Archive for December, 2008

The Most Important Aspect of Flipping Houses – Curb Appeal

Monday, December 29th, 2008

Of course, you’ve already considered location, so the first step you need to contemplate in purchasing a house for flipping is curb appeal. What does it look like from the street? If people aren’t anxious to buy after driving buy, what chance do you have of making a sale? Curb appeal is everything.

Actually, it’s curb appeal times two. You need to consider what it looks like to you for buying and you need to envision what it’s going to look like to a prospective home-buyer when you sell.

If the outside of the home doesn’t captivate you, then no matter what you do to the inside, you face an uphill battle. I’ve had great houses with great prices . . . and potential buyers barely slowed down as they drove by. You need to believe that with a little work and a little money, you can transform a home from a liability to alluring.

Curb appeal consideration for you:

  • Roof lines even? – You don’t want to see a sagging roof, even if it’s structurally sound. That look could cost you thousands in resale value.

  • Additions un-cobbled? – Many times people add on dormers or little additions. If there are additions: do they fit the basic “look” of the house? Does the roofing material match? You don’t want to be changing those. You want the home to look picture perfect.

  • Garage converted to a family room or bedroom? – Many times ramblers have original built-in garages converted to extra bedrooms and/or family rooms. The driveway comes up to the house and you can easily see where new siding was added to “hide” the conversion. This rarely works. The best I’ve seen used French Doors into a family or garden room.

  • House settling? – If you can see from the street that the house has settled, there is little you can do outside of major foundation work.

  • Concrete work settled? Cracked? – Front steps off kilter? Actually, you can build new steps around them. Often you construct a small deck that both hides the old concrete and enhances the new look. This hides unsightly cracks as well (make sure they are repaired first, however (don’t just cover them up).

  • Crappy neighbors with crappy homes, crappy landscape and crappy attitudes? – If you can buy their homes for a good price, consider it. If not, pass it by otherwise you’ll be trying to show your home while the police stop by next door for an on-location shooting of “Cops.”

    If you purchase the house, you will start working on the curb appeal as well as general remodeling. You need to capture the hearts of your potential buyers.

    Curb appeal for your new buyers:

  • Put up large street address numbers so people can easily locate your home for sale.

  • Nicely painted – Fresh paint adds value and says the home is well-cared for.

  • Landscaping – Big bushes and trees add instant value. Tie the landscaping together with edging and you have a complete look. If you don’t know what time of year you will be selling, choose mostly evergreens and then add flowering plants just before you put up your sign.

  • Charming – Nothing sells like charm. Don’t settle for bland. Add color that highlights the home. Got room for an arbor? Is there a small private area that can still be seen from the street? Room for a bench? Does the house have shutters. They don’t even have to work. They can even have to work. Shutters or “faux” shutters can be used to accent the windows and make them appear larger.

  • Dramatic lighting – Make sure your address is well lighted. Use dramatic spot lights to show off the landscaping and the private areas. If your house is vacant, choose a nice table by a beautiful window to add an attractive lamp. You want a shade that sends light up and down. You’re want people to have the feeling that they’ve come home after being away, and someone left the light on for them.

    People view houses when it is convenient to them, this often means after work, at night. Be sure to check out your curb appeal for different times of day and night.

    Imagine the house you’re selling as the perfect home. How would it look, if it were painted as a romantic scene by Thomas Kincade? You would see drama. You would see color. The lighting would pull you into the painting. Create that picture for your curb appeal.

    What you want is an image that stays in the mind of potential buyers. They drive by. They call. They look it over. They make their offer. They can’t wait to move in. They pursue financing. You get your asking price . . . or better. Their dream never waivers. This is their home. All of this is done with curb appeal.

    Don Doman is a published author, video producer, and corporate trainer. He owns the business training site Ideas and Training (http://www.ideasandtraining.com), which he says is the home of the no-hassle “free preview” for business training videos. Don and his wife Peg at one time owned 33 single family homes, which they purchased, remodeled, and used as income properties before selling them for profit. You can gain from their experiences at Simple Home Repair (http://www.simplehomerepair.com).

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    Visiting Dillon in Summit County, Colorado

    Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008

    Dillon is a small town located in Summit County, Colorado in the heart of one of the world’s most famous ski resorts. It is located on the side of Lake Dillon in the heart of Summit County. The town’s location is beautiful and offers visitors an abundance of winter and summer activities. The town’s population is small, under 1,000, but this figure increases to around 4,000 during the peak winter months.

    In the winter Summit County is a winter wonderland. Dillon offers easy and quick access to all of Summit County’s main ski resorts including Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin. There are all types of winter activities available here including skiing and snowboarding, cross country, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sleigh rides, and ice skating. As a backdrop to these activities you have the breathtaking beauty of the snow-covered Summit County peaks.

    In the summer months Dillon offers visitors many activities including hiking, biking, rafting, golf, camping, canoeing, horse riding and all types of water sports including sailing, boating, cruises, and fishing. The sailing activity is centered around the Dillon marina. The marina is home to the popular Tiki Bar which is a popular hangout during the summer months.

    There is also the option of more tranquil pastimes such as shopping, visiting galleries, relaxing in the sun, or dining at the many nice restaurants in the area. Dillon has a rich history dating back to the 1800s when it was formed as a trading post. The Summit Historical Society Museum is located in the old Dillon school house and will help you understand the beginning of the town. Many visitors are attracted by the lower priced accommodations during the summer months which makes a visit to the area during the summer a real bargain.

    Dillon offers an abundance of resorts, hotels, condominiums and bed and breakfast accommodation situated on the shores of the lake. Whether you are looking for a vacation on your own or with your family there are all types of options. You may also be in the market for purchasing a vacation home. If so there are lot of possibilities in the area.

    Dillon in Summit County, Colorado offers all the attractions of a world famous winter destination. It also has something to offer all year round. The winter visitor is guaranteed the finest of winter sport facilities while the summer visitor can enjoy a range of summer activities enjoying accommodation and facilities at a bargain price. Regardless of when you visit Dillon, in Summit County Colorado you are assured the utmost in fun and value.

    Copyright 2006 Peter Hayes

    The Kelli Sells Team is the top real estate firm in Breckenridge and Summit County. For more information visit http://www.kellisells.com.

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    Stigmatized Properties Disclosure of Latent Defects

    Friday, December 12th, 2008

    Latent defects are those hidden or concealed defects that would not be discovered in the course of a reasonable inspection. Latent defects are the opposite of patent defects, which by definition are defects plainly visible or that can be discovered in the course of a reasonable inspection. In real estate, although misrepresentation normally requires a statement to be made to the Buyer silence can also result in some liability on the part of the Seller.

    Prior to entering into a Contract to sell real estate the Seller is required to disclose to the Buyer any latent defects the Seller is aware of. Failure to disclose will not affect the consent of the parties, but will have similar consequences as misrepresentation.

    Technically speaking, latent defects are facts that :

    1) are unknown to the Buyer and are so crucial to the enjoyment and value of the property that the Buyer might not have entered into the Contract had he known they existed and
    2) cannot be discovered upon reasonable inspection of the property.

    An example of a latent defect in one case was the presence of an underground water culvert which was not apparent from a normal inspection of the land and which the Seller was aware of and failed to disclose. If the Seller does not disclose the existence of a latent defect, the Buyer can rescind the Contract and/or recover damages. Other more typical examples of latent defects are the existence of urea formaldehyde foam insulation or asbestos insulation in a property offered for sale. However, the Seller will not be held liable for failing to disclose a latent defect he was unaware of unless a reasonable person would have been aware of it.

    Some latent defects are out of the ordinary but must still be disclosed if known to the Seller. For instance, properties rumored to be haunted are one such example, as is a property previously used as a site for a marijuana grow operation. In one recent court case, a luxury condominium where someone had committed suicide was held as a property with a latent defect that the Seller had a duty to disclose to the Buyer. These are known as ’stigmatized properties’ because they are associated with a ’stigma’ , an unusual, distressing event or circumstance such as murder, suicide or criminal activity. These properties may be worth less or could be hard to resell because prospective Buyers might not consider them. As such, the market for stigmatized properties is drastically reduced – and so is their value.

    Luigi Frascati

    Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

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    Foreclosure Investing Lifestyle

    Monday, December 8th, 2008

    So why should you invest in foreclosures? In the long-term, it’s for lifestyle and financial freedom.

    I do not define success in terms of winning or losing, but rather by whether I am challenging myself to be the best that I can be. One of the reasons I left my 9-5 corporate job, besides getting laid off, was because I wanted MY OWN lifestyle. I wanted to create my own lifestyle for me, my family, and my friends. I wanted to become a champion, the best at what I did. I believe that anything I set my mind to, I would be successful at that endeavor.

    However, my biggest problem in working for a company where I was not the boss, the president, or the owner, was that I could not set my own schedule. I would not be able to go skiing when I wanted, play golf, or travel when I wanted. I was a terrible employee because I wanted to do things when I wanted to do them. And today I don’t want to be accountable to anybody, except myself and my family, and the people that are counting on me to create real estate transactions.

    Don’t get me wrong. I was pleasant at my jobs, and I showed up, and I produced revenue. But the reason that I think I was a terrible employee was that I only wanted to work just 2 to 3 weeks a year. To me, a JOB means Just Over Broke and my time was not my own time, it was my boss’ time.

    When I first started in the real estate investing business I had to ask my wife to give me a chance to make this work. I had a severance package, so I had three months to move forward. When we cashed the first check of $8,000, I took $4,000 and took my wife to Paris, a place she always dreamed of going. That helped tremendously in my pursuit of this business.

    Now that I have established my business I take off one week for every six weeks of work. This gives me five to eight weeks of vacation per year depending on how my deals are going. I use this time to connect with my family, vacation, work on other projects, and just go out and enjoy life because isn’t that what it’s all about? If you’re working so hard that you’re not enjoying life then you need, in my opinion, to rethink your priorities.

    My 15-yr-old son Nick and I go to hockey games, football games and other things that a 15-year-old and his dad can do together. My 6 year old daughter Chloe and I go skiing in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where we live and we do it 10-15 times a year. We go camping, take motor home trips, fly to Maui to go to the beach and much more. This is truly a life that I am designing.

    My belief is we should constantly have to better ourselves, to acquire new skills, to refuse to be bogged down with the feeling of failure, inadequacy, or that L word–loser. In my opinion, the losers of the world are those that never try. I would rather work with somebody who has tried 10 different businesses and failed than somebody who has worked 30 years successfully for one company and achieved moderate success.

    When are you finally a financial success? Only you can answer that question for yourself and your family but to me the answer is when you can totally financially support yourself without having to show up for work. When you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want, anywhere you want, anytime you want to do it, as much as you want to do it, then you have reached financial success. That is the time that passive income is really working for you and your dreams are becoming a reality.

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    Paul Wells has been investing in foreclosures full-time for more than 5 years. For more foreclosure investing secrets like the one in this article, subscribe to Paul’s Free Foreclosure Investing course here: http://www.FreeForeclosureInvesting.com

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