Real Estate - Market, Mortgage, Buying Homes, Selling Property » residential

Property Tax Protest

admin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:52:57 +0000

Americans across the country are seeing real estate values drop, both on the commercial and residential side, yet their real estate taxes are staying the same or continue to go up. More and more owners are actively pursuing a property tax protest.

Bottom line the system is exposed to be fair. No property owner should pay more than what they really owe. Cities are “squealing” that they do not have enough cash to pay for their services. Many Americans are saying: “join the club.” We are expected to operate and live within our means, cities should as well.

Protest Property Taxes

Experts estimate that between 60-70% of ALL property owners are over assessed, while only 2% actually bother to do anything about it. Many don’t know that they can appeal. Others assume the process will be too cumbersome and complicated. And we have heard some people express fear that their cities may raise their taxes (nonsense!). Some claim that they just don’t have time.

In reality, the process is not that difficult to understand and the time needed to investigate and learn how to appeal can be as little as an afternoon. The language and the way that property taxes are calculated are overly complicated. Many industry experts argue that cities do this on purpose to confuse or bore people into not appealing. We tend to agree with this. If you can have the disciple to sit down for a half hour and read how they calculate your property taxes you will be well on your way.

The potential savings can be significant, making it well worth it for the owner to appeal. Many home owners enjoy savings between $200 – $3,000 per year. The savings go on and on, year after years, so an annual savings of $800 could translate into $8,000 over a ten year period. In addition, many owners can qualify for a rebate on taxes that they have over paid in previous years…

Get out there and protest your property taxes! As tax payers face corporate downsizing, weak healthcare programs, a stalling economy and the biggest credit crisis since the great depression we should not have to shoulder the inefficiencies and corruption of our politicians.

Jeff Rauth is President of Bloomfield Hills based Commercial Finance Advisors. More information on property tax reductions can be found here. property tax reduction or property tax appeal or real estate taxes

Why Become A Real Estate Agent?

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:13:36 +0000

It may seem that if you become a real estate agent you can make a lot of money with little risk, just by selling other people’s property for them. This is almost true. You also can get the inside scoop on possibly profitable investments. The part that isn’t entirely true, is the low-risk part. It can be a tough business to start out in, especially if you don’t know many people. It takes money and time (and time is money as well, right?).

I hated being a real estate agent. I was young (17 years ago). It wasn’t that I didn’t sell anything. In the few months I was actually trying I sold seven or eight properties. But I also realized that I would never learn to enjoy the process.

It was simply that it doesn’t fit my personality. I didn’t like being in the middle of transactions. I remember people crying at closings and yelling on the phone. I remember struggling to advise sellers on what was best for them, even though if I were in their shoes I would have found it easy to say what was best for me. I operate best as buyer or seller – not as the person bringing them together.

On the other hand, I met a lot of great people who love the stress and busyness and action of being a real estate agent. They are mostly people who love to help people. Some of them just enjoy the business, while others enjoy it and make a lot of money.

Then there was poor Henry. He was there when I first started, at the desk in front of mine. He was there months later when I was quitting, and he was finally making his first and last sale (he quit shortly afterwards). He was one of the nicest guys I have ever worked with, but he didn’t know how to sell real estate.

I think Henry hated the business more than I. Keeping the money in mind, I could at least make myself get on that phone and start calling hundreds of people who didn’t want to hear from me, just to find the one or two that did want to. I got listings this way while Henry sat there waiting for the phone to ring. But I found it harder and harder to do.
Bottom line? It will help greatly if you actually enjoy this business – that way you can motivate yourself to do the things you need to do.

How To Become a Real Estate Agent

In most states it is relatively inexpensive to get licensed. It will be somewhat different in each, but when I was licensed in Michigan, it was necessary to be sponsored by a broker. There are always brokers looking for new agents, so this shouldn’t present a problem. Then you may take a class that teaches you everything you need to know for the test. This too isn’t too expensive.

After you pass the state exam, you go to work, but you are not an employee. You are provided a desk by your brokerage, but you are an independent contractor. Despite not being in business for yourself, you cannot go off and sell on your own. Usually the law requires that you work for a time (three years is common) as an agent for a broker before you can become a broker yourself and own your own real estate company.

You will have to pay for your own business cards, signs, supplies, and dues. You might even need some new clothes. The dues to join and remain a member of the MLS, or “Multiple Listing Service,” as well as any other memberships required or “suggested” by your employing broker, is where it starts to get more expensive.

You have to be financially prepared for the transition. If you have no other job at the time, you may have no income for at least several months. Unless you have a lot of contacts or are coming into the business from a related one, it may take a month or more to get your first listing. If that property sells in just two months (3 or 4 month is common in many areas), and closes a month after selling, that means that at the start you are four months away from your first paycheck.

Obviously, apart from the couple thousand dollars needed for direct expenses, you need to plan for this lag time before you start collecting commissions. If you are the sole provider for your household, I recommend that you have at least six months income set aside before you quit your job and start selling real estate.

How much can you make? This depends on where you work and what you sell. At the time I was selling real estate in Northern Michigan, all the real estate companies were charging 7% commission on residential properties. My broker split the commission with agents, so if I sold the house, I got half the commission. If an agent from another broker sold the house, that broker took 50%, and my broker split the other 50% with me. In other words, I got 1.75%. This was common then.

Lower commissions are more common now. In some areas, they are as low as 3% for full service brokers. This is because of increased competition, and because home prices have gone up faster than wages or inflation in recent years. 3% of a $500,000 sale (In California, for example) is still a hefty commission: $15,000, to be precise.

Brokers each have their own commission structures. There are brokers that let you keep 100% of the commission, and then charge you for the use of the office, including perhaps a secretary for the common use of a dozen agents. You might pay $15,000 per year under this arrangement, so obviously it would be best to wait until you are selling enough real estate before considering working under this kind of broker.

How do you sell a lot of real estate? That is a book-sized subject, but here are a few basics:
1. List a lot of property for sale. You can spend weeks showing a young couple homes just to have them go to another agent or not buy anything. Get a listing of a home, however, and no matter who buys it or sells it, you will be paid. Concentrate on working with sellers more than buyers (although you will always do both).

2. Get high-priced fast-selling properties. You can spend as much time and effort selling a $100,000 property as you will selling a $400,000 home. But you will make four times as much money with the latter. Too unusual and expensive can mean a long time to sell, however, so balance it out. Sell the most expensive properties that are selling relatively quickly.
3. Specialize. Work an area or type of property until you are the expert. Then the sellers will start to come to you.

4. Learn how to sell. It doesn’t matter if you just want to list those properties and let others sell them. You still need the sales skills to get the seller to list with you. Read, take advice from top sellers, and go to seminars. You can always learn more.

Investing As A Real Estate Agent

About the only disadvantage to having a real estate license as an investor is that in most states you have to identify yourself as an agent when you advertise your properties for sale. This may make some people feel that you – as the expert – can take advantage of them.

The big advantages, however, are two. First, you get the inside scoop on properties coming to market. You may have an offer in on that new rental property even before there is an ad in the paper or a listing in the MLS.

The other advantage is that you effectively get a discount on any MLS listing. Suppose you see a nice little house for $100,000 for sale. If it is listed with another office and the commission is 6%, your broker may get half of that, and give you 60% of that as the selling agent (you are selling it to yourself). That is $1,800 that you make as a commission when you buy – perhaps enough to cover closing costs.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For a Free Real Estate Investing Course, and to see a photo of the home we bought for $17,500, visit: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Arizona Real Estate Agent

admin — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:20:26 +0000

A real estate agent is someone who facilitates real estate deals. Real estate agents market a property to be sold and try to get the best possible price and terms for their clients. If a client wants to buy a property, the agent ensures that the client gets the best possible deal. According to US law, a person needs a permit to act as a real estate agent in Scottsdale.

Scottsdale is the fifth largest city in the US. Scottsdale is growing fast especially in the northern regions of the city. There is a huge increase in the number of new residents every year. Increase in population directly results in an increasing demand for accommodation. This makes the real estate business a thriving business opportunity and many real estate agencies make use of this opportunity. Excellent climatic conditions, low tax rates and low housing costs are some of the other factors that contribute to the growth of the real estate industry in Scottsdale.

In a booming real estate industry, contrary to expectations buying or selling is not an easy task. Though there is sufficient demand, an amateur would find it a challenge to reach out to more buyers or sellers or strike a fair price on a deal. This is the chief reason for many property owners and buyers deciding to deal with an agent. Agents work on a commission basis but this does not deter people from dealing with them as long as they are able to strike lucrative deals. A single real estate agent can handle the case of both the buyer and the seller, provided he has the consent of both parties to do so. An agent is more experienced in property matters, trends and market conditions and will use this expertise to negotiate on behalf of clients. A large number of real estate agents operate in all the major cities of Arizona including Scottsdale Research on the Web or a quick scanning of the local Yellow Pages can help find an agent. It is important to talk to more than one agent simultaneously for a better chance of either buying or selling a property.

Scottsdale Real Estate provides detailed information on Scottsdale Real Estate, Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate, Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate Agent, Scottsdale Real Estate Agent and more. Scottsdale Real Estate is affiliated with Tucson Residential Real Estate

North Carolina Real Estate Education

admin — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:03:20 +0000

Real estate is a term used for land and all physical properties built on it. Houses along with basement, trees, fences, structures constructed away from the main house and drainage system are considered as a part of real estate.

North Carolina is a popular southern destination for vacations and therefore, many people prefer to buy vacation houses or residential property here. State of North Carolina has certain regulations and specifications that home buyers and sellers need to follow. Most people generally approach real state agents to buy or sell real estate as they have information about local market.

To conduct a real estate business in the state, it is necessary to have a North Carolina real estate broker license. This requirement applies to any individual or body that may want to get involved in the business of real estate directly or indirectly while physically residing in the state of North Carolina. Individuals need to go through North Carolina real estate education program to get a license to become a real estate agent. Real estate education programs are also available for renewal of license as a part of continuing education programs. A real estate licensee is usually known as a real estate agent, though there is no such term actually mentioned in the text of License Law.

After a person has passed the requisite exam, a license in provisional status is issued. Main difference between a provisional license and a license without a provisional status is that the latter allows brokers to operate as an unsupervised independent agent. A provisional status license requires a broker to work under the supervision of a broker who has been nominated. However, a real estate licensee or agent does not automatically become a realtor. To become a realtor, a licensed real estate agent needs to belong to the National Association of Realtors, which is a private trade association.

North Carolina Real Estate provides detailed information on North Carolina Real Estate, Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate, Raleigh North Carolina Real Estate, North Carolina Mountain Real Estate and more. North Carolina Real Estate is affiliated with Connecticut Commercial Real Estate