by propertiesbyrayg | Jun 12, 2019 | Investing, Renting
So, you are ready to buy your first income-producing investment property… Congratulations! But before you buy that property, there are several things to consider before signing any deal. Understanding how to become a successful landlord are tantamount to success. With some research and planning, new and seasoned landlords alike can find their sweet spot in today’s market and reap the rewards of savvy real estate investing.
The Basics
You have made the decision to invest in a property to rent and maybe even have your eye on another property so what’s next? First and foremost, you must understand what the demand is for rental properties in your area. If demand is low, finding a tenant or setting a price that optimizes your investment may be challenging. As the market changes rapidly, staying on top of trends is imperative. In addition to understanding market demand, there are legal considerations. From tax codes to inspections, federal, state and local laws are there to protect the tenant AND the landlord. Familiarizing yourself with the Minimum Housing Standards and using professional consultants will ensure everything is done by the book.
Costs and Property Management
Investment properties are a great way to build wealth and make money, but these homes also come with costs. Insurance, taxes, association fees, maintenance and yes, even an occasional bad tenant are sources of additional costs that should be factored into your expected return on investment. While background checks, credit checks and references will help you to choose the best tenant, using a professional property management company will go a long way in protecting your investment. A good property management company will know everything necessary to successfully manage your property while keeping you apprised of anything and everything that you need to know about what is happening in your rental unit. Should you find success as a landlord and buy additional properties to rent, hiring a professional property management company is a must.
Preparing a Property to Rent
Just as home sellers should walk through their home to see it through the eyes of a potential buyer, so too should landlords look at their rental property from the renter’s point of view. If you were considering renting the home, what would you look for? Basic repairs, a thorough cleaning and ensuring everything is in good working order are the baseline essentials. Desirable features such as a washer and dryer, high-end appliances or modern fixtures and finishes will increase the appeal of your property, giving it an edge in the market.
by propertiesbyrayg | Mar 18, 2019 | Buying, Investing, Selling
Sometimes homeowners omit the permit process when remodeling their home. They may think that the process is very expensive or takes to long. Fees for the permit process can sometimes be as costly as hundreds of dollars or more. There are homeowners that believe if they go through with remodeling a kitchen or bath without a permit, they might never get caught.
But these homeowners don’t think about the consequences of not going through the permit process when remodeling their home. Failing to get a permit could cause a lot of trouble when they go to sell the home.
Most states require homeowners to provide a disclosure statement to the buyer when they go to sell their home. In that questionnaire, sellers are mostly asked if they have completed work to the home without going through the permit process. Lying about it can worsen the situation—the sellers could later be sued by the new homeowner for making false statements.
“You can personally become liable for work carried out without permits,” writes Bill Gassett, a real estate professional with RE/MAX, REALTORS® in New England, for RISMedia’s Housecall. “Maybe the finished basement built by the previous homeowner with the fancy kitchen that sold the home has to be ripped out, or you’ll have to pay a penalty.”
Also, if there’s any incident that was caused by not having permits, the homeowner may face a rejection of their insurance claim. If their insurance company finds they didn’t have permit required, then they could deny the claim. Many of these denied insurance claims arise from incidents that involve remodeling projects that involve electricity, gas, or water that were done without having gone through the permit process.
Read the Original Article Here: Be Cautious About Renos Without Permits
by propertiesbyrayg | Feb 25, 2019 | Buying, Investing, Market News, Selling
Markets dependably skip back, however now and again the move back to the statures is slower than the drop from them. The U.S. land advertise, similar to whatever is left of the economy, took a very long time to recoup from the stun of the 2008 money related emergency. Despite the fact that onlookers were satisfied with the market in 2017 without precedent for almost 10 years, 2019 in real estate is as of now off to a rough begin, thus cynics stress that another subsidence is in transit.
90% of U.S. markets saw price gains in 2018, which suggests that predictions of a new bubble are overwrought for 2019 in Real Estate.
Value Expectation
The facts for 2019 in real estate demonstrate that some extravagant markets saw market decays; a worldwide pullback of Chinese financial specialists hurt costs on the West Coast, however 90% of U.S. markets saw value gains in 2018, which proposes that expectations of another air pocket are spent. As Lawrence Yun of the National Association of Realtors clarified, “We are seeing generally low dispossession levels, showing that individuals are living inside their methods and not obtaining homes they can’t bear.” Full-year insights for 2018 have not yet showed up, however proof recommends that costs took off, similarly as examiners anticipated last January.
In November 2018, lodging deals volume endured a 1.5% year-on-year decline, however costs climbed and are relied upon to keep ascending all through 2019 in real estate. A solid economy, combined with low supply and intense interest, are required to fuel a 3.1% cost increment for 2019 in real estate and a 1% expansion in exchange volumes.
Absence of Supply
There’s a clouded side to the ascent in home costs for 2019 in real estate: In half of the best U.S. markets, half of the houses ended up being exaggerated when broke down with crucial criteria, for example, rental income, says Corelogic. Albeit significant urban communities are particularly overrated, it’s a national issue. Lodging reasonableness is at its most reduced dimension since the 2008 subsidence, and with higher financing costs and decreased tops for the home loan intrigue and State and Local Tax (SALT) conclusions, it’s solitary becoming more expensive. The U.S. isn’t constructing new lodging as fast as it once did, thus numerous potential property holders will wind up in the rental market this year. With costs in urban areas so high, some may likewise pick to move to suburbia, which is a pattern expected to develop this year. “Second urban areas” outside significant metropolitan territories may increase more youthful inhabitants evaluated out of improving cities.
Stable Employments = Stable Home Loan Request
Regardless of worries about exorbitance, much uplifting news remains: a tight work showcase guarantees quickened compensation development, while the low oil costs enable the general economy to develop. Albeit two financing cost climbs are likely to work out for 2019 in real estate and 30-year contract rates are transcending 5%, we see no expansion in dispossessions. Correspondingly, less individuals are applying for home loans. These information focuses recommend that individuals are obtaining inside their methods and that we are not seeing the production of another air pocket. Considering additionally that the United States saw strong occupations development in the principal long periods of January, we foresee stable or lower deals volumes with going with cost increments, however we don’t anticipate that costs should increment as fast as they have in the previous quite a while.
Proptech
It’s not astounding that such huge numbers of proptech new businesses have made their presentations generally. Crowdfunding enactment in 2012 and 2015 aided, as did developing attention to the gross wasteful aspects of the land markets. These goal-oriented new companies mean to enhance the land exchange process, facilitate the challenges of development, and give new financing strategies. Before the finish of 2018, financial speculators and tech speculators had put generally $5.2 billion into land proptech new companies. It’s presumable still too soon to measure the macroeconomic impacts of proptech, yet this year and the following we may expect expanding arrangement of new advancements as both built up firms and yearning up-and-comers try to catch and solidify a divided market.
Crowdfunding and Tokenization
In conclusion, an area which has seen high development after the presentation of crowdfunding enactment in 2012 and 2015 is private value financing of land ventures and tasks. This segment is relied upon to profit significantly more with another, little-saw arrangement of president Trump’s expense update passing by the name “Opportunity Zones”, which guarantees the disposal of capital increases charges for ventures with a multi year skyline in 8700 underserved zones of the U.S.
We expect a few financial specialists in these open door zones and not exclusively to put resources into novel ways – one such route is through “security tokens,” advanced resources controlled by “blockchain” computerized records. Tokenization, which has effectively made degrees of progress in private value, advances the “democratization” of venture by enabling moderately little financial specialists to add to ventures and empower liquidity for customarily illiquid resources. By conveying partial venture chances to the overall population, tokenization holds the possibility to reform the land advertise and bring this benefit class into the 21st century.
Read the Original Article Here: 2019 In Real Estate: Bursting Bubbles Or Best-In-Class?
by propertiesbyrayg | Nov 8, 2018 | Buying, Investing, Market News, Selling
After obtaining preliminary approvals in June, a controversial plan to extend the Dolphin Expressway, AKA “Another Sexy Highway,” to West Kendall through the Everglades was approved by Miami-Dade commissioners by 9- 4 votes on Thursday.
According to critics, the 13-mile project challenges sound urban planning practices and threatens the natural environment. Earlier this year in a sarcastic marketing campaign launched by the Transit Alliance Miami, the so-called Kendall Parkway Plan earned the nickname “another sexy highway.”
While the final route of the six- lane extension is still being completed, the new tariff will push beyond the county’s own urban development boundary— a line that separates protected natural lands such as the Bird Drive Basin from developments such as subdivisions and malls.
In addition to worsening traffic congestion, encouraging suburban spread and threatening the Everglades, opponents argue that the $ 1 billion plan could be at the expense of the type of mass transit improvements that the county actually needs.
Despite winning over most of the commissioners and appearing to be a fore sure conclusion, the project still needs to secure state, federal, and Department of Environmental Resources Management permits. Meanwhile, the new “sexy highway” in Miami-Dade county could potentially face some unsexy lawsuits.
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Read the Original Article Here: Miami-Dade OKs Dolphin Expressway extension through the Everglades
by propertiesbyrayg | Oct 29, 2018 | Buying, Investing, Selling
Most of the time in life, it is best to take a step back and look at the bigger picture to put things in perspective and make a smart decision. But, I have noticed that when it comes to real estate investing, it is wiser to dive in and analyze the specifics of the market to make a solid business decision. In order to profit on a deal in any market you need to understand the real estate cycle.
If you gather information from one real estate market and apply it to another you are at risk of missing out on deals that can generate a good amount of cash flow or long-term appreciation, because markets differ from location to location. Different real estate markets can be in different parts of the real estate cycle simultaneously. It can be sunny in Miami while snowing in New York at the same time. And to get more specific there can be a market within a market that is responding differently. For example, it can be sunny in Coral Gables, FL and raining in South Miami, FL.
Closely following your real estate market, and being able to identify the phase it is currently in, is crucial in making a sound investment versus deciding what deals to pass on.
The Basics
The real estate cycle consists of four phases, and they look like this:
Phase 1 | Recovery
Recovery is, most of the time, the hardest phase to signal out. Demand can still be slow when the market is recovering from a recession. Rental activity can be flat and not many developers are building as often, so the market can still seem sluggish. Although, to the trained eye (those paying attention to the details in the data), increase in property showings, a slower pace of past decline, or an interruption in the downward trend are all signals that the real estate market is heading upward in the growth direction.
During this recovery period, properties that need renovation and repairing can be a great opportunity to purchase, repair and renovate, then sell it for a strong return in the upcoming expansion phase. This is a great moment to acquire solid assets and hold them until the expansion.
Phase 2 | Expansion
Markets in expansion are heading upward and are facing a growing demand. The economy outlook is strong and jobs are plentiful. Rents are rising and vacancy is low. Developers are building more and at the peak of the expansion phase, supply and demand are in harmony. During this stage, builders and investors can profit from a higher demand knowing that turnover has reduced and rents are rising.
This is also a great time to execute the strategy of purchasing neglected properties at discounted prices and improving them to make a considerable profit during the expansion phase.
Phase 3 | Hyper Supply
Hyper supply happens when the economy begins to slow down or developments continue while demand slows down. Both of these are causes for occupancy rates to decrease and rents to decline. During this phase, wise investors look for good properties with steady tenants and long-term lease agreements already secured. Although, nobody can say when the next expansion phase will take place, these fixed-income investments provide a high level of performance until the next lease assuring stable times when the recession hits. At the same time, investors who can maintain their patience can reap the rewards of the opportunities presented by desperate sellers.
Phase 4 | Recession
When the players in a market can’t distinguish the downturn or choose not to acknowledge the warning signs of slowing demand, the hyper supply phase transitions into the recession phase. You can spot a recession by its oversupply, high vacancy rates and falling rents. In this very saturated market, investors willing to take a higher risk can purchase foreclosure properties, vacant land and fixer-uppers and developments at discounted prices compared to replacement cost. This is a long-term strategy for the investor who is patient enough and willing to work to stabilize the asset and hold until the cycle moves back through the recovery phase. Investors must choose wisely or risk getting burned by the fire.
In Conclusion
One of the most important factors to keep in mind is that different markets can be in different phases at the same time. So a plan of attack that works in the hyper supply phase in Miami, FL may not be as effective in an expansion phase in Los Angeles, CA.
Also, nobody can predict how long each phase will go one for. Even if we look into past data, we can’t expect the same highs and lows because the economy is always changing. On top of that, since cycles can vary from location to location and property type, the key is to be sharp and on the look out while understanding the details of each market so you can wisely implement the best strategy in every different situation. If you do, then you are bound to build a diversified real estate investment portfolio strong enough that has the ability to weather any storm.
Read the Original Article Here: Understanding The Real Estate Market To Score A Deal In Any Market
