Archive for the 'The Real Estate Brokers Way' Category

Your Universal Property Space — Expedited by Property Index Online

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

Property Index sell a range of villas and apartments, take a look at their site if you are looking for overseas property investment, click here to view the properties.

In spite of the fact that the Property Index service is still a recent business, starting their business only in March of 2007, they were very fast to become experts. On closer look, they’re a unbelievably uncomplicated business specializing in advising anyone who is intending to let, sell, rent, etc. assets in most parts of the world. What they guarantee to do is aid you unearth smack what’s desired very quickly as well as, of course, sans pain. Real estate can easily be found no matter where now, one of the fanciest areas being land available in Spain. It should be an easy job to list a slew of the tremendous properties available in Spain, the argument for looking for properties here is property on the market and the sensational opportunity of spending your life between this animated population.

It’s one of the most fashionable property markets now, and with the gorgeous landscape and wonderful climate surrounding you, how could you say no. Real estate in Spain is very rich in history, culture and art, this area of the world has been and still is home to a good number of indigenous nations. About 25-30 years back you’d find merely a dribble of English in search of properties in Spain. Ask any one person who has chosen to move to Spain and they’ll tell you the same thing. Many would insist on labeling it a craze and others insist on labeling it a virtually a compulsion. Buyers interested in migrating to this area will typically range from newly weds looking for an exciting new life perspective to the retired who intend to enjoy themselves and loosen up.

Note that there might be difficulties when buying properties abroad; there will be 100s of procedures to care about when strategizing, popping in or signing up. If you only miss only a single procedure that is sure to definitely kick up overwhelming difficulties plus, preeminently, money loss. As you will probably have presumed with this favored location, properties could well be extraordinarily dear in this place and that’s solely a consequence of the high market pressure. Despite this patrons are definitely spoilt for choice in such a part of the world so richly blessed by beaming view. It actually has the whole enchilada a buyer might conceivably fancy, etc.

Mortgage Shopping Guide

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Shopping for a mortgage is not quite as easy or fun as shopping at a farmer’s market or the mall.

There are lots of terms, lots of players in a real estate transaction, and new loans are being created all the time.

Here are a few tips:

Figure out what loan type you want (30 year fixed, option payment, etc.)
Get quotes from different lenders on the same loan program
Keep in mind that the quoted rates aren’t your actual rates until a lender locks in your loan
See if accepting a voluntary pre-payment penalty will lower your rates, and if this is the right option for you
See if you can do a full documentation loan, because this may provide you with a lower rate

The right loan

This is a judgment on your part. You may want a 30 year fixed loan and pay this loan down over time. These monthly payments may be a form of “forced saving” by building equity into your loan.

Your goal may be to get a lower monthly payment, such as interest-only payments or a 40 year loan.

You can consider how long you want the loan fixed. Keep in mind that the longer you fix a loan in general the higher the interest rate will be. Nowadays the difference is not much, so some people opt for the higher expense of a loan that is fixed for longer.

Comparing quotes

You can get quotes for free from different sources - your friendly neighborhood bank, a mortgage broker, an online lender, etc. Some will ask you to compensate them for the cost of checking your credit, but this is usually a small fee.

The key to comparing quotes is to make sure they are for the same loan type. Comparing a quote for a 30 year fixed loan with a 5 year interest-only loan is like comparing apples and oranges.

Changing rates

The rates you are quoted are based on current market rates. A quote from one lender on a Monday may be different than a quote they offer on a Tuesday. Comparing a quote from one lender with another quote from a lender you get several days later may not be helpful.

Prepayment penalty

A prepayment penalty is a penalty for getting rid of the mortgage through a refinance or by selling the property. This is usually based on time, such as 1 year or 3 years.

The penalty is usually based on the loan size and interest rate. Lenders use different formulas for this. Some have higher prepayment penalties than others.

A prepayment penalty can also be “hard” or “soft”. A hard prepayment penalty is triggered by either a refinance or sale of the property. A soft prepayment penalty is only triggered by a refinance. The soft prepayment penalty thus gives you the option to sell the property without financial penalty.

Why accept a prepay? Lenders will generally offer a lower rate if you accept one.

If you plan on keeping a house for 5 years, then a 1 year prepayment penalty may work. If you plan on moving in 6 months, then a 2 year prepayment penalty may not work.

Full documentation or not

Lenders generally give the best interest rates to people who fully document their loan (all other factors such as credit being equal).

Full documentation can be about:

Your income (paystubs)

Income history (tax records)

Assets (bank statements, retirement accounts)
Job verification

Many lenders will allow you to provide less documentation - sometimes very little. Their rates are generally higher. Some lenders will allow you to document some items but not others. A lender often has all kinds of loans - full documentation loans, partial documentation, no documentation, etc.

Loan types can include:

Full doc (full documentation)
SISA (stated income, stated assets)
Stated income, verified assets
Other hybrids

Some people can’t document income properly because they are commission-based and their income fluctuates. Other people are reluctant to share financial records.

If your loan size is smaller relative to the value of the property, then there may not be much difference between a full documentation and stated documentation loan. For example, if you want a $250,000 loan on a $500,000 property purchase you are putting down 50% so lenders are less worried about your ability to pay (they can always seize the property and sell it for more than their debt).

For more information visit www.archerpacific.com Loan Library.

The author is the owner of Archer Pacific, a mortgage company. The firm’s website, http://www.archerpacific.com, has extensive resources and tips on many mortgage topics.

Foreclosure Investing Money Can Come From Anywhere

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

As a foreclosure investor, you never know where your money to do the next deal might come from. In this article I’ll tell you a story about how networking with people might turn up your next private investor.

When I first began investing, I figured I would have to go through the traditional lending channels. But I also knew that was very cumbersome. So I wanted to find a source of private funds. One person said if you don’t have your private funding in place, you can miss out on many good deals. Well, I knew I wanted private funding, but I didn’t know where to look.

In August 2002, I was doing a foreclosure deal with a double closing. Everyone at the closing table was dressed very sharply–except for me. For those of you who know me, you know that I can dress pretty dang casual in any given circumstance, and when I first started this business I did it all the time. Now, I will dress up somewhat for closings, but a tie is still out of the question.

So I did this deal with all these well-dressed guys there. When we finished the closing, the mortgage lender for the buyers came up and introduced himself to me. I will call him “TB”.

TB said that he had seen the numbers, and that I had made more money then anyone at that table. My response was my usual: “Well, you win some, and then you win some that are bigger.” And I left it at that.

Well, funny how things happen. I did another deal, and at the closing table sitting across from me was TB. This was a stinky deal. But TB’s professionalism and his ability to work under pressure and get the deal done impressed me. I told him so after the closing. Again, he said that he saw the numbers and he still was pretty impressed. This time, I had a business card and gave it to him.

The next morning, TB called. “I may have a business opportunity for you,” he said. And we scheduled a time to get together.

At lunch, TB asked if I ever needed money. He saw how much creativity and enthusiasm I had for the deals I was doing. He also was impressed by the fact that I always seemed prepared. He offered to fund deals, up to 90% LTV. That was the difference between him and “hard money” lenders.

I thought to myself, BINGO!! I had been looking for money, but didn’t know where to get it. Now, I had an investor. TB’s money was expensive–12% interest and 50% of profits–a very, very steep price! However, at that time I needed the money to do my real estate deals, and TB became a source of my funds.

These days I use 12% money on a regular basis and this works just fine for me now.

The lesson of this article: never be surprised where your funds can come from!

_________________________________________________

Paul Wells has been investing in foreclosures full-time for more than 5 years. For more foreclosure investing secrets like the one in this article, subscribe to Paul’s Free Foreclosure Investing course here: http://www.FreeForeclosureInvesting.com.