When to invest in real estate - What about now?

THESE FACTORS MAKE FOR A GREAT INVESTOR REAL ESTATE DEAL

I know it sounds strange, but it's true. Today's dire economic circumstances have conspired to produce the perfect real estate storm. At least that's the case if you are in the market to find a bargain. Huge inventory, low interest rates, and highly motivated sellers all combine to make this an ideal time to pick up a house, or two, or even three. But before we all rush out and buy the first house we can find, let's look at the four most important factors of an investor real estate deal:

** LOCATION

If you are looking for a rental property that will pay for itself on a monthly basis, you may be best off looking in lower middle class neighborhoods where most of the owners occupy their homes and keep their homes in relatively good condition.Gang graffiti and boarded-up doors and windows are signs to avoid, while accessibility to transportation and relatively recent construction make for good rental income properties. Good public schools are also an important feature for many prospective renters.Another desirable feature related to location is a neighborhood where most of the homes are similar in size and amenities. You want to buy in a neighborhood where the other properties won't pull down your value due to wide-ranging sales prices.

** CONDITION

Try to avoid neighborhoods where most of the homes are less than three bedrooms and two baths, or where most of the construction is pre-1950. Homes more than fifty years old will eventually need almost all systems updated, and that is an expense to avoid in a rental situation.Homes less than ten years old have almost all up-to-date systems, and shouldn't need major renovations any time soon. In addition, newer homes sometimes offer space for expansion, an inexpensive way to add a bedroom or office.In an ideal situation, the home should need no work before the renter moves in. However, in today's real estate market, the condition is where you are going to find the greatest degree of variation. At no time in the past thirty years has there been such a large number of homes on the market needing significant repairs.Many of these homes are bank-owned, and some are uninhabitable. Others may need nothing more than paint and carpet. Being able to distinguish between the two extremes is critical to your success in finding a great deal. At the very least, make all offers contingent upon a full inspection of the property and a satisfactory estimate for all needed repairs.

** PRICE

The glut of bank-owned homes has, in my opinion, kicked the floor out from under the Atlanta residential real estate market. We don't know what anything is worth, because so many of the comparable sales that appraisers use are distressed sales.But if you can get a price discount in the 40% to 50% range, it really doesn't take a great investor to see that there is plenty of room for upside profit, both in the monthly cash flow and in the long term resale price.I believe that most lenders had, until recently, hoped for a "Resolution Trust Company style" bailout from the federal government. But now that the Obama administration has indicated that troubled bank assets will not be purchased directly, pressure to sell is mounting on a daily basis. Seller motivation is growing.Investors making initial offers on bank-owned homes should be especially careful to stay in touch with the current market of bank resales. Discounts of 25% are not uncommon, and sales at 50 cents on the dollar are being seen by investors. My advice is to start low, then be prepared to negotiate up.

** FINANCING

This is the big wildcard for investment property, because the current Fannie Mae "four property rule" has kept many veteran investors on the sidelines. But if FNMA were to return to the "ten property" limit, or if banks began offering any kind of reasonable seller-financing, the floor under housing prices in Atlanta could be re-established fairly quickly.All but the most ardent "doom and gloomers" believe that the current condition of variable home values will end sooner rather than later, and anyone who can lock in a low price now will be glad they did. But the real key is how to finance that low price.A super-low price combined with a great financing makes for a fabulous real estate investment opportunity. And I believe the solution to this problem is seller financing. I am already starting to get reports of banks selling their houses and agreeing to carry back some sort of financing.The key for investors is not necessarily a 30-year fixed rate loan at 6% interest with nothing down, although that would be nice. Instead, the key is for banks to be able to convert their non-performing assets (the vacant houses) into performing assets (loans requiring a substantial down payment and reasonable qualification guidelines).These loans can be good for the banks and good for the borrower, and they could still be attractive with terms as short as five to seven years. The investment community is ready, but needs the financing to act. Once the banks make this leap of logic, the huge oversupply of vacant houses in Atlanta can begin to disappear, and we can get on with the business of re-establishing a market for real estate.

Article Courtesy of http://money99.com/content/view/134/1/

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Do you feel wealthy? - It just may depends on how much money you make and where you live.

A year ago, Wealth Report readers told me how much money it took to be considered “rich” in their town. The answers ranged from a $500,000 income in Manhattan to $1 million to $2 million in total net worth in Kansas City.

The point, of course, is that wealth is relative. Being “rich” depends on where you live.
Now, the folks at U.S. News & World Report have come up with a more scientific process of defining “rich” in various towns. Basically, they used census data to calculate the top 20% of earners and top 5% of earners in 40 metro areas. Then they did some division and multiplying to calculate top-wealth levels for childless couples and families of four (methodology fanatics can click here. Be warned, as readers astutely pointed out to me, the numbers are averages, which can be highly skewed by extreme earners).

Here is how much household income it takes to be in top 5% in the following communities:

Atlanta–Couple (no kids), $268,264. Family of four, $536,528.

Colorado Springs, Colo.–Couple, $207,472. Family, $414,943.

Dallas–Couple, $267,344. Family, $534,688.

Honolulu, Hawaii–Couple, $235,190. Family, $470,380.

Kansas City, Kan.–Couple, $219,300. Family, $438,600.

Las Vegas–Couple, $240,359. Family, $480,718.

Los Angeles–Couple, $315,996. Family, $631,992.

New York–Couple, $359,494. Family, $718,989.

San Francisco–Couple, $359,061. Family, $718,123.

Washington, D.C. –Couple, $347,917. Couple, $490,436.

I don’t doubt the tabulations. But I would bet that people living in these communities with the above incomes don’t feel “rich.” Americans always look up when it comes to wealth. So if you asked someone in Colorado Springs with a household income is $414,943 or more, they probably would think of themselves as upper middle class. And they probably wouldn’t guess they were in the top 5%.

Then again, in the current crisis, maybe those with incomes of $400,000 or more would consider themselves rich.

To read complete article:
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/10/15/what-it-takes-to-be-rich-in-your-town-part-2/

What about trust? --- I mean a family trust.

Not Bob Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, or Shaquil O'Neal --- you may still benefit from a family trust.

It used to be that only the extremely wealthy set up trust funds for their children and grandchildren. Today, with ordinary people becoming millionaires through the increased property value of their homes, stocks, and retirements accounts. Trust funds are becoming more commonplace. Parents and grandparents in this category are undertaking estate planning to preserve their wealth and minimize death taxes.

The term family trust refers to a discretionary trust set up to hold a family's assets or to conduct a family business. Generally, they are established for asset protection or tax purposes.

A family trust:

• is generally established by a family member for the benefit of members of the 'family group';
• avoid unnecessary stress by dealing with inheritance issues before death.
• gain peace of mind in the knowledge that property will pass upon the terms of the trust after death.
• avoid delays after death. Properties in Family Trusts may be sold without a Grant of Representation. The trustees can sign all the paperwork.
• can be the subject of a family trust election which provides it with certain tax advantages, provided that the trust passes the family control test and makes distributions of trust income only to beneficiaries of the trust who are within the 'family group';
• can assist in protecting the family group's assets from the liabilities of one or more of the family members (for instance, in the event of a family member's bankruptcy or insolvency);
• properties in Family Trusts may be sold without a Grant of Representation. The trustees can sign all the paperwork.
• provides a mechanism to pass family assets to future generations; and
  can provide a means of accessing favourable taxation treatment by ensuring all family members use their income tax "tax-free thresholds".
• benefit from tax advantages. In most cases, there is no Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax payable by transferring your home into a Family Trust. Inheritance Tax will remain unaffected.

A family trust has many other potential benefits, including avoiding issues such as challenges to the will following a death of a senior member of the family.

Important note
This page contains only the briefest of summaries relating to Family Trusts. It is not a substitute for full legal advice. Advice can only be given after consideration of all relevant facts. This is a complex area of law and therefore any planning should be done on the advice of an expert, in order to ensure as far as possible the protection of the estate.

From whom should one receive real estate advice? -- well maybe Terrell Owens.

Throughout his NFL career, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens has collected touchdown passes, including four this season. Now, he's also collecting Dallas real estate.
T.O. owns six townhouses and condos in the city, valued at more than $2.5 million based on tax records. He acquired five of the properties within the last year, most of them as investments.

"Those are going to be worth a lot of money someday," he said, when asked after a recent practice about his holdings near the eastern end of Commerce Street. "I think it's going to be a big area in a few years."

The units are a short distance from the Fair Park Station, scheduled to open next year, on the DART Green Line. It's a transition neighborhood with a mix of older buildings, newer residential buildings and vacant lots.

Owens formerly lived in one of the units and acquired three more in nearby projects. They range in value, according to tax records, from $356,000 to $405,000.
Britt Fair, executive vice president at Hexter-Fair Title Company, closely follows local sales trends. He said there is risk, as well as potential reward, in pioneering an area. I'm not sure I'm going to take investment advice from Terrell Owens," Fair said. "But he may be on to something."

Patience is critical, especially in a slow market like this, advises Realtor Jerold Smith, who blogs about Dallas and Plano real estate. Smith said an investor such as Owens should plan to hold the units "for a minimum of five years to see a return."
Owens now lives at the Azure, a high-rise building in Uptown. His home is on an upper floor, where one of his neighbors is Cowboys running back Marion Barber. Former Cowboy Deion Sanders owns a penthouse unit, according to tax records.
Owens also owns a smaller unit on a lower floor, valued at $346,000. He is disputing the assessed value of the larger unit. Condos in the same position on nearby floors range in assessed value from $719,000 to $1.2 million. Assessed valuations often are lower than market values.

"I don't want to talk about my stuff," Owens said, when asked why he decided to invest in Dallas real estate. In a telephone interview, Jeff Rubin, Owens' financial adviser, acknowledged that the townhome purchases are investments. He said that rents are covering mortgage payments and that the holdings are being put into a limited liability corporation, a common practice for tax purposes. He declined to give further details.

Rents in newer buildings in the neighborhood near Fair Park run about $1 a square foot per month, according to current listings. Owens' units range from about 2,200 to 2,600 square feet, according to tax records.

In T.O., Owens' 2006 book, he wrote about his realization that, despite his big football contracts, he didn't have the financial security he thought he had. Pro athletes need to plan for when their playing days are over.

With the Eagles at the time, Owens fired his agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus as well as other advisers, including Rubin.

"I now had an effective, powerful machine working for me," Owens wrote. He added: "Although I respected their advice, the final decision was to be mine, not theirs."

The Cowboys signed Owens to a new contract this summer, a four-year, $34 million deal, which included a $12.9 million bonus.

Based on the contract amounts he details in his book and the terms of his new deal, Owens has earned about $67 million from NFL teams to this point in his career. If he completes his Cowboys contract, he could earn an additional $21 million through 2011.
Owens, who has 133 career TD catches, also owns homes in New Jersey and Georgia and condos in Atlanta and on the beach near Miami, according to online tax records.
The New Jersey home is listed for sale at $2.96 million, less than Owens paid in 2004With 20 percent down and a 30-year mortgage at 6 percent, the monthly payment would be $14,197, according to an online site that lists the house.

Tom Granese, a developer of one of Owens' units near Fair Park, said he anticipated that the area would develop more quickly than it has, but the economy has put everything on hold. However, Granese said, with the DART line opening, city investments in Fair Park, and a new bike trail, he expects substantial growth over time.

"I'm glad that someone like him is investing in a neighborhood like that," Granese said of Owens.

Article Courtesy of By GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

Play golf with Tiger Woods ....well maybe just on a Tiger Woods designed golf course - The Tiger Woods Dubai project.

Tiger Woods Dubai Residential Golf Development Launches Sales Center

This coming Sunday will see the launch an exclusive sales center for the Tiger Woods Dubai residential golf community development

The Tiger Woods Dubai comprises an exclusive golf community which includes a professionally staffed golf academy, a 14,000 square meter clubhouse with premium amenities, and the Al Ruwaya, the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods. The project is schedules to be completed in 2009.

For complete article:
http://blog.luxuryproperty.com/tiger-woods-dubai-residential-golf-developement-launches-sales-center/trackback/

So -- what is the price per Sq. Ft. ? ---The 10 Most Expensive Streets in the World

The Wealth Bulletin (a Dow Jones site) has come up with a list of the 10 most expensive streets in the world. Granted, this is an inexact science, but the list includes some jaw-dropping price-per-square-foot numbers for some of the richest blocks on earth.

Topping the list is Monaco’s Avenue Princess Grace, the palm-lined street named after Grace Kelly that overlooks the water. Forget buying a house there — just getting a beer at Jimmy’s Bar on the Avenue will set you back more than $100. But living on the avenue gets you a chance to rub elbows with Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern oil sheikhs and the occasional Monaco royal.

The two streets to make the list from the U.S. are New York City’s Fifth Avenue and Carolwood Drive in Beverly Hills.

Here is the complete list, with some sample property prices as tallied by Wealth Bulletin:

1. Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco — $17,750 per square foot.

2. Severn Road, Hong Kong — $11,200 per square foot.

To see the complete list
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/08/05/the-10-most-expensive-streets-in-the-world/

Is now a good time to invest in real estate? -- in Atlanta that is a YES!

Metro Atlanta ranks No. 3 on HomeVestors of America Inc.'s new list of the top 10 U.S. markets for residential real estate investing, released Tuesday.

For complete article: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/14/daily32.html