Archive for October, 2009

Are there any approved real estate schools on the internet?

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Real Estate
Malia S asked:


In my state, to get a real estate salesperson license you must complete 90 classroom hours of approved real estate courses. Can those hours be done in an online school? In other words, are there any approved real estate schools on the internet?

Chad
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Is real estate appraisal work still a good career?

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Real Estate
Team Hall asked:


I want to get my license to do commercial and residential real estate apprasials, but I am worried about the current real estate market. Is this still a good career to pursue, or is the market really ending for this type of business? How much money do appraisal workers make annually? Thanks for any info!

Jean
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I have a IRS lien filed against my Real Estate. How long do I have before the property is placed for auction?

Sunday, October 25th, 2009
Real Estate
FineArt1983 asked:


A lien was recently [July, 2007] placed by the IRS against a piece of Real Estate in New York that is owned by an Estate that I am the Executor of.

How long do I have from the time the lien was placed by the IRS to the time that the IRS forces the property for sale or auction? If the property is forced for sale or auction by the IRS is there some type of redemption period that I have?

The Estate does not want me to sell the Real Estate.
The estate will be able to pay the IRS what it owes within three months. Do I have that much time before the property is placed to auction or sale?

Lawrence

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Pacific Beach, San Diego Real Estate, July 2006 Home Sales Data

Saturday, October 17th, 2009
Real Estate
Real Estate Advisor asked:


Pacific Beach is located on the central coast of San Diego County within the 92109 Zip Code. If you are interested in Pacific Beach real estate, then you should find the information below useful. The following summarizes sales data for detached single-family homes and attached condominiums and townhomes. This sales data covers the period from July 1, 2006 through July 31, 2006.

Approximately 18 detached single-family were homes were sold during July 2006. Of these 18 homes, the average asking price was $992,598. The average sales price was $946,211. This results in a sale price/list price (SP: LP) ratio of 96%, meaning that on average, sellers obtained 96% of their asking price. The average time to sell a home was 55 days.

A detailed evaluation of these 18 single-family homes is provided below.

a. Five of these homes had two or fewer bedrooms. The average list price was $702,400. The average sales price was $689,000. The SP:LP was 98%. The average time to sell this type of home was 57 days.

b. Nine of these homes had three bedrooms. The average list price was $1,089,975. The average ales price was $1,031,867. The SP:LP ratio was 95%. The average time to sell this type of home was 52 days.

c. Three of these homes had four bedrooms. The average list price was $1,025,000. The average sales price was $968,333. The SP:LP ratio was 95%. The average time to sell this type of home was 63 days.

d. One home sold with five or more bedrooms. The average list price was $1,470,000. The average sales price was $1,395,000. The SP:LP ratio was 95%. The average time to sell a home was 50 days.

Approximately 25 detached condominium or townhomes were sold in July 2006. The average list price of these 25 units was $650,072. The average sales price was $620,772. The SP: LP ratio was 96%. The average time to sell these units was 55 days.

A detailed evaluation of these 25 units is provided below.

a. Eighteen of these units had two or fewer bedrooms. The average list price was $536,877. The average sales price was $510,527. The SP:LP ratio was 96%. The average time to sell this type of unit was 65 days.

b. Six of these units had three bedrooms. The average list price was $926,166. The average sales price was $886,333. The SP: LP ratio was 97%. The average time to sell this type of unit was 28 days.

c. One of these units had four bedrooms. The list price was $1,031,000. The sales price was $1,011,800. The SP: LP ratio was 98%. The unit took 16 days to sell.

If you are interested in the Pacific Beach real estate market, contact a San Diego Realtor to assist you with the home buying process.



Bruce
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How do I start real estate brokerage business?

Friday, October 16th, 2009
Real Estate
pinkplaid610 asked:


I just received the real estate broker license in California, and plan to do brokerage business. I’m not planning to setup a company or hire any agent. I’m thinking about joining Orange County Association of Realtors. Do I really need E&O insurance? What steps am I missing? Any advice will be appreciated.

Sarah
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7 Reasons to Use a Real Estate Agent

Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Real Estate
Escapeso Austin Real Estate asked:


Some people choose to use a real estate agent and some people choose to go it alone. One thing I have noticed over the years is that a number of seasoned investors looking in a new city will seek out a good agent while novice investors will frequently go it alone. I have even had a number of successful real estate agents seek out my help when they are moving to our city. Why do some of these seasoned investors choose to work with an agent? Below is a list of 7 benefits of using an agent.

1. Understand potential restrictions of the property. I recently heard a story from a friend at the city development office in Austin Texas. A couple had saved up for their retirement. They wanted to retire and live out in the hill country. They went to the foreclosure auctions. At the auction they purchased a lot for 500,000. It had great views and they were going to build their dream house on it. They had researched the lot before the auction and found it was zoned SFR which means a single family residence can be built on it. After purchasing the lot they started plans to build their retirement house. At this time they discovered the lot was in the 25 year floodplain. My friend at the city development office explained that the lot could not be built on and was basically worthless.

2. Know about new developments that might affect a properties value. A good realtor will know of proposed new developments that might affect different properties in which a buyer is interested. Whether these developments are positive or negative can be valuable information when weighing different housing options.

3. Find potential problems with a property. It is always a good idea to have a home inspector look at a potential house. However, a Realtor is a good first line of defense to see if a house has inherent problems. A Realtor that can know about common problems, such as foundation or electrical, that affect a particular neighborhood.

4. Understand contracts specifics. Whenever you buy or sell a house you are entering into a large personal transaction. It helps to have someone on your side that deals with these types of transactions on a daily basis. A Realtor can help you understand contracts and can explain what is typical for your area. The most common pitfall into which I see unrepresented buyers fall is to become involved in an atypical contract that is not to their benefit. For instance a seller will sign an offer that has an option period that is 4 times longer than what is typical. A buyer might put in offers on multiple properties with long option periods. The buyer will wait and see if the market appreciates. If the market has appreciated the buyer buys the house at now and undervalued price. If the market has gone down the buyer walks away.

5. Misperception of a benefit of going it alone. Buyers frequently think that by not using a buyers agent they will get a better deal from the seller. In most situation the listing agent asks for 6 percent from the seller. If a buyer comes with an agent the listing agent splits the 6 percent with the buyers agent. If an unrepresented buyer comes the listing agent keeps the whole 6 percent. On the selling side, For Sale By Owners (FSBO) often think they are saving alot of money by avoiding a listing agent. Nationally, FSBO homes sell for 14 percent less than agent listed homes in the same neighborhoods. In addition alot of FSBO’s still end up having a buyers agents involved. There is also money spent on advertising. Since an agent has experience marketing homes the agent often can spend money more effectively on advertising. Agents often know which advertising sources produce the most potential buyers.

6. Save time when looking for listings. Looking for listings without an agent can take up large chunks of time. When looking with an agent you can see several homes in a few hours. When going it alone you have to call the listing agent for each house and wait at the house for the agent to arrive and open up the house. In addition agents often know houses which are not listed or may have already identified potential problems with a particular house of interest.

7. Insure Security. When a home is listed with a broker, agents coming to the house have to usually log in. This allows the listing agent to keep a record of every party coming into the house. Since their business is on the line, agents are more likely to protect the house from damage or theft. For a variety of reasons, it is generally not a good idea to have random people you do not know come into your house. Often sellers simply have a phone number, but that phone could be their house, a friend’s house, a pay phone, or even a stolen phone.

Searching for a home can be stressful and difficult but it can also be fun. Whether you choose to look for a home on your own or with a Realtor its a good idea to be a extremely careful when you seek out your dream home.



Jacqueline
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Real Estate Photography- Grow Business Earnings

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
Real Estate
real estate asked:


The photography which is done on Real Estate Development Company is known as real estate photography. The concept is very much popular in European and western countries/ companies. Because according to the real estate photography the market has to be established! Real estate photography is done in different ways such as in close-ups. The real which is to be marketed has to be identified first. The product is then suited by professional photographer from different angles from which the product is most likely to be a sellable hotcake. Since the real estate is govern by the products which are only shown in hypothetical manner, the real estate has to be marketed accordingly. Since, the real estate is depends upon the projected outcomes, is covered by the photography part. So, a photographer must be analyzer in nature!

The photographer must know what the product will be after its completion of project. So, the photograph and actual product should match. Real estate photography makes a difference that good photos can make in the process of house for sale.

Importance of real estate photography

Digital presentation of real estate photographs is the key to good seller in the property market. In the present property marketplace, real estate photography became the essential tool of property firms! Digital photos are becoming popular and can be readily available in the market. Digital photos make real estate photography more natural and practical. If you want to search real estate photography for your property business, then you can find many online real estate photography professional websites online. By just surfing the internet you can gather some real estate photography tips and hints. For a professional real estate agent, it is must to take well-composed and exposed real estate photographs. By trying true methods of real estate photography you can produce real estate photos without the need of buying expensive tools.

Good online companies offer stunning real estate photography for both interactive and print use as well as three hundred sixty degree Panoramic virtual tour images, video production, multimedia presentations and image management. It is an important for you those great photographic images for marketing your position. Blur photos of real estates are never acceptable. To take better images of your real estates you should choose real estate photography. Over the past few years there are dramatic changes happened with introduction of digital camera has brought to the Real Estate photography industry. With such latest technology, a real estate photography transfer images to a web page on the internet, and flyers printed all within minutes. Nowadays, listings are quickly available to other real estate firms and purchasers worldwide who have access to a computer.



Ben
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A Guide to Going Bankrupt in Real Estate!

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Real Estate
Escapeso Austin Real Estate asked:


First off, watch some late night infomercials on TV. And possibly order some real estate tapes from Carlton Sheets. This will provide you with a positive upbeat attitude and a sense of false confidence that is essential in order to go bankrupt. Believe that after listening to some tapes, you can compete with people that have done this 7 days a week for years.

Second. For your first investment, buy in a city you know little to nothing about and avoid using a buyers agent who does know the city. Go directly to the sellers agent. The best way to make a truly horrible decision is to avoid any outside advice. The best part of this is that avoiding a buyers agent usually doesn’t save you any money since the selling agent simply makes more when you deal with them directly.

Look for a discount or a distressed property over a good long term investment. Late night infomercials and Carlton Sheets talk a lot about this. Getting equity at the point of sale. One thing about distressed properties with desperate sellers is that they frequently are in crappy areas with low appreciation rates. Buying a property at under market rate in an area with low appreciation potential versus a property in a good area is the kind of short sighted thinking that will really help you reach the goal of bankruptcy and foreclosure.

When you talk to people including your realtor, try to spend time talking about all the crap you learned from your book or light night infomercial. The more you listen to other people, the more you might get different perspectives and the higher chance you might learn new things. This could really hurt your chances of going bankrupt so avoid listening to anyone. Remember you know everything even if you only got interested in real estate last week.

Be positive to the point of stupidity. Alot of investors I know always think about how their situation would be affected by a 10 or 20 percent drop in the market before making a purchase. You should avoid this kind of thinking. You need to be blinded by greed. You should only fantasize about how you are going to double your money.

When calculating your monthly cashflow, assume that you will have 100% occupancy all the time and no maintenance cost. While you are at assume that its going to rain money tomorrow.

Also, be stubborn when renting your properties. Decide upon a number say $900 a month and refuse to budge. Come up with some bizarre logic about how the property deserves $900 a month. Lose months of rent having the property sit vacant instead of going down $50 on the rent. Instead of responding to the market make statements like “Well the markets wrong then”.

As you move closer to foreclosure, don’t alter your spending habits. Don’t move into a smaller house or cut spending. Act like nothing is wrong.

Overextend, overextend, overextend. Are you approved to buy one house. Why not buy 5, heck why not 20. Instead of building up a portfolio of properties over time, gaining experience along the way, just buy alot of properties next Tuesday.

Alot of people are getting into the foreclosure game. Their is no reason you should be left behind. Throwing caution to the wind and filling your eyes with greed and you should find yourself walking down the golden path to foreclosure.

This is not a definitive guide to foreclosure. Alot of people end up in foreclosure due to many things unforeseen events like unpreventable family illness, divorce or job loss. This is simply a guide to what I call elective foreclosure.



Tim
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Women Drive Real Estate Purchases

Friday, October 9th, 2009
Real Estate
Real Estate Advisor asked:


Women are working more, earning more and buying more than they ever did. Consequently, they have a significant influence on the American economy in general, and the real estate industry in particular.

The collective buying power of US women accounts for about 85 % of all consumer purchases. When it comes to purchasing patterns, women are estimated to make 94 % of home furnishings decisions, 91 % of new homes purchase decisions, and 89 % of travel decisions.

Women’s earnings have accelerated over the last few years and they have emerged as the Chief Purchasing Officers in their households. According to IRS data, women constitute 39 % of the top wealth holders in the country. This means about 2.5 million women possess a wealth of $4.2 trillion put together. Notably, the IRS estimates that by 2050, 42 % of these women will be single or widowed. The IRS further estimates that more wealth is bound to be accumulated among women.

Another growing trend that emerged in a December 2006 study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) was that about 22 % of homes purchased between July 2005 and June 2006 were by single women who were in the 25 to 34 age range. Women accounted for a record number of 1.76 million home purchases (1 in every 5 homes), a significant increase from 14 % a decade ago. Women’s growing success in their careers, higher education, financial independence and a desire to build an early nest on their own, are some of the reasons that have spearheaded this home buying trend.

Among the vast demographic spectrum in the real estate industry, women have become a force to reckon with. Real estate agents are increasingly taking note of their female clients and the power they wield in home buying decisions. By the influence that they bring into play in home buying decisions, women form a significant and growing market that simply cannot be ignored.

If you are considering buying a home, condo, or any other real estate, be sure to seek out the services of a local real estate agent to guide you through this complex process.



Amy
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How hard is it to get into real estate? How do you become a certified real estate agent?

Monday, October 5th, 2009
Real Estate
startrak_06 asked:


I was interested in the real estate field. What steaps do i have to take to become a real estate agent?

Gilbert
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