US real estate

Not sure if this belongs in this forum, but it is about making money

I have received some tips about very cheap US real estate. People are willing to sell their homes for a very low price because of the bad economy and odd mortgages some people signed years ago. I was hoping there are a few people here who know a little more than me, obviously nobody can tell what the future will bring us, but is now the right time to invest in some real estate?

Im talking small personal scale by the way. I would buy a house that needs a bit of fixing (this adds value) then rent it out or live in it myself and in a couple years resell it for a higher price. It's a really simple idea that works almost anywhere. If you are a bit handy, you can make $100k - $200k a year fixing up houses in southern Europe and selling them as vacation homes.

we doing blackhat real estate methods now! lol

It looks like the market is close to the bottom right now, but it looks like it will be awhile before it goes back up. If you can hold on to the property for a few years before unloading it then you can make some serious money.

ukescuba said:

we doing blackhat real estate methods now! lol

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This is the "making money" forum, I have seen quite a few offline money making methods and questions here, figured why not give it a try. This is a solid & legal opportunity that can get you a hell of a lot of money, especially if you are from Europe with the extremely low dollar rate.


Thanks gekahop, that sounds good.

Real estate is where it's at. I am in this business also and I have made almost $400,000 last year alone. I flip houses and am able to pull in anywhere from $10K-40K per property. In today's market there is still a lot of money to be made. What I do is look for distressed properties and go in and have a team that fixes it up and then resell it for profit. The best way is to look for a neglected property or a property that needs to be sold because they are facing a foreclosure, or because of a divorce, death, illness, etc. When you start off at first you should do some of the work yourself and that way save thousands. Landscaping, tile work, hardwood and such is quite easy to learn and do but it can improve your bottom line dramatically. Later on once you have more money on hands don't do any of the work yourself because then you should count on a high volume of flipped properties and even though you wont make as much profit per property you will flip more since the contractors can go in and finish it much faster than if you were doing some of the work yourself. Also if you use carpet often you should buy it in bulk in order to save money and then have it stored for later flips. The same goes for hardwood, tile and paint. Same carpets, hardwood, tile, colors will work in every house as long as it's clean and open. Also if you decide to put in granite counter tops, you can look for local places that sell remnant slab in order to save hundreds. Another tip is buy houses up to $250,000 because they sell much quicker and you don't want it to sit there and collects dust - carrying cost can ruin your bottom line. There are a lot of tricks to this but the easiest way to learn is to get down to dirty. Good luck and in two or three years you could be pulling more than $500,000 in net profit if you do everything correctly and put in a lot of hard work. Good luck!

One thing to take into consideration is that if you're planning on getting home loans for the first time, even if you've got great credit, you're still going to need to put down ~40% in most markets unlike the 10% many people are used to paying.

20% down will usually do just fine.

premiumsource said:

20% down will usually do just fine.

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It honestly depends on the bank. I just talked to a bank about some property I'm thinking of purchasing. I've got great credit, own a business, and they were asking for 40%. From what I understand talking to some other individuals, this is becoming more and more common if you haven't done a large amount of business with a specific bank. Obviously every situation is different though.

Not only that but many of the loans which are going bellyup are those lovely variable rate and 125% of appraised value loans, which means that the banks are buried in them.

The banks would rather let such repoed houses fall down than sell them for less than is owed.

I know of a house on a small lot, which needs and entirely new foundation and basement, a new roof, paint, gutter, interior work, a new front porch which cannot be removed as the main roof structure extends over it; said house is only about 1100 square feet, built in 1915 and the current loan balance is $75,000.00.

This house is next door to me!

The owner is trying to do a FSBO on it but prospective buyers puke when they hear the price!

There is a pool in the neighbourhood as to when the house will burn down.

"Fixing up" a house does not necessarily "add value"!

There is money to be made right now in the housing maket, if and only if, you have avery good idea of what you are doing.

Not for the faint of heart or amateurs.

Jax71,

If you can purchase your real estate with cash, especially in a private deal, you can 'steal' it from the seller, if he's in financial trouble. Sounds cruel, but it's business not a charity. Whatever it's up for, you decide what it's worth to you and make that offer. If they won't come down to your price, walk away!

I have been professionally in real estate for a little over twenty years and about to get back in the game.

If you need finance you can still make money at the moment because real estate is in trouble in the U.S. and, as always, it will go back up, but paying cash and fast-flipping is where the real money is.

premiumsource knows what he's talking about and gives sound advice. There are ways of purchasing distressed properties, fixing them up quickly and cheaply and almost doubling your money quickly when you flip them. Learn what to do and what not to do when fixing them up. Some costly changes don't actually add value but a change of interior colour can make a property more saleable as can changing old-fashioned fluorescent tube lighting for halogen and a real easy trick...changing the handles on kitchen units can make the units look new again. (Sounds corny but these tricks work).

Once you know what you're doing, real estate is the quickest way to millons anywhere in the world.

Although I have sold property professionally for a commission, on my own homes, I have always at least doubled my money within a short space of time. I even had a vacation home purchased for $32,000 which I sold a couple of years later for $100,000. My home in Spain purchased for $120,000 sold twelve months ago for just under $500,000.

You need an eye or a gift for this but it can be learned. The real secret is not to have any emotion when purchasing. Don't 'fall in love' with the property or purchase it because it has a cute little garden. You want it as cheap as possible and be able to see through everthing to what YOU can make it into. I am currently living in a new house I purchased because it had the most potential for profit, not because it is my dream home. I have only been here three months and already doubled it's sale value with what I've done to it.

If you have several properties on the go at once you can't do this, but it is often better to live in the property you are selling.

One final trick; make all the rooms on one floor the same colour. It makes the property look bigger. Nothing worse than the every room a totally different colour.

If you are a real estate virgin, I envy you. When you flip your first property for over twice what you paid for it, the feeling is better than sex. Especially as you can do it again, and again and again.

Now go do it!

PS Just re-read your original post. Depends where in southern Europe you are talking about. There are dangers in some countries. Feel free to PM me if you want to run anything by me.

themagician

As the housing market goes down the minimum payment on your loan seems to go up.

One thing to remember about flipping houses is that you're really just a contractor who oversees the project. It may sound easy, but it takes years of experience to know who to hire, how much to pay, what to look for and how to efficiently budget your project.

From what i have seen, the successful flippers tend to be those who all ready work in the real estate industry and are familiar with all the details. The cliche married couple who work at office jobs by day and try flipping a house on the weekends always seem to lose tens of thousands and their marriage.

Dont be fooled by all the TV shows, flipping a house is A LOT of work.

100% accurate Atlas, and good post! As Uptownbulker wisely puts it, this is, "Not for the faint of heart or amateurs".

It is still easy to get burned. Real estate is not forgiving and you must get each and every step right. People making huge accidental profits are few and far between.

If it was easy, everyone would do it...But it is worth it if you learn how to do it well, a lot like Black Hat.

themagician

Guys, a few of you have made a couple of very good points which could help first time flippers or even more experienced ones as well. First time flippers should definitely read each post carefully in order to avoid colosal mistakes and make the right moves. Here is one more tip: GET YOUR REAL ESTATE LICENSE! = this is critical!! You can save yourself up to 6% this way and this could be a difference maker between a succesful flip or a total failure. Think about it, 6% in a $200,000 deal is $12,000. I'd rather keep $12,000 than giving it away

...Quite right premiumsource, As always, the extra bucks are in the details.

themagician

Now, dont't get me wrong here; I'm NOT attacking ANYONE on this thread!

Yeah, a couple of years ago I LOST in excess of $280K USD in a real estate deal.

I am STILL recovering!

I HATE fucking dirt!

I fucking HATE realtors; they are the same sort of scum as lawyers and my opinion of lawyers is well-known on this forum.

"Realtors" are concerned about only one thing: their commission.

"Realtors" do not give a flying fuck about you or your money.

I liked'ta smacked a "realtor" at a function the other day when he told me that he could give me good "investment advice".

Fucker.

Here's some "investment advice"; you get on your knees and if you're good, I'll "invest" in your lying mouth!

Nothing but a pimp for himself and his buyers.

Yes, you can save a lot of money by getting your own real estate licence but if you have one, I will not deal with you.

There is NOTHING that a "realtor" can do for you that you cannot do for yourself if you take the time to become educated in the field (pun) of moving dirt.

"Realty" is nothing but a fucking Labour Union that has preferential legal backup and I HATE unions!

There is some truth to that, you shouldn't just blindly trust anyone. You need to inspect the property thoroughly and make a rational decision. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

...Absolutely right Uptownbulker,

Nothing that a Realtor, Lawyer, Website Designer, Car Mechanic, Constructor...need I go on, can do any better than you can do yourself. If you know how! But until you have that knowledge, the knowledge that came with years of University training, passing degrees and afterwards years of experience, you must pay, whether it is a flat fee or commission.

I do get your point totally and agree wholeheartedly but until we have a society where I do stuff for you free and you do stuff back for me free I will still get to wear the Gucci shoes and drive the fancy cars.

themagician

Thanks but I firmly believe that all realtors who act for anyone but themselves, should be rounded up and sent to an island for five or ten years so that they can feed off of each other trading seashells, rocks and grains of sand.

The survivors should then be spayed or neutered, as the case may require and put on public display as "predators" and when the last of them dies off, the corpse should be put in a large tank of formaldehyde and displayed as the last example an extinct species.

Perhaps the others could be displayed as skins tacked on walls, heads on plaques, rugs like they used to do with tigers,

Perhaps a few breeding pairs of Realtorus Scumbucketii could be placed in preserved and allowed to procreate, thereby to produce food for more honourable predators and denying such similar scavengers their meals.

Hilarious!...and very inventive.

Maybe realtors, or Estate Agents, as they like to be called in the U.K. work a bit harder for their money, they sure don't enjoy a better reputation than in the U.S.

As I said before, I totally agree with you. Love 'Realtorus Scumbucketii' You should patent that name! lol

themagician

Now, would you like to know how I REALLY feel?

oh wait

not here