ProAPOD real estate investment software 7.0 has been updated. If you are currently using ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software 7.0, a free software update is available for you to download.

What’s New In This Software Update

1. The Expense, MktPkg-1, and Scenarios forms have been modified to allow seven-digit numbers to appear on the form. The issue was that numbers of 10,000,000 and more appeared on the screen as ####### in several columns. This has been fixed.

How To Install the Update

1. Login to your account.
2. Click on the download link and follow the online instructions.

Please Read

1. Original downloads must be installed before the update links appear. If you have not installed both downloads, and one install still exists, the updates will not appear. This is okay and will not negate the update. Once you install the second program, simply log back in to obtain the updates.
2. Do not attempt to install the update on a computer where the original program is not installed. You will receive an unkind message informing you that you are not allowed to obtain the update.
3. Only the main program is updated. Files created and saved previously with the original edition are not be updated. In most cases this is perfectly acceptable. If you decide that you want the file in the new format simply open the updated program, re-enter the property information, and re-save it.
4. Report problems immediately. Although every effort is made to maintain the integrity of the program, it is not unusual to make changes of this magnitude and miss something. If reported, the update is generally fixed and reissued within a day. If this occurs, open any file previously created and saved with the original edition and use it until the update is reissued.

We apologize for the problem in our software, and would like to thank the users who kindly reported it.

Thank you for choosing ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software.

Real estate investment analysis requires more of a prudent real estate investor than simply using an appraisal (or market value) approach to determine the investment value of rental property.

Investing in real estate must also be studied from a time value of money standpoint because the timing of receipts from the investment might be more important than the amount received.

Why, because the longer you have to wait to collect your money, the less “present value” it has today, and in a time value of money sense, a dollar in the hand today is preferable to one at the end of the year or five years from now.

What makes internal rate of return (IRR) one of the more popular rates of return for real estate investment analysis and investment decisions is that it does account for the length of the anticipated holding period and factors for both, the scale of cash flows and their timing.

The internal rate of return model states this relationship in mathematical terms as a rate the real estate investor can in part use to accept or reject any investment based on that rate.

Okay, let’s look at how it works.

An investment can be defined as an expected stream of income. When you make a real estate investment, you invest cash in order to receive a series of future annual cash flows and a future cash flow reversion (cash you receive when you sell the property).

The challenge for real estate investors is to discover what rate of return the investor’s initial equity makes based upon those periodic future cash flows at the same time it considers the number of time periods (years) under consideration in the holding period.

Internal rate of return provides that rate.

To do this, the internal rate of return model creates a single discount rate whereby all future cash flows can be discounted until they equal the investor’s initial investment.

In simpler terms, internal rate of return reveals what a real estate investor’s initial cash investment will yield based on future cash flows discounted to equal today’s dollars, not tomorrow’s dollars.

Editors note: ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software is pleased to present an article written by a real estate investment practitioner that specializes in commercial real estate. Hopefully real estate investors who read our real estate investing blog and considering a commercial real estate investment will gain from the information.

Article written by Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga and Yolanda Bishop

Commercial real estate can be extremely lucrative for the savvy investor; however, being successful in this market takes knowing when to make a deal, and when to walk away. While closing the right deal in commercial real estate can provide a great deal of cash flow for an investor, making the wrong deal can result in great loss, and may even end your career as an investor. It is imperative that commercial real estate investors know what signs to look for when it is time to walk away from a commercial real estate transaction. Three very dramatic deal-breakers in commercial real estate transactions include having multiple sellers that cannot agree, an unrealistic property price, and clouds on the title of the property you are trying to invest in. If any one of these situations arise, it is definitely time to walk away and save yourself the trouble of a commercial deal gone bad.

Dramatic Deal-Breaker #1 - Multiple Sellers that Cannot Agree One very dramatic deal breaker that commercial real estate investors need to watch out for is multiple sellers that cannot agree. Usually it is best that you stick to only one seller, because when you have more than one seller it becomes increasing difficult to have everyone agree to the same terms. It can be difficult to get all of the sellers together at the same time, and even more difficult to actually get them to agree on the important issues in the sales transaction. This can be especially disastrous in an estate heirs situation. Before you waste your time and money on this type of a deal, it is probably better to walk away, since the situation is very likely to unravel and you will be the one with the bad end of this deal.

Dramatic Deal-Breaker #2 - Unrealistic Property Prices Another dramatic deal breaker to keep in mind before you waste your energy and resources is unrealistic property prices. In some cases the sellers may not really be aware of what their property is worth, and they may just make up a price off the top of their head, or they may go with a price that a neighbor or friend used recently. Sellers should compare properties and evaluate the market in order to come up with a reasonable price for the property, but unfortunately there are many sellers that fail to do so. Any real estate broker that is reputable will have access to comparable prices to help a seller set a price, so there is no excuse for prices that are totally unrealistic. If you come across a seller that has priced the property unrealistically you need to beware. Either they do not know what they are doing, or they are trying to find someone to trap into this deal. Your goal as an investor is to make money, so do not even bother with properties that are priced unrealistically. Doing so may cost you a great deal of time and money, so it is best to just steer clear of a deal like this.

Dramatic Deal-Breaker #3 - Clouds on the Title of the Property you want to Invest In When you are dealing with commercial real estate investing, another thing you want to avoid is investing in a property that has clouds on the title. In some cases it can take a great deal of time and money to resolve the issues with the title, and in other cases the issues may never be totally resolved. This can keep you from being able to quickly turn over the property for a profit and can end up costing you a great deal in both money and time. Investors need to be sure that the title is free and clear, and if a property does not have a title that is free and clear, then you will want to move on to consider a different piece of commercial property. If you as an investor are careful to do your research and due diligence, you should be able to reveal any clouds on a title before you get tied up into a commercial real estate deal.

In some cases, it may be worth your time to try and overcome these deal-breakers; however, as a general rule these are very good reasons to walk away from the deal. Savvy investors want to make the most of their time and money, and usually will not have the time to try and deal with these issues that can cost so much of their time and money. Under normal circumstances, if there are multiple disagreeing sellers, problems with the pricing, or any clouds on the title of the property, it is best to walk away from the deal. Before you waste your time and money, be sure that you keep these deal-breakers in mind to help you avoid any problems that may cause your entire deal to unravel and you to lose money.

About the Author

Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga and Yolanda Bishop of Maverick Real Estate Investments, Inc. work with builders, developers and other players in the commercial real estate industry to acquire and develop properties. They use progressive investment strategies that have proved extremely profitable. In addition to their own deals, they teach both seasoned and inexperienced investors how to be big players in the game. Visit the website for more info.