With spring upon us, there will be an increase real estate market activity.  Sellers will definitely be selling ..... and hopefully buyers will be buying :).  But what are the best strategies for getting the best deal out there.  Well today, I am on the buyer's side ... sorry sellers ;).  One technique that I use when negotiating an offer price is to find out what the current owner paid for their property.  The days of $100,000 appreciation per year are gone, so owners are now more willing to negotiate.  But what if the owner paid $500,000 for that great property in 2006 and now is selling it for $525,000 and it is really worth $475,000?  Chances are he or she will not have much if any negotiation room.  If a buyer offers less than that .... lets say $500,000, he or she may be wasting ... 03/26/2007

Adams Morgan is located in the Northwest part of Washington, DC.  The area is best known for its diverse resturants and nightlife.  I would guess there are some 50 or so restuarants and bars.  The different choices in food include, but not limited to:  French, Spanish, West African, Ehtiopian, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, and American.  The nightlife includes places like The Angry Inch, Adams Mill, Millie & Als, Heaven & Hell, and many more.  I lived above two restaurants, The Diner and Fasika's Ehtiopian Restaurant, and was there only a short 15 months.  Everyone I met in the area were wonderful.  If traveling to Washington, DC, I highly recommend visiting the Adams Morgan area for the food or the nightlife or both. 03/24/2007

I wanted to share this with everyone. I was out with some friends the other night and this came up in discussion. I found this extremely interesting. Most of what is mentioned, I never knew about. This is great for you history buffs.  Especially number 6, the physical traits. Pay attention to this one.  Why do we guard the grave of an Unknown Soldier? War has always taken our best and brightest when they are too young, with their entire life ahead of them. Families of fallen servicemen need to have closure. . . so they can move past their grief and loss. With the lethality of modern weapons, identifying the bodies of our warriors was more difficult in the past, and many times the military could not provide families with positive identification. Their pain continued as they wondered abo... 03/24/2007

 While many real estate professionals have experienced a slowing in business, there is one group that has seen an upturn .... the home inspector.  While we had the torrid pace of home sales during the 2000 - 2005 real estate boom, the home inspector was relatively left out in the cold.  If you presented a contract with a home inspection in many markets, the seller would chuckle as he or she dropped your contract in the trash.  Even buyers' agents would urged their clients not to attach home inspections to their contracts.  Most of a home inspectors business was based on "information-only" purposes inspections.  Fast forward a couple of years and now the home inspector is back.  The new market has made the home inspection customary and they are becoming an excellent negotiating tool for ... 03/22/2007

 A common mistake among real estate investors (I am guilty of this too, when I first started investing) is that they often do not deduct depreciation on their investment properties when doing their taxes.  The government allows you to take a depreciation deduction each year on your investment properties.  There is a schedule that tells you how much your property has "gone down" in value each year.  The idea is that property gradually degrades over time, so its value also decreases over time.  In general this is true of furniture, television, vehicles, etc.  But the same cannot be said for real estate.  Real estate has a "perceived" value that usually gradually increases over time.  But good old Uncle Sam has provided this nice perk for real estate investors.  Even though we know propert... 03/20/2007

 In this slowing real estate market a promissory note may be a good alternative for investing in properties and creating a steady stream of income.  This is similar to offering someone a 2nd trust or "piggy-back" loan that accompanies a 1st trust or primary loan.  This could also be a good option for sellers that may have a potential purchaser that needs a 2nd loan to complete the transaction.  This scenario will only work with sellers that have a good amount of equity in their homes.  The seller will need to pay off their own mortgage and have enough equity to offer a 2nd trust and maybe pocket some profits.The promissory note process is not very difficult and I have actually done it myself.  You can get sample promissory notes on the web and then have a real estate attorney look it ov... 03/20/2007

 This is probably a tax law that many of you know already, but I feel compelled to state it just in case there are a few who are unaware of its benefits. We all know about the tax law that states if you live in your primary residence for two year out of the last five years, you can keep up to $250,000 from the profits from the sale as an individual or $500,000 for a married couple. The two years does not have to be consecutive. It could be one year in the beginning of the five years and one year at the end of the five years, does not matter. Well, if you have a investment home (single-family) that you have held for a while and has greatly appreciated, you can apply the same rule to the investment home. Normally, you would have to either pay tax on capital gains or roll the gain into ano... 03/19/2007

 Here is a link to part of an audio interview that I had with an owner of a reputable settlement company.  We are discussing the mistakes people make before, during, and after settlement.  This interview is part of an 8 question interview conducted in Maryland a few weeks ago.  The full interview is available at my website www.HouseWealthy.com and run about 46 minutes in total.  Listen to the audio of the Real Estate Attorney Interview.  I ask the real estate attorney what mistakes does he commonly see before, during, and after settlement.Build Wealth Through Real Estatewww.HouseWealthy.com 03/19/2007

 Now seems like the perfect time for the first-time buyer to step up to the plate and take advantage of the cooling market.  A cooling market does not mean a bad market, just a return to a more normal market.  Houses will continue to be sold .... sellers will sell, buyers will buy, and homes will appreciate over time.  All of this will just happen at a more normal pace as compared to the 2000 - 2005 time periods.   A normal market means that home buyers have more time to look around, compare homes, and make informed decisions.  This was a non-existent phenomenon during the boom years.  Many first-time buyers could not react quick enough to secure the house of their dreams.  The quickened pace of home sales did not allow inexperienced first-time buyers to comfortably evaluate potential h... 03/19/2007

I run across many first-time homebuyers that have trouble coming up with money for closing costs or downpayment.  This seems to be a hurdle on the road to homeownership for many people.  But with decent credit (600 or above) you can qualify for many community programs that allow 100% financing at competitive interest rates.In addition to these programs there are a few tricks and techniques that one may consider when making a purchase.Technique 1:If you are limited to only 3% closing help from the seller (because of a particular loan program), consider asking the seller to pay for all state transfer and recordation taxes.  This is customarily split between the buyer and seller in most states, but you can ask the seller to pay for the whole amount.  This is usually not considered "closing... 03/19/2007

 With all of the fallout of the subprime market and the bad press on ARMs, Option Arms, and Interest-Only loans, it seems like the only good option nowadays is the traditional 30-yr fixed principal and interest mortgage.  Rates are still at relatively low levels hovering around the 6% mark.  It is true that a 30 yr fixed principal and interest mortgage is the safest bet, but I think homebuyers should also give some thought to the 10 year interest-only 30 year fixed mortgage.  This is one of the only loans available that gives you a fixed-rate with an option to make interest-only payments when you want to.  How is that?  Well, an interest-only loan does not restrict you to making only interest payments.  You can make payments to principal at anytime.For example:A $400,000 mortgage with a... 03/19/2007

Since the market has cooled in many cities, many new investors are starting to panic because they are worried about how to now make money in real estate. They can no longer buy a property, slapped on some paint, and sell it six months later for a $50,000 profit. These investors are used to making money through quick appreciation or asset growth. This is really a secondary means of making money in real estate. The recent boom has given the false impression that property prices always go up. The key to building true wealth in real estate is through buying and holding. Good and consistent tenants can create wealth for you by paying for mortgage, insurance, taxes, and other fees through rental payments. The power of leverage also allows you to make huge returns by using the banks money. If ... 03/16/2007

As many investors know. A 1031 exchange is a way to roll the gains of selling one investment property into another investment property of "like-kind". This method allows the investor to defer paying capital gains on the profits from selling the investment property. Taxes are not paid on the gains until the the investment property is sold without rolling it into another investment and the investor opts to take the proceeds as cash. Well, what if you need to get access to this money, but don't want to pay taxes on it. There is a real estate loophole that allows you to take out a loan on the property that you receive after a 1031 exchange. In other words, do the 1031 exchange, get the new property, and then refinance. This will allow you to access the gains without immediately paying taxes... 03/15/2007

Many wonder if it is necessary to hold or transfer their investment properties in an LLC.  I think it is not only necessary, but you should have a separate LLC for EACH investment property.  This is especially true if you have multiple apartment buildings with many units.  The whole idea is to protect your personal assets from potential lawsuits from tenants, etc.  If you hold all of your investment properties under your name, then that leaves you open for getting sued for your personal assets (bank accounts, principal residences, etc).  This can be devastating for most and I have seen a few people get burned this way.  I don't even think it is a good idea to have all of your investment properties under one LLC.  The problem with this is if someone sues you because of an incident at Apa... 03/15/2007

With the increasing defaults of Subprime Adjustable Rate Mortgages, many lenders are leaving that side of the business and it seems like the federal regulations for these types of loans are going to tighten.  For example, New Century a long time subprime lenders has stopped taking new loan applications because of the large increase in defaults.  According to Reuters, they may soon seek bankruptcy protection.  In addition, more than 20 subprime lenders have quit lending or gone bankrupt in the past year or so.  Even large lenders like Countrywide recently halted their no-money down programs.  Now borrowers are required to have at leat 5% equity in their homes.So why do I mention all of this?  Well, because of these recent occurrences, potential homebuyers that may have lower credit, but ... 03/11/2007

I am new to Active Rain and love it already.  I have read a few blogs and have noticed some talk about how Mortgage Brokers seem to be working harder for a lot less work (.... as is everyone else in the real estate industry).  Does anyone think that more regulations on the amount of fees (more notably the origination fee) that brokers can charge will help out the industry?  I believe that those brokers that charge certain borrowers 3 to 5 origination points (not even counting yield spread) have hurt our industry.  In contrast, realtors are know to charge 2 - 3 percent for their services, but for the most part mortgage brokers can charge "whatever they can get away with", which is a term that I hear a lot in the industry.  Any opinions will be helpful.[Your browser does not support frame... 03/09/2007

I admit it...I'm not a mortgage lender!!  But after almost 5 years in the business, I can tell you a thing or two about loans.  This blog is really a "buyer beware," brought on by a situation I encountered this past week.  To begin, I'll tell you a story about my first listing and how the settlement quickly went south for the buyer.  What's really unfortunate is that the buyer's agent was his mother.  The buyer had asked for a $6000 concession, or approximately 6% of the sales price of the home back in closing cost assistance (mind you, this was in Texas several years ago, where you really can buy homes for around $100K!)  My seller's agreed to pay the concession in exchange for a favorable closing date and a sales price slightly over asking.  All fairly normal so far, right?  Well, we ... 01/31/2007

As early as 1900, March 2 became a day for Texas Exes to observe a holiday.  A great deal of tradition and sentiment surrounds the celebration on the local level.  In that year, The Ex-Students Association adopted this resolution:Whenever two ex-students of the University of Texas shall meet on Texas Independence Day, they shall sit and break bread and pay tribute to the institution which made their education possible.  Each year the DC Texas Exes invite our friends in the DC Metro area to celebrate Texas Independence Day with us and help raise money for our scholarship fund.  All profits from the event go directly to assist DC Metro area students who wish to attend The University of Texas and to provide stipends for our Archer Fellows here in DC. This year's event will be held on March... 01/17/2007

Well, the times they are a changin'...or are they?  There is a great new study out by the George Mason University Center for Regional Analysis on the 2007 Housing Forecast.  While there are some positive parts to this study, the crazy days of massive appreciation and escalation clauses are over.  What is currently affecting the housing market the most in my opinion, is the power struggle between the buyer and seller.  Sellers are hearing that the market is going to spike in the spring, so they are holding out for every last penny.  Buyers are seeing the sheer volume of property on the market and knowing that they should be able to get a deal right now.It is going to be interesting to see how this develops over the coming months...there is no denying that everyone has gotten busy as of l... 01/17/2007

I just found out about this G-R-E-A-T website and want to share it with everyone since I think it is so unique and effective to get clients. On January 1, 2007 will be the launching of a network of 36 web sites targeted to various housing markets across North America (United States & Canada). The difference here is that each website is specializing in just ONE GEOGRAPHIC AREA so you can focus on your own TARGET MARKET and establish yourself as a sought after, knowledgeable professional in your housing market area.I was wondering why there was not a website like this before since the best way to advertise yourself is LOCALLY. These sites will be a great source for news, numbers and opinions regarding your local housing market. Every site will have content written by professionals from th... 12/06/2006