Interesting article on CNN Money about over - under valued makrets in the U.S.

Two cities in Florida are on the undervalued list for real estate throughout the United States!

http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/27/real_estate/most_overvalued_metro_areas/index.htm

How to find 300-500 motivated sellers in ONE WEEK!!!! - Property Investment

Before we dive into the content of this article I would first like to say that what I am about to share may not be relevant to all parts of the country or even the areas you like to invest in. But, if you have this service available to you I implore you to look into what I am about to share with you cause it could just put your real estate investing career to the next level. I began utilizing this strategy a couple months back and what I have found is it fits perfect into my investment goals and daily to-do lists. While everyone is fighting over REO inventory and short sale deals, sometimes even bidding up prices over what investors should pay, you should look for a strategy or two that can bring in consistent leads every month. Here are my favorite two. The first involves the "LIS PENDINS" list. Lis pendins is a latin term that is used in the foreclosure process that means "pending lawsuit". Lis pendins is basically the end of the pre-foreclosure phase, and typically the home is auctioned off at the foreclosure sale as quickly as 2 weeks after "LIS PENDINS". This particular phase of the foreclosure process can be a great time to work a real estate deal, mostly because the homeowner is extremely motivated to talk to anyone that can show them some answers. Most counties have what I like to call a "LIS PENDINS" list, and it can be purchased from the county clerks office for a fee. In Duval county, where I conduct most of my business the list costs us $1.00 per page and there are 20-30 cases on each page. We typically purchase 10 pages, and now I have my hands on up to 300 very motivated sellers for ten bucks. However, that is only the beginning, unless your county really does you a favor and gives you the name and property address on the list you have to do some research, this may take you some time especially if you have never done it before. Once you have all the names and addresses simply send them a letter, the first letter you send out should basically say that you are interested in buying there home, and you are currently investing in the area, please call me direct at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Go with the low pressure approach at first and then you can build up from there with multiple letters if you have not heard from your prospects. This is a great strategy to get the phone ringing and talking to live sellers that are willing to sell you there homes. The second strategy also involves the city, but different department. This involves the county code enforcement office, or sometimes called the municipal code department. The catch with this tip is finding the right person to talk to. You want to get in touch with the person responsible for condemned houses. I call it the "unwanted houses list" because most of the time the homeowner is nowhere to be found, plus the home is unlivable a great deal of the time. This list can usually be acquired for free. I recommend asking the code officer to just email you the list, it will sometimes save you a trip downtown or to there office. Once you have the list simply go through it and decide what homes you want to target and the next time you are out looking at other inventory go by and check out the condemned house that is on the list. After viewing the home call the city code department and ask them to tell you what are the code violations they have on file. Once you are armed with that information now you can begin to contact the homeowner to see what there position on the home is. These two strategies are great to add to your investing tool belt because the competition will be at a minumum, which is great news for you and your company. Feel free to visit my website at www.jaxhomebuy.com and my blog-premierchoicejax.blogspot.com for more info on real estate investing.

About the Author

Scott MacDonald is President and CEO of Premier Choice Investments, LLC located in Jacksonville, FL. Premier Choice Investments purchases 5-10 homes per month in Northeast Florida and surrounding areas. Since starting the company in 2008 Scott has been investing in Real Estate full time and has experienced tremendous growth. Scott has quickly become an expert and guide for other real estate investors all over the Sunshine State.

Leveraging Your Way To Success - Property Investment

Leveraging Your Way To Success - Property Investment

Rehab costs in 15 minutes

Before I dive into the content of this article I would like to ask you a few questions. First, do you know how to determine rehab costs? If so, how long does it take you? And most importantly, how close are those initial costs with you finished rehab project? I feel this is an important subject for ALL real estate investors because no matter what strategy you are using you need to know how to determine rehab costs. Determining rehab costs can be learned so don't think just because you've never swung a hammer or installed a toilet you can't estimate rehab costs effectively. Before I give you the bulk of information let me first say I will not be giving you any costs associated with construction. Why, you might say? Well you need to familiarize yourself with the costs for your area. Simply put, material costs and labor differ depending on your part of the country. For example you can expect to pay a little bit more for a re-plumb in New York than what I get it for in Florida. In essence, building codes, weather, demand, proximity of manufacture all determine costs associated with materials and labor. Enough of that let's get into it. Any single family home no matter what the condition should have 5 categories for rehab costs. They are as follows: 1.Roof 2.Plumbing 3.Electrical 4.Heat/AC 5.Structure. Now from here everything gets a little easier because all other costs are just cosmetic. Thats right put kitchen, baths, flooring, painting, etc in the cosmetic chart. My suggestion is this, now that you know the five major categories call around to professional licensed contractors and talk to them about there costs. For example, let's take a roof. I would call a roofing contractor and ask him how much does he charge per square to install a roof, for those of you that do not know a square is a 10' x 10' section. Now that I know how much he charges per square all I need to know is how many squares there are in a home. While I am on roofs let me give you a quick formula for determing squares. (Total Square Footage x 1.5\100= ___ squares x cost per square) It is that simple, and in less than 30 seconds I will know within $300 how much that roof will cost. Let's venture to plumbing, call several reliable plumbing contractors and ask them how much it is to re-plumb a home around 1500 square feet. You will get several prices from them and then you can adjust according the size of your rehab project. You will do the same with all 5 categories. Taking the time and learning construction costs and estimates will save you thousands of dollars, trust me I know. You get the idea of the five major categories now lets move on to the cosmetic side. Here are some examples of cosmetic repairs: Exterior and Interior paint, windows, carpet and flooring, appliances, bathrooms, kitchen, doors, demo, landscaping, driveway, misc (door knobs, light fixtures, fans, trim) and last but most importantly your hedge fund. Hedge fund or "oops fund" I sometimes call it is crucial. Do not and I mean do not forget to put a "oops fund" into your rehab costs. A typical hedge fund should be approx. 5-10% of your total rehab costs. If you don't use it, great more profit for you on the back end but make sure you account for the oops occurances because they will happen. I have written a whole course on rehab costs and handling contractors the right way, if you are interested send me an email at scott@jaxhomebuy.com and say you are interested in the "rehab course". Also as my bonus for those of you that want to really go to the next level in real estate investing I will send you my cheat sheet "Property Analysis Sheet". This has all the formulas and costs built into the sheet so you can truly do this in 15 minutes. If you want this for free email me at info@jaxhomebuy.com and enter the words "cheat sheet" and I will send it out to you right away.

Buying vs Renting - Buying a Home

Buying vs Renting - Buying a Home

How to find 300-500 motivated sellers in ONE WEEK!!!! - Property Investment

How to find 300-500 motivated sellers in ONE WEEK!!!! - Property Investment

The best moves for home buyers and sellers

Great article for those on the hunt for the next great investment or residence

The best moves for home buyers and sellers