Real Estate

[WORKEROUTER]

During the past couple years, through speaking with people and reading a little, I have become very interested in owning real estate, both as an investment and because the idea of owning a home is much more attractive than paying rent to someone, who is ultimate reaking the profit.

Currently, though, I really don't know much about real estate. And also, I don't even know if it would be possible for me to purchase anything. I don't have any credit yet (I'm 18 and started working part time), and I don't have a whole lot in the bank.

But is it still possible? Is it possible for me to own a small condo, rent out part of it to someone to help with mortgage, in the next couple years? IRight now I rent a small place out, but I dream of actually OWNING a place, of renting it out to someone else, and having thae feeling that each month, my money is not going down the drain to some landlord, but is actually giving ME something, an investment that will ulimately only profit me in the long run!

I know many of us on here are interested in real estate, and I hope some of you could give me some advice. What are some very basic, introductory, books that would help me achieve this goal? And do you guys have any tips that might help?

Thanks

 

[MetalFortress]

Rich Dad Poor Dad (despite Kiyosaki's questionable background, this is an EXCELLENT introductory book)
Complete Idiot's Guide to Real Estate Investing (the nuts and bolts of it all)
Rich Dad's Guide To Investing (another good one)
anything with "Donald Trump" on it

I am working toward getting into this myself, but right now I'm still in the learning stage of the game. I'll let you know as I find more books.

 

[cave dweller]

a start.........

Hey,

Here are two sites that will answer any of your questions:

agentsonline.net

creonline.com

cave dweller

 

[Tempest]

Hey, I'm doing the same thing.

I'm 18 myself, and don't have any credit. However, my older brother is helping me out and we're both going to invest in a single bedroom property. In my location, you can buy a single bedroom condo for $70k-$90k. With a 5% downpayment, that's under $10k. I'm just saving up for the downpayment, and any other fee's that could occur. Once I save up $10k, we're going to split everything 50/50, and fix it up (my brother does renovations).

It's definetly the best type of investment there is. Also, I hate the idea of having to pay rent. I don't know why anyone WOULD! It's like leasing a car... what a waste! You spend all that money for rent and then you have nothing to show for it.

Anyways, good luck. It's not really difficult to learn or understand. I'd start saving every penny, though. A good way to start is by setting up a budget. Get Microsoft Money, and use it to start handling your finances!

 

[Climax]

=}

I'm also interested in this... So i too, look forward to hearing what others have to say about this. There is another thread about this somewhere, but i'm still interested, so anyone here thats IN that business already, please feel free to post here and help us out....


thanx


Laterz...

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Read Rich Dad. Despite what many people say about Robert, if you truly UNDERSTAND the concept, you will be able to become successful whether or not you follow his exact methodology.

 

[cave dweller]

tips.......

Hey,

A couple of tips here about buying real estate........

"Any damnn fool can buy real estate----you need to buy it right."

1..Take your time and look at 50 houses in the area you are interested in.
2..Set a goal----Your goal? 'You WILL NOT pay retail prices. ie. If you can not find a 'deal', well below, apprasial/market value---NEXT HOUSE.
3...You put up little or no money down.

Rules to remember----

All sellers are liars.
All brokers are liars.

Question: "Why would you pay $95,000 for a $100,000 house when you can buy the same damnnnn house for somewhere between $65,000 and $80,000?

Get my drift?

cave dweller

 

[tristan22]

Brokers as in Real Estate Brokers are not allowed to lie or be unethical, period! If in fact you do come across a crooked Real Estate Broker, file a complaint with the Real Estate Commission and they are subject to suspension or having their license revoked for good!

Oh ya, hire a good real estate attorney to be present when closing the deal!

 

[WORKEROUTER]

How does the one purchase real estate with no money down? I thought you always had to put 10 percent down. And what if I don't have much credit? How does that work?

 

[quest]

i've been listening to guys talk about this alot lately at my work, and i've put alot of thought into it myself..

at 18-20 i was very keen to own some property.. now however, i WILL travel over europe before buying property.. thats the kind of experience your average homeowner will not be able to do, thus the reason i'll do it before buying.

"safe as houses" is the saying. if you put some work into your property, you will definently make alot of money on it by the time you wish to sell.. theres no doubt.

BUT to the guys who want to buy a house and then rent it out. great idea. just beware, you will have to pay for any major problems with the house. i'm not exactly sure what is included. hot water systems/gas/fencing... i'm pretty sure its along that path.. so make sure you've always got a few K sitting safe somewhere incase EVERYTHING goes bad.

 

[diablo]

There are several government programs in place to help you purchase a home, especially if you're a first-time homeowner (though you have to live in the house... not rent it out... for a set number of years), minority, etc.

http://www.hud.gov/buying/insured.cfm
http://www.hud.gov/buying/comq.cfm

There are plenty of websites out there with "free 7-day trials" to check out all of the foreclosed housing in your area. I'd recommend going with one of them and cancelling the membership on the 5th-6th day... print out everything that's on it and make some calls, drive around and visit any you're interested in...

 

[SELF-MASTERY]

From what the peeps around here say, no money down deals are few and far between. It takes very motivated sellers to land one of these deals. I think the pre-foreclosure market in my area is ripe for exploitation by those in the know with a lil cash.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Originally posted by SELF-MASTERY
From what the peeps around here say, no money down deals are few and far between. It takes very motivated sellers to land one of these deals. I think the pre-foreclosure market in my area is ripe for exploitation by those in the know with a lil cash.

The old Carleton Sheets method of no money down worked well in the 80's and there may be occasions where you could find that type of deal. However, nowadays it isn't uncommon to find 100% financing through a first and second mortgage. Payments are easy with interest only type mortgages. There are tons of methods to secure financing without weighing down the seller.

 

[SELF-MASTERY]

http://www.sub2deals.com/articles/


Found this interesting site :^

The guy talks about managing the flow of money instead of managing the property. Instead of using bank loans, and managing property, use sub2 (loan assumption) and lease purchases, to structure deals. I suppose he's into quick flipping for profit. It still takes a motivated seller and money. Most undervalued properties are attained from sellers motivated by hardship.

 

[cave dweller]

a real estate tip.......

Now here is a tip for the real estate 'guru':

Do you realize how many $100,000 houses are sold, in your area, every month, for $105,000 or $110,000. ie...above Fair Market Value or appraisal.

Your profit is built in when you buy................

ie.......

You want to buy a property with a FMV of $100,000 for 50% to 60% of value.

cave dweller

 

[STR8UP]

You are on the right track. I started when I was in my early 20's buying a few fixer-upper duplexes with zero down, back when banks almost ALWAYS wanted 20% down.

Beg, borrow, or steal (best to stick with the first two) your way into your first few properties and eventually you will be able to use the equity they accumulate to build enormous wealth.

I started with very little, like most of you. Get that foot in the door! I put aside real estate during the last several years to focus on business (somewhat of a mistake, but that's another discussion). If I had stuck with real estate there is no doubt in my mind that I would be ten times as far along as I am today.

In the beginning it's a matter of getting your foot in the door. You learn a few hard lessons, but eventually your problem will be WHICH deal to take advantage of, not HOW TO FIND one measly marginal deal! Your eyes will be open and your pockets wil have more than a few lint balls in them and that will allow you to take advantage of the things most people can't. That's the key...being able to spot opportunity and having the resources (credit, cash, knowledge, and TIME) to make it happen.

 

[Tempest]

I've heard of being able to get a place with no money down, but that's only if you have crazy credit. Your credit is your life! Protect it and work on it. I have a quick question regarding the no money down method, though. Wouldn't your monthly mortgage payments be WAY more? How is that worth it? You won't be able to find anyone to rent the place to someone and charge them the same price to match your mortgage payments.

For first time home owners, the government will allow you to purchase a place with only a 5% down payment required. You must live in it for 1 year. But, if you plan on buying a place and not living in it, you're required to place a min. of 25% down payment. That's because it's for investment purposes.

Another thing to be aware of is how long you lock your mortgage term for. The interest rates change all the time. If you lock your place in for 5 years with the interest rate of 10%, in that 5 years you must renew your mortgage. The interest rates could've gone up to 15% within those 5 years. What if you're renting the place out? Now you'll either have to get MORE money out of your tenants, or you're going to have to fork over extra money monthly to pay the difference, which can put you in a difficult financial position if you don't have the money. On the positive side, the interest rate could always go down!

 

[MetalFortress]

Best way to get no money down without a ton of credit should be using a business to create an asset. I'm going to form either an LLC or a corporation after I get the chance to talk with an attorney about what my best plan of action, regarding the business model, would be.

Or if anyone on here is an expert on that sort of thing, PM me.

 

[WORKEROUTER]

So where should I start? My story is this: I'm 18, go to college, and work around 15 hours per week, only making around 7-8 bucks per hour.

Most of my income is eaten up by expenses, and I really have no credit yet.

What should I start by doing? Reading material?

It just seems hopeless to think of buying a place if I have really no net income I can put in the bank for investment!

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Originally posted by WORKEROUTER
So where should I start? My story is this: I'm 18, go to college, and work around 15 hours per week, only making around 7-8 bucks per hour.

Most of my income is eaten up by expenses, and I really have no credit yet.

What should I start by doing? Reading material?

It just seems hopeless to think of buying a place if I have really no net income I can put in the bank for investment!

Learn how people with means make money work for them, it's completely different than how the average person perceives wealth and how to obtain it. Rich Dad is one of the best books to start learning about alternate perceptions of how money works for the wealthy. The great thing is that you don't need to be wealthy to start taking advantage of the methods.