Archive for August, 2008

Think long term strategy. Many people want to invest, but in reality only want to look at investment properties. They have no real clue as to what they should do. In fact they have no plan. Like any business you need a plan.

Real estate investing is a long term strategy. Yes you can make short term profits, and you should. You use those profits to fuel your longer term strategies. I can not tell you how many people have called me up and wanted to get started investing right away. I ask them to come and see me so we can go over their plan so I can figure out how to best help them. No they just want to start looking at cheap houses. I cannot help that person unless of course it was a n experienced investor.

A property management company can help you hold properties for the long term. By managing the rentals for, you they allow you to focus on buying properties, not day to day management. This can make holding homes for the long term easier to do.

Long term rental properties are a good way to provide a stream of income in later years. A professional agent can be a power boost to your investment career. Their knowledge of subdivisions, homes and values can help you buy great homes that will appreciate as your renters pay off your mortgage. Owning several of these free and clear when you retire is a no brainer in my book.

Don’t have any funds to buy rentals then consider re-habbing a home. This is a well used investment approach. I actually became an agent to get the capital to do this type of investing. Finding and fixing properties to flip to a retail buyer is a solid money earner if you do your due diligence.

There are a lot of people flipping houses these days. You have to be smart about it. You make your profit when you buy, you collect it when you sell.Once the repair work is done you have many options. You could sell it immediately, put it into rental or lease option the property.

Do you need to earn money to invest? Many of us do and a great technique for doing that is wholesaling. Basically you find a great deal and get it under contract. You can then assign the contract to an investor or retail buyer. When they close they pay your fee. The idea is simple really.

This enables you to make a profit on a home without all the hassles of buying it yourself. It puts cash into your pocket so you can invest it in a flipper or rental. It helps increase your investment capital. You can always do the reverse when buying. Look for a great wholesale property from an investor.

While some people will tell you to stay laser focused on one technique. I say stay laser focused on real estate investing but use at least three techniques to fund your investments and increase your long term wealth. Remember it is not a race and what others do is important. Its what you do on a steady week to week basis that will make the difference.

Government surpluses and abandoned properties are sold at government auctions to the general population at discounted prices. There are government auctions held in every state many times a month. No matter where you live in US or Canada, you’ll be able to find great deals at these auctions. Consider the investment possibilities or even starting your own business.

The government surplus items sold at government auctions are items not required by the federal, state, and local government. These items can come from the government purchasing more than they needed, or technological equipment that has been updated.

Items found at government auctions can also come from businesses that have gone bankrupt. Many of these items found at government auctions can include furniture, computers, electronics, furniture, and miscellaneous equipment. Most people don’t think of these types of items at a government auction, however, it’s where you can get these types of used items the cheapest.

Seized properties can consist of foreclosures, bankruptcies, criminal properties, etc. These properties can also be purchased at government auctions. Depending on the circumstances the police may seize property if the owner is sentenced to jail.

There are many causes as to why a property could be declared abandoned including the owner leaving the property (usually because of property taxes, mortgage default or simply because the property is valued at less then his current mortgage), or the owner dies but there isn’t any living family members on record.

You can find out where and when government auctions will be held in your state by searching the internet. There are many membership sites that will offer you details on the abandoned properties, seized properties, and government surplus items that will be offered at your local government auctions.

To determine which sites are legitimate it is highly recommended that you visit a government auction review site beforehand. This will educate you on which sites provide the most opportunities that government auctions can provide.

Getting started as a Short Sale investor is a great way to supplement your income, or even replace your full-time job with a more profitable and less time-consuming alternative. But the huge potential income is just one of many reasons that you’re going to love doing short sales. Here are some other reasons that you may not yet have considered:

- The “Win-Win-Win” Situation. When you work with a bank to find an acceptable compromise on a price for a preforeclosure property, you not only are obtaining a great investment for yourself, you’re also helping a distressed homeowner move on with their life without the burden of a foreclosure on their credit and their mind and helping a bank recoup money that they otherwise might have never even recovered. Of course, the investment property for you is the driving motivation here, but the other aspects aren’t so bad either. The other two parties may not thank you every time (if ever), but you are helping them both make the best of a bad situation, and you should feel better about that the more deals you do.

- You’re Solving Problems. And even more, you’re doing it quickly, efficiently and effectively! If a person has just agreed to a short sale, their mortgage is not their only problem, but once that particular problem is resolved, their stress-load is tens of thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of dollars lighter. And that relief can spur them into the next stage of their life where they’ll be able to clean up their messes and start over fresh – and all this without the taint of a foreclosure on their credit.

- Reliable, Predictable and Repetitious Results. Once you’ve mastered the art of short sale dealing, you have a permanent source of income in your repertoire. Short sale deals require you to take a certain number of specific steps, factor in certain and specific aspects of a property, then produce and acceptable offer and walk away with your new investment. Not all your offers will be accepted, and you’ll probably turn down some tempting deals because they’re just too risky, but once you know how to spot a good deal and negotiate successfully for it, your potential is limitless! Because there will always be foreclosures (it’s likely that the number will only increase as more and more people take out variable interest loans with rates they won’t always be able to afford) and lenders will always want to recover cold, hard cash.

- Feeling Good. The other thing that’s going to make you feel good is your personal satisfaction in a job completed well. When you close your first deal, you’re going to feel like you won a marathon, and when you close your twentieth, you’re going to feel even better! Investing in short sales may be a totally new area of endeavor for you, or it may just be a new niche of your real estate investing portfolio, but either way, mastering a new skill and making lots of money at it is incredibly rewarding. And the looks of admiration and even envy on your friends and family’s faces when you break the news that you just doubled your annual income with one or two short sales will be priceless.

It is in my humble opinion that if you fail to truly learn and utilize short sale investment strategies in your real estate career, you will easily never realize 80% of your income potential. Ask me how I know this… I could name a hundred students in every state who focus exclusively on short sales and preforeclosures as their sole means of income.

With over 1.2 million foreclosure, preforeclosure, bankruptcy, FSBO and tax lien listings, it’s important for training in the analysis and search of large and complex databases of foreclosed homes and investment property information. Being able to identify opportunities while researching top lending institutions and government agencies Real Estate Owned; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Fannie Mae, and other government agency and financial institution properties is essential.

Buying during the foreclosure period is one of the best ways for anyone to get involved in real estate investing. With a some specialized knowledge an investor can buy a house at a substantial discount and resell it retail gain up to 15% – 20% profit in the process.

Government surpluses and abandoned properties are sold at government auctions to the general population at discounted prices. There are government auctions held in every state many times a month. No matter where you live in US or Canada, you’ll be able to find great deals at these auctions. Consider the investment possibilities or even starting your own business.

Surplus inventory sold at government auctions come from the federal, state, and local governments. Often the government has a large surplus of unneeded items, and will liquidate them to the public at one of their many auctions. This can happen often as the government’s equipment requirements are constantly changing.

Items found at government auctions can also come from businesses that have gone bankrupt. Many of these items found at government auctions can include furniture, computers, electronics, furniture, and miscellaneous equipment. Most people don’t think of these types of items at a government auction, however, it’s where you can get these types of used items the cheapest.

Government auctions include seized properties which are made up of bank foreclosures, bankrupt commercial businesses, properties owned by convicted criminals, etc. Police often seize property if the owner is sentenced for a crime or if the property was used for a crime. The government also seizes the homes of the owners who are unable to keep up with their mortgage payments.

There are many causes as to why a property could be declared abandoned including the owner leaving the property (usually because of property taxes, mortgage default or simply because the property is valued at less then his current mortgage), or the owner dies but there isn’t any living family members on record.

You can find out where and when government auctions will be held in your state by searching the internet. There are many membership sites that will offer you details on the abandoned properties, seized properties, and government surplus items that will be offered at your local government auctions.

To determine which sites are legitimate it is highly recommended that you visit a government auction review site beforehand. This will educate you on which sites provide the most opportunities that government auctions can provide.

Learning forex trading online is not nescessarily difficult but you do need the proper knowledge to win. Learning Forex will make us a better equipped person when it comes to the Forex trade. If we know how the currency reacted to the given situation will help us to make an educated and informed decision. Learning forex markets is traditionally part of the curriculum in most business schools. In addition, you can learn forex markets and currency trading in separate courses, seminars, from mentoring or by instructions from dealers and brokers.

Foreign currency rates are constantly fluctuating with local, national and international events. Those looking into forex day trading must realize that the degree of fluctuation may remain steady or jump up or down sharply depending on a variety of factors. Foreign exchange trading is a negative-sum game. If you make money, then it is because someone else lost the same amount of money.

Brokers usually provide fundamental and technical analysis commentaries, economic calendars and other research to help with investing . Basically, a quality broker will give you everything you need to determine your best investment of funds to achieve success. Brokers earn money by charging a commission or a fee for their services.

Technical analysis using charting software, market sentiment, experience will show you which currencies to pair to trade. Forex Trading is a skill of identifying (and acting on) the probabilities. Technical indicators have been used by professionals for decades to succeed in the markets, yet they can be extremely difficult to understand, leaving most investors constantly wondering when to buy or when to sell. With some software you can instantly find the direction of a stock or currency then confirm the trade with not one but FOUR additional technical indicators .

Trades for foreign currency are available from Sunday afternoon up until Friday afternoon (00.00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In just about ever time zone throughout the world, you will find dealers that you can obtain a quote on every major currency. Trade a method that fits your personality. If you are like me and like hearing the cash register ring often then use day trading systems or strategies.

Forex trading opportunities are a reality for more and more people everyday — people just like you and me. Forex trading is usually conducted with relatively small margin deposits. This is useful since it permits investors to exploit currency exchange rate fluctuations which tend to be very small. Forex trading skills and the trading system! If you want to work less than 20 hours a day at home, if you want to make millions by trading freely at home, if you want to have financial freedom by trading Forex; you better LEARN Forex trading before you start trading Forex.

Learning Forex trading is not a easy task, but in no way it is difficult either. Forex trading is all about regulation, willpower and determination. Learning FOREX is different than the stock market because there are different factors. Everyone has the same data to predict those fluctuations and there is no insider information.

Investors, when they sign a contract to open an account, provides the broker the rights to loan out these shares. Investors use trends in order to predict the future direction of currency price movement, using forex trading systems. This way, Forex trends are analyzed as uptrends, downtrends or flat.

Learning forex trading requires dedication and the right information. If you need help then do attend a class or ask an expert. Learning forex does not require that you have a degree in economics or that you study the markets for years. The forex trading websites have made it easier for you to become successful.

Foreign currency rates are constantly fluctuating with local, national and international events. Those looking into forex day trading must realize that the degree of fluctuation may remain steady or jump up or down sharply depending on a variety of factors. Foreign exchange trading is a negative-sum game. If you make money, then it is because someone else lost the same amount of money.

Face to face teaching is a more in-depth way of learning how to trade Forex. These courses generally take place in small groups and focus more on the theory of currency trading. Face it; if you are a new, or even a fairly serious, trader how likely are you to come up with a totally new concept? There are some very smart and wealthy traders out there.

Technical analysis using charting software, market sentiment, experience will show you which currencies to pair to trade. Forex Trading is a skill of identifying (and acting on) the probabilities. Technical indicators have been used by professionals for decades to succeed in the markets, yet they can be extremely difficult to understand, leaving most investors constantly wondering when to buy or when to sell. With some software you can instantly find the direction of a stock or currency then confirm the trade with not one but FOUR additional technical indicators .

Trades for foreign currency are available from Sunday afternoon up until Friday afternoon (00.00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In just about ever time zone throughout the world, you will find dealers that you can obtain a quote on every major currency. Trade a method that fits your personality. If you are like me and like hearing the cash register ring often then use day trading systems or strategies.

Forex trading opportunities are a reality for more and more people everyday — people just like you and me. Forex trading is usually conducted with relatively small margin deposits. This is useful since it permits investors to exploit currency exchange rate fluctuations which tend to be very small. Forex trading skills and the trading system! If you want to work less than 20 hours a day at home, if you want to make millions by trading freely at home, if you want to have financial freedom by trading Forex; you better LEARN Forex trading before you start trading Forex.

Forex trading is easy, but making money Forex Trading is not. You need a plan! Forex trading has become a very popular form of trading on the Internet that many people are trying their hands at to make money and learn how to invest. The purpose of Forex trading software is to make the entire process easier. Forex Trading is the world’s largest financial market with an estimated daily average turnover between $1.5 trillion to $2.5 trillion that we cannot doubt. If we want to make profit from this investment, there are some related skills that we definitely need to know.

Forex trading is not a game, never has and never will be, don’t you agree my friend? I have seen and heard so many sad stories of traders who lost their socks trading forex. Forex trading involves high risk and you can lose a substantial amount of money. Readers use the information and links entirely at their own risk. Forex trading is a SPOT trading, which means that all trades are settled on the second business day after your position has been opened. SWAP operation is used to avoid the physical delivery of a currency.

The fourth part of this series deals with the debt/equity ratio, which is another key component of Warren Buffett’s legendary methodology. In fact, it is a component that the man himself treats very carefully when deciding which stocks to invest in. Just like the return on equity in the previous part of this series, it is an equation that is commonly used in finance, however, Buffett is the one who makes the most and greatest use of it.

The components that make up the debt/equity ratio are fairly obvious and I’m certain that many people first heard of it in high school in a commerce or business class. But just in case, there’s still some confusion, I will give a quick, brief explanation. The debt/equity ratio is given by total liabilities of a company divided by shareholders’ equity.

Both components of the ratio can be easily obtained by accessing a company’s balance sheet, which is also sometimes known as a statement of financial position. This process of finding and taking these numbers is known as taking the ‘book value.’ However, if the debt and equity was being traded publicly, you are able to use the market value if you choose to. Furthermore, you will have the option of using a combination of both.

The ratio illustrates the proportion of debt and equity the company is utilising to support its assets. If a ratio is high, this corresponds to a situation where debt is mainly shoring up the company. The principal dilemma with a high ratio is that it renders earnings volatile and leaves it at the mercy of interest rates, which can be expensive.

This is something that Buffett takes very seriously and it’s important to understand the reasons why. Like everyone else, he prefers to see a small amount of debt and the reason why is that small amount of debt means that earnings growth is being generated from shareholders’ equity as opposed to borrowed money. If a company is using borrowed money to finance its earnings, this tends to commence a vicious cycle of debt and repayments which is volatile and which is at the mercy of interest rates.

The lesson to digest from Buffett is to focus your efforts on companies that have a low ratio, or at the least a ratio which is low compared with other firms in the same industry. All that’s needed from your part is to calculate the ratios for each company, but as I pointed out previously, the necessary information is often available on company reports.

Some investors use only long-term debt instead of total liabilities in the calculation of the ratio. This could prove to be more useful and convenient as investing in stocks is for the long-term not the short-term. This is not just my own personal view, but Warren Buffett’s own way of thinking.

The fifth and final section of this publication will concentrate on one final component of Buffett’s methodology known as profit margins. Coming soon!