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New Training Video Added to ProAPOD’s Online Learning Center

September 24, 2009

ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software just released a new training video and published it today on its online learning center under Video Tutorials.

The video, entitled “How to Make the Property Category and Type Selections”, explains how the first three entries in the property information form are made and how the software program uses the data collected from the Category selection to create key tax calculations and from the Type and Sub-type selections it posts an indepth property description to its reports to enhance your rental property analysis presentations.

The video applies only to our real estate software solution 10.0, so if you currently use this version and have questions about these form selections, be sure to watch the video. Those of you using our real estate agent software 6.0 or real estate investor software 4.0 might also consider watching the video and perhaps upgrading to 10.0. The video is just over 4 minutes long.

You can access this video along with other helpful real estate investing resources on our online Learning Center page, or from our Training Videos page.

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House Flipping Info For New Investors

September 24, 2009

House flipping is one of the most tried and trusted ways to make huge profits in real estate. It involves buying a property and then selling the right to a third party. Contrary to the popular notion that house flipping requires a lot of start-up money, you can easily begin investing in house flipping business with absolutely no down payment. It can be done through several loan programs and help from sellers regarding the closing costs.

New investors can begin by locating a house that requires some cosmetic modifications, with a mere finishing touch to bring back its lost charm. It is better to buy houses that can be renovated easily without any heavy expense. You can update the home lighting, carpeting and plumbing fixtures. You can sell the property for a huge profit. Try to avoid houses that cannot be marketed without any major structural repairs.

Many people who wish to enter the real estate business consider it as an opportunity to mint money in a market where business and opportunities seems to be endless. With a boom in the real estate market, opting to be a real estate agent is regarded as a lucrative option. Besides, you can also flip houses without having to deal with buyers and sellers. In addition, you need not require paying monthly fees, keeping up with education and legislation. While flipping houses you are in complete control of the entire deal. You can take up the house flipping business either as a full time dealing or project wise.

House flipping calls for a thorough research. People who have experience in flipping houses successfully suggest that the best way to locate a house that can fit an investors budget is to drive around neighborhoods. It helps to search for a bit run-down houses that have been in the market for a longer period. In such a case, owners are generally eager to sell and most of the buyers avoid fixer-uppers. In such a situation you can be in a better position to negotiate well with the owner and get the house at a discounted rate. Besides you can also check out Sheriffs Sales, online auctions and banks handling foreclosures.

Make sure you set a budget well in advance and decide to stick to it while renovating and remodeling the property. The main motive behind house flipping should be to earn profits. Generally, many novice investors make a mistake of choosing the best of everything while remodeling the house. Quality is considered one of the many good selling points. You should not over decorate, as you would do for your dream home. The idea is to make it a highly saleable property.

It is important to note that HUD changed the lending regulations for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing, effective since July 9, 2006. In order to lower down the house-flipping concept, houses sold within 90 days of purchase are not considered as qualified for FHA financing. Moreover, houses that sells approximately twice as much as the original purchase price within a period of 91 to 180 days after the last sale needs certain additional valuation data. It helps to be eligible for getting FHA financing.

Real Estate Investing is easy with RealNet USA. We help you Find Fund Fix and Now Sell Real Estate Investments that are not available on MLS. Check out today’s inventory here http://www.realnetusa.com/main.php.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

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Should Location Influence Your Property Investment Decision?

September 23, 2009

Surprising as it mean seem, though “location-location-location” certainly is true when purchasing a home, it may or may not always be true when purchasing investment real estate.

It makes perfect sense that a homeowner would be strongly influenced by the location of a property in which to live and raise a family over others. But this is not necessarily so with rental property investment. In fact, real estate investors commonly purchase properties in areas they might not otherwise want to live themselves.

This disparity over this golden rule of real estate between homeowners and investors has a simple explanation. Whereas, a homeowner has a natural regard for all things that affect the family’s well-being, an investor on the other hand doesn’t generally occupy the property. So they aren’t intimidated by the location of the property, especially in cases where the investor lives out of state and may not even see the property they purchase.

The most important fact about real estate investing is the bottom line. How does the rental property benefit the owner? Does it offer return on investment cash flow, tax shelter, and appreciation? In other words, will the real estate investor make money if he or she invests in the property, and how much will be made?

Of course, that’s not to say that location has no influence on investment decisions.

As a real estate investor, you must always examine general trends of the area and get a feel for the direction in which it is heading. You certainly would not want to purchase a rental property in the worst part of town (and for that matter, even in the best part of town) unless all indications are that the property will appreciate.

You might also have pause to invest in a location where there are excessively low occupancy levels or rents. It goes without saying that you do not to invest in a building that may, by its very location, remain mostly empty or never have the ability to demand substantial enough rents to make your cash flow requirements.

Here’s the point.

While location is still important in selecting investment real estate, it is rarely as critical to investors as location would be to homeowners.

In this case, your primary concern is in finding rental properties that meet your investment needs and goals. So don’t let the location steer you away from an otherwise sound investment. Remember, your purpose for investing is to make money, and any building you acquire is not intended to occupy your children, but to build your estate so you can care for them.

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