Sep
13
Buy The Most Expensive House In The Neighborhood?
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on September 13, 2010 at 11:01 amThink Long-Term
Assume you fall in love with the masterpiece home in a particular neighborhood. It has everything you could dream of: black bottom pool, marble, an incredible kitchen, top of the line windows, stunning brick work and so on. The sellers obviously put a lot of time, effort and money into the home. Accordingly, it stands out as the pearl on the block. Why wouldn’t you want to snap it up immediately?
Before you start signing documents, take a look at the sales prices of comparable homes, “comps”, in the neighborhood. If you compare the comp prices to the dream home, you should notice a pretty significant price difference. This difference should act as a metaphorical slap in the face or pouring of cold water over your head. The dream home is undoubtedly selling for a price range far beyond the comps. Warning lights should be going off at this point.
You are going to have a problem if you give into temptation and purchase the most expensive home on the block. In fact, you are going to have two problems.
The first problem is the appreciation of the value of the home. The appreciation on the best home in a neighborhood is always going to be dragged down by the structures around it. If you take a $900,000 home from a private community and put it on a block of $250,000 track homes, the $900,000 value is going to come down a lot because the neighborhood will not support it. When you eventually sell, buyers are going to look at the comps in the neighborhood and laugh at a $900,000 asking price.
The second problem is “hemming.” Since you own the most expensive house in the neighborhood, your appreciation potential is already limited. This becomes a bigger problem if you want to remodel or add on to the home. Taking such action would typically add to the value of a home. With the most expensive home, not only will it not add value, it may cut into your equity. Why? If you do a $50,000 remodel, you may see a $10,000 gain for your $50,000 cost. You just lost $40,000.
Dream or Nightmare
Unless you can accurately predict an increase in valuations for an entire neighborhood, you shouldn’t buy the most expensive home on the block. If you do, the dream home could quickly turn into a nightmare.
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Due to the upcoming expansion of the state of Oklahoma, neighborhoods around the city of Tulsa had forecast the rise of their homes’ value.
In Scranton, Pennsylvania, houses are expected to rise in value due to the efforts of the mayor to improve its neighborhoods and convert vacant homes into much more saleable empty lots.
The exterior of the house also affects its asking price. In Alabama, where people take pride in their southern heritage, lawns are kept well-manicured and the houses are well-maintained. Prices are expected to steadily grow.
In Texas, builders still show their confidence in the market through the steady inventory of new homes, especially in Edinburg where land is quite inexpensive. However, prices are expected to be more or less the same due to the prevalence of low-paying jobs in the area.
Real estate agents in Florida are expressing confidence over the strength of the local economy and are expecting market stability as result of low interest rates.
In Nevada, however, prices are expected to drop due to rising inventory, with exception of houses near amenities like golf and spa.
California real estate is expected to maintain its tight inventory as population continues to grow.
The recent slump in house prices, however, have affected several states in the country. Due to several layoffs especially in the manufacturing industry, houses in the Midwest area are lowered in value and homes with price tags of more than a million may be discounted just to get it off the market.
If you are looking for value in your real estate investment, it might pay to determine first which localities are considered most ideal. According to a survey done by CNN, the town of Fort Collins in Colorado is chosen as the best town to live in, followed by Naperville, Illinois and Sugar Land, Texas where diverse communities abound. http://www.States-RealEstate.com provides essential resources for buyers, sellers, home owners, real estate professionals, real estate investors, or any one seeking to connect with the world of real estate.
Jul
22Real Estate Appraisal – Rental Properties
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on July 22, 2010 at 10:18 pmReal estate appraisal for rental properties isn’t the same as for single family homes. If you were looking at a 24-unit building, it would be difficult to find similar ones nearby that have recently sold. Therefore, a market analysis using comparable sales isn’t normally used.
It is also not ideal to use replacement costs either. How do you figure replacement cost if there is no land for sale nearby with proper zoning? This is used as a secondary method, though, and can tell you if maybe you should be building instead of buying.
Real Estate Appraisal Using Capitalization
Start with the gross income. Subtract all expenses, but not including loan payments. If a building’s gross income is $82,000 per year, and the expenses $30,000, you have a net before debt-service of $52,000. Now apply the capitalization rate to this figure.
If the common capitalization rate is .10, for example (ask a real estate agent), divide the income of $52,000 by .10, and you get $520,000. This is the value of the building. If the usual rate is .08, meaning investors in the area expect an 8% return, the value would be $650,000.
Easy Real Estate Appraisal?
Net income before debt-service, divided by the “cap rate:” It really is a simple formula. The tough part getting accurate income figures. Is the seller showing you ALL the normal expenses, and not exagerating income? If he stopped repairs for a year, and is showing “projected” rents, the income figure could be $15,000 too high. This would mean the building is worth $187,000 less (.08 cap rate) than your appraisal shows.
Another thing smart investors do when buying, is to separate out income from vending machines and laundry machines. If these provide $6,000 of the income, that would add $75,000 to the appraised value (.08 cap rate). Do the appraisal without this income included, then add back the replacement cost of the machines (probably much less than $75,000).
Be careful when using any real estate appraisal method. No formula is perfect, and all are only as good as the figures you plug into them. Used wisely, though, real estate appraisal using capitalization rates is one of the most accurate methods.
Real estate broker deals with all transactions of real estate business. A real estate agent finds sellers for buyers and buyers for the sellers of real estate. Real estate brokers provide every kind of help to sellers as well as buyers. Real estate agent can be a person as well as a firm that helps you in selling/buying real estate.
Real estate broker tells you the current value of real estate. Nowadays broker performs all essential business activities. Real estate broker deals with industrial, residential as well as commercial real estate. Agent can provide help for any kind of real estate. Broker gives suggestions to sellers to increase the cost of assets and also about finest piece of land to the buyers. By appointing real estate agent you can definitely reduce your headaches.
Sometimes real estate agents work without owning any type of real estate brokerage. You should be aware of such things at the appointing a real estate agent. You should check classifieds for the brokers in your local area as well as the area where you want to buy real estate. Verify the reputation of real estate broker/firm.
Call two or more agents for interview and then ask some questions about the firms where they worked for some time, dealing with which type of customers, how long they’re in sell/purchase business and also ask about active number of clients. After getting required information about them select one or two finalists from them. Afterward make a single call to selected real estate agents and select only one who is the best.
Generally real estate agents don’t work as lawyers for the parties but they provide the best services for the sellers as well as buyers. For buyers, real estate agent finds the better real estate as per buyers’ requirements. Ensures buyers about sellers’ reputation. Agent finds buyers for the sellers and tries to maintain a good buyer-seller relationship.
Get your real estate agent as soon as possible!
May
28Buying Properties During Recession: Do’s and Dont’s
Posted By: Ramon Rivas on May 28, 2010 at 6:54 amPurchasing real estate is no laughing matter – whether the economy’s doing well or it’s experiencing recession. It’s a well-known fact that buyers are in a better position to acquire real estate during a recession. However, there are still some risks involved. So how do you make sure you’re still getting the best real estate deal during the recession times? Here are some tips that you can make use of:
Don’t come undone with your own expectations.
Determining whether you have gotten yourself a good deal in buying real estate, or simply just about anything, depends on your priorities. We all differ in priorities, that’s a fact. So if you’d like to make sure you satisfy yourself, get your own expectations in check. Creating a checklist can help you here. Finding a property to buy with a checklist handy can greatly facilitate the process.
Don’t be too you-you-you.
Sure, you were advised to know your priorities and to create a checklist to boot. However, flexibility can also get you a long way. Be objective with your judgments and take a hard look at the property you are planning to buy. Think hard and see if you are actually being too choosy to the point of being impractical. Would you like fancy or functional? Is it comfy or uber-elegant? How about trying to meet in the middle? Have you asked for suggestions from experts of family or friends with experience? Do they agree with you? Although you do not need to wipe your slate clean and accommodate all their opinions, are your expectations realistic enough and what about your budget? Remember it is recession.
Don’t be over-confident during a real estate recession.
Many think that since it is recession, they can just buy and buy and buy properties. Although many property sellers are usually on the lower part of the scale during these times, not all deals are the best ones. You still need to be as careful as ever in purchasing real estate.
Before pursuing a short sale…
Many would pursue a short sale trying to grab a good deal. However, before you buy a property with a price that seems too low for the location, asking your agent to investigate if it is a short sale won’t hurt. This is important since you should not just make an offer on a pre-foreclosure, short sale property.
Beware during recession since there are not too many fish in the sea Er, properties to buy. home sellers do know that during a recession, they may not be able to sell their properties for a better price. This means that they would have to wait longer to put their home out on the market. There may be properties for sale, but they get bought quicker, too. It would be helpful if you are prepared enough to make a acquire without dilly-dallying if you really are into it.
Recession or not…
Your decision should not be clouded in buying a property. Always shop for the lowest price, which fortunately is more attainable during recession for buyers. However, do not forget that the lowest-priced property is not necessarily the best one.
In summary, there are some advantages to buying a home during recession. However, if you do not really have the budget or are not that well-educated in the real estate industry, do not feel pressured to jump in.
