Author Archive
Investing Principals
Posted on January 12, 2016 byLearning to make your mark in real estate takes discipline in following a set of principles. Using REIAComps to guide your deals is beneficial. These principles have guided many real estate investors to initial and repeated success. Ignoring them, on the other hand, is likely to either slow down or impede your success.
I’m sure you have heard the old saying “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. This is definitely true in the arena of real estate investing. Many investors live by this motto. They have either developed this system themselves, often over a period of years of blood, sweat and tears. Or they have modeled it on the system of someone else they respect. Either way, they know that their system works, and they do not deviate from it.
Most properties tend to tell a story. The key to finding the right investment property is largely a matter of locating a good property and doing a bit of research to uncover the “full story” about it. This full story includes, among other things, the fair market value of the property, the existence of any liens or liabilities (in the case of pre-foreclosure properties) and the true condition of the property. Read More→
Leveraging the Right Way
Posted on December 11, 2015 byInvesting in real estate is one of the most advantageous and attractive avenues to use to build a business and ultimately wealth. I would say it has three times the potential of making money than most any other business. Using REIA comps to guide your investment choices protects against the turns made by market forces. I want to share with you some advantages that I believe will be most beneficial for you.
As a rule, there is more stability. Real estate investments are traditionally considered a stable and rich gainer, provided if one takes it seriously and becomes a student of the game. As a rule of thumb, if you have an area where there are plenty of resources available and low stable mortgage rates, you have good reason for investing in that real estate market. On the contrary, if you find a property in a place, which is under high inflation, it may not be a prime location.
With real estate, necessity is the mother of all inventions. Acquiring all the knowledge and skills through experience of selling and purchasing properties requires guidance and consistency. The support REIA comps provides gives you a leg up on property valuation and purchase. Take the time to gain education and hone your craft in order to have a formidable business. Doing market research, using or developing the right real estate strategies can make deals happen for you in the right manner. Read More→
How to Calculate Comps the Right Way
Posted on November 11, 2015 byIn these days of the real estate sites like Zillow and Trulia, the marketing and lead generation tools on these sites draw millions of page views every month. What you shouldn’t be doing as an investor, home buyer or seller is using the value estimates on these sites to make decisions.
Truly good real estate investors know the valuation of their deals is key to insuring success and protecting projected profits. To effectively determine if a deal is a rental building wealth or flip to make some much needed cash, you have to analyze a deal fully. All the market areas covered by REIAComps, insure you easily know which way an investor should go.
Even Zillow will tell you that they aren’t always on the money. They have a chart of median error percentages in estimates in major cities, and they run mostly between around 7% and 9%. That’s around $16,000 on a $200,000 house, so you don’t want that kind of number in your research for a wholesale or flip deal for sure. Feel free to use a Zestimate for a quick idea of approximate value, but what you want to do to arrive at an accurate market value is what real estate agents do; develop a CMA, Comparative Market Analysis. Read More→
Banks are Hiding Properties You Can Profit From
Posted on October 22, 2015 byWhen you know the best pockets or market areas around the U.S. to find discounted real estate, you are half way home. All that is left is evaluating the inventory for maximum profit. For those of you connected to REIAComps , the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Using REIAComps to investigate the value of “Shadow Inventory” houses as they come to market, against the recent sold comparables, will provide you a solid position to “make your profit when you buy”.
First, let’s define “Shadow Inventory”. The general definition goes like this; the current stock of properties in the shadow inventory, also known as pending supply, by calculating the number of properties that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held as REO by mortgage servicers, but not currently listed on multiple listing services MLS’s.
CoreLogic has released its National Foreclosure Report with a supplement featuring quarterly shadow inventory data. According to CoreLogic analysis there were 46,000 completed foreclosures in the United States, down from 64,000, a year-over-year decrease of 29 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures decreased 8.3 percent, from 50,000 in one quarter. Read More→
Is It A Rental Or Flip?
Posted on September 17, 2015 byOver the years investors have always wanted to know which way they should go. Buy a house cheap, fix it up and rent it out. Over time collect the cash flow, keep some and use a portion to pay the house off. It’s the oldest and truest way to build wealth and a secure retirement.
Then there are those who are seriously focused on making some money now. They either want to “Wholesale” a house doing nothing to it all or the alternative option may be to acquire, renovate and sell for a really good profit and do it again. This method doesn’t build wealth but you can make some potential steady income.
Truly good real estate investors know the valuation of their deals is key to insuring success and protecting projected profits. To effectively determine if a deal is a rental building wealth or flip to make some much needed cash, you have to analyze a deal fully. All the market areas covered by REIAComps.com, insure you easily know which way an investor should go. Read More→
What To Do When Sales Start To Slow
Posted on August 10, 2015 byAll good real estate investors know the valuation of their deals is key to insuring success and projected profits. Since late 2013 transactions in numerous market areas have seen strong sales activity. But what to do when transactions start to slow? All the market areas covered by REIComps, insure when sales changes happen you are not caught off guard.
Last week, we began seeing a number of Support Tickets asking the question, “My retail sale properties aren’t getting multiple offers any more. What am I doing wrong? Equally, we have seen tickets which ask, “Several of our current units for sale in the same area where they have sold in less than two weeks aren’t getting showings”.
Truly, essentially these are the same question, but we had to dig deeper from a valuation perspective. Remember, when we “buy right” typically we can drive the market selling slightly lower. Or in some cases due to sound acquisition, an investor is able to improve a dwelling insuring that buyers can’t wait to make an offer. Read More→
Prices Sure Are Rising, But Maybe Not For the Reasons We Think
Posted on July 6, 2015 byReally good real estate investors know and rely on the valuation of their deals as the key to success and profits. The economic slump that richer countries have suffered during the past seven years can be blamed on a runaway housing bubble that started right here in the U.S. All the market areas covered by REIAComps, insure when pricing changes happen you are not caught off guard.
When it comes to the tic of the housing bubble, there were other issues like poor oversight of the broader financial system which led to the crash. But without the real estate bubble, there would likely have been no financial crisis.
Which is why the fact that similar-looking bubbles inflating in countries from Canada to the U.K. have economists worried that there might be other catalysts of future crises laying wait for us in the weeds.
Last week, in a Forbes article, IMF economist Min Zhu published an article called “Era of Benign Neglect of House Price Booms is Over,” in which he sounded the alarm over rising global home prices. Zhu explains how he determines whether home prices in a particular country are overpriced. Read More→
Foreclosure Activity Drops?
Posted on June 8, 2015 byThere has never been a foreclosed house which didn’t have potential profit written all over it. Today, several indicators including the firm RealtyTrac have released 1str Quarter 2015 data which shows foreclosure filings and default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions are down over 5% from the prior Quarter over 2014 and are the lowest since 2007.
Knowing the true value of real estate is critical, try to do a deal without it and see. The guidance and data within REIAComps has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value to earn lasting profits.
Some of the most stubborn foreclosure cases are finally being flushed out of the foreclosure pipeline, and we all can expect to see more noise in the numbers over the next few months as national foreclosure activity makes its way back to more stable patterns by the end of this year. Thus, while foreclosures are down, they will always be with us. As investors, this s a good thing!
The data tells us a total of 152,147 U.S. properties started the foreclosure process for the first time in the first quarter of 2015. This number is down 11 percent from the previous quarter and down 8 percent from a year ago. Read More→
Recovery Showing Up In Tax Values
Posted on May 11, 2015 byAs investors we have to watch numerous indicators to insure we make a profit when we buy. Knowing the value of a property is extremely important. Today the adjustment in property tax values is for once a viable market indicator.
Knowing the true value of real estate is critical, try to do a deal without it and see. The guidance and data within REIAComps has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value to earn lasting profits.
Property values nationwide continue to rebound, according to numerous local and national reports. The taxable value of real and personal property nationally has increased 2.38 percent from 2014 to 2015.
Of the 10-20 reports I regularly review, they show the assessed value of real estate, which is 50 percent of market value, increased 2.75-3.0 percent. Translation, the real estate market is still up, although it is a gradual, slow increase. Read More→
The Six Things a Real Estate Investor Must Do for Success
Posted on April 7, 2015 byAs investors we have to be mindful of some basic principles. While knowing the value of a property is extremely important, real estate investment itself can prove to be particularly challenging.
Knowing the true value of real estate is critical, try to do a deal without it and see. The guidance and data within REIAComps.com has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value to earn lasting profits.
Use the following six things to get a handle on your business before you start pouring money into a real estate investment.
1. You must be honest and realistic when working with others.
If you want to separate yourself from the competition, tell the truth.
There are a handful of opportunities where you can make a large amount of money in a relatively small amount of time. Real estate is one of them. However, it seems these types of businesses also tend to attract the less than desirable. Read More→
Five Things Which Will Add Value in 2015
Posted on March 9, 2015 byIt’s hard to think of real estate as Vogue like trend-following asset, but buyers’ tastes in bricks and mortar change almost as frequently as their taste in clothes.
As investors we have to be mindful of those changes in taste. Knowing the true value of real estate is critical, trying do a deal without it and see. The guidance and data within REIAComps.com has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value which will get your property moved.
Back to the Five Things which add value, while classic styling will always be in, sellers of “Retail Flips”or those looking to fill “Rentals”should think about introducing ideal features to really make their investment property stand out. The following are the top five trending finishes which will add significant value or 2015.
1.) Neutrals, especially color
Bright colors made a minor splash in 2014, but neutrals are now firmly back in place. Think white and gray instead of beige and taupe for a pared down, ultra-modern feel. Limit color to small pops, but you may want to go beyond brightly colored throw pillows. Read More→
Why Asking Price Is In The Comparable Sales
Posted on February 9, 2015 byAsk any Realtor how he or she prices houses, and you will hear a version of the following statement: “Well, I look at the comparable sales and then I …”
The same answer would include potential buyers, lenders, brokers and even appraisers. The data within REIAComps has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value for residential real estate.
Now, in the defense of Realtors, using comparable sales (“comps”) to price listings is what they were taught. Find the (3)“closest”comparable sales, make some adjustments for the differing features and use this analysis to arrive at an asking price for the home.
Truly, Appraisers typically use the same technique, as do most county assessor offices. Free broker and agent lead generation web sites like Trulia and Zillow apply similar inputs to their valuation algorithms. The comparable sales method has been in use for the measure of my career, and I am approaching 20 years in the valuation business.
A comp flatly, is a closed sale sharing as much similarity as possible with the home being valued. A good comp will be a recent sale of a similar type of property from within (or nearby) the subject property’s neighborhood. In theory, the more similar the comparable sale, the more power it has. The base logic behind using comps to price goes something like this —if House A sold for $X, House B sold for $Y and House C sold for $Z, then your house should sell for some adjusted average of the three. The catch is, the comps used are the most appropriate ones available.
But, we have to ask, is this really accurate? Read More→
Who Values the House More?
Posted on January 6, 2015 byInvestors and homeowners alike are almost intuitively inclined to have a higher opinion of their existing or potential properties than other parties. This would include potential buyers, lenders, brokers and even appraisers. However, this wasn’t always the case during the bubble years of the last decade. We know inflated real estate appraisals contributed to the excesses. The data within REIAComps has consistently shown investors how to determine both solid acquisition value and after repair value for residential real estate.
For those of you already connected to REIAComps, the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Having valuation data at the ready adds power and knowledge to your tool belt. Use REIAComps to investigate the changing values of dwellings no matter what market area you are in.
When we look at the half-dozen years after the financial crisis, everything got turned upside down. We know Appraisers became in most cases overly conservative. Every one saw Appraisal values were consistently lower than homeowner value opinions from 2007 to 2013. We could even say this factor was a drag on the U.S. housing-market recovery. Read More→
The Secret to Real Rehab Profits
Posted on December 5, 2014 byWant to recover the most for your remodeling dollar at resale? Keep it simple, pay to have it done right and don’t over improve. Moderately priced materials and finishes are a smarter bet than top-of-the-line treatments. Use quality, but the least ornate options. The simplest but most ideal forms of renovations you can do add the largest bang for the buck.
You will find, in a neighborhood of $100,000 homes, adding a $50,000 kitchen may give you the edge over the competition at resale, but it probably won’t boost the sale price much. Those who use REIAComps along with getting advice from the Valuation Support Desk have the edge knowing the right improvements to make in most any market area across the country. The complete control and feeling of confidence REIAComps users have over their deals is priceless.
At InvestorCompsOnline, the developer of REIAComps, from 2010-2014 smart investors who use a valuation first approach to investing, doing projects nationwide (no do-it-yourself), have attained excellent ROI at resale. When it came to adding the most dollar value at resale, here are the “Secret Six” which proved time and again to be the best areas in a home to address.
Drum roll please….in reverse order working towards the best renovation options, Upscale Owners Suite Addition comes in sixth. Focusing on the interests of the actual buyer, making them feel good when they lay their head down at night, is hard to mess up. Read More→
What About When Certain Property Values Fall?
Posted on November 11, 2014 byThere are indicators home values in recreation and in particular what are considered mountain homes in many US market areas lost tax value year over year. The data I have been seeing using REIAComps this year is proof which can affect your investing business.
For those of you already connected to REIAComps, the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Having tax data at the ready adds power and knowledge to your tool belt. Using REIAComps to investigate the changing tax value of dwellings gives you an unfair advantage.
For not the first time the value of the property on many county tax rolls went down in this year’s reassessment of many recreation homes. What this has meant is an increase in the tax millage rate for these counties, school districts and municipalities. Read More→
Familiar Web Sites Are the Worst Place to Get Values
Posted on October 7, 2014 byA high percentage of real estate investors and sellers begin their research on some of the popular websites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and Homes.com. Also, thousands of websites with aggregated data that provide bits and pieces of information might seem helpful.
For those of you already connected to REIAComps, the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Using REIAComps to investigate the value of houses as they come to market, against other less reliable sources continues to be a no brainer.
Today almost 90 percent of investors go to the web for information at some point during research, and, quite a few will possibly connect with a real estate agent during the buying or selling process. Only investing agents can actually offer and help to interpret the abundance of data and guide an investor or seller. Unfortunately, there are very few actual investing agents.
Anyone looking to buy or sell a home these days has more than likely surfed and discovered one of the many online home valuation tools. Every investor must ask themselves, are these tools really useful? Well, are they? Read More→
Flipping Continues to Win When the Value is Right
Posted on September 8, 2014 bySome would say home flipping, in which a buyer resells a property quickly for a profit, is on the decline as U.S. residential price gains slow and foreclosures dwindle. The exception are those individuals who know a valuation first approach to real estate is key to buying right. REIAComps.com insure you have a complete feeling of confidence and sense of control over all the deals you intend to flip.
In the second quarter of this year, almost 31,000 single-family houses were flipped, representing a solid percentage of U.S. home sales. These are quite consistent with data from earlier last year and not much different from the second three months of 2012, when prices bottomed after the crash. Remember we define a flip as a property sold within 12 months of purchase.
Real estate investors who are using REIAComps.com are making stronger profits and finding better opportunities for deals even after a two-year surge in property values that’s now slowing. The median existing-home price climbed 4.9 percent in July from a year earlier, compared with a 13.1 percent jump in the same month of 2013. Distressed homes still account for their share of sales going back to 2008. Read More→
Full Recovery of Home Values Maybe by 2017
Posted on August 7, 2014 byRecent indicators clearly show home values in nearly half of the country’s largest metro areas will not reach their pre-recession peak levels again for another three years or more. The data I have been seeing using REIAComps during the first half of this year are proof the recovery is still very much in its middle stages.
Nationally, home values remain double digit percentages below their 2007 peak. Looking ahead, U.S. home values are expected to rise through the early part of 2015. Really though, It will take another 3+ years for national home values to recover their pre-recession levels, assuming a steady rate of appreciation. And this is not every where. Las Vegas will take another decade.
For those of you already connected to REIAComps, the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. These new statistic add power and knowledge to your tool belt. Using REIAComps to investigate the value of houses as they come to market, against other less reliable sources continues to be a no brainer. Read More→
Prices Are Rising, But Maybe Not For The Reasons We Think
Posted on July 7, 2014 byReally good real estate investors know and rely on valuation of their deals as the key to success and profits. The economic slump that richer countries have suffered during the past seven years can be blamed on a runaway housing bubble that started right here in the U.S. All the market areas covered by REIAComps, insure when pricing changes happen you are not caught off guard.
When it comes to the tic of the housing bubble, there were other issues like poor oversight of the broader financial system which led to the crash. But without the real estate bubble, there would likely have been no financial crisis.
Which is why the fact that similar-looking bubbles inflating in countries from Canada to the U.K. have economists worried that there might be other catalysts of future crises laying wait for us in the weeds.
Last week, in a Forbes article, IMF economist Min Zhu published an article called “Era of Benign Neglect of House Price Booms is Over,” in which he sounded the alarm over rising global home prices. Zhu explains how he determines whether home prices in a particular country are overpriced. Read More→
Reverse Mortgage Deals Pack Profit
Posted on May 6, 2014 byThe Reverse Mortgage (RM) market has had massive growth in the last decade. This phenomenon makes ripe a great opportunity for investor success as Americans live longer.
Basically a RM it is a product to help seniors finance their retirement in an age of longer lifespans, long-term stagnant wages and fewer younger workers to fund public and private retirement programs. An RM is similar to a refinance but different in that a monthly payment from the overall principle is paid monthly like an annuity.
Frankly, a significant group of older Americans just don’t have enough to retire. Thus, an RM is a product that needs to exist. We as investors come in when the family member who has to sell the house to cover the principle which was utilized up to the time the family member passes away. Believe it or not, this is literally happening today.
For those of you already connected to REIAComps , the control and feeling of confidence you have over your deals is priceless. Add these new Reverse Mortgage deals to your tool belt and it gets even sweeter. Using REIAComps to investigate the value of houses as they come to market, against other less reliable sources continues to be a no brainer. Read More→
