Foreclosure Investing - 5 Pitfalls To Avoid

By Mike Shackelford

Despite the huge money that can be made from investing in pre-foreclosure properties, there are also a number of pitfalls for the unwary. Here are five pitfalls to avoid:

1. Spotting a great opportunity, too late.

When a bank issues a notice of default to a home owner who has fallen behind in their payments, this notice goes onto the public record. Not only is it filed with the county recorder's office in the relevant county, but it gets included on various foreclosure listing sites on the Internet. If you're not actively monitoring these lists, and then finally come across a great opportunity, it could be too late. Some other pre-foreclosure property investor may have already negotiated to buy the home by the time you've decided to contact the owner!

2. Failing to gain the trust of the home owner.

Right now, pre-foreclosure and foreclosure property investing is one of the biggest games in town. So you can bet that distressed home owners are being harassed by investors promising them the world. Unfortunately, this includes various scam artists and wannabes who can't fulfill their big promises. That leaves home owners more skeptical than ever, so if you don't do all you can to prove that you're legitimate, you may lose the deal before you've even stepped in the home owner's door.

3. Incorrectly valuing the property.

Your ability to profit from a pre-foreclosure deal largely rests on achieving a big enough margin between the market value of the property, and the price you can get it for. While you can hire an appraiser to get an appraisal of the value, it really rests on you to get this right. You need to consider the market values of similar properties in the area, as well as the condition of the home. You also need to take into account any liens (unpaid property taxes, utility bills, etc) that may attach to the property. If you misread the value, you could get yourself in trouble. As a rule of thumb, you want to make sure that you're getting such a good discount that you could sell the home now OR in the future, and still make a profit.

4. Making an offer that's too low, or too high.

Make an offer that's too low, and the home owner will simply reject it. Remember, they want to get some equity or at least settle their debts with the price you offer. On the other hand, if you offer to buy the property for too much, you could erode your own ability to profit.

5. Failing to properly finance the deal.

You also need to finance the deal. The last thing you want to do is to get yourself into financial difficulty by taking on a loan that YOU can't sustain!

These pitfalls may seem basic, but it's often the basic things that get missed when you're eager to find the next best deal. By all means stay enthusiastic, but also be aware of the foregoing pitfalls. That way you'll be in good shape to find profitable pre-foreclosure properties to invest in.

Mike Shackelford has been working from home and successfully Investing in Real Estate since 2003. For more Real Estate Investing information, photos and Free Downloads visit: http://www.MikeShack.com - Free Foreclosure Investing Mini Course "7 Foreclosure Secrets".

Cheapest Residential Land in Australia, $65000, and Located near Australia’s Third Largest City

by Dominic Alberth

There is a secret hidden in South East Queensland Australia. This secret is called Russell Island. Situated just 20 minutes off the coast of Brisbane (Australia’s Third largest city), and within commuting distance of the Brisbane CBD, is an island paradise.

The biggest secret is that land over here sells for around $65,000. Looking east we have beautiful views of North Stradbroke Island and looking south you can enjoy the magnificent views down Canaipa channel all the way to the Gold Coast.

Now with about 1000 people a week moving to South East Queensland for the weather and relaxed life style it is only a matter of time before this secret is out. Vacant land adjacent to Russell Island but situated on the main land sells for a minimum of $300,000. This means that for the inconvenience of a pleasant 15 minute ride on the water taxi, you could buy land at just a fraction of the mainland price.

The last 12 months have seen some major infrastructure coming to the island. These include:

6. An island police station and police residence.

7. Construction of a new soon to be completed shopping centre which will include a super IGA supermarket and half a dozen specialty shops.

8. Construction of a public swimming pool.

9. A proposed $150 Million resort is in its final approval stages.

10. Plans for a $4 Million hotel was submitted to council.

For simplicity purposes I have listed some of the attributes of Russell Island in point form:

• Situated in the fastest growing region in Australia;

• Land sells for around $65,000;

• 15 minutes from the mainland by water taxi running approx. every 30 minutes all day everyday;

• Water, telephone, electricity available;

• Currently septic but Sewerage implementation proposed by council for the not too distant future;

• Bus connection from water taxi to Brisbane center;

• Proposed bridge to Stradbroke Island via Russell Island;

• Water Views to Stradbroke Island and down to the Gold Coast;

• There is a primary school on the island and access to a high school on the main land;

• Many shops including corner stores, hardware, bottle shop, bowls club, doctor, Service

Station, chemist, library, gym, etc;

• 10 minutes by small boat to the beautiful sandy beaches and open surf of North

Stradbroke Island;

• Population is about 4000;

• Largest of the Southern Morton Bay Islands approximately 11km long.

With housing affordability at crisis point in Australia this is an ideal place for people to enter into the market and choose to build now or hold on for future capital gains. This means that there is no excuse not to enter into the property market.

Resource/About Author of
russellisland.com.au

russellisland.com.au has a wealth of information about Russell Island
including property listings, photo album and an updated local news page.


Published By: Indocquent.com- An online resource that allows businesses and individuals to promote their business, products and services in over 20,000 cities throughout 200 countries around the world.

Benefits of Doing a Property Short Sale

by eshortsale

The threat of facing foreclosure lingering upon your home is worse than any nightmare! You lay each brick to your dream home, get into all sorts of debts, are forced to compromise on the little things in life because you have to repay your mortgage and what not! And what is the resultant of all these? The bank or your mortgage lending company takes complete control of your home if you miss or default regarding a repayment installment. However, there is an assured way out of this apparently no-exit situation only if you know how to deal with this crisis.

Short sale of your property is the way out! Short sale refers to a practice where your lender institute or your mortgage company agrees to accept a less than the loan balance which you actually owe them. Obviously, they are benefited out of this practice and that is why they encourage property short sale. By a property short sale, the mortgage company indices apparently less profit, which is less than what you owe them, but they can save a lot of hassle and money which a foreclosure sale might have otherwise induced. Post judicious calculation, a short sale seems more viable to them than a property foreclosure sale. However, it is not jut the mortgage company or the bank profiting from the short sale. You, as a homeowner and as a seller too profit from this highly keeping the authority over your property to yourself!

Traditionally, you have to contact a company specializing in short sale and they will help you to sell your property in no time at all, thereby relieving you out of the debt fix which otherwise would have been really nerve cracking. You as the seller win by being able to avoid foreclosure and selling your home before the actual foreclosure sale, even when the property value is less than what the mortgage balance is. The otherwise viable option is to sell the property via a realtor, which would take long and on which you have virtually no control. You do not even know what value you will get for your property. Moreover, this is not an option for you at all when your property is under real estate foreclosure.

However, you can ease this a little by opting for short sale which will readily provide you with all the information you need regarding your property, including its sale value. What’s more – you are able to sell your property virtually overnight! You can get the best deals available by opting for a short sale of your property and eventually save some real cash for your future by paying off the due mortgage balance to the lender institution. But before you take any decision, regarding a property short sale, it is important to let your mortgage company about your intention and get from them in writing their approval.

You apparently get 111 days’ notice of default before your property will be put up for public auction. Do not let this period go waste and take advantage of short sale as soon as possible or you may find yourself regretting at some later point in time!


www.eShortSale.com

Real Estate Agents In Chicago - Trade Shows

Real Estate Agents In Chicago - Trade Shows by Mark Shellby

Real estate agents in Chicago usually have a large trade show early in the year. They will spend great amounts of money on these events. There are elaborate displays hosted by some of the biggest companies. Small businesses are invited to participate also. There are real estate listings that can be accomplished without breaking the bank. You don't always have to spend a lot of money to get some attention for your offerings.

Your real estate in Chicago problem could be solved by one of these custom-made exhibits. Small businesses do not always have a large advertising budget, but that fact becomes irrelevant when you have the services of a portable real estate agent. In fact, you won't have to worry about spending much on advertising at all, because you can just pack it and move it along to the next real estate agent.

Allowing you to set up your displays right in front of the world's largest companies in Chicago, island exhibit booths may well be the tool that your company has been searching for. When properly designed and located, portable real estate agents in Chicago exhibits can exude all the appeal of the big corporations, but for a much smaller amount of money. Is there any superior way to reach your target audience than with groups of people walking right past your booth?

Then, when the real estate agents season is all done, all you have to do is pack up one of your portable real estate agents exhibits and set up shop at the local county fair. Think of how many counties are in driving distance from you. Every one of them has an exhibitor's tent and yours could be one of them. It would be easy to do because your exhibit is portable.

When you have realty agent displays you can carry with you, you don't have to rework your presentation all the time. You only have to design your booth once and have these displays customized according to your requirements. There is no measuring and re-measuring when paying for space. You already know what you need to know. And real savings are available when you can apply to shows early and provide all your details. An Island display booth is ideal for this purpose.

After you have looked at all the possibilities, nothing is better than portable real estate agents in Chicago for corporations of modest size. It does not matter if you are just thinking about purchasing land in the area, this is a quality use of your money.


The opening of the New Year is generally when real estate agents in Chicago begin making their way into the windy city. If you have a small firm with a little budget, you shouldn't even think about doing one of those real estate listings now. Just check into real estate agent displays.

Home Staging for Top Dollar – Equity vs. Ego

by Larry Hann

It really makes no difference if you call it home staging or home fluffing; the goal is the same - to get your home sold quickly and for the greatest amount of money. There’s an abundance of articles and information which will tell you how to go about staging your home. But these often forget the basic premise that will make the difference between leaving money on the table and maximizing the equity in your home.

That basic premise does not involve cleaning, painting, repairing, or moving; it’s a change in perspective. You stop seeing your house as your home and see it as a product. To do this effectively you must put aside your ego and view the home selling process without emotion.

So what does this mean? First off, it means you realize you aren’t selling your home – you’re selling someone else's dream. But it doesn’t stop there; once you understand that your home is a commodity and you’re marketing a dream, that’s when the real shift has to take place and your ego needs to move aside.

The way you decorate and live in your home is probably not the best way to market your home. Ouch! Even if you clean until the whole house sparkles and you declutter and depersonalize, it’s likely that your personality and the way you relate to the rooms in your home will shine through. It’s a safe bet that your home is decorated to suit your individual tastes, not the broad market. Too often this is the point where the homeseller draws the line, “That’s it, no further! I think this house looks great! I’d buy it, and if I’d buy it, other people will buy it.”

What a shame! It’s likely you just turned your back on cash. The truth is, if your house is priced correctly for the market, somebody will buy it. But in terms of maximizing your selling price, numbers count. The more people who fall in love with your house, the better the chance you’ll maximize your equity. However it’s more than just getting the “right” number of people or the right price. Ask any marketing professional – price and packaging go hand in hand. The better the packaging is at selling the dream, the higher the price a consumer is willing to pay.

That’s where a professional home stager comes into the picture. Home Stagers understand the art and science of marketing homes. Since they have no attachment to the contents or decorating style of your home they can view your home objectively and make the changes that will maximize your sales price.

Professional home stagers specialize in marketing dreams, they do it everyday.

Larry Hann is a St. John's, Newfoundland based realtor who believes professionally staged homes sell quicker and for more money. Home staging is one of the many marketing tools he uses when selling St. John’s real estate.