A world record has been broken in home sales as a mysterious Russian billionaire forked over EUR500 million (over $700 million U.S.) for the French property, Villa Leopolda. The property had previously been owned by King Leopold II of Belgium and more recently by Lily Safra. The Belle Epoque mansion rests on the Cote d?Azur between Nice and Monaco. (more…)
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If you’re thinking about heading into the rental business then consider what renter’s want before you make a purchase. It goes without saying that they want a good price and a fair landlord, which are things you control once you own the property. But before you buy, look at what the property has to offer and determine if you think that renters will find your rental property appealing.
Location
Just like a home purchase, location is the most important consideration for prospective renters. Look to pick up property that is close to parks, schools, downtown districts, or popular areas of town.
Size
Renters want more and more space. It may be because of the McMansion boom of a few years ago, but people are putting more and more value on space. Look for rental properties that are larger or that feature an open concept floor plan that gives the appearance of more space.
Amenities
With the competition for renters, the more you can offer the better. More and more renters are asking for in-house gyms, swimming pools, garage parking, storage space and more security.
Floor Plan
People are looking for more bathroom and spacious kitchens. Look for floor plans that highlight these two important areas of the home.
Basically, when you?re looking to purchase a rental property, think about what you?d want in an apartment, look at what your local market has to offer, and pick something that has appeal.
photo credit: juhansonin
Buying a rental property is a great way to bring in additional income. But just like any type of real estate investing, there are risks involved. If you are not careful, you may end up buying a rental property that is not what you thought. In turn, you could end up paying the mortgage out of your pocket with no rental income coming in. Is this a situation that you want to deal with?
To increase your chances of success when buying a rental property, you will want to hire the right real estate agent. The question is: what does the right agent look like? Here are three tips for hiring an agent when buying a rental property.
1. Your agent should have experience in the area that you are buying. If you want to buy a rental property in Miami, you should find an agent that is familiar with that particular area. In other words, an agent from Palm Beach is probably not going to do you any good.
2. Is the agent knowledgeable? This is very important no matter who you are. That being said, new rental property investors need this even more. A knowledgeable agent will be able to answer your questions, and if you allow them, they can even steer you down the right path.
3. An agent that can tell you about past trends and future expectations is worth a lot of money. Once again, this goes along with an agent that has experience in the area which you are buying. By looking at the past and talking about the future, you will be able to conclude which rental properties are best for you.
All in all, if you are buying a rental property a real estate agent is not going to cost you a dime. But remember, an experienced, knowledgeable agent is what you are looking for.
photo credit: colinrego
Are you in the market for an investment property? Just like you would with a home that you purchase for yourself, you need to hire a qualified home inspector. Skipping this step could lead to major problems. Instead of taking a huge risk, you should spend the few hundred dollars to have an inspection. In the long run it will give you the peace of mind you need to move forward with the purchase, or the knowledge to turn the deal down.
An inspection will turn up any possible issues with the property that you are thinking about buying. For instance, if the air conditioner is broke or there is a leak in the basement, you will find out about it. As you can imagine, it is better to learn about these problems before you buy. This way, you can pass on the home altogether or you can negotiate with the seller for a lower price or to have the issues fixed before moving forward.
photo credit: 60secs
If you’re filing a property insurance claim then there are a few things to keep in mind to make the process go more smoothly and in your favor. The first thing is that your insurance company will rely upon a claims adjuster to meet with you and negotiate a deal. The thing to remember here is that the claims adjuster is working for the insurance company and not for you, they’re trying to get a deal for the insurance company and this goes for anyone that they may hire to evaluate or repair your property. The way to get the best deal from your insurance company on a property insurance claim is by negotiating yourself and finding your own contractors.
Once the claims adjuster has given you an estimate of the damage, seek your own estimate from other contractors that you trust. Go ahead and get more than one estimate and present your insurance company with this information. Don’t blindly accept the bid given by their contractors as they may do a sub par renovation. You also shouldn’t feel pressured to accept everything the insurance company says, they’re not experts in every field and although they may hire so-called experts, you may not agree with their findings. By standing up for yourself and doing a bit of the leg work on your own you?re more apt to get a fair shake from your insurance company.
photo credit: AchimH
If you are going to get involved with investment properties, you need to consider all of the details that go into this. One of the most important questions is: who is going to be responsible for managing the property? In other words, can you do it all on your own? Some investors hire a property management company to help them, but others like to do it all on their own as a way of saving money. Which group do you fit into?
As noted above, the main benefit of managing your own properties is that you can save money. In other words, you do not have to share the profits made from your tenants with a property management company. If you profit margins are tight as it is, this may sound quite appealing to you.
Of course, you need to keep this phrase in mind: time is money. While you can take on the responsibility of managing your property, it will take up a lot of time. Not only will you be responsible for taking phone calls from tenants, but when a repair is needed you are in charge. Are you willing to take the time to handle these situations? Also remember, as you add more properties to your portfolio you are adding the potential for more questions and repairs.
When it comes to property management, there is no denying that you can do a lot of the work on your own. Many landlords find this the most exciting part of the investment process. In other words, they like to deal one-on-one with tenants and help with repairs when they come up. But on the other side of things, there are real estate investors who are more ?hands off.? They would much rather hire a property management company to take care of the day to day tasks.
Before you buy your first (or next) investment property, consider how you are going to manage it. Are you going to do everything on your own, or will you hire a property management company?
photo credit: Chad Jones
Whether you’re simply a homeowner or a rental property owner, when it comes time to sell (especially in the current real estate environment) you can be overwhelmed by the work involved. To make this process easier, follow the tips below to encourage a quick property sale.
Curb Appeal
Make sure the property looks nice from the outside. The drive by is what will either draw in or scare off a large percentage of your prospective audience. This is a place to even invest a little money to get the most appealing facade possible.
Neutralize Interiors
Many homebuyers don’t have a real creative eye and it’s hard for them to picture their furnishings in a fully decorated home. Take steps to remove your personal artifacts, paint walls neutral colors, and eliminate some of the clutter to make the home seem more neutral and inviting to another?s property.
Super Clean
Sure, you realize you’ve got to clean the place to sell it, but go beyond just clean to super clean. You may not notice the crud in the soap dish but prospective buyers will and it will reflect poorly on the entire home. Every inch should be sparkling clean and totally spotless.
Following the above tips will help you sell your home but they’re no guarantee of a sale. You?ll still have to advertise to reach your target market and hold open houses regularly. But with some diligence and elbow grease you’re sure to eventually make that sale.
photo credit: goodrob13
If you’re thinking about making your first foray into the real estate investment field then use the following tips as a guideline for making the best purchase possible.
Location
Totally a cliche in the real estate world, but location seriously is everything. Some real estate moguls suggest you look for the most run down property in the nicest neighborhood possible and you’ve got yourself a profit earning fixer upper.
Timeframe
You have to review your anticipated timeframe for owning the property. Are you looking to do a flip in a couple of months or are you thinking about a long term investment. Once you have a good idea of your timeframe it will help you analyze the property and its potential for profit.
Additional Expense
Evaluate any additional expenses that may occur with the purchase of the property. If you?re simply buying land then you probably won?t need to make any improvements. But if you?re buying a structure there will probably be additional expenses involved. Carefully review the expenses you anticipate and how they will reflect the bottom line.
Never jump into a real estate purchase without fully evaluating all possibilities, a well thought out and investigated plan can reap you great rewards.
Whether it’s the spartan Brooklyn apartment of Ralph and Alice Kramden or the unrealistically large New York City apartment where Monica of “Friends” resides, where a TV character lives says a lot about that person. In fact, sometimes the house is as well loved as the show.
001 Cemetery Lane, “The Addams Family”
Their house was a museum, where people came to see ‘um. The Addams family mansion at 001 Cemetery Lane was filled with instruments of torture and landscaped with hemlock and poison ivy.
The house was said to be inspired by creator Charles Addams’ real-life boyhood home in Westfield, NJ.
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