Buying And Selling Homes Online

By: Lawrence Bunnell


It used to be that, when you needed a product or service, you picked up the telephone book to find a business that provided it. Then you called to make sure that the store had what you were looking for, or you called to schedule an appointment. You finished up the process by going to the store or going to the business to get everything worked out.

This was true of a wide variety or products and services, and changed with the internet. Now, as a society, we regularly make online purchases – from books to banking, from personal care items to personal training, we buy it all online. Many of also sell items online, using auction services rather than yard sales.

It only makes sense, therefore, that as time goes on more buying and selling is done online. One of the newest trends, in fact, is buying and selling homes online.

For those who are buying homes, it is easy to search online for properties. Home buyers can search for properties for sale in their neighborhood. Home buyers can search online for homes in neighboring areas, neighboring states or across the country.

Home buyers can search through MLS listings to find homes that match their criteria: home with a certain number of bedrooms, bathrooms, living space or that are within a set price range. And, when home buyers do this research on their own, they find that they can save – in the form of rebates of the buyer's agent's commission – when they do buy a home.

In addition, they find that, by using flat fee real estate services, they are not left alone when it comes time to make an offer or to close on the property.

Likewise, those who are selling a home online can take advantage of Flat Fee MLS listings and other flat fee real estate services to save when they sell property. Unlike traditional for sale by owner home sellers, they are able to effectively market their homes – to both online home buyers and buyers' agents alike.

However, those who sell a home online using a Flat Fee MLS listing and other flat fee real estate services save thousands of dollars more than traditional home sellers. This is because they will not have to pay a seller's agent commission.

As a result, buying and selling homes online using flat fee real estate services allows both parties – the buyers and the sellers – to save thousands of dollars during the transaction. The savings, however, are not the only benefit.

Both buyers and sellers will also benefit from being able to do research on their schedule – even if that means looking for properties or creating marketing materials in the middle of the night. Both buyers and sellers will have the satisfaction of knowing that they were in control of the transaction. And both buyers and sellers will know that, when they need help, they are able to get it.

Buying and selling homes online using flat fee services – both flat fee home buying and Flat Fee MLS listings – is a relatively new trend. However, buying and selling homes online allows buyers and sellers to fit the process into their schedules and to save thousands of dollars at the same time.


About the Author:
Lawrence Bunnell is a Partner and the Principal Broker of IHS Realty, an Internet based, real estate brokerage company offering consumers online, flat-fee, 'a la carte' real estate brokerage products and services. Lawrence has been a full-time licensed REALTOR® since 1984 and is currently a licensed real estate broker in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, South Carolina and Pennsylvania. In addition to his role as the firm's Prinicipal Real Estate Broker, his duties include serving as the head of web application design and development and Internet marketing initiatives for IHS. http://www.ihsrealty.com/

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Choose The Best Color Scheme For Your Home

By: Niall Roche


Choosing a color scheme to use in one room or across your house is probably one of the most important decisions you will make when it comes to decorating. Based on this choosing the right color scheme can and should certainly be given almost top priority. The last thing you want to do is steam ahead with the first color scheme that comes to mind and then have to backtrack and work twice as hard to cover up the mistake you made in haste right?

Perhaps looking at more traditional or at least more established color schemes would be a good place to start?

The ever popular European scheme focuses on very rich, and sometimes old-fashioned, colors. These are mainly dark reds and dark gold, as well as blues and purples. They should not be totally matte, or too metallic, but just enough to reflect the light a little bit. To go specifically for a French feel, light gold, light maroon and blue create a truly French theme.

If you fancy going further than the Mediterranean, a tropical theme focuses on greens, light blues, and browns, as well as highlighting colors, and shades that bring the room to life, such as red and yellow. White also works well, as it fits in with the feel of clean air on tropical islands.

Or maybe keep the ocean feel, but bring it back home to a local seaside theme. Light brown, sea blue and medium green, as well as a sandy orange can all be used to give this image. Light grey also goes well if you're aiming to create a rocky feel, or perhaps the tone of a typical rainy day at the seaside!

Perhaps you don't fancy any of these and would prefer to go east with an Asian style room. This theme thrives on blacks and whites, highlighted using red and blue, which gives the room depth, and a small amount of gold can also be used to create a luxurious feel.

After the color scheme is sorted, you should be all set to complete the room with furniture and accessories, resulting in a room that you just simply love!


About the Author:
Do you want to avoid doubling your interior decorating budget? Choose the best interior decorating colors for your home decorating project the right way first time. Source: http://www.decorsecrets.com/

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London Apartments: Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Book A Serviced Apartment In London Through An Agent

By: Binh Zientek


Dear reader, before you all accuse me of blatant propaganda for my own company, please let me use the 80:20 rule and declare that only 20% is propaganda and the other 80% is based on the truth. Read on and if something strikes you as nonsense, you can choose to stop reading or share your feedback with me.

The source of this article was borne out of frustration at one particular incident which happened a few months back. I received a call from a potential client seeking a serviced London apartment for short stay rental. When he discovered that Quality London Apartments was a third party agent and not the owner of the apartments, his comment was: "Oh no, not another agent!"

He then explained that he has just had a bad experience with one of my competitor. After listening to his story I totally sympathised with his plight. I helped him to book the right London apartment and eventually received many words of thanks for my help. But it niggled me that some agents are giving all agents a really bad reputation, so I have decided to fight back and remind travellers around the world why using agents are the best choice.

1.Good agents are like your friends in the city of your destination. Imagine having someone who will help you to research and book a serviced apartment. Then they will also help you with free support and advice of this city. If you choose an agent who actually live and work in this city, then it will be like having your own personal concierge.

2.Agents worth their salt will help you to find the right apartments to fit your budget. Obviously, you need to be realistic as well, as London is a notoriously expensive destination. Imagine if you had a family of 4 on a budget of £250 per night for a two bedroom apartment and you wanted to be in central London. Where do you begin? How much time do you wish to spend searching online, making expensive overseas phone calls/emails before you find something suitable? That is a lot of time and expense. An agent will have called at least 3 and give you the options within 15-30 minutes. How? That takes me to the next point.

3.Good agents are specialist who has visited the apartment to understand what their customers are going to stay in, have a relationship with the apartment owners, and know how flexible or inflexible the apartments will be with prices. They will squeeze as much as reasonable to fit your budget.

4.Agents are your advocates. Good agents are on your side, they want to help you and ensure that you have a smooth and happy stay. They are your representative in London, who fights for you; act as trouble shooters when something goes wrong with the apartments on arrival. What could go wrong? Read on.

5.Who you turn to when something goes wrong during your stay in an apartment? Here is a true life scenario to illustrate the point. One of my new clients booked a luxury apartment through Quality London Apartments for his break. When he arrived on New Years Day, the apartment owner tried to fob him off (whether mistakenly or on purpose) with another different apartment with a totally different décor…not to my client's taste. If my client had booked directly with the apartment, he would have had to fight his case on his own. But he phoned me on New Years Day, I then complained (diplomatically of course) to the apartment owner and presto! All sorted for him. That is a difference that many people in this age of automated bookings do not realise, is the human help. Convenience and efficiency is great, but when things go wrong, as it invariably does, it is the people you trust who will make that call on your behalf.

Sadly, not all serviced apartments agents follow this code, nor do they respect their customers. Conversely, there are also many great agents who are passionate about service, actually enjoy taking care of their clients and are honest to you. It is hard to know which agents are excellent and which are shoddy, until you work with them.

Here comes the 20% propaganda that I did pre-warn you about earlier. My company's mission is honesty, good old fashioned service and service with integrity. I am passionate about serviced apartments as the best way to travel and I really love helping clients. Period.
How can you know if this is true? I cannot prove it just by words, only by action. I dare you to choose Quality London Apartments next time and let us prove it to you.


About the Author:
Binh Zientek http://www.qualitylondonapartments.co.uk/

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Checkout Your Options Before Selling Your Land

By: Christine Macguire


To dispose off a real estate is a one of the major tasks that one has to carry with due responsibility. Of all the real estate assets, land is usually the most valuable. Land plots have always been objects of purchase, sale or bargain. The number of transactions with land plots is huge and still growing on a daily basis throughout the nation. One of the dominant factors here is the rising price of land plots in the capital and suburbs.

People do tend to retain their land ownership viewing it as security that can be a valuable part of a diversified array of retirement asset. They don’t even want to face the inconvenience of dealing with rental contracts including establishing and collecting rents, repair and maintenance, and the liability exposure. Some are fearful that land values (rents) will fall and real estate taxes will increase, leaving them with less and less income. Others fear land values will rise and increase their estate taxes.

If you decide to sell your land and/or building there are several ways to accomplish this.

· Sell it for cash: Sell your land for cash in a lump sum and as a consequence you have to pay all the accompanying income taxes. It is advisable to resort to this mode of sale only when you are in an urgent need of funds and your land is the only asset left to dispose off.

· Sell it on a contract for deed: A land contract puts you in the position of a lender. As the contract payments are made, you include them in your taxable income over a number of years. By signing a land contract deed with installment sale reporting, you do obligate yourself or your heirs to paying the income tax on the gain. At times selling on a contract provides the buyer with a source of credit and terms he or she can afford. However the buyer is liable to pay you a lot of interest over the life of the contract. And again the interest you receive from the buyer is fully taxable to you. If you become a contract for deed holder, you assume the risk of default by the buyer. You may get your land back through forfeiture or you may be forced to foreclose on the party in default.

· Sell your land piecemeal: You can also sell your land piecemeal that is bit by bit at a time, as the buyer can afford to purchase it. Using this method, the buyer can apply all purchase money to principal and none to interest. Land Developers are eager to find owners willing to sell land piecemeal because the owners are often eager to get rid of it - especially if it was purchased at the height of the market. In fact, some owners have even let parcels revert back to the previous owner if development wasn't feasible.

· Consider a tax-free exchange: Exchanging like-kind property can postpone your taxation of capital gains. Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) offers real estate buyers and sellers a golden opportunity to defer their taxes on capital gains if they reinvest the proceeds to purchase of like-kind property. Properties are believed to be of a like-kind if the property acquired is alike in nature and situated in the United States. If you are to qualify for a 1031 exchange the transaction has to be done in accordance to the exchange rules set forth in the tax code and the treasury regulations.

Seeking professional advice and assistance from established real estate agencies when you want to sell your land is undoubtedly the best approach. Real estate agents can provide many useful services and work with you in different ways. They provide the landowners the best approach to selling their real estate at fair market value. With access to a large network of land investors, developers and homebuilders they are able to offer the best price in the real estate market for your valuable real estate asset.


About the Author:
Christine is an expert Internet marketing professional with years of experience in various industries such as: Business, Finance, Real Estate, Web-Design, Health & Medicine and many more. Url: http://www.uslandbuyers.com/

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Do You Have A Marketing Plan For Your Real Estate Investment Business?

By: Brad Wozny Wozny


If you own investment property, you’re immediately classified as an entrepreneur and – as it’s a small business opportunity unto its own, you must have a marketing plan in place in order to make the most of it.

Unfortunately, this is one of the top reasons why statistically, 92% of all first time investors fail in 3 months, and less than ten percent of those who do will survive the first year of their investment portfolio.

Here are a few should and should not’s that you should follow:

First, your marketing plan should begin with an analysis your current situation and investment environment. This means that you need to look at what you are doing with your investment property or properties. For example, evaluate where your leads come from, how many leads contact you each month, and how many prospects you get each month that are worth following up on.

Secondly, it’s all about the metrics. Determine how many qualified leads you get in proportion to the total number of leads that come in currently. Evaluate how many deals you close as a result of the qualified leads vs the tire kickers, and how much money you generally average from each closed deal.

Finally determine how much it costs you in total to get each close deal -- that is, determine how much you spend advertising, phone calls, overhead expenses, and other costs before you see the actual money.

When you're looking at your investment property business this way, you'll be able to see how your small business opportunity is faring. If you're getting lots of leads but are getting very few closed deals, you know that you may want to make some changes.

One last point I’d like to make is that you should be tracking each one of your lead sources. For instance, are you generating the most qualified leads through your ads in the newspaper? Off bandit signs? Through your website? From the call to action magnets on your car? Business cards? You get the idea.

Once you do know where the top three to five sources of leads in your small business stands, then develop a solid marketing plan by setting some goals and allocating a portion of business funds each month proportionate to these lead generation machines.

Write down your goals for total net income, your goals for the total number of deals you want to sign up, and your goals for the number of leads and interested sellers you want to generate. Determine how much net income you need to or want to make from each closed deal.

Lastly, based on how your investment property business is doing right now, determine how many prospects or leads you have to generate in order to reach your goal. For example, if you currently get one closed deal from every 10 leads that contact you, and you want to have ten closed deals at the end of the year, you know you need to get 100 leads to contact you.

Getting your marketing plan down on paper will help you see exactly what steps you need to take in order to take your business opportunity from small-time to successful.

Cheers,

Brad Wozny
Creator, 7 Figure Profits™


About the Author:
Watch the 30 second video below & discover how you can setup your 7-Day Free Trial to find more deals, with bigger profits, and no hassles beginning right now at http://www.INSTANTRealEstateSolutions.com/claim.html

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How To Sell An Ugly House

By: Kris


Let’s face it, not all of us have homes that are easy to sell. Sometimes homes can be downright ugly and when that happens it is hard to sell them. Ugly homes can happen for a variety of reasons. Whether it has been a lack of time or money that has not allowed you to make those long over due renovations or you have had slacker tenants treat your house with disrespect, or simply old age, homes can take a turn for the worst.

One the realities most home sellers looking to put their substandard house on the market face is a lack of support from their local real estate agent. Whether you are agreeing with their policy or not, most real estate agents will not help you if you have a home that is not in great shape.

So the question you are left to encounter then is quite a frustrating one: just how do you sell an ugly house? Here are a few handy tips to help ease the pain.

Firstly, you bite the bullet and pay for a renovation rescue team. By seeking the services of a professional home renovator not only can you just sit back and let them do all the hard work for you, you are guaranteed a top-notch job. Home renovators are qualified experts in preparing a home for selling and tackle any and every job. In fact, there is no job too big or too small for a home renovation specialist. They will give your house a makeover like you would not believe, improving and restoring everything from major jobs like replacing roof tiles and floorboards through to shining your cutlery.

Secondly, you should get to work immediately on fixing up your home’s exteriors. Selling a home is much like going for a job interview, first impressions are everything and people often make a decision in the first few seconds of seeing your home. Therefore, if the lawn is mowed, the gardens are trimmed and the outside of the house has been given a fresh paint job, you’ll be surprise just how new and improved it can look with very minimal cost and effort.

Thirdly, lower the asking price for your home. It is human nature to believe that our homes are castles, and therefore we value them a whole lot more then they are actually worth on the open market. In order to see your ugly house gone, you have to concede that, yes, it is in fact not as impressive in other’s eyes then it is through yours. That means you should sell your house for what its real industry asking price is and not your own price tag. Like anything, if the price is right, there is always a great demand for it and that goes for your old home, too.

As you can see, selling an ugly house does not have to be a stressful time. All it requires is a little hard work and tender loving care, and you’ll have that ugly home sold in no time.

Alternately, if your house is REALLY ugly, and you don’t want to go through the hard work of prettying it up, consider selling to a company like asisnow.com, who will buy any property, at a fair price, fast, and without realtor fees attached. It might see your sale price drop a little, but the sale will be lightning fast, and you’ll have money in your pocket tomorrow - rather than in six months time.


About the Author:
We will buy your house As Is Now in any condition including Ugly Homes. If you need to Sell Your Home Fast Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, For Lauderdale, Houston, Tampa and Fort Myers. Visit us at http://www.asisnow.com/main.php?page=home. Call 1-800-AS-IS-NOW (800-274-7669).

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Investing In Real Estate - Six Specific Tips

By: Steve Gillman


Investing in real estate should be a pleasurable and profitable activity. Listen carefully to investors, though, and you hear not just success stories, but sad tales of stress and losing money. Here are some tips for keeping your real estate stories happy ones.

- Have a top price. Properties have a market value, and then they have their value to you. Many investors pay too much just because everyone else is doing so, and then they have negative cash flow month after month. Just because others are paying too much for duplexes, doesn't mean you have to. Once you decide on a top price that works for your plan (which hopefully involves cash flow), start below that and don't go a penny higher. The time to set your limit is before the negotiations start, not during them.

- Choose partners carefully. Investing in real estate can be an uncertain process. Too many decision-makers just make it more so. If you must have a partner, clearly define your roles before you start a project. Group decisions tend not to work well, and will cause you much stress. It is often best if one partner puts up the bulk of the money, and the other runs the show. Agree to a plan, then step back if you are investing the capital, and let your partner do his thing. Of course, step up and take control if you are managing the project.

- Listen to what the market is saying. When the cabinet guy asked me for a decision I realized that I knew nothing at all about which cabinets people like. I asked him which ones home owners were most often choosing, and he pointed to one that three quarters of his last forty customers had chosen. Then that's the one I want, I told him. Why would I argue with the market I am trying to sell to? I have seen sellers paint a home a certain color because they like it. That's a quick way to reduce the market value of a home. What colors do the potential buyers like? That's what is important.

- Understand the numbers. Investing in real estate is all about the numbers. If it is an income property investment, it's about one number in particular: cash flow. Be aware of whatever the local formulas are, whether gross rent multipliers or capitalization rates or whatever. Ultimately, though just be sure that after every last expense you'll have cash flow from the very first month. If it is a residential fixer-upper, know what it will sell for and what it will cost to fix it up - before you even make an offer.

- Don't confuse investing with gambling. Investing in real estate isn't gambling, or at least it shouldn't be. There is risk, but unlike true gambling, the odds are in your favor. At least they should be, and you should be able to clearly see the outcome. This why you shouldn't invest based on the assumption of continued fast appreciation. Over time, real estate values do trend upwards, but there is no guarantee that prices will continue up at any particular rate during a given time. Do deals in such a way that they'll be profitable even if prices go nowhere. If values go up, you're that much better off.

- Do the research. Understand the statistics and information you are looking at. It is possible that the real estate agent will show you only the comparable sales that make the property look more valuable. With a bit of your own research, and an understanding of how the various numbers are arrived at, you can avoid overpaying. Many counties have made researching prices easy, with sales prices online. Other web sites, such as the U.S. Census site, have information on population and jobs. Understanding these figures can mean not investing in real estate just before the town declines.

These tips, like all others, are just guidelines of course. You can "gamble" on rising values, for example, if you really did your homework and know the demand for housing in a town is about to explode. You might pass up a great opportunity too, because you refuse to go $500 over the top price you set. While having a few rules and guidelines is a good place to start, don't let them take the place of thinking when investing in real estate.


About the Author:
Copyright Steve Gillman. For a Free Real Estate Investing Course, visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

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Buying A Home For 1st Time Home Buyers - Frequently Asked Questions

By: CL Haehl


First time homebuyers are faced with a myriad of questions about the process of buying and financing their first home. Luckily, there are countless programs available to first time homebuyers to help them realize their dream of owning a home.

What is The Definition of a First Time Borrower? You may be surprised to find out that a first time homebuyer is almost always defined as someone who has not owned a home in the past three years. Even if you owned a home for twenty years, if you sold it four years ago and haven’t owned a home since then, you are considered to be a first time homebuyer.

How Much Do I Need To Put Down? Many first time homebuyer programs are designed to allow you to put down as little money as possible for a down payment. There are conforming programs such as “My Community” that require the buyer to contribute only $500 of his or her money towards the purchase of a home. Even closing costs can be financed into the loan!

What Does My Credit Score Need To Be? For borrowers with credit scores considered average or better (620+), there are programs that will let you finance 103% or even 107% of the purchase price of a home. The remaining 3% or 7% can go towards closings costs such as processing fees, title fees and even opening an escrow account for taxes and insurance.

What If I Have Credit Problems? For those with less-than-perfect credit or income that is difficult to document, lenders have programs available that allow 100% financing, usually down to credit scores of 580. Even with lower credit scores (or no credit), a good mortgage broker can help you creatively finance the purchase of your new home, especially if the seller is willing to help with closing costs or by holding a second mortgage.


About the Author:
List of Recommended Mortgage Companies For 1st Time Home Buyers - We maintain a list of recommended lenders online that is frequently updated. These lenders are excellent for first time home buyers to apply with.

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