Monday, December 28, 2009

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

SiteMap For Freedom Steps With Property Investing

SiteMap For Freedom Steps With Property Investing

Home Page
Begin Real Estate Investing the Easy Way
Discover how easy it is to begin real estate investing and build wealth with property. An experienced property investor shares his knowledge and experiences with you.


How To Start
Your Real Estate Investment Guide
Use this real estate investment guide to help you get your first investment property and then move on to set yourself free with real estate investing.


Finance
Real Estate Investment Financing, 7 Tips To Help With Getting The Best Result.
Real Estate Investment Financing - These 7 tips can enthusiastic and hopeful applicant in to an long term client of any financial institution.

Statement Of Financial Position - facilitate your property finance application
Statement Of Financial Position - give your self the best chance for a real estate investment loan by having a list of your assets and liabilities.

Refinancing Real Estate Investment, Your First Step To Freedom
By refinancing real estate investment, you gain access to money that is lying dormant and put it to use.

Loan to Value Ratio - learn what it is and how it affects you
Loan to value ratio (LVR) is a ratio that the banks and financial institutions use to assess the level of debt that a certain asset should have. The LVR for property is higher than the LVR that banks

Lenders Mortgage Insurance - use it to increase your investing power
Lenders mortgage insurance is a great tool in the arsenal of any potential investor. It will help you to borrow more when purchasing property, improving your return on equity.

Line Of Credit, The Sophisticated Way To Finance Your Real Estate Investments
A Line Of Credit will give you the freedom and flexibility to repidly move towards your property investing goals.

Use Your Home Equity To Finance Your Real Estate Investments
Your home equity will enable you to begin investing in property, and then it can make you wealthy. Read on to see how.

Other Finance
Property Investment Finance
Real estate investment finance puts power in your hands. It's an opportunity to vastly multiply your return on investment and be way more creative in your wealth building.


Property Selection
Use these Property Selection Tips to Help You Find Long Term Success
Investment Property Selection is vital to your ongoing success. Use these tips to help you find the easiest to manage and most profitable properties.


Business Plan
Use this business Plan to Keep you Focused and Moving Forward
Here is a simple business plan to guide you as you build your property portfolio and wealth through investment property.

Real Estate Investing Primer
Real Estate Investing Primer - Investing in real estate does not have to be complilcated. Here are some easy strategies to begin investing in property. property investing is not a get ricH scheme.


Why Property
Why Property Investing - Compelling Reasons to Invest in Property
Why property investing as a vehicle for creating your financial freedom? Here are three good reasons to invest in property, plus several others you may not have thought of.

Financial Freedom Can Be Yours With Real Estate Investment Property
You can have financial freedom, sooner than you think. Here is a picture of how to do it.


Flipping Property
Flipping Real Estate - Follow these 7 Simple Steps to Making Money
Flipping real estate - This outline shows two ways to do it and outlines 7 simple steps to follow

Make Money Flipping Property - Discover the real way to make money property.
Make money flipping property - This articles outlines 10 principles you need to be aware of if you want to flip real estate.

Flipping Real Estate Contracts To Build Your Capital Base
Flipping Real Estate Contracts is a low cost way for beginner investors to accumulate capital.

Tips For Flipping - 7 Simple tips for flipping real estate.
7 Tips For Flipping Houses that will help find and analyze the right property to flip and avoid the mishaps.

Calculate profits flipping real estate by understanding your costs.
Calculate Profits Flipping - This article outlines how to calculate your profits for any particular flip or contract assignment by understanding the costs involved in making a deal.

Risks Flipping Property - Be aware of the risks involved in flipping real estate
Risks Flipping Property - There are risks involved in flipping real estate, be aware of what can happen and you will avoid setbacks. This article gives a typical example of what can happen.

Real Estate Bubble Aftermath -, Disregard talk of a terrible aftermath....
Real Estate Bubble Aftermath - The end of the real estate bubble has been talked up by a number of sources, but who really benifits and should you pay any attention.

Wholesale Real Estate Investing - Skyrocket your net worth $20,000 to $100,000..
Wholesale Real Estate Investing - discover how you can find and acquire large chunks of equity for cents in the dollar and skyrocket your net worth by $20,000 to $100,000 on every real estate deal ...


Software
Real estate investment software package s - Help with property investing
Real estate investment software package s can be divided into 2 groups. Those that help you before you buy and those that help you after you purchase a property.

Real Estate Analysis - How to Construct an APOD and Nail Your Next Investment
A must-read if you are working with or want to work with rental property. Learn what you need to know about an APOD, how to use it to evaluate the property's first-year performance, and how to constru







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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

11 Things You Want in Real Estate Investment Software

Net present valueImage via Wikipedia

Real Estate Investment Software

11 Things You Want in Real Estate Investment Software

By James Kobzeff


Real estate investment software is one of the best tools real estate investors and professionals can use to analyze and evaluate multifamily property.

Here's why.

Good real estate investment software provides the forms, makes the computations, and creates the reports required for a real estate analysis. Any user (experienced or not) can create professional-quality rental property reports for a myriad of reasons, such as decision-making, or as property presentations to buyers, sellers, colleagues, partners, or to lenders. All within minutes.

Moreover, real estate investing is all about the numbers. Therefore, real estate investors who are considering real estate investment opportunities look for and make their investment decisions based upon the bottom line. So real estate investment software becomes an essential tool for real estate analysis because it provides quick and concise cash flow, rate of return, and property valuation numbers.

Though most real estate analysts prefer to buy real estate investment software, it should be pointed out, though, that you do have other options.

You can, for instance, scratch out the numbers with a pad and pencil, or perhaps make a hasty rule-of-thumb calculation off the top of your head. But it should be obvious that these approaches, although maybe useful in limited cases, do not provide the best solution. They clearly do not provide the deep property analysis required to make a smart investment decision, nor do they include the data likely to sway the opinion of any other person, entity, or institution like a partner or lender.

You can also use Excel and develop your own spreadsheet. The problem here is time. It takes countless hours to embed the computations properly, and to format the forms and reports, even if you're familiar with Excel. If you're not familiar with Excel, then triple the time.

Before you pursue those options, though, be mindful that successful real estate professionals do not waste time or effort reinventing the wheel. They prefer to invest in real estate software so they can spend their time generating moneymaking deals.

But I digress. So let's get back on topic and look at what you should expect in good real estate investment software.

1. Easy to learn and use

You want simply to enter the values and have the software do the rest. You never want to look and wonder, "What do I do next?" To check, examine the website. Remember that the same company praising their software publishes the website. If the website is not well organized and informative, or if its lack-luster and confusing, the software might not be what you want.

2. Unlimited units

You want the ability to analyze one unit or a thousand units, or even more units if necessary.

3. Loan amortization

You want ample control over the financing assumptions. For example, you want the ability to enter multiple loans, the flexibility to enter the loan either as a loan assumption or as a new loan, and then have it computed as either a fixed or interest-only rate.

4. Crucial rates of return

You want the real estate investment software to calculate cash flow returns and loan ratios such as cap rate, gross rent multiplier, cash on cash, operating expense ratio, net operating income, debt coverage ratio, loan-to-value ratio, break-even ratio, and profitability index.

5. Tax shelter computations

You want the ability to determine cash flow after tax as well as your tax benefit or loss. To do this, the real estate investment software must include computations for tax shelter elements such as cost recovery and mortgage interest.

6. Time value of money

You want the software to create computations involving the time value of money such as internal rate of return and net present value. Why? Because you will discover that in real estate investing, the timing of cash receipts can be as important as the amount.

7. Concise, top-quality reports

You want printable reports that are easy to read and have eye-catching appeal. Remember, you might be trying to influence the opinion of a buyer, seller, colleague, or lender regarding this property, and they might have to make their decision based on the reports even before seeing the property.

8. Upgradeable versions

You want the ability to "upgrade" from a less-than-platinum-grade-version to a platinum-grade-version without having to re-purchase the platinum-grade version at full retail price.

9. Technical support

You want to have open access to tech support in the event of a question or problem. Preferably, email and telephone support . Exercise caution if the company or developer appears overly allusive--there is nothing more frustrating than encountering a problem and then not being able to talk to the software developer about it.

10. Affordability

You should be able to find very good real estate investment software on the web for about $300. Which is very affordable given the fact that you will be able to start working with income-producing property immediately.

11. Customer satisfaction

You should examine the names, professions, and titles of customers who have submitted a testimonial. If you can relate, then you may have a winner.

There are other things you want real estate investment software to provide such as seamless printing, picture function, branding and name-rider integration, email capability, help file, Windows compatibility, and so on. The point is not to be hasty. Spend time on each website looking around to be sure you get the essentials and perhaps a little extra at the best price possible.




About the Author

James Kobzeff developed ProAPOD to make real estate investment software easy and affordable for real estate professionals and investors. Discover how you can create cash flow analysis and rate of return presentations in minutes! Go to => http://www.proapod.com


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Kobzeff
http://EzineArticles.com/?11-Things-You-Want-in-Real-Estate-Investment-Software&id=1590882






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A Simple Real Estate Investing Primer

RealEstateInvestors.TV screenshotImage by Casey Serin via Flickr

A Simple Real Estate Investing Primer


Adem Hamidovic


In this real estate investing primer I hape to give you a simple view into the basic principles that underlie investing in real estate.

There are a great many books and web sites devoted to real estate investing out there, but most of them concentrate on one specific area of investing. It's often hard to find a general description of real estate investing, one that lists the various real estate investing strategies and how to get started. That's what this article will set out to do.

Before beginning, you must understand that real estate investing is not a get rich quick scheme. Real estate investing can, and will, make you wealthy, but it certainly won't happen overnight and it will require work. As you perfect your technique and gain experience, the amount of work needed to gain a lot of money will reduce, but it will take effort and persistance to make it there.

If you're completely new to real estate investing then the only sort of investing strategy you're likely aware of is rental properties.

Landlording has been around since there have been houses and people to rent them to, and it will continue to be a wealth builder. In fact, most of the 'no money down' real estate strategies you hear about still include rentals as part of their plan. Still, there are other ways to make money from real estate investing out there.

The next most 'traditional' method is to buy a fixer-upper, fix it up, and then sell it for a profit. This is commonly referred to as 'rehabbing' and is a very good way to make a lot of money in a relatively short period of time. Most rehabbers won't even look at a property unless they can make at least $20,000 of profit, and this is usually within 3-4 months time. Rehabbers tend to be experienced investors with available money, or have partners who help provide any extra cash required.

But if you're just starting out you likely won't have access to large amounts of money. One way to get involved in this area of real estate investing without needing any money at all is to 'flip' houses to these rehabbers. What this entails is you going out and finding these fixer-uppers, noting all the work required to fix the place up. You then place a low offer in to the owner, taking into account the fix up price and some built in profit. Once you have the house under contract you then flip it to a rehabber for a small fee. This can result in several thousand dollars for you, without you having to spend a dime. 'Flipping' properties can be a great way to start your real estate investing career.

Another 'no money down' technique that's popular on the late night infomercials is called 'lease optioning'. This is basically a rent to own strategy that allows you to control a property without ever taking ownership of it. It's a slightly more complicated strategy that warrents its own article, but it does allow you to make money in several different ways, each without ever having to spend any of your own money. If you're not put off by longer term investments then lease options are definately worth more research.

There are other strategies that involve foreclosures and getting the home owner to sign the deed over to you, but for now I'd suggest learning more about flipping and lease options as entry-level real estate investing strategies.

How do you find properties that would make good real estate investments? Again, an entire article can be devoted to that, but there are basically two ways: you go looking for them, or you get them to come to you. The first way involves reading the newspaper classifieds and scanning the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is where having a great real estate agent is a must - they can get you more details on homes than you can view on the mls website, and can often let you know of great deals before they even become available to the general public.

Having home owners contact you means setting up an advertising campaign. This can involve placing ads in the newspaper, placing bandit signs at strategic locations around town, starting a direct mail campaign, etc. There are many ways to let people know that there's a new real estate investor in town, and it would be in your best interest to try each of them to see which ones work best for you.

Whether you decide to go looking for deals, have them come to you, or both, they key is to be persistant. Real estate investing is a numbers game - most of the time you won't be able to make the deal work, but every time you do it translates into thousands of dollars for you. The more owners you talk to, the more deals you'll be able to do, the more money you'll make.

I hope this article gives you a bit of an idea of what the world of real estate investing is like. There's a lot to learn out there, and all of it is very interesting. Find the area that interests you the most, then get out there and start talking to home owners. Don't be discouraged if you're getting turned down a lot - just remember that when it does pay off, it will pay off big!




Adem Hamidovic is a part time real estate investor and operator of www.ProfitPiggy.com, a website devoted to new and experienced real estate investors alike. - admin@profitpiggy.com


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Monday, December 7, 2009

The Real Estate Bubble Aftermath

{{en}} Plot created from Robert Shiller's data...Image via Wikipedia

The Real Estate Bubble Aftermath



The End Of The Real Estate Bubble - What Does It Mean To You

Jeanette Joy Fisher

Last spring, I was invited to go to Philadelphia and participate in a "real estate bubble" discussion on Ch 8's "Money Matters Today".

Television reporters, newspapers, and media hype love scaring you to grab your attention. On the TV show, I defended the real estate market.

What's behind all this bubble talk?

Before you give any substance to warnings about a "real estate bubble", look closely at the source.

Many stock brokers jump on the bandwagon of real estate doom to get investors back into the stock market. Also, many negative reports originate from mortgage lenders who want to keep the mortgage insurance rates high and keep the insurance premiums coming in for loans on houses that have appreciated.

So, What Happened To The Real Estate Bubble?

I can't speak for all real estate investors. If my family had been scared into discounting our investments, selling out, and not buying more property in 2005, we would have lost a million dollars.

We bought and held houses.

All of our property increased by 20% - 35% and the ones we fixed increased in value even more.

In particular, for one home we paid $120,000 and spent $10,000 in repairs - within the year it appraised for $325,000.

Who profits from the real estate bubble?

Besides media scaremongers, mortgage insurance providers, and stock brokers, real estate investors make even more money. What's that? How do real estate investors make money from the real estate bubble? They take advantage of desperate home sellers scared by the media.

In January 2006, we bought an investment property that the home seller, in the midst of a divorce, discounted for a quick sale. The $340,000 property appraised for fifty thousand more than the purchase price.

Now, we could quick sale the property for fast cash, but we're in for the long haul.

The property has great development potential.

So, we'll let the tenants pay for the mortgage and maybe tear the small house down in a few years. A half acre, one lot away from a future marina near new condos, has many possibilities.

Keep the bubble talk. People always need housing.

The more you hear about the pending burst, the more money real estate investors CAN make.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher


About the author:  Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette offers a FREE "How to Start Real Estate Investing" teleseminar and a free ebook, "The Truth about Making Money Flipping Houses"

Visit www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com








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Property Investment Finance

Property Investment Finance


Your Express Elevator to Real Estate Investing Success

The way in which you obtain and use property investment finance can make a sizeable impact on the rate at which your property portfolio grows.

I'm sure you've heard it said before but it is absolutely true that


Investment finance


The golden rule in real estate investing is other people's money (OPM).




This is the most important lesson you can learn!

 


Yes it's true, the golden rule in real estate investing is other people's money.

Use Other peoples Money

What this means is that whenever you are buying an investment property you should be aiming to pay as little as possible from out of your pocket, and obtain real estate investment finance for as much of the purchase price as you can. This is a vital factor in real estate investment property purchasing.

"I'd Rather not have any Debt"


"I have enough money, I'd rather pay cash."

OR
"I'd rather not have any debt."

This is not the way to build your property empire.

Even if you have $100,000 sitting in the bank right now, you could go and buy one real estate investment property but with the system that I am going to show you, you will be able to acquire multiple properties and reap the harvest of exponential capital gains and increasing rents for many years to come!

Gain Leverage by Using Real Estate Investment Finance

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Saturday, December 5, 2009

Net Present Value - How to Use NPV to Evaluate the Price of a Property

Net present valueImage via Wikipedia

Net Present Value - How to Use NPV to Evaluate the Price of a Property



By James Kobzeff

Net Present Value, is often used by a real estate investor to try to evaluate the price for a rental property with time value of money consideration has undoubtedly used .

Although it should not be used as the only factor to decide whether a real estate investment provides a good buying opportunity, Net Present Value does provide the investor with a quick and easy way to determine whether the price that will be paid for the property will yield the investor's desired rate of return (discount rate).

What is net present value?

NPV is the difference between the present value (PV) of all future cash flows produced by a rental property and the amount of cash investment (or, initial investment; i.e., down payment and closing costs) required to purchase the property. For example, let's assume that the real investor desires a 10% yield on all future cash flows, must invest $100,000 cash to purchase the rental property that might produce those cash flows, and wants to know whether the price he will pay achieves his desired yield. He would calculate NPV.

Here's how it works.

First, all future cash flows would be discounted back at 10% to determine the present value of those cash flows. Secondly, the $100,000 initial investment would be deducted from the PV. The difference between the two is the NPV. For example, if the present value winds up equaling $110,000, the $100,000 would be subtracted to determine a net present value of $10,000 ($110,000 - 100,000 = 10,000). Whereas, if the PV calculates at $90,000, the NPV would be -$10,000 ($90,000 - 100,000 = -10,000).

What does it mean?

Whenever the NPV is greater than zero, it means that the discounted value of the future cash flows is greater than the initial investment. In other words, you're getting a good deal and getting a rate of return that is actually higher than the discount rate you desire (in fact, you can pay $10,000 more for the property and still achieve a 10% yield). Likewise, any NPV less than zero means the opposite. You're getting a lower rate of return than you desire, and would have to pay $10,000 less for the property to get a 10% rate of return.


About the Author - James R Kobzeff


James is the developer of ProAPOD, a very affordable real estate investment software solution that includes computations for NPV. Discover how to create rental property analysis presentations with automatic calculations for net present value and other rates of return in minutes! Go to => http://www.proapod.com


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Kobzeff
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Use-Net-Present-Value-to-Evaluate-Property-rice&id=380974










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Loan to Value Ratio - LVR, What Is It, How Can It Help You?

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Loan to Value Ratio - What Is It & How Can It Help You?


Simply put loan to value ratio(LVR) is a ratio that the banks and financial institutions use to assess the level of debt that a certain asset should have.

What does it mean if a bank will give you a HIGH loan value ratio when you are applying for a loan on a particular investment property?

What does it mean if a bank will only give you a LOW loan value ratio when making a morgtage application.

What Does A High LVR Mean To You?

If you can get a high LVR then that means that the bank or financial institution is willing to loan you more of the purchase price of your property.

For example, the loan to value ratio for property is higher than the LVR that banks will give for say shares.

So for example say you wanted to purchase a $100,000 investment.

A bank will be happy to lend you $80,000 on a $100,000 property giving an LVR of 80%

If you were investing in shares the margin loan (LVR) they would give you is usually about 50% and some times less. This would give you an LVR of 50% or less! So that means they would only loan you $50,000 of the $100,000 worth of shares you wanted to buy.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance - Overcome a Low LVR?

If you are given a low LVR by the bank when applying for a loan, then they are giving you a measure of what the level of debt or risk on that property that they are willing to support.


In the case of property, this means that you will either need to fund the difference out of your available cash or find further finance to purchase.

The alternate method to overcoming the situation where you are given a low LVR is to use lenders mortgage insurance.

The Differences between Financial Institutions

There are differences between financial institutions.


Different banks and other mortgage originators will use different valuers and have different methods of assigning or determining value.

Some will be more keen to get your business and so be willing to offer you a higher LVR. This is better for you.

So shop around when looking for a loan and find the lender that will give you the best loan to value ratio that you can get and preserve your available capital reserves.


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Friday, December 4, 2009

Real Estate Investment Financing

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Real Estate Investment Financing


Use These Finance Techniques To Increase Your Net Worth


The area of Real Estate Investment Financing, is one that can have a huge impact on your progress as a property investor.

Starting from approaching a lending institution for a loan for your first REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PROPERTY to building your property portfolio, the plan I recommend HERE is one that will see your net worth increase considerably and within a short time the banks will be treating you with the utmost respect.

Of course the way in which you obtain and use Property Investment Finance will have a bearing on how fast you progress and just how soon you can retire!?!

These real estate investment financing ideas and concepts will take you from uncertain initial contact with the bank to a seasoned property investment finance pro.

Be Prepared

This is an important step towards obtaining the best terms & conditions for your your real estate investment financing.

Right from your very first approach to any bank or lending institution you should be armed with a document that clearly shows your current assets and liabilities and your income and expenses.

So transform yourself from an hopeful applicant into a knowledgeable long term cliant. This is what banks love.

This has proved to be an extremely positive factor for me on numerous occasions in negotions with various loan officers. For our first two investment properties, we didn't have one and we were treated like amatuers.For the next time we approached the banks to apply for a loan, we went equipped with a document I had produced that gave a clear Statement of Financial Positionand showed our income and expenditure.

Avoid Cross Collateralisation

What is cross collateralization and why should I avoid it?

Cross Collateralizationoccurs when the bank uses the security for one loan to secure another loan. The advantage of doing this is that you can borrow a greater percentage of the purchase price of the next property, perhaps even 100%.

The disadvantage of cross collateralization is that it can bring your real estate investment financing strategy to a standstill.

You may find that because of cross collateralization you are restricted or unable to purchase another investment property.

For example it is usually mandatory that the properties being cross collateralized be in the same state. If you want to be free of restrictive banks Cross Collateralization rules then use a line of credit to borrow the funds you need instead.

Refinancing Real Estate Investment

This is one of the best ways to begin real estate investing and to keep your real estate investment financing moving freely. The best thing is that you can arrainge things so that any one property is not held ransom by a bank or financier (which can really put a dent in your property investing plans).

Refinancing real estate investment provides the perfect method for any property investor to extract capital from the increased value of a property without selling it.

This is a great way to move forward with your property investing plans and keep your real estate investment financing options open.

If you were to sell sell an investment property you immediately lose the future capital gains, income stream and taxation benefits that property would bring.


What's a HELOC and What Can It Do For Me?


A HELOC is a Home Equity Line of Credit.

This is where a bank values your home and determines the available equity you have in your home and then makes funds available up to a perentage of that amount.
This is the most flexible and effilcient way to get started with your real estate investment financing!

How can a home equity line of credit help you with your real estate investment financing you ask?

Once you have established a line of credit you can use it to fund any shortfall that you may have when purchasing an investment property, that includes deposit amount and purchase costs.

This is by far the most preferable way to purchase your first and successive investment properties.


Investment Property Mortgage Rates


Should you be concerned with investment property mortgage rates?

Many "property experts" say that INVESTMENT PROPERTY MORTGAGE RATES should not be of primary concern when looking for a PROPERTY INVESTMENT LOAN. This is only true if you are not concerned with your immediate cash flow situation. Read a more detailed analysis HERE.

No Down Payment Investment Property


This is tied in to the previous tips on refinancing and use of a line of credit.

The general ides is that you purchase a no down payment investment property using the equity you have in another asset, usually your home.


Real Estate Investment Trusts


If you prefer a hands off approach you can invest in a REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST. You can find more details HERE.

However, in my opinion, there are many more advantages to INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE directly.

For more information about a Home Equity Line of Credit see this article:
Steps to Freedom: What Is A Line Of Credit

A Home Equity Line of Credit (often called HELOC, pronounced HEE-lock) is a loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period ...



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Thursday, December 3, 2009

What Is A Line Of Credit

real estate loansImage by TheTruthAbout... via Flickr

Line Of Credit


What Is It?


A line of credit is a type of loan, where the bank determines a limit amount. It differs from a normal loan in that it allows you the borrower to use the money available in the line of credit (LOC) at any time and then repay the amount outstanding at the your discretion.


Home Equity Line of Credit


Often the first form of this type of loan that a property investor discovers is the home equity line of credit. A home equity line of credit is sometimes referred to as a HELOC.


This is where the lending institution vvalues your home and uses the difference between the current value and the amount you owe on your home to calculate how much they will make available to you based on the equity you have in your home.


For example if you have a home valued at $500,000 and you owe $200,000 on it, the equity you have available would be $300,000. Your lending institution will then agree to loan you up to a limit amount determined by their lending criteria.

Why Would You Want One?



The first and most compelling reason why you would want to have and use a line of credit is the freedom and flexibility it gives you.


A conventional loan is linked to a specific purpose.


With a line of credit the lender has agreed to loan you a certain amount of money, but you are free to use that money for any purpose you decide, and you have the flexibility to draw upon your available balance at a time that suits you best.


You can use "draw downs" to fund the deposit and purchase costs for the purchase of property to meet a temporary shortfall in cashflow for funding the monthly payments on your property loans or to fund a tax free life style that the increasing values of your property portfolio will enable you to live.


See These Related Articles For More Information



Using The Equity in Your Home


Wikipedia - Line Of Credit


Wikipedia - Home Equity Line of Credit









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APOD - How to Construct an Annual Property Operating Data Statement

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APOD - How to Construct an Annual Property Operating Data Statement




By James Kobzeff


The APOD (an acronym for "Annual Property Operating Data") is one of the most popular reports in real estate investing because it gives the real estate analyst a quick evaluation of property performance for the first year of ownership. In fact, it would be surprising not to encounter an APOD in the pursuit of real estate investment property because of its popularity.

In daily life, the Annual Property Operating Data essentially serves as the real estate equivalent of an annual income and expense statement, but more in the capacity of a "snapshot" of a property's income and expenses.

Characteristics

  • Projects property performance for the first year of ownership only
  • Ignores tax shelter consideration
  • The bottom line is cash flow before tax (CFBT), not cash flow after tax (CFAT)
  • Reveals income, operating expenses, net operating income, debt service, and cash flow concisely and therefore serves investors well as a good "first-glimpse" of the investment opportunity

A well-constructed APOD is best for comprehension, obviously, and the clearer annual property operating data is presented the easier the determination of property performance. In truth, however, the emphasis is on correct numbers, not style. Here's the procedure.

  1. Show the Gross Scheduled Income (GSI) This is the income derived from rents and should represent the annual sum of all rents as if the units were 100% occupied. Include an annual rent even for vacant units; you can use any rent you like (perhaps market rent) just as long as it is realistic.
  2. Show an amount for vacancy and credit loss Deduct this amount from GSI to compute the Effective Gross Income (or EGI).
  3. Show the income generated from other sources (if any) Include things such as laundry income, rents from storage units or garages (if any) and add the total to EGI to compute Gross Operating Income (GOI).
  4. Show the individual operating expenses and total Include expenses required to run the property such as property taxes, property insurance, utilities, trash, repairs and maintenance, property management, advertising, landscaping, and so on. Do not include debt service. Compute a total and label it Annual Operating Expenses.
  5. Deduct the annual debt service (mortgage payment) from NOI This computes the investment property's bottom line, cash flow, or more specifically Cash Flow Before Taxes (CFBT).
  6. Deduct the annual debt service (mortgage payment) from NOI This computes the investment property's bottom line, cash flow, or more specifically Cash Flow Before Taxes (CFBT).

Format of the Annual Property Operating Data statement

Okay, let's consider the entire list from top to bottom so you can see a typical format used in an annual property operating data:

  Gross Scheduled Income (GSI)

- Vacancy Allowance

= Effective Gross Income (EGI)

+ Other Income

= Gross Operating Income (GOI)

- Operating Expenses

= Net Operating Income (NOI)

- Debt Service

= Cash Flow Before Tax (CFBT)

Special Features

As stated earlier, an APOD is more about substance (accurate financial data) than it is about style and panache. Nonetheless, annual property operating data that also includes computations for cap rate, gross rent multiplier, price per square foot, and cash on cash return are help. Yes, you can exclude the extra effort to include these computations, but it does create annual property operating data that will make you proud to present to customers and lenders.

Please feel free to preview a sample APOD on our website.






Recommended Resources:
ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software: www.proapod.com




About the author: James R Kobzeff

James developed ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software to make rental property cash flow, rates of return, and profitability analysis presentations possible in minutes. Discover all the benefits and reports at www.proapod.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Kobzeff
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