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Archive for December, 2009

Wells Branch Neighborhood

Dec 31

Posted by admin in Real Estate

Located in the northern extremes of Austin, the Wells Branch neighborhood is a vibrant community established in 1982. The residential area is quiet and serene, while being in close proximity to the crown jewel of North Austin – the new Domain shopping center. Wells Branch Parkway is one of the main arteries connecting IH 35 and Mopac, making this neighborhood accessible to the employers and schools of Round Rock and the northern areas, as well as to downtown Austin. Their vigorous neighborhood association sponsors many activities, including parades, clubs, dance and exercise lessons and holiday celebrations, creating a true community.

The boundaries of the Wells Branch neighborhood are IH 35 to the east, Mopac to the west, Grand Avenue Parkway to the north and Wells Branch Parkway to the south. In addition to the Domain, major shopping areas are easy to get to, including La Frontera, Gateway and the Arboretum. With a planned stop on Capital Metro’s new light rail service coming to Wells Branch, this area is one of the most accessible in the greater Austin region. The initial line of the light rail is slated to have a station in the Howard Lane area just West of Mopac.

Although this community is extremely accessible, it is one of the rare gems in Austin that has a wealth of amenities within, and specifically for, the community. The Wells Branch Municipal Utility District provides more than just trash and recycling services – it acts as a true community hub. The MUD offers summer camps, youth programs such as fishing clinics and swimming lessons, and annual family oriented events including a Pioneer Day celebration and their Memorial Day Fun and Casino Night. Throughout the summer, they present an early evening concert series, held in the park.

The heart of the neighborhood is Katherine Fleisher Park. Featuring a playscape, sports courts and a pool, this park has a unique feature – an 1850s-era cabin complex available for tours and festivals in the community, called the Homestead. A second pool is available in Wells Branch – the Willow Bend pool, and North Mills Park is the second park in the community. Wells Branch Recreation Center features a full-size basketball court, a workout room with exercise machines and free weights, and multi-purpose rooms for fitness classes and meetings.

One of the most unique and engaging offerings of the neighborhood is the Wells Branch Community Garden. Members share a piece of land dedicated to the organic cultivations of vegetables, flowers, and other plants, tending their assigned patch while maintaining social bonds with other community members. Their goal is to work together to grow better vegetables, find good organic cures for all challenges, including insects, fertilization, weathering, and to connect on a social level with their neighbors.

With a multitude of amenities within the community, unparalleled accessibility to all areas of the greater Austin region, and an established neighborhood dating back over a quarter of a century, Wells Branch embraces modern conveniences while still providing a solid foundation.

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Considerations For a UK Landlord

Dec 31

Posted by admin in Real Estate

The National Landlords Association has highlighted the benefits of maintaining an efficient home, stating that it can make it more attractive to prospective tenants. Improving a house or flat can also add value to the property, as well as lowering the risk of damp or mould setting in. Tenants who receive lower fuel bills are more likely to stay in a property for longer, reducing the amount of void periods that landlords experience. In winter a property which feels warm, insulated and comfortable with a modern boiler and no signs of damp should be particularly appealing to tenants. Finally, under law, UK landlords are required to provide energy performance certificates to potential tenants.

Landlords take a gamble if they do not take out rent protection insurance. Even if an owner has a good tenant, there is no guarantee that the occupant will keep their job in the current economic climate and be able to make rent payments. It helps to obtain a landlord’s employer reference and a credit check at the beginning of the tenancy, but taking out insurance can offer extra protection, since there is no guarantee that that tenant will have his job in three or six months’ time and will be able to afford to pay the rent. Next year will be difficult for some people with buy to let mortgages. The CML expects the number of households in arrears for three months to increase by 500,000 next year. Unemployment levels will also have an impact on the property market. But for those who manage to stay in employment, variable-rate mortgages will become progressively cheaper.

Deposit protection schemes can improve relations between landlords and tenants. Such schemes should have a positive effect on the tenants relationship with you. Landlords must provide proof of any damage to a property in order to withhold deposits. Some landlords abused the old deposits system, but most landlords are reasonable and do not charge for small amounts of damage. People with buy to let mortgages have been advised to take out rental guarantee insurance as a safeguard against the current economic situation. It is also recommended that investors should always carry out credit checks on potential tenants whether there is an economic downturn or not. Recent figures from the National Landlords Association show that 71 per cent of landlords expect rent arrears to rise next year.

Those with buy to let mortgages should begin preparations to find a new deal on their loans as early as possible. Landlords should begin the remortgaging process as soon as they can to avoid paying higher amounts of money later on. Investors who do not have a 25 per cent deposit in a property to seek a professional valuation before looking to remortgage. In November 08, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that there were 11.69 million mortgages outstanding in the UK in the third quarter. Those with buy to let mortgages must put time and investment into their property portfolios over the coming years if they are to make a profit. Landlords must be clever to survive through the economic downturn: you will not make money over the next ten years if you do not put in the investment and time to work out what the best buy to let strategy is. You could save money by cutting out agents and managing properties yourself.

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Investing in the Real Estate Market

Dec 31

Posted by admin in Real Estate

Many people market real estate investing as your key to financial security. Is it? Will investing in real estate let you live the dream life? How does real estate investing work over other forms of investment?  First you have to consider that there are different ways to invest in real estate. Here are a few of the basics:

1. Investing in tax liens. Many boroughs and counties sell overdue tax liens to companies at reduced rates. These position the buyer to either collect a large profit on money invested in the lien (when the overdue tax is paid to the buyer) or to obtain the property in foreclosure. Note that in buying a lien, you in essence become a debt collector. Also, you must be willing to go through the foreclosure process to obtain the property should the homeowner not pay.

2. Flipping properties. This involves buying run-down or foreclosed houses significantly under their market value, fixing them up, and reselling them for a profit. The upside is that you do not have tenants or homeowners to evict like you would in owning a rental or tax lien. The downside is that if the real estate market becomes bloated with inventory, you could be holding your house for a long time before selling it.

3. Renting properties. Renting to people the right properties (meaning location, quality, and design of the properties) for an extended period of time can be a good financial investment. If you buy the properties below market value and with the right amount of rental income, the tenants will pay the mortgage for you plus provide some positive cash flow. Once the properties are paid for, most of the rent can go into your pocket (some will have to go towards upkeep), and you can cash out by selling the properties. When renting out your properties, you can either manage the properties yourself or you can hire a property management company.

4. Wholesaling. This involves finding houses that are well below market value and selling them to other real estate investors for a fee. If the contracts are properly structured, you do not have to do anything to the property itself other than be a middle man. Is real estate investing better than other forms of investment? It really depends on your skills and your desire to work for your money. With a mutual fund you have few responsibilities other than selecting and monitoring the fund. Real estate investing generally requires more time and energy on your part, being more like owning a business than simply putting your money into an account each month. Because of that, you will want to start off slowly.

Skills that can be beneficial in real estate investing include good research skills for finding the right properties to buy, self-discipline, networking skills to find others in your area from which you can learn and develop relationships between, debt-management practices and organizational skills.

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Get Your Exclusive Real Estate Leads Today

Dec 31

Posted by admin in Real Estate

Do you operate your real estate business in a hard to find area? Or perhaps you are flanked by a dozen other real estate offices in your exclusive vacation town? Rural area’s and those places that are booming with vacation homes are two of the hardest area’s to sell real estate in. On one hand you have a small town that no one has or will hear about, and on the other you have tons of businesses doing the same thing because that is where the property is hot. Don’t let either of these issues keep you from getting ahead. Make your realty business stand above the rest with the best real estate leads around.

From Reno, Nevada to Orlando, Florida, or even in Burlington, Vermont, no matter where you are located, we will find you leads to property hungry customers. Perhaps you live in an extreme rural area. And because of this, you cover a great distance in order to make sure you can get some sales in. You will be amazed at the sheer numbers of people that visit our websites every day, or every hour even. We know our business like no other, and we can ensure you that our real estate websites come up first in the search engines today. What this means for you is a higher chance that there will be a buyer looking to purchase in your area. So remember, no matter where you live and work in the U.S., our real estate leads cover all 50 states.

Furthermore, how much money have you spent in printing costs and mailing costs in order to blanket the area and beyond with flyers and letters letting people know who you are and what you sell? Has this real estate crisis gotten you desperate enough to start making those dreaded cold-calls? Did you spend all that time getting your real estate license just to work as a telemarketer? Don’t get us wrong, it takes a special kind of sales person to be able to call someone up out of the blue and get them to buy something. It takes a lot of training and practice to do this. However, this is not what you were trained to do. Let us worry about hooking them as that is what our real estate leads are all about. All you need to do is reel them in. And even that has been pretty much taken care of.

We only deliver qualified leads that fit your needs. No more worry about wasting your time and money on leads that you don’t want. With our Real Estate Lead Source, we can ensure your business takes off when others are standing still or worse yet, shutting down. The only work we leave you with is making that phone call and describing to them their dream property. It couldn’t be any easier than that. Don’t waste another moment on worrying and spending money on real estate leads that do nothing for you. Call us today.

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Real Estate And Mortgage Loans Circle Of Growth

Dec 30

Posted by admin in Loans, Real Estate

In case you haven’t noticed the mortgage market and the real estate market have been blazing a trail into the record books. Never before has there been such explosive, sustained growth of these two markets. The key factor here is that one seems to feed off the other. Is this a good thing, or are the two markets headed for a collapse?

You have analysts that will argue for either side. But, you need to have a better understanding of how this process works, and what elements have come together to allow this kind of growth, before you can accept or disprove either argument. What has happened to spur this kind of growth? Well, there are several key factors that managed to come together at precisely the right time, some of them attributable to natural disaster that has generated a booming market. The first contributor was the falling interest rate that has leveled out around 6 – 7%; the second great contributor has been the increase in mortgage loan options. There are mortgage products out there to fit every type of buyer. The third contributor, (and this one is purely from nature) was the horrific hurricane seasons of the past couple of years, including the season we had this year.

How have all these elements come together to generate growth? Here’s exactly how: lower interest rates meant cheaper monthly payments, refinancing options were open, and people could afford to buy bigger homes for less. Add to that mix a more varied loan market, and you have an increase in buying, selling, and building. If you also throw in the fact that hurricanes destroyed massive quantities of homes along the coast, and most will rebuild, you have a burgeoning real estate and housing growth market.

We have also managed to create an environment very conducive to investment, construction, and resort development. Now, if you factor in a booming market for investors, you have a prime situation for increases in real estate value, increases in construction, and increases in mortgage loans.

How does the average citizen ready to buy or build a home interpret all this information? Well, it creates a wonderful situation for the homeowner looking to sell a home, simply because the value of the home should show a tremendous increase over the purchase value, especially if you’ve owned the home for more than 10 years. However, if you’re buying or building, you’re not going to like the situation. Why? Because home prices are up, thanks to the rising real estate prices, and so are is the price of building materials, needed to build a new home. We can attribute much of this to high gas prices and hurricanes. The good news, in all this, is the low interest rates. You can still borrow at an extremely affordable interest rate.

For the consumer shopping the market, you need to really educate yourself about the rising costs of real estate, the local values in your community, and what mortgage products would most benefit you, when you consider your individual objectives. If you’re like most, you aren’t buying your home for an investment, and you aren’t buying with the intent to sell in a few short years. In the market of today, it would be a wise choice to meet with a financial advisor; someone that has a background in finance, and can help you to clearly define your objects, and choose a mortgage that will reflect those objectives.

Many of the individuals, who are the doomsayers, seem to think that the market can’t sustain this type of growth. That is has occurred too quickly, and like the bubble of the stock market, will burst, leaving many homeowners and mortgage lenders “holding the bag” so to speak. But, you also have many of the intellectuals that say the real estate market was due a burst of growth; that it is normal, healthy, and we should have no trouble sustaining this type of growth. Whatever the end result, right now, the real estate market and the mortgage market are hot items; if you own real estate, you’ve hit the jackpot. If you’re looking to buy, get ready to pay.

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How To Locate Waterfront Property Rentals

Dec 30

Posted by admin in Real Estate

Many people prefer to take their vacations somewhere on or near water. These days, waterfront property is getting so popular it is sometimes difficult to locate rentals, particularly in the most desirable locations. However, with just a little bit of work, you’ll find multiple options for rentals in your favorite location. Before you know it, you’ll soon be vacationing in a wonderful waterfront property.

The traditional, time-honored way to search for rentals has been to visit the area where you want to vacation, look around, and find a home that interests you. In many resort towns, rentals have signs out front with the owner or property manager’s name and phone number displayed. In some waterfront resort destination areas, these signs may be very discretely placed, due to concerns about appearance, so you may have to search a little. Also, the owners of rentals may only put the sign out when they have vacancies in their schedule. The disadvantage of this method is that you probably will not be able to see beyond the outside of the potential rentals. This means you will not be privy to information about number of bedrooms and what amenities, such as cable and wireless internet connections, that the home might feature. You’ll need to call the owner or property manager to gather this information, and if it turns out not to be what you need, you’ll have to repeat the process all over again.

Another way to do an on-site search is to visit the local real estate agent’s office or a property management firm. Often these businesses will be on or near the town’s main street. Usually these firms will display pictures and information about their rentals prominently-on windows or bulletin boards inside. Drop on in-the company’s employees will be delighted to show you their rentals. They will probably also have photos of the interior of all their rentals, and the statistics on how many each place sleeps, and what the costs are. With an on-location visit to a waterfront property management firm, you can view several rentals at once and make your decision on the spot.

But what if your vacation destination is located far from where you live or you simply don’t have time for an in-person visit? That’s when the internet comes in handy. Most property management firms maintain a strong presence on the internet. It’s nearly as useful as visiting in person, because businesses will post multiple photos of their rentals and all the vital statistics. An added bonus is that many of these firms also will have extensive databases about the resort locations they do business in. All the amenities of the location will be listed, giving you a great idea of what to expect with your vacation. Many online businesses that deal in resort rentals allow you to book online, saving hours of time in phone calls and personal visits. Then while on vacation you can decide how your waterfront property stacks up to others around, and decide which rentals you might want to reserve for the next trip.

Once you know where to look, searching for waterfront property rentals can actually be fun. After all, part of the pleasure of a vacation is the anticipation of it, and locating your next rental will get you very excited about your trip.

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Should You Become A Landlord

Dec 30

Posted by admin in Real Estate

Benefits from real estate also sometimes take extra steps and responsibilities. If you are thinking of becoming involved in real estate, then you may also be looking at the job title of landlord. While this is a good way to make an investment and a living, you will want to consider several things before designating yourself to this job.

Before beginning the process of becoming a landlord, you will want to make sure that you can profit from it. This means finding the right place for potential tenants and having the ability to market and find the right demographics that you may want in your home. Having the ability to reach out to the right people can help you if you are thinking about renting property to others.

If you decide to become a landlord, you will want to make sure that you are made for it. You will want to ask yourself whether you are fit to deal with different personalities from tenants. Paying rent late, taking advantage of the property, and other problems will often arise. This causes maintenance and upkeep of different rental areas to be part of the job. You will want to make sure that you can handle different situations effectively and make sure that you can find the right way to take care of the different needs for everyone in the area.

Of course, becoming a landlord could be beneficial for you. If you have the right people in the right place, you won’t have to do much work and will only have to collect the rent. Most landlords, if they have a larger amount of property, will have hired help such as property managers in order to handle extra problems that may arise. If you are able to invest and grow enough this way, then you will have the ability to take a year long vacation while the rent is collected.

If you are one that wants to work with renting property and collecting extra profit from it, then becoming a landlord is a good option for you to consider. By finding someone else to live on your property, you will have the ability to collect rent instead of pay it.

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