the 1st day--or the 50th. The important thing is to get the home that is best for you! Remember also, I'll be with you every step of the way. Many of my past clients can testify that I am addicted to foundations, plumbing, electrical, roofing and the 'guts' of a home. Through the years I've attended enough inspections and classes to detect potential areas of concern. Make sure your Realtor is educated on the mechanicals of a home.

I can help find flaws in a home, recommend certain repairs, give a basic estimate of work needed, give you pointers on finding a house with a good resale value, and provide you with a list of professionals from insurance agents, to home inspectors. (Reasons to work with a good Realtor.)

I believe good sound advice, personality, experience and genuine care for my clients is what sets me apart and is the reason I receive referrals from happy home owners.

I don't consider what I do sales. I think of it as private representation, counseling, advocacy, and helping people achieve the dream of homeownership. If your agent ever makes you feel 'sold', pressured, or something just doesn't feel right in your gut, get a new one!

Cecilia Sherrard

Realty One-Cleveland Ohio

Cecilia Sherrard is a full time dedicated Realtor in Northeast Ohio. With years of experience and knowledge, she has maintained a multi-million dollar producer status. Servicing areas such as: Westlake, Lakewood, North Olmsted, Rocky River, Cleveland, Brook Park, Parma, etc. Visit her website at http://www.youshouldown.com

Writen by Joel Teo

As mentioned in our previous article, like in value investing in stocks as made popular by Benjamin Graham, money is made in the purchase of real estate investment property. You want therefore to purchase property with good rental yield and that is at a discount relative to the surrounding area. This article identifies three ways to find a below market real estate deal so that you can either resell it later at a higher price or enjoy lower mortgage instalment payments and from that a greater cash flow.

Method #1- Distress sales and foreclosure

The general rule of thumb in real estate investment is that the target property might sell for a price lower than the areas average if the owner is in distress. There are two possible situations that you might want to look out for so that you can negotiate with the owner to reduce their asking price.

Firstly, look out for mortgage foreclosures on property and monitor the property auction sites. Banks may under-finance property meaning that they might not want to risk financing the property and then have to sell the property at a loss during a recession (negative equity situation). So what happens is when the mortgagor (the owner) is in default of his mortgage, the bank would foreclose the property and auction off the property and sell it off. Note that under the common law, while the bank is supposed to get the best value for the owner, this sometimes does not happen and the best way the bank can discharge its liability is to auction off the property.

As we can tell from the above analysis, the bank usually just wants to get the selling price enough to cover the outstanding mortgage and so the reserve price for such auctions may be below valuation prices. Spend some time attending such real estate auctions and it could pay off in helping you get a property at below market value.

Method #2- Migration

When people want to migrate out of a country fast, there is a high chance that they will not be picky about what price the property can fetch. These people generally want to sell off their property fast and the first prospective buyer that appears on the horizon for their real estate would usually benefit from this. On your part, you would want to get an independent valuation of the real estate and then make an offer.

Ann wanted a property near the city's amenities and was looking for such a property. There was a family that was moving over to France and sold it to her at a bargain. It turned out that what that family wanted was hard cash fast so that they could move out. Ann gave it to them and all parties were very satisfied. Thus bargains can be found if you know more about your seller's reason for selling.

Method #3- Look for landlords with attitude problems

This strategy is rooted in human nature and you may chuckle when you hear it. In some areas, some properties are always yielding lower rentals than other places and this might be because of the landlord rather than any other fundamental reason. If the landlord has a bad temper for instance and then finds it hard to get tenants who can stay, might try to entice present tenants to stay with lower rentals. This would therefore translate into a lower valuation for the property. At the point where you appear on the scene, some of these sellers are willing to accept a lower price to get a problem off their hands.

Things to note with this real estate investment method include spending some time with neighbours staying around the property in question to find out any hidden defects, bad tenants or crime related problems that the owner may not be telling you about the area. It may not be all the landlord's fault.

In conclusion, we have spotted three ways that you can take into account when analyzing a real estate investment. Real estate investment can be said to be like any other form of shopping as you want the best quality for the lowest price. But do not be let paralysis by analysis stop you from taking action. Here's wishing you all the best in your real estate investment endeavours!

Joel Teo takes a keen interest in real estate investment as part of a larger investment portfolio. For more tips on real estate investing check out our real estate investment success series at our real estate investing resource

Writen by Teve Torbes

People often marvel at the profits that can be made in "flipping" real estate. They wonder how someone made such a good deal – how did they buy a property for $50,000 and fix it up to make $70,000? There's a simple trick that can help you improve your success if you're looking to invest in real estate: volume bidding.

Most people will only look at one or two houses when they're planning their investments. They don't want to take the time, or they feel like once they've already spent the time investigating a house they need to go ahead and invest in it. Often, this forces them to up the price above what they would really be willing to pay – they feel committed, and they don't want to lose all the work they've done. The trick to making a good profit is not to make this mistake. You can't let yourself get dragged into this process – if you psychologically commit to buying a house, you're not going to get a good deal. You need to set a price that will give you a good profit, make the offer, and walk off to the next house to do the same thing. This won't get you all the houses you want – in fact, many will reject your offer as too low. But if you do it multiple times, eventually someone's going to take it. If you make sure that every bid you make is one you'd be glad to accept, you'll end up getting the good investment deals even if you only get a couple of owners to sell to you.

Teve Torbes is an awesome owner of a advantage flea control site, who knows a whole lot about flea treatment stuff. He has also created a valuable flea bites resource.

Writen by Kate Ray

The real estate sales agreement is the most important document in a real estate property sale. This is the legal document that stipulates all the terms and conditions of the transaction. It is a legally binding contract that states the responsibilities and obligations as well as the rights of both the buyer and seller. A real estate sales agreement shall be void and unenforceable unless it is in writing and signed by both parties.

A real estate sales agreement contains details on the following:

*Parties involved - also known as the buyer and seller
* Description of the property
* Condition of the property based on the property disclosure form
* Conveyance of the property
* Purchase price which the buyer agrees to buy and the seller agrees to sell; amount of deposit; terms; transfer and recording charges; taxes
* Permanently attached fixtures
* Settlement date
* Restrictions
* Buyer's duties and responsibilities
* Seller's duties and responsibilities
* Default
*Inclusions and exclusions
* Restrictions, easements and limitations
* Attorney's fees
* Termite inspection, radon gas disclosure

Like every legal document, it is strongly advised that both the buyer and seller seek legal advice from an attorney who is knowledgeable in real estate law. Before signing any document you must first understand the contract completely. The lawyer can advise you if there are any problems in the contract, or if certain details were not included in the document. Discrepancies such as these could cause delays and may lead to extra expenses.

http://www.Real-Estate-Form-Online.com

Writen by B Shelton

Whether you're buying or selling a home, knowing how house values are determined is in your best interest. Being able to determine house values for the homes viewed will help a buyer determine an inflated price, or a great deal. For the seller, being able to access house values of recently sold homes and knowing how house values are determined will help set an asking price that will attract buyers.

Determining House Values with a CMA

One of the easiest ways of determining the value of your house is through a Competitive Market Analysis. It's the way that professional Realtors and real estate agents determine a good asking price for a home that they're representing. You can consult a Realtor, or you can use the same information and methods that they use to do your own CMA.

Visit your county's web site and check the recent selling prices of similar homes in your neighborhood. That will give you a ballpark idea of the general house values in your community. From there, do a little research to find out just how comparable the sold properties are to your house. By adjusting the average price up or down to account for condition, improvements or other differences, you can come up with a good price for your home.

Have Your House Value Determined By a Professional Appraiser

The most accurate way to determine the value of your house is to pay for a professional appraisal. For between $200 and $300 depending on your area of the country, you can get a professional valuation for your property. While this will get you an accurate value for your house and property, it may not be the determinant for your asking price. If your house is significantly higher in value than others in your neighborhood, you may have to drop your sights a little to stay in range. If other houses in the neighborhood are significantly better than yours, you can tack on a bit to the house's valuation to come up with an asking price.

Find House Values on the Internet

The Internet is a wonderful thing. There are a number of web sites online that will find the average selling price of houses in your area. A visit to www.housevalues.com will submit your information to a local Realtor who will contact you with an estimated value for your home.

Whichever method you use to find relative house values for homes in your selling area, you'll need to make some adjustments to find the best selling price for your home. Specifics that you should consider are the number of rooms, number of bedrooms, size of lot, any particularly desirable traits (corner lot? end of a dead end street?) that could be a selling point, as well as any major improvements made to your home. If the homes to which you are comparing yours offer amenities that yours doesn't, you will have to deduct some value. If yours has features that they don't, like a recent remodel, then you can add value.

While it may sound like a complex process, determining house values is a skill that you'll find important if you're selling a house. It's the best way to price your house to sell.

Brian Shelton makes it easy to sell your house fast. To claim your free report entitled "How To Sell Your House In 7 Days or Less", visit =>http://www.HouseSoldIn7Days.com/