NCRE Investors Group Blog

Has anyone invested in Kiawah Island, SC. It is where Vice President Joe Biden vacationed this summer. They have great golf. USPGA Championship is going to be played there in 2012. It is a very private retreat for the wealthy and the powerful. I think there is potential for profit when economy rebounds. Some people with houses there lost a lot of money last fall and the market is ripe. These are nice large houses, very prestigous and well built. I have looked at a few, as I live about an hour away.

Here is a link to the island's webpage and a builder's page I have talked to who has  a couple of nice properties.

http://www.kiawahisland.com/

http://bennetthoffordconstruction.com/

I found this article on msnbc:

BEIJING - Beijing lawyer Ying Guohua is heading to the United States on a shopping trip, looking not for designer clothes or jewelry, but for a $1 million home in New York City or Los Angeles.

He expects to get a bargain. Ying is part of a growing number of Chinese who are joining tours organized especially for investors who want to take advantage of slumping U.S. real estate prices amid a financial crisis.

 Continue reading article:   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29162036/

We all talk about positive and the best scenarios of real estate investing, but what happened when everything goes wrong?

This can be anyone of us who buy and hold properties in the past few years. So now, do you keep on going negative cash flow of $1,000 per property? and for the duration of the term of the loan? This means for the next 25-20 years? When the real estate market has been going up, we didn't seem to mind that negative cash flow. But now, we just found out all our down payment was down the drain, and not to mentioned we are hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative equity. Believe me, I have few of those in CA. I totally understand how you feel.

Refinancing is not an option for those who just purchase your properties last few years. You do not have equity to reduce payment. So, what do you do now?

I listed few suggestions, but it is up to you to take the action. Think about it, what do you want to do? and what are the solutions?

1. Keep on going! Personally, I can not afford having bad credit as a real estate investor, so, my approach is 'keep on going'. I am aggressively buying value added properties. For single family detached homes, I would want at least $40k - $50k in equity and $200 - $400 in cash flow per investment property. This is how I offset my positive cash flow with my negative cash flow properties.

2. Loan Modification - modify your interest rate and terms to give you a better payment options. I've seemed modification to 2% interest rate for 2 year, then fixed at 5% for the remaining years. So far, I have not seem principal reduction for loan modification yet.

3. Short Sale - This becomes one of the hottest Exit Strategies for many property owners. There is no cost to the owner. Agent's commission, short sale negotiator, closing costs and expenses will be paid by the seller's lender. Best thing is, your credit can usually be repaired within 6 - 12 month. When your credit is restored, you can probably buy a similar house back at 50% off.

You are still qualified if you already stop payment. Actually, you do need to stop payment and show hardship. Once short sale approval started, we might be able to stop the trustee sale and prolong the staying of the owners if is an owner occupied unit. For those owners who is already in default, do not put this off. There is nothing to loose.

4. Foreclosure - foreclosure damages your credit for approximately 7 years. This is actually worse than filing bankruptcy protection. Do not ever postpone what you need to do and get to the position.

I will be adding an article in our resource center to further educate our members. If you need further assistance on these options, give us a call at 888-688-NCRE (888-688-6273.) It does not matter where your property is, we'll assist you with some options and help you restore your credit. Don't wait now!

Whatever you decided to do, best of luck everyone!

Denise Yee

With the current economy and market trends, you’d think that foreclosures occur in almost all of the states in the US. While this is a fact, much of the foreclosures are condensed in several states. There are nine states that have foreclosure rates that are above the national average. Four states however, have huge foreclosure rates, these are: Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida. The states that have foreclosure rates that are around the national average of 11 per 5,000 housing units include Illinois, Oregon, Georgia, Michigan, Idaho, Ohio, Colorado and Utah. The states with the lowest foreclosure rates on the other hand are comprised of the following; Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia. Just to give you a picture of how the top four states faired, Nevada had 14,444 foreclosures; California had 76,761; Arizona 14,674 and Florida 40,770 (these are based on foreclosure statistics for January 2009 http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=5822&accnt=64847). You can go to this link to view the geographical statistics - http://www.stateline.org/live/issues/Economy+%26+Business.

I always thought that good Feng Shui is always a must when moving into a new house. It can be very exciting because you are in total control of how you arrange your furniture and accessories. There are some tips out there that will greatly help you but before anything else make sure that you don’t bring stuff that are unnecessary. If you haven’t used something in months or years, chances are you’re never going to need it in your new house. Sometimes we have an emotional connection with certain items, think twice before bringing them in – especially when this item has been in your room for years. Always arrange your home accessories with clarity and simplicity in mind; this will greatly help your energy levels. 

Some people would be able to relate to me when I say that I’ve had contractor problems in the past. It can be very frustrating especially for people who are just starting out. I’d like to share what I’ve learned so that you folks wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

 Sometimes when a contractor’s bid smells fishy, most of the time it is what it is – a big fish. It can be enticing to pay a small amount but usually they’re not really familiar with the work at hand or sometimes they’d like to over run costs.

Never let only one contractor inspect the property, if you do that you’re running the risk of having the contractor persuade you to buy more expensive stuff or more work than what you both initially agreed on.

 Always get references. Don’t sign a contract just because you got emotionally attached to the contractor’s ideas. After all, at the end of the day you’re the one who’s going to end up with a run of the mill property.

 Speaking of contracts, always sign one with the contractor. This way you don’t end up in the grey area of things. Everything will all be in black and white – which is definitely safer.

 They say that the best form of marketing is by word of mouth, so you can always turn to people you know and ask if they know a good contractor and chances are, they will.

New to being a real estate investor? I’m sure you’ve probably thought how to make big profits by buying and selling property. Read on and I’ll give you a few tips.

 Look at the bright side. Some properties may not look much because they need a little fixing. If you have an eye for interior design or architecture, then you could make a few thousand dollars more by just applying a new coat of paint, or installing a new fireplace. Not only did you have fun renovating the place but you also earned from doing what’s fun.

 Search and conquer. Find homes that are being offered on a short sale. Now this is a little bit tricky, as you also need a very good real estate broker. Some of these homes have 2 or more loans on them. Typically these types of homes are on its last leg and the bank would rather not get the ownership back because they will realize that they’d lose more than what the property is worth.

 Look for a Rehab. No, I’m not talking about THAT rehab, it’s a real estate term for houses that need more than a quick fix. These houses would probably need to have the walls fixed, electrical and plumbing, or even a new roof. This project requires a lot but if you have patience, then you can still get a pretty good profit.

 There are many other ways with which you can make a profit from investing in real estate. All you need is to do is to be aware of the real estate’s potential, and of course a little hard work.

 If you have more tips please include them in your comments – that would be great help!