High atop some of the tallest mountains in Maine, a wind farm proposal has set the stage for a clash of environmental values that could define the future of wind power in Maine. The Redington Wind Farm’s 30 turbines would generate electricity without greenhouse gases and offer Maine people a stable source of affordable energy for decades while lessening dependence on polluting fossil fuels. But environmental groups worry it would also push development into pristine subalpine habitat that is home to several rare or threatened species and erect a chain of lighted windmills 41 stories high within about a mile of the Appalachian Trail.

Behind the controversy created by this project — the plan will be debated at a Land Use Regulation Commission public hearing in August — however, is the much larger story of wind power in Maine. In terms of generating capacity, the Redington project would produce roughly 90 megawatts of power — enough to power about 40,000 Maine homes. (more…)

search for : wind farm, affordable energy, Appalachian Trail

The man behind “We Buy Ugly Houses” is worried about one word. “The F word.” Not that one. Instead, the president of HomeVestors of America Inc. means flipping. In fact, John Hayes is trying to eradicate the term flipping, shorthand for buying a house and quickly reselling it for a higher price — even though his business does just that.

Not that there’s anything wrong with flipping, Hayes told me in a phone interview from his Dallas office. But it gets a bad rap when associated with the crooks who commit mortgage fraud and its close cousin, appraisal fraud. While he wholeheartedly supports bills recently introduced to crack down on those frauds, Hayes wants state lawmakers to understand “flipping” a house is neither nefarious nor should it be made illegal. The problem is those lawmakers have incorrectly lumped the “F word” with mortgage and appraisal frauds when they announced their bills. (more…)

search for : We Buy Ugly Houses, flipping, mortgage and appraisal frauds

There’s nothing like the freedom of becoming an adult. You may be saddled with great responsibility, but college is a distant memory and the only person you really have to watch out for is yourself. But what many young adults don’t realize is that this responsibility means your actions now matter. And with a few wise moves, especially on the financial and real estate fronts, you can make your life much easier in the future.

Work at paying off old debt, which can not only follow you but eat away at savings through high interest rates, instead of taking on more if you want to buy a house in the near future. Get educated. Go to every open house you see and read the real estate section in the paper. Treat it like a game. Walk in and start asking yourself questions, like “How much down would I need to buy this property?” You can learn just by walking around and talking to people in the real estate business, including the different costs involved. These costs can include attorney fees, costs to record the mortgage, transfer taxes and brokerage fees. (more…)

search for : financial and real estate, mortgage, transfer taxes and brokerage fees

A “For Sale” sign with a big price hangs on one of North Carolina’s most storied landmarks, and it has a Wilmington real estate company’s name on it. The family that has owned Chimney Rock Park for more than a century announced this week that it was selling the 1,000-acre tourist attraction near Asheville, complete with miles of hiking trails, a 400-foot waterfall and the ancient namesake rock that looks out on Lake Lure and swaths of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“This is the hardest decision I ever had to make,” said Todd Morse, great-great nephew of the man who bought the first parcels that became the park. He said the family reluctantly decided to sell because of a number of factors, including slack business, rapidly rising property values and plans for a nearby state park. If you have to ask, you definitely can’t afford it. At $55 million, Chimney Rock has one of the highest asking prices for a private piece of property in the history of the state. (more…)

search for : North Carolina, Chimney Rock Park, Lake Lure, Blue Ridge Mountains

The fight over who competes in real estate sales went to a new battlefield this week as representatives of consumer groups, brokers and government agencies clashed before a House subcommittee. Few participants pulled any punches. Speaking on behalf of NAR was president-elect, Pat Vredevoogd-Combs. She argued that National Association of Realtors (NAR) membership is open to all, including discounters. NAR does not encourage price-setting; it has a compliance policy in effect saying that pricing decisions are to be made independently by each firm. As for the discount brokers contention that full service brokers often won’t show their listings to the discounters’ buyers,

The full-service brokerage industry, as represented by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), has fought to maintain the status quo. In nine states, for example, there are minimum-service laws that effectively force all agents to provide full service – real estate agency discounters would otherwise be willing to offer limited services and charge home sellers much less than the traditional 6-percent commission. (more…)

search for : price-setting, National Association of Realtors, real estate agency discounters

For anyone who wants to go all medieval but finds castles too drafty or dear, the next best thing may be a Tudor-style home. Tudor homes are based on the architecture of England at the end of medieval times. The style evolved during the late 15th century and lasted until shortly after the turn of the 17th century.

The Tudors were the ruling dynasty at the time and members of the family included some of the most famous monarchs in English history. Henry the Eighth and Elizabeth the First were both Tudors, as was Mary the First – also known as Bloody Mary. Half-timbered, stucco walls, turrets and steeply pitched roofs with cross gables are characteristics of the style. Windows tend to be very tall and panes very small; they’re often leaded in a diamond pattern. Arched entryways and substantial chimneys topped by terra cotta pots are also common Tudor themes. (more…)

search for : Tudor-style home, England, medieval times, Henry the Eighth, Elizabeth the First, stucco walls

Called shaconage, or “blue” by the Cherokee Indians, the fog-tinted Great Smoky Mountains are home to America’s most-visited national park, which bears the same name. Straddling North Carolina and Tennessee, the park covers more than half a million acres (211,000 hectares) in the southern Appalachians and is comprised of some of the oldest mountains on Earth.

Only about 12 to 14 percent of the estimated 100,000 species in the park have been identified—among them more than 600 organisms completely new to science. The natural richness of the Smokies combines with a deep human history that includes the Cherokees—whose ancestors originated there—and Scotch-Irish pioneers, who began settling there in the late 1700s. (more…)

search for : Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina, Tennessee, Appalachians, Cherokees

The Consumer Federation of America — which labeled the traditional real estate industry a “cartel” four weeks ago — is now directing its fire at the state regulatory bodies that oversee brokerage transactions. In a research report scheduled for release last Friday, the CFA said that more than four-fifths of all members of state real estate commissioners nationwide currently “earn a living through real estate transactions,” either as brokers, agents or in affiliated activities such as title agents or real estate closing attorneys. That built-in conflict of interest, in turn, “harms consumers both through omission — what (the regulators) fail to do — and commission — their initiatives that harm consumers.”

CFA’s research found that four states — Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada — require that all real estate commissioners be real estate brokers or salespeople. Another 11 states require that at least 80 percent of commissioners hold real estate licenses. Three states — California, Illinois and Minnesota — have full-time professional regulatory boards, rather than commissioners with industry connections. (more…)

search for : real estate industry, cartel, consumer, real estate commissioner, real estate broker

“As the Gateway to the Smokies, we have the responsibility to make ourselves more aesthetically pleasing,” said David Perella, Gatlinburg’s director of tourism. And as the director of the Great Smoky Mountains Association, Terry Maddox, said, “It’s why Gatlinburg exists.” That’s why the city is focusing more on its own history and culture than it is on bringing in tacky tourist traps. “Over the years, we haven’t done a very good job of (focusing on) the culture and heritage of the Smokies,” Perella said. “So we’re moving in that direction.” And in 2007, the city will have a perfect opportunity to do that when it celebrates its bicentennial of the town’s European settlement.

Gatlinburg’s first century was highlighted by a Civil War battle, in which Cherokee Indians fought alongside the Confederate Army, and birthplace of John Reagan, who served as postmaster general of the Confederacy. But in the early 1920s, Knoxville photographer James Thompson’s pictures of the Smokies started drawing tourists to Gatlinburg. Ruth Miller knows all about those early years and what turned Gatlinburg into a destination spot in Eastern Tennessee. Her grandmother owned land in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before 1934 when it was established by Congress. “There were 1,200 farms that had to be bought to make this a national park,” Miller said. “I asked my grandmother one time if she wanted to sell the land, and she said, ?We didn’t want to sell – we had to.? “But I could tell as an old woman, she was glad it was a park. We never had any money, but our mountain people loved their land.” (more…)

search for : Gateway to the Smokies, Gatlinburg, Smokies, Civil War, Cherokee Indians, Confederate Army, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

When our beautiful, 200-year-old red oak had fallen during a rainstorm while I was away, I was sad but not worried. The tree had narrowly missed the house and landed smack in the middle of our yard. While it was clearly a mess, I felt certain that our homeowners policy would pick up the cost of setting everything right.

The adjuster, surveying the scene, broke it to us. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he said. Not only would our insurer not pay the staggering $10,000 bill for lugging away the tree, but it wasn’t likely that we’d get enough money to replace the trees and shrubs that had been wiped out. Had the oak fallen on our house, our homeowners policy would have paid for more of the cleanup and replanting. But because our loss wasn’t structural, my husband and I were looking at $20,000 in out-of-pocket costs. (more…)

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Redeveloped downtowns, apartments and more affordable smaller homes are coming into vogue. Big backyards, unbridled spending and buying into long commutes are leaving town. Just as the housing market boom left its mark on the economy and the nation’s way of life, the new real estate market of flat and falling sales and prices is reversing those trends, often creating simpler, less complicated lifestyles.

People are trading in big back yards for balconies, just as they’ve traded in boom boxes for iPods. Often young professionals and the older “echo boomers” (Baby Boomers‘ kids), the new generation of home buyers, are choosing more affordable downtown living in high rises, close to jobs and cultural centers. They are marrying later and putting off child rearing so they don’t generate pressure to move into a big house. Likewise, older boomers who’ve redefined retirement are snatching up smaller digs to keep going in work and at play. Condo conversions underscore that demand as second home buyers, investors and speculators all move to snatch up compact housing. (more…)

search for : affordable smaller homes, housing market boom, echo boomers, Baby Boomers, retirement

There are a lot of factors that have contributed to this growth in women buying and owning homes. Increased wages have boosted female homeownership as the gender gap in pay continues to slowly narrow. Another major factor is the increased availability of financing for women. Not so many years ago a woman seeking to buy a house faced formidable obstacles to obtaining a mortgage – or any kind of credit for that matter. Young women in today’s workforce would be appalled at stories their mothers, if they were at all financially proactive, could tell about trying to even obtain a charge account from Filenes or Sears as late as the 1970s. (more…)

search for : Single women, National Association of Realtors

One of the hottest of trends is the teardown. Prospective sellers of teardowns may favor an FSBO sale or using a discount broker because they want the maximum return from their asset or speculation. They’re aware that the value of the property is in the land, not the house, and they don’t want to have to go through a full service broker, with all that implies: open houses, print ads, showings – with 6 percent commissions.

Sometimes community groups and town fathers object to the whole teardown phenomenon. They say it can ruin the charm of a community by replacing lovely old homes with ostentatious McMansions. In Hinsdale, Ill., many of the old families and preservation advocates formed CHART, Citizens of Hinsdale Advocating Responsibility in Teardowns. Hickey is sympathetic to their aims (I grew up in Hinsdale,” he says), but he thinks groups like CHART should focus on the kinds of buildings that go up in place of the demolished homes and institute building codes to prevent McMansionization. (more…)

search for : full service broker, McMansions

Moving your home, especially long distance, can cost you a mint if you want full-service packing and shipping. That might be your only option if you have one of the larger McMansions or your apartment is full of antique furnishings that need to be protected. For those who can rough it a little, there are more and more do-it-yourself options out there. Rental trucks allow you to do it all yourself — pack, drive and unpack.

If you’re up for packing but not driving, a few services will drop off containers at your home for you to load at your leisure. Then they will drive or ship your furniture to your new home. It costs more than renting but you pay nothing for gas and travel expenses and you get plenty of time to load and unload. The downside: these services aren’t available everywhere and you’ll have to arrange street parking yourself. (more…)

search for : Rental trucks

Nearly every lender requires one, but sometimes sellers and buyers don’t always look them over carefully. And in some cases, buyers and sellers don’t see their real estate appraisals at all because they are asking the wrong person for the report. Gerald A. McKinzie, owner of McKinzie Metro Appraisal, says that the only person an appraiser can give the appraisal to is the actual client. So if the appraisal is ordered by the lender then the mortgage company or bank will get the appraisal. “We can’t give the appraisal to [the homeowner] because of appraiser ethics and I think this is pretty true nationwide. Appraisers cannot give the report or the conclusion of the report or their findings to anyone but their client,” says McKinzie.

The American Society of Appraisers says that an appraisal is important, now more than ever. With a fluctuating market, increased inventory, and housing prices dropping in many areas, the association says, having an appraisal is critical and valuable information. If you didn’t receive an appraisal when you purchased your home, the association says that under federal law it is your right to receive one. The association highly recommends that you request a copy of it. “Homeowners should point out anything they can to the appraiser who comes to do the inspection,” says McKinzie. He says even things that might not be top of mind or easy to spot such as a new furnace should be mentioned. Also, remodeling, upgrades, new roofs, new flooring, and landscaping are important to mention to the appraise (more…)

search for : real estate appraisal, Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers, Homeowners

Hardwood flooring made from the trees on your building site or from trees that your city had to remove is very unusual. But not because such wood is rare. To the contrary, the number of hardwood trees cut every year by municipalities and private homeowners is huge. If the logs were sawn into boards instead of being mulched or tossed into a landfill, the volume, in board feet, would be equal to about two-thirds the amount of hardwood lumber produced annually in the United States.

To the average suburban resident, all trees look attractive, but a commercial logger sees things differently. A job that entails only three or four trees — a large number for a private homeowner or municipality — will not interest him. To justify the expense of bringing in a crew and large tree-cutting equipment a commercial logger wants at least 50. And, he wants to take out the 50 trees in one day, not spend an entire day on one tree because of the time-consuming, daunting logistics that confront an urban tree service crew. They must avoid hitting power lines while staying clear of houses, gardens and driveways (a 500-pound section of a tree hitting an asphalt driveway on a hot summer day will leave a big dent). (more…)

search for : Hardwood flooring, homeowners, United States

Remodeling your home can definitely be an exhilarating undertaking. A new look, new space, new colors, new fixtures — it’s all very exciting! It’s also all very disruptive. When you are remodeling, whether you’re doing the work yourself or having professionals do it for you, your entire lifestyle is disrupted for days, weeks, even months at a time. It may not seem like that big of a deal before you start, but until you live through a remodeling, especially a major one, you have no idea just how stressful the entire process can be. So, before the first nail is driven, take some time to get yourself, your family, and your home prepared, and you’ll find it a little easier to cope.

If you are having a building contractor do the work, they should be able to provide you with a detailed schedule that answers both these questions. (If they can’t, you have probably hired the wrong contractor!) Remember that schedules are only estimates, and a number of things can disrupt even the most carefully laid plans. Talk with your contractor to see what possible glitches they might foresee, and how you can create a contingency plan for them. (more…)

search for : remodeling, building contractor

The Bush administration’s plan to sell national forest lands to help pay for rural schools is drawing widespread opposition and suffering legislative setbacks, but the administration isn’t backing off.The administration wants to raise $800 million for the Secure Rural Schools program for another five years by selling 300,000 forested acres in 35 states.

The administration’s plan was seen as virtually dead after the Senate Appropriations Committee, following the lead of its House counterpart months before, refused last week to include the proposal in a $26 billion interior appropriations bill. But Dan Jiron, Washington spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, contends the obituary is premature. “What you have heard isn’t an indication of anything at this point,” he said Thursday. (more…)

search for : sell national forest lands, Secure Rural Schools, Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Forest Service

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional opening of the summer season. Cabins are aired-out for the first time in months, and boats, recently serviced, are trailed to public and private launches en route to their seasonal homes in cozy marinas or weathered docks. But not all second-home owners are expecting the summer rush.

“I darn near sold it five years ago,” said homeowner Robert Shelton. “But the kids talked me out of it — said they wanted to come back. But they’ve used it less and less and it’s one of the few real assets we have. “I could use some cash, but I don’t need it all right now.” Not all property sellers want cash. The monthly payment income from the sale of a family home, a rental property or vacation cabin can supplement retirement income and serve as a continuing comfort zone. Shelton, like many retirees, says he needs only simple comforts. The mere mention of selling the cabin meant he had re-examined that comfort zone. To another person, the cabin sale could now be viewed as an extremely important — perhaps critical — flow of income. (more…)

search for : homeowner, assets, property sellers, monthly payment, family home, rental property, vacation cabin, retirement income

News on the climate and energy front continues to be bad–top scientists with impeccable credentials say human activity is causing a warming trend that will end 5,000 years of climatic stability, resulting in melting icecaps, rising oceans, and the deaths of millions of species and hundreds of thousands of people.

Many utilities are projecting an eye-popping 50 percent increase in electricity generation from polluting sources over the next 20 years–but their projections are based on the assumption that we will continue to squander energy through wasteful habits. It doesn’t have to be like that. With a few simple and relatively inexpensive steps, we can dramatically reduce the amount of energy we use in our homes, workplaces and congregations. Take the example set by Bob and Linda Rodriguez of Wake County, North Carolina. They have been living in their 30-year-old, two-story home north of Raleigh for 10 years now. Several years ago they began attending Raleigh’s Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and taking classes there on earth care, where they learned about the devastating impacts of mountaintop coal mining in Appalachia and uranium mining on indigenous people’s lands. Realizing that their demand for energy was destroying someone else’s home, they resolved to become more responsible energy consumers. (more…)

search for : melting icecaps, rising oceans, electricity generation, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

In 2003 mortgage rates dropped below six percent. That seemed astounding to those who may have bought their first home in the early 1980’s. “In 1982, 30-year fixed rates were 18.75 percent. Granted, real estate values weren’t the same, but people were still buying at those times,” says mortgage broker Ellen Bitton of Park Avenue Mortgage.

Like an adjustable-rate mortgage, a home equity line of credit is also immediately affected by the Fed’s decisions. But a home equity loan with a fixed-rate will not be affected. “So when you hear a story about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, that’s code for, ‘Your home equity line rate is going to go up, probably as soon as your next statement,’” says McBride. “If you have a fixed-rate mortgage or a fixed-rate home equity loan, you are insulated from the rising interest rates that have been so predominant over the last two years. However, that’s not to say you should ignore the interest rate environment altogether.” (more…)

search for : mortgage rates, adjustable-rate mortgage, home equity line of credit, Federal Reserve

Buyers have inspections done before they conclude a home purchase. However, recommendations for further investigations often are overlooked, and this can have serious consequences. One buyer bought a striking contemporary in a multiple-offer competition. The home inspector recommended that an engineer evaluate the foundation. The buyers failed to heed this advice. After closing, they began to worry about the unevenness in the floors. They consulted with an engineer who told them that the house foundation was faulty and that the house was moving.

There are several reasons why buyers don’t execute further inspections. One is the cost. Spending several hundred dollars or more to make sure you’re making a wise investment is minimal when you consider the cost of correcting serious problems. In both of the examples above, the remedies cost thousands of dollars. Another reason buyers forego recommended inspections is lack of time. The time frame for inspection contingencies is negotiable between the buyer and seller. Sellers like to see the shortest contingency period possible. This can boomerang on the seller if it means the buyers don’t have sufficient time to complete due diligence investigations. (more…)

search for : home inspector, house foundation

In 2005, the median age for a real estate sales agent was 49. For a broker, it rose to 53, according to the National Association of Realtors’ Web site, www.realtor.org. And the 2005 National Association of Realtorss Member Profile states that only 5 percent of all Realtors are under 30 years of age.

Part of the attraction stems from the positive coverage the real estate field has received in light of the recent housing boom. The market has been thriving, and unlimited income potential always is a draw, said Anthony Riley, Century 21 Realty Group ­- Hagan office manager and director of recruitment. But for many young agents, the shift into real estate represents a move toward independence. Often times, these individuals have tried out the corporate world and decided it wasn’t the right fit. Instead, they want to build their own business, be their own boss and be in control of how much they make. Real estate gives them that opportunity, he said. (more…)

search for : real estate sales agent, National Association of Realtors

Did you ever wonder how you know what you know? How did you learn how to buy a car? How did you know how to buy life insurance? You probably didn’t learn it on your own. Someone probably taught you. It may have been a parent, a friend or a sales person. You may have messed it up a few times before you got it right, but you learned. With smaller purchases or transactions, it doesn’t matter much if you blow it, but with big items a mistake can be costly.

The advantages of owning are nearly the opposite of renting. Monthly costs can be fixed with fixed rate mortgages. The owner gains from the appreciation of the property. Usually, the floor plans are more spacious which can be important to families. Owners can personalize their home by decorating them to reflect the owners taste. The income tax deductibility of mortgage interest and property taxes can reduce the overall cost of ownership. The opposite side of the coin also holds for owners. They are less mobile. Selling a home is not always quick or easy. Saving the down payment is a huge hurdle for first-time buyers. Today, most buyers need between 5 and 20 percent of the property values for a down payment. (more…)

search for : fixed rate mortgage, deductibility of mortgage interest and property taxes, down payment

Despite not knowing where it might be in a few years, the popular Watauga County Wild-West theme park is celebrating its 50th anniversary and a festive atmosphere broke through the doubt during last Friday’s Wake Up, Watauga breakfast at Bandana’s Barbecue and Grill.

Tweetsie general manager Chris Robbins told the well-fed audience the theme park may have to relocate if the company can’t reach an agreement with its multitude of landlords — several of whom can’t agree what to do with the valuable real estate north of Blowing Rock. Tweetsie’s lease expires in 2007 — a lease originally established in 1956 when Grover Robbins, Jr. bought the No. 12 engine from cowboy actor Gene Autry, returning the train that once upon a time carried passengers and freight between Johnson City, Tenn. and Cranberry, N.C. with stops in Boone and Foscoe.
(more…)

search for : Watauga County, Bandana’s Barbecue and Grill, Tweetsie, Blowing Rock, Gene Autry, Johnson City, Tenn. and Cranberry, N.C. with stops in Boone and Foscoe

Now that the market has grown uncertain, homeowners are at more of a loss when deciding what price tag to put on their property. So in an attempt to attract buyers, some sellers are experimenting with non-traditional strategies for setting prices. Approaches include starting high and cutting the figure every few weeks, dropping the price to a different bracket to attract new shoppers or giving a range of numbers rather than one set figure.

A changing market can especially highlight the flaws of traditional pricing sources, including Web sites that list comparable home sales and estimates from real-estate agents. Agents may quote too-high prices to get listings, for one, and some Web sites have too few recent listings (within the last six months) to be useful. And while banks can access automated appraisal tools to determine prices, mostly used in calculating a home-equity line of credit or loan, consumers generally can’t get those numbers. (more…)

search for : homeowner, home sales, real-estate agents

With the price of residential properties continuing to rise in most markets across the U.S. and first time buyers now looking for rental homes as a fix until markets correct themselves, multifamily builder confidence in the rental apartment market soared to a new high in the first quarter of 2006. According to the results of the National Association of Home Builders/Fannie Mae Multifamily Housing Market Index (MMI), rising occupancies and rental rates pointed to increased consumer demand in rental homes.

“The rental market is very good right now,” noted Leonard Wood, an apartment and condo builder from Atlanta and chairman of NAHB’s Multifamily Leadership Board. “Over the past three years, there have been thousands of rental units converted and sold as condos and, at the same time, few new rental apartments were being built. This leaves us with a supply-constrained market while demand is growing.” (more…)

search for : residential properties, rental apartment market, National Association of Home Builders, Fannie Mae

The North Carolina General Assembly said goodbye Wednesday to the late Hugh Morton, calling the photographer and environmental champion a public servant committed to keeping the state beautiful. Lawmakers passed unanimously a resolution honoring Morton, who died of cancer June 1 at the age of 85. “We lost an outstanding man when we lost Hugh Morton,” said Sen. John Garwood, R-Wilkes.

Morton’s camera lens captured North Carolina history and its scenery for more than a half century, especially the flora and fauna around Grandfather Mountain, the peak he turned into one of the state’s leading tourist attractions with a zoo that included his popular Mildred the Bear. Morton also helped bring the battleship USS North Carolina to Wilmington, protecting the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and keeping the Blue Ridge Parkway from going over Grandfather Mountain. The parkway ultimately went around the mountain thanks to construction of the now-famous Linn Cove Viaduct.
(more…)

search for : North Carolina General Assembly, Hugh Morton, Sen. John Garwood, Grandfather Mountain, USS North Carolina, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Linn Cove Viaduct

The latest book from longtime real estate author Tyler G. Hicks, How to Acquire $1 Million in Income Real Estate in 1 Year Using Borrowed Money in Your Free Time, is really about how and where to obtain mortgage money to acquire investment property. Despite its long title, this is a resource guide — rather than a real estate ”how to” book — explaining dozens of ways to finance property acquisitions and where to locate the necessary funds.

This new book is different from Hicks’ dozens of prior real estate investment books. Most of those books are ultra-enthusiastic about real estate investing. But this one, while extolling the benefits of acquiring rental income property, is more realistic and practical because Hicks advises over and over to structure the purchase to be certain there will be positive cash flow for the investor. If the book has a flaw, it is that the explanations of important topics are often too short. For example, the author suggests BWBs find a local mentor to guide them and offer advice. But he neglects to explain how to find prospective mentors or what the benefits might be for the mentor. (more…)

search for : Tyler G. Hicks, mortgage, real estate investing, rental income property, positive cash flow

How much to offer a seller for a home you’d love to own is rarely easy. Ideally, your offer price should not be above what you think the property is worth or what you can afford, but tempting enough to the seller that he can’t refuse to accept. Arriving at that perfect offer price is harder in some markets than others, and it depends on a lot of factors that are beyond your control. For example, in buyers’ markets where there is a lot of inventory, you may find more realistic sellers who understand that they need to be flexible if they want to sell. In sellers’ markets where there are more buyers than sellers, you may have no choice but to offer more than the asking price if you hope to be the successful bidder.

You can save yourself a lot of time and aggravation by asking your real estate agent to have a heart-to-heart talk with the listing agent before you make an offer, particularly if you intend to offer significantly less than the list price. If the seller is adamant about his price, and there are plenty of other similar listings on the market, devote your energies to a seller who is willing to sell at market value. (more…)

search for : seller, real estate agent