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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Real Estate Investing For Long Term Gain.

By Doc Schmyz

The real estate market has hit bottom. Prices are being dropped on everything. However this is the best time to be a real estate investor. When you are investing in real estate the market doesn?t matter as much as the price you can buy property at. If you are holding long term then you have to accept the market fluctuations. But if you can buy at the lower end of the cycle that is the best time to buy. The trick is knowing when that is.

If the market is experiencing a major downturn it is a great time to be buying due to a vast number of bargains. You can buy at rock bottom prices. However, do not get too negatively geared because this is how most investors get themselves into trouble in the first place. Go for positive gearing. In other words make sure your rental income equals or exceeds your outgoing expenses, to include mortgage payments. If you have other income you may be able to stand an extra $100 or more per month to top up the mortgage but try to avoid it. Negative gearing is ok if you have a really good income and a tax problem.

If the property market is rising you can be confident that the value of your investment is increasing. That is where your profit is and you should be able to sell if necessary. However, that was a few years ago when the market was more positive but now the reality is that the market has dropped and you need to be able to hold long term without any worries. It may take a few years before we hit healthy real estate selling conditions again, let alone a property boom.

Several investors that started during the "boom" now have to change how they are thinking about investing. This is the time when we separate "those who can from those who got lucky and made a few bucks". Now is when the long term hold plans must start becoming the focus. This is a business. You need to do the math. Will your income from your investment cover the expenses/new mortgage?

Taking the current market woes in to consideration, the fact that now is a great time to buy and hold for the long term, goes without saying. Due diligence is the key for the next few years. Now is the time to look at buying for long term gains. - 23223

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The Benefits of Retirement Investing That Will Serve You Well

By Lawole Johnny

When getting near the retirement age many people start analyzing their options for spending their lifelong savings. There is hardly any room for retirement investments, because few people really care to continue doing business after a certain age. There is the risk of inflation and the uncertainty of how long you are going to live that reduce the options of retirement investing. Therefore, people mainly focus on strategies that allow them to lead a comfortable life off the lump sum they've accumulated through the retirement plan for savings.

The purchase of a life annuity represents a good form of retirement investment. And here you have one example of how things can go wrong: without a good planning of the monthly expenses, you'll have zero money left in the bank account towards the end of your life. With the annuity, entrust the savings to an insurance company, and for the rest of your life you'll get a monthly income. Life insurance is one other service provided by annuity sellers. The only problem with annuity is inflation.

The right retirement investing solution is to join a program that guarantees an unchanged purchasing power every year. Add the Consumer Price Index to the annuity and you have the right income. Some companies are indeed offering inflation-adjusted retirement investing plans in the forms of annuity. The inflation adjustment is thus operated by means of the Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities. Last but not least, there is also the issue of the fees charged for annuities.

Experts claim that annuity should be a retirement investing option when you have exhausted the money from the retirement funds. Let's take a concrete example. Make the retirement plans for a life expectancy of 95 years. By then, all the money from the savings will be used. At such an advanced age, you can then cover the health and living expenses by getting an annuity against your real estate.

Other ideas for smart retirement investing that protects one against inflation is stock ownership. Maybe $1 million will not mean the same thing in 50 years from now, but if you have a small ownership percentage in General Electric for instance, you will still be a rich person despite of the inflation. Make the right decisions when you are still an active worker. - 23223

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3 Tools ALL Real Estate Investors Need

By Doc Schmyz

I am always being asked. "Doc what advice can you give me that will help me with investing. What tricks of the trade or inside tidbits can you share with me?? The best answer is you need to develop a "toolbox".

Now before you go nuts scratching your head, let me define the areas of the tool box. The tool box has three areas.

1) Grey matter tools: This is the in your head part of the tool box. It is the manner in which you think about investing, the guidelines you use to select investments as well as ALL the information you call on every time the prospect of an investment even shows its self. It is the investment filter you have developed for yourself.

It is the results of the information you have taken in about investing.

IMPORTANT ELEMENT. While we all know that a zillion books have been written about investing. It is important to understand that you MUST have some knowledge from that book...WHY? Because if you understand what other investors are reading?it actually makes it easier to work with them since you understand where they are getting their basic tactics and understanding from, that helps steer them to the investments THEY are making.

The E-tool box: Your online tool box. What websites are you useing online over and over. Most real estate investors only use a few sites. I have found this can lead to a sort of tunnel vision or what I call "INFO INPUT SHUT DOWN".

How do you avoid the INFO SHUT DOWN...easy...open your tool box to get more tools/ info.

Simply put you create an email address and when you come across a site you think may be a useful reference you join up for the newsletter they email out. They send it to your "Info email account" and you can go thru the emails as you choose. I must warn you however.

Once you join an email list..no matter what stay with it for at least 6 months. (Not all great investment tidbits are sent out at first.) Email lists to get on are for: investment clubs, investment blogs, investment reference sites, etc, etc.

I ,myself, avoid most ad based emailing lists. however, that doesnt mean that all of them are a waste of time. review a few and decide for yourself if they are worth keeping.

Other online Tool box sites are certain "E tools". These go way beyond having a mortgage calculator online. We are talking about tools that you are almost chomping at the bit to try. (I have to admit I have a few of these in my Tool box?I use them every day) When you find these tools you will just know it, find them and BOOKMARK them!

3) And last but not least... actual physical, hold in your hand, tools. It can be a great "go by list". A solid flash light. anything that makes the time in the field looking at investments easier.

Build your tool box and USE IT. - 23223

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Why You Really Ought To Buy Your First Property

By Dan Westwood

Are you sick of chucking your cash away, month after month, on rent? Then stop! Now is the ideal time for first time mortgage buyers.

Owning a home gives you the privacy to do what you want. You will no longer have a roommate that possibly will steal your belongings, nor will you have a wacky land lord that checks up on your apartment without notice. The privacy that owning your own home gives is priceless.

You could be as loud as you want when you own your own home. You could also have a pet, and other wise do all the things that one can't do when they rent. While you might not be loud yourself, you will not have to put up with noise from the tenant above you either, and finally be able to sleep in peace and quiet.

Not just is your home the place you live, it is moreover the largest resource you will have. If you saw someone fling money into a fire to watch it burn you would think they were nuts. Nevertheless if you are renting right now that is nearly what you are doing. When you own your own home, the monthly payments on your mortgage bring down the balance that you owe on the property. Over time, the value of your home will increase, particularly if you make large improvements.

Even if the home isn't your "dream home", by owning and living on your own property against paying rent, you are actually saving yourself money. When you go to sell your home, you will have a bigger down payment towards a nicer place to live.

Now that you know the reasons to purchase a home, you ought to get pre approved for a mortgage. Go to your bank and talk to a mortgage rep. They will be able to walk you through the process.

Once you have your pre approval letter in hand, ask a buyers agent from a real estate agency. They will ask you umpteen questions so that they are able to help you discover your perfect home. The purchasers agent will then unearth all the places within your target area and budget that meet the criteria, and set up appointments for you to look at them. The seller of the property pays the purchasers agent, so they will work very hard to find the right property for you. Once you've located the right place, put in an offer, had the offer accepted, and closed on the loan, you will be able to decorate your new home. - 23223

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How To Spread Out Some Danger In Participating In Low Income Housing Plans

By Gavin J. King

The stimulus money the feds have released into the economy has had a huge impact on the real estate market, including allowing cities to use the fund to purchase low income housing. With unemployment so staggeringly high, the government has decided to do this to help poor people and boost the real estate market.

With the economy sinking so low and unemployment engulfing the job market, for the government to do this is a step in the right direction. Cities have to buy up some kind of buildings, homes or apartments to help the poor people find places to live.

Without the recent changes, a city would have to contract for a certain agreed upon payment for the rental property and then, reluctantly, property owners may agree to allow the poor families to rent from them.

The problems some of these renters face range across the spectrum from permanent disability to short term unemployment, but the all are in need so it helps them. To prevent people from abusing the system, this type of housing is only offered for a specific term in many cases, although there are exceptions to that rule too.

The owners of the low income housing can qualify for special tax exemptions for agreeing to allow their property to be used to house the poor. To make sure that participating property owners do not get the shaft in dealing with the low income housing participants, the government guarantees the rent will be collected and paid to help defray concerns on participating.

Upstart investors frequently seek out low income housing programs when they get started buying and selling properties so that some of their risks are diminished. This furthers the notion that everyone involved will come out ok when participating in low income housing programs. - 23223

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