Archive for January, 2010
Buying Raw Land For Investment Opportunities
Buying land holds a lot of investment opportunities for buyers. Aside personal use you can use the land for recreational purposes. You can develop it into equestrian, hunting, fishing or hiking facility. Additionally you can build residential quarters for hiring out to lodgers.
Usually you would want to buy land from a rural area real estate agent. The agent will give you offers according to your need, preferences, purpose and the budget. He will then be able to offer you land that best suits the purpose. In most times, the agent will need to go round with you to inspect the land yourself. You way want to accompany him on his trip so that you can be able to get a first hand experience of what you are buying looks like.
You may also want to do your land buying yourself. You may want to do all the research and the acquisition. For you to be able to do this however, you should be well versed in the real estate market fundamentals and be able to appreciate and understand all of its legalities.
One place that looks less obvious but is a good place to buy land is the internet. You can also buy your property online. You can visit eBay or some other auction market place to negotiate for your land.
Buying land online is very easy. You will not want to walk miles down the place to look at the property. From the web you can be able to get all the pictures you need so you form an idea of how the land looks like. All the probable questions that you will have about the land have been answered already by the owner and you will only have to do the payment and the paper work to do if you are satisfied.
If you are buying land online, you may wan to take certain precautions so you buy right. You may want to ask the seller for aerial pictures so you can be able to have an overview of the place. Since you are not on the ground itself to inspect, you should request for all information and be sure to have an accurate description throughout. You may want to ask about access roads to the place, supply of water, utilities, any restrictions on the use of the land etc.
You will also need to know about the agricultural properties of the land. You will want to know about the soil fertility, the terrain, the vegetation, type of wildlife and even the incidence of water bodies in the area.
You will also want to know from the owner the availability of certain amenities in the area. You will want to get to a place which is fully serviced and does not lack any modern conveniences.
If you intend to use the land for recreational purposes, you must make sure that it can be accesses throughout the year. You do not want to lose money from bad roads. You would not want your patrons to stay away because your land or property cannot be accessed during certain times of the year.
If you intend to use the land for hunting, you will want to consult with the local authorities to know about the ingress and egress issues relating to the land. You will also want to know about any easements so that you are able to go in and out of your land without much trouble.
If the land lacks trails and roads, you will have to construct some yourself. You will know from the owner about all these so you can know the actual cost of maintaining and acquiring the land.
Lastly, you will liaise with the wildlife department to know about the zoning for the area. Some land will not allow any development of residential property or hunting of wildlife.
If you are buying from eBay you will ensure that the seller you are buying from has a good feedback and that you use the price filtering tool to get lower prices appearing first in your results.
Jan writes for HorseClicks Properties, classifieds of horse property listed for sale in Montana, including Montana farms and Montana land.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/buying-raw-land-for-investment-opportunities-1785160.html
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January 26th, 2010 .
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Buying Rural Land in East Texas
You can hardly talk about rural American without mentioning Texas. This state is a typical western country state. It abounds in natural endowments and can be described as the symbolic state of the rural America. The state is perfect destination for vacationers who want to have an experience with rural America. It has the timber, steams, rivers, creeks, ranches and the typical log homes.
Acquiring a piece of land in this state confers a lot of benefits. You will be able to develop the land for many purposes. You ca create hunting grounds, fishing cottages, equestrian facilities and even hikers camp site with the land. The area is also very good for horse rearing and livestock farming. Any farer will take advantage of the large agricultural land that is flat and full of green pasture to tend to his business. Again, you will get wooded areas that vacationers can use for hiking. They can walk the wild trails and learn about the fascinating natural endowments of the rural west.
One big use to which you can put Texas rural land is the building of a dude ranch. A dude ranch is a place to which vacationers lodge during their holidays. It is a typical western compound with a cabin house and horses. But the dude ranch has other uses too. It enables the guest to know more about rural America life by interacting with the host. He helps to tend to the livestock, take the cattle out for grazing, clean the barns and repair the fence. Many people obtain pleasure from these and it ahs thus become a favorite past time.
One major event that may help the prices of real estate in Texas to appreciate is the oil boom. This economic activity is going to draw many people to the area. As the main cities like Houston get full with new comers, there will be the demand for the rural areas. This is the time that people who had previously owned land in this area will benefit. Many people would like to relocate and consequently create demand for houses.
Texas, especially its eastern side is experiencing a great boost in real estate due to the growing economic activities in that region. You will want to go into log building and then rent it out or you can occupy them.
Many people are going to this region for vacation and it would therefore be a big boost if you could secure land in this region.Many have bought properties and then converted them into equestrian properties for renting. When it comes to horse riding many people would like to go to that area for that sport. You can enhance the equestrian grounds with other features to give an urban look.
Additionally you can create hunting grounds out of the property. You can locate such a property in a wooded area well served with wildlife. You can also have fishing grounds with that. For the latter you will need a place well served with water bodies, such as rivers, creeks and streams.
Investing in rural Texas real estate is sure going to give you lots of returns. You can retire into the buildings after you leave work. You can also use it as a holiday residence. More importantly, you can use as guest facilities. Also a dude ranch will be a good idea. You will let visitors experience the west and you get paid for that.
You can also put the land into agricultural use. You can plant crops or rear cattle. Either way, you will benefit from the maximum use of the land for income security and leisure.
You can use the land for entirely horse breeding. You can sell of the hoses or simply use them for hire or people can visit the ranch and then have riding lessons.
Jan writes for HorseClicks Properties, classifieds of horse property listed for sale in Texas, including Texas farms and Texas land.Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/buying-rural-land-in-east-texas-1785309.html
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January 26th, 2010 .
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FHA Making it More Difficult for Michigan Homebuyers
MORTGAGE, EXPERT, MICHIGAN, BIRMINGHAM, BLOOMFIELD, DETROIT, ROCHESTER, ROYAL OAK, TROY 
On Wednesday, January 20, an announcement by FHA Commissioner David Stevens made it clear that HUD intends to raise the bar on qualifying for an FHA mortgage. Michigan Homebuyers, and buyers across the country should take notice as these changes will start this spring, just when buyers usually turn out in droves with the warming weather.
Let’s look at these changes and their affect on Michigan Homebuyers:
- Upfront MIP fee will be increased from 1.75% to 2.25%
- MIP is a form of insurance that’s supposed to fund HUD’s reserves to purchase foreclosed properties from lenders (that’s where “HUD Homes” come from). Besides begging for funding from Congress, this is HUD’s only way to raise income for their insurance pool.
- On a $100,000 loan, this increase means an extra $500. The MIP is rolled into the loan, so it raises the amount financed and hence the payment goes up on the $100,000 loan by $2.83/month. Not really a deal breaker for a buyer.
- FICO scores under 580 will require a minimum of 10% down
- Although HUD doesn’t have a minimum credit score requirement, most lenders have set internal minimums of 620, 640 or 660. So, this won’t necessarily affect many buyers.
- Seller Contribution maximums to be reduced from 6% to 3%
- This is the BIG ONE. For many Michigan Homebuyers, coming up with their down payment is the most challenging element of buying a home. On many transactions, a 6% seller contribution will cover the required closing costs, prepaids & prorations, requiring a homebuyer to only bring the 3.5% down payment to closing.
- Increase HUD enforcement actions against lenders
- HUD is being more aggressive in their investigations and going after lenders that have than average defaults.
- If they’d been doing this all along, they wouldn’t be suffering the losses they are now and be forced to make the changes above! Continued government incompetency.
COMMENTARY
Let’s see, President Obama and most politicians keep sending the message that more homes need to be bought to support the economy. On November 6, 2009 they extended the Homebuyer Tax Credit and even widened it to include repeat buyers - to entice more people to buy homes.
Now we’ve got HUD/FHA making it HARDER for people to buy homes.
Does anyone in Washington D.C. talk to each other and coordinate strategies? Or, is it such a cesspool of lies, deceit and “every politician for themselves”, that they just don’t care about the American taxpayers and think we’re all idiots?
Send me your comments…
# # #
In addition to real estate lending, consulting and investing, Drew Sygit writes & speaks about the mortgage & real estate industries. He holds mortgage industry designations CMPS, CMC, CRMS, CMLO, CALO, has an MBA and is an approved industry instructor. He’s presented, spoken and/or written for HUD, Financial Planning Association, Financial Planners Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of CPA’s, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Oakland Real Estate Investors Association, North Oakland County Board of Realtors and numerous industry publications. For speaking engagements and questions he can be reached at dsygit@TheLendingEdge.com. He also publishes his own blog: http://drewsmortgagenews.com.
Drew Sygit writes and speaks about the mortgage & real estate industries. He holds mortgage industry designations CMPS, CMC, CRMS, CMLO, CALO, has an MBA and is an approved industry instructor. He’s presented, spoken and/or written for HUD, Financial Planning Association, Financial Planners Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of CPA’s, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Oakland Real Estate Investors Association, North Oakland County Board of Realtors and numerous industry publications. He also publishes his own blog: http://drewsmortgagenews.blogspot.com. He can be reached at dsygit@TheLendingEdge.com. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/fha-making-it-more-difficult-for-michigan-homebuyers-1777685.html
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January 25th, 2010 .
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How to find the best property with the help of foreclosed homes listing
You stand to save a lot of money if you buy foreclosed homes. Buying a foreclosed property might be the ideal solution if you are looking to purchase a home for the first time. You can find such foreclosed homes advertised by banks in their branches as well as in the local newspapers. But the best place to look for such properties would be to look for a foreclosed homes listing on the internet. These web sites are maintained by property dealers who specialize in foreclosed homes. These brokers offer their services for a fee. However, almost all foreclosed property brokers will allow a free trial run of their listings.
When you decide to buy foreclosed homes, all you need to do is search the web for an extensive foreclosed homes listing. Operating these web sites is very simple as you only need to enter the name of the locality and state in which you wish to purchase the property. The web site will bring forth all the foreclosed homes listed in that area along with their rates. In fact, in order to make your search more thorough, you can visit a number of such web sites and then pay for the services of the one which you find the best.
Once you hire the services of one of these brokers, they will help you to buy foreclosed homes that meet your requirements the best. They will give you access to their foreclosed homes listing from which you can identity a number of properties which suit your liking. These brokers will then help you in assessing the actual market value of these properties. This will ensure that you are actually saving money on the deal. This is because some times the banks do not offer a discount at all and instead sell the foreclosed properties at the market rate. In such a situation, it will be best for you to consider other options. Brokers will also help you in comparing the other properties in the area. In this manner you can ascertain that the price of the foreclosed property is less than the market value of similar properties.
Myself webmaster of http://www.redcrownrealty.com - A source for Buy foreclosed homes, bank foreclosed properties, Bank foreclosure homes for sale, A smart way to own foreclosed homes listing, bank owned foreclosed properties and Bank foreclosed homes. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/how-to-find-the-best-property-with-the-help-of-foreclosed-homes-listing-1778348.html
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January 25th, 2010 .
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What to spend your tax refund on?
Due to some false ideas that tax refunds are like free money, most of us have the challenging intention to spend them unwisely. If you are on the fence concerning the purpose of this unexpected money, this article might be very useful for you. There are a lot of ways on how to spend your tax refund but the best are the one’s you can get profit of in the closest future. Here are some money-smart suggestions you can use as possibility to solving your dilemma:
- Pay down credit card debt.
Paying your cards off or at least making a down doesn’t seem at first as a pleasant necessity. But it might be really helpful in time of emergencies, being a fixed backup in case something goes wrong and you don’t have the cash. If you’ve paid, you would be able to use it afterwards without hassles.
- Contribute to a college fund
It a very wise investment especially if you’ve got kids. In future they’ll probably apply to a college and the amount of money you save now could spare them from a buck of student loan debt later. This would be a very nice gift for your kids.
- Continue your own education
Nowadays the problem of destroying or outsourcing old jobs by the appearance of new ones might sound really terrifying. If you really want to keep yourself employed, it is time to learn new skills or pass a bunch of tests for having new certificates. Those will not only have the power to improve you personality in the eyes of your board of directors, but also maximize your earnings.
- Service your car
It is very common for people who own a car to forget “to maintain” them. A good decision would be finally changing the oil and tune-ups, checking the tires, for having them properly inflated which in a long run, by burning less gasoline, will save your money.
- Increase you charitable donations or help other who are in need
There are so many people around the world who are looking for help. You’ll never know where the life will bring you, so if you now have the possibility to donate some extra money on charity – do it.
Overall, the list of different ways where to spend your tax refunds is endless. The most important is to take some time to explore all your options and decide what suits you the best.
James is a leader in writing about legal forms and agreements that may assist you when you are in the search of the right legal document. He writes many articles about forms ranging from, real estate forms, power of attorney forms, landlord forms, tenant forms, and almost any legal form that you are searching for. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/what-to-spend-your-tax-refund-on-1774450.html
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January 25th, 2010 .
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