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|  Five Keys To Successful Negotiation
Whether you're a buyer or a seller you want to succeed in the realty marketplace. That's natural and reasonable, but what are the steps you need to triumph?
Negotiation is a complex matter and all transactions are unique. Both sides -- buyer and seller -- want to feel that the outcome favors them, or at least represents a fair balance of interests. In the usual case there is a bit of bluff, some give-and-take, and neither party gets everything they want.
So how do you develop a strong bargaining position, one which will help you get the most from a transaction? Experience shows there are five basic keys which will determine who wins at the negotiating table. more>
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Mortgage Rates
as of December 25, 2003:
30 yr. fixed: 5.81
15 yr. fixed: 5.13
1 yr. adj: 3.73
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Buying Houses Just One
Way To Invest In Real Estate
Everyone generally understands that as a real estate investor, the concept is to let someone else's rent payments pay for your mortgage and to hopefully come out with a positive cash flow at the end of the month.
There are plenty of ways to get started in real estate investing. Here are some one line descriptions of how to do it including the pros and cons of each alternative.
Foreclosure
How it works: Purchase the property at a courthouse auction -- hopefully for less than it's worth. Fix it up, sell it or rent it out.
Pros: This is a common sense approach to getting started in real estate investing. If you can get the property for a wholesale price and then rent it out for more than your mortgage, you're on your way to building wealth one month at a time.
Cons: You get into the property and find out it has major problems costing a lot more than you'll ever recover. Ever heard of concrete being flushed down the drain (usually out of spite from the former owner)? It means having to remove all the sewage drains. Hidden defects can run costs up and give you a red ink so be careful. Since the banknote holder is selling the property as-is, there's not much recourse.
Fixer-Upper
How it works: Purchase a property that needs major repairs. This is not a property that just needs paint and carpet. This type of property usually has rot, flooring, roofing, basement and just overall problems. But that's what makes it so enticing.
Pros: For investors with their repair ducks lined up in a row, this can be a good money maker. The key here is to hammer on more>
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| Tackle The Important
Jobs In That First Year
If you look at the bank accounts of most first-time buyers the day after settlement, you are likely to find very little in it. Yet more than half of first-time buyers -- especially in older areas of the country -- choose older, generally less-expensive houses. Even those who gravitate to newer houses, townhouses especially, tend to defer some of the bells and whistles for financial reasons.
Still, it doesn't cost all that much to make some changes that personalize a house for the new homeowner.
Painting is the most popular improvement by first-timers. Of course, that can be motivated more by taste than by necessity. A lot of buyers, first-time or otherwise, may buy a house despite the color of the walls, then head to the store as soon as the papers are signed. more>
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Wondering What Your Home Is Worth?
Let me show you.
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Local Real Estate Market Conditions
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Daily News and Advice
Read about the events shaping the Real Estate market today, find current interest rates, or browse the extensive library of advice and how-to articles written by some of the top experts in Real Estate. Updated each weekday.
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This Month's Articles:
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Kim Gibbons, Broker
ERA Realty
Phone Numbers:
Toll Free (866) 766-5862
Local (850) 437-5618 |
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ERA Realty
Serving NW Florida
Pensacola, FL 32501
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