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Why Does Investing in Real Estate Create Wealth?

December 9th, 2009 CheapFlatsLondon No comments

When investing in Real Estate, you may choose to buy and rent a property, or you may choose it flip it, buy and sell quickly. The safest way to invest is to buy wholesale properties that are in the sweet spot of the rental market i.e. they are not in the best or worst neighborhoods. The goal is to find an investment property with a good, or great positive cash flow. This is how you will create wealth.

Positive cash flow is the amount of money that is left over after all of the expenses have been paid on the property and what you can put into your pocket at the end of the month. Expenses that you deduct from the rent payments you’ve collected may include items such as operating costs, taxes, and the mortgage payment. The positive cash flow that one gets from a property will depend upon three different things: the amount of the rent being charged, the amount of the mortgage payment, and the cost of operating the building. To create wealth by investing in real estate, analyzing these three things is crucial.

Using borrowed money to finance your real estate investment is how many investors make a profit. They simply make money off borrowed money. One way to get good cash flow is to make a small down payment on the property, making certain you acquire a mortgage that is lengthy and low-interest. Basically, a lower mortgage payment means you will be getting a higher cash flow.

For example, if you purchase a four-unit apartment building for $125,000 and rent each apartment for $600 each month, you will receive $2,400 a month. Less your mortgage payment of $625 and operating expenses of $300, you should have a cash flow of $1,475. If, however, your mortgage went up to $925 per month, you would only have a positive cash flow of $1,175 each month. The key is to get the lowest payment possible and keep your operating expenses down.

Another method of keeping a positive cash flow is to take out an interest-only loan. This type of loan usually is a short-term loan, usually about a five-to-ten year length of time, in which you are paying the interest only. After the period of the loan is up, you will need to either sell the property or refinance. This, however, does give you a low payment and will help you to get a higher positive cash flow from your investment property.

With a positive cash flow coming in from your investment property, you can use this to help you acquire more investment properties. One way to do this is to refinance your current investment property, using the money you get to help you acquire another investment property and so on. In this sense, you are creating positive cash flow from several properties and you haven’t had to pay the capital gains tax on the original property as you did not sell it, but instead, refinanced it to help you purchase more properties.

The most important thing to remember is that if you want to create wealth by investing in real estate, you must maintain a positive cash flow on your properties. By making certain your mortgage payment is as low as it could be, keeping the operating expenses at a minimum, and pricing the rent amounts correctly, you will find that you will not only create a positive cash flow, you will be able to create the wealth you want for yourself.

7 Steps To Investing In Real Estate

December 8th, 2009 CheapFlatsLondon No comments

For the uninitiated, investing in real estate can seem like a big, mysterious activity that you pretty much have to be born with a special gene to do. They don’t know that you can break it up into several smaller steps, and that it is only a matter of learning how to get through each one.
The following are seven steps you can follow in order to go from being an Average Joe or Josephine to being Joe Cool, real estate mogul. They will at least get you closer to the latter.
1.Realize that it is not outside of your grasp. As one step leads into another, you first have to begin thinking like a real estate investor. And real estate investors think about finding good deals. However, you may not know a good deal if it jumps up and bites you on the nose.
2.That’s why you have to learn some basic accounting. You don’t have to spend 10 years studying under ancient Chinese accounting master, but you should learn how to read financial statements. You should learn about cash flow. You should learn the difference between an asset and a liability, not just take your banker’s word for it.
3.Once you know how to read the language if investment, you will be in a position to learn how to recognize a good deal when you see one. This is a bit trickier. Although you should do plenty of reading on the subject, the best way to learn is through doing. Get out there and look for deals.
4.Learn about the markets you want to play in. If you are thinking about buying a specific kind of property, learn about the markets in the area you are interested in. The market should actually determine where you make your purchase. Look for a community that is progressive, for one thing. A place with a good quality of life. A place with a good economy.
5.Set goals. Determine what you want to accomplish and when you want to accomplish it. Make sure it is within your reach and then take the steps to actually make it happen.
6.Develop your team. You will need to hire professionals to help you with things like accounting and legal issues. You will want people who know more than you do about how buildings are put together to appraise property for you. According to Ken McElroy, author of “The ABCs of Investing,” the worst thing you could do is skimp on this step and try to be a “real estate do-it-yourselfer.” That may appear to save you money in the beginning but you will pay dearly in the end.
7.Make your first purchase. When the numbers add up, McElroy says, then it is a good deal. Don’t leap without looking, but if you’ve looked and the numbers add up, then it’s time to jump.
Of course, this is a simplified version of the process, but it is a good way to get an overview. Each one of these steps could be further mapped out. The trick is to do your research and take it at your own pace. Don’t rush. Learn the process. The first purchase will be the most difficult. After that, the real learning starts.

Are Your Credit Score Or Credit Problems Keeping You From Investing In Real Estate?

November 24th, 2009 CheapFlatsLondon No comments

Do you have poor or no credit? Have you been turned down for a real estate loan? Are you interested in real estate investing but don’t have the credit score or the cash that lenders require? If you have one of these problems then real estate investing is still possible, but you may have to be a little creative. There are several ways that you can invest in real estate without having to use your credit score or cash.
One of these ways is to find a partner who will meet the lending requirements. This could be someone who has the credit score or the down payment that you require. It may be as simple as having a cosigner for a loan. Another way is to flip a house using a double closing. This method is usually not preferred by lenders, and some will not even consider a loan if there is a double closing. Some lenders also have seasoning requirements, and these requirements basically require the seller to own the property at least six months before the sale. This is not a law, however, and many lenders do not have these requirements. There is nothing illegal about finding a buyer for real estate and then finding real estate for sale that meets the needs of the buyer. This is usually done with the purchasing funds being put into escrow. The real estate investor profits to the amount of the price difference in the selling price and the purchasing price without ever using any of their own funds, and there are no checks on the investor’s credit.
Subprime financing is another method available to real estate investors whose credit scores are not high enough or who may not have the required down payment. There are national lending companies who normally will provide a loan for up to seventy percent of the value of the property without verifying a down payment or needing high credit scores. The interest rates on these loans may be a little higher because of the risks involved for the lender.
A lease option is another great way to invest in real estate no matter what your finances or credit score are. This involves finding real estate for sale and then having the owner sign a lease stating all the relevant facts. The lease should specify that you have the right to purchase the specific property for the intended length of time for the specified amount. You then go out and find a buyer for the property within the lease time frame. None of the money is from your pocket and your credit is never even checked. You make the price difference between the buying price and the selling price.
No matter which method you use to invest in real estate with no credit checks or money down, it is possible to invest in real estate with these issues.. Don’t let these two things stop you from your investment potential. You simply need to be a little more creative to find a solution to your investing obstacles.
Copyright © 2007 Joel Teo. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author’s information with live links only.)

Investing in Real Estate, Property, and Homes

November 23rd, 2009 CheapFlatsLondon No comments

When a person wants to invest in real estate business, they can make a choice to rent or purchase a property or they can also choose to flip it by selling or buying it quickly. One of the safest methods to invest, is to purchase a wholesale property, which at the correct location will earn you lot through the local rental market. One of the main objectives is to find a property for investment, with a perfect positive cash-flow and this is one of the best methods to generate money on real estate business.

Positive cash-flow is said to be the amount of income which is available after all the expenditure has been paid on the real estate property and what remains at the end of the month is the profits you have gained. Expenditures which you deduct from the payments of the rent you have collected may comprise items like mortgage payment, taxes and operating costs. The positive cash-flow which you earn from a property actually depends upon three dissimilar aspects which are the operating cost of the building, the amount of mortgage payment and the amount of rent being charged.

In order to generate income from real estate investing, you should analyze these three important aspects. By utilizing the money that is being borrowed to finance your real estate investment is how many real estate investors generate profits. Another easy method to earn a positive cash-flow is where you can make a small down payment on any property, however make sure that you obtain a mortgage which has low interest and of long term. Generally, a low mortgage payment means that you receive higher cash-flow.

For instance, if a person has purchased a four story apartment for 125,000 dollars and later rent each apartment for almost 600 dollars a month he will actually receive 2,400 dollars per month. In case the mortgage payment is as less as 625 dollars and the operating expenditure is 300 dollars then he would generate a positive cash-flow of about 1,475 dollars. However, if his mortgage goes up to 925 dollars per month then he would only get a positive cash-flow of 1,175 dollars per month. The key factor is to achieve low payments as possible and attain operating expenditure down.

Another way to keep a positive cash-flow is to avail an interest only loan because this loan is short term loan that is normally for a period of 5 to 10 years wherein the borrower pays only the interest. After the loan period is over he will require selling that property or even refinancing the property. However, this does not offer a low payment and will only assist to get a high positive cash-flow from his investment property. With a positive cash-flow generating from his investment property he can utilize it to assist in availing more investment properties.

One of the essential factors to consider is that if you require generating income by investing in real estate business, then you must preserve a positive cash-flow on your real estate property. By making sure that your mortgage payment is low, you have to keep your operating costs low and even pricing the rental amounts properly. This will generate a positive cash-flow and thus you will be able to make lots of income in real estate investing.