I Told You So Twice

Yesterday, February 23, 2012, we hear from the Bank of Canada that there is a raising of concern about a housing "correction" in Canada.  http://ca.news.yahoo.com/boc-says-canadians-increasingly-vulnerable-due-rise-home-155811667.html.

I pointed to this possibility in my blog in July, 2011 here: http://almavesta.blogspot.com/2011/07/do-real-estate-values-always-go-up.html

and just a few days ago here:
http://almavesta.blogspot.com/2012/02/unprecedented-opportunity-right-in.html

The purpose of this is NOT to toot my own horn but to point out to folks that you have to look at what's going on around you and not wait until the media tells you so.  By that time, it's usually too late.  Anyone ever heard from the media: "The stock market went down today because of....so and so....?"  Well, if it went down, that's already history and it's too late to take advantage of that information, isn't it?????  Well, you get my point, I'm sure.

Now is literally the best time in history to invest in United States real estate and I've been writing about this for a long time now, trying to reach out to those that don't believe it.  Canada for now, is in general a very risky proposition for real estate investment, and if the Bank of Canada is concerned....well, fellow investors, perhaps it's time that you should be concerned and do something about it as well?  For Canadians specifically and for my American friends who need a primer on their own market, please read my article from July, 2011 : http://almavesta.blogspot.com/2011/07/do-real-estate-values-always-go-up.html.  You'll find some very interesting facts there because charts and numbers don't lie.

Enjoy your day.

Unprecedented Opportunity Right in Front of Your Eyes

Hello friends!

As I sit here at the end of the day, I wanted to take a few minutes and write about the general state of the real estate markets in the United States.  There is absolutely so much opportunity, and money being made in various markets right now, yet there are many investors who are still sitting on their hands, putting their hard earned good money into long term marginal causes such as the stock market (unless you know exactly what you are doing), and into other low interest bearing investments that barely manage to better the inflation rate, or in some cases don't even beat inflation! (Why the heck would you bother)?  Why do these investors make these poor decisions for themselves and their families?  Only they can tell you the reasons.

Right now, there are many emerging real estate markets in the USA that have good, stable employment, and have tremendous cash flow, low vacancy rates and incredible upside for long term appreciation.  There are so many properties available that will give an investor not only great immediate cash flow, but instant equity.  Can you get instant equity when buying a stock????...not very likely unless you're in the "know".

There are banks literally begging to get rid of their REO's, and mortgage notes.  Owners who need cash fast and are motivated to sell their property are out there, and the government also has a tremendous load of foreclosed properties.  Many of these are as a result of the sub-prime meltdown and the climate for the disposal of these assets will likely continue in the masses for the next year to two years.  But this incredible window is short and those that see it will amass tremendous gains, while those that ignore this fact will be wondering what happened a few years from now and they will be saying, "I shoulda, woulda, coulda!" and kicking themselves.  For those investors who want to build their portfolios at a high speed, now is the time to be selective, cautious about where and what to invest in, but also to make the decisions to move forward.  Why keep money in an IRA or 401(k) earning little to no return??  You are able to invest in real estate among other things with your retirement money and excellent projects and deals are out there to be had if you know where to look not only for bargains, but for quality.

Now a brief for my Canadian friends....the Canadian dollar is effectively at par with the US dollar and prices are deflated compared to the ridiculously appreciating Canadian markets that have been in a sustained upswing in price for over 15 years and are vastly overdue for a downward correction.  Markets simply do not continue to rise without some correction.  We have an insured solution for Canadians as well as US and other world investors to invest in the United States.  I urge you to consider investing in the United States for these as well as many other reasons not mentioned here.  For further information on our insured solution, contact me directly at: info@almavesta.com.  I'm very busy, but will respond personally to you to answer your questions.

If your investment dollars are sitting on the sidelines or are tied up in low return or negative return investments, talk to people that are not only in the market but are proficient and professional in their systematized approach to increasing wealth.  Deal with someone that you trust, whether it's us or someone else, but make a decision to do something with your investment dollars that is good for you.  You will be all the better for it in the long term.  Remember that Einstein said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result."  Until next time.....Carpe Diem.

Buying a Single Family Home for Wholesale!

Everybody wants a great deal, right?  The problem lies in determining whether you first have a deal at all, and then further figuring out whether you have that really great deal.  Where are you going to buy your property?  What is your purpose?....Is it for your family, or for investment?  There are many factors that will determine where to buy, but ultimately, it has to make sense to you.  You can source your property through a realtor, you can look at private listings, you can look at completed listings on eBay, or look at Craigslist.com, zillow.com, redfin.com, realtor.com, and the list goes on and on.  There are so many properties for sale that if you don't know what you're doing you can quickly get disoriented and make the wrong decision.

If you're buying for your family, you may have different factors to determine what your buying price will be and/or the location you want your home.  If you're an investor looking for an income producing property, you have to buy right or you will lose money.  This starts with comparing similar properties in the neighborhoods you are interested in and seeing what the "comps" really are and you need recent comps, which means sold within the last 90 days.  If the sale date is much older than that, that's not a comp!  You have to see what homes have been selling for and not what the ask prices are.  Although almost no two houses are exactly the same, by comparing lot sizes, neighborhoods, house size, house design, etc.  The more similarities the home you're looking at has to the ones that have sold nearby, the better a feel for the value of the home you will have.  You can get comps through a realtor with whom you have a working relationship with, or through web sites such as zillow.com, eppraisal.com etc.  Ideally, your local title insurance company (with whom you hopefully have a working relationship with) will have the best comps because their information will include private FSBO's (for sale by owner) properties which zillow and similar comps including those that you get from your realtor do not include.  Be careful and get the best comp information you can get to determine market value.

The next step is to buy knowing what it's going to cost to bring the property up to good living standards.  You need to know your numbers.  Do you need to walk the property?  Good idea.  If you can't walk it because you're too far away, hire someone who you trust.  You need to understand what it's going to cost to clean and fix, and/or rehab your home BEFORE you make an offer.  In other words, get a good, reliable estimate of repairs.  Even if you just need carpets and paint, you still need to factor in at least $10,000 for an average 3 bed / 2 bath home.  Don't think you can get away with just a couple of thousand dollars because you'll likely be way off and end up paying too much for your home because you underestimated the repair costs.  You have to factor in expected carrying costs if you're flipping the home, realtor commisions if applicable, closing costs and rehab costs.  Now that you know all your costs to a fairly good accuracy, you can determine your strike price, which is the maximum price that you can pay for the house depending on what you want to do with it.  If you're flipping or wholesaling, make sure that you have enough "room" in your price relative to the comps for the house so that you will make enough money to make it worthwhile.

For those people who are interested in buying a home for a deep discount wholesale price, with free and clear title, contact me as we have a direct link to substantial unadvertised REO's throughout the nation.  You'll get a great deal and we'll give you inspection data to help you.  Whether you're a wholesaler, investor or owner occupant, we will help you save big and give you a one-stop-shop.  The only way we do deals is completely transparent and through escrow to protect you to ensure that your money goes exactly where it's supposed to.....the purchase of your home.

Send us an email to: info@almavesta.com or call us at 1-888-799-7740 for more information.