In's And Out's Of Bargain Property

By Doc Schmyz

Distressed real estate is the diamond in the rough that all RE investors are seeking. HOWEVER, without doing your research you may lose far more then you will gain.

Use a step by step mind set. "Go by the numbers" when reviewing all the areas of the investment that you want to focus on here are a few things to think about and add to your list.

Nothing on this list is really more important than anything else. Its just here to get you to think about what exactly you need to look for. While you may have an investment that excels in one area...it cant be problem heavy in another.

Here is the list I have used:

HOW MUCH AND WHY

Investors ALWAYS see the price first.

We are all looking for below market value. Buy for a little, sell for a lot. But why are they selling so low? Is it to solve one of the "3 D's"? (Debt, Death, Divorce)

Are there problems with the property that will cost a small fortune to fix? Out dated plumbing??? Poor electrical wiring? In older houses these problems are VERY common. Dont forget to consider holding costs.

In my opinion the most common over looked profit drainer is underestimating the liquidation costs of holding and selling the property. Things to keep in mind and budget into your holding costs are: commission payments to real estate agents, closing costs, mortgage payments, taxes, plus repair and maintenance costs. Also electric and water.

A poor understanding of the current market value is another major deal killer. Remember market value is an educated guess at best. No one really knows until the appraisal is complete.

Price other property in the area. Come as close to the size/style/lot size you are looking at buying.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAN HELP YOU

Price and location are important this is true. But dont forget about the financing.

In fact, used wisely, an investor can pay full price and use this positioning to negotiate lower interest rates or a smaller down payment. Over time, the rental cash flow will be in the black because of the terms agreed upon by the buyer and seller, combined with gradual rent increases and price appreciation.

RESEARCH THE LOCAL MARKET

Learn everything you can about the market your shopping in. What are the schools like? How close is the local hospital? Is there a local police station or sub-station? Also look at the floor plans of surrounding homes. How many bed/baths? Whats the average price in the area? What are the prices of the last homes sold in the area? Etc...Etc.

LOCATION IS NO TO BE OVER LOOKED

Location is usually seen as the most critical component of finding a good deal next to price. In reality, this matters much more if youre looking in terms of finding a long-term residence than it does for a quick sale. It's more critical to focus on the potential profit margins than the area it's located in. If the ugly home by the dump is more profitable than the fashionable condo downtown, then it's a better deal, aesthetics aside.

FIXER UPPERS AND FORECLOSURES

Most new investors and some seasoned ones, seek out fix and flips and distressed foreclosures for the opportunity to increase the profit margin. If youre going this route make sure you have a good eye for the details and a solid understanding of basic home repair.

Distressed property is a gold mine. IF you know what youre looking at. How old is the roof on the property? How much will it cost to repair/replace? How is the plumbing? Is the foundation/slab sound? Once you have asked a lot of the basic questions...and you have an idea how much it will cost to fix/correct, do yourself a favor. Add 5% as a buffer.

Know what it is ZONED for.

Sooo you want to add a third bedroom and second bathroom huh?? Is it zoned for that? Worst thing in the world to have happen is to find out you could have made a pretty penny profit IF you had know what the land was zoned for. ALWAYS ASK.

Understand that a single use zoned property is always cheaper than a multi use.

Classic zoning "no-no's" are garages converted to bedrooms. Non-permitted granny flats and detached garages. - 23196

About the Author:

Doc has been a investor since early 1990's. In 2006 he started a online real estate investing information website. His goal is to help or investors by offering m information on real estate services that will help m

Do You Have The Nerve To Buy Stocks?

By Felix B. Hardy

Free Stock tickers are everywhere! You watch them in the Finance Section of every major broadcasting networks, running in the bottom or top of the screen. Each on line stock trading company has one. The main benefit of stock tickers are that you get a rapid overview of stock prices in a extremely intuitive mode. And you can without difficulty get your own adapted real time stock ticker.

There are loads of special types of stock tickers, all with their own characteristics, but they also share loads of elements. The most frequent features are the company symbol, the value of the company's shares, and the direction in which the stock price is moving.

As mentioned, there are many special ticker software available for your desktop, so you too can have a tape stock ticker running on your computer. The majority of desktop stock tickers are rather tiny applications, that does not use a lot of RAM or CPU, so you can continue your work. Often the stock tickers can be configured to signal you if the price of a chosen stock move outside a predefined area or the stock price changes swiftly. The desktop stock ticker can be downloaded from loads of of the online stock trading companies. Since the tickers often are very diminutive programs, the download and installation is nippy and easy done.

Real Time or Near Real Time?

The majority of free desktop stock tickers shows the stock prices in "near real-time", meaning that the prices are postponed " most often 15 to 20 minutes. If you are a customer with an online stock trading company however, you can frequently get real-time prices - this is obviously a large plus, especially if you are a day trader, who buys and sells often the same shares though out the day. In this case you need to know the exact price, since you make your money on very petite movements. If you are a long term investor the delayed prices are of less importance. - 23196

About the Author:

Prior to buying stock online, be sure to download a desktop stock ticker, as desktop stock tickers are simple to use and gives a great overview.

Black Horse Fund: Game On for a New Forex Fund

By David Kaup

Many investors in today's market are confused and understandably upset about the direction of the market. Most investors have seen their retirement funds completely vanish while other investors have inactive money on the sidelines, just waiting for something to happen.

Today's market is full of highly regulated, extremely unstable equities that seem to go anywhere but up and many investors are starting to sour from the less-than-stellar performance they're getting out of stocks and mutual funds. What many investors want is an investment vehicle that offers huge gains and with less regulation and greater liquidity (compared with equities).

Black Horse Fund might be the answer. Black Horse Fund is a new "superfund" in the Forex market. Traders buy and sell currencies, guided by special algorithms and expertly designed computer programs.

The foreign exchange market is a currency market where investors put money into a fund and the Forex traders use that pool of funds to invest in currency pairs. They buy one when it goes down and then sell it again as it goes up. It's an art and a science and experienced investors using powerful computer programs and prediction models can earn a lot of money. Compared with the more common and familiar equities market, the Forex market is massive, and highly liquid. For example, the estimated daily turnover of money is $3.2 trillion (USD) just 2 years ago.

The Black Horse Fund team is a group of veteran Forex traders who wanted to create fund that defined success in the Forex market. They build Black Horse, a "superfund" that is designed to out-perform other investment vehicles and even other Forex funds. They are accepting a small group of investors to join as limited partners to leverage the power of pooled money and share the wealth.

Investors who have joined so far have found Black Horse Fund's focus on growth of capital to be refreshing, particularly since they have backed up their claim with results. In a world that sees stocks dropping daily, that is welcome news. The bigger problem for investors is: Black Horse Fund is only accepted a certain number of "seats" to the Limited Partner table. They don't want to grow too big or too unwieldy and lose the agility of being a small, "light" fund.

Black Horse Fund is accepting applications for limited partners to participate with a minimum buy-in of $1,000,000 to its exclusive superfund. Not everyone who applies will be accepted, but those who are accepted will join with other privileged investors to participate in the envied Forex market. - 23196

About the Author:

The media and investors are invited to contact David Kaup and his team To learn more about a Hedge fund or for a membership requirements.

If You Think You Know Business, Think Again

By Gary Mooney

In this world of 6 billion, it's just too difficult to be the regular-paying employee. You're good and you seem to have everything that any company should want. But you just can't find the perfect shot to which your esteemed services will make it big. If that's your problem then forex business is the thing for you!

What sets forex business apart from the rest is that it is a home-based business in the growing competitive arena called network marketing. This business opportunity is legitimate multi-level marketing (mlm), which means that you don't just get paid for bringing sales to the company but you also get paid for the sales that were generated by the agents you introduced to the company! It is a form of expansion and making sure you get paid for every single thing that you do for the parent company.

The fun is that you can build your own team of affiliates of the parent company and produce a greater manpower to generate more profit. The fortune which you will find in the forex business is that while sbuilding a network of affiliates, you are given a forex commission plan that works on the mlm strategy. The multi-level markets are surely growing in number and everybody is so sure that no two commission plans are just about the same. What makes this business opportunity a cut above the rest is because the forex commission is totally meant to allow growth for the employee, rather than just for the employer alone. Now that's an opportunity you should not miss!

There is not much capital needed for this home-based business. The only lead for you to think about is how to target your market. It is easy to know that you can do this like a pro in the forex business. The reason behind is because everybody needs currency. And it only takes a moment to sit down and tell them that they can do forex trading quick as it can be. No hassle! All you need to do is to keep looking for new ways to create listening opportunities while attracting people who are interested in currency trading.

It's time to become the leader in a business that grows nowhere but upward. With an mlm in forex business, you can surely find more than a million ways to climb the financial ladder. It doesn't matter if you are a rookie or a one man team! Network marketing has always been and will always provide employment and is sure to target quality entrepreneurs such as you are. Quit dreaming your wishes and staying a bum while earning nothing but dust. Now is the time to take action. Take action in the most positive and rewarding endeavor that makes money while you are in the comfort of your own home. Become an affiliate of forex business, make your own team of professionals, click and drag in the internet, and you are on your way to a network marketing success! - 23196

About the Author:

Gary Mooney is the author of this article. For more information about forex trading as a home business, helpful to both beginners and more advanced entrepreneurs, please visit: http://www.gleemforex.com

Foreclosure Workouts to Get Your House Back

By Doc Schmyz

The last thing anyone wants to loose is your house. Unfortunately even though we know this fact, sometimes we tend to take our mortgage payments for granted and end up loosing our homes. When a borrower fails to pay his or her mortgage for a number of payments (usually 5 or 6) the lender will issue a foreclosure by selling the house or repossessing it.

Sadly, more often than not banks often lead the homeowners to believe that they don't have other options available. However there are other alternatives that homeowners can use to keep their house.

These are some of the options that homeowners can use.

Short stop

You can get a short refinance for the foreclosure of your property. If you don't want a new loan to cover an existing one, you can ask the help of a friend. A borrower's friend or relative can buy or pay off the mortgage.

Negotiate a payment plan

You (the homeowner) agree to pay a portion of the amount and agree to pay the rest in the following months. The homeowner shows proof of their income and pays a down payment. This is a much easier way and most lenders agree to this plan.

Change of plans

In some cases a temporary change in the terms of the loan can be given when properly negotiated. These changes include but are not limited to, amortization extension and reduction of interest rate. A foreclosure negotiator handles the job of getting these plans approved.

Third party sale

The property on foreclosure is sold to a third party. The proceeds will go to the mortgage lender as a settlement for the debt.

Friendly third party sale

The third party who buys the property sells it on foreclosure to clean the deed of other holders. Then the property is sold back to the borrower.

These are just some of the options that borrowers can utilize in attempting to retain their properties. Remember these alternatives are outside the original terms of the agreement. Homeowners may have to negotiate their way with lenders and banks. If borrowers don't want to end up doing any of these alternatives it's best to avoid missing your payments. Preventing home foreclosure is still better than looking for a cure. - 23196

About the Author:

Doc Schmyz has worked with investors all over the US and Mexico. He built a free website shares Real estate investing information for all over the US. Find Real estate investing information by state