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Real Estate Investment Tips First of all, I am NOT a real estate agent. I am a retired pharmacist. I won't make any commission from you. All the "Investment" is about "demand" and "supply". When demand is higher than supply, the prices go higher. When supply is higher than demand, the prices will go down. So, "Timing" is everything. The same house can be different price in different time. We all remember that horrible day 9/11/2001 changed our country. We have been attacked in our home land using our airplanes to kill our 3,000 people. No, I am NOT going to tell you about retaliation. I am trying to tell you about Real Estate market. It was a tremendous impact for all of us. Our Chairman of FOMC, Mr. Greespan at the time, lowered the interest rates several times in order to stimulate our economy. I remember in July 2003 the interest rate for 15 year term was 4.75%. People started to refinance their mortgage loans. Our government allowed people to borrow "Easy Qualified Loan" for new purchase mortgage. No credit check, no employment verification, borrow 120% equity loan, .... The real estate market went sky high in 2006 - 2007. I saw my condo went up 4.5 times (it is a true story), so I sold that condo for profits in June 2007. When the demand surplus over supply. I was NOT greedy, I sold that condo. When the escrow closed, my real estate agent asked me where I will buy properties after I took so much profits? I said "no, I think the properties are overvalued, too expensive. That's the reason I sold my property. I don't want to buy properties at the same time". My agent felt I was wrong putting money in the banks rather than reinvest. We all know our financial started to meltdown in 2008 - financial crisis. Many banks bankrupted when people couldn't pay their mortgage loan payment on time and been foreclosed. Indy Mac bank, Lemon Brother, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual, .... all disappeared. You could see many signs on the streets "foreclosure house, for sale". That was when Supply more than Demand. I bought a foreclosure condo from bank in a better area with a saving of $180,000 than previous owner in December of 2008. Please let me remind you to buy property in winter, and sell property in summer. Because people heading to shopping mall for gifts, clothing and food for holidays. Nobody purchase house, so sellers are more motivate to sell lower price when real estate are very slow. Every consumer enjoy the holiday season. In summer, students graduated from colleges and moved out or married or changed jobs or changed school district, that when real estate market is very active. In other words, you should sell properties rather than buying. You should be a contrarian. Buy in winter, sell in summer. Do the opposite with most consumers. The real estate foreclosure continues. I bought 5 more foreclosure properties in the winter of 2011 in Las Vegas. I fixed them and rented them out for rental income. I retired from my pharmacist job in July 2009, so the rental income just came in time. I keep the properties if the tenants stay. If the tenants moved out, then I sold the properties. Because the owners are from out of Nevada investors who don't live in Las Vegas. Such as I live in Calif NOT Nevada, but the properties are lower price than Calif. So, the owners need to look for tenants, when every out-of-state owner compete with rental prices for their investments, they lowered the rental prices. (a little rental is better than no rental income). I sold 2 properties in April of 2013 (this year) for profits just to make myself more cash reserve. I still have 3 properties in Las Vegas and 3 houses in Calif. The reasons I bought many properties instead of just one because (1) to reduce vacancy rate, (2) the tenants don't rent high-class area, more rental income with many units (3) the tenants live in average price area, when real estate market come back, they can effort to buy those 2nd class area. In Las Vegas, you buy condo complex or single family house, there are rarely have apartment. Always pencil out your ROI (Return on Investment) percentages. I used myself as an example to give you some real estate investment tips. I hope I helped you in some ways. I revealed my privacy to help you in real estate investments. I am NOT bragging my fortune. Please understand me. Honesty is the best policy. |
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Good info. Step one for me is: I have to rebuild credit as well as rebuild resources. at one time I had well over 700 score... can't say that's the case today  I would opt to buy in the State I'm located for the sake of keeping an eye on the properties, I did pay a property manager to look after the Texas homes, between that and the home I had in LA, It was very expensive education, especially when the economy nose dived. Even before I moved here, I passed up some very good deals in LA, which could have been good gains pre-boom and they would have survived the downturn. What ever I do, I have to do it with much focus, I can't afford to make mistakes at this point, it is not a time to be making any more mis caculations. My current strategy is to get a business to meet the ideals I want for business and with business profits to use that for rental investments. Here there are many low cost places, in areas of high rentals. I do want to work with non profit placement agency's who place families in homes. They not only place the family in the home, they do periodical inspections of the homes. It's more money in buying in more upscale areas and flipping it in a moving markets, but I don't want to be that kind of house flipper. I'd rather for it to be of benefit in a good way, while also making a profit for me monthly. As I get older, what is important is to have income from multiple sources. But any properties I get will be managed through an agency situation... because I don't want the head ache's renters cause when they are not connected via this kind of system. There is that saying " when there's blood in the streets' buy up the property"....
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There are 3 major holidays in winter, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. You know consumers spend money for food, clothes, gifts,.... The agent, banks and escrow company closed on holidays too. There are fewer buyers. The smart buyers will test you how motivate you are. They will cut your price lower. Honesty is the best policy.
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