Real Estate Blogs

Getting Rich by occupying other people's property This ancient remedy was helpful in resolving disputes in the latter part of the Middle Ages. If one farmer continued to cultivate a piece of land at the back of his farm and the farmer’s neighbor did not object, then after 7 years, he owned the land. At the time of course, it was not worth much. What is the purpose of squatter rights? The purpose of squatter rights was to regularize the boundaries of the properties. The added value of the cultivation of the property over a period of years was considered to be an investment and an improvement of the land. Be careful of your neighbors taking over your land, it could cost you a lot of money and possibly losing your ownership. Most of us think that squatter rights were abolished many years ago. This...

Is buying a home with no money down a practical goal? Actually, it has become easier than ever. But unfortunately, it has also become more necessary than ever, since fewer and fewer people seem to be able to save money. In fact, I would like to respectfully suggest that if you need to buy your home with no money down, you may have a more general problem with your finances that needs to be worked on first. But in any case, there are times when it makes sense to eliminate that down payment, so let's look at four ways to do it. 1. Use credit cards. Here is a great way to get into more financial trouble or, if you handle it right, a good way to stop spending your housing dollars on rent. Get a $95,000 loan on a $100,000 condo, for example, and you only need $5,000 for the down payment. Now you just...

1. Landlords on rentfaster.ca , Craiglist or Kijiji - Check out these websites under the “houses/apt for rent” sections, and you’ll find a huge list of property owners, along with their phone numbers and property addresses! Not all these owners will be cash buyers, but most investors with enough knowledge to buy multiple properties could probably do a cash deal or refer to others within their network. 2. Real estate clubs - Attend functions and seminars in your area run by local investment clubs. Network and converse with everyone and ask what their specialty is while letting them know what you do. You’ll make great business relationships and most importantly add to your list of buyers. 3. Real estate agents - These professionals have unique tools and experience that is valuable. They also have an existing network of buyers and sellers. Create relationships with a number of key agents and they will be...

There are a number of ways to invest in the overall appeal of your home. You can make strategic changes to the outside of the home. Landscaping, painting and home washing are activities in this category. It is also possible to invest in your home’s appearance by making changes indoors. Replacing bathroom, kitchen and bedroom furnishings is a way to do this. Fortunately for home owners that are many great furnishings and decor items available for improving the home’s appearance. You can make vital changes if you’re considering putting your house on the market. Some homeowners want to simply make specific changes that enhance the style and look of living spaces. It doesn’t matter how many rooms you will include in your project. There are targeted ways to redecorate each room. This can even be done on a budget. One of the first things that homeowners should do is to make a list. This list must include each...

Many investors come to us with “deals” that are not “deals”! What they actually have is a lead, sometimes a bad lead, that they are emotionally attached to and then they want us to tell them how to make the deal work. First of all, don’t get emotionally attached to a piece of real estate (unless you live in it). It’s just real estate and there’s plenty more where that came from. You have to look at all deals from a business prospective. It’s not usually difficult to know if it’s a bad deal so here’s a checklist: 1. The numbers don’t add up. You must have a formula for buying. We use a “Deal Structure” calculator. We plug in the purchase price, all the costs including renovations and monthly overhead, and calculate what we can pay to sell at a profit. If the numbers don’t work, they don’t work. Which leads me...

Being a real estate investor for a year now and positioning my first poorly built website to be number one on the first page of Google and all other search engines on all my major keywords with some closed deals and listings to show for it. I looked back and analyzed how I was able to achieve those fits within a year and this is what I came up with. I hope it will be of help most especially for those upcoming investor and would be investors 1. Choose your target market or niche and come up with a plan to capture it 2. Define how you are going to reach out and conquer your niche or market You can only conquer your market through the use of the following methods or use of both i) Traditional marketing: I can only recommend this method to somebody who is an extrovert and has a lot of friends and colleagues ii)...

Cash is king. If you are flush with cash and ready to make a deal, sometimes it’s easier to get acceptance on a lower offer in a competitive situation. Because cash buyers get to skip over the treacherous loan qualification process, cash deals are considered a “sure thing” and therefore more attractive to sellers. Here are five tips for home buying with cash. 1. Leverage your position to the max. Because cash buyers get to skip over the loan qualification process, cash deals are more attractive to sellers in many cases. Take advantage of this position and ask for terms such as a closing timeline, home repairs, cash allowances, or a homeowner’s warranty. You can even ask sellers to cover closing costs as a cash deal contingency. 2. Work with a real estate broker or lawyer experienced in closing cash deals. This tip could save you money and prevent legal hassles down the line. You want someone on your...

Recently I had a client approach me for a mortgage. I first met her when I was filling my property with a Rent to Own strategy. At the time, she was looking in an area outside of where I am currently investing. She recently approached me to request a mortgage as her income is good and her beacon score is decent. She is in the mid 600’s. However, she had collections from the Ministry of Finance and a loan through a company, called Easy Financial that charges 42% annually. She also had previous collections that would not come off her bureau until for another 3 and 4 years respectively. With Easy Financial, she was making only the minimum payments and at that rate, it is simply too difficult to pay down and she was basically drowning! We sat down and looked over her situation and I recommended that she pay...

Probate or “probate administration,” is a legal process whereby the probate court oversees the settlement of your estate, ensuring that all interested parties are notified and have an opportunity to be part of the process. A thorough and accurate accounting of the estate is prepared and all final debts and tax obligations are satisfied. The probate process can take a fair amount of time to complete and can be expensive. Also, additionally, any property that must go through probate can be tied up for many months or may be a few years. How to avoid probate? There are a various number of ways you can pass your real estate to your inheritors without the hassle of probate. The strategies we are going to explain are fairly simple compared to others which are very time consuming and take a lot of effort. There is no cookie cutter method which fits. You...

Rent to own is a great concept where a family wishing to buy a home is declined at the bank due to a number of reasons such as credit issues, employment, type of house or location. With no other options to buy besides coming up with a 25-35% down, they can enter into a rent to own agreement with as little as 2-5% down. They pay market rent plus an additional option credits to be applied to the initial down, and exit in a couple of years and be approved for a mortgage. The concept is simple, the investor holds onto the deposit as collateral, and they keep it when the tenant defaults. Simple right? Allow me to enlighten you on the other side of the fence. Financial lending in Canada has changed greatly over the last five years with the departure of major sub-prime lenders such as GMAC, Accredited, HSBC Financial, Citi Financial, Wells...

The Art of Drafting Your Content You’re right, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Writing a letter to a prospect seller can be remarkably simple. After all, your bottom line message is this: I want to buy your house. How much simpler can you get, right? But then again, like a lot of things in business transaction – and in life, for that matter, it’s not really what you say that matters. It’s how you say it. So instead of conjuring up ways to write fancy letters with many words your possible sellers may not even know the meaning of, concentrate instead on having your letters read. While it doesn’t guarantee a successful deal, it does increase your chances of getting one. The latter is definitely bound to be a better take on things, don’t you think so? Your point is to clearly share the features and benefits of working with your company – things a homeowner will...

Selling a house in a slow real estate market can be difficult. In times like these, it's not enough to simply list your home and wait; you actually have to sell your home. No one really wants to sell anything when the market is bad, however, it's not impossible to sell your house in these conditions. It just takes a positive attitude and a different kind of game plan. Even though the market's not favourable to sellers and widespread economic recovery perhaps months, even years off, there are a number of tactics available to increase the likelihood of a sale. 1. Know your market One of the most important things you can do to get your house sold is to learn your market, the value of your property and your competition. Most sellers operate in the dark, simply offering the property for the price they want, without regard to what other homes have sold for...

How to Leave a Good Impression When the Seller Finally Calls If you’re new in the business, you may be debating on whether to stick with trusty old voice mail or actually make the effort to invest in a reliable “Live Answer” paging service. On the chance that you haven’t made a decision, here’s a sound recommendation: opt for live answer In fact, you should make it a must. If you’re really determined to make a worthwhile investment, go for something that will help you have good returns on your business, and a quality answering service will definitely boost your marketing campaign. Unless you find yourself sitting at your desk in the office most days – in which case you don’t need a system to take the calls for you – it’s highly recommended that you go for a company that offers “live service” answer. After all, what’s the point of shelling out the extra cash if you’re just...