Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Property Making An Investment In Today's Marketplace

By Rick Hart


It's been a tough time in the real estate market during the past couple of years. If you had invested in real-estate you could have lost your shirt. And if you are a house owner who purchased late in the boom times you almost certainly are underwater now and owe more than your house is worth.

Just about everybody in the real-estate market got hurt. Regardless of if you stood on the sidelines in that time, if you own a home it's doubtless worth less than it was five years ago... Perhaps a lot less.

But if you managed to make it the last couple of years and have some cash to invest and still have great credit, you may just be able to take advantage of some of the lowest home prices in numerous years... Maybe the best they're going to be ever.

Down in Florida where I live, we are beginning to see the investors come out. With numerous distressed houses in foreclosure and so many houses underwater, there are some amazing deals to be had.

One big Long Island investment firm named the Blackstone Group has purchased up 536 properties in 11 counties just in the month of October 2012. This is clearly an indication of the market changing. And if you have some cash to invest here's the type of deals you could be looking for.

Short Sales

Many house owners owe more on their homes than they are worth in the market now. If they can wait it out they might be fine again sometime. But if they need to move or can't make their payments, then they may have to think about selling for rather less than their investment is worth.

These short sales can be great investments if you know how to get them.

That's why short sales in Tampa are becoming a boom industry. Backers know a deal when they see one and many of those short sale homes are selling for 1/2 to 2/3 of what they were valued at 3-5 years ago. Just like The Blackstone Group, speculators with money to invest are looking for these short sales and foreclosure properties.

But the problem is buying a short sale isn't so straightforward. The banks wish to get as much money as feasible for their loan properties so any person who needs to buy must be prepared to negotiate with the banks. Lenders wish to get as much of their money back as possible. Having a good real estate consultant who understands short sales is critical for these investors. Even better, having a good real-estate solicitor who knows foreclosures and short sale negotiations is even a big advantage.

Foreclosure Sales

Yes foreclosures are still occurring in Florida. It may be years before the excess of hardship homes goes away. So there are still foreclosure auctions to be found. If you can be in the right spot at the right time, you can grab these up.

Naturally, with financiers a foot it means the prices of all houses will be going up. This is good news for almost everyone. Particularly if it continues and we can get the excess of distressed properties cleaned up.

But for now, this suggests it's a purchasers market... If you have the cash to invest.




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