Property Investors Join Landlord Groups In Numbers

It doesn't matter how long you've been involved in real estate investing there is always something to learn. Sharing real estate ideas with like-minded people is a good place to start.

Here are some property investor groups to join in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and Michigan:

Maine

Central Maine Apartment Owners Association - CMAOA
Greater Bangor Apartment Owners

Maryland

Associated Landlords of Cumberland - ALOC
Carroll County Landlords Association - CCLA
Cecil County Landlords' Association,inc - CCLA

Massachusetts

Attleboro Area Rental Housing Association - AARHA
United Lodging House Association
Greater Lowell Landlords Association
The Boston Landlord and Investor Group
Rental Housing Association of Berkshire County - Massachusetts

Michigan

Rental Property Owners Association of Greater Battle Creek
Detroit Organization of Leading Landlords and Real Estate Strategists - DOLLARS
Real Estate Investors Association of Livingston - REIAL
Michiana Income Property Owners Association - MIPOA
REIA of Oakland
Macomb Property Owners Association - MPOA
Down River Real Estate Investors Association - REIA
Monroe County Landlords Association - MCLA
Genesee Landlords Association - GLA
Rental Property Owners Association - RPOA
Jackson Area Landlords Association - JALA
Real Estate Investors Association of Livingston - REIAL
Kalamazoo Area Rental Housing Association - KARHA
Rea Estate Investors Assoc. Wayne County
Christian Landlord Association - CLA
Michigan Real Estate Investors Network - MREIN
American Landlord Association - ALA
Real Estate Investors Association of Livingston County - REIAL

I will give lists of property investor groups in other states in future blog posting.

The Question Is: Refinance A Mortgage Or Take Out A Second Mortgage?

Home owners and property investors often face the prospect of either taking out a second mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage. Refinancing an existing mortgage involves taking out another loan to repay the first loan.

Depending on circumstances, refinancing can be an option if the objective is to reduce monthly payments on a property. Mortgage rates do fluctuate depending on economic conditions and market competitiveness. Refinancing when mortgage interest rates are low can save a home owner or property investor thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the mortgage loan.

By shopping around the property owner may find a new lender prepared to repay the first mortgage and refinance at a lower interest rate. To maximize the benefits it is important to be aware of the charges involved, any tax implications and the importance of refinancing at right time.

Refinancing also provides an opportunity to cash out the equity in a property. If the first mortgage balance is $80,000 and property is valued at $180,000 the new lender can lend a much higher amount. The difference in the first mortgage balance and the amount being borrowed from the new lender could be used to help fund the purchase of an investment property. It really depends on the homeowner or investors situation and whether he or she wants to reduce debt or take on more debt.

To summarize; refinancing a mortgage at the right time can save a property owner thousands of dollars in mortgage interest payments, or it could assist the property owner in buying new assets.

Compare refinancing an existing mortgage to taking out a second mortgage. There are two major disadvantage of a taking a second mortgage. Firstly, a second mortgage incurs a higher rate of interest than the first mortgage. The other main disadvantage is that a second mortgage reduces the equity in the property.

Mortgage refinancing on the other hand can potentially reduce monthly mortgage repayments and reduce the interest rate. It is up to each property owner to seek professional advice as to what would be best option based on the particular financial circumstances.

Buyer Snaps Up Property From Seller Under Pressure

I think I mentioned in an earlier blog that when buying a home "it takes two to tango." Successful real estate deals usually require a motivated buyer and a motivated seller. Take either the buyer or seller out of the equation and pulling a deal together gets a whole lot more difficult.

To be a motivated seller the vendor is usually under some form of pressure be it time, financial or emotional. The degrees of pressure do vary from slight pressure to sell through to extremely urgent pressure to sell. If the buyer is able to accurately determine the type of pressure and level of pressure this can put the vendor at a disadvantage in terms of getting the best price or terms for the property sale.

Sometimes it is as simple as seller having already set his/her heart on buying a property they have seen elsewhere. The seller may have even put an offer on the other property with a settlement date already decided. The seller might be relocating to a new town to take up a new job. If this is the case, then he or she might need to start work on a particular date or miss out on the job.

Either way, the seller will be under some pressure to sell the property by a certain date or have to face the prospect of taking on two mortgage payments at the same time. The seller might not be in a financial position to do this or may not want to take on the extra financial commitment. Having two mortgages or temporary finance can be hugely expensive and can deplete a bank account relatively quickly. The seller will often reluctantly come to the conclusion that he or she is better to accept a lower offer to avoid over extending themselves financially. An offer with few if any conditions attached is strong bargaining point for buyers in this type of situation.

Emotion situations or family changes can also help motivate a vendor to sell quickly and at a realistic (or bargain) price. There could be a family crises such as a death in the family, divorce, illness or any one of many personal reasons that could force a quick sale.

The main thing from the buyers point of view is to understand that a crises can, but does not alway, result in the vendor being motived to sell. Although the facts may be true, the vendor might not be prepared accept a quick sale at a discounted price. Beware of real estate ads that say things like "Deceased Estate", "Vendor Says SELL!", "Vendor Moving Abroad!". Just because there has been a death in the family or that someone is relocating overseas does not automatically mean that the vendor is motivated to sell, or that they are under any financial or time pressure. The ad headline might just be an attention grabber designed to generate phone calls and leads rather than sell the home.

However, there are times when a vendor is prepared to genuinely accept a big drop in the selling price to secure a quick sale. The listing agent will seek permission from the seller and will post this information along with the listing in a Multiple Listing Service. The listing agent may also inform other agents of the situation. When the seller's intentions become 'common knowledge' to Realtors, the agent will know when a seller is truly motivated to sell quickly as opposed to 'hype' designed to elicit interest in a property.

In a situation where the agent may be acting as an agent for the seller, or as a "dual agent," representing both the buyer and the seller, they cannot legally provide the buyer with information that would give the buyer an advantage over the seller.

So, if you are looking to buy a property it always pays to find out something about the seller's circumstances. Find out why the vendor is selling and how urgent the sale needs to be. If you are able to help the seller by putting in a cash unconditional offer with a quick settlement time frame, then you could be in a strong position to get a excellent deal.

Is Your Real Estate Agent A Good Listener?

Before deciding on which realtor to use, think carefully about whether the agent has both the business skills and personal skills required to do the job. When meeting with a real estate agent it is like a job interview. Would you employ this person or trust them with your biggest asset? You need to ask the real estate agent the right questions and listen carefully to the answers.

If you are uncertain with the proposed plan the agent puts forward, or if you are uncomfortable with his or her personality, thank the agent for taking the time to meet with you, and repeat the process with another real estate agent. It is time-consuming to meet with multiple agents, but it's worthwhile to find the right one.

Pay attention to the agent's listening skills. Does he or she cut you off before you've finished a sentence?

The real estate agent must understand your needs. There's nothing worse than looking at houses you have no interest in buying. Likewise, you don't want your home on the market too long because the agent is targeting the wrong buyers.

Selecting the right realtor is important. Take the time to choose the right person for your real estate needs.

6 Basics To Consider Before Buying A Home

If you are in the market to buy a home there are several factors you may want to consider before deciding which house to buy. Here are 6 points to get you started in preparing your list of wants and needs:

1. Consider your financial position. How much money can you realistically afford to borrow? What is your comfort zone for borrowings? Decide on a price range where you can comfortably meet your mortgage payments. Allow for other expenses involved with moving into a new home.

2. Consider access/closeness to your place of work. Do you and/or your wife/husband and family need to use public transport/freeways to get to work/school? Be aware of the ease of access to other amenities like recreational facilities, libraries, shopping, health services, vets etc. How close do you need to be to friends and relatives?

3. Be realistic about how much time and money you will commit to home and garden maintenance. Do you want to spend your weekends mowing lawns and gardening? An immaculately presented garden or freshly painted house will eventually need work.

4. Consider how long you intend to own the home. If you have a young family or teenagers think about how their needs will alter over coming years. Young children will eventually want their own bedroom. Teenagers will eventually fly the nest but in the meantime might put added stress on the bathroom arrangements.

5. If you are retired consider the types of hobbies and interests you are developing that may require space eg. a model train layout or the need for a hobbies/computer room, storage for a boat, or perhaps space to create a garden.

6. Be open-minded to thinking outside the square. Here is an example of what I mean.

A newly retired couple I know moved from a large family home into a retirement village. They are only in their early sixties so I asked them why they made that decision. They told me they wanted a low-maintence home, they wanted security and they wanted money to travel and visit family overseas. Living in a retirement village meant they spent around six months a year at the village and three months with each daughter. Although they had to pay a small weekly service charge at the retirement village it was much cheaper than paying hotel bills and they had their garden done while they were away and had the security of knowing their furniture, car etc were safe and secure while they were away overseas.

Even if you are newly retired and don't want to move into a retirement village perhaps you might consider buying a smaller home and a holiday home (or just investing the saved money) rather than investing in one bigger home. Think outside the square.

Click here for more real estate tips to help you buy and sell properties.

Compare The Condition Of Comparable Properties Before Making An Offer

If you are an organized house hunter you'll visit several open homes (perhaps dozens) and drawn up a shortlist of properties you could possibly make an offer on.

If you have got your shortlist down to one or two properties you'll need to closely examine the features, benefits and disadvantages of each property separately. You'll want to compare the condition of each property, the asking price and compare the general neighborhood.

After working through this process you'll be able to decide if the property is average, above average, or below average when compared to similar properties on offer.

At this point in the process it would pay to compare each property with similar homes that have recently be sold. This is where you may come unstuck because, although you know how much a similar property sold for, you may not know what condition it was in when it sold. This is where a real estate agent may be of help. He or she may have inspected the property before it sold and might be able to give you an honest comparison. It is probably worth a drive past to at least see the outside appearance of the house for yourself.

When comparing homes the condition of each property is important - particularly the structural condition of the property. It is also important to consider: ceilings, floors, walls, doors and windows. Have there been any major improvements such as room additions, garaging, extra bedrooms or bathrooms, swimming pool, wall removals etc. Examine the condition of paintwork, carpets, wall and floor coverings. Look at the quality and condition of household fixtures including: doorknobs, light switches and fittings, and drawer handles. Check the water pressure and find out if any electrical work has been done or is needed. Consider the street appeal and general quality and suitability of landscaping.

When checking the condition of a property always pay close attention to the two most important rooms in the house - kitchen and bathrooms. These rooms can dramatically alter the value and appeal of a property.