Archive for May, 2009

Is a “Starter Home” a Good Investment?

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Starter homes are defined as relatively inexpensive residences, often fairly small, that are within reach of college graduates and young families. The idea behind a starter home is that the buyer will eventually upgrade, whether through remodeling or relocating, when they’ve launched their careers or had more time to put up savings. Opinions are divided on whether these are smart financial decisions, or whether people should simply hold off purchasing real estate until their means allow them to buy the place they intend to stay indefinitely.

What determines whether a starter home is a good idea for you? There are several factors to consider. Research the history of your area, paying special attention to how the value of real estate has changed over time. Has it appreciated, or depreciated? If the area has seen significant appreciation, what caused it? Many areas see a sharp incline in real estate prices because of changes in industry, tourism, etc. that may either plateau or, worse, go back on the decline. For homebuyers intending to purchase a home, live in it for several years, and then sell again it is important to try to gauge whether or not a profit can even be made for the effort.

How long do you intend to stay in the home? If you’ve just finished a degree, completed in-demand certification, or just started a job with high potential for advancement, you may want to think hard before buying a home as you may be ready to upgrade within only a couple of years. The last thing you want is to be ready to sell your starter home, only to find that you can not make enough money from the sale to cover your mortgage and other costs that went into acquiring this. As a safeguard, it’s a good idea to only get into mortgages you plan to pay on for several years.

Alternatively, if you don’t mind the hassle of being a landlord, keeping the starter home to rent out after you’ve moved on is always an option. The clincher, of course, is that this home represents a burden on your credit and you are limited as to what new house you can get because of the additional payment. Whenever you plan to rent out a house, you should always be sure you have enough money to pay for the rental and your new place of residence out of your pocket. Relying on renters to meet that house payment can cause a lot of grief in the long run because you can never depend on the house always being rented out or the occupants to always pay their rent on time.

Where Does Your Future Lie?

Monday, May 11th, 2009

When you wake up in the morning, are you thrilled about going to work?  If not, don’t worry, you’re not alone.  However, you don’t have to feel like that.  Successful people know that the quickest way to a productive, happy life is to do what you love—unfortunately, the majority of people are not sure what that is.
One thing most people do know is they’d love doing something that allows them to make money for themselves, and even eventually allows them freedom to enjoy life while they do it. High on the list is the chance of being able to sit back and let a business work for you rather than having you work for it.
If that sounds like the type of plan you would envision in a career, then real estate investing is a path you should investigate.  Why real estate?  Because now more than ever it is possible to learn the fundamentals that have always worked - and still work today - and get started for far less cost than ever before.
You’ve heard about them—just about everybody has—those real estate moguls who buy and sell properties and pocket huge sums of cash every month.  People like Dean Graziosi, who became real estate millionaires.  If you’re like most people, you wonder how they did it and assume that it’s one of those things that happen to a lucky few - but not to you.
The truth is luck has little to do with it.  Does it take hard work?  Of course, and it takes some desire to learn—that’s all it takes, however.  There really is a magic ticket and it isn’t a game of chance to win it either.  You just have to know where to find it.  Well—that’s not quite true.  You have to know where to find it AND you have to have the courage to grab on and take advantage of it.

Real Estate Investments with No Cash and No Credit

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

If you have dreamed of getting involved in the real estate market, making your money work for you—but you have one problem, you have no money - don’t despair.  You can even get started in a profitable real estate career with bad credit.  That’s right, you’re not dreaming, you read right—you can learn how to make money in real estate even if you have no money, bad credit, and—wait for it—no assets!
All you need to begin is a willing attitude and a little knowledge.  Learn from the experts like Dean Graziosi, who can show you how to begin gathering successful sales just by calling up investors and setting up ‘finder’s deals.’  By starting out doing this you can build up your portfolio of successful sales and even make thousands of dollars in a single deal.  You simply find out what investors are looking for and then learn how to find those types of properties at reduced rates.  There are plenty of investors happy to have others do the legwork for them and to pay those others for it.
Once you find the property, you approach the property owner to arrange a sale and then assign the property to the original investor.  There are legalities to learn and specifics that professional investors like Dean Graziosi can show you, which will make these deals work smoothly and build up your cash flow to the point you can ditch the finder’s fees and go for the gold of investing in your own properties.
Finding properties for investors is just one of the ways that Dean Graziosi can show you how to do to get involved in real estate, even if you have no cash and no credit.  Before you know it, you will be on your way to a financially satisfying career that will not only solve your credit and cash problems, but also give you the satisfaction of knowing you did it on your own.