Archive for the 'Buying Real Estate' Category
Buying HUD Home – 4 Important Points You Need To Know!
Author: admin08 27th, 2010
You have read in the newspapers and have seen on TV news about the problems in the housing market and all of the home foreclosures. You may have gone by a home and saw the orange stickers on the door and a sign in the window telling you this is a HUD Home and to contact a Realtor. But you don’t know anything about buying HUD Home.
First, HUD foreclosed homes are homes that had been financed with a FHA Mortgage Loan and has been foreclosed. HUD has taken possession and title to the property and put it on the market.
Another thing you should know about buying HUD Home it is not anything like buying a home from a homeowner. I am going to discuss four points you should know if you are considering buying HUD Home.
1. You make a bid, not an offer.
When purchasing a home from a homeowner you make the seller an offer through a Purchase Agreement. When you buy a HUD Home you make a bid. It is like an auction. You make the bid on the Internet and you have to use a real estate agent. The process of buying HUD Home explained in detail on my website The HUD Home Expert.
2. You need an experienced real estate agent.
One of the biggest mistakes most buyers of HUD Homes make is using an inexperienced real estate agent. Most real estate agents are not experienced in buying HUD Homes. If your real estate agent doesn’t have the necessary experience then find a new one or make sure someone in their office can advise them and check everything they do. The wrong real estate agent can cost you thousands of dollars. Ask your agent questions on how to buy HUD home and if they say they don’t know and they will get back to you with the answer, you need to look for a new agent.
3. You are buying the property in “As-Is” condition.
HUD makes it clear that the property is being sold in “As-IS” condition. Most HUD foreclosed properties will have what HUD calls a “Property Condition Report” which is similar to an inspection. In the Property Condition Report HUD will list what they found wrong with the property at the time the report was done. BUT, and this is a big BUT, you need to have your own home inspection done.
4. HUD will pay up to 3% of Buyer’s closing costs.
You can ask HUD to pay up to 3% of your closing costs. The 3% of closing costs has to be in the initial bid you placed on the Internet. HUD will only pay certain Buyer’s closing costs and this is another reason you need an experienced real estate agent. For example, you get an accepted bid of $100,000 on a HUD Home and you ask for 3% ($3,000) of purchase price for closing costs. If HUD will only pay on allowed closing costs of $2,000, then you will lose the other $1,000. HUD will not refund you the $1,000 they disallowed.
There are a lot of bargains in the market on foreclosed homes, and you can take advantage by doing some research, and getting the right real estate agent. Although the process of buying HUD Home is different it is certainly worth the effort!
read comments (0)Advantages of Buying and Holding Real Estate
Author: admin06 21st, 2010
Buying An Apartment Building, What To Look For
Author: admin06 10th, 2010
There are many things to look for when buying an apartment building. One thing to look for when buying a property is the utilities. To rent out each apartment you must have electric meters for each apartment. If each unit does not have its own electric meter you will have to pay for everyone’s electric bill. To get around this you can charge a higher rent and include electricity with the rent. The down side of doing this is if the people or families you’re renting the property out to know they don’t have to pay for electricity they won’t be shy about using it.
In some cases the electric bill can be so high that you can lose money every month. Another thing to look for when buying an apartment building is the units. If the apartments are small it will be harder to rent out. One other thing to look for when it comes to the property is how much individual rooms each apartment has. When it comes to rooms usually the more rooms a unit has, the easier it will be to rent out.
One last thing to look for when buying an apartment building is the location of the property. If the property is close to public transportation, schools, and businesses this will make it a more desirable place to live. Buying an apartment building is a big step when investing in real estate, but with the information you read here you will have an idea on some of the things to look for.
A good web site where you can see more information on topics like this is Buying An Apartment Building which is highly recommended. Another article which is also recommended is Will Real Estate Go Up Or Down Thank you and enjoy.