All Entries Tagged With: "Real Estate Investing"

Top 3 Reasons Why Now is the Time to Buy Real Estate

Strong indicators show that we are in the best market to purchase a home.  Whether you are interested in buying a home as an investment, as a first time home buyer, or to move up to a bigger home, it doesn’t matter.  It’s still a great time to buy for everyone.  There are many more reasons why, but to make things easy, I can boil it down to three main factors.

1.  Housing prices are declining. The old saying, “buy low, sell high” applies here.  There’s no need to wait it out for the lowest price.  In fact, waiting it out could do you more harm than good.  You will miss a lot of great deals out there waiting for the market to bottom out.  Because real estate is for long term investing, your purchase will pay off even if you didn’t buy your home at the lowest point in the market.

2.  Mortgage rates are at a low. CBS Financial Analyst, Ray Martin, appeared on the CBS Early Show saying, “Rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage are at a level we won’t see again in our lifetime.”  Be full warned, when housing purchases increase, rates are going increase as well and historically they have increased rapidly.

3.  $8,00 First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit. Buy before December 31, 2009 and you’ll get an $8,000 tax credit if you’re a first-time buyer.  Know the definition of a first-time home buyer!  You can previously have been a home buyer and still qualify.  The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.  For married taxpayers, the law test the home ownership history of both the home buyer and his/her spouse. See First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.

Not sure how to proceed?  I’d meet with your mortgage broker and find out what you can afford to buy.  Credit score needs some work?  No problem, a good mortgage broker can help you improve your credit score.  Then, call me.  I can help you find the best home at the best price.

Susanne Quirk is a Realtor® with Cobblestone Realty specializing in residential homes in Jupiter, Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Contact Susanne at (561) 386-0350, e-mail, or visit our website www.TheJunoBeachRealtor.com to learn more.

Renters Benefit from Current Jupiter and Abacoa Real Estate Market

The down turn in the housing market hurt a lot of people who thought they would make it rich flipping houses. Heck, everyone was doing

it. It looked so easy. Just tap the equity in your primary home and wham! We’re raking in the money. No problem it’s easy money. Right about now is where you remember the saying, if it sounds too good to be true…it usually is too good to be true.

The clean up of all of this mess created by neophyte investors will take longer than necessary. Coupled with the finance problems in the mortgage industry and the tightening of money by most, if not all lending institutions, have created instant landlords out of flippers. I guess here is where I trow in the line with the realization that something is better than nothing. Yes my friends, we have a surplus of rental units on the market. In Abacoa alone the streets were lined with For Rent signs most of last year. The signs are starting to disappear one by one and the money from the rental market is flowing in again.

Opportunity! With every twist in the markets, there are opportunities for everyone. The way I see it, there’s good news and bad news.

First the good news…the surplus of rental units has created a price war amongst property owners. Locally, rent prices have dropped substantially in the last year. Renters now make “low ball” offers hoping to drive rents down even further knowing there are many eager (hungry) owners. Rental units that were commanding $2,000.00 per month now are renting for as low as $1,400.00. That’s a 30% decrease and a huge savings for the renter. That’s good news…for the renter.

The good news for the flipper now turned landlord, can see this as the opportunity that keeps him from foreclosing and allows him to wait out the market correction. (I know you are asking,”When is that?” It’s coming. Trust me. It’s just not this week.) The ultimate benefit to all this is that the lower housing costs and lower rents will make it more affordable for people to stay or move into the area. We have hardworking teachers, police officers, health professionals, etc. who have dedicated their lives to giving back to our community. We want to keep qualified and dedicated people as citizens of our community.

Now the bad news. With the surplus of rental units available in the Jupiter and Abacoa area, many rental properties are rented without properly screening tenants beforehand. Background investigations are not being conducted. Even worse, some owners are not requiring a security deposit, last month’s rent, or even any money at all to move in. Who are your new neighbors?

As an investor in Jupiter and Abacoa residential real estate, I personally take pride in my homes and tenants. I consider most of my tenants friends and would love to keep them as long as possible. I also require background checks, security deposits and last month’s rent. Have I ever had a problem with a tenant? You bet ya! Although, I do the best I can to protect myself, I have been caught a couple of times buy renters who”fled into the darkness.” However, we are ahead of the game and find the benefits far outweigh the bad.

If you have investment property and need to find a renter, work with a Realtor who can complete a background check for you. Know who is renting your property. We who live and work in Jupiter will applaud your efforts to keep our community safe. Protect yourself financially by always collecting a security deposit and last month’s rent from your tenants.

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Trump Says Now Is When Fortunes Are Made In Real Estate

Donald Trump sat down Thursday night with Jim Cramer of Mad Money (see video) to discuss the current economy. Although the discussion covered a variety of economic topics, what was most appealing to me was his thoughts on real estate. For quite some time now we have been advising our clients that the time to buy is now. In his interview with Cramer, Trump confirmed our advice and said, “…now is when fortunes are made in real estate.”

Now, that is not to say that everyone is interested in making a fortune. But, everyone wants to get a good deal. Remember, getting a good deal doesn’t mean waiting until the market has bottomed out. As I have said before, no one knows when that will be. Just know when you have a good deal in front of you and take advantage of it. There are good deals out there now.

We know that Fed Chair, Bernanke, is expected to lower interest rates again at the end of the month. Yesterday, President Bush announced a $140 billion stimulus package will be formulated to ward of a recession. Both are positive signs that our economy will improve and the housing market will benefit from it. All these efforts will provide a window of opportunity for attractive housing prices before prices begin to climb again due to consumer demands. Interestingly enough, Trump, who has investments throughout the nation, sees that the only two places in the nation doing well are Manhattan and our Palm Beach. We live in a unique area that does not follow the nation when it comes to the housing market.

As Trump stated, you have to find the right deal and the right place. We mentioned in a previous posting that developers are providing great incentives to purchase a home now (see Buying a Resale Home vs. Buying a New Home). We have a strong knowledge base of residential and investment opportunities in the area. Contact Cobblestone Realty for a qualified Realtor® to help you through the buying process.