January 5th, 2012 -- Posted in Real Estate |
If you have been thinking about purchasing a Malibu, CA real estate property for personal use or as an investment, you will need to hire the services of a real estate investor.
If you plan to finance your Malibu, CA real estate property through a bank or other lender, you’ll more than likely need to get the property appraised first. Banks and most lenders want to know the value of the home for your protection, as well as make sure that the home they are financing is worth the total amount that you take on the loan.
In most cases, the appraisal indicates that the home does indeed meet or exceed the asking price. In some cases however, the appraisal will come back saying that the home is worth less than the selling price. If this is the case, the buyer normally has to either drop the deal or try to negotiate with the seller to get a price that meets the appraisal.
For those very reasons, a real estate appraiser is very important. When you are dealing with a home, one appraisal can make a deal or break it. Even though you may not be financing your purchase through a lender or the bank, you should still make an effort to get the home appraised and find out the true value.
You should also make a point to find the best appraiser that you can afford. If you hire an appraiser who is not that experienced, you will pay for it later when you discover that the property is not worth what you paid for it.
A real estate appraiser will go through the Malibu, CA real estate property, performing a visual evaluation, and will then provide you with a written evaluation after he has gathered all necessary information.
Appraisers will also taken into consideration the replacement costs as well. Also, they will have to very land descriptions as well. There is a lot of work involved with appraisals, which is why it is so very important that each step of the process is performed correctly by a qualified real estate appraiser.
If you have a real estate agent, he or she will more than likely be able to make a recommendation. Keep in mind that this does not mean the recommendation is the best; it is just someone who your agent works with. To ensure that you get the right appraisal on your home you will need to find yourself an appraiser who is capable of completing the job.
When you look for your real estate appraiser, you should look for someone who comes highly recommended. You can ask family and friends for their opinions, or search local papers, even the Internet. If you take your time and search for the best real estate appraiser that you can find, you’ll normally get an appraisal that is right on target.
July 22nd, 2011 -- Posted in Real Estate |
The capital and the largest city of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta is situated on the northwest coast of the Java Island. With more than 300 ethnic groups speaking different languages, Jakarta boasts of a diverse culture, linguistic, and religious traditions.
A special territory with the status of a province, Jakarta is the center of government, trade, and commerce in the country. Further, its strategic location makes it the principal gateway to other parts of the country. Apart from its amazing tourist destinations such as Merdeka Square, Sunda Kelapa Port, Chinatown, Kebun Binatang Ragunan, the National Museum, and several restored colonial period buildings – Jakarta also boasts of a vibrant nightlife and shopping facilities. Above all, Jakarta is a city of contrasts, blending traditional and modern and the rich and the poor.
With these umpteen attractions, Jakarta serves as an entry point for many tourists and business people. Its rapid growth into a bustling, modern metropolitan city has led to fast development in the economic, industrial, political, and social sectors of the country. In recent years, the city has expanded its facilities to include a plethora of world-class hotels and resorts, most sophisticated apartments and villas, exotic restaurants, and modern shopping malls.
Hence, it is no wonder that why many people, including westerners, prefer to stay here and carry out their business activities. This in turn has led to an increased demand for both residential and commercial real estate in Jakarta.
In other words, since many foreigners flock to the city not only to experience its tourist attractions but also to stay here as well as conduct their core business functions, the demand for commercial real estate in Jakarta has increased than even before. The demand for commercial property in the city is further driven by the growing number of financial institutions and accounting and law firms. Apart from foreign investors, a large number of local companies and organizations also now invest in commercial spaces in Jakarta.
Different types of commercial real estate are available in Jakarta according to the preferences of investors. One of the most preferred commercial spaces here is flex commercial properties, which are a blend of office and industrial properties. This type of commercial spaces are mostly used for laboratorial set ups or research purposes.
Another popular category of commercial property is niche commercial spaces, which is especially designed for storage purposes or for doctors as well as other healthcare professionals. Commercial real estate in Jakarta also include infrastructure type properties that are suitable for set ups such as hospitals, schools, and municipal buildings. In addition, commercial properties are available for selling apparels, electronic items, and other consumer products. In short, Jakarta’s commercial real estate includes everything from offices, retail stores, and shopping malls to restaurants, factories, and industrial parks.
Investing in Jakarta commercial properties can fetch you a host of benefits. High yield income and secured as well as stable long term cash flow are just few among them. Further, there is considerable savings in maintenance cost, since it is the responsibility of tenants to maintain the commercial property.
However, the Indonesian government has imposed certain restrictions for foreigners to invest in real estate in the country. In other words, foreigners cannot have their own freehold property in Jakarta. Land tenure in the country has been categorized into certified property and uncertified property. Certified land procedures are recorded with the office of the National Land Agency. In most cases, almost all commercial as well as residential properties are built on certificate land. According to the Basic Agraria Law, foreigners can invest in commercial property through certain ways, such as through an Indonesian nominee or a PMA (Penanaman Modal Asing) company.
No matter you want to invest in any kind of commercial real estate in Jakarta, a lot number of realtors and property builders are in the scenario to provide world-class services in order to assist you in finding a property that go with your business needs. Many of them offer superb services to deal with the daunting laws and procedures in connection with the acquisition of property in the city, while some even provide the assistance of an expert lawyer or consultant to verify the documents related to commercial real estate. Above all, there are also realtors arranging mortgages for the acquisition of commercial property in the city.
Incoming search terms:
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June 19th, 2011 -- Posted in Real Estate |
I have read a lot about how you have rule with an iron fist to keep your tenants in line. Our philosophy is much more laid back, and it has worked out well for us. Every property is different, but this was our experience.
Our first real estate investment property was somewhere we would move into ourselves, and in retrospect, that was an aspect more important than I would have guessed. There’s many decisions along the way, and being a potential tenant yourself makes those decisions much clearer.
First off, when it comes time to market your place, you are part of the target audience, so it is easy to find the right place to advertise. Just ask yourself… how would we go about looking for a place? We actually mistakenly put costly ads in the real estate section of the newspaper out initially, bringing in the completely wrong renters who were completely not interested. Once we switched to advertising in places we would look, 90% of the people who came were actually interested, the place would rent faster, and the tenants were happy to be in our place.
That leads to the next reason why buying something you would live in as your first rental property makes the landlord learning process so much easier. The tenants! These will be people that you basically get along with because they like what you like, and if you meet them, they will most likely like you, or they would not be renting it. You will make sense to them, and they will make sense to you. When you are at odds with your tenants, the whole interaction and experience can be painful, so getting along helps tremendously.
Why, you say, should I care if my tenants are happy? Because everything is easier. They will more likely pay rent on time, respect & keep your place in shape, and stay longer. Believe me, there is nothing like a completely wrecked apartment by a short-term tenant. Sure you can charge money for damages, but it will still take time and be a hassle to get it back up to a rent-able state. And dealing the whole time with bitter, angry tenants is no fun either.
How do you make your tenants happy? There’s a couple things we do. One is that we allow tenants some flexibility with painting and decorating. 95% of the time, our tenants actually do wonders with our apartments and leave them with a better style than we could have done ourselves. Many times, we even get good ideas to carry over to the other apartments to make them more marketable, like some basic drapes & mounted wine racks. We even had a tenant call us to ask if she could plant some flowers by her porch. We welcomed it. It was an indication that she felt invested in the place and felt at home. Of course, I am not advising you let someone remodel your kitchens… I am talking small things that are easily undone, but make the tenant feel invested and at home.
Another thing to do to have happy tenants is to give them a sizable re-signing bonus when their leases end. And unless it is painfully needed, do not raise the rent, especially if the tenant is someone who pays on time and is easy to deal with. We offer a $500 re-signing bonus each year with rents at $800. It is almost a free month but the cost of a tenant turnover between lost rent and the make ready is usually around $1200, so it is good for us and them.
Also, we do not rent our places at the maximum. We make them a somewhat good deal so that many people will inquire, and so we have a better chance of a good fit that will be happy and stay long. We also do not overcharge because feeling ripped off is one main reason a tenant will leave.
We also treat our tenants with a lot of respect. We call them every time we enter their units, and if repairs take an extensive amount of time or hassle on their behalf, we give them some rent back. We also maintain the property and do pest control. And we always answer their issues within a day, at least with a phone call.
Becoming a landlord was definitely a learning experience. Everyone has their own style, and even different properties may prescribe a different style. Just be open to handling your rental property business (which is basically your tenants) with respect rather than the stereotypical overbearing attitude.
April 23rd, 2011 -- Posted in Real Estate |
Here in the United States, “fair market value” on any item is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay a seller for the item. Simply put, if I have a stick of gum, and I offer it to you for ten cents, and you want to purchase it for ten cents, then the fair market value of the stick of gum is ten cents.
While real estate also has a fair market value, it is a bit harder to determine because of all the factors which go into the valuation. A property, unlike the simple stick of gum in the above example, has multiple aspects for a seller and buyer to put different valuations on. Introduce a lender into the picture, and then you have a third option on valuation to deal with as well.
Determining commercial property market value is different than determining market value for a residential property. In a residential valuation you can simply look at other recent comparable sales in the area, of similar homes and lot sizes, and determine about what a property is worth at any given time. The issue you will find with commercial property is that they tend to be one-of-a-kind properties, and you may not be able to find many local comparable sales in recent times.
One major difference between residential and commercial properties is their location and their use. If you own a large lot inside of the city limits, with a huge warehouse store built on it, with a 10 year lease to a big box store, then you have a very valuable property. If you have the same lot size, with the same store on it, same lease, but it is located 30 miles from the only local town where most people in the area live, then you have a lesser valued property. Location, also known as market area, is more important in commercial real estate because businesses need to be near to their workers and to their customers as well.
Another consideration when looking at market value of a commercial property is the availability of similar properties on the market. By looking at as many properties as possible, you can start to get an idea of what different properties are selling for in your local area. This gives you some leverage to point out differences and better negotiate the price you are willing to pay. This will also give you some idea of how difficult it will be to find a tenant for your property.
If you are tying to determine the market value of a piece of commercial real estate, one of the factors you should always consider is how well other properties in the area are renting and what they are renting for. You will need the rental income to cover your investment funding as well as your day to day costs of owning the property. If you purchase a property at an agreed upon price, will the rents support the costs? What if your property sits vacant for a month or two? These are things you need to think about prior to purchase.
When trying to determine commercial property market value there are many factors which come into play. The biggest being the market area, local property costs, rental income potential, and the property condition itself. By determining what you are willing to pay for a property, and having a professional commercial real estate market analysis completed for you, you can avoid many of the mistakes new commercial property investors make.
April 21st, 2011 -- Posted in Buying Real Estate |
If you are planning to buy a house then a homebuyer checklist can be of great help to you. It will help you organize everything and remember even the smallest detail. There are few things that you need to consider when you are creating a homebuyer checklist:
. You should always arrange for finance before you start looking for a house. Get in contact with the loan officer or your bank before you see a real estate agent. This is necessary to know whether you qualify for mortgage or not and what amount you will need to close. Once you are done with this, get to know the price range under which you can shop. Check your credit report and if it does not seem very good take the necessary actions to improve your credit scores. It is also essential to gather your pay stubs, bank statements, w-2 forms and tax return papers for the last few months and prepare a pre-approval letter that can be submitted with the offer you make to any financial institution.
. The next step you need to take is to know about the location where you want to buy your house and its projected economic outlook. Choose some areas where you would like to focus and make a list of the important factors you need to look into in a neighborhood or town. You can easily investigate about a town on the Internet or go through the local online newspapers for more information. You can shop around and compare the features, price, houses and demographics in a particular location so that you get the best deal.
. To cover your interest, do not forget to purchase an Owners Title Policy. Although you will need a title policy for your mortgage lender, this will just cover the amount of loan. The cost of the policy is not only less, but it will also protect your equity.
. You need to know the boundaries of your property. This means that you will have to conduct a survey so that you get an idea of what you are buying.
. If you want to seek legal advice on some matters, you can always get in touch with an attorney because most of the real estate agents can help you regarding local trends and not legal issues.
. The most important thing you need to do is to read the conditions, covenants and restrictions mentioned in the subdivision (CC&R). You should know about your legal rights and associated fees when you purchase a condominium.
. Never forget to do a walk through finally before you make down payment and put your signature on the closing documents. All the contracts should be checked twice and ensure that the documents for mortgage match with the charges and interest rates that have been promised to you.
. You need to ensure that the seller moves out of the property in time. Once the person receives the money and there is a change in the ownership of the house, you will have no leverage if the seller does not leave or damages something.