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January 2008
OK....now you have researched the local real estate market, put a plan of attack together, had an offer accepted, secured financing and finally purchased a property. How do you make sure your investment becomes profitable?
Here are a few of the major obstacles to avoid when you have finally bought your investment property.
Finding Good Help…
Whether you have a fixer you are getting ready for resale or a rental you are holding on to long term you are going to need to deal with repairmen and/or contractors. Finding a dependable handyman that can do most repair work without costing you a fortune is crucial, but not easy to find. Don’t go straight to the yellow pages and call the big ads. They generally have high overhead and will cost you too much for your repairs.
A good place to look for affordable in your local newspaper to under the services guide and test a handyman out on a small project before scheduling a large job.
Also ask around between your friends colleagues and family. Many times someone you know may know someone that does great work, but doesn’t advertise his service. If they work well and get the job done on time and within your budget then you have found yourself a winner!
Make sure they understand that you are most interested in getting a realistic time frame for your projects and that you fully expect the project to be completed within the quoted time frame.
Holding costs are your biggest enemy in the real estate game. The quicker you can get work done, the lower your overhead and the larger your profits.
Renting to Tenants…
The biggest mistake a landlord can make is not doing a thorough credit check on the prospective tenant.
Always make sure to do a credit check on any applicant that is interested in your house. Make sound business decisions on who you rent your house to. You will hear every sob story in the book on why you should rent to one individual over another.
Waiting for an individual or family that has decent credit and rent history can save you hours of headaches and hundreds or thousands of dollars. Here are some good tips to follow when renting your property:
Always get a damage deposit. When tenants move out they will do a much better job of getting the house back to move in condition so they can get their deposit back.
A damage deposit should be between one half a month and one months’ rent
Take many photos of the property before the tenant moves in that shows the good condition of the property. Show the tenants that you have these photos in your file and that you expect the house to be returned in like condition. Just the fact that they know you have the photos may help them take better care of the property.
Go through the complete rental agreement with the tenants before they move in. Too many times contracts are hurriedly signed on the car hood so you can take the money and get it in the bank.
Schedule a time to go through the contract fully with them even if it takes an hour or so out of your life; most times it will save you countless hours and dollars in later frustrations.
Let your tenants know this is a business you are running and that you expect them to fully follow the agreement.
Make sure they understand you will be collecting late fees if the rent is late. Let them know you expect the property to be treated as if they owned it themselves.
Walk through the property with the tenants before they move in. Have them make note of anything that is in disrepair and write it down.
It is easy to forget details so the more details you have written down the less confusion there will be when the tenant moves out.
The property is your investment, but investing some time in implementing systems for putting your tenants in the property will give you huge rewards in the future, and make your business run much more efficiently in the coming months and years.
Follow these tips and you will be starting your business out on the right path.
12:55 PM - Jan. 29, 2008 - {0} -
View more entries tagged with: Real Estate Investing
For most homeowners, a real estate appraisal is the key ingredient to buying or selling their property. It allows all the interactions to proceed among the buyer, seller, real estate agent, and mortgage lender.
Before an appraiser arrives, there are a few things you should know. By law, an appraiser must be state licensed or certified to perform appraisals. Also by law, you may receive a copy of the completed appraisal FROM YOUR LENDER upon written request .
Once the appraiser arrives, you do not need to accompany him/her along on the entire site inspection, but you should be available to answer specific questions about your property, and point out any improvements you have made. Here are some other suggestions:
- Accessibility: make sure that all areas of the home are accessible, especially the attic and crawl space.
- Housekeeping: Appraisers see hundreds of homes a year and will look past most clutter, but they are human beings too! A good impression can translate into a more positive experience for everyone involved.
- Maintenance: Repair minor things like leaky faucets, missing door handles, and trim boards.
- Make sure pets are leashed or otherwise contained.
10:12 AM - Jan. 18, 2008 - {0} -
View more entries tagged with: Zanesville Ohio Appraisals
Ever had an ailment? When you did, whom did you choose for treatment? Did you select a trained, licensed practitioner with excellent credentials or a witch doctor?
The first will take a close look, run tests, ask questions, and then prescribe a course of treatment. Applying education, training, and experience, your doctor would provide valuable advice and the treatment most likely to cure your ailment. You would expect results – but not a miracle. Conversely, if you didn’t follow the doctor’s advice, it shouldn’t surprise you when the ailment remains uncured.
In the case of the witch doctor, you might be told what you wanted to hear. Furthermore, you might be tempted to believe all the mumbo-jumbo, yet aren’t likely to recover from your ailment.
Selling your home is no different. If you’re looking for the “magic pill” or “miracle” that will bring you an uninformed buyer with plenty of cash, willing to pay double the value of your home, forget it! It won’t happen.
To sell successfully takes the knowledge, training, and experience to attract qualified homebuyers. Share your objectives, be willing to apply the advice you receive, and a pleasing sale will likely follow. Ignore professional advice, overprice your home, offer it in average condition, or otherwise wish for miracles and - well - you get the picture.
11:53 AM - Jan. 5, 2008 - {0} -
View more entries tagged with: Overpricing Your Home
It seems many people who rely on onsite wells for drinking water are not testing the water on a regular basis. And that could be a big mistake that I do not want you to make. True, testing costs money. But, getting sick because you did not test is crazy.
Wells get their water from underground streams, which are called aquifers. The streams begin at once place and flow underneath your property, and many other properties. While they are flowing, they can pick up contamination from a variety of sources.
They can pick up naturally existing contamination. For example, radon comes from naturally existing rock formations. As the streams pass by or near these formations, they pick up and carry the radon.
Heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, may naturally exist and be absorbed into the aquifer.
Aquifers also pick up contamination from man made sources. A frequently encountered example of this is gasoline or fuel oil from leaking underground tanks. All people with wells that are in the area of these tanks may have the fuel oil/gasoline contamination in their drinking water.
Factories and industry also add to drinking water contamination. Years can pass from the time such contamination begins until when it is detected. So a lot of dirty water may be consumed before anyone knows there is a problem.
Also, there are landfills scattered throughout the U.S. that may not have been properly closed. When it rains, the water can run through these landfills and transmit contaminants from within the landfill into the drinking water. This process is called “leaching.” The mix of water and contaminants is called “leachate.”
You might think that you would smell or taste something bad in your drinking water before it could hurt you. That is not the case. Many toxic substances cannot be detected by smell or taste until they reach concentrations much higher than is believed to be safe.
Which means: you must test. Test at least once a year, but the more the better. If you cannot afford to test often, you and your neighbors could possibly share the responsibility, so that each year one of you tests. If you all live nearby, with similarly constructed wells, the chances are if something is in one well, it is affecting all of your wells. This is not a perfect solution, but it is better than nothing.
A certified lab should test the samples. Not every lab is certified. Check your state regulators.
What will you test for? FHA and VA request the testing be for bacteria, lead, nitrate, nitrite, and turbidity. This is an excellent basis for routine testing. If you suspect any kind of specific contamination, the lab technician can guide you to the appropriate testing protocol.
11:37 AM - Jan. 2, 2008 - {0} -
View more entries tagged with: Water Well Testing
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